The Composer's Life: Recent Episodes
Nadia
Diving into the day-to-day details of a composer: what they do, how they do it, and why. Nadia, the host, is a recent graduate from Berklee College of Music with a degree in Film Scoring. She shares her personal experiences, tips, and interviews other composers to give you an insider's view on composing professionally. For any comments, questions, or inquiries, feel free to email nadiammair@gmail.com
Listen to find out why Claes Nystrom was given an Emmy for his incredible part in what the Department of Homeland Security deemed to be the first threat in cybersecurity to any democracy....
Plus, his whole career in music, his approach to composing for film, and a lot of other tips about being a composer through his own story.
Website: http://nystrommusic.com/NM/I.html
North Tuned Piano Series: https://soundcloud.com/nystrom-music/sets/claesnystrom-coremusicagency
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/nystrom-music
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1263906/
Berklee Interviews is a series of interviews with professors, chairs, and professionals from Berklee College of Music.
To get notified of when new episodes are posted, click the link: https://www.nadiamair.com/the-composers-life
Why does Emmy Award Winner Claudio Ragazzi want to compose for Teletubbies? Find out now by listening to his interview.
Website: https://www.claudioragazzi.com/film-tv
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0706420/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7x9gv5rJtLNiMQ0JmeMCuk
Berklee Interviews is a series of interviews with professors, chairs, and professionals from Berklee College of Music.
To get notified of when new episodes are posted, click the link: https://www.nadiamair.com/the-composers-life
Part two of an interview with award winning film composer and TV composer Blair Mowat, recently nominated for a BAFTA for his score for ITV's Nolly.
Blair Mowat has composed over 200 scores for films, theater, and television, with clients ranging from The English National Ballet and The Royal Shakespeare Company to the likes of BBC, SKY, and ITV. He is a BAFTA-nominated, award winning composer with over 15 years’ experience and is considered a fast-rising star in the industry. His work includes Class, an acclaimed 8-part Doctor Who spin-off series on BBC One, ITV’s international hit show McDonalds & Dodds, and SKY’s The Amazing Mr. Blunden, written and directed by Mark Gatiss.
Join us as we discuss his history in composition, what led him to pursue film scoring, and his thoughts on the industry.
Website: https://www.blairmowat.co.uk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blair.mowat?igsh=aXM5NTB3ZjY0MWM=
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7yh4xXxKH517m2tqUkoXGc
Watch Nolly Here: https://www.itv.com/watch/nolly/10a1369?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwuJ2xBhA3EiwAMVjkVF1k2NCd1_SY_U4oX_zcsWuvRrsj6_IC9NwpVpJq2ddGfgIGryxOcxoC7IgQAvD_BwE
The Composer's Life Website: https://www.nadiamair.com/the-composers-life
An interview with award winning film composer and TV composer Blair Mowat, recently nominated for a BAFTA for his score for ITV's Nolly.
Blair Mowat has composed over 200 scores for films, theater, and television, with clients ranging from The English National Ballet and The Royal Shakespeare Company to the likes of BBC, SKY, and ITV. He is a BAFTA-nominated, award winning composer with over 15 years’ experience and is considered a fast-rising star in the industry. His work includes Class, an acclaimed 8-part Doctor Who spin-off series on BBC One, ITV’s international hit show McDonalds & Dodds, and SKY’s The Amazing Mr. Blunden, written and directed by Mark Gatiss.
Join us as we discuss his history in composition, what led him to pursue film scoring, and his thoughts on the industry.
Website: https://www.blairmowat.co.uk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blair.mowat?igsh=aXM5NTB3ZjY0MWM=
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7yh4xXxKH517m2tqUkoXGc
Watch Nolly Here: https://www.itv.com/watch/nolly/10a1369?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwuJ2xBhA3EiwAMVjkVF1k2NCd1_SY_U4oX_zcsWuvRrsj6_IC9NwpVpJq2ddGfgIGryxOcxoC7IgQAvD_BwE
The Composer's Life Website: https://www.nadiamair.com/the-composers-life
An interview with Emmy award winning film composers Robert Lydecker and Kevin Lax, who recently co-scored the new film Orion and the Dark out on Netflix.
Join us as we discuss what drove them to pursue film scoring, behind the scenes on working with directors, and their thoughts on the industry. They also give plenty advice for people interested in pursuing film scoring.
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Robert Lydecker is an Emmy-winning, classically-trained composer who grew up playing drums in punk bands.
Credits include Orion and the Dark, Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, Iron Fist season two, Lethal Weapon seasons two and three, ABC’s Designated Survivor (co-scored with Sean Callery), and the Fox series Sleepy Hollow (co-scored with Brian Tyler).
Outside of film music, he’s been involved with work in food justice, guerilla gardening, and habitat restoration.
Website: lydeckermusic.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robertlydeckermusic/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRblrdflh6DIXvionKRdtBQ
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1BxHOWQjjyVa9gLFZn3AfT?si=hL3i6gVlRTGPAi4zB3rmIw
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Kevin Lax is also an Emmy award winning composer, rapidly emerging for his compelling, versatile, and skillfully written music. He started his music journey studying piano, voice and music composition, and attended USC's Thornton School of Music for undergraduate and graduate studies in composing.
Having scored 2018's summer blockbuster The First Purge, he recently wrapped up work on Dreamworks' feature film Orion and the Dark (written by Charlie Kaufman) and TV series Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight. Other notable credits include work on Apple TV's See and Foundation, Netflix's The Witcher: Blood Origin, ABC's Agents of Shield, as well as AMC's Walking Dead.
Outside of music, Kevin enjoys exploring the great outdoors, teaching, soccer, and environmentalism.
Website: https://kevinlax.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevinlaxcomposer/?igsh=NmtidDVqMWhuZjBp
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0vkpJcFIeZZEITGmRyh2US?si=gFS1TlzKRj6y-uq8zctkrA&nd=1&dlsi=78bed91d26be4c1d
Today's episode is allll about the seventh mode, Locrian. Listen to hear how to construct it, songs based in this mode, and a composition created live.
For more help to understand Locrian, you can visit this page:
https://www.nadiamair.com/post/using-modes-to-compose-locrian
This link will take you to video examples, the songs mentioned in the episode, and a pdf of the Locrian scale in every key and starting on every note.
IN OTHER NEWS...
Here's the new website for the podcast!!!!
www.nadiamair.com/the-composers-life
You can click on the link to learn more about me, join an email list to be notified of episodes and behind the scenes content, and access all of the resources in one place!
Thank you so much for listening. Make sure to follow and review if you enjoy the podcast :)
P.S. Apologies for sound quality and the dog crying in the background. I didn’t notice him until I was done recording, but that’s life, haha.
Hi there,
Thank you so much for your support and for listening to today's episode. It is sixth in a mini-series about modes, where I break them down and then compose with them!
This one is all about Aeolian.
To get more help with it, here's a written article that contains visuals, music examples, video explanations, and a pdf of all the Aeolian scales:
https://www.nadiamair.com/post/using-modes-to-compose-aeolian
There's only one more episode left in this series about the mode Locrian coming out soon! Make sure to subscribe so you can be notified when it's published.
Hi there,
Thank you so much for your support and for listening to today's episode. It is fifth in a mini-series about modes, where I break them down and then compose with them!
This one is all about Mixolydian.
To get more help with it, here's a written article that contains visuals, music examples, video explanations, and a pdf of all the Mixolydian scales:
https://www.nadiamair.com/post/using-modes-to-compose-mixolydian
Hope you got something out of the episode, and thank you for your continued support!
Hello everyone!
Thanks for listening to today's episode. It is fourth in a mini-series about modes, where I break them down and then compose with them!
This one is all about Lydian.
To get more help with it, here's a written article that contains visuals, music examples, video explanations, and a pdf of all the Lydian scales:
https://www.nadiamair.com/post/composing-with-modes-lydian
Hope you got something out of the episode, and thank you for your continued support!
Hello everyone!
Thanks for listening to today's episode. It is the third of a mini-series, in which I talk about each mode, how to build their scales, and how to use them when composing!
To get more help with the concept, here's a written article that contains visuals, music examples, video explanations, and a pdf of all the Dorian scales:
https://www.nadiamair.com/post/composing-with-modes-phrygian
You are welcome to email your composition to me, using my email address:
nadiammair@gmail.com
OR using my website:
https://www.nadiamair.com/contact
Hope you got something out of the episode, and thank you for your continued support!
Hello everyone!
Thanks for listening to todays episode. It is the second of a mini-series, in which I talk about each mode, how to build their scales, and how to use them when composing!
To get more help with the concept, here's a written article that contains visuals, music examples, video explanations, and a pdf of all the Dorian scales:
https://www.nadiamair.com/post/composing-with-modes-dorian
You are welcome to email your composition to me, using my email address:
nadiammair@gmail.com
OR using my website:
https://www.nadiamair.com/contact
Hope you got something out of the episode, and thank you for your continued support!
Hello everyone!
Thanks for listening to todays episode. It is the first of a mini-series, in which we talk about each mode, how to build their scales, and how to use them when composing!
To get more help with the concept, here's a written article that contains visuals, music examples, video explanations, and a pdf of all the Ionian scales: https://www.nadiamair.com/post/composing-with-modes-ionian
You are welcome to email your composition to me, using my email address:
nadiammair@gmail.com
OR using my website:
https://www.nadiamair.com/contact
Hope you got something out of the episode, and thank you for your continued support!
When starting any composition project when working with a client, there are key things to know going in, as well as what expectations the client has for you. What are some questions you should ask? What are some ways you can prepare? Find out the process from our first meeting to our last, and how everything happens when composing for a film.
Email: nadiammair@gmail.com
Website: www.nadiamair.com/podcast
Please leave a rating and follow if you liked this podcast!
Thanks for listening :)
All creatives have it- an endless supply of ideas and projects in their heads, starting everything but finishing nothing. But when working, more does not always mean more success. How do you decide what's most important to work on, and what helps you see a project through? Join me in talking about how to figure out for yourself what you should say "no" and "yes" to, and how to work on what's essential!
The book in reference is "Essentialism" by Greg McKeown.
It's a great one, and I'd definitely suggest reading it to help you navigate your creative ideas!
For any feedback, questions, or just to say hi, email me at nadiammair@gmail.com :)
Hello again! This episode extends the concepts discussed in Ep. 11, talking about the phrases we've composed and what to do next with them. Here is the link to my submission for the DC's Stargirl and Spitfire Audio competition:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQZEAN4vYB8&t=5s
Enjoy!
Build on to the concepts talked about in last week's episode, "Composing with Music Theory". We talk more about phrases, variations, motives, and where to go next with what you've already composed!
In this episode, learn how to start composing with a phrase.
The book "Fundamentals of Musical Composition" by Arnold Schoenberg is referenced, and the following pieces are used as reference:
Symphony No. 5, 3rd Movement by Beethoven
Skylark by Glinka
Marriage of Figaro (Ouverture) K. 492 by Mozart
Drum loop samples were used from Dale, YouTube channel dalesnale https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm0hN3Z5Jxc
Networking is one of the most important skills to have to be a successful composer - it's what determines the work you get! Listen for ideas of where to work in the industry, how to meet people, and how to keep professional relationships going.
Virginia Leo is a composer for adaptive & interactive media- namely video games, VR, and film. She recently graduated from dBs Sound & Music Institute in Bristol with a Bachelor's Honours Degree in Sound for Games and Apps. She was recently recognized for her achievements in composing at the yearly Global Game Jam, scoring the nature documentary Peregrine Coast by Andrew Salter, and composing for the Nordic Game Jam Livestream on Twitch. To find out more about her or to contact her for inquiries, her website is https://www.virginia-leo.com/ and her SoundCloud is https://soundcloud.com/virginialeo.
Need some new inspiration or just wondering where to start? Here's an episode where I start composing a piece of music in real time on the piano. I talk you through what I'm thinking, where I get my ideas from, and where I imagine this piece going in the future.
Go through the process of transcribing a piece of music by ear! We will be working on Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings Op. 11. Learn the steps to go through to transcribe a piece and what you can take away from practicing this exercise on multiple pieces of music. Making it a part of your daily routine will help expand your musical ear and teach you a lot about music theory, instrumentation, and technique in writing.
Technology has greatly changed composing. Because of the software now, more people than ever are able to compose and listen to what they write in real time. In this episode, learn about what resources are available to you from DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) to Notation Programs and Virtual Instrument Libraries. For reference, hear are some of the brands and programs mentioned:
ProTools, Cubase, Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Digital Performer, Cakewalk, Spitfire Audio, Native Instruments, Kontakt, Finale, Sibelius, & MuseScore.
A short message for you to not give up and stay diligent in pursuit of your goals no matter where you might be in your journey. Composing can be a difficult career to pursue, but what you have to contribute to the world matters. If you want more inspiration, read the book "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield, who explains what an artist goes through mentally when they create and why their work is important to the world.
What the composing process looks like during the day and tips for you when you need some inspiration.