Composer Quest: A Songwriting and Music Composition Podcast: Recent Episodes
Charlie McCarron
Join the quest! Learn how composers and songwriters create music in this podcast hosted by Minneapolis composer Charlie McCarron. Whether you’re a music composition grad or simply an occasional noodler on a guitar, each guest has a new perspective for you on the creative process of composing and songwriting, along with some concrete ideas to apply to your own music.
It’s finally here. Four years and 166 episodes later, we’ve arrived at the finale of the Composer Quest podcast. Before I get too sappy about it, I want to let you know what you’ll be in for in this monster episode. It rounds out the end of my world tour, after my journey home to Minnesota. This episode is definitely one for the fans; most of my interviewees in this episode have been prior Composer Quest guests, and I ask them what they’ve been up to. I don’t want to give away too much about how the episode unfolds, but I am really excited for you to listen, when you have 4 hours and 42 minutes to spare.
Ever since I heard music psychologist Dr. Diana Deutsch on Radiolab, I’ve been fascinated by musical illusions. In this penultimate episode of Composer Quest, I got to visit Diana in person! Join me on a trip that starts at a Halloween organ concert in San Diego and ends in Phoenix with an unprecedented songwriting/podcasting experiment.
This episode marks my return to the US after my trip to Australia and Asia. Despite the jet lag, I was able to get 5 interviews in for this Composer Quest episode. Also, Jeff Goldblum?! And you’ll just have to listen for yourself to find out why this episode is called “Squirrels in California.”
The second act of my Taiwan adventure features more interviews with music makers in Taipei, plus an interview with me about interviewing. We also discuss the jingles heard everywhere in Taipei, from the train stations to the 7-Elevens to the garbage trucks.
Join me on a musical tour through Taiwan in today's episode of Composer Quest. I stumbled into a music festival celebrating Hakka culture, and I got to record a bunch of interesting ensembles, including the Taiwanese jazz group Sizhukong. Plenty of other surprises come up in this episode, including an impromptu flight to another country...
Australia has been my dream vacation spot since I was about six years old. In today’s episode of the Composer Quest World Tour, you’ll get an audio peek into my adventures staying with musical families in Melbourne and Poatina Village, Tasmania.
If you've ever thought about moving to Los Angeles to pursue a creative career, today's episode will give you a glimpse into that world. I talk with six creators about what it takes to turn art into your job, while staying motivated and creatively fulfilled.
Take a peek behind the scenes of the Composer Quest Olympics in today's episode. I also talk with video game composers in Chicago about career advice, rhythmic composing tips, and silly six-second Vine melodies.
From pig racing to public-access TV, this three-hour episode chronicles my adventure around New England. I talk with four different songwriters about their process, and I co-create two songs from scratch along the way.
This episode, I'm in Philadelphia and New York to chat about music theory, film scoring, and slot machine composing.
This second episode of the Composer Quest World Tour is all about school. Should you go to undergrad or grad school for an artistic field? What do you learn in school that you couldn't on your own?
For the final season of the Composer Quest podcast, 110 Kickstarter backers decided it would be fun to send me on a two month trip around the world, interviewing composers and songwriters. I'm thrilled to announce that the first episode of my Composer Quest world tour is here!
Since I'll be on my Composer Quest World Tour this fall, I decided we had to do something worldly and big for the final composing quest. In the spirit of the 2016 Rio Olympics, I'll be hosting the official Composer Quest Olympic Games!
How does a composer write music that doesn't draw attention to itself? How can a director convey scoring ideas if they're not a musician? Why is temp music important for an editor? When should sound design reflect the real world, and when should it be from a character's psychological perspective? Will the dialogue editor choose the lavalier or boom mic recording, or both?
These are just a few of the conversation-sparking questions we discuss in today's Composer Quest podcast episode (the season six finale!), featuring the team behind the upcoming film Twin Cities. You'll get to hear perspectives on film sound from a director/writer (David Ash), producer/editor (Jason P. Schumacher), sound designer (Mike Hallenbeck), and composer (me). We dissect the entire post-production sound process, from a spotting session with all four of us, to our experimental on-the-spot scoring session, which was very productive and slightly nerve-racking for me as the composer.
St. Thomas professor Dr. Vanessa Cornett-Murtada specializes in teaching piano, creativity, and performance anxiety reduction techniques. In this episode of Composer Quest, Vanessa shares some tips on getting past mental blocks as a composer, and she explains how hypnotherapy can be helpful in reducing stress, increasing productivity, and sparking creativity. She also explains why Brahms is her favorite composer.
Erik Ostrom was working at a Silicon Valley startup when he realized songwriting was his true passion. He has since moved back to Minnesota and found another passion: the improv comedy world. In this episode of Composer Quest, Erik and I talk about his recent performance with The Local Music Scene, a song-based improv comedy troupe. Erik also shares some great stories behind his songs and insights into writing interesting lyrical rhythms.
For this special 150th episode of Composer Quest, I got to talk with Gregory Scott, co-host of my favorite music production podcast, the UBK Happy Funtime Hour. Gregory answers my tough music production questions like: “what effect would you use if you could only choose ONE?” He also shares his process in creating the upcoming Sneaky Little Devil record with his wife Sarah.
Also in this episode, you’ll get to hear the results of our MIDI Remix Quest, where composers swapped MIDI data and blindly added their own sounds. You can hear and download all the resulting tracks at composerquest.bandcamp.com.
Jess Scherer and Peter Lund faced a songwriting quandry: what do you write about when you've been happily married for several years? They decided to stretch their imaginations by writing a magical concept album about wizards, and it turned out to be great songwriting fuel. In this episode of Composer Quest, our conversation covers songwriting tips, circuit-bending a teletubby, and a nomination for the greatest Texas jingle of all time.
Composer Bryan Schumann has embraced self-imposed deadlines; he’s been consistently making at least one “thing” every week in 2016 and blogging about it. In this episode of Composer Quest, we talk about what he’s learned from this experiment. Bryan also talks about his eco-friendly music projects, like a bike-powered electric band and his future solar-powered recording studio.
Since the recent episodes of Composer Quest have been about electronic and video game music, I thought we could do a composing quest related to it. So here's your challenge, should you choose to accept it: create a loop-able piece of music that's under 2 minutes, using MIDI. Send me your audio file and MIDI layers (charlie@composerquest.com) by May 25th.
Next, I'll send your MIDI layers to another random participant in this quest, and they will add their own sounds to your MIDI data, with no knowledge of the sounds you used. You will also receive someone else's MIDI file to do the same. When everyone's done with their remixes (June 3rd deadline), I'll reveal the original and remixed versions of each track. I think it will be a fun experiment!
Anton Torres has been an electronic music hobbyist for over 20 years, using the very earliest incarnations of Apple's Logic and Ableton Live. In today's episode of Composer Quest, Anton shares some wisdom on living a creative life, even if you only have 15 minutes to spare each day. We also hear why Anton decided to leave his suit and tie job in New York to pursue his creative dreams, and how he ended up working at the board game company Asmodee North America.
A few weeks ago, I got to participate in a very fun live composing event at GlitchCon, called Game Music Melee. Three of us composers got up onstage to write video game music on the spot, based on game suggestions from the audience, in JUST 30 MINUTES. Not a lot of time. Emily Reese of the Level with Emily podcast hosted, and after two rounds of composing, she interviewed us about our process. It turned out so cool, I wanted to post it as this week's Composer Quest episode.
Musician, neuroscientist, and author Daniel Levitin has brought music psychology to the masses with This is Your Brain on Music and The World in Six Songs. For today's episode of Composer Quest, I got to interview Dan about why humans evolved to be musical. Dan also shares songwriting tips he's learned in talking with Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Sting, Stephen Stills, and Victor Wooten. In the second half of the episode, you'll hear Dan perform a couple of his own songs, including an exclusive debut of his new song "The Hole Inside My Head."
Crystal Grooms Mangano recently scored the documentary Asperger’s Are Us, which follows a comedy troupe of four autistic guys. In this episode of Composer Quest, Crystal shares her process in deciding how to score this comedic documentary. I also ask Crystal about scoring the trailer for the Patrick Steward film Match, and we talk about the merits of flute in film scores.
When I called up Sage Lewis on Skype, I didn’t realize he was a fellow Minnesotan. He’s now out in LA, composing for films like Operator, starring Mae Whitman and Martin Starr, and a VR film called The Surrogate. In this episode of Composer Quest, we talk about what it takes to move to and find connections in LA. I also ask Sage about his score for the short film Caterwaul, about an old man and his mutant lobster wife.
Are you a "gardener" composer or an "architect" composer? My new (almost) neighbors Michael Maiorana and Mandy Fassett came over to talk about their different composing styles for today's episode of Composer Quest. They decided that Mandy is usually the "gardener" and Mikey is usually the "architect."
I’m happy to announce that we’re bringing back MNKINO Film Score Fest this year! If you haven’t heard of it, it’s an awesome challenge where filmmakers and composers are paired up to create short films, and the Composer Quest Orchestra plays the scores live at the screening. Sign up below if you want to participate this year as a composer or filmmaker!
For the Season 6 Premiere of Composer Quest, I asked aspiring podcast producer Jenny Handke to guest produce the episode. Jenny was interested in gaining some podcasting knowledge, so I thought we could record our conversation and post it as kind of a Composer Quest behind-the-scenes. We talk about everything from interviewing techniques to the ethical question of editing conversations to make people sound smart. I also ask Jenny about her own upcoming podcast, which will either be infinitely fascinating or intensely cringeworthy.
Ethnomusicologist Colleen Bertsch is in Romania right now through a Fulbright grant to study Transylvanian violinists. I got to Skype with Colleen for this episode of Composer Quest, and we talk about her faithful recreation of Romanian folk music with her band Szászka, and the crazy time signatures (22/16!) she's played with her Balkan band Orkestar Bez Ime.
Tommy Kraft has been “living under a bridge” in order to finish his passion project, the feature-length Star Trek film Horizon. He’s doing almost everything himself: directing, writing, editing, composing, visual effects, and even making the costumes. The film is Tommy’s ode to the Enterprise TV series, which played an important role in his life by helping him sort through his struggle with depression. In this episode of Composer Quest, I talk with Tommy about his approach to scoring Horizon, and he shares words of wisdom on running a Kickstarter and producing a large creative project.
Garrett Hope has drawn composing inspiration from spider mating calls, Joan of Arc's trial transcript, oil spills, and rape survivor stories. In this episode of Composer Quest, I ask Garrett about these composing projects, and I ask what he's learned from his podcast Composer on Fire. He shares some words of wisdom from his interviewees, and things he's learned through his own composing journey.
Bubba Hollenhorst is a songwriter friend who I often only chat with during loud concerts or on the dance floor. In this episode of Composer Quest, I get to know Bubba a little better. He shares stories from his albums Enter the Enchanted Whiskey Forest and Space Love, along with tips on writing a post-apocalyptic space-themed musical. I also ask him about the dozen or so hilarious jingles he's written for segments on his podcast The Weekly Awesome.
Video game composer Lena Chappelle worked her way into the game business by starting as a quality assurance tester. Now she’s both designing and writing music for games like Guild Wars 2. In this Composer Quest interview, Lena shares some of her music and creativity tips, including her method of composing songs during her bus rides. She shares how to write a good melody, and how her experience as an author has influenced her musical storytelling. I also ask Lena about her perspective as a transgender woman in the video game industry.
Cyriak Harris has wowed the internet with his weird YouTube animations, which often feature dancing, mutating animals, like his 34-million-views video "cows and cows and cows." But he's very rarely asked about his soundtracks, which are equally intricate and wild. In this episode of Composer Quest, I interview Cyriak about his composing methods and creativity tips.
I’m excited to announce our next composing quest, courtesy of Tim Cheesebrow and his forearm. Tim has been looking for a way to commemorate his family tree through music, and he’s decided to leave it to Composer Quest listeners to write a “Cheesebrow family” melody. Tim will then choose his favorite composition, and TATTOO IT ON HIS ARM.
Jonathan Rundman’s songs have appeared on the Ellen Degeneres show, the CBS Morning News, and NPR. He realized the success of these songs have been due in part to their narrow topics, like insomnia and wearing glasses. But Jonathan has recently shifted to writing songs with more “heart” than his journalistic lyrical past, after somewhat of a mid-life crisis and a purifying experience playing ancient Finnish music. In this episode of Composer Quest, Jonathan shares words of wisdom from his 25 years as a touring musician. We also talk about his podcast Creativity Drill, which he co-hosts with his wife Dawn.
Sam Matla admits that his hometown of Wellington, New Zealand doesn’t have a big electronic dance music scene. But he’s been hard at work producing EDM tracks and educating people about electronic music through his blog and podcast at EDMProd.com. For today’s episode of Composer Quest, I interviewed Sam about his production techniques and advice for new producers.
Reel spins, rollups, symbols, celebrations, underscores - they're all different sound ingredients that go into a slot machine. In this episode of Composer Quest, I interview three guys in the sound department at High 5 Games about their unique challenge of making music for casino slots. We talk about the composition techniques they use to hook players into these elaborate slot machine story worlds. I also ask them how they feel about using their musical skills to get people to throw down money and press that button again "like a monkey looking for that frickin' shot of espresso," as Aldo describes it. It's a fun and quirky interview, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
If you’ve been to an indie film fest, you’ve probably seen Kevin MacLeod in the credits. Or maybe you’ve heard his music in a cute cat video, or a Minecraft video, or in a department store, cab ride, or on hold. By writing an enormous amount of music and giving it away for free, Kevin has built his reputation as the single biggest royalty-free music composer.
Tomb Raider, Until Dawn, and the Dead Space series are some of the big-name video games Jason Graves has been scoring recently. In this episode of Composer Quest, Jason shares a ton of great composing, production, and music business advice, along with lessons he learned from his in-depth study of John Williams scores. We also get to hear his apples-to-apples comparison of the Skywalker Sound studio and the Abbey Road studio.
What is life like as a blind composer? It’s a question I’ve wondered about, but haven’t been able to ask until this interview with Stephen Letnes. In this Season 5 premiere episode of Composer Quest, Stephen shares his adventure into the unlikely field of film composing. We talk about Stephen’s love/hate relationship with epic music, his advice for working with directors, and the piano performance that changed his life forever.
Emily Reese (Joon Media), Tim Turi (Game Informer), and Thomas Spargo (Gamer’s Rhapsody) join me for this quest announcement episode. This fall, we’ll be teaming up composers, game developers, artists, etc. to create new video games from the prompt, “I Barely Survived That Game Jam.” Visit http://composerquest.com/quest16 for details. Visit http://composerquest.com/quest16 for details.
For the Composer Quest Season 4 finale, I asked Jon Brantingham back to chat. He shares some great insights on musical form, film scoring, and the Gustav Mahler orchestration style.
Siama Matuzungidi played guitar on and wrote some of the biggest pop hits of the 70s in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Kenya. In today’s episode of Composer Quest, I talk with him about the soukous style of creating interesting rhythm guitar parts and lead parts to complement them. We also talk about Tim, his talented cockatiel who can improvise in the right key over Siama’s guitar playing. As a bonus, Siama writes a song on the spot in honor of the thief who stole his shoes in Uganda.
I’m excited to announce this Composer Quest double episode with TV composers Fil Eisler (Revenge, Empire, UnReal) and Mac Quayle (American Horror Story, Drive, Mr. Robot). First, we hear from Fil about what he learned while composing for an orchestra during four seasons of Revenge. He shares his tips on getting hired for composing gigs and his tips on scoring the entire arc of a show without getting musically stale.
Next, I interview Mac Quayle about how his dance music background (41 #1 Billboard Dance Hits!) influences his film and TV scoring. He gives some music mixing pointers and explains how to build momentum in a song or soundtrack.
In today’s episode of Composer Quest, I interview Noah Keesecker about everything from the perils of grad school to making musical ping pong tables. Along the way, I discover that Noah is on the “spectrum of synesthesia” as he calls it. For example, he often experiences smells when he hears things (bassoons smell like mossy logs), and he strongly associates visuals and sounds, which has led to some really cool multimedia works like Tonegoblin. Noah shares some great tips on being both a creative and professional artist.
Composer and Baroque music specialist Michael Dodds is the subject of an upcoming documentary called Blessed Unrest (currently being Kickstarted) about the personal challenge of creating a 40-minute choral symphony. Michael joined me on Composer Quest to talk about the techniques he used in writing his symphony, like borrowing from the beautiful Romantic harmonies of Richard Strauss. Michael also explains how Baroque composers are like jazz musicians, and how music theory is linked to the history of map-making.
Lisa Walkosz-Migliacio is a video game designer who also specializes in composing sparkly “tingy tingy” music that perfectly complements her games like the cute, bunny-filled Usagi-chan. With about 350,000 downloads of that game, she’s clearly found a niche: young girls who don’t have many games designed with them in mind. In today’s episode of Composer Quest, I talk with Lisa about her creative process as both a composer and game designer. We also get to hear about her first ever game, a floppy-disk Joan of Arc adventure.
Over the past few years, Bob MacCallum has been focused on one question: can music evolve through natural selection? In this episode of Composer Quest, we discuss Bob’s amazing evolutionary music project, DarwinTunes. In the DarwinTunes experiment/game, participants rate and “mate” short sound loops to breed new musical offspring. Although it started with randomly generated sine waves and noise, the evolved sounds are now surprisingly musical. Also in this episode, we talk about Bob’s scientific analysis of over 70,000 Billboard hit songs from the past half-decade, which has revealed three major revolution years in music history: 1964, 1983, and 1991.
Ian Dicke has secrets, but not the scandalous kind. In this episode of Composer Quest, we talk about his tricks of the trade when it comes to structuring his compositions and developing musical ideas. Ian also shares his approach to teaching post-1940s art music, which usually only gets about a week of attention in undergraduate music programs.
Jason P. Schumacher has made a name for himself as a filmmaker in the Twin Cities, but he’s also had songwriting in the background of his life since high school. In this episode of Composer Quest, we talk about Jason’s first official EP, Dumpster Baby, which is kind of a retrospective of his melodies and guitar riffs from his earliest songwriting days. Jason also shares some great advice on freelancing, and we talk about some of our favorite film scores.
Andy Thompson is the guy who’s made Jeremy Messersmith’s albums sound incredibly good. He has also collaborated with Dan Wilson of Semisonic, Belle and Sebastian, and he even added some instrumental parts to Taylor Swift’s record Red, which earned him a Grammy nomination. In this episode of Composer Quest, Andy shares his ideas on arranging strings, mixing pop music, and making generative music.
100 years after the death of Alexander Scriabin, his music lives on in a form he would never have expected. A week ago, I announced the Patchwork Scriabin quest along with UniqueSound, and 49 people contributed to our Scriabin sound quilt by recording a measure of his Prelude in A minor, Op. 11 No. 2. I’m excited to present our final mashup, with 68 uniquely-produced measures. You’ll hear trombones, bells, accordions, chiptune synths, wine glasses, dog growls, dance beats, and much more.
Hrishikesh Hirway removes as much of himself as possible from his interviews with musicians in Song Exploder. In today’s episode of Composer Quest, we get to hear from this mysterious podcaster about his own songwriting process. He also shares what he’s learned from all the talented songwriter guests on Song Exploder.
Film Score Fest is back in 2015! MNKINO and Composer Quest will be pairing up filmmakers and composers to create new short films, and the Composer Quest orchestra will perform the scores live at the screening on August 13th (7pm, Landmark Center in St. Paul, MN).
In honor of the 100th anniversary of Alexander Scriabin’s death, Composer Quest and UniqueSound are teaming up to bring you a collaborative music production quest. We’ll be creating an “audio quilt” based on Scriabin’s Prelude in A minor, Op. 11 No. 2. Your goal is to record one measure from the score using whatever instruments or synthesizers you want (sign-up form below). I’ll unveil our stitched-together masterpiece on the Composer Quest podcast on April 27th.
Roger Dumas was a synthesizer whiz kid back in the 70s. He wrote manuals for early Moog synthesizers, and he helped out Prince, Janet Jackson, and even John Lennon. He’s also the guy behind the catchy synths in the disco hit “Funkytown.” Now Roger has a new passion: studying the brain’s response to music. He’s done some pretty amazing work, including re-creating a melody out of the pure data from brain sensors. In this season premiere episode of Composer Quest, I talk with Roger about his research, his album based entirely on brain data, and his glory days in the music business.
Welcome to this special Christmas episode of Composer Quest! Since I’ll be taking a break from interviews (until I find a few more patrons…wink wink), I thought I’d share a few of my favorite music composition and music production podcasts. If you’ve been listening to Composer Quest, you’ve heard from many of these podcast hosts before.
It was an honor interviewing legendary composer Grant Kirkhope about his time at Rare, where he worked on some of the most popular video game soundtracks of all time. In this episode of Composer Quest, Grant talks about composing within the very small limits of the Nintendo 64 cartridge, and he shares some stories behind the soundtracks to Banjo Kazooie, Banjo Tooie, GoldenEye 007, and Perfect Dark. We also talk about Grant’s more recent orchestral work for Kingdoms of Amalur and Civilization: Beyond Earth, and he shares his favorite chord progressions that keep coming back in his music.
In today’s episode of Composer Quest, I talk with fellow Minnesotan Ben Burnes, who has been writing chiptune music for games (12 games in 12 weeks, as a matter of fact). He just released them in his album Three Red Hearts, and in our talk he shares some tips on creating video game music. We also talk about creativity and the business of indie game composing.
For the next Composer Quest quest, we’re partnering up with Opera on Tap Twin Cities again to premiere new arias and art songs. You can write for up to 4 voices accompanied by electronic piano. Optional additional instruments are Bb clarinet, bassoon, and euphonium. Send your new composition to charlie@composerquest.com and twincities@operaontap.com on or before December 28 at 11:59pm central time.
By day, he works for living legends Danny Elfman and Inon Zur. By night, he composes film scores himself and “re-scores” classic films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Inception, and Saving Private Ryan. In this episode of Composer Quest, Alex Ruger talks about his personal challenge to add score to scenes that, admittedly, should not have music. We also discuss his vegetable-based sample library, Lord of the Rings music theory, and how he got the gig with his longtime hero, Danny Elfman.
What do Chopin and Jimi Hendrix have in common? What do “Graceland” and “Yesterday” have in common? How do mp3s work? What is the purpose of music? These are just a few of the random topics Paul Cantrell and I talk about in today’s episode of Composer Quest. He has a ton of golden nuggets for composers, and you’ll get to hear him live at the piano, explaining the composing styles of Chopin, Brahms, and Paul Cantrell himself.
Make sure to check out Paul’s piece The Broken Mirror of Memory at innig.net, and the new version on bass clarinetist Pat O’Keefe’s Contents May Differ. If you’re in Minnesota, make sure to check out Paul’s New Ruckus events – I always enjoy going to his Composer Nights.
It isn’t every day you hear about a CD release party at a nursing home. Music therapist Angela Johnson worked with some older folks to create a CD of songs that include everything from sage advice to dog barks. In this episode of Composer Quest, Angela gives us the lowdown on being a music therapist, and she shares what it’s like dealing with death on a regular basis. She also plays some of her beautiful songs live.
Mike Olson schooled me in the ways of old-fashioned analog electronic composing, where you only have dials and cords to create music with. In this episode of Composer Quest, Mike shares how his creative process works when he’s at his Moog modular synthesizer. We also talk about how to sound-treat your home studio, and what makes music go from merely “perfect” to “hair-raisingly transcendent.”
For the 12th Composer Quest quest, I challenge you to write a piece of music for flute choir, with parts that can be performed by beginner, intermediate, and advanced students. We’ll be collaborating with the Minnesota Suzuki Flute Teachers Association, who have some fun concerts lined up to premiere these Composer Quest submissions. For the inside scoop on this challenge, take a listen to my talk with two of our collaborating teachers (and exceptional flutists), Bethany Gonella and Andrea Myers.
For this special 100th episode of Composer Quest, I thought I’d invite back my songwriter guest from the very first episode: Mitchell Adam Johnson. If you heard that episode, you know Mitchell has a knack for bringing music theory into his pop songwriting. We talk about chord progressions, “bizarro” tritones, Motown bass lines, and deep questions like “What’s the purpose of music?” Mitchell is releasing his first ever solo EP, Half Moon Lane, in just a few weeks, and this is a sneak preview of his beautiful new songs. Also, stick around until the end of the episode, and you’ll get to hear a new song collaboration between Mitchell and me.
I’ve been putting out more Composer Quest episodes over the past year and a half than most people can keep up with. So I was taken aback when I heard that Dan Wheeler had listened to all 90+ episodes TWICE (and some three times)! In this 99th Composer Quest episode, Dan shares his top ten moments from the podcast and talks about how they influenced his composing style.
After his time as a helicopter pilot in the army, Jon Brantingham returned to his love of music theory and composing. He’s been inspiring people with his practical approach to learning composition, which he’s been sharing in his blog and podcast, Art of Composing. In this episode of Composer Quest, Jon and I talk about what makes a good melody, how to modulate using “pivot chords,” and how to channel Beethoven without outright copying him. We also chat about what he’s been learning in his UCLA film scoring program. It’s a longer and more theory-heavy talk than usual, but it got my composer gears going, so I hope you enjoy it too!
I’m excited to announce our 11th Composer Quest Quest, brought to you by our woodwind friends, the Twin Cities Trio! You may remember them from such quests as Quest #1, in which my podcast listeners and I arranged some fun music for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon. Now, the trio is back to inspire you to write and/or arrange music for them on the theme of Halloween. You can either find an existing spooky song (Thriller, the Addams Family theme, etc.) or write one yourself. Send your oboe, clarinet, and bassoon music (PDFs and mp3 or MIDI) to twin.cities.trio@gmail.com on or before Friday, October 17th. You can submit more than one piece if you want. Take a listen to this announcement episode with Mary Beth Huttlin to learn more.
When Jeff Russo’s band Tonic hit it big in the 90s, he was just beginning to get interested in film and television scoring. Now his IMDb page is chock full of major TV credits, including composing for CBS’s Hostages, 50 Cent’s Power, USA’s Necessary Roughness, Showtime’s Weeds, etc. His most creatively fulfilling work, though, has been on the FX show Fargo, for which he just got an Emmy nomination. I’m excited to bring you my interview with Jeff, which marks the start of Composer Quest: Season 3. We get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how Jeff writes for Fargo, and he explains why a classical music theory background isn’t necessary to compose for orchestra. He also talks about the creative challenge of scoring the upcoming CSI: Cyber.
In the last summer Composer Quest episode, we got to hear from two entertainment lawyers about how to get your music into films and TV, without getting screwed by a bad contract. In this episode, we hear the story of someone who DID get screwed by the music industry, jazz musician Jimmy Norman. He had to keep gigging at age 74 just to scrape by, even though he had worked with the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley, and co-wrote the Rolling Stones hit “Time Is on My Side.” Jason DeBose, producer of the documentary The Music Never Dies, came in to tell me Jimmy’s story.
Also in this episode, we get to hear a philosophical panel discussion from the Minnesota Music Coalition about giving your music away for free. When does it make sense to offer free downloads? And should you let someone else use your music in a film for free?
For the 10th Composer Quest quest, I challenge you to write a string quartet inspired by autumn. You have until September 1st to send me your composition (charlie@composerquest.com), and the best string quartets will be performed at the Underground Music Cafe on September 21st at 6pm. In this quest announcement episode, I pull out my dusty violin and give a few tips on writing for strings.
If you’re a songwriter or composer, you may have been approached by a filmmaker who wants to use your music in his or her film. After the initial burst of excitement, a few practical questions should be going through your head:
What should I charge? Who will own the music? Will I be able to collect royalties? Should I ask for a chunk of the film’s profits? Should I write the contract myself or hire a lawyer?
These are just a few of the topics covered in this special summer episode of Composer Quest, featuring a talk by entertainment lawyers Ken Abdo and Dan Satorius. Thanks to the Minnesota Music Coalition and McNally Smith for hosting this talk at the 2014 MN Music Summit. I highly recommend listening if you’re a songwriter or composer, so you can make the most out of getting your music placed in a film and avoid getting stuck with a crappy contract.
In this special summer episode of Composer Quest, composer Adam Conrad shares a ton of great insights about how music works in film. He also explains why he transitioned from using MIDI mockups to writing everything by hand, for real musicians.
For the Season 2 finale episode of Composer Quest, I interviewed Chris Koza, who had the crazy idea to create four concept albums in one year, following the change in seasons. These Rogue Valley albums turned out to be a huge artistic success. One song even ended up in Ben Stiller’s personal collection, and subsequently The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Chris shares some songwriting tips and tricks, and we dig into the concepts behind his concept albums, like how he wrote a song for each of the 12 full moons.
Alex Cooke majored in Math, Psychology, and Theater, but he eventually came back to his first true passion – music. He’s an interesting guy, and in this Composer Quest interview, we talk about everything from composing in odd time signatures to the most common Red Hot Chili Peppers chord progression. He also shares a bunch of practical advice on making your pieces both playable and artistically cohesive.
I guarantee you’ve heard music by Silas Hite before. If you didn’t play Sims 2 or see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, then you at least heard Silas’s score for the ubiquitous Mac vs. PC ads. Silas is proof that freelance composing is a viable career. In this episode of Composer Quest, we talk about his percussion-driven scores for the documentaries The Record Breaker (a Vimeo Top 10 film of 2013), The Invention of Dr. Nakamats, and Stories from the Evacuation. Silas also shares his creative process behind his rock records, and gives some tips on freelance composing.
Evelyn Glennie lost her hearing by the age of 12, but that didn’t stop her from becoming a percussion virtuoso, a three-time Grammy winner, and a Dame Commander of the British Empire. In this Composer Quest interview, she shares some really interesting ideas about dynamics and writing for percussion. We also talk about her collaborations with Björk, composer John Corigliano, and guitarist and improviser Fred Frith.
My talented friend Tyler Tholl evaded coming on the Composer Quest podcast for over a year, but finally my pestering paid off. I was really excited to visit Tyler in his studio and see the man behind the curtain at work. His new Maple and Beech EP Flashes and Floaters (made with drummer Pete James Johnson from episode 15) sounds amazing, and in this episode we get a thorough dissection of the composition and music production techniques Tyler used. We also talk about Tyler’s producing for the new Borderline EP by Paul Spring (from episode 11). Stick around until the end, and you’ll get to be a fly on the wall in Tyler’s studio, as he produces the intro theme to this Composer Quest episode on the spot.
Paul Fraser went into the CalArts composition program with the mindset that he would spend half his time making weird music, and half his time composing for animations. He’s since worked with some amazing animators, including the creators of Adventure Time. In this episode of Composer Quest, Paul shares his creative process in composing and sound designing animations. We also talk about some of his creative personal projects, like his “Weekly Splice,” where he gathers one sound every day and mixes seven of them together at the end of the week.
As a singer with a very pure tone, Adrienne Albert has been recruited to work with many talented composers over the years, including Leonard Bernstein, Philip Glass, and Igor Stravinsky. In this episode of Composer Quest, we talk about Adrienne’s own composing process. She shares some stories behind her music, including how she used woodwind players to represent a chorus of animals in her Alaska-inspired "Animalogy."
The MNKINO filmmaking group and the Composer Quest podcast are teaming up to bring you a fun challenge for the summer. Filmmakers will make short films, composers will write scores for them, and the Composer Quest Orchestra will perform these scores live along with the films. Sign up at composerquest.com/quest9
In order to be more productive, composer Justin Merritt once tried polyphasic sleeping, meaning he slept only a couple hours per day. After countless hours of busyness, he finally came to the revelation that he just needed to feel bored to become inspired. In this episode of Composer Quest, Justin and I talk about how Buddhist philosophies have influenced his life as a composer, and he shares some great composition advice he gives to his students at St. Olaf. Justin also explains how he invented a unique system of creating scales and modulating, which he used in his beautiful piece “Lachryme” for string orchestra.
I’m excited to bring you this Composer Quest podcast episode with talented video game composer Rich Vreeland (aka Disasterpeace). We talk about his snowflake-catching game January, and how he infused his code with music theory to make some beautiful generative music. Rich also explains his composing techniques for the indie games FEZ and The Floor is Jelly.
In honor of Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you), our eighth Composer Quest quest will involve the number four. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to write a piano piece for four hands (two pianists at one piano). You’re also encouraged to work the number four into your piece in other ways, like the harmony, rhythm, or form. The best pieces will be performed by Susan Hsu and Franco Holder here in Minnesota on May 4th (6pm, Underground Music Cafe).
When he was just 14, Joey Johnson started touring with America’s Polka King, Frankie Yankovic. Joey has carried on the tradition with his own polka band, and in this episode of Composer Quest, he shares everything he knows about accordions and polka. Joey’s original tunes have been featured in a number of commercials and TV, and we talk about the pros and cons of being published in a production music library.
We get a sneak preview of Nathan Eliot’s first solo album, Universe in Me. Nate talks about singing super high as a countertenor, and bringing his mandola into a special ed classroom. The album Universe in Me (coming out soon) was written by Nathan Eliot and produced by Andy Thompson. It also features drummer Alex Young, cellist Dan Lawonn, and bassist Andrew Foreman.
“Outsider” composer Rick Sowash has 14 beautiful chamber music albums to his name, all self-published and fan-supported. After graduating from a prestigious music school that he hated so much he refuses to name, he vowed to stay independent of any academic or commercial organization. In this episode of Composer Quest, Rick shares his entire strategy for making it as an independent composer, which he’s been perfecting for many years. We also get to hear how Rick converted orange juice, French toast, eggs, and bacon into music for a treble clef quartet.
Fellow composition podcaster Tom Snively has been producing new tracks weekly and picking them apart on his show Making My Own Music. However, his inner composer was dormant for many years as he worked as a computer programmer, then as a financial planner. In this episode of Composer Quest, I talk with Tom about his new venture to make a career out of composing and producing. He’s been experimenting with writing video game scores, jazz saxophone tunes, new age music, and a spoken word track based on Philly cheesesteaks.
Ellen Stanley (aka Mother Banjo) brought her banjo over to the Composer Quest studio to share some songs and stories. We talk about everything from her Walden-inspired song to her unusual connection to Paul McCartney. In addition to her banjo-playing career, Ellen is the executive director of the Minnesota Music Coalition, and for eight years she worked as a publicist for Red House Records. So she also shares some advice on networking, getting airplay, etc.
If some episodes of Composer Quest are like delicious deserts, then this one is like eating your vegetables. Just in time for tax season, we have a special episode on tax tips for musicians and other creative professionals. Attorney and CPA Brad Begley shared lots of tax advice at an event hosted by the Minnesota Music Coalition and Music Mafia Minnesota. It’s especially helpful for freelancers and people with a growing creative business.
After a failed dolphin keyboard experiment, Seth Horowitz decided to change roles from dolphin trainer to biopsychologist, neuroscientist, aural therapist, and author. In this Composer Quest episode, Seth shares his knowledge of how echolocation works, and how he used his knowledge of bats to sound design an alien race for a sci-fi show by the producers of The Walking Dead and Heroes. We also talk about his aural therapy recordings engineered to induce sleep, nausea, pain relief, etc.
If you heard the Questmas episode, you’ll remember Josh Wilson’s thrilling adventure to find a fortune cookie in Taiwan. I’ve gotten a kick out of his quirky YouTube series Mr. Wilson Presents, which is a great example of how classical composing can be fun and approachable. Of course, this “infotainment” is not without Josh’s flair for music theory terminology. In this Composer Quest episode, Josh teaches me a thing or two about how to structure a symphony like Haydn, how to write upside-down “table music” like Mozart, and how to make decent-sounding choral MIDI files.
Laura Marie believes one of the keys to great songwriting is overcoming self-consciousness and writing with brutal honesty about your own life. In this episode of Composer Quest, we talk about the benefits of forcing yourself to write consistently, and Laura shares songs and stories from her song-a-week project.
At Berklee College of Music, Pat Pattison created the world’s first songwriting major. He has taught a host of talented songwriters, including Grammy winners John Mayer and Gillian Welch. I was introduced to Pat through his free online Songwriting course (check coursera.org), and his method of “preserving the natural shape of the language” has really helped me analyze my own lyric writing. In this episode of Composer Quest, I ask Pat about his theory that our language can be interpreted like a piece of music, with a tonic note and harmonic structure. I also share music from The Happiness Project, in which Charles Spearin wrote music to match up with the speech patterns of his family and neighbors.
The 7th Composer Quest Quest is here! As Valentine’s Day quickly approaches, I challenge you to write a piece of music for your valentine. The twist is, it must be for your valentine to perform, not you. So if that special someone plays an instrument or sings, this is the perfect opportunity to give him or her a unique gift. Don’t feel limited to writing for a romantic valentine, either; you could also choose a friend or family member.
Craig Carnahan has been a part of the American Composers Forum since it was small enough to fit in someone’s living room. In this episode of Composer Quest, he shares some advice on writing grants, getting performances of your music, and arranging copyrighted material. Craig explains how ACF’s Innova recording label works, and why it’s such a great opportunity for composers. We also get to hear a few of Craig’s original pieces.
Chris Kukla shares some practical advice about freelancing as a video game composer: where to find gigs, how to get paid, and how to work with your clients.
The infamous trio Lazerwülf joined me for a Composer Quest interview about their new charity single to raise money for children in Africa. We also unearthed some deep cuts from the Lazerwülf catalogue.
Santa visits the Composer Quest studios to kick off this special Christmas episode. You’ll get to hear music from the past three quests. First, we travel out to rural Minnesota for KMS Elementary’s heartwarming performance of our collaborative Christmas musical Elfluenza. Ms. Hamann’s 1st-3rd graders also give us composers some advice. Next, I reveal which orchestral carol arrangements were chosen and performed by the Amadeus Chamber Symphony. Finally, we get to experience Mr. Wilson’s epic journey to find a fortune cookie in Taiwan for the fortune cookie songwriting quest.
Experimental songwriter Ben Simon (aka Felix Frost) caught my ear when I was judging the SpinTunes songwriting contest. His album Phineas Flux has a really shiny pop sound, but it almost never repeats the same phrase twice (in fancy composer language, that’s called “through-composed”). We talk about his elaborate plot-driven songs about cowboys and pirates in this episode of Composer Quest.
Music Psychologist Victoria Williamson is an expert on earworms – songs that stick in our heads. In this episode of Composer Quest, she reveals her findings on what makes a melody sticky. Vicky also answers my other pressing music psychology questions:
Why do babies have an innate sense of rhythm? Why did Clive Wearing, a severe amnesiac, retain his ability to perform music? When did humans start playing instruments?
Also in this episode, you’ll get to hear the sound of the world’s oldest instrument, and a never-before-released Charlie song. Enjoy!
Guitarist Dylan McFarling is obsessed with studying the work of other songwriters and composers, all the way back to Bach and his ingenious Musical Offering. In this episode of Composer Quest, Dylan shares his songwriting tips and explains how string quartets have inspired the way he orchestrates guitar and voice in his songs. Also in this episode, you’ll hear some beautiful, previously unrecorded songs that Dylan performed live in the Composer Quest studio.
Composer Richard Russell is a philosopher at heart. In his mission to become a better composer, he went back to school to study the big questions surrounding aesthetics, music, and beauty. He has also dug into both existential and practical composing topics in his podcast Creativity and Composition (one of my favorites). I’m pleased to bring you this Composer Quest podcast interview with Richard, in which we discuss everything from feminist musicology to Plato to getting performance royalties from ASCAP.
After nerding out about video game soundtracks for 20+ years, Michael Chadwick finally started composing his own, a few of which are for games that don’t actually exist. In this episode of Composer Quest, we chat about Michael’s score for his made-up RPG Ebben Flow, his chiptune album Average Town, and his soundtracks he composes for his everyday activities (eating a muffin, doing the dishes, etc.).
DJ, opera singer, and film composer Brooke deRosa is making a name for herself around LA. She recently sang operatic vocals on Ghostface Killah’s new album 12 Reasons to Die and performed on Jimmy Fallon with the group. In this episode of Composer Quest, Brooke gives us some practical advice she’s learned from scoring over 15 films and TV shows in the past five years. She also shares tips on composing for vocalists.
Have you ever drawn a fortune from a fortune cookie and thought, this would make an awesome song? No? Well neither had I, until just recently. So I decided to make that our challenge for the sixth Composer Quest quest. I’m hoping this one will inspire you to meet up with other songwriters and composers to get your creative gears really turning.
Your regular Composer Quest host has been replaced by a Demonic Overlord. Enjoy this talk with William Dodson and Wendell Jones, who compose Halloween music as the duo Sideshow Sound Theatre. Stay until the end to hear a brand new song by the Demonic Overlord himself, about one of his favorite pastimes.
Poet Brian Laidlaw has been teaching songwriting at McNally Smith College of Music, in which he challenges students with assignments like writing from the perspective of a murderer. In this episode of Composer Quest, Brian shares some of the best lyric-writing tips you’ll ever hear on the podcast. We also talk about his Internet Cat Video Festival performance, which aired on Animal Planet. As a special treat, Brian premieres a powerful new song called “One Tree Falling.”
DJ/producer duo Sjoerd Huissoon and Tim van Doorne are on a quest to get one huge dance hit with their project Ducked Ape. In this episode of Composer Quest, I interview Sjoerd and his manager Budi Voogt about what it takes to break into the dance scene in the Netherlands. We also talk about what Budi looks for in new artists to sign on his label, Heroic Recordings.
Cognitive neuroscientist Wilma Koutstaal studies and teaches about creativity at the University of Minnesota. In this episode of Composer Quest, she shares words of wisdom with all of us who want to be more creative. We talk about how to to get unstuck from writer’s block, how to move between abstract and detailed thinking, and how to avoid procrastination.
Every week, disquiet.com music journalist Marc Weidenbaum feeds his community of hungry sound artists a creative new challenge. In this project, called Disquiet Junto, Marc challenges composers to produce tracks based on an ice cube, or an Instagram photo, or the sound of space plasma hitting the Voyager I. Marc joins me for this episode of Composer Quest to share some of the coolest and most influential sound art pieces. Marc also explains why he believes music as we know it will be totally absent from films in a matter of decades.
I’m excited to announce a brand new Composer Quest competition! The Amadeus Chamber Symphony is in need of Christmas carol arrangements for their holiday performances with the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University choirs. The performances are attended by over 1,500 people, so it will be great exposure for the chosen composers. Eight arrangements will be performed, recorded, and featured on my podcast.
Student jazz players have likely come across the name Dean Sorenson – his jazz curriculum books have been published by Kjos music and played in schools across the globe. In my Composer Quest interview with Dean, I ask him about how he makes music fun and playable for younger jazz players. We also talk about the differences between improvising and composing.
In this special episode of Composer Quest, multi-platinum songwriter Kevin Bowe tells us everything he’s learned about getting your music published and placed on TV. He also explains how to get the biggest piece of the music royalty pie you can. He’s a really entertaining and knowledgeable guy, so I’m happy to bring you this hour+ of great music business advice.
Desmond Simmons, a.k.a. Precise Hero, produces music using only open-source software – he says his computer is too old to handle anything other than Linux. So how did Desmond’s DIY mixes end up on the Japanese label P-Vine Records? Creative fortitude and a collaborative spirit have been keys to Desmond’s success. In this (50th!) episode of Composer Quest, Desmond shares his thoughts on our remix culture, and why 70s Brazilian music is the best kind to sample from.
Guitarist, composer, and podcast producer Anthony Joseph Lanman has racked up over 350,000 followers on Soundcloud – a number most classical musicians can only dream of. You’d think this huge listenership (along with advanced composing degrees) would result in instant job opportunities in the composing world, but Anthony is still figuring out how to make a living writing music. Regardless, he has dedicated himself to writing classical music of this era. Through his compositions and his two podcasts, he aims to make classical music accessible to everyone, not just music theory professors. In this episode of Composer Quest, Anthony talks with me about his career path, his music, and his answer to the question, “What would Beethoven be writing today?”
The stereotype of African rhythms being complex and fascinating is completely true. I found out firsthand during my nine months in a very remote part of Tanzania, living at Hanga Abbey and teaching English, computers, and music to kids in the village. Since most of these kids don’t have access to instruments, they found a way to make totally compelling songs using only their voices. In this episode of Composer Quest, I feature some of my students’ music, plus an interview with one of Hanga’s coolest monks, Brother Onesmo Sanga. He shares his new music, which features a choir and electronic organ. Hopefully you can understand his end of our conversation, despite poor audio quality and his thick Swahili accent.
I set out to create the first episode of Composer Quest Season Two, and ended up with this heavenly look back at my musical history, embarrassing demos and all. So now, for something completely different…
I hereby challenge you to the 4th Composer Quest quest! We will be writing songs for a new Christmas musical, to be performed by the first, second, and third graders at KMS Elementary (in the rural town of Murdock, MN). I wrote music for their Christmas musical last year, and it was a blast hearing my songs performed by these kids, who were so excited about it. Maia Hamann, from episode 10, teaches music at KMS, and she’ll direct the musical. Her mom, Zita Hamann, taught at KMS Elementary for many years, and she has just written a fun story called Elfluenza.
Tinderbox Music’s Patrick Hertz specializes in promoting music to college radio stations. In this special episode of Composer Quest, I ask Patrick a bunch of listener-submitted questions about the music business. He shares advice on how to get noticed by music supervisors and get your music licensed for TV and film. He also explains how the artists he sees get ahead are (unsurprisingly) the most organized and business-minded. Although our conversation is geared more towards promoting recorded songs, I believe his commonsense advice is useful for classical composers, too.
MusicWorks MN Director Tim Cheesebrow (from Episode 19) is the mastermind behind the new Young Composer’s Contest here in Minnesota. Two talented White Bear Lake composers were chosen as the winners. It’s pretty impressive what these students were able to do with their string quartet pieces. In this special Composer Quest episode, Taylor Isberner and James Farrell share their insights for other young composers thinking about trying out this contest next year.
In this special episode of Composer Quest, I talk with entertainment lawyer Blake Iverson of Friedman Iverson Law Firm and entertainment law student Sarah Howes about how to copyright your music and make money from royalties. They provide a bunch of great tips and legal myth-busting for us composers and songwriters.
Join us for the third Composer Quest Quest! Write a classical aria for the Twin Cities Opera on Tap group to perform. For this special podcast episode, I talked with singer Eryn Tvete, who co-hosts the Twin Cities division of Opera on Tap, and opera composer Nick Mroczek. Nick shares some aria composing tips, and Eryn shares tips on getting your piece selected to be performed.
We recently had our first ever Composer Quest concert at Yoga Sol. The Twin Cities Trio performed some awesome listener-submitted arrangements of pop tunes and film/video game scores for bassoon, clarinet, and oboe. We also got to hear the indie pop duo Matt and Donna Schubbe, indie rocker Peter Frey of Kazyak, and indie folker Paul Spring. Here’s a special Composer Quest podcast episode with highlights from the concert.
Composer and Princeton professor Dmitri Tymoczko shares some excellent composing advice in this season finale episode of Composer Quest. Dmitri says that working on music theory as a composer is like lifting weights as a football player – it helps improve your intuitive composing. We also ponder the morality of exposing babies to only atonal music for experimental reasons.
Your composing quest, should you choose to accept it: co-write and co-record an original piece of music with a random Composer Quest listener, based on the theme “Conversation.” Your finished track will be part of the first ever Composer Quest album, a free-to-download online release. In this special Quest 2 announcement episode, I talk with musical comedy duo The Boffo Yux Dudes about how they record songs together exclusively over the internet.
A truly unique figure in the electronic music world, Torley describes himself as a “time-traveling, universe-crossing, autistic, cyberpunk monk.” I was drawn in by the (over 800!) videos on Torley’s YouTube page, many of which are thoughtful talks by Torley on music composition, creativity, and his life experiences. In Composer Quest episode 38, Torley talks with me about Asperger’s syndrome, his hearing disorder called hyperacusis, his job in the online world Second Life, and of course, his advice on making otherworldly sounds.
Theater, film, and video game composer Candy Bilyk shares the best piece of advice she ever heard from Katy Perry: “Follow your dreams!” Candy was happy to share her own (actually practical) advice on composing and the music business. In Composer Quest Episode 37, we talk about everything from “synthestration” to grant writing to her opera about a fairy-eating carp.
My cousin Joe Graves’ songwriting skills somehow flew under the radar in my family, until he finally performed some of his songs this past Christmas. In Composer Quest Episode 36, Joe plays and talks about the music he wrote for his band Goodnight Gorillas. He was inspired to make dark music by his older brothers Matt and Nate (Ep. 4), but he’s been developing his own singing and songwriting style. Joe shares some of his lyrical inspiration, including a story about a famine in North Korea that forced some people to dig up dead bodies for food.
Minnesota filmmaker Elliot Diviney taught himself to compose film scores to lighten the budget in his money-sucking filmmaking habit. In episode 35 of Composer Quest, Elliot and I talk about his newest political satire musical Problem Solving the Republic, inspired by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. We also talk about some famous movie scores.
For wordsmith Jenny Katz, writing lyrics feels like rolling marbles around in her chest. I can’t say I’ve ever had such a physical reaction to words, so it was fascinating talking with Jenny in Composer Quest Ep. 34 about how she approaches songwriting. For her, even the meaning of a song is subservient to the sound of words that feel physically right to her. Jenny also shares stories behind her new Kickstarter-funded album Galaxies.
Folk singer/songwriter Cameron Scott Boster posted his 24-song album on Reddit a few weeks ago and got a huge response from listeners. In Composer Quest episode 33, Cameron shares some of the stories behind his songs, and cracks me up in the process. He’s heading off to law school in Virginia, so music is going to have to be a side project for him. After hearing his incredible live performances, I think you’ll probably be with me in wishing that he continues on his songwriting path.
Cyborg percussion ensemble Jazari was created by "token human" Patrick Flanagan. He made a kind of robot drum circle that beats on acoustic bongos, cowbells, a djembe, and more. In episode 32 of Composer Quest, Patrick talks with me about his robot band, his day job creating musical iPhone apps, and his reasons for leaving the academic composing world to create dance music.
In episode 31 of Composer Quest, songwriter Matt Leavitt of the indie band Emot talks with me about his belief that the very first time you work on a song is often where the best ideas come from, and anything after that is just trying to recreate this spark of initial inspiration. We also get to hear Matt play a couple new tunes live from Emot’s upcoming album, which they’ve been working on with producer Brian Moen (of Peter Wolfcrier and Laarks).
Brooklyn experimental duo Brian Wenner and Matt O’Hare talk with me about their production process in episode 30 of Composer Quest. In the latest Prism House EP, Reflections, Brian Wenner’s beats are made from chopped-up field recordings of pop cans and squeaking doors. Matt O’Hare, the visuals man of the duo, is also a very talented musician. He explains how The Simpsons has helped him become an excellent throat singer.
I was thrilled to talk with Dr. Diana Deutsch, a pioneer in the field of music perception and psychology (she literally wrote the book on music psychology). Diana has discovered a number of famous musical illusions. Prepare to have your mind blown by the octave illusion, the scale illusion, the tritone paradox, the mysterious melody, and the speech-to-song illusion "Sometimes Behave So Strangely," made popular by Radiolab. Diana also explains how composers can benefit from studying these perceptual illusions.
Jazz Pianist George Maurer has been a working composer for over twenty years. In episode 28 of Composer Quest, George imparts his words of wisdom on making a living as a composer. He also shares tips on arranging music for orchestral instruments. George's latest project, Empire Builder, is a musical set on a time-traveling train, and we get to hear George at the piano, talking through his composition process for this musical.
Metal isn't for everyone, but guitarist Devin Earlywine is okay with making music 90 percent of listeners won't enjoy. In Composer Quest Ep. 27, Devin talks about how metal isn't all about doom and gloom. He even admits his band Idiopathic Necrotization started as a joke to have fun with the ridiculousness of the gore death metal genre. In most of his music, Devin tries to avoid thinking of his audience at first, so there are no roadblocks between the purest musical idea from his brain to the finished song.
Most famous for his songwriting in the new wave band The Suburbs, Emmy-winning composer Chan Poling has gravitated lately to performing pop music from other iconic songwriters. His jazz trio, The New Standards, features Chan on piano, John Munson (of Semisonic fame) on bass, and Steve Roehm on vibes. In episode 26 of Composer Quest, Chan talks with me about his arranging, songwriting, and film scoring.
Songwriter Warren Hildebrand of Foxes in Fiction has a special sensory gift. He experiences images and color when he listens to certain music, and hears tones when he sees certain images. In this episode of Composer Quest, we talk about how this synesthesia shades how Warren makes music. Warren also talks about why he loves audio degradation, and why he started the cassette tape label Orchid Tapes. This interview with Warren, by complete chance, happens to be a perfect follow up to my previous interview with synesthetic composer Mary Beth Huttlin.
Dr. Mary Beth Huttlin is not only a talented composer and clarinetist, but she's also gifted perceptually. She has perfect pitch and a constant stream of melodies in her head to draw from. Mary Beth also experiences auditory-visual synesthesia, meaning she perceives colors when she hears music. In episode 24 of Composer Quest, Mary Beth talks with me about how these gifts affect the way she listens to and makes music. We also discuss why Bach is possibly the coolest composer ever.
Prolific composer Mary Ellen Childs writes music for everything from orchestral instruments to zippers. In episode 23 of Composer Quest, she shares her creative process, which often involves bouncing ideas off of her experimental percussion ensemble Crash. Mary Ellen brings us behind the scenes of a few of her major works, including Click, Dream House, Wreck, and an upcoming project which will combine scents and music.
Your Composer Quest quest, should you choose to accept it, is to arrange a pop tune or movie/TV theme for the Twin Cities Trio, which is Maia Hamann on bassoon, Karen Jennings on oboe, and Mary Beth Huttlin on clarinet. They're looking for fun tunes to perform for children in schools.
Rapper and poet Dessa somehow found time to join me over the phone for Composer Quest Episode 21, in the midst of her nationwide tour (SXSW, New Orleans, Nashville, etc.). I was honored to talk with Dessa about her creative process of writing and arranging hip hop songs. In this episode, we get a glimpse behind the scenes of Castor, the Twin, which features more tender jazz arrangements of her original beat-based songs produced by the Doomtree crew.
In episode 20 of Composer Quest, Sci-fi songwriter/composer and Functional Nerds co-host John Anealio shares tips on getting your music out to the online world without seeming like a narcissistic party-crasher. For example, following the 80/20 rule for Twitter and Facebook posts will keep your self-promotion in check. John also gives some helpful pointers on writing melodies, and he explains how even a simple song can employ one of Mozart's secret weapons - the Rondo form! John has also set forth a challenge to those who would accept: finish 23 pieces of art in 2013. He believes that if you don't finish and present your songs to the world, “you're just the guy talking about your art, you're not the guy doing it.“
As a dad of two young kids, songwriter Tim Cheesebrow has limited hours in the day for music. But he recently wrote an album's worth of material in a self-imposed solitary confinement at a cabin in northern Minnesota. He's now in the midst of a crowdfunding campaign to produce this new album, Home in the Heartland. We talk about his three main sources of inspiration: his family, the concept of home, and a Carl Sagan-inspired philosophy of universal connectedness. Oh, and we also talk about extraterrestrial music.
In episode 18 of Composer Quest, electroacoustic composer Ted Moore enlightens us about coding music to interact with human performers. He also shares his ideas on choosing a musical form for your piece, like sonata form (ABA) or binary form (AB). We also talk some philosophy when I bring up Ted's piece Eyes May Be Impaired, which he based on Plato's allegory of the cave.
Guitarist and songwriter Mike Nilles has a secret method for writing melodies: dreaming them up! In episode 17 of Composer Quest, Mike and I swap stories about our dream-inspired songs. We also talk about a few of the groups Mike has played in over the years, from his 70s St. Paul band Smart Alex, to an Italian blues band, to his latest project, The Badinovs.
Jazz trombonist Nick Syman has challenged himself to write a large jazz ensemble piece based on the St. Anthony Falls collapse in 1869. Nick talks about how using a story can help you structure an instrumental piece of music. Nick also explains how the tension and release system of Afro-Cuban rhythms can help make more compelling melodies. And finally, we talk about our experience starting and finishing our Cagetones album in one month last February, for the RPM Challenge.
Jazz drummer Pete James Johnson has recently been getting into sampling his dad's old records to make beats for his DJ project Elephane. In this episode of Composer Quest, Pete shares his beat sampling advice, his experiences composing for jazz trio, and his new method of thinking in terms of “melodies“ when he plays a drum solo.
Sam Gorski and Niko Pueringer have built up a fanbase of nearly 1.5 million YouTube subscribers on their channel, Corridor Digital. Sam writes and produces most of the music within a very short deadline. In this episode of Composer Quest, we talk about what goes into his soundtracks for their video-game-themed short films.
Will Van De Crommert produces Hollywood-quality film scores in a humble basement studio at Saint John's University. We talk about composing for film, his portfolio for USC Film School, and how to produce an endorphin-releasing pop tune.
I felt like I was right back in a composition lesson with Dr. Brian Campbell, my former CSB/SJU music professor, when I interviewed him for this episode of Composer Quest. As always, he imparted plenty of wisdom, this time about writing music from a single “seed” and developing that idea. We also talk about form, writing melodies, “robot composers,” and using the Japanese aesthetic of “ma” – silence.
Paul Spring was destined to be a poet, being raised in a family of English professor parents, and now having six brothers and sisters who are also English teachers. In this episode of Composer Quest, we get to hear live renditions of four new story songs Paul has been working on, from the hilarious “Type II Diabetes” and “St. Cloud Traffic” to an edgy but thoughtful song trying to make sense of the tragic Newtown, Connecticut school shooting. We also talk about Paul’s self-titled album and the very personal stories behind it. I think it’s the most moving talk we’ve had on the show, so a special thanks to Paul for sharing his music and stories.
This episode, I talk with my girlfriend, Maia Hamann, about how she teaches her young students to compose music. She explains her strategy of breaking music down into individual elements, something all composers could benefit from. Maia shares tips on composing for bassoon. We also get to hear about her unique experience studying Somali music.
I think there's a good chance Joe Mailander will win a Grammy for Best Children’s Album. He and his fellow Okee Dokee Brother Justin Lansing took a trip down the Mississippi river to write some beautiful bluegrass songs for their album Can You Canoe?. We talk about Joe's philosophies on deceptively simple songwriting, work ethic as a DIY musician, and involving the audience. Joe also performs a new Okee Dokee Brothers song called "Echo," which will be a part of their upcoming Appalachian adventure album.
In this episode of Composer Quest, I chat with video game musician and coder Whitaker Trebella. He shares his words of wisdom on writing for games, producing chiptune music, and getting composing gigs through Twitter. He also composes an on-the-spot "quickprov" using Logic Pro. Finally, we ponder what would happen if Beethoven was given a laptop. Would he be making dubstep tracks?
Matt Schubbe, the graphic designer behind our 8-bit Composer Quest art, is also a songwriter himself! In this episode, we talk about how he writes songs for (and with) his wife, Donna. Matt tends to choose strange lyrical topics, like a kid getting his head stuck in the banister, or the 1739 invention of a pooping duck automaton.
Luke Friedrich was too young to carry a musket when he joined his Civil War reenacting unit, so he picked up the fife and drum instead. Now, he plays in more bands than would seem possible, including Crimes, Strange, Rupert Angeleyes, Flowerstalks, Secrets, ThoughtTalk, and his primary songwriting endeavor, Squares. We talk about performing, the music business, and his fascination with horrific lyrical topics.
When does sound become music? That's a line blurred by Kevin Springer's sound art. He designs sound and music for plays, including Tenesse Williams' Summer and Smoke. He has also found a niche for his brand of experimental electronic composing online, and we talk about how he works in this strange musical language.
I talked with my cousin, Nathan Graves, who fronts the band With a Gun for a Face and writes solo music under the name Kurtz. Nate's music is usually pretty dark and dissonant, but strangely catchy. We talk about why avant garde art is important.
Kazyak's Peter Frey shares his new, more personal album See the Forest, See the Trees. He also shares his philosophy on soloing, the pros and cons of touring, and his advice on promoting your music.
Ryan Ruff Smith and I talk about a bunch of lyric-writing techniques, including seeing the big picture, using subtext, writing as a character, and focusing your song ideas.
Mitchell Johnson from Spencer McGillicutty talks about pop music theory, Beatles songwriting techniques, and his “Douchiest Song Challenge.“