Overview
Do you want to start writing, recording, and producing your own music? Getting started in music composition and production has never been easier thanks to advancements in technology: hit records and film scores can now be done entirely in your bedroom with a laptop and a pair of headphones. The hardest part about getting started is the immense amount of information out there, which can quickly make you feel overwhelmed.
There are a lot of different skills and elements involved with music production, and I can break all of this down in a structure that will be easier for you to follow and learn. With over 10 years of experience as a composer for film, TV, and video games, I can teach you every single aspect of music production including insider industry tips that are usually hard to find online.
Whether you want to produce pop songs, create beats, or write music for media, I can help you achieve your goals with hands-on instruction.
Here is what we can learn together:
Composition & Song Writing
Recording
Production & Mixing
Composing for Film, TV, and Video Games
Composition & Song Writing
Before worrying about producing your song and making it sound great, you need a well written and arranged composition. There’s a saying that goes “a good arrangement mixes itself”. What this means is that if you carefully arrange your composition in a way where all of the elements and instruments compliment each other properly, there will be a lot less problems to solve at the mixing stage. Here are some concepts we can learn:
harmony
melody
arrangement
instrumentation
orchestration
Recording
While a lot of music creation can be done with virtual synths and sampled instruments, knowing how to record your own source material is essential and can add a lot of life to your tracks, irregardless of the genre. Here is what we can learn:
how to setup a basic recording studio
how to use a DAW (digital audio workstation) such as Logic, Cubase, Reaper, Ableton, and more
how to record vocals
how to record acoustic instruments
how to record electric guitar and bass
how to record and program samples
Production & Mixing
Once you have a great song or composition written, it’s time to produce and mix it into a polished track. We will go over:
synthesis
programming drums
working with samples
programming virtual instruments
routing, signal flow, and gain staging
EQ, compression, and other effects plugins
space and stereo imagery
mix translation (making sure your track sounds good on every playback system)
Composing for Film, TV, and Video Games
There are a lot of extra skills needed in order to compose and produce music for media. Here are some specific concepts we can learn:
working with video
finding the right mood
composing around dialogue and sound effects
composing linear loops (video games)
composing adaptive music and layers (video games)
composing music for 15s, 30s, and 60s advertisements
making virtual and sampled instruments sound realistic
digital orchestration
exporting stems
working with client briefs
making revisions
preparing scores for live recording