Music Composers Unite!

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Studio Build Pt 3: Laying down the bass .. er, base!

So, I finally have pictures ready for y'all!

Let's begin with my modest back garden. A poor, unsuspecting patch of badly-maintained lawn.

If you look closely you should see the four wooden pegs that mark the corners of the studio. That's a recently uprooted tree stump at the far end btw...

So, first things first. I brought in a couple of builders to dig out the area with mini-rigs.

As you can see, the lawn is now…

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Added by James Semple on June 20, 2007 at 7:39am — No Comments

My Latest Composition

My latest composition is "Blues Appassionato". I am honored by having two world-class musicians perform it; Amy Beth Horman on violin, and Frank Conlon on piano. Take a listen to the MP3 file. What a treat!

Added by David Rubenstein on June 18, 2007 at 10:01pm — No Comments

Here I am,

Still struggling with all this new technology (Good bye Sampler. Hello Plug In) .

I seem to have a complete lack of confidence and the growing realization that my strengths lie somewhere in arrangement and composition (I hope). I seem to be able to put the right sounds together (some people might disagree with that statement...well they can go to hell)

I am a solo " artist " and work mainly on Apple G5's and various Plugs from… Continue

Added by Michel Pete on June 17, 2007 at 8:41am — No Comments

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Added by Dick Aven on June 16, 2007 at 5:10am — No Comments

CellarRoom goes Hollywood

By order of Dynamedion, CellarRoom was able to contribute music to the following trailers:

Oscar award winning movie "The last king of Scotland" featuring Forest Whitaker
"Catch a fire" featuring Tim Robbins.

Added by Alex Pfeffer on June 15, 2007 at 12:54pm — No Comments

Feeling a little stumped

Being a songwriter who derives material strictly from inspiration, I find myself having a rough time with it lately. My solo material and my rock material are very different from eachother and I am feeling a little trapped by the band that I am spending most of my time focusing on. There is a fair amount of pressure to continue writing for the rock band and my personal material is falling by the waist side. In addition, I find that listening to a someone else's song, spurs my excitement and… Continue

Added by David Gielan on June 14, 2007 at 2:52pm — No Comments

Studio Build Pt 2: Planning the studio

Right, so let's get going with my studio build.

The first thing I had to do was actually plan what I wanted to build and see what I could build. The initial suggestion came from my Dad who is a builder (ah, now it comes out). I'll not deny that my Dad's advice and contacts have come in incredibly handy for this project however hopefully I can pass on all that I've learned.

Anyway, we realised that the best opportunity for me was to build an entirely separate building in my back…

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Added by James Semple on June 14, 2007 at 6:12am — 1 Comment

Building my studio

Well I'm not sure how qualified I am to speak about studio design and building but I'll at least tell the story of how my studio was conceived and constructed.

First, I'd just like to describe exactly what I've ended up with and it wasn't what I set out to build.

My studio's internal dimensions are around 5.2m by 4.5m (that's around 17' by 15' in old money). It's about 8½' high as well. The studio is a single room with no windows and a single custom built heavy door which is…

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Added by James Semple on June 13, 2007 at 5:27am — 1 Comment

Just saying Hi!

Hi to anyone who is reading this.

I just completed my studio this weekend and I'm in a great mood.

James in the studio

I've uploaded a small sample of my work here and I'll try and upload some more soon. Don't worry if you think this stuff is a little heavy, I write in a few different styles and these two orchestral tracks were the first I thought of. I do write softer pieces as well.

Check out my website…

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Added by James Semple on June 11, 2007 at 4:02pm — No Comments

Scoring Biz: Now and in the Mesozoic era - Part Deux: Spotting and Music Prep.

When I was began working in situations that required my music be in synch with the visuals many things were different -among them :

1. There were no computers with Quicktime built into the DP ( or whatever sequencing program was to come )

2. Scoring to projected film was pretty much restricted to LA , NYC, and one place in Chicago.

3. Due to the budgets we were working with, there was no provision for "music editor" ..that would be your gig ( prior to writing… Continue

Added by phil Kelly on June 10, 2007 at 5:58pm — 4 Comments

What I'm working on now . . .

Right now I'm writing an instrumental for a medium-size ensemble called "Interplay". The theme must be about "Halloween", and it will be the corniest music imaginable. But it will be fun!

Added by David Rubenstein on June 8, 2007 at 11:17pm — 1 Comment

Nine Billion Miles From Earth

After contributing to 3 canceled games for Adult Swim, one has finally been released. Check it out here...

http://www.adultswim.com/games/ninebillion/index.html

The game is a spoof of those old 60's sci-fi movies and the score features a overly dramatic and chromatic orchestral score. Definitely a lot of fun to write.

Added by Chris Rickwood on June 8, 2007 at 4:22pm — 1 Comment

Enough of this!

I'm so outta here. Goin' on vacation for a week at the beach in NC (Outer Banks.) We're supposed to have wireless net access at the house we rented, so I should be back on here in a day or two.

It's awesome that there are so many composers here now! Go to the groups section and join some groups, go to the forum section and reply or start some discussions. Go outside and see the sun once in a while...

Added by Chris Merritt on June 8, 2007 at 2:21pm — 5 Comments

In the Studio

Right now, I'm in the studio completing my 1st CD project. It is a combination of jazz,classical,"new age" and electronic music. I will probably put samples on this form for all to listen. I hope to be dune before the school year starts again (I teach music here in Georgia)

Added by Jason Passmore on June 8, 2007 at 1:08pm — No Comments

New Stuff

I uploaded a new song "Dive In" which is a pop song with orchestration. Hope you like.

Also, I uploaded my main demo montage and some other vocal stuff I've written this month.

I have a friend/co-writer who would always label his cassettes and later CDs, "New Stuff". He has a whole box of cassettes with "New Stuff" written on it. Who said we musicians be smart?

Added by Pete Surdoval on June 7, 2007 at 11:33pm — No Comments

Book Review: The Emerging Film Composer, by Richard Bellis

[Note: I originally wrote this blog for my MySpace page, but it is even more applicable here. I highly recommend this book for anyone who considers themselves an emerging composer.]

The Emerging…

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Added by Bob Safir on June 7, 2007 at 8:37pm — 8 Comments

Scoring Biz: Now and in the Mesezoic era ( with live players and minimal computer help )

I would guess I am no doubt the oldest person on this list ..

Therefore, I will answer to the following names:

Eminince Grise

Dinosaur

Old Fart

( or others of your choosing )

Anyway ..since I've been doing this ( "this' being writing all kinds of music for money ) for over 40 years, I have been priveleged to watch the industry evolve in an interesting fashion over the years, both for good and evil ,depending upon your viewpoint.

When I… Continue

Added by phil Kelly on June 5, 2007 at 6:10pm — 13 Comments

I'm not a composer...

I just play one on tv. Okay that's not true either. I do play around with TV. I'm married to Chris who started this network and he said I could be in it. I'm actually a producer for HGTV and that's how we met. I am the self-appointed head of marketing for Merritt Music Productions however. So any advice on how to get the word out that my husband is freakishly talented is welcome. Other than the traditional demo mailer of course. The question of the day is for the self-employed, the…

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Added by Sharon HGTV on June 4, 2007 at 7:32pm — No Comments

Composer Forum Begins!

Hi all!

I started this social network as a way for composers to meet and learn from each other. There are already many great sources online for composers, email lists and such, and I encourage you to join them all and actively participate. This "Composer's Forum" is designed to have many groups within it, for specific locations or discussions.

I compose mostly for TV. (merrittmusic.com) And composing is my full-time job. Feel free… Continue

Added by Chris Merritt on May 29, 2007 at 3:30am — No Comments