I would be happy to post some of my music, if only I knew how to do so.
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Hello Hank, you will be able to post in the âYour Musicâ section, but you need to earn it first. I think I set it to 5 posts before you âunlockâ the ability to post your music.
This was in order to avoid the spammers that just joined this community to post their tracks, and never intended to be helpful and active in the forums.
Hello all! I just signed up here today, so I am excited to see everyoneâs posts, and hopefully learn something here!
My name is Shawn Johnson. I will be the first to say, I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL COMPOSER. I am a Director of Quality for a paint manufacturer by day, and a composer by night (when I have time). Though I am not classically trained, I have been listening and tinkering on piano and midi since the 80âs. My first introduction to MIDI was at a mall during the holiday season, had to be 1985 or 1986, where a guy with a PC (yes, NOT Apple) and a midi keyboard, was playing holiday music all by himself with just the instruments on his keyboard. I started to see the fun I could have with this technology.
Two weeks later, I bought a second-hand Roland U-20, a MIDI card, and some cartridges for the keyboard (yes, the instruments were on cards back then⊠GOD IâM OLD). I still have the old U-20 sitting here gathering dust.
I have listened to classical music all my life, and when I hear Star Wars back in 1977, I really got into music for movies. I played for years until I got married, and then just walked away.
The pandemic changed everything. Even though I had a decent piano in my house to tinker, I decided to go out and buy a NI Komplete S49 Mk2 to try getting back into composing. A year later, and thousands of dollars, I am getting my groove back. (And yes, I regret only buying a 49 key keyboard nowâŠ)
I have a friend who is a small independent movie writer/director, who likes what I do, and has now asked me to score his newest short (gratis, of course, but hey - heâs not making anything either). So now I get to be John Williams and keep my day job! Now if I can only figure out my Studio One Pro for scoring, Iâll be good.
Hope to find the joy in music again, even if I get yelled at for spending too much time in the basement playing⊠
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Hi Mike,
First of all THANK YOU for the invitation to join. Glad to be here. I go by the name Don Antonio DeConcini - not because thatâs my name - rather, itâs my âhandleâ so to speak, that references my Italian ancestry and my favorite movie (The Godfather) - though that was Don Vito Corleone. Anyway, appreciate the invite.
Now then as I messaged you, I am a retired, professional vocalist/musician (my avocation for the last 60 years or thereabout). I was a classically trained singer for a long time (16 years of study or a lifetime - you never stop learning), professional tenor soloist, vocal coach, and a former opera company set designer, director and vocal coach for the last 5 years before I finally retired from active work in music. It was always a âsecond sidelineâ job and never full time. Always was relegated to the menial work of working for somebody else. But music has been a huge part of my life all of my life. I have played piano âby earâ for almost 60 years, and college degree in music (vocal performance) and plenty of time in the music scene up until a few years ago.
I was into analog music for a while, did some time-consuming midi sequencing when that became popular but made the transition from analog to digital just about a year ago - more or less. And Iâve spent 99.9% of the time LEARNING rather than DOING but now itâs time to start doing and get some things down and committed to orchestration and âre-learningâ music theory, etc. Itâs been slowâŠhey, Iâm getting old and trying to avoid GETTING old too quickly (at 73) BUT I am enjoying this process and learning from you and so many others online doing orchestral music.
At any rate, Iâm glad to be here and donât know what I can contribute but wisdom of age and music I knew at one time, much better than I do now. But Iâm re-learning so I will be on as much as possible.
Thank you again for the invitation. Hopefully I can offer something.
Best
Don Antonio DeConcini
aka âBILLâ
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Hello Composers!
I just came across this community and instantly thought this mighty be a great place for me.
Iâd describe myself as a hobbyist singer/songwriter. My main instruments are guitar and vocals, at least that is where I started decades ago as a teenager. That changed a little when two close friends and I formed our band twenty years ago. After havibg started several projects that lead us nowhere we had stripped down to a three-man-unplugged setup. As git/git/bass was not ideal to get a complete sound, I switched my guitar to cajon/percussion. That instantly flipped the switch in many ways. We had a solid sound and could write and perform as a ârealâ band. We were kind of home. And I had become kind of a multi-instrumentalist.
But we all just had finished school, no penny in our pockets and tried hard to keep our dream alive to make a living with music. Finally our jobs drove us apart and our band paused for some years. In that time I purchased my first audio interface and made my first steps into recording.
As I wrote my first songs - I started out just as I could play my first chords on guitar, at least I tried to - looking at a DAW for the first time, I understood that this would change everything for my creative process in songwriting. I have never been good in music theory. Guitar had always been a chord and groove machine for me. So it always was tricky to write down and fixate an idea as a whole. A DAW opened a whole new world and really kicked off a new era of creativity for me.
As I moved into our house with my family, I insisted on a space where I could build a home studio. That is where I am today. I have a full time job but I still am who I am. A dad. A husband. A musician.
One year ago I started playing piano as I needed a keyboard as a tool in the studio. Then COVID kicked in and my home studio also turned into my Home Office. So I spent even more time there. There was only one thing missing in my studio. A goal.
That goal evolved when I first stumbled over fiverr.com last summer and over pond5.com at the end of 2020.I have just dipped in my first toe, but I am about to get into composing and producing stock music.
My goal: Turning my music into a self-sufficient hobby. Kind of.
Milestones checked:
- developing a workflow to be able to put out one item a week on pond5 in different variations
- upload the first 20 items
Next milestones:
- 100 items
- first sale
- earn money for a Takamine Jumbo Acoustic Guitar (ok that may take some time)
Stuff that I use
- DAW: Studio One
- VSTs: Toontrack (EZD2, EZBass, EZKeys, EZMix)
- Interface: Behringer UMC1820
- Mics: Rode NT1-A, AT2020, Behringer C-2
- Guitar: Yamaha APX-96LTD
- Keyboard: Thomann DP-26
- Percussion: Schlagwerk Cajons, Paiste Cymbals
Regards,
Gordon
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Very, very nice description of you and your goals.
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Hello everybody. Thanks for letting me join this forum. I live in the Netherlands and I write music for quit some time now.
Easier for me is to share a link with all the information I have about my work. Iâve won some awards linke an Emmy for a doc as a team. In my country a nomination for the Buma Award (an important price here). There is a lot to see and to hear Fred Vogels. I just finished a crazy job: writing music for a Hitchcock film, The Birds (which is also my nickname, thatâs what I did this). I also wrote music for a documentary from 1944. The Lost D-day Film. You can all read about it when you follow the link. Iâll be glad to answer questions about my work, which is mostly for fun. Hope to hear.
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Hi Mikael.
Iâm new here at his forum. Iâve noticed most of the members here in this forum speaks english.
I understand english too, but is it okay in swedish?
All best, Fred
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Welcome Fred,
Yes, please write in English, as it is an international forum. =)
Hello Composer!
Iâm Cesar Budaye from Brazil, and I use a little bit of Ableton Live + AKAI APC40MK2 to rehearse some mixes.
Now I decided to learn more and compose my own songs.
Itâs amazing how music can arouse emotions.
I am excited to learn from everyone here!
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Hello everyone,
Warm greetings from Canada. So glad that I have found this sweet community! My name is Liz, a piano teacher with a BMUS in piano performance and a BA in linguistics and musicology. I have been playing piano for pretty much my entire life. However, I recently realized that composition is what my heart has been actually going for - I feel so much more alive telling my own stories. Currently I am studying composition and orchestration as well as production using Logic all by myself - this is extremely difficult and overwhelming but I have the passion that keeps me going. I have been desperately seeking for more specific resource and instructions all the time, and hoping to apply for a graduate program in film scoring and video game sound design.
Still in the progress building up my portfolio since I am still a baby in composition and production!
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Welcome Liz!
You may not see it yet, but having professional performance skills on piano/keys is a great advantage to have as a composer. I think I speak for most of us in here, where I say we are a bit jealous of you in this regard! 
Btw, I highly recommend that you post music compositions you finished in the âYour Musicâ section. Just give some details into the technical aspects and creative insights.
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Hello everyone, my name is Ian âIggyâ Nicol and my artistic name is Requlous. And yes, Iâm aware that my nickname Iggy is longer than my real name; Iâve always appreciated the irony of that.
I am a self taught musician of keyboard & piano and I prefer the range of a full 88-Key but have only in the last few days finally had the means of setting up my keyboard to a computer so Iâm very excited about getting my ideas down and out there.
Iâm also a published screen & script writer and an avid film & video game buff of all genres as I appreciate the art of story telling itself regardless of medium. I have always understood the deep psychological and emotional significance of music selection in a work of story telling; from how Star Wars made itself universal by going classical instead of music of the era or how Joss Whedon made his episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer âThe Bodyâ more heart wrenching by not using music at all - because music is a comfort in film.
This love of film allowed me to appreciate it as a form of story telling in and of itself too, which got me into it. Being self taught, my style isnât locked into any pre-established theory influencing what my mind âexpectsâ music to be - as it were. This leads to a âfree-handâ sound to my work which some people donât like but I like it that way.
My focus now is to practice playing multiple parts myself and layering & mixing them better - so I do appreciate any and all comments and critiques.
See you all around the boards!
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Welcome to this amazing community Iggy youâll love it!
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Hello everyone!
This is my first post here and I thought Iâd just quickly introduce myself 
My name is Pierre Berggren and I am a composer from Sweden. I signed up here a while ago, while taking a couple of Mikeâs courses. Iâve been making music for many many years, but I still have much to learn. Recently I got an idea to try start selling royalty-free music, but Iâm not there just yet.
Anyways, I am looking forward to be a part of this community! 
Kind regards
Pierre Berggren
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Welcome Pierre.
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Bonjour Mikael, je suis Pierre Lacour (France).
Jâai Ă©tĂ© musicien Pro durant 15 ans, un peu âtouche Ă toutâ
je joue de la Batterie , percussions, basse, guitare et un peu de clavier.
Dés 1995 je me suis intéressé à la musique assistée par ordinateur et je composais essentiellement avec des samples et des loops
Aujourdâhui, je compose avec FL studio et des VST ainsi que des banques de son
(native instruments, best service, east west, spitfire, toontrack, Vir2, etcâŠ).
Mes compositions sont extrĂȘmement variĂ©es, (classique, moderne, contemporain, musiques de spectacles, thĂ©Ăątre, bandes son, arrangements, âmusique dâici ou dâailleursâ)
Je trouve cet espace trĂšs sympathique, bienveillant et enrichissant Ă bien des Ă©gards.
Je suis trĂšs heureux de vous rejoindre.
Salutations. Pierre Lacour
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Hi. I am glad for joining the Composers Community. I am new but passion for music is my Life path and I would like to learn more things that I need to create beautiful music from the heart. Music can heal and makes life better. Thanks Mike for all Your YT videos they helped me a lot. All the best to all. Jake
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Hello and welcome Jake! Music from the heart is the ultimate form of expression - itâs universally felt by everyone from any corner of the world as long as one is being true to themselves in the music, or so I feel at any rate.
Although great for soothing the soul, I would not recommend using Music as a healing substitute for bandages, medicine or splints - although I guess Sheet Music can be used a gauss in a pinch. 
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Hi Mike!
I am a full-time singer/songwriter/musician who has pivoted to composing at the beginning of this year. My only regret is that I have found the greatest passion of my life this late in the game. I started composing the day of the violence at the US Capitol when I literally, ran out of words. It kicked off a writing frenzy, where Iâve been composing just about daily. Iâve been composing in my DAW using many of the libraries you have (and wow, you have quite a collection!)
Iâve taken your Ambient class and am now in your Epic class. Epic seems to be my biggest challenge so Iâm excited about confronting it.
The composing community has got to be hands down the most supportive online community Iâve ever been in. Iâm so grateful for the generosity and kindness of everyone, including yourself, Mike.
Oh - and I won an Honorable Mention award last month for the first trailer competition I ever entered! It was as exciting as if I came in first! I really needed a little sign from the Universe saying - âokay - you are not a total imposterâ lol. (Shameless plug - itâs on the Youtube channel)
My Soundcloud channel has some of the new pieces Iâve been working on as well as tracks from my CD - An American Landscape. Soundcloud, Youtube
Thanks again, Mike!
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