Welcome Laura,
I am happy to hear you have found the passion for music creation, and I hope it will stick with you for many years to come. 
I am also glad that you appreciate the focus on a friendly and open-minded atmosphere that this community is all about.
Oh, and congratulations for winning an honorable mention in that contest! 
Sincerely
Mike
Hello,
Iām Jens from Germany.
When I was an adolescent I started composing with the āSoundtrackerā on my Amiga 500 and continued with the Korg 01/W for some synthy pop songs a few years. Then I left this hobby for 25 years but I kept listening to orchestral film scores by famous composers like Williams, Horner, Goldsmith and Pouledouris.
In the past 3 years I discovered by chance the music of Two Steps From Hell, the prototype of āEpic Musicā and immediately felt in love with it. I researched a bit in terms of music production and discovered that nowadays it is possibly to produce epic cinematic music on your own as an amateur without spending a fortune.
Mikaelās āHow To Compose Epic Musicā was my first investment in that direction followed by a MIDI keyboard, a DAW, 3 rather inexpensive libraries and another composing course.
I really got hooked up and now try to dedicate my free time of about 5-10 hours a week to this wonderful field of composing.
As a (professional) software developer I like to break complex problems into smaller parts and categorize them.
Some of these tasks are:
Huh, that was long.
Thanks Mikael for your educational resources, support and input to this community.
Cheers, Jens
Hello and welcome Jens,
I actually had an Amiga 500 at one time back in the late 80s!
I also started making music in my early days on ātracker softwareā, fasttracker I believe it was called.
That list you wrote with all the various categorizations you make for your learning journey, I believe it shows great dedication. I always think that having a purpose and steps/structure to learning is always better than simply āfooling aroundā.
Sincerely
Mike
Hello, and welcome, Jens!
Very similar story to mine; also started out on the Amiga 500 with various trackers. (ProTracker mostly; tried OctaMED, Octalyzer, SoundFX etc; also played around with some projects of my own.)
Got a Kawai K4r, and eventually, a Roland JV-1080 - but after that, I basically dropped it for about two decades, until I got into virtual orchestration a few years ago.
Oh, and Iām a senior developer as well, currently in the process of moving into game development as an audio programmer - so basically merging my other passions into my career.
Hi. My name is Pedro. Iām also a software developer, and I started with trackers too, even though I tried some notation software in the beginning. A friend of mine had an Amiga 500 and he showed me OctaMED. Later, he showed me FastTracker. Thatās what really got me into composing. Then I switched to Modplug Tracker, and later, Renoise, which I still use.
Greetings, Mikael!
Thank you for this site. My name is Michael as well (I go by my middle name). Iām anxious to get plugged in. I am a 69 year-old musician and composer. I started with piano at 8 years old and then took up clarinet a few years later. In the mid 60s, like so many affected by the British Invasion, I got hooked on guitar, and finally bass guitar, which I still play live and in studio recordings. I am also a vocalist.
I am working on my second album, on a Mac with a Pro Tools rig in my home. I also do jingles and music beds for radio and TV ads, corporate instructional videos and various other projects.
I still play live with various combinations of excellent musicians, on a local level, with some large venues close by my home of Pensacola, Florida. At my age I am fortunate to be playing with some amazing young guns in my area, who have re-energized me with their talent and enthusiasm.
Iām looking for something specific today and hopefully there is something in your arsenal that would fit my need at this particular time. When I have more time to peruse your catalog, Iām sure it will be of benefit to get to know as much as I can about you and other members who want to spark their creations with your products and ideas.
I need a swell, either of a chorus or orchestral. But I donāt know what to call it. It needs to rise not only dynamically in volume, but, more importantly, slide up the scale, rising like a slide guitar would, up the neck of a guitar. Something similar to the Beatlesā I Am The Walrus where the background singers just āAhhhhhhā from a low note to a climactic high note, right before an important solid groove, in about a 2 or 3 second spurt! Not on a tight harmony, but random, like space jazz, lol! (edit). Come to think of it, another example, if you remember the sound of the tornado in The Wizard of Oz, or other storm sequences, that tornado sound, but rising up the scale in a 2 second burst, that would do as well. Doesnāt have to be voices or orchestral.
I started to create my own slide up effect, but I got behind on my schedule and now need to find something ready-made. Can you help me?
Thanks again for letting me be a part of this community. It is much needed!
Leonard Michael Wheeler
Hello, and welcome!
Awesome that youāre still going strong - and particularly inspiring for someone like myself, who āwastedā most of my life on other stuff, and only recently discovered the music and instruments thatās truly awakened my passion. Naturally, these instruments would be the violin family, so itās going to take a while to really get what I want out of them.
As for the riser, as I suppose weād call it; that sounds something that would be difficult to do well without samples of the actual thing. Choirs, orchestral instruments etc, are all sampled per note in some scale, or even chromatically (12 individual recordings per octave), but they donāt generally transition between these samples when pitch bending, so trying to āprogramā it will generally sound pretty weird.
However, there are various libraries that include (or are entirely focused on) aleatoric effects, including swells, slides, glissandos and the like. 8Dio has a fair bit of that stuff, like the CASE and CAGE libraries (solo and group effects, with strings, brass, and woodwinds), and their choir libraries tend to include a bit of effects as well. Canāt think of one with precisely the effect you describe of the top of my head, thoughā¦
Hi there.
My name is Daniel, I am an animator and cartoonist who has taken an interest in digital composing as a way to procrastinate on my animation work. Fortunately I have been recording and mixing music as a hobbist for years, so I am familiar with the function and workflow of most modern equipment.
I am excited to get a chance to learn from you all and am hoping to get some music up here for your critique by the end of the month.
Regards,
Daniel
Hi there,
My name is Ed Muirhead, Iām a musician, tutor + composer based in Dundee, Scotland. The composing side of things has varied over the years from songwriting to instrumental compositions mainly on piano, but recently for small groups, etc.
Itās great to read all the posts from other folks all over the world & maybe get inspired a bit more
Cheers
Ed
Hi, My Name Is Niko Valsamidis, Composer, Songwriter, Producer from Sweden.
I have been doing music for most of my life, Started producing/Writing for mainly Swedish artist 2006, at Redfly Music with Niclas Molinder and Joacim Persson.
Just love the creation of music. I get inspired of all musical genres, I love Reggae and retro 80ās.
You can listen to my music here:
All The Best Niko Valsamidis
Hello, my name is UÄur, an amateur musician from Turkey.
Iām glad to be found this friendly forum. Thanks to all participants, especially to Mike.
Although I have no formal musical training, I have a strong drive to overcome issues sometimes emerge due to lack of musical training. That is means, being in the state of constant learning.
I like to hear interesting ideas, whether expressed a piece of music or any other form of act. For me, music is a wonderful way to express ideas, tell a story or point out something.
Iām working on my home studio or āman caveā some of you called very nicely, and looking for new ideas every moment to say something more.
I also like racing simulators i.e Assetto Corsa, Live For Speed, rFactor, Project Cars. I raced many years, sometimes with real racers from around the world. Raced with Belgian, Polish and Turkish teams. So I spend my time between music and racing. My favorite track is Nurburgring Nordschleife.
Add me to the fellowship of Fast tracker/Amiga era. Those times are unique. Seven hours a day in front of the 14 inch monitor is like an otherworldly experience.
Looking for exchange ideas with you, learn something each other and take a leaf from those members of this forum with enormous background and credentials on musical area.
PS. Iām on the verge of releasing an album (or maybe few singles). When I do, Iād post the links here.
Have a nice day,
Regards.
UÄur AkdaÄ
Hello all, my name is Jared Forth, and I am a musician, educator, and composer.
I have been playing and writing music for around 15 years, and have gotten into film scoring in the last few years.
I have a fairly diverse musical background. I grew up in the folk/bluegrass world playing guitar with local musicians and learning how to improvise and play by ear. I played with a number of rock-influenced groups as well but later shifted into jazz. Studying jazz improvisation and harmony has been my primary focus for the better part of my musical life, and I have performed as a jazz guitarist in both solo and ensemble contexts.
As a composer outside of the jazz world, my influences range from minimalist composers like Glass and Reich to impressionists like Debussy. My main goals in composition are to capture emotions that are a part of the human condition and to tell a story through music.
My main music website is: https://jaredforthmusic.com/
My composition website is: https://jared.media/
You can find links to my socials at both of those places.
Iām excited to participate in the community and get to know you all!
Hi all! Iām Chen, from the US. Been making music for over 10 years now, though I only started getting serious with it about 2 years ago. I make primarily electronic music, my favorite genres being Future Bass and Glitch Hop. Iām really glad to find a community of professional composers to chat and discuss things with! Definitely something thatās needed these days, and something Iāve really been looking for.
A few musical things about me - my favorite band for a long time has been Muse (if you donāt know them youāve got to check them out immediately!). My musical hero Iād say is TheFatRat, who makes stunningly beautiful Glitch Hop and other electronic music. Heās also got gamer influences which is cool because I also used to be a huge gamer (and I still nerd it out some times). Aside from electronic music I also love jazz (blue notes are so delicious!), and orchestral (the sound of some good strings always makes me so emotional o.o!).
As a whole Iām still kind of new to the game, and am currently setting up my youtube channel and uploading my new tracks to streaming platforms under my new alias (exist01). Iāve also been uploading a lot of tracks to stock music websites, though sales have been really slow! You can find some of my music on Soundcloud and here is my personal website (bandcamp). Anyway thanks for reading my little intro and all the best to you on your travels through music and through life!
I love your classes and the way you teachā¦just wondering if I can have your contact in case I want to hire you to produce one of my songs?
Thank you, however I am not doing any one-to-one client work at all by choice. There are several others in this forum that do though.
Hi! Iām Terry. Iāve played various instruments since 1975, but due to injuries Iām not really able to play anymore. I stumbled onto a free notation program called Musescore and decided to begin composing in 2018. I have no formal training in composition. I simply write what I hear. Iām hoping to learn more about composing and what to do with my music.
Hi! My name is Dan, and Iām looking forward to virtually meeting you all and listening to your music!
I have a masters degree in music composition but I support myself as a manager at a local university for an administrative unit. I still compose and play guitar as often as I can and have the energy for, though.
I used to run the music website Composerās Toolbox, but I stepped away from it when my mental health took a downturn.
I have links to my other various projects, including all my music, on my website:
I also have a YouTube channel where I dump scrolling scores and experimental videos:
Stylistically my āthingā is that I love mixing contemporary classical music with rock music and the avant-garde. Iām also a huge Charles Ives fan. My music has become more consonant harmonically lately but more dissonant structurally and rhythmically. Iām focusing more on short projects instead of long ones since I have work, family, house, cats, etc. on my plate primarily.
Looking forward to connecting with everyone!
Welcome Terry! This is a great community for all things music/music production and to get some great critical feedback on your music. It has definitely helped me along as a composer!
Hey Dan! I used to go to Composerās Toolbox quite often. Nice to have you here!
Hello composer friends. Hope you are all safe and healthy! I am an independent composer/arranger specializing in film/TV/video game scoring. I do write/orchestrate concert music as well. Glad to be here!
My website: chestnutboutique.com
My SoundCloud:https://soundcloud.com/user-317476824