There’s one thing I always do with my advanced clients: We go back to the fundamentals. Mastering and reviewing our musical fundamentals is key to sustained growth...

Ever wonder what makes a melody not just good, but great? Well, I think I’ve come up with the answer…err, make that five answers. Today, I’m sharing...

I was just interviewed on the Hook and Bridge podcast. It was cool! During the interview I was asked the question: Which do you write first in a song, lyrics or chords? I...

We all know one guy that decries and derides music theory as limiting creativity. News flash – it’s not true! Today I’m going to show you how chord...

There's a lot of buzz around the Metallica classic "Master of Puppets" in the newest season of Stranger Things. Being into metal myself, I wanted to address some of the...

My teacher once told me the hardest part of writing a song is to start and finish. I think this holds up and wanted to make sure you have some techniques in your...

I’m gonna try something new today. Instead of straight teaching about music, I want to talk about something that really grinds my gears. I came across an article by...

Well, here it is. The end. We're done. You've watched a real composer write music in Sibelius. The journey is done, and I'm excited to be able to share the final episode...

At some point, we've all forgotten the importance of dynamics. Dynamics and expression are intricately tied together, but sometimes we're so focused on everything...

This week on Watch a Real Composer Write Music in Sibelius, when we're coming to the end of a song or piece, it's easy to want to make fast decisions and just be done...

I was once told by a teacher that one of the most difficult parts of writing music is starting and finishing. I think there's real truth to this as the first and last...

There's a moment as we write music when the music becomes self-referential. This is one of my favorite places to be, because suddenly primary and secondary motives and...