Today, I'll show you how to write a melody like the main theme in Pirates of the Caribbean. This is one of my favorite movie themes of all time and is a great use case in...

Today, I'm going to show you how I stole the theme from Lord of the Rings. We dive into what makes this melody tick, get some objects to work with, and apply some...

I was just reading this fantastic book by Schoenberg and came across something hysterical that proves beyond the shadow of a doubt how backwards music education is in...

Hey I need your help with something – I was just sitting writing this here piece of music and my ear just totally lost the thread and I can’t figure out what I...

No matter what genre you're writing in, you'll eventually have to dabble in arranging. This is the process of taking musical material and fitting it into instruments,...

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...

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...