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I’ve written more than 500 songs in just about every musical style imaginable—jazz, soul, 8-bit chiptune, jug band, doo-wop, hard rock, maqam, country, psychedelic pop, children’s songs, and a lot more. People often ask me how I move so easily from one genre to another.
The honest answer is that it f...
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The year always seems to speed up once November hits, and I’m curious how everyone here handles that final creative push.
Are you wrapping up any tracks, organizing sessions, experimenting with new ideas, or simply giving yourself space to recharge before 2026?
What’s the one creative goal you want to hit before we turn the calendar?
Ville Hilden What is your musical about?
Kat Spencer: Oh, the one I´m concentrating now is set in Cuba just before and after the revolution - basically a love story, since that´s what life is all about!
Thanks, Kat Spencer. I'm rooting for you to finish the Beautiful Addiction video! I'm looking forward to seeing it! Hope it gets a lot of views!
My goal is to clear my plate of lots of "tasks" so that my brain is free to be creative again :)
I hope to write some new lyrics and some more stand up comedy material.
I've ignored vertical shorts for a while now... thought they had the staying power of myspace or vines or eight track tapes... now I'm reconsidering my position. Enlighten me: why are they here to stay or just a fad? What is the "norm" for composing in this format? Ready Set GO!
PS Stage32 has a clas...
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There was a composer competition from Sonokinitics and heard about it from Michael Whittaker's ScoreCraft Academy. I used one of their Music Libraries, - bought one of them called IBRIDO. I thought the sounds matched for this type of scene.
It's the weird sound in the middle, as well as near the end...
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Excellent job on the score, Kerry Kennard! I really like it! "It's the weird sound in the middle, as well as near the end." That's my favorite sound in the score.
Thanks Maurice Vaughan !! appreciate it. It's the IBRIDO from Sonokinitics.
They have a big library of different kind of sounds !! - for different type of genres to write in.
Here's their main page:
ht...
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You're welcome, Kerry Kennard. Thanks for the link!
Nice job Kerry Kennard sounds great. I do like those sounds!!
The latest update to Musescore Studio can now be integrated with Cantai so you can hear the voices to the lyrics of your SATB compositions.
Free plugins to mix our compositions from Plugin Alliance
I’ve been noticing something interesting — some pieces I wrote ages ago are suddenly getting more attention. It’s a good reminder that music sometimes finds its moment on its own timeline.
Has any of your older work started resurfacing or connecting with people again?
Yes, two old sci-fi stories — The Cosmic Blood Connection (age 14) and The Eclipsians (age 18) — have come back now at age 29 with new depth, more details, and far richer layers.
I can say the logic of both worlds has completely flipped upside down.
Hey, Composers!
If you’re interested in how film scores evolve from early sketches into full narrative architecture, this is a gorgeous deep dive. Composer Max Richter joins Jon Burlingame to unpack his haunting, emotionally saturated score for Hamnet, Chloé Zhao’s new film.
Watch the conversation her...
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Thanks for sharing the video, Ashley Renee Smith. I didn't know composers made sketches for music. That's interesting, and it makes sense since a composer can look at the sketches and visualize where...
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I think that he unfairly may get compared to John Williams who has running woodwinds and counter melodies running all through his pieces Amanda Toney. Hans Zimmer is very simplistic but that doesn't m...
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Alessandro Sicardi I would credit him with more than that. In the 80s he was all about electronic music but since working with top scorers on the Lion he has really mastered orchestration. Violin-cent...
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Hannah Woolmer it’s totally normal in Hollywood having orchestrators working after composers, so I honestly wouldn’t bet he orchestrated something… And if so, it’s anyway all so pop and without moveme...
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Alessandro Sicardi Well he claims he does, so I guess it's your word against his
Hannah Woolmer as they're not very sophisticated, no wonder if he does them :)
Okay, I've reached the halfway point (6 hours of work per minute of scoring, I'm not exactly efficient...) - and here's the result. I welcome any constructive criticism, keeping in mind that:
- This is my very first scoring project
- I have NO formal musical training
- I only work with free tools (...
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Ville Hilden For the DAW: LMMS (I know it sounds noobish, but I love this tool...). I developed a simple little VST plugin to add a video track within the tool. For libraries, mainly "Berlin Free Orch...
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Amazing work!!!
Like the light sounds at the beginning.
At 2:02 - until the end I think it needs more intensity. Probably more instruments and minor chords - not so much major chords.
c minor, C Eb G or A min - A C E...
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Thanks a lot Kerry Kennard for taking the time to write such detailed feedback, really appreciate it!
Yes, I totally agree about the section around 2:02. I also felt it needed a darker harmonic direct...
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I loved this Cyril Pineau I think you used alot of ingenuity with your instrument library and there is no way I'd guess this was free libraries
From the John Williams Fan Network
Thanks for sharing this, Navid Lancaster. I'm really excited for this movie, and I'm really looking forward to hearing the music!
Awesome to hear, yes thank you Navid Lancaster for the update keep them coming, I also can’t wait to hear the music. It almost sounds like the music could be somewhat similar to the first Jurassic Par...
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Hey everyone. Free plugins from the Production Expert website. Enjoy!
Navid Lancaster - Awesome! I am going to pass this on to my daughter, too.
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Hi, Wyman Brent. That's great! I move easily from one genre to another too. It's more about being able to tell a story than the genre in my opinion.
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I love moving around in generes - it keeps my ideas fresh!
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Hi Wyman. I'm a poet and songwriter and I love to blend genres together. I've been a fan of Spanish music for several decades and love writing lyrics in Spanish. I also love writing in Russian, Ukrain...
Expand commentHi Wyman. I'm a poet and songwriter and I love to blend genres together. I've been a fan of Spanish music for several decades and love writing lyrics in Spanish. I also love writing in Russian, Ukrainian and I'm trying to learn more Hebrew as it was one of the languages my great grandfather spoke. I find learning different languages makes my mind sharper.