Composing / Arranging / Songwriting

We saw last month that library music can provide composers with a good income. This month, we explain how that income is generated.

Production music is rarely glamorous, but it can be very lucrative. In the first of a major new series, we explain how to get your foot in the door.

Cult TV series Stranger Things has become essential viewing — and essential listening. We talk to the previously unknown composers behind its hit soundtrack.

Peter Zinovieff has been described as Britain’s Bob Moog. A renowned composer from the mid ‘60s to the present day, he was also one of the founders of EMS who produced seminal synthesizers such as the VCS3 and the Synthi AKS, as used by Brian Eno, Pink Floyd and the Chemical Brothers.

John Carpenter is not only a cult movie-maker, but also a pioneering electronic composer. John, his son Cody and collaborators Alan Howarth and Daniel Davies explain how it’s all possible.

Just what should you expect when engaging a professional arranger or orchestrator to work on your own production? We find out from some of the best in the business...

Rhythm is a multi-sample playback interface with an eight–step sequencer and five–channel mixer. It is the brainchild of games developer Gil Carmel...

We conclude our series with an overview of arrangement techniques and a peep into the world of big-band brass.

A simple, catchy tune with a funky rhythm may be all you need to create a highly commercial horn hook — but harmony is also an essential ingredient in brass arrangements.

The second in our four-part series deconstructs funk licks, discusses the implications of using live players and explains how to get more expression and feel into your sampled brass arrangements.

This new four-part series explains all you need to know about creating brass arrangements for a range of genres.

SuperMegaUltraGroovy Capo Touch

Chord Detection App For iOS

Capo Touch is the iOS...

You have the skills and the gear, but how should you tackle your first sound-for-picture projects?

The dazzling world of South Korean pop music confuses many Westerners — but Denmark's Thomas Troelsen has become one of its leading producers and songwriters.

In the final part of this series, we develop a basic chord sequence into something more elaborate.

Audio files to accompany the article.