I thought the first post on my website should be about what makes a person want to spend time and money developing their home studio. Looking back into my past, I was trying to remember what first inspired me to start my studio. Does the idea start before you know it? I would like to […]
Theory, harmony, composition and orchestration
The first blog post on this website should discuss the purpose of this blog. I’m a full-time private online music instructor teaching classical and jazz piano and theory. I thought it might be nice to have a music theory blog where my students can check up on what we discuss in lessons. We will discuss […]
Instruments in orchestral score order
If you want to write for an orchestra, having a reference sheet is helpful regarding the instruments and their order. Remembering the order of the orchestral instruments isn’t so important if you use a template from a music notation program. Still, it’s handy if you are writing the old-fashioned way with pencil and paper or […]
Trouble writing a composition; think again
From my experience teaching music theory and composition, some students can sit down and start composing while others stare at a blank page, not knowing where to start. At some point or another, we all have stared at that blank page, wondering when inspiration would strike. So how can you get started if no ideas […]
Let’s talk about transposing instruments.
A common area of confusion for students revolves around non-transposing and transposing instruments. I wanted to write a quick post on the topic to clear things up. First, we have to understand what non-transposing and transposing instruments are. In the case of non-transposing instruments, the notes written on the page are the actual notes being […]
Ways to start composing your music
There are many ways for composers to write music. Which method or methods you choose, of course, is up to you. The best strategy for me is one that inspires and excites me, allowing me to capture ideas quickly and enabling me to hear back what I’ve composed. If you haven’t yet developed your plan […]
The study of harmony and music notation software
If you’re a student studying four-part harmony or music theory, using music notation software to help your studies may be a good idea. When I started studying music theory decades ago, music notation software was still in its infancy compared to today’s standards. A student would have to write their chord progressions and melodies and […]
Options for selling music as an amateur composer
I’m a private online music instructor; that’s been my full-time job for twenty-five years and counting; I’m not a professional composer, and my primary income is not from composing. That’s the beauty of it; it doesn’t matter if I call this my profession, my scores are published and available for purchase, and even if they […]