My Method of Composing and Producing

I'm sharing my method of composing and producing music recordings in case other composer-producers like me might find ideas worth exploring in their own work. I use this method for Classical, Avant-Pop or Neo-Folk Instrumental genres, not for Ambient and Soundscape pieces. Non-composers might find this explanation interesting, but having a bit of music theory background will definitely help. I consider myself a humble learner when it comes to music theory. 

I owe a debt of gratitude to British musician and educator Gareth Green, whose Music Matters online courses and free YouTube lessons have taught me so much over the past few years. Thanks to his instruction, I’ve moved from struggling to compose music by trial and error to something more enjoyable and productive. The knowledge I've gained has taken my work in new and expanding directions. As the saying goes, “Theory is not a cage — it’s a map. It doesn’t make the journey for you, but it keeps you from getting lost.” 

When I start a new piece, I begin by choosing a key, and picking a scale drawn from one of these sources:
 
1) Western Tonal / Functional Harmony - major or minor chords I II III IV V VI VII
2) Modal Harmony - Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, etc.
3) Slonimsky's "Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns" 
4) Messiaen’s "Seven Modes of Limited Transposition" 

For many pieces, I also decide on a progression, one as a simple as I IV V, or something more elaborate.  

Next I create a "scales and progressions" piano track in my DAW (digital audio workstation software) and enter the chords I to VII in my chosen key. These harmonized scales serve as a basis for writing multipart harmonies and finding pivot chords for key modulations. 

At the start, I know what instruments I want to use, making adjustments along the way. I tend to write chord parts first, then melodies created through a mix of improvisation and direct input in the DAW. Sometimes I start with a melody.

I develop melodies and variations of a phrase by some combination of: a) passing it from one instrument to another, transposing it by an interval that sounds pleasing, b) reversing it, c) inverting it around the tonic (first) note of the scale. These are well-known methods. 

After completing a section, I choose another scale and maybe a new key and repeat the process until I have a draft of the entire piece. Then I export a recording and listen to it “offline”, take notes of errors and new ideas, and incorporate them back into the piece. Often this “compose / listen / compose” cycle is repeated many times. These iterative cycles include adding new ideas, polishing transitions between sections, changing the arrangement, and incorporating expressive details like accents, and articulations (staccato, sustain, portato etc.). I’m often working several different pieces at once. 

Last is mixing and mastering: balancing the loudness between instruments and adjusting elements like reverb, compression, and equalization. I tend to mix as I compose, even though many producers frown on that approach. I find mixing as I go helps me envision the completed piece and make adjustments to the choice of instruments; it self-inspires me when the piece is starting to sound good.  At the end I do a final mix, but as the saying goes, “A mix is never finished — it’s surrendered.”

In the end, this method gives me a basis for exploration and creativity and helps me stay focused. The goal is always to make a piece of music that feels expressive, cohesive, and emotionally resonant.

Suite for Woodwinds and Percussion No. 2

Thank you  for visiting my world, I'm happy to share! 
I 've been composing electronic music for more than 23 years but only started this new project 3 years ago, when the band in which I played bass splited.

 A large amount of the music I love was recorded in the 70's. Among these revered groups , Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Ange or King Crimson stand out. Over the years, I've also been very fond of many diverse bands and songwriters (The Doors; The Beatles; Bowie; Neil Young; Deep Purple; Led Zep; Patti Smith; U2; The Police; Massive Attack; Chemical Brothers; Killing Joke; Marillion; Morphine; Nirvana; The Young Gods; Dominique A; Noir Désir, Conil, Aurora ...). 
More related to my own synth music production, one could find influences from Vangelis, Jarre, Björk, Oldfield, Numan, Kraftwerk, Schultze and other pioneers. Finally, I should mention the great soundtrack composers such as Ennio Morricone, Wendy Carlos or Hans Zimmer.
Above all those great musicians stands the beloved statue of Ludwig van Beethoven, the visionary, the prodigy, the most sensitive man.

My desire is to be a tiny part of the admirable family of human composers and musicians in order to explore the infinity of musical combinations that our mind offers... To achieve this goal, I will continue to mix my own set of diverse influences in my own imperfect human way, without surrendering to any type of AI composer. My approach questions the astonishing way in which skills, sensitivity, aesthetic and personal history provide the fuel and oxygen for our creativity, while chance, curiosity and current feelings provide the spark. What matters the most is the process, not the result, the “product”.
My pieces will always reflect the result of hundreds of micro-choices I made, consciously or unconsciously, that's what makes it fun, right?
Feel free to comment or criticize my plethoric prod because reading your feedbacks is the only reward I expect.

Bandcamp: https://loyajirga.bandcamp.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/intl-fr/artist/0bohy1SDB37BBZLksRM9GY

Anyone interested in performing/recording any of the works posted here please send me a message.

Joe

I'm A Songwriter & A Keyboard I Play With One Hand My Dream Is My Music  Keep On Rocking

Speedcore, noise, industrial, industrial hardcore, experimental, abstract techno, death industrial, power electronics, powerviolence, digital hardcore, breakcore, hip hop, rap, gangsta rap, drone, dark drone, ambient, dark ambient, ritual ambient, terrorcore, hardcore, acidcore, acid, noisecore, 8bit, chiptune, breakbeat, hnw, harsh noise, harsh noise wall, splitter core and extratone professional musical artist, producer, mix engineer from Darwin, NT, Australia. Currently living in Wodonga, VIC, Australia. Making extreme music and funny skits/sound collages since 2011.

External links: 

https://www.facebook.com/cornholecrucifixion/
 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqk6JGm4fyOFHR_g2gLdOuQ

https://cornholecrucifixion.bandcamp.com/

https://bandcamp.com/cornholecrucifixion0

https://www.discogs.com/artist/4820783-Cornhole-Crucifixion

https://www.mixcloud.com/cornholecrucifixion/

https://www.mixcloud.com/blaze-vansyl/

https://enderecords.bandcamp.com/album/ende85-dj-california-crisis-cornhole-crucifixion-dj-californiacrisis-cornhole-crucifixion

https://speedcoreworldwideaudionetlabel.bandcamp.com/track/armee-der-toten-cornhole-crucifixion-remix

https://cornholecrucifixion.bandcamp.com/album/cornholecrucifixion-album-bitchezzz

https://cornholecrucifixion.bandcamp.com/album/the-crucification-of-cornhole

https://brokentothecorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/bttc-03-cornhole-crucifixion-vs-low-entropy-extreme-speedcore-disorder-ep

https://cornholecrucifixion.bandcamp.com/album/rift-in-anal-prolapse

http://extratonerecords.blogspot.com/2018/08/cornhole-crucifixion-rift-in-anal.html

http://lowlifehighvolume.biz/LLHV-16.html

https://lowlifehighvolume.bandcamp.com/album/enjoyable-cornhole

https://plataformarecs.bandcamp.com/album/hell-machine-series-001-03-cornhole-crucifixion-antoine-trauma

https://plataformarecs.bandcamp.com/album/split-misantropskia-vs-cornhole-crucifixion

There is a great community here. I really enjoy listening to your music. I'm also happy when someone listens to mine :)

Follow me on Spotify and I will follow back 

https://open.spotify.com/user/saldeano?si=5Ffl-Ik3Rsicg2wEzQ5-tg

Write play and produce, for fun, hope you have time for a listen and enjoy what I’ve put out there 😎
Looking forward to hearing everyone else too

I started my musical journey at the age of five, initially composing music with tablature taught by my father. Beginning with the penny whistle and violin, I played in our family band, busking on the streets of Bath.

Our travels across the country inspired compositions like "Road to Wareham." Music became my sanctuary, especially after being diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. In college, under mentors such as Dr. Rick Birley, Dr. Richard Hall, and Dr. Julie Trevett, I honed my skills in composition, theory, and piano, transitioning to formal music notation using Sibelius.

Today, I compose for film, video games, and theatre. My music, influenced by my diverse experiences, aims to evoke emotion and tell stories.

Thank you to my followers and listeners for your support. I hope you continue to enjoy and share in my musical journey.

Hello, welcome to my page.

I've been making music since 1972. At the time, with Pedro Castro, we created the alternative rock band Petrus Castrus. 

The music I'm placing here is mostly from the home recordings of my ongoing projects and ideas. I created a few playlists (Inéditos) according to language (PO - Portuguese; EN - English; SP - Spanish; FR - French; IT - Italian), and also for concept albums (Três Jardins). There are two long tracks (Mediterrâneo and Isaías) for full concept albums, and corresponding playlists that gather some of their individual tracks. A playlist called Synergies gathers the collaboration projects with other musicians in the fantastic SoundCloud community

Petrus Castrus edited records can be found on Spotify and Soundcloud. See the Facebook Petrus Castrus page for more details, including comments about the recordings uploaded here. 

We are both amateur musicians, i.e. music lovers. As for me, I'm just an electrical engineer with a master in AI that really loves creating music and use it to share ideas. That is why all tracks include lyrics or texts.

By the way I'm not interested in third-party offers to boost the number of plays. I like it as it is, and I've always declined such offers. Thanks anyway. 

I don't repost much, just some tracks that I find outstanding and with very few plays, so I can help them to get better known. I believe that repost parsimony also makes life easier for those who follow me.

Enjoy!

*** UPDATE May 2025. Good news. The SC contractual terms have now been corrected, and our music will no longer be used for AI training. NOTE April 2025: It just came to my attention that, unless we do a separate contract, all our uploaded music in SC can be freely used for AI training. This is written down in the legal section, under the licensing paragraphs. What can (should) we do to change that? *** 

*** Note Dec 2024: Alas, AI generated content that is not disclosed as such is now being posted at an alarming rate, sometimes multiple tracks in a single day from fake artists that even write down fake introductions, saying how much they love music that comes from the heart. Please avoid reposting these deceptions, it only adds to the confusion.  And it encourages the algorithms to give them preference. ***

*** NOTE June 2024: Generative AI is becoming amazingly powerful. Nothing against it. Just to avoid the confusion and embarrassment of finding ourselves praising and encouraging mindless algorithms, I believe it would be nice for us to always disclose its usage in our tracks. What do you think?  ***

I am a composer and producer of instrumental music in several genres, including ambient soundscapes, electronica, orchestral and chamber music.  

Musical influences include John Coltrane, Igor Stravinsky, Gustav Holst, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Tangerine Dream, Robert Prince, Frank Zappa, Brian Eno, Heinrich Ignaz, Franz von Biber.

My Method of Composing and Producing
------------------------------------------
I'm sharing my method of composing and producing music recordings in case other composer-producers like me might find ideas worth exploring in their own work. I use this method for Classical, Avant-Pop or Neo-Folk Instrumental genres, not for Ambient and Soundscape pieces. Non-composers might find this explanation interesting, but having a bit of music theory background will definitely help. I consider myself a humble learner when it comes to music theory. 

I owe a debt of gratitude to British musician and educator Gareth Green, whose Music Matters online courses and free YouTube lessons have taught me so much over the past few years. Thanks to his instruction, I’ve moved from struggling to compose music by trial and error to something more enjoyable and productive. The knowledge I've gained has taken my work in new and expanding directions. As the saying goes, “Theory is not a cage — it’s a map. It doesn’t make the journey for you, but it keeps you from getting lost.” 

When I start a new piece, I begin by choosing a key, and picking a scale drawn from one of these sources:
 
1) Western Tonal / Functional Harmony - major or minor chords I II III IV V VI VII
2) Modal Harmony - Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, etc.
3) Slonimsky's "Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns" 
4) Messiaen’s "Seven Modes of Limited Transposition" 

For many pieces, I also decide on a progression, one as a simple as I IV V, or something more elaborate.  

Next I create a "scales and progressions" piano track in my DAW (digital audio workstation software) and enter the chords I to VII in my chosen key. These harmonized scales serve as a basis for writing multipart harmonies and finding pivot chords for key modulations. 

At the start, I know what instruments I want to use, making adjustments along the way. I tend to write chord parts first, then melodies created through a mix of improvisation and direct input in the DAW. Sometimes I start with a melody.

I develop melodies and variations of a phrase by some combination of: a) passing it from one instrument to another, transposing it by an interval that sounds pleasing, b) reversing it, c) inverting it around the tonic (first) note of the scale. These are well-known methods. 

After completing a section, I choose another scale and maybe a new key and repeat the process until I have a draft of the entire piece. Then I export a recording and listen to it “offline”, take notes of errors and new ideas, and incorporate them back into the piece. Often this “compose / listen / compose” cycle is repeated many times. These iterative cycles include adding new ideas, polishing transitions between sections, changing the arrangement, and incorporating expressive details like accents, and articulations (staccato, sustain, portato etc.). I’m often working several different pieces at once. 

Last is mixing and mastering: balancing the loudness between instruments and adjusting elements like reverb, compression, and equalization. I tend to mix as I compose, even though many producers frown on that approach. I find mixing as I go helps me envision the completed piece and make adjustments to the choice of instruments; it self-inspires me when the piece is starting to sound good.  At the end I do a final mix, but as the saying goes, “A mix is never finished — it’s surrendered.”

In the end, this method gives me a basis for exploration and creativity and helps me stay focused. The goal is always to make a piece of music that feels expressive, cohesive, and emotionally resonant.

I teach in US higher education (in a STEM field) for a living & am a hobbyist composer writing in a few different styles. I recommend headphones. All of my music is released under a Creative Commons Attribution/Noncommercial license.

My bandcamp page is getting out of date again, but some older albums there can be downloaded for free or for a name-your-own price donation.

If anyone wants to try performing any of this stuff on real instruments please send a message and I can provide scores. Not sure how playable some of it is for human musicians though.

Unsolicited messages asking me to listen to your latest song will lead to you being blocked unless if I know you well and we've interacted a lot.

Hope you enjoy and thanks for visiting!

new Release!!
https://parametric.bandcamp.com/album/iii

Some old & closer projects, below. Also contacts

Feel free to comment.

Contact: gonzojfrances@gmail.com

Suite for Woodwinds and Percussion No. 2

Jim Lynch