What a Decade of Failure Taught Me About Composing Full-Time
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- čas přidán 3. 08. 2024
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The worse advise I ever received was from my college piano instructor who told me I wrote nice music, but it sounded like everyone else. He said I needed to be unique. That might sound like good advice but in reality, it froze me as a composer because I never finished anything! I was always comparing what I wrote to everybody else and I would never finish a song. I finally moved past that and am starting to find my own “voice”. By sounding like other composers I learned to use that and make some changes that sounded a little different. I wish I would have learned this in the early ’80’s while in college!
Telling people to be original is very dangerous creative advice, and it boggles my mind why it's so common. You develop a unique style naturally by mixing your inspirations with your own creative filter. Trying to force originality on yourself just leads to a painful creative process and bad results.
I'm glad to hear this idea resonated with you too, and I had the exact same struggle myself. It's ironic that NOT forcing your voice is actually the key to developing a more unique sound... I guess it just has to do with letting music flow from you instead of formulating it out :)
Damn, you're the first person I've heard say that we don't necessarily need a unique voice to grow as a composer. Thanks it's really help!
The value of a piece of music is not how it's written. The value of the music is in who you show it to.
Like any art, music doesn't inherently have value. It's the audience, the listener, who decides its value. Making "good" music is about showing it to the right people.
I LOVE this Jacob, this is solid advice!
😊😊😊 0:57 0:58 0:58 0:58 *8i😢😊
man's speaking the truth plain and simple. thanx
🙌
This video is gold. Thank you Zach!
Love you channel, love your work, thank you for sharing your personal experience!
I love that all this advice you're sharing is practical stuff. Thank you!!! ❤
Thanks for watching!
Thank you so much for everything you do! Your resources and efforts are soooo super appreciated by me and all the other aspiring composers out there!
Really glad to hear that :)
Thanks for the advice!
Thank you for your honest deep thoughts! Much appreciated for all your work on the channel!
Thank you!
Super advice and nicely presented!
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for this video ❤
Very nice video, Zach. Thanks for this!
Thank you!
Very intelligent efforts ,Zach.
Thank you so much for your best wishes. Each word makes sense. Relatable and resonates so much totally. Not everyone understands "composer's world", what we do and its like a breeze of fresh air, when i hear someone from my field talk. Thanks to social networking, i do find likeminded people and its kind of solace to see them share their piece of wisdom. You are so right about what you said. I wish you the best ahead too! ✌🌈🌝
Thanks very much, and glad this resonated with you!
You have a great channel. Thanks so much for sharing your experience. Ver interesting for amateurs and pros alike.
Thank you Christian!
Great stuff dude. The absolute most important aspect about working in the music and film industry is making genuine connections. I am by no means the best composer around but I have been granted a lot of gigs simply because I have made strong, genuine relationships with young, up and coming directors. Having good music and skill is certainly vital, but being a good person, being genuine, and being a solid communicator will take you so much further in your career than simply having good music ever will.
1000% on this. Taking the time to build relationships instead of trying to shortcut your way into getting work is absolutely vital.
Thanks for this video. I like to compose orchestral music. I dont know if i'll get opportunities which i would want. But i like the sound of orchestras. And when i can i'll share. Thanks for this video.
Yes!!! This is exactly the advice most composers (and frankly, creative freelancers in every genre) NEED to hear!
Glad it resonated! 🙌
what i'm doing is creating my own work, by composing for my own game, that also gives me a portfolio to demo to ppl that i know how to use music with games and implement it using all the software, game triggers. layering. how to write music for video games as well. Playing a lot of games helps. I play a ton of modded Celeste, there's around 50 composers in that community. Like i highly recommend watching the video on Grandmaster Heartside Celeste, the music is unreal.. the last section , Shatter the Pantheon is a 3 against 5 polyrhthm and 2 sets of timed blocks work ith those patterns , it's crazy gaming.
For what it's worth I'm listening to that 2017 EP of yours on Spotify right now and enjoying it very much.
Thanks very much! :)
Hey Zach thanks for the advices 🙏🏻❤️
Can you please make a video about how to write music in a certain mode and talk a bit more about modes? Maybe one that you like yourself. I get so confused with the changes that occur to the chords. Cuz i am so used to using the natural Minor and Major scales in a negative way and i can't think outside the box anymore.
He has a video where he ranks the modes that he likes and goes into a bit of detail, but really the best way to learn is to pick one and try it. Dorian for example is just minor, but the sixth note is raised a half-step. Try writing a song with that raised sixth as a focal point and see how you can harmonize with that. Once you get comfortable enough, it just becomes another part of your creative repertoire.
@@JacobTeach yeah i actually watched that video and realized that oh man , i'm missing on so much creativity in music and music is way more than just natural minor and major scales. I'll definitely take your advice. I guess experience will fix my problem 🙏🏻
Thanks!
Hey thanks so much!
Your are precious.
Great advice for new and experienced composers alike. Are you still out here in Nashville?
Thanks Daniel! Based out of Pasadena now :)
That's a nice area! But not as green as Nashville ;)
lol you went to Hartt? I went to Hartt as well! Awesome.
Networking will make you or break you.
Dang im literally doing the first mistake as i wach and discovered this video 😂😮.
I still want to finish the album tough😅
Definitely finish it! And everything is a learning experience 🙂 Good luck with it!
Well this was a reality check 🙃
We all need 'em every now and again!
I get what you are saying here but it seems you are encouraging people to sell out and compromise. I don't think it's bad to encourage people to be unique. Being unique is not about flipping a switch, it's about 'becoming who you are' as Nietzsche would say, it's about being true to yourself which for some could take years.. And yes, it can be costly in terms of money, career etc. But ultimately it's about what you value more, leaving a mark or 'making it'.
I agree with you, I think it's great for composers to explore ways to be creative, innovative, and unique in their voice! And I totally agree that it doesn't just happen like a flipped switch. My point on musical voice was to help composers who want to do it for a living to understand that there's more to making it a career than making music or developing your voice. That's just the reality of the difference between composing for a hobby and composing for a profession, and it's definitely not for everyone!
@@ZachHeyde while I don't agree (or maybe don't understand) with the distinction hobby vs profession, I agree with the fact that a composer must be able to cater to who is paying them, be able to accomodate requests and provide in effect a service for someone. Personally what has helped me has been reaching out more to people asking advice/questions/about opportunities (networking), giving myself deadlines and meeting them, entering competitions and challenging myself to write for specific occasions. One thing is for sure, doing the bare minimum as a composer doesn't pay off
And to reply to my own thing, you can be the best in a niche. But you can't just say, "my niche is xyz." Because you don't really know which people like xyz niche. Or if people will ever like xyz niche. In music composition, does this sound familiar??? To find your niche, you need to explore and try out things and see which of your skills and output people like. Then do that more.
You can be the best. People think in ordinals. 1st, 2nd, 3rd. Most expensive, cheapest... Just think about how people buy toasters. You need to be the best! (Otherwise, it's charity, maybe friendship.)
But the best might only need to be the best for one person. You only need to be the best orchestrator/composer/music transcriber in your customer's mind and your customer's world, at the time when they need it.
Love this, man! 👏
In 2023, if your social media isn't blowing up I don't care if you're Danny Elfman, you're not going to make it. Times have changed, and gone are the days of simply making it by who you know or what you know; it's more important who knows YOU (aka, followers). The algorithm is the overlord.
Glad to hear that resonates with you. It's certainly been the case for me! I know some composers who have found their way around it, but they're often VERY very active building their network and/or relocating somewhere like LA where they can establish that trust offline.