We all know one guy that decries and derides music theory as limiting creativity. News flash – it’s not true! Today I’m going to show you how chord progressions work and ho...

There's a lot of buzz around the Metallica classic "Master of Puppets" in the newest season of Stranger Things. Being into metal myself, I wanted to address some of the tox...

My teacher once told me the hardest part of writing a song is to start and finish. I think this holds up and wanted to make sure you have some techniques in your toolbox.  ...

I’m gonna try something new today. Instead of straight teaching about music, I want to talk about something that really grinds my gears. I came across an article by a music...

Well, here it is. The end. We're done. You've watched a real composer write music in Sibelius. The journey is done, and I'm excited to be able to share the final episode wi...

At some point, we've all forgotten the importance of dynamics. Dynamics and expression are intricately tied together, but sometimes we're so focused on everything else, it ...

This week on Watch a Real Composer Write Music in Sibelius, when we're coming to the end of a song or piece, it's easy to want to make fast decisions and just be done already...

I was once told by a teacher that one of the most difficult parts of writing music is starting and finishing. I think there's real truth to this as the first and last impress...

There's a moment as we write music when the music becomes self-referential. This is one of my favorite places to be, because suddenly primary and secondary motives and obje...

Sometimes when we're writing music, it almost feels like we're wrestling with it. Our inner ear is telling us one thing, but what's coming out just isn't it. This week, I fou...

When writing music, it's important to take the theory you learn and apply it when you write. But, it's also important not to get too caught up in what's "allowed." In my l...

Sometimes, the best way to learn how to do something is to watch someone else do it. In my ongoing series, Watch a Real Composer Write Music in Sibelius, I show you how I wri...