Lauren Buchter

Songwriting und Melodiekomposition

Hi Tom, Great job on this! I really liked that you stated the melody right from the start and developed it throughout the piece. It was simple, well crafted and very catchy. I could still hear the melody long after the track finished, and for a TV show theme that would be really important, as you're essentially branding the series through music. I also really like the pedal you have at the beginning on D that weaves through the entire piece, I think it really helps create tension in the track. If you'd like to develop this piece more, some things I would suggest: <ul><li>Introducing another instrument at :22, maybe one of the strings, so that it helps support the transition at :31 when all of the instruments come in. This could be a simple D pedal held through the section, or reduced chords of the piano part, such as D and A together.</li> <li>Break up some of the chord comping in the piano parts by using arpeggio patterns. A nice place to do this could be at 0:40, 1:14, 1:49, or 2:32, or anywhere that sounds good to your ear.</li> <li>Also, you could get a lot of variety by changing the dynamic levels in different sections.</li> </ul>Really nice work! Hope you enjoyed creating this project. I hadn't heard of Barrington Pheloung before, but I can definitely hear the inspiration after listening to his theme from Inspector Morse.

[Introducing another instrument at :22]
Funny you should mention that because that was my first idea, then I changed my mind and decided the piano should carry the "A" section until the build up before the bridge. I'll go back and give that a try now, see what happens. And some of your other suggestions as well. I agree about the piano part. One of the things that was bugging me was the left hand (or it would be if not sequenced) seemed too heavy. I was too lazy to go back and fix it I guess. But today's a fresh day so back to the drawing board.
   Apparently I didn't read the brief carefully enough. This may be heartfelt &amp; emotional but hardly appropriate for supporting a tribute to special individuals... lol. Can I submit another project (if I have the time)? And can I ask, is there a possibility this could become a paid gig? And how much do you typically make from one of these soundtrack gigs, if you don't mind me asking?

Hi Tom!

The revised track sounds great! Having an additional instrument come in at the beginning playing the melody really supports your composition. The transition is really nice at 1:49 where you introduce the arpeggio patterns. Each section really feels distinct in this latest track. It also sounds like you changed the orchestration a bit, it feels lighter and less bass heavy, really great. I like how from 1:49 to the end, it really feels like the piece is building towards an ending. 


Your first take on this is a really solid composition, adding and tweaking these little things just helps to support your wonderful musical ideas.


To answer your questions:


1. If you have time, definitely take a try at writing a composition based off the brief. It's a really fun way to think about music composition, using descriptive words and reference music.


2. If you're interested in doing this professionally, or as a freelancer, I would suggest looking in your community to see if there are any film school programs where you might find projects in need of music scores. Another great resource are music libraries. Much of the music you hear on TV comes from music libraries. The turn around time for TV is so insane that many producers and editors opt to license music already available, rather than hire a composer to create custom music. You can do a little research on what's out there, there are thousands of music libraries, many of them are non exclusive, which means you can potentially place the same song in many libraries. I would suggest doing a little research, and contacting some of them to see if they're accepting new music submissions.


Another useful thing is to look at your network of friends, family, coworkers, etc. Are there people you know who are involved in some way in industries that need music? You can think out of the box on this as well, it doesn't need to be exclusively film or TV. I've done everything from music for aerial dancers, theme music for podcasts, trailers, etc. I was once even asked to write music for instructional medical videos for surgeons, but ultimately passed on the project (I couldn't handle the blood! Haha), but this gives you an idea of some of the unconventional places you can look in.

In terms of budgets, this can vary so much. I don't believe in working for free, ever, however some people will do this in the beginning to get a few credits, or if the project looks worthwhile in some way. That's just my personal belief, but everyone is different, and I can see arguments for both. A student or short film can be anywhere from a few hundred to a thousand. Commercials can be anywhere from a few hundred, to 40-60K on a really big commercial such as for a car or superbowl ad, etc. Indie feature films can be several grand and up, depending on their budget. It all varies a lot, but I think the important take away from this is that this is not necessarily a field to get into for the money. :) Most of the composers I know, myself included, feel incredibly lucky to be able to get to do this for our careers and we make it work, even if that means sacrifices in some way. Hope that's helpful!

Thanks for the advice, comments and tips. Will be leaving Skillshare soon (subscription is up). Just wanted to tell you I really enjoyed your class.

Thanks Tom! It was wonderful to hear your work, and see your piece evolve. I'm really happy to hear you enjoyed the class! Hope you'll keep writing. :)


Writing mostly songs now. Though I have some instrumental work posted at <a class="url" href="http://www.youngcomposers.com/browse/music/name/barko/" rel="external nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.youngcomposers.com/browse/music/name/barko/</a> but it's a bit older and no doubt you would have some useful corrections for me. lol!

https://soundcloud.com/tombarko/theme-for-an-unsolved-mystery
Got the intial idea (first 2 measures or so) when thinking about this project. Then just followed my ear and the rest came to me bit by bit. Inspired by the music of Barrington Pheloung.
Newly revised version:
https://soundcloud.com/tombarko/theme-for-an-unsolved-mystery-revised
Great advice, Lauren, it's definitely much better! Especially just a small change such as substituting a dotted half note and a quarter rest for the 4 quarter notes just before the recapitulation. Gives it a much more powerful punch. I left the 1st version up for comparison. Thanks.

Theme For An Unsolved Mystery

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