In order to be a music composer for film, television, and media one needs to have audio skills beyond instrumental and composition ability. While being able to compose music beautifully on an instrument is a fantastic talent, it is not enough in terms of creating a career in music composition. There are many other audio related skills which follow that are vital to a working music composer that should be mastered by any newcomer looking to break into the game.
1. Study music theory to learn the ins and outs of time signatures, tempos, and scales. The ability to play the flute or banjo are fine talents, but understanding the theory of the music you play will give you the proficiency to adapt or reconfigure your pieces to fit the requirements of a particular project in music composition.
3. Build your understanding of all genres of music in order to increase your availability for work. Its great to be partial to a certain of genre of music, but its not wise to limit yourself to one or two genres if you want to have enough work as a composer. A music writer who can only write one or two styles is not of much use to a good portion of the media world.
3. Own and learn to operate a digital audio workstation (DAW). There are plenty of great software based DAWs on the market which allow you to record and edit your material at will, an awesome and necessary power for any effective music composer who needs to deliver under tight deadlines.
5. Gain expertise in mixing your audio tracks. Having to schedule and afford a third party audio engineer or studio to mix your tracks can be costly and time wasting. Say time and funds by becoming an audio mixing expert and out pace other competing composers who have no audio skills and are bogged down with hiring someone else.
5. Become a mastering ninja. As with the initial audio mixing of your music, finding and hiring an audio house to master your tracks for deliver is wasteful in terms of time and money. Taking classes or studying the mastering of audio on your own will tease out the sweetness and power of your tracks and make your clients very happy and keep them coming back for more!
6. Learn the legal language of music licensing. A familiarity with the legal aspects of music licensing will allow you to respond intelligently and swiftly to any proposals by eager clients who are ready to pay you for your work.
The above skills will allow an aspiring music composer to acquire the versatility, efficiency, and professionalism necessary in the competitive arena of audio production for media.
1. Study music theory to learn the ins and outs of time signatures, tempos, and scales. The ability to play the flute or banjo are fine talents, but understanding the theory of the music you play will give you the proficiency to adapt or reconfigure your pieces to fit the requirements of a particular project in music composition.
3. Build your understanding of all genres of music in order to increase your availability for work. Its great to be partial to a certain of genre of music, but its not wise to limit yourself to one or two genres if you want to have enough work as a composer. A music writer who can only write one or two styles is not of much use to a good portion of the media world.
3. Own and learn to operate a digital audio workstation (DAW). There are plenty of great software based DAWs on the market which allow you to record and edit your material at will, an awesome and necessary power for any effective music composer who needs to deliver under tight deadlines.
5. Gain expertise in mixing your audio tracks. Having to schedule and afford a third party audio engineer or studio to mix your tracks can be costly and time wasting. Say time and funds by becoming an audio mixing expert and out pace other competing composers who have no audio skills and are bogged down with hiring someone else.
5. Become a mastering ninja. As with the initial audio mixing of your music, finding and hiring an audio house to master your tracks for deliver is wasteful in terms of time and money. Taking classes or studying the mastering of audio on your own will tease out the sweetness and power of your tracks and make your clients very happy and keep them coming back for more!
6. Learn the legal language of music licensing. A familiarity with the legal aspects of music licensing will allow you to respond intelligently and swiftly to any proposals by eager clients who are ready to pay you for your work.
The above skills will allow an aspiring music composer to acquire the versatility, efficiency, and professionalism necessary in the competitive arena of audio production for media.
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