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Steven Melin is no stranger to the podcast. He’s a good friend and a great composer, and he’s been quite busy for the past several months… writing a book! In this episode, we chat about the “why” behind Steven’s new book, Family-First Composer. He shares some practical tips for building a career in media composition without sacrificing the most important things in life like health, faith, and family. If you’re interested in reading the book, you can check it out on Amazon. Thanks for listening! — In other news, Composer Code now has a Patreon!! If you’d like to help
The post Ep 19: Succeeding as a Family-First Composer (Steven Melin) appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
Cajsa Larsson is a composer based in Karlshamn, Sweden that’s got a refreshingly unique approach to scoring games. Sometimes, it can feel like all of my peers in game audio are in one of two camps concerning their musical background or training: jazz or classical. It’s also a pleasure to meet someone who is influenced by a lot of the same non-video game music as me, and it was cool to see how those influences make their way into Cajsa’s music. We talk about Cajsa’s unique approach to starting a song, how she founded a game company with friends from
The post Ep 18: Starting with a Soundscape (Cajsa Larsson) appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
Grant Kirkhope is a man who needs no introduction. He’s the talented composer behind some of the most beloved classics on the N64 like Banjo Kazooie, Banjo Tooie, Goldeneye 007, and Perfect Dark. He’s also composed for several modern games including Kingdom of Amalur, Yooka-Laylee, and Viva Pinata. We talked about his work at Rare, the pros, and cons of working as a freelancer vs. full-time, and some practical tips for crafting melodies. He also shares a hilarious story about meeting Shigeru Miyamoto which had me cracking up. Thanks for listening! — In other news, Composer Code now has a
The post Ep 16: The (Inevitable) Interview with Grant Kirkhope (Banjo Kazooie, Goldeneye 007) appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
Matthew Carl Earl is the talented composer for Hexany Audio, a one-stop video game audio shop in Los Angeles, California. Matthew has worked on several AAA titles, including Kingdom Craft and Moonlight Blade (the largest MMORPG in China). Check out this video where he and audio director Richard Ludlow talk about their experience writing for the game. We talk about his work with Hexany and some of the benefits of full-time employment vs. freelancing, but also talk about some really organic, practical ways to build relationships and ultimately get paying work as a composer. My favorite quote from our conversation: “No
The post Ep 17: Cool People Attract Cool People (Matthew Carl Earl) appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
Chase Bethea is a video game and film composer with a unique blend of styles and an intriguing creative philosophy. We talked about how he got into video game music, how he practices “connecting” with his instrument, and he shared some incredible techniques for beating writer’s block. Seriously, every creative person needs to hear this. He was also heavily influenced by a very obscure soundtrack on the Gameboy. Here are the resources and links mentioned in our conversation: Chase’s website Pebble Beach soundtrack (so good) Thanks for listening! Don’t forget to give me a rating in iTunes, if you would be so kind.
The post Ep 15: Connecting with your Instrument and Crushing Writer’s Block (Chase Bethea) appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
Happy new year! To kick off 2019’s schedule, I had the privilege of sitting down with orchestrator, composer, and all-around nice guy Tony Manfredonia. We talked about his origin story, the indelible impact of games like Majora’s Mask, and how he approaches orchestrating a piano sketch (as well as a great resource for orchestration). He walked me through his composition process, starting with good ol’ music notation (not the piano roll!). We chatted about his current projects, and how he’s fused 8- and 16-bit sounds with the contrapuntal style of J.S. Bach. Here are the resources and links mentioned in
The post Ep 14: Contrapuntal Chiptune, Orchestration, and the Power of Notation (Tony Manfredonia) appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
Welp, it’s been a minute since we’ve been on the airwaves (a busy season of life has befallen the Kenyon household), but I’m delighted to be back on with my good buddy 8-bit Music Theory. This episode is a little special, as we actually analyze a few video game pieces in real time (download the transcriptions below to follow along) and talk more about the value of transcription. If you want to see the master at his craft, come child, and sit at the feet of Mr. Bit. Here are the resources mentioned in the video (including transcriptions of the
The post Ep 13: Analyzing Video Game Music with 8-bit Music Theory appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
In this episode of Composer Code, I chat with composer and sound designer Emmanuel Lagumbay. Emmanuel is out there fighting the good fight; networking like crazy, working with game devs to fulfill their visions, and helping other composers. We run in a lot of the same circles online, and I figured it was high time to have him on the show. Boy, did he bring the value. I’m obsessed with his metaphor of the composer as a farmer. We plant seeds, we water, we prune, and we wait. That’s the only way to success in this saturated, highly-relational business. We
The post Ep 12: Strategies for Getting Gigs and Playing the Long Game (Emmanuel Lagumbay) appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
Renowned for his unique and sometimes complex original scores for the multi-award-winning video games BioShock, BioShock 2, BioShock Infinite; the dramatic orchestral score for EA Games’ adaptation of Dante Alighieri’s epic poem, Dante’s Inferno; and his BAFTA-nominated scores for Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor and Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War, Garry Schyman has emerged as one of the industry’s foremost composers, receiving top honors for Best Original Score from the British Academy Of Film & Television and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. He was kind enough to chat with me for Composer Code, and he brought some serious value. If
The post Ep 11: How to Build Worlds with the Orchestra (Garry Schyman) appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
Gordy Haab is a multi-award-winning film, video game and television composer who has written music for many well-known titles, including most recently: Microsoft’s “Halo Wars 2, and EA’s “Star Wars: Battlefront II”, and “Star Wars Battlefront I”, which won Music of the Year, Best Interactive Score, and Best Instrumental Score at the 2016 GDC G.A.N.G. Awards, and was nominated for a BAFTA for Excellence in Audio Achievement. He was kind enough to chat with me for Composer Code, and he brought some serious value. If you’re interested in writing orchestral music, you will learn a lot. In our chat, we talked
The post Ep 10: Scoring A Galaxy Far, Far Away (Gordy Haab) appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
James Landino is a rockstar. Well, an EDM-star (if that’s a thing). He got his start composing electronic music for a Flash game and through grit, determination, and being an all-around nice dude, he landed a gig at Harmonix. He’s built a career as the go-to guy for all things electronic, and as a result is now a freelancer, working on several projects at once with no shortage of work. We chatted about his current freelance journey, the intersection of game music and electronic music, and the power of being really good at one single thing. He shared his perspective on
The post Ep 9: Where VGM and EDM Collide (James Landino) appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with 12tone (Cory), an educator, music theorist, and… metalhead? He’s one of the leading content creators in the music theory space, consistently delivering value with his signature top-down hand-written style of teaching. You can plum the depths of his channel for weeks and get almost a comprehensive knowledge of anything you need to know related to music theory. Check it out here. I loved chatting with Cory about his meticulous process for editing video and coming up with ideas, his new series on analyzing how songs work, and his personal successes and failures
The post Ep 8: Music Theory is Math That Makes Art (12tone) appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with Taylor Ambrosio Wood, a Berklee grad, marimbist, and talented video game composer. It was a great convo with some incredible insights. My favorite bits were how to go about prospecting for gigs, why rescoring game footage is probably not the best idea, and how to set up your DAW like a painter sets up their palette – these limitations breed great creativity. Taylor was a delight to speak with. You can listen to her tunes on her SoundCloud page. This interview is also available on YouTube Composer Code is also available on
The post Ep 7: Practical Advice on Getting Gigs and Creative Constraints (Taylor Ambrosio Wood) appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
In this dense episode of Composer Code, I chat with the fountain of knowledge known as Sebastian Wolff Sebastian is a sharp, yet humble and soft-spoken gentleman who has a keen vision for the future of video game music-makers. He’s founded multiple companies including Loudr, and more recently, Materia Collective. Materia Collective is the largest collaborative community of VGM creators in existence. In this episode, we chat through how Sebastian got into video game music, his insightful views on piracy, the future of the video game music community, and the importance of metadata. Thanks for listening! Use the timestamps below
The post Ep 6: The Sage of VGM Metadata Will Help You Get Paid (Sebastian Wolff) appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
Success = consistency over perfection. That’s the biggest takeaway I took from my value-packed interview with Carlos Eiene, aka, insaneintherainmusic. We chatted about his origins, his influences, his advice for young composers, the STARS system he uses for sight-reading music, his fascination with checklists, and the neuroscience of remembering things. We walk through his entire process for making videos, from the idea to the upload, and how he balances the improvisational nature of jazz with shipping consistent content. What does Carlos think about when he solos? What’s his sacred checklist? He breaks down the power of repeatable processes. Oh, and
The post Ep 5: Creativity, Deadlines, Spreadsheets, and VGM Jazz (insaneintherainmusic / Carlos Eiene) appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
I had the privilege of interviewing Cuphead composer Kris Maddigan We talked about his process for composition, the power of reading and studying those who’ve gone before you, and a simple but powerful principle for success as a video game composer. KRIS’ READING LIST: JAZZ THEORY & BIOGRAPHIES: Arranging for Large Jazz Ensemble – Berklee Press Mark Levine books Jazz Composition Theory and Practice – Berklee Press Henry Mancini – Sounds and Scores Barbershop Arranging Manuel Scott Joplin Complete Piano Works They All Played Ragtime – Harriet Janis and Rudi Blesh Early Jazz and The Swing Era – Gunther Schuller
The post Ep 4: Cuphead Composer Interview (Kris Maddigan) appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
I sat down with my good buddy and fellow composer Steven Melin to chat about creative burnout. This recorded conversation was recently featured on his podcast, Sonic Storytellers. Check out his awesome channel here: youtube.com/stevenmelin In this conversation, we discuss how composers experience creative burnout differently from other artists, how composers can prevent creative burnout (hint: a lot of it has to do with keeping life in balance!), and what we can do as composers once we’re in the thick of creative burnout. There are a lot of great takeaways in this conversation about how taking care of ourselves helps
The post Ep 3: Dealing with Creative Burnout (Steven Melin) appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
I had the awesome privilege of interviewing my favorite YouTube content creator, 8-bit Music Theory. The conversation was super valuable and a lot of fun. We talked about the Genesis (pun) of his love for video game music, how his jazz drumming degree helped him understand rhythm in video game music, and how starting a YouTube channel analyzing video game music was really a way to scratch his own itch. He gives incredible advice on how to find your own sound (spoiler: it has a lot to do with stealing), and why transcription is valuable for every musician. We also
The post Ep 2: Stealing – the Only Path to Originality (8-bit Music Theory) appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
Interview with Steven Melin Steven Melin is a multi-talented video game composer out of Atlanta. I discovered his YouTube channel through poking around for some video game music theory resources. His video on the Zelda chord has a solid viewership and I could tell he had some serious composition and piano chops – and a serious love for classic game music. I reached out and he was more than happy to sit down for an interview. He offered practical and inspiring advice on how to become a full-time musician and video game composer. Steven has been making music all his life,
The post Ep 1: How to Become a Video Game Composer (Steven Melin) appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
The Super Marcato Bros are Karl and Will Brueggemann. They are prolific video game music composers, podcasters, performers, enthusiasts, and all-around nice guys. Their Bandcamp boasts a catalog of over 30(!) albums, each demonstrating reverence for the formative melodies of their youth. The crown jewel of their creative careers seems to be their long-standing podcast, The Super Marcato Bros Video Game Music Podcast, in which they critique and explore video game music of all stripes. I sat down with them for a 30-minute interview (which turned into an hour-and-a-half interview) as they graciously shared insights and experiences on composing great music.
The post Ep 0: 21 Ways to Compose Better Video Game Music (Super Marcato Bros) appeared first on Matt Kenyon.
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