(Coming Soon) A New Music Community
I'm thrilled to share some exciting news with you! I am in the process of creating a brand-new membership community and resource site centered around Composition, Music Theory, and Musicology.
As I have thought about my musical journey - I learned so much more when my professors brought me alongside them in their work, rather than just sitting and listening to a lecture. I got to see the creative process in action as they worked through real-world problems. And that’s what I want to create.
What is the Membership Community?
This upcoming membership community is designed to be a unique blend of learning, training, and community, through direct access to my creative work in composition, theory, and musicology. It’s a place where passionate musicians can deepen their knowledge, explore new ideas, and connect with a supportive community of like-minded individuals. It’s a place where we can all get better at our craft, and become better musicians, together. The community would be built on four core values: community, accessibility, innovation, and discovery.
Community:
I’d like to create a vibrant network of musicians. Composition and music research can be very isolating activities. Communities are often only found in academic settings, but we can change that. Engage in meaningful discussions, ask questions, and support each other’s growth. No one has it all figured out - we can all become better musicians together.
Accessibility:
Whether you’re a veteran musician or brand new; a student or educator; a composer, a performer, or a researcher; the music resources in this membership are designed to be accessible to everyone. Gain insights from detailed courses, access exclusive content, and learn at your own pace. I want to give everyone the chance to improve and excel, regardless of their background, musical style, or experience level.
Innovation:
One of my personal goals is pursuing innovation. That includes my creative work, but it also means pursuing innovative approaches to learning and creating music. From advanced masterclasses to unique composition techniques, we will continually explore new methods to enhance our musicality.
Discovery:
Composition, Music Theory, and Musicology are all about curiosity and discovery. There's something thrilling about discovering a new chord you love, or finding easter eggs hidden in the music you're analyzing, or in asking questions about music and finding the answer. This is your opportunity to discover new perspectives and deepen your understanding of music.
What will membership look like?
Details are still being worked out, and I would like to take this site through a Beta testing phase (more details later), but here is what I’ve got so far:
Gold Tier:
Digital Resources
PDF guides/Ebooks, Curriculum guides/Lesson plans, Research Papers, Annotated Scores
Music Downloads
Solo sheet music/perusal scores, Singles/Albums/Stock Music
Community Access
Private Discord Server, Early Access, Priority for lessons, discount, behind the scenes
Platinum Tier:
All Gold Tier benefits plus full access to Exclusive Content:
Online courses
Masterclasses
Exclusive Video Content
Extended Cuts and Commentaries
Live Streams
Office Hours
First Priority for Lessons, Bigger Discount + Discounts on Composition Services
Get Involved early
As I work towards launching this new community, I invite you to be part of its creation. Your feedback and support are invaluable in shaping a membership that truly meets your needs. Here’s how you can get involved:
Express Your Interest: Send me an email and let me know if this idea excites you and you have interest in being a member. Would you like to be a beta tester? Let me know that too.
Provide Feedback: Send me an email and share your thoughts on what you’d like to see in the community.
Support Through Crowdfunding: There is so much work to be done to make this a reality. There's a lot of content to produce, and a lot of website that needs to be designed. It's a lot. So, I'm starting a crowdfunding campaign to bring this vision to life - I am hoping to raise $5,000 to cover the cost of creating the content, and to pay for the web designing that is needed. You can get free membership for anywhere from one month to lifetime access for your donation. Note: The Crowdfunding campaign ended on September 27.
join a thriving music community
The Instrument Transposition Chart I Always Wanted
If you’re a performer, conductor, composer, or music student who has to deal with the headache of transposing instruments - I’ve got a brand new resource for you today.
It’s no surprise that transposing instruments are notoriously difficult to understand. The math of compensation is a bear, and that doesn’t even include the notoriously confusing language that goes along with transposition (“it transposes down a perfect fifth? is that written or sounding? so, I need to go down a fifth? I want to punch whoever came up with this.”)
Not only that - in school, I had to learn the ballpark ranges of every instrument. Here’s the thing, it’s difficult to keep memorized - not to mention, we learned the ranges for professional orchestra players. But in my actual work, I usually write for younger ensembles and I need to know their ranges too. It’s another thing that takes a bunch of time and effort to look up.
For the last decade or so, I’ve been compiling a crude version of this on my desk on various scraps of paper so that I don’t have to endlessly google the answer - or flip through an orchestration textbook - only to have to try to decipher what they mean. Now, I’ve completed this “Instrumental and Vocal Ranges and Transpositions” chart as a comprehensive desk reference guide for all musicians.
The chart is divided by instrument family , with 44 instruments total. For each instrument the chart includes:
Ranges for Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Professional Players
Transpositions for each key, and a direct comparison to the concert pitch
Other notes about writing or reading parts for that instrument
Some great applications for this chart:
Writing and arranging for any ensemble that uses staff notation
Study guide for music students who are first learning about the idea of transposition
Educators who are teaching about transposing instruments
Score study for conductors who are using transposing scores
Analysis for music theorists (or music theory students) who are studying scores
Performers who play transposing instruments - especially younger performers
I think you will find this chart to be a priceless addition to your collection, improving your work flow - it has certainly improved mine.
As an aside, if you’ve been considering enrolling in my beginner composition course “Start Write Now”, this chart is included for free when you enroll. Just saying.
To get your copy of the chart click the link below.
further reading
