Echos & Edges: Revisiting a Song Collection from 2016

At the start of 2025, I decided to revisit a set of songs I originally wrote in March 2016. Back then, the writing process was unexpectedly fast and cohesive—about nine songs came together in a single week, including melodies, chord progressions, lyrics, and charts. This was a stark contrast to my earlier experiences, where writing music felt difficult and slow, often yielding only a few scattered ideas over the course of a year.

The turning point came from a simple question my wife asked: “Why can’t you make an album in a week?” At first I looked at her with an expression of “you don’t know what you are asking…” but stopped and really considered “why can’t I”? I decided to act as if writing music was easy. That mindset shift resulted in a burst of creativity, and it’s a technique I’ve continued to use on subsequent projects, including Music Sketches, Realworld Beatcamp, Equinox, my Berklee degree, the Chigiana Film Scoring Intensive, and more.

Songwriting Process

I made early handwritten charts and lyric sheets for each song, which proved essential—without them, these songs likely wouldn’t have been recorded. While I didn’t document the process step-by-step, I know that once ideas started flowing, they came quickly. My daily studies of scales, chord scales, and resources like the Songwriting Sourcebook often sparked chord progressions and melodies. For lyrics, I relied on timed free-writing sessions followed by focused work on the song’s theme.

At the end of 2024, my wife and I committed to making 2025 a year of personal projects, which prompted me to finally bring these songs to life.

Arranging and Notation

For lead sheets, I used Dorico (which I absolutely love to work with). Its logical workflow made the process efficient and clear, particularly when working with lyrics. When I encountered challenging syncopated rhythms, I turned to targeted ear training with Ear Master, which has improved my overall musicianship.

Rehearsal Approach

Early on, I practiced songs in a freeform way and only used proper recording setups on the day of tracking, which was stressful and rarely yielded satisfactory results. I changed my approach to rehearse with a microphone, audio processing, and a click or drum track from the start of each week. Recording rehearsals and focusing on looping tricky sections helped clarify arrangements and improved the feel of each song.

Recording Workflow

Before recording, I made sure to define the essentials for each song: key, meter, tempo, and rhythms. I found an effective microphone position for recording guitar and vocals simultaneously—placing a condenser mic at shoulder height, with the back pointed toward the right corner of the room.

I used templates in both Luna and Logic, which sped up the technical side of recording. This was my first project entirely at a 96kHz sample rate, which struck a good balance between clarity and manageable file sizes. I also used Logic’s chord track feature and recorded the click to an audio track, automating its volume to minimize headphone bleed during softer passages.

While I enjoyed recording in Luna, I returned to Logic for its strength in working with MIDI in case I ever wanted to add any additional instruments. The songs are ready for further development if I choose to revisit them.

Mixing and Mastering

All songs were mixed in a single Luna session using consistent signal routing and templates. I relied on plug-ins like UA Voxbox for de-essing and Brainworx SSL 9000J for clarity on both vocals and guitar. Parallel compression, distortion, and reverb (using Capitol Chambers) added depth, while UA’s Studio D provided stereo width. The mix bus chain included SSL G Bus Compressor, Fairchild 670, ATR-102, and an 1176 used as a limiter.

Final mastering was done in Logic, with level matching and Ozone for polish.

Cafe Show & Tell (CST)

My wife and I created a weekly “Cafe Show & Tell” to share the progress we were making on our respective projects. These regular deadlines provided accountability and helped us stay on track. For my project, in addition to rehearsing and recording a new song, I performed two songs each week—one that was recorded and one for the following week.

Performing for someone else, even a close partner, felt very different from solo practice and highlighted the importance of preparation. Small details, like avoiding shirts with sleeve buttons (which can create unwanted noise), became apparent. Warming up 30 minutes before performing, closing my mouth when not singing, and pushing through mistakes were all practical lessons learned.

We also had weekly review meetings every Sunday night to help us reflect on progress and plan next steps, that made a significant difference in maintaining momentum.


This project has reinforced the value of mindset, preparation, and incremental progress in creative work. Revisiting these songs has been both a technical and personal journey, and the process itself has become as meaningful as the finished recordings.

The album is now available on all streaming platforms (such as Spotify), but you can also listen to it here on Bandcamp.

Dorico

Towards the end of last year I decided to try out a demo version of Steinberg’s Dorico Notation Software, as I had heard great things about it from some of my friends at Chigiana. I loved it so much that I bought a full version once the demo expired. How I wish that I had been able to use it while I was in Berklee’s program. It’s so much more enjoyable to work with than Finale, on so many levels. 

While I found some great tutorials on YouTube and Groove3, it wasn’t the same as doing a real project, from start to finish. For this I chose to create a project that would combine a few things I had been wanting to do for a while. 

First, notate a full orchestral score in Dorico, while using Note Performer (which I hadn’t really used yet). Secondly, analyze and recreate some of the scores in composer Ryan Lynch’s “10 ESSENTIAL Orchestral Scores You Need To Study” list. For this project I chose to focus on Mozart’s Symphony No 40 in G minor.  

Based on the original score found on IMSLP, here is the version that I created (first five minutes of the piece):

And here is the audio via Note Performer (and some processing in Logic using UAD’s Studer A800, SSL G Bus Compressor, Fairchild 770, and Ozone 9): 

Below is the analysis that I put together, based on Ryan Lynch’s template:

Overall, I really enjoyed this project as it helped me to get more familiar with Dorico while giving me an even deeper appreciation of just how great Mozart’s music is. Just amazing!