Category Archives: Production Techniques

The Gospel

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Love the music, not the rules

I love the chord voicings and progressions in Gospel music and have been wanting to do a gospel-inspired song for a few years. Aretha Franklin’s “Amazing Grace” is one of the most powerful, uplifting, and spiritually rich pieces of music I have ever experienced. I watched videos on gospel piano and Hammond B3 to get a feeling of what would be involved and set out to write a song about feeling lost and then finding clarity and alignment. As the piece started coming together, something just didn’t feel right. I was getting “all the feels” as I hit the chorus, but also felt deeply wrong at the same time.

I am a big believer in spirituality and finding spiritual connections in the world, but I am not a fan of organized religion – historically, it has done so much more harm than good. So the song’s lyrics had to take a turn to feel honest to me. What started as a song about finding community through faith became a critique of religious rules and worthiness.

The final version is honest, even if it’s not what I originally planned. It’s full of gospel voicings, inversions, and the “Sunday scale” – but the message is mine.

In the arc of the Identity album, “The Gospel” adds more complex instrumentation and color, while extending the sentiment of “Angel” as the protagonist continues their search for connection and understanding, reaching for “something more”.

Special Recording Notes

  • All instruments were recorded in Logic at 24‑bit/96kHz.
  • Lead vocal: No external processing during recording – captured dry to leave flexibility for later.
  • Backing vocals: Mervyn Warren Choir, programmed via MIDI.
  • Bass: Electric bass played live.
  • Guitars: Two electric guitar parts played live.
  • Drums: Superior Drummer Reel Reel – Woodroom Drums. A new library to me – and I love it!
  • Organ: Logic Pro’s “Oakland Organ” and UA’s Waterfall Organ.
  • Piano: Native Instruments Kontakt “The Maverick” (using the “Deep Maverick” preset).
  • All tracks were exported into Luna for mixing.

Special Mix Prep Notes (Post‑Tracking, Pre‑Mixing)

  • Clip gain: Adjusted every vocal region to around -18 dB RMS before any processing.
  • Melodyne: Used for both pitch correction and the sibilant tool – far superior to FlexPitch.
  • Hardware Voxbox: Ran the lead vocal through my Manley Voxbox as a hardware insert. Settings:
    • Input: 12:00, Gain: 48, HPF: 80Hz
    • Compressor: Threshold 2:00, Attack Medium Slow, Release Medium Fast
    • De‑esser: LIMIT 10:1, Threshold 12:00
    • EQ: Low Peak 100Hz +1dB, Mid Dip 300Hz –8dB, Hi Peak 12kHz +8dB

Special Mixing Notes

  • Submasters: Created group submasters for Drums, Bass, Guitars, Piano, Organ, BVs/Choir, and Lead Vocal.
  • API EQ trick: Used on the electric guitars – +1 click of 3k on one guitar, +1 click of 5k on the other (UAD API 550).
  • Drums: Empirical Labs Distressor (modified “Parallel Drum Bus” preset) for parallel compression on the Reel to Reel Drums.
  • Bass: dbx 160 and Pultec EQP‑1A.
  • Lead Vocal: UA SSL 4000E on the channel. Empirical Labs Distressor (“Stronger Vocal Compressor” preset) for parallel compression. Shadow Hills (modified “Vox Male” preset) on the lead vocal submaster.
  • Vocal double: Created via Melodyne, processed with A‑Type (“Feeling That Way” preset).
  • Reverb: Capitol Chambers (modified “Big Vocal Sauce” preset) on a send for lead vocal.
  • Black Box on each group submaster:
    • Drums: “Mix Bus 4 Aggro Rock”
    • Bass: “08 Black Wow”
    • Guitars: “15 Guitar Opener”
    • Piano: “18 Mix Bus 2”
    • Organ: “35 Master‑Rock Anarchy”
    • BVs/Choir: “07 Airy Vocal”
    • Lead Vocal: “05 Acoustic Sparkle”
  • Mix Bus processing: Black Box, SSL G Bus Compressor, Fairchild 670, ATR-102, plus a Pultec EQP‑1A boosting & attenuating 2dB @ 100Hz & 10kHz.

Special Mastering Notes

  • Target LUFS: Aimed for approximately -14 LUFS at the climax.
  • Ozone settings:
    • Vintage Tape: “Clear Character” preset
    • Equalizer: Slight boost of +0.6 dB @ 10.696 kHz (Shelf)
    • Imager: 0‑182Hz = 0.0, 182Hz‑2.4kHz = 11.4, 2.4kHz‑12kHz = 29.1, 12kHz‑20kHz = 32.9
    • Vintage Compressor: “Smooth Opto” preset – threshold -18.6 dB, ratio 1.5:1, attack 28.6ms, release 46.9ms
    • Maximizer: IRC IV “Modern”, threshold -6.3 dB, ceiling -4.0 dB, Character 2.60
  • Dither: POW‑r #2 when converting from 24‑bit to 16‑bit.

Here is the leadsheet to “The Gospel”.

The Gospel – LeadDownload

Identity is now available on all streaming platforms (such as Spotify), or you can also listen to it on Bandcamp.

Us

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Open D, Zeus, and a song about family

“Us” started with a tuning I had never used before: Open D (DADF#AD). I’ve written songs in alternate tunings previously, but never in Open D. The moment I strummed that first chord on my Taylor “Zeus”, I knew there was a song in there waiting for me to discover. It felt deeply resonant, wide, and somehow nostalgic. The song came together over a few days of songwriting rotations.

The song’s melody and movements reminded me of my family, all the fun and magical moments we have shared over the years. It feels warm and expansive with a sense of adventure to me.

For the album’s narrative, this song builds on the nostalgia of “Angel” – remembering what was good in one’s life and wanting that to last as long as possible.

I rehearsed the song daily and performed it at multiple CST sessions. By the time I was ready to record, I knew the song inside out – but that didn’t make the recording process any easier (see Special Recording Notes).

Special Recording Notes

  • Guitar: Taylor “Zeus”, tuned to Open D (DADF#AD).
  • Microphone setup: Multi‑mic technique – one Equitec mic at the 12th fret, plus two Earthworks microphones in stereo a few feet away and slightly above. This gave me flexibility in mixing to balance string articulation and room tones. I was pleasantly surprised by the depth this approach afforded me.
  • Recording environment: Outside noise (delivery trucks, helicopters, planes) ruined many takes. I learned to record during quiet late‑night hours.
  • Keeper take: Take 18 was the one. It felt solid from start to finish. I marked it immediately.

Special Mix Prep Notes (Post‑Tracking, Pre‑Mixing)

  • After some clip gain adjustments (shooting for -18dB RMS), I exported all the files out of Logic and brought them into Luna for mixing.

Special Mixing Notes

  • Submasters: Created a group sub‑master for the guitar tracks.
  • Brainworx SSL 9000 J: Used on each of the guitar channels for tone shaping.
  • Fairchild 670: Used on a send with modified settings (adjusted Input and Threshold from the default) for parallel compression.
  • LA‑3A: On the group sub‑master using the “Acoustic Guitar” preset. (Got this idea from a Bob Clearmountain video.)
  • Ocean Way Studios: Used in reverb mode on a send.
  • Capitol Chambers: Used with a modified version of the “Acoustic Guitar Chamber 6” preset.
  • Mix Bus processing: Black Box (“17 Mix Bus 1” preset), SSL G Bus Compressor (modified Default setting), Fairchild 670 (Modified Stereo Bus preset), ATR-102 (modified Default setting)

Special Mastering Notes

  • Target LUFS: Aimed for approximately -16 LUFS (preserving the wide dynamic range – very soft to triple forte).
  • Ozone settings:
    • Vintage Tape: “Clean Fifteen” preset
    • Equalizer: -1.2 dB @ 239 Hz (Bell, Q 8.9), +0.6 dB @ 10.7 kHz (Shelf, Q 24.0)
    • Imager: 0‑70Hz = 0.0, 70‑2.7kHz = 24.1, 2.7kHz‑11.8kHz = 32.9, 11.8kHz‑20kHz = 41.8
    • Vintage Compressor: “Smooth Opto” preset – threshold -22.6, ratio 1.5:1, attack 37.8ms, release 69.6ms
    • Maximizer: IRC IV “Modern”, threshold -7.2 dB, ceiling -4.3 dB, Character 2.60
  • Dither: POW‑r #2 when converting from 24‑bit to 16‑bit.

Identity is now available on all streaming platforms (such as Spotify), or you can also listen to it on Bandcamp.

Angel

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For the Identity album, I wanted to start small and end huge, with complexity and volume building over time. To do this, I felt the first song had to be elemental and essential. What better way to convey this than with the most fundamental musical instrument: the human voice? That song would become “Angel”.

When I first started sketching the piece out, I sat at my keyboard with a notebook and a pencil. No complicated samples, just my voice and a simple piano sound. I needed to figure out the chords, the melody, and how the verses would shift from minor to major. That piano sketch became the blueprint for everything that followed.

I originally intended to sing all the vocal parts myself – four voices, stacked and blended. I created a lead sheet and rehearsed the main vocal with piano daily. But as my self‑imposed recording deadline approached, I realized that I was running out of time. I had never actually tried singing the other parts, and I wasn’t confident that I could get the blend and consistency I wanted in the time I had left. I needed a better solution.

Then I discovered Mervyn Warren’s Choir library (Spitfire Audio) during a Black Friday sale. That changed everything. Suddenly, I had a real‑sounding ensemble that could support my lead vocal without overpowering it. I ended up using the choir throughout the entire piece, from start to finish – introducing different sections of the choir at key points (bridge, final chorus) but always keeping a choral presence underneath.

Once I had a rough mix together, hearing everything blend together, I knew this was going to work as the opener to the album that I had originally imagined. Mixing and mastering this piece was pretty straightforward as there weren’t too many tracks and everything was sounding really good with some minimal processing.

Special Recording Notes

  • Lead vocal: Recorded in Logic at 24bit/96kHz.
  • No external processing during recording – captured dry to leave flexibility for later.

Special Mix Prep Notes (Post‑Tracking, Pre‑Mixing)

  • Clip gain: Adjusted every vocal region to around -18 dB RMS before any processing.
  • Melodyne: Used for both pitch correction and the sibilant tool – far superior to FlexPitch.
  • Hardware Voxbox: Ran the lead vocal through my Manley Voxbox as a hardware insert. Settings:
    • Input: 1:00, Gain: 48, HPF: 80Hz
    • Compressor: Threshold 12:00, Attack Fast, Release Medium Fast (“Classic LA2A”)
    • De‑esser: LIMIT 10:1, Threshold 9:00
    • EQ: Low Peak 100Hz +2dB, Mid Dip 300Hz –9.75dB, Hi Peak 20kHz +11.5dB

Special Mixing Notes

  • Choir: Mervyn Warren Choir, programmed via MIDI and rendered as audio, placed on its own fader groups. Created submasters for each choir section (e.g., soprano, alto, tenor, bass) and wrote automation to build dynamics across the song’s sections (intro, verse, chorus, bridge, outro).
  • Lead vocal chain: After the hardware insert, I set up two sends: one for parallel compression using a Fairchild 660, and another to a dedicated instance of Black Box using the “Airy Vocal” preset for some “dirt”. I blended both in with the main vocal track.
  • Reverb:
    • Lexicon 480L with the “Dialog 2” setting on one send.
    • Air Studios Reverb Essentials with the “Cathedral Strings” setting on another send, used during the climax.
  • Blackbox: Added to master bus with the “16 Mix Bus 1” preset – gave the whole track a subtle, warm glue.

Special Mastering Notes

  • Target LUFS: Aimed for -15 to -16 LUFS (intimate, natural, breath).
  • Ozone settings:
    • EQ: Made small adjustments – +0.8 dB on high shelf @ 10.5 kHz
    • Imager: Mid‑side mode – 0‑70Hz = 0.0, 70Hz‑2.8kHz = 24.1, 2.8kHz‑5.0kHz = 41.8
    • Maximizer: IRC IV “Modern”, threshold -6.5 dB, ceiling -5.0 dB, Character 2.60
  • Dither: POW‑r #2 when converting from 24‑bit to 16‑bit.

Here’s the lead sheet for Angel:

Angel Lead SheetDownload

Identity is now available on all streaming platforms (such as Spotify), or you can also listen to it on Bandcamp.

How Identity Came Together (A Personal Account)

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Identity is now streaming everywhere and on Bandcamp. This is how it was made.

While doing an annual year‑end review of 2024 and planning for 2025, I started jotting down ideas on my whiteboard for a new music project – things that might be fun and interesting to try.

My initial brain dump

Some ideas were based on tools I wanted to use and/or get more familiar with (Spitfire Audio’s Fragile String Evolutions, Abbey Road Strings, Abbey Road Percussion, Universal Audio’s Luna and mixing plugins, Tone Master, Superior Drummer, Omnisphere, and Dorico). Others were genres I wanted to explore (Texas guitar, Motown‑ish funk bass, gospel chords & changes, a Nine Inch Nails‑style synth piece, an acoustic piece, a Radiohead‑meets‑Soundgarden song, a guitar texture looping piece, and a long textural orchestral composition).

I started by creating an abstraction of how I imagined the album starting and finishing, with some artist references to draw from.

Initial ideas for the album contour abstraction

I then fleshed out the abstraction to get an even clearer picture of what happened in between.

Filled out the abstraction by defining each piece from start to finish.

The working title was Harvest. I gave myself three months (June 1 to August 31, 2025) to finish it. (Spoiler: that didn’t happen.) For the most part, I stayed true to these abstractions and musical sketches I put together in that first week. 

The album became Identity – nine tracks that start small and elemental (a cappella) and end huge, bombastic, ornate, and broad, with everything in between. To prepare, I listened to and studied artists I’ve long admired: Todd Rundgren’s “Pretending to Care” (for the a cappella piece); Aretha Franklin’s “Amazing Grace” (gospel); Ry Cooder, Jedd Hughes, and Lyle Lovett (that lonesome Texas guitar feeling); Joe Dart’s playing on Vulfpeck’s “Dean Town” and James Jamerson for Motown funk; Robert Fripp’s Frippertronics (guitar looping); Nine Inch Nails’ Tension 2013 tour (Pino Palladino on “Sanctified”) and their collaboration with David Bowie (“I’m Afraid of Americans”) for a hard‑hitting synth piece; Ligeti and Penderecki (aleatoric and textural ideas); and Peter Gabriel’s New Blood Orchestra versions of “Signal to Noise” and “Rhythm of the Heat” (which informed my approach to the orchestral piece).

Again, my initial timeline was more than a little optimistic – “Vantage”, the orchestral piece, took on a life of its own. It grew from the Radiohead‑meets‑Soundgarden rock song into a large symphonic piece with a notated score and full orchestral instrumentation. It had so many challenges: compositionally (many metric modulations & meter changes), technically (maxed out rendering memory in Luna), and emotionally (it seemed to never end). It was a massive undertaking.

I created numerous spreadsheets to handle project planning, tracking, and observations along the way – things to remember next time. They were invaluable in helping me to get my thoughts clarified and progress tracked. Here are some screenshots of a few of them.

Songwriting status spreadsheet

Pre-Production tracker

Chigiana-styled composition planning spreadsheet for the orchestral piece, Vantage

Production tracker for all songs

Mixing and mastering prep tracker

Below is the monthly summary of how the whole thing unfolded – the good, the bad, and the metric modulation.

2025

May – Planning & Listening Parties
I spent the first week just listening and imagining. A cappella, Texas guitar, gospel, looped/texture guitar, funk, acoustic guitar, NIN‑style synth, Radiohead‑meets‑Soundgarden, orchestral – I wanted nine distinct genres that would somehow feel like one album. The working title was Harvest. I felt inspired.

June – Songwriting Drill Downs
Structured writing sessions, daily acoustic rehearsals, and “Cafe Show & Tell” (CST) performances for my wife. The Open D piece (I-40) started to feel real.

July – A Slow Month
I dove into the ThinkSpace BBCSO course as well as an InsideTheScore composing challenge. Little direct album progress, but my skills improved.

August – Intensive Writing & Research
Deep dives into Todd Rundgren, Aretha Franklin, Robert Fripp, Ry Cooder, Jedd Hughes, Lyle Lovett, Joe Dart & Vulfpeck, Robert Fripp, Nine Inch Nails, Radio Head, Sound Garden, Peter Gabriel & New Blood Orchestra, as well as the composers Holst, Ligeti and Penderecki. Daily work on all songs in rotation. By the end of the month, I had most song structures as well as full lyrics for the Gospel and NIN pieces. “Yes!!”

September – Daily Rehearsals & Charts
Wrapped up writing of structures and lyrics. Rehearsed all songs six or seven days a week. Started doing deep‑focus rehearsals: Angel section by section for 50 minutes, Fields and Gospel for 30 each, etc.. Lead sheets in Dorico underway.

October – Charts, CST & Logic Templates
Finished charts for Angel, Gospel, and RadioGarden. Restrung all guitars. Created Logic template files for every song – tempo, meters, markers, chord track. Continued performing at CSTs.

November – Production Begins
Recorded scratch tracks, primary guitar parts, and vocals. Re‑amped Fields through my pedalboard – “sounds amazing!” Also added more Spitfire libraries, UAD plugins, and Superior Drummer SDX to my system.

December – Vantage Takes Over
Everything came to a halt due to metric modulation and orchestration issues for Vantage. Eventually figured it out, after losing a lot of momentum. Then completed notation of Vantage – 2nd verse, chorus, strings, bridge, outro, transition. “Made significant progress – feeling good about the piece again.” 

2026

January – Orchestral Scoring & Logic Transition
Exported Dorico MIDI to Logic. Assigned articulations for every instrument. Fixed tempo errors where “.500” had gone missing. Discovered that Horns 1‑4 share samples (legato nightmare). Used Tim Davies’ approaches for string and woodwind arrangements – spread out arpeggios became a lifesaver.

February – Articulation Hell → Breakthrough
Created SHORTS and LONGS track stacks. Then the workflow adjustment that saved me: Humanisation → Quantisation (40%) → Copy to SHORTS → Re‑assign articulation → Delay offset. Applied to every instrument. The result? “Can’t express how relieved I feel … sounds so much better.” I rendered virtual instruments to audio and never looked back.

March – Vocals, Melodyne & First Luna Mix
Learned Melodyne (YouTube and Groove3). Started mixing in Luna, with “The Gospel” being the first song. Discovered clipping before the second chorus – a poorly edited comp region. But then: hardware Manley Voxbox on lead vocal. Huge difference. My vocal recipe became: clip gain → Melodyne → Voxbox → parallel Distressor → Shadow Hills + Pultec. Blackbox on the master bus – “sounds amazing”.

April – Album‑Wide Mix Prep
Mixed Angel, Fields, X9, Us, I‑40, Freedom, and Disintegration in Luna. Built a repeatable template. Added to my plug‑in cheat sheet: AMS doubling, Cooper Delay (default for widening), Oceanway in reverb mode.

May – Vantage Deep Mix, Mastering & Burnout
DeepSeek helped me generate tables for tape machines, console emulations, summing, reverbs, and delays. Then I created a Mix Processing Bus – all submasters → processing bus → trim bus. This let me keep my tone while hitting -6dB peak for mastering. Vantage went through multiple iterations. I was exhausted. I made a Plan B (only Adaptive Limiter) and a Plan A (full Ozone processing). Plan A sounded better. 

June – Submission & Release
June 1st: Submitted the audio files to CDBaby. June 5‑8: I went back and updated Vantage Dorico score with timpani, bass drum, piatti, tubular bells, tam tams. June 9: CDBaby passed inspection – album appeared on Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify and other streaming services. June 11: Set up Bandcamp release. Announced album release on my website.

Things I Want to Remember for Next Time

  • Abstractions for everything! – for albums, songs, lyrics, arrangements, mixes, mastering.
  • Parallel processing – work on all songs in rotation. Prevents getting stuck.
  • Keeping a project log was super helpful. Often I lost track of what I did and/or when I did something and having the log helped to put things in perspective.
  • Whiteboard word dumps – adjectives and emotional arcs before writing lyrics.
  • Modeling after other songs (e.g. Afraid of Americans) was super useful
  • Songwriting Status Table before notation, huge help!
  • Created Chigiana-like spreadsheet to identify everything I might want to do in Vantage. Definitely helped to give clarity.
  • While notating challenging parts, determine rhythms first then add pitches
  • Having a piano reduction for Vantage was key, particularly for the arpeggios in the WWs.
  • Having the Chord Track in Logic was super helpful, even just for reference while playing parts in live.
  • Rehearsals: 1) Extended focus (repeat one section at a time until locked) 2) Going over all songs for a couple of months was huge
  • Remembering Confidence on opening line is everything
  • Performing @ CST (Cafe Show & Tell) – weekly creative sharing. Uncovered every blind spot.
  • Re-Amping with two amps rules (Tone Master + Landau = Amazing)
  • Stereo pair mic’ing for room tones worked beautifully (watch for positioning and phase coherence)
  • Tim Davies approaches – string & woodwind arrangements, spread out arpeggios.
  • Shorts/Longs + delay offset – essential for realistic sample orchestras.
  • Remember to keep original MIDI tracks with Virtual Instruments removed after bouncing to audio. Hide, but keep them around.
  • Clip gain to -18dB RMS on all audio tracks.
  • Melodyne – superior to FlexPitch. Sibilant tool is a lifesaver.
  • Hardware Voxbox – massively better than software. Use it.
  • Parallel compression on acoustic guitar is awesome! Loved the Fairchild 770 on Us (Time Constant set to 5, cranked the input gain and the threshold so that -10dB of compression was applied.
  • Using different Studer A800 machines and tape formulations/setting per instrumentation group made a huge difference to create space EQ wise. See project log for specific settings.
  • DeepSeek was invaluable in figuring out which tape machines, tape, & settings to use in Vantage (orchestra & rock instrumentation). Also gave really helpful guidance in delays and reverbs to use on all instruments other than the vocals (see project log for specific settings). Really great.
  • Blackbox HG-2: “Mix bus 1” preset is pretty excellent on just about anything
  • Other plug-in mentions: AMS vocal doubling, Cooper Delay (default) for widening and giving presence particularly synth bass, and Oceanway in reverb mode on a send
  • Mix Processing Bus – submasters → processing bus → trim bus to -6dB. Decouples tone from delivery level.
  • Plan A / Plan B – always have a safety net. Saved me multiple times.
  • 96kHz workflow – record/mix at 96kHz, then convert: 24/96 → 24/44.1 → 16/44.1 with POW‑r #2 dithering.
  • The making/creating is the prize/goal. I’ll never be this intimate with these songs again.

What to Avoid (or Do Better)

  • Never skip the metronome during rehearsals – even if not recording to click. My timing suffered.
  • AI isn’t always great at doing musical analysis and often makes mistakes on advanced usage of music and audio apps.
  • Need a way to circle back to/review original intentions – e.g., The Gospel drifted from its original meaning. A one‑page abstraction for the lyrics might have caught it.
  • Create a tempo track before layered recording – I‑40 drifted because I had no click.
  • Need to remember to voice lead better when writing on guitar and transferring to other instruments
  • Practice in the recording setup – outside noise and unfamiliar mic position ruined takes.
  • Hit a roadblock w/ orchestrating Vantage. I think I was making it too important.
  • Don’t let burnout drive decisions – when exhausted, make a Plan B, rest, then do Plan A properly.

Identity is now available on all streaming platforms (such as Spotify), or you can also listen to it on Bandcamp.

Echos & Edges: Revisiting a Song Collection from 2016

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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.

Lead – Don’t Say GoodbyeDownload

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.

Revisiting Colossus—Building a Full Orchestral Score and Template

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This past spring, I dove into the Spitfire Audio Colossus Re-Scoring Competition with an approach that started simple: a piano reduction in Dorico, then a MIDI export to Logic Pro, where I fleshed out the arrangement using Spitfire’s Contemporary Drama Toolkit, Abbey Road One, Ólafur Arnalds Cells, and Omnisphere 2. For a full breakdown of that process, see my post here.

After the competition, I decided to take things further by creating a full orchestral score in Dorico and building a new Logic Pro template based on Spitfire’s BBC SO and Abbey Road Orchestra. My goal was not only to improve the sound, but also to test a workflow I could use for future orchestral projects.

The Good: Dorico’s Notation Power

Writing the expanded score in Dorico was a pleasure—everything felt intuitive and efficient, especially compared to Finale. But when it came time to export MIDI for Logic, I hit a few snags.

The Not-So-Good: MIDI Export Challenges

Depending on the expression map you are using, Dorico exports a lot of extra MIDI data, and there’s no way to turn it off. The expression and modulation information didn’t translate well to Logic, so I ended up deleting everything but the notes and velocities and redoing all the expressive details by hand. The BBC SO expression maps from Dorico’s website didn’t help much either.

I get that Dorico can’t know how I want velocities mapped to my sample libraries, but it still made the process more tedious than I’d hoped.

Mixing & Template Insights

Spitfire’s plugins have multiple volume controls, which can get confusing. I found that using Logic’s mixer for overall volume, and plugin controls for expression/modulation, made things much easier. Other key takeaways:

  • Logic’s velocity values didn’t always match Dorico’s (fff = 100 instead of 120–127).
  • Short articulations need careful velocity/expression; long ones depend on modulation.
  • Map divided parts (like Flute 1 & 2) across solo instrument/leader and section instruments.
  • Quantizing and humanizing MIDI in Logic helped restore a natural performance.

Mixing Approach

For this version, I used the AMEK 9099 on group buses (details here), and my usual mix bus chain: SSL G Bus Compressor, Fairchild 670, and ATR-102.

Downloads & Links

  • My updated 2025 Orchestral Template for Logic Pro:
Orchestral Template 2025.logicxDownload
  • This is the final audio master of the piece:
  • You can view and download the Full Score here:
Schoonmaker Spitfire Colossus Trailer – Full ScoreDownload
  • This is the final version of the video:

Conclusion

Upgrading my competition entry was a valuable learning experience. Dorico is a fantastic notation tool, but exporting to Logic for detailed mockups still takes some manual work. The payoff: a more expressive, nuanced orchestral sound—plus a workflow I’ll use again.

Spitfire Rescoring Competition: Lessons Learned

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After participating in the Spitfire Rescoring Competition, I wanted to share some reflections and takeaways from the experience. This blog post serves as a recap of the process and lessons learned, which I hope will be helpful for future projects.

Rediscovering the Joy of Scoring to Picture

It had been a while since I worked on a score-to-picture project, and diving back into this intense focus reminded me why I love this type of work. Seeing ideas evolve from simple voice memo recordings into fully realized compositions synced to picture was incredibly rewarding.

Planning: The Key to Success

With only 12 days to complete the submission, planning was crucial. I started by creating a tentative schedule outlining what needed to be done and when. This roadmap kept me on track and ensured that I could manage my time effectively.

Getting Back into Film Scoring Mode

To refresh my approach, I watched several helpful videos from Spitfire Audio that provided insights into composing for film. These resources were invaluable in getting my mindset aligned with the task at hand.

Here are the videos that I found super useful for this project:

You can find even more super helpful tutorials for composing on Spitfire Audio’s page:
https://www.spitfireaudio.com/professional-guide-to-composing

Spotting and Abstraction

Spotting key moments in the video was an essential step. I locked scene markers in my Logic file and began abstracting the piece—imagining its final form from a high-level perspective. This process helped me generate motifs and define the sound palette, which included Spitfire libraries like Abbey Road One, Contemporary Drama Toolkit, Olafur Arnalds’ Cells, and Omnisphere.

Here’s my spotting session:

Here are my notes for the abstraction, spotting session, and libraries I used for this project:

Spitfire Colossus trailer AbstrationDownload

Sketching and Notation Workflow

Using guitar sketches recorded into Voice Memos, I developed ideas for the score. Once I had a complete concept, I notated everything in Dorico using two grand staves before exporting MIDI to Logic for further refinement. This workflow allowed me to combine notation with sound design seamlessly.

Spitfire Colossus Trailer – 2 Grand StavesDownload

Adapting Plans Under Pressure

As time grew tight, I created two plans: “Plan A” (ideal) and “Plan B” (minimum requirements). Ultimately, I followed a hybrid approach between the two, which gave me confidence that I could complete the project regardless of constraints.

Mixing and Mastering

Mixing involved setting automation levels, EQ adjustments, and mix bus processing using tools like SSL G Bus Compressor and Logic Limiter. For mastering, I used Ozone with custom presets to finalize the track before syncing it with the video.

Finalizing the Project

After completing the final version, I decided to sleep on it to give my ears a rest. Revisiting it the next day confirmed that it was ready for submission.

Takeaways: What Worked Well

  • Rediscovering scoring: It was fun and fulfilling to work on this type of project again.
  • Pre-production: Abstraction, spotting, sound palette definition, and motif generation were invaluable. Remember to always start with a meter of 1/4 when determining BPM and hitting sync points.
  • Planning: Creating Plan A/B ensured progress under pressure.
  • Workflow: Combining Dorico notation with Logic sound design worked smoothly.
  • Resources: Spitfire videos provided excellent guidance. Perplexity was super helpful in the myriad of questions that came up with this project.
  • Libraries: Abbey Road One and Contemporary Drama Toolkit proved highly effective. Creating articulations in Logic was a big win!
  • Mixing/mastering: My usual mix bus recipe worked well.

Areas for Improvement

  • Centralized notes: Too many disparate places for notes created confusion.
  • Technical issues: Syncing to picture had stumbling blocks.
  • Spreadsheet usage: A planning spreadsheet could have clarified things further.
  • Version naming: Better naming conventions for alternate versions in Logic are needed.
  • Templates: Updated templates for Dorico and Logic would streamline future projects.

This competition reminded me how rewarding it is to create music that enhances visual storytelling. The process reinforced valuable lessons about planning, workflow, and creativity that I’ll carry forward into future endeavors.

Here’s the final version that I submitted to the competition:

Dialing in the Perfect Electric Guitar EQ

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When it comes to mixing electric guitars, EQ is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal. Recently, I watched an excellent video by Sara Carter on this very topic. While some of the principles—like cutting lows, taming highs, and boosting mids—are familiar territory, Sara’s approach offered a refreshingly quick and effective way to get guitars sitting perfectly in a mix.

Key EQ Techniques for Electric Guitar

Here’s a simple starting point for shaping your guitar tone using any channel strip:

  • High-Pass Filter: Roll off frequencies below 100Hz to remove unnecessary low-end rumble.
  • Cut at 250Hz: Scoop out some of the muddiness often found in this range.
  • Boost at 1.4kHz or 2.8kHz: These frequencies help bring clarity and presence to the guitar.

These adjustments can help carve out space for the guitar between other instruments like bass, drums, and vocals.

Experimenting with Channel Strips

I tested this method with several plugins, including:

  • UA SSL 4000 E
  • BX SSL 4000 E
  • BX 4000 G
  • BX 9000 J
  • BX Amek 9099
  • BX Console N
  • UA Neve 1073
  • UA API Vision
  • UA Helios 69

For the track I was working on, the UA SSL 4K, BX Amek 9099, and Helios stood out as favorites. Each brought its own character to the mix: the SSL added punch, the Amek offered smoothness, and the Helios delivered warmth.

Why This Works

These EQ moves are not rigid rules but excellent starting points. They allow you to quickly shape your guitar tone so it complements other elements in your mix. By cutting unnecessary lows and taming problematic mids, you create space for clarity. Boosting key midrange frequencies ensures the guitar cuts through without being harsh.

Console Channel Strip Shootout: A Simple Trick to Hear the Difference

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Years ago I wanted to compare console channel strip emulations on the same audio material but never came up with a good way to do it. The following video outlined an excellent approach that helped me to immediately hear the differences immediately after some simple set up.

The Setup: A Quick and Easy Comparison Method

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you hear the differences between channel strip plugins:

  1. Instantiate: Place the same console channel strip emulation across all your instrument group buses (e.g., Drum bus, Bass bus, Guitar bus, Keyboard bus, Vocal bus, etc.).
  2. Group Control: Set up a group that controls the inserts for all these channels, allowing you to enable/disable the plugin simultaneously.
  3. Drive the Input: Increase the input gain to +8dB. This will help you to hear the harmonic saturation of the plugin.
  4. Compensate Volume: Reduce the volume fader by -8dB to avoid clipping.
  5. Enable All Sections: Activate all sections of the channel strip (filters, compressor, expander/gate, EQ, etc.).
  6. Add a Gentle EQ Curve:
    • Boost 2dB @ 10kHz to enhance the high frequencies.
    • Boost 2dB @ 100Hz to enhance the low frequencies.
  7. Real-time Comparison: Playback your track, enabling/disabling the plugin in real-time to hear the differences.
  8. Alternate Emulations: Switch between different console emulations to compare their impact.

Bonus Tip: When working with Plugin Alliance emulations, be sure to try the “Random Channel” function for all instances to add subtle variation.

Why This Works

By applying this setup, you’re creating a controlled environment to evaluate how each channel strip plugin affects your overall sound. Driving the input gain and applying a gentle EQ curve will help you accentuate the unique characteristics of each emulation, making it easier to identify its sonic signature.

Finding the Right Emulation

Try this approach with any new mix to discover which emulation, if any, enhances the overall sound in terms of EQ or stereo imaging.

Experiment with different console emulations, such as:

  • SSL 4KE
  • Waves EV2
  • Waves Kramer HLS
  • UAD
  • Plugin Alliance

Conclusion

Channel strip plugins are powerful tools for shaping your sound and achieving professional mixes. By using the simple method outlined above, you can quickly and easily hear the differences between console emulations and make informed decisions that elevate your music.

Introduction to Digital Cinematography

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I took this class mainly to fulfill an elective requirement for the “Music Composition for Film, TV, and Games Degree” program, but really enjoyed what we learned about. The instructor, Hana Kitasei, was super professional and often provided insightful feedback and direction.

Thanks to my wife, Rachel, for being my collaborator as some of the assignments required human subjects and her help was invaluable either in front of or behind the camera.

Here’s the clip that I put together for my final assignment.

And here is what we covered during the twelve weeks.

Week 1 – “Introduction to Visual Storytelling – Jan 9th – Jan 13th
Introduction, Meet and Greet, Visual Storytelling, Photography, Exposure Times, Photography as Art, Cinema, Workshop: Images as Communication, Discussion 1.1: How Do Images Communicate Something to Us?, The Power of the Image, Messages Hidden in Images, Communicating Your Message, Discussion 1.2: What Images Do You Want to Create?, The Frame, Aspect Ratio, Determining an Aspect Ratio, Workshop: Framing, Assignment 1: Visual Storytelling, Recap

Week 2 – “A Technical Introduction to the Camera” – Jan 14th – Jan 20th
Introduction, How is an Image Created?, Camera Obscura, Creating a Permanent Photograph, Modern Camera Sensors, Creative Use of Exposure Time, Camera Components, Camera Functions, Exposing an Image, How a Digital Sensor Determines Brightness, Exposure and Shutter Speed, Using Slow Shutter Speed on a Video Camera, Quiz 2.1: Camera and Exposure, Controlling Exposure, Three Exposure Controls, Aperture Effects, Exposure and Aperture, The Sensor, Adjusting Sensitivity, Noise, Workshop: Exposure, Video and Still Cameras, Discussion 2.1: Your Camera, Assignment 2: Creative Exposure, Recap

Week 3 – “The Lens” – Jan 21st – Jan 27th
Introduction, What is a Lens?, Lensless Photography, Convergence, Lens Speed, Field of View, Sharpness, Distortion, Guidelines for Choosing a Lens, The Main Functions of a Photographic Lens, Exercise: The Creation of a Lens, Consumer Cameras, What Lens Do I Need?, Choose a Lens, Choosing a Lens, The Normal Lens, Workshop: Lens Types, Exercise: Lens Selections, Perspective and Depth, The Illusion of Depth, Depth, Perspective, and Lenses, Discussion 3.1: Lenses, Quiz 3.1: Lenses, Assignment 3: Creative Use of Lenses, Recap

Week 4 – “Camera Placement” – Jan 28th – Feb 3rd
Introduction, Examining a Shot, Shot Types, Extreme Long Shot, Long Shot, Medium Long Shot, Medium Shot, Medium Close Up and Close Up, Extreme Close Up, Shot Size and Lenses, Using the Medium Close Up and the Close Up, Over the Shoulder Shot, Two Shot, Camera Height, Eye Level Height, High Angle, Low Angle, The “Hero” Shot, Quiz 4.1: Camera Placement, Objective and Subjective Camera Work, Audience Viewpoint, Viewpoint in Movies, First Person Viewpoint, Third-Person Restricted Viewpoint, Omniscient Viewpoint, Point-of-View Shot, Analyzing “Vertigo”, Discussion 4.1: Camera Placement, Assignment 4: The Subjective Camera, Recap

Week 5 – “Camera Movement” – Feb 4th – Feb 10th
Introduction, When Was the Camera Moved First?, The History of Camera Movement, Camera Movement Types, Motivated Camera Movement, The Panning Shot, The Tilt Shot, The Tracking Shot, The Circular Move, The Push-In Shot, The Pull-Out Shot, The Crane Shot, The Handheld Shot, The Steadicam Shot, The Aerial Shot, Moving the Camera Successfully, Static Shots, Significant Camera Movement, Quiz 5.1: Camera Movement, Discussion 5.1: Rocky, Assignment 5: Camera Movement, Recap

Week 6 – “Lighting Tools” – Feb 11th – Feb 17th
Introduction, What Can Light Do for Us?, Illumination, Depth and Shape, Texture, Mood, Telling a Story, Lighting Function Summary, Discussion 6.1: Lighting, Properties of Light, Angle, Color, Diffusion, Lighting Properties Summary, Quiz 6.1: Lighting, Professional Lighting Tools, Safety, Light Meters, Sekonic’s Online Classroom, Improvised Lighting Tools, Assignment 6: Lighting Tools, Recap

Week 7, Creative Lighting, Feb 18th – Feb 24th
Introduction, Three-Point Lighting, The Key Light, The Fill Light, The Back Light, Effective Use of Three-Point Lighting, Practical Lighting Applications, Lighting Analysis, Lighting the Face, Visual Intensity, Evaluating Visual Intensity, Contrast and Affinity, Evaluating Contrast and Affinity, Contrast in Color, Evaluating Color Contrast, How Does Light Help Tell a Story?, Quiz 7.1: Creative Lighting, Discussion 7.1: Creative Lighting, Assignment 7: Creative Lighting, Recap

Week 8 – “Color” – Feb 25th – Mar 3rd
Introduction, What is Color?, The Relativity of Color, The Human Eye, After Images, Primary Colors, Complementary Colors, Complementary Colors in Art, Color Interpretation, Shades of Red, Color Interpretation in Cinema, The Meaning of Color, Discussion 8.1: Color, Quiz 8.1: Color, Color and Images, Color in Film, Drive, Discussion 8.2: Emotion, Assignment 8: Color, Recap

Week 9 – “The Story” – Mar 4th – Mar 10th
Introduction, Story Basics, Exercise: The Scorpion and the Frog, The Rabbit and the Turtle, Exercise: Narrative Film, Conflict, Protagonist, and Antagonist, Exercise: Conflict, Three-Act Structure, The Screenplay, Using a Screenplay, Live Concert Video, Music Video, The Script, Discussion 9.1: The Script, Script Breakdown, Exercise: Script Breakdown, Visual Guidelines, Creative Inspiration, Visual References, Discussion 9.2: Visual References, The Shot List, Exercise: American Beauty, Storyboards, Assignment 9: From Story to Shot, Recap

Week 10 – “The Long Take” – Mar 11th – Mar 17th
Introduction, To Cut or Not, Exercise: Battleship Potemkin, Shooting Sufficient Material, Exercise: Zodiac, The Long Take, Discussion 10.1: Long Takes, Fictional Time, Real Time, Pace and Rhythm, Other Long Takes, Challenges, Background, Camera Movement, Lighting, Goodfellas, Performance, Designing a Long Take, Shadow Man Battle Scene, Careful Planning, Behind-the-Scenes Photos, A Story Within a Long Take, Discussion 10.2: Four Short Films, Assignment 10: Long Take, Recap

Week 11 – “Continuity” – Mar 18th – Mar 24th
Introduction, Exercise: The Edited Scene, Analysis and Structure in the Scene, Editing in the Scene, Editing and the Cinematographer, Types of Continuity, Continuity of Time, Present, Past, Continuity Example, Future, Conditional Time, Continuity of Space, Content Continuity, Lighting Continuity, Flexibility, Directional Continuity, The 180 Line, Discussion 11.1: Continuity, Crossing the Line, Cutting, The 20/30 Rules, The Content Cut, The Action Cut, The POV Cut, The Conceptual Cut, The Jump Cut, Assignment 11: Continuity, Recap

Week 12 – “Collaboration” – Mar 25th – Mar 31st
Introduction, The Creative Team, The Creative Team: The Producer, The Creative Team: The Director, The Creative Team: The Screenwriter, The Creative Team: The Cinematographer, The Creative Team: The Production Designer, The Creative Team: The Editor, The Movie Set, The Movie Set: Assistant Director, The Movie Set: Script Supervisor, The Movie Set: Costume Designer, The Movie Set: Makeup Artist, The Movie Set: Assistant Cameraman, The Movie Set: Sound Mixer, The Movie Set: Electric Department, The Movie Set: Grip Department, Discussion 12.1: Collaboration, Shooting and Camera Procedures, Building a Winning Team, Finding Fellow Filmmakers, Quiz 12.1: Collaboration, Resources, Assignment 12: Digital Cinematography, Recap