Composer Quest: A Songwriting and Music Composition Podcast

Will Van De Crommert produces Hollywood-quality film scores in a humble basement studio at Saint John's University. We talk about composing for film, his portfolio for USC Film School, and how to produce an endorphin-releasing pop tune.

I felt like I was right back in a composition lesson with Dr. Brian Campbell, my former CSB/SJU music professor, when I interviewed him for this episode of Composer Quest. As always, he imparted plenty of wisdom, this time about writing music from a single “seed” and developing that idea. We also talk about form, writing melodies, “robot composers,” and using the Japanese aesthetic of “ma” – silence.

Paul Spring was destined to be a poet, being raised in a family of English professor parents, and now having six brothers and sisters who are also English teachers. In this episode of Composer Quest, we get to hear live renditions of four new story songs Paul has been working on, from the hilarious “Type II Diabetes” and “St. Cloud Traffic” to an edgy but thoughtful song trying to make sense of the tragic Newtown, Connecticut school shooting. We also talk about Paul’s self-titled album and the very personal stories behind it. I think it’s the most moving talk we’ve had on the show, so a special thanks to Paul for sharing his music and stories.

This episode, I talk with my girlfriend, Maia Hamann, about how she teaches her young students to compose music. She explains her strategy of breaking music down into individual elements, something all composers could benefit from. Maia shares tips on composing for bassoon. We also get to hear about her unique experience studying Somali music.

I think there's a good chance Joe Mailander will win a Grammy for Best Children’s Album. He and his fellow Okee Dokee Brother Justin Lansing took a trip down the Mississippi river to write some beautiful bluegrass songs for their album Can You Canoe?. We talk about Joe's philosophies on deceptively simple songwriting, work ethic as a DIY musician, and involving the audience. Joe also performs a new Okee Dokee Brothers song called "Echo," which will be a part of their upcoming Appalachian adventure album.

In this episode of Composer Quest, I chat with video game musician and coder Whitaker Trebella. He shares his words of wisdom on writing for games, producing chiptune music, and getting composing gigs through Twitter. He also composes an on-the-spot "quickprov" using Logic Pro. Finally, we ponder what would happen if Beethoven was given a laptop. Would he be making dubstep tracks?

Matt Schubbe, the graphic designer behind our 8-bit Composer Quest art, is also a songwriter himself! In this episode, we talk about how he writes songs for (and with) his wife, Donna. Matt tends to choose strange lyrical topics, like a kid getting his head stuck in the banister, or the 1739 invention of a pooping duck automaton.

Luke Friedrich was too young to carry a musket when he joined his Civil War reenacting unit, so he picked up the fife and drum instead. Now, he plays in more bands than would seem possible, including Crimes, Strange, Rupert Angeleyes, Flowerstalks, Secrets, ThoughtTalk, and his primary songwriting endeavor, Squares. We talk about performing, the music business, and his fascination with horrific lyrical topics.

When does sound become music? That's a line blurred by Kevin Springer's sound art. He designs sound and music for plays, including Tenesse Williams' Summer and Smoke. He has also found a niche for his brand of experimental electronic composing online, and we talk about how he works in this strange musical language.

I talked with my cousin, Nathan Graves, who fronts the band With a Gun for a Face and writes solo music under the name Kurtz. Nate's music is usually pretty dark and dissonant, but strangely catchy. We talk about why avant garde art is important.

Kazyak's Peter Frey shares his new, more personal album See the Forest, See the Trees. He also shares his philosophy on soloing, the pros and cons of touring, and his advice on promoting your music.

Ryan Ruff Smith and I talk about a bunch of lyric-writing techniques, including seeing the big picture, using subtext, writing as a character, and focusing your song ideas.

Mitchell Johnson from Spencer McGillicutty talks about pop music theory, Beatles songwriting techniques, and his “Douchiest Song Challenge.“