Frequently Asked Questions…
Below is a list of questions that John is usually asked by clients, students, and music lovers in general. Hopefully you can find some answers here. If you have a specific question that is not covered here, please Contact John.
Q: Your music covers lot’s of different styles. What style composer do you consider yourself?
A: I would consider myself to be a “multi-style” commercial composer who is able to adapt to any number of styles quickly. That’s not to say I don’t have a favorite style of writing, but I usually let the project I’m working on dictate the style. I will say I have many repeat clients whom I have had the privilege of working with over the years who often call on my “cinematic” skills as well as my “animation” sensibilities of which I have had years of experience. But I also get many calls for more contemporary styles and love the challenge of creating original music based on the latest styles.
Q: I am a producer and would be very interested in hiring you to compose music for a project I’m working on. I have a budget, but not a big one. And listening to your music leads me to believe I couldn’t afford you. Should I look elsewhere?
A: First let me say I feel so blessed to have had a successful career as a full time composer. That means I am self employed and my bread and butter comes from writing music for folks like you. But I’m also a realist. If I was to only take projects that paid really well, I could be waiting a long time between phone calls. Though I don’t work for free, I have acquired a wonderful skill using digital music technology (see my article on how I work here) that can keep my production costs at a minimum.
Q: But can digital music sound as good as live players. Won’t it sound “computerized”?
A: I wish I could tell you that I use a live full orchestra on all my projects, but that wouldn’t be truthful. In this economy, jobs with budgets for live anything are far and few between! If you listened to any of the music on my “Music” page, you might be suprised to know that many of the cues are mostly digital. Depending on the project I might add one or two live solo players to the score for a realistic touch. Simply put, my clients get a lush emotional score at a fraction of what you would pay for hiring live musicians, renting a soundstage for recording and mixing.
Q: Do you still work with live players on some projects?
A: Of course! Writing music for live musicians is where I started. And I still spend a lot of time in the studio working with wonderful players. Plus the benefit of living and working just outside of Los Angeles gives me access to amazing artists and musicians as well as state of the art recording facilities, engineers, copyists, contractors and all things related to a live recording session.
