10 Skills you Need to Be a Media Composer

10 Skills you Need to Be a
Media Composer

10 Skills…
There are many skills required to be a media composer,
from hard skills like actually composing to soft skills
like networking.
This list will help you know where to focus your efforts!
I’ve been interviewing some seriously awesome people in
the music/media industry for my podcast recently. There
are some themes that come up time and time again, so
here’s a summary of the 10 skills you need to be a media
composer.

1. Composing
This one is pretty obvious, but you actually need to know how to
compose.
That said, it can sometimes be hard to know what to compose, or
how to motivate yourself to complete compositions.
A great way to learn how to compose is to find good reasons to
compose.
If you’re happy to just sit and write music all day you’ll
definitely improve.
But you’ll improve a lot faster and with a lot more ingenuity if
you can find things that push you out of your comfort zone a
little.

1. Composing
Keep an eye out for competitions, whether they’re
specifically for film music or for general composition.
Many competitions give you certain instrumentation, or
specific themes, which are a great way for you to learn
how to work within those constraints.
Just be wary of ones that you have to pay to enter, or
ones that demand you to hand over all rights to your
music – I’d advise against the majority of those unless
you know for sure they’re very reputable, and you have a
good chance of winning!

1. Composing
Alternatively, a good study book like Alan Belkin’s is
another great way to give improve quickly.
You’ll have specific exercises and constraints that help
to push you creatively, and help you to understand what
you’re actually doing when you compose.

1. Composing
Mike Verta has some awesome courses online that focus on film music
composition.
A big part of his teaching is learning how to “hold the listener’s
hand.”
Basically, before you can take the listener to places they haven’t
been before, you need to prepare them and get them on your side.
So don’t focus on originality if that is going to alienate your
listener.
Particularly at the start of your music.
Get them on your side, give them something to latch on to
and then take them somewhere new and exciting.

1. Composing
That said, almost everyone I’ve spoken to has mentioned
some kind of obsession with sound.
Your sounds should be as original as you can.
Think of the palette you are creating for your score.
An instrument recorded in a unique and interesting way vs
a sample of the instrument playing the same passage will
sound remarkably different.
Be obsessed with sound.

1. Composing
Music theory will help you.
Now, I’m not saying that before you start composing you should go
and learn everything there is to know about music theory.
No. But, you should be focused on learning theory as you’re going.
Work out what is happening in the music you are listening to and
creating – it’s the fastest way that you’ll improve.
Theory is the grammar and vocabulary of music. You can’t expect to
master a language without knowing lots of vocabulary, and a decent
amount of grammar, so don’t expect to master music without it.

2. Arranging/Orchestration
Arranging and orchestration are two vital skills, and
have a lot of crossover depending on who you ask.
The traditional definition is that “arranging” is
the rearranging of existing material into a new idea, and
“orchestration” is basically putting a composition onto
orchestral instruments.

However, in more modern musical vocabulary, the word
“arranging” is often used to mean the arranging of music
onto instruments (as in “big band arranging”) and the
definition of “orchestration” has become so blurred with
the development of sample libraries and hybrid orchestral
scores.
Is it still “orchestration” if it’s on synths?

The reason you need to understand this is that you need
to know what might be asked of you.
If you’re asked to work as an “orchestrator” for someone,
do you actually know what is being asked of you?
Of course, in today’s composing world arranging and
orchestration both expand into MIDI orchestration.
That means that you need to know how to orchestrate for
sample libraries, and make them sound amazing (more of
that later…).

Also, I’ll reiterate an earlier point here: you need to know music
theory.
Let me pitch a hypothetical situation to you: somehow, a famous
composer happens to stumble across your work and likes it.
They’d like to work with you and they have some room on their team
for an orchestrator.
Can you do it? Not if you can’t read music. Not if you don’t
understand instruments and their ranges.
You just lost the gig.
Learn your fundamentals: arranging, orchestration, and notation.

A great way to kill multiple birds with one stone (sorry
PETA) is to purchase (or borrow from a library) some
scores and do some mockups!
If you can get film music scores, great.
If not, classic orchestral scores will do.
Program all of the information into you DAW, get a good
recording of the piece, and see how close you can get the
two to sound.

It’ll take a lot of work to get your samples sounding
good, but you’ll learn so much about the instruments
you’re working with, and about orchestration in the
process.
You’ll see and hear where instruments are doubled, who
has the melody, harmony, and bass, and in the process
you’ll get faster and faster at reading notation.
Winner.

3. Technical Things
It’s a hard fact that composers nowadays simply cannot
get away with handing the director some sheet music, have
it performed, recorded, mixed, and mastered by someone
else.
Composers have to do the majority of those things
themselves – particularly on independent projects.

3. Technical Things
You need to work on your production skills.
Specifically:
• MIDI Programming
• Sound design and synthesis (that “sound obsession”
thing we talked about)
• Mixing
• Mastering

3. Technical Things
Once again, practice makes “better” (no such thing as “perfect” I’m
afraid!) – so do your absolute utmost to find ways to practice
these skills.
Join forums, watch tutorials (but be picky as to the ones you
watch), ask questions, and get feedback.
Not just “hey I made this track what do you think” haphazardly
thrown into a Facebook group.
Ask for specific advice on areas that you think you need help with.
Bass not loud enough? Ask how to improve it.
Instruments sounding awful? ASK!

3. Technical Things
If you can make friends with composers, why not ask them
if you can have the stems of one of their compositions
and have a go at mixing it?
That can be interesting, as you’ll have a “blank canvas”
to mix, and a fresh perspective as it’s not your own
music.

3. Technical Things
All of this comes with a warning though: don’t get
carried away.
There’s a big trend at the moment of these absolutely
monumental mixes with hundreds (literally) of tracks,
layers, doublings, etc..
That’s great for a certain sound, but don’t feel that
you have to do that – it doesn’t work for everything.
Very often less is more.

4. Media Theory
Surprise!
You actually have to be interested in films/TV/games in
order to write music for them.
WHO KNEW?!

4. Media Theory
Jokes aside, it’s amazing how many composers aren’t actually
interested in the media they’re writing, focusing only on
the music.
It’s point that director Chris Presswell brought up in the
podcast.
It’s important to remember that media music is a
“complimentary art form” (as he put it).
I don’t mean to detract from the incredible pieces of art
that media composers are creating, but great music that works
entirely on its own doesn’t always have a place in media
music.

4. Media Theory
You need to understand how to create drama. Where should the
climax of a scene be?
Music can tell the audience that. How should the audience
feel at this point? Again, music has the answer.
Hans Zimmer talks about the “story” that we’re telling with
music, and you really have to understand that before working
on a project. What is the music bringing to the table? What
are you adding?
When it boils down to it, writing good media music is all
about knowing how to create a certain emotion with music
and which emotion you should be making people feel.

5. Self-Awareness
Okay, now we’re moving into more of the “soft skills.”
As a media composer you need to know a few things about
yourself:
1. Your strengths
2. Your weaknesses
3. Your health

5. Self-Awareness
Knowing your strengths is great, it helps you to know
what kinds of projects you could be working, how to
“sell” yourself to a director/client, and gives you the
confidence to put yourself forward.
Understanding your weaknesses, though, is perhaps more
important.
If you can highlight all the skills covered in this
article and work out exactly what you need to work on,
you’ll be one step closer to your goal – providing you
work on them.

5. Self-Awareness
Knowing your weaknesses isn’t an excuse to say “no, I
don’t do that”…
– like “well, I’m a composer so I don’t waste my time
tweaking samples” –
…it’s a reason to start practicing!

5. Self-Awareness
Now, health is a huge issue, and not something I could
cover within this article.
But you need to know what makes you healthy – and it’s
different for different people.
Some people can healthily stay up all night working,
others are healthier when they’re in bed by 10pm and
awake at the crack of dawn.

5. Self-Awareness
You need to figure out what makes you healthy and do it.
Sometimes composing can mean isolation.
Being fit, healthy, and happy will help pull you through
any dark or down days.
But I know it’s sometimes much easier said than done.

6. Marketing
Marketing is an interesting concept for composers. I’ve
studied quite a lot of marketing principles in my quest
to help as many people enter this industry as possible,
but I always struggle to see how it applies to composers.
Paying for Facebook ads promoting yourself to directors
isn’t likely to work.
Blogging or content marketing might bring a few visitors
to your website but is it really likely to land you many
gigs?
I’m not sure.

6. Marketing
There is one thing that I think a lot of composers need
to stop doing though: promoting themselves to other
composers.
Having a network of “comrades” is great, and maybe you’ll get
a few scraps tossed your way at some point.
Amazing.
But, your musical network should only be half of your
contacts – the other should be media
professionals (directors, producers, editors, etc.)
More on that later.

6. Marketing
One thing that can sometimes help is building a bit of hype
around your projects though. You can do this by showing lots
of “behind the scenes” type of stuff on social media.
Firstly, it helps the people you’re working with see that
you’re genuinely interested in their project (and if a
potential future collaborator sees that too, they’ll be more
inclined to work with you).
Secondly, if you’re just starting out and the small projects
you’re working on are being entered into smaller media
festivals, getting some interesting things about your music
in front of the festival organisers can really help you stand
out from the crowd and get them backing you.

6. Marketing
A key piece of advice to remember though is
that presentation is important.
The first glance of something can instantly help someone
connect with you.
Make sure your website looks amazing, and is a clear
showcase of your music.
Make it super easy for people to hear your music and
contact you. Embed a music player on your homepage and
consider a contact form.

6. Marketing
I’ve heard of composers recommending other composers,
having never heard their music, based purely on the fact
that they present themselves professionally. Sometimes
the fact that you know how to write and produce good
music is almost a given.
That reminds me of another point: make sure everybody you
know knows that you write music. Carter Burwell and Danny
Elfman both got started because their friends recommended
them to a director simply because they knew they were in
a band and made music.

7. People Skills
Closely linked to “marketing” is “people skills.” There
are a variety of things you need to be able to do when it
comes to working with people.
First, and most obvious, is “networking.” It’s a skill
that so many people, myself included, simply aren’t
comfortable with. It’s hard, it’s uncomfortable, and
that’s because it requires you to take a leap of faith.
Will this person like me? Will I say the right thing?
What if it’s awkward?

7. People Skills
Do you know the answer to those questions? The answer is:
what does it matter? At the end of the day, if you reach
out to someone and then never speak to them again you’ve
still given yourself an infinitely bigger opportunity to
make a connection than if you hadn’t reached out.
There are certain “tricks” that you can learn to help
with networking, but the simple version is this: don’t
try and sell yourself, and show genuine interest in them.

7. People Skills
Other skills you’ll need:
• Coerciveness: not only to convince someone that you/your music is the
right fit, but also to coerce musicians into giving their best
performances, or to convince a director that paying a teeny bit extra
for live instruments will help make the project better
• Openness: you need to be honest with people, and open to feedback. You
may not always be correct, and you need to accept that. And even if
you are correct, sometimes taking on feedback and trying something
different can present new ideas or opportunities.
• Giving: the more you give, the more you’ll get in return. It’s a simple
as that. Help people as much as you can, for every “win” in your career
make sure you give something back by helping someone else. Sounds a bit
spiritual, but nearly all of the successful people I’ve spoken to have
mentioned how important this is.

8. Filtering
Although my image says differently, I don’t mean “EQing”
– I mean filtering through all of the “noise” that is out
there. There is so much content, so many projects, so
many people; you need to know where to start.
In terms of filtering through what to learn: find a few
select sources that you like and trust. Don’t try to
watch/read/listen to every single bit of information out
there or you’ll never get anything done. As long as you
are finding ways to continuously improve, it doesn’t
matter what you might be missing.

8. Filtering
You need to filter out who you’re listening to as well.
Facebook groups are an amazing place to continuously learn
new things through the questions of others, but they’re also
full of a lot of misinformation. Figure out who
posts correct and useful information, and who’s bullshitting.
Finally, you need to filter out the projects that you should
be working on. When you’re first starting out you’ll likely
be looking at working for very little, or maybe even free
(the golden rule there is that if you’re not getting
paid, no-one should be getting paid) – you need to decide
whether a project is worth your while. Don’t say “yes” to
anything.

8. Filtering
Find out what the director/producer has planned for the
project. Will they be submitting to festivals? Do they have a
distribution plan? What’s the overall aim of the project – are
they trying to get funding for another, larger project that
you could be involved in, for example? All things to consider.
Another thing to try to work out: does the director respect
music? If not, there is no point whatsoever in working with
them. Any media creator that doesn’t think about, or has no
respect for music, is unlikely to move onto bigger projects.
Make sure they’re actually interested in, and have thought in
detail, about where music will work in their project – or that
they at least want to discuss it in detail with you. If
they’ve no time for you, don’t make time for them.

8. Filtering
I’m usually the last person to say things like that, but
I’ve worked on short films for free before and not even been
credited in the official online platform, and even had my
name spelled wrong within scrolling credits. Particularly if
you’re working for free you need to make sure you’re being
respected. Don’t accept anything less than a full screen
credit with your name spelled correctly 😅
Of course, it’s best to not work for free, and most good
directors should understand and appreciate that and will
have set aside a budget for music. Sometimes though a
project is really worthwhile and is worth being involved in.
You just have to filter the bad ones out!

8. Filtering
Basically, you need to work out whether the financial
reward (or lack thereof) is justified by the project. A
TV commercial is going to do nothing for your
“exposure” (I know, I know – don’t start…) so you should
be expecting a good payout.
However, a short film tackling an issue really close to
your heart not only gives you more artistic expression
but could also lead to other projects. Something like
that might pay less, but could be more worthwhile in the
long run.

9. Negotiation
Understanding the art of negotiation can help you in so
many walks of life, not only with your music. One thing
to understand though: negotiation isn’t about “winners”
and “losers” (at least, not the style of negotiation that
will help us). It’s about working collaboratively to
figure out the optimum outcome.
Some things that you’ll need to learn how to negotiate
include…

9. Negotiation
The Musical Direction
You’ll have to negotiate the creative direction of the
music with various people. Some of those people might be
extremely creative (like directors) and others might have
more of a financial interest (like studio executives).
Either way, they’ll all want to have a say, and you need
to work with them to decide on what the final music will
sound like.

9. Negotiation
The Final Mix
In the final dub – where movie, sound, dialogue, and
music all come together – you’ll need to negotiate the
music with the other creatives. Everyone has worked hard
at their individual parts, and everyone wants to make
sure that hard work is heard. Again, it’s about
collaborating to make sure the final dub best serves the
image.

9. Negotiation
Budgets
Remember, it’s not a “fight” to try and get more money,
it’s a negotiation to work out how to best serve the
project. You need to be able to have a realistic
discussion about what the project can afford within their
budget, and what they could afford if they could stretch
ever-so-slightly.

9. Negotiation
Bear in mind how powerful the word “no” can be – and not
in a good way.
A “no” can halt discussions entirely. Have you ever tried
working out a plan with an overly negative person?
Nothing happens! In contrast, people who say “yes” are so
much easier to work with, and get stuff done with. Try to
avoid saying “no”, and instead work on getting to
solutions.

10. Organisation
Maybe a bit dull, but essential.
You need to be organised. At a basic level, you need to make
sure you can create sensible folder and file structures on
your system to keep all of your projects organised.
Keep earlier drafts of things in case a decision is reversed.
You should be able to access any draft, of any cue, or any
project that you’ve worked in quickly and easily.
The last thing you need is to be opening and bouncing old
projects time and again every time youre sending samples to
anyone.

10. Organisation
You also need to be able to manage a project. Early on,
you’ll probably find you’re a one-person show, looking
after everything yourself.
But then you’ll get a slightly bigger project, and will
need to manage other people (like instrumentalists).
The more you step up, the more moving parts you’ll have
to handle – organisational skills will be absolutely
essential here.

10. Organisation
Keeping your contacts organised is also essential. Don’t
just rely on your email client to automatically save
contacts – create groups, address books, whatever works
for you and keep as many details about the person as
possible.
It’s so easy to forget someone’s name but remember their
company, or vice-versa. I know some people that even have
a “Christmas” or “New Year” list that they email every
year, just to keep the relationship alive.

10. Organisation
If you’re not a natural “influencer” on social media, it’s a
good idea to try and commit to a schedule so that you’re
consistently sharing relevant updates.
Even if that’s just a weekly “here’s what I did this week”
post – someone looking you up as a potential collaborator
would love to see that you’re active online.
Likewise, you have to keep on top of all of the platforms and
websites that you have a profile on – it’s no good having a
picture and description from 10 years ago on a talent site.
Create a bookmarks folder with all of those platforms grouped
– then whenever you have an update you can open them all at
once and edit to make sure they’re all up to date.

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10 Skills you Need to Be a Media Composer

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10 Skills you Need to Be a Media Composer