Composing : 3 Questions by Allen Lynch

1) Yes, my process on specific projects is different than creating music for myself. Creating music out of my own passion is about letting go and not being concerned about anything else but what works for me. But unless I was to work on a concept album, I feel it is important that the music you create for a project must be connected to the larger picture.

For film, I find it especially effective to have motifs and themes that are connected to characters and situations, so that you can create emotional connections between events within a film. The easiest (and sometimes ham-fisted if not done right) example is to have a theme performed in a minor key if the character starts in a place of struggle and then transpose it into a major key when their struggle has concluded. Even if the audience isn't consciously aware, it can connect the audience to what has changed over time.

2) Absolutely! Perhaps it was because I grew up surrounded by musicians of different genres and skill levels my entire life that I was exposed to a lot of amazing music. My dad played trumpet but grew up in California during the 60's, so I grew up with him playing jazz, funk, the Beatles, and The Beach Boys. My cousins played guitar so I was introduced to bands like Rush, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Iron Maiden early. My childhood straddled the 80's and 90's so I was exposed equally to synth pop and hair metal as I was to grunge and industrial. And as a film geek, by the time I got to high school, I was already exploring the works of Jerry Goldsmith, Ennio Morricone, and John Williams. And most of the music I listened to early on is stuff I listen to today on a regular basis.

3) Even if I were to write my favorite piece of music for a film or TV series, I don't think that anything can top hearing your compositions played live. I'd go as far to say that the desire for an audience to hear your film and TV compositions live, disconnected from the actual film, is a sign that your music was so perfect that it went on to transcend the project.

The fact Hans Zimmer and John Williams can frequently put on concerts of their film compositions is a good example of where the person's work has become more than the sum of the project. Or look at Bear McCreary's "So Say We All" album of his Battlestar Galactica concert... clearly people really connected to that music. And I was fortunate enough to see John Carpenter on his concert tour 2017, performing pieces from his films. It really was special... and it really showcased how people connected to his music even outside of the films themselves.

Thank you for sharing thoughts & insight, Craig. Your musical background & influences are eerily similar to my own (Zep, Beatles, funk, Morricone, Williams, & my uncle played trumpet).What style(s) of music do you write/perform/produce? i see that you work in front of the camera and behind the scenes. How has your unique perspective(s) been able to help you in your creative endeavors?

The last few years the style I've been focusing on is more alternative with a hint of progressive rock. Something along the styles of Muse or Karnivool. But I also still write instrumental music that is more a mixture of orchestral and electronic.

I think having broad-based interests while also being both open to new experiences and nonjudgemental of others' tastes makes a huge difference in expanding my toolbox in all areas. For instance, when I was much younger, I really despised electronic music. But when I saw Bjork's MTV unplugged concert it challenged that perspective and I started to dive more into electronic and found there are some really talented people in that genre.

From a film perspective, I've always loved films of all types, from serious drama to slapstick comedy to sci-fi and action films. The only thing that will turn me off is when something looks too cookie-cutter. But even watching cookie-cutter films every-so-often is helpful to guide you away from writing cookie-cutter material yourself.

How about yourself? What's your process like? Do you have specific styles you are more drawn to than others

1. I only create for myself. 2. Yes 3. I would love my music to be used in TV and/or Film. Any emotional drama :)

I have only been able to create music for myself so far, over 200 songs. Having said that, I know that many of them are more than suitable for placement in TV shows, fiilms, and performed live. And, most of my songs are written in less than five minutes.

As for music that first inspired me, yes, I still feel it when I write songs. I think of some of the many musicians I have seen in concert. People like Bobby "Blue" Bland, Lou Reed, Warren Zevon, John Lee Hooker, Johnny Cash, B.B. King, the Rolling Stones, Run-DMC, the Ramones. I also think of some of the artists I love that I never saw perform such as Augustus Pablo, The Blasters, and Men at Work, though I was twice Colin Hay`s guest when he performed in California. I am shaped by strong story telling. I also draw my inspiration from a wide variety of sources. I have created songs with words turned into lyrics from comic books that are 75 years old. I wrote a great tune titled Plain Wrapper which is simply words taken from an ad placed in a 75 year old comic book. I created a great tune titlled Sisyphus after seeing an image in a book. Other times, I just find myself thinking about nothing in particular and a song pops out.

I love the third question the most for myself now, cause I am now thinking about - I just released my new album (yesterday :)) and I am thinking about arranging it to make it as something real and beautiful for concert, cause you still can do everything if you can make live concert right :)

When I compose for myself, it's more intuitive, freer. Conversely, when it's for an album or a film, it's more structured because the music composed must tick certain boxes. As for inspiration, I refer directly to certain playlists of music / films / series corresponding to the genre in which I compose. However, I realize that there are always some things that come back, almost unconsciously, and which correspond to the hundreds of hours I spent listening to music when I was younger. Arrangements that have marked me, production tricks etc.

That’s a great question! When I’m working on a contracted project, my goal is to connect empathetically with the characters of someone else’s story. Finding that connection is a different process that usually involves conversations with the director to make sure I’m interpreting character choices, and motives in the way it’s scripted.

When I’m composing for myself, I’m connecting directly with something very personal and usually more raw. It’s a more direct line and a clearer vision of what I’m trying to get out or process emotionally. It doesn’t sound terribly different. My style is my style, regardless of genre, but the process and source of connection to it is a different animal from the other entirely

2 - One does - it’s a Romantic piece.

1 - when writing for specific piece -

It’s how the story and hit points come

‘Down’. Then doing best customer service with people involved.