Composer Quest: A Songwriting and Music Composition Podcast

Composer Quest: A Songwriting and Music Composition Podcast

Join the quest! Learn how composers and songwriters create music in this podcast hosted by Minneapolis composer Charlie McCarron. Whether you’re a music composition grad or simply an occasional noodler on a guitar, each guest has a new perspective for you on the creative process of composing and songwriting, along with some concrete ideas to apply to your own music.

Episodes

Tour 12: Finale in Minnesota

January 24, 2017 • 282 mins
It’s finally here. Four years and 166 episodes later, we’ve arrived at the finale of the Composer Quest podcast. Before I get too sappy about it, I want to let you know what you’ll be in for in this monster episode. It rounds out the end of my world tour, after my journey home to Minnesota. This episode is definitely one for the fans; most of my interviewees in this episode have been prior Composer Quest guests, and I ask them what...
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Tour 11: Psychology in the Southwest

January 18, 2017 • 217 mins
Ever since I heard music psychologist Dr. Diana Deutsch on Radiolab, I’ve been fascinated by musical illusions. In this penultimate episode of Composer Quest, I got to visit Diana in person! Join me on a trip that starts at a Halloween organ concert in San Diego and ends in Phoenix with an unprecedented songwriting/podcasting experiment.
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Tour 10: Squirrels in California

January 10, 2017 • 158 mins
This episode marks my return to the US after my trip to Australia and Asia. Despite the jet lag, I was able to get 5 interviews in for this Composer Quest episode. Also, Jeff Goldblum?! And you’ll just have to listen for yourself to find out why this episode is called “Squirrels in California.”
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Tour 9: Surprises in Taiwan 2

January 4, 2017 • 122 mins
The second act of my Taiwan adventure features more interviews with music makers in Taipei, plus an interview with me about interviewing. We also discuss the jingles heard everywhere in Taipei, from the train stations to the 7-Elevens to the garbage trucks.
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Tour 8: Surprises in Taiwan

December 27, 2016 • 92 mins
Join me on a musical tour through Taiwan in today's episode of Composer Quest. I stumbled into a music festival celebrating Hakka culture, and I got to record a bunch of interesting ensembles, including the Taiwanese jazz group Sizhukong. Plenty of other surprises come up in this episode, including an impromptu flight to another country...
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Tour 7: Family in Australia

December 20, 2016 • 182 mins
Australia has been my dream vacation spot since I was about six years old. In today’s episode of the Composer Quest World Tour, you’ll get an audio peek into my adventures staying with musical families in Melbourne and Poatina Village, Tasmania.
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Tour 6: Creative Work in LA

December 14, 2016 • 160 mins
If you've ever thought about moving to Los Angeles to pursue a creative career, today's episode will give you a glimpse into that world. I talk with six creators about what it takes to turn art into your job, while staying motivated and creatively fulfilled.
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Tour 5: Games in Chicago 2

December 6, 2016 • 137 mins
Take a peek behind the scenes of the Composer Quest Olympics in today's episode. I also talk with video game composers in Chicago about career advice, rhythmic composing tips, and silly six-second Vine melodies.
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Tour 4: Songwriting in New England

November 30, 2016 • 190 mins
From pig racing to public-access TV, this three-hour episode chronicles my adventure around New England. I talk with four different songwriters about their process, and I co-create two songs from scratch along the way.
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Tour 3: Theory in New York

November 23, 2016 • 119 mins
This episode, I'm in Philadelphia and New York to chat about music theory, film scoring, and slot machine composing.
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Tour 2: School in Ohio

November 16, 2016 • 120 mins
This second episode of the Composer Quest World Tour is all about school. Should you go to undergrad or grad school for an artistic field? What do you learn in school that you couldn't on your own?
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Tour 1: Games in Chicago

November 9, 2016 • 77 mins
For the final season of the Composer Quest podcast, 110 Kickstarter backers decided it would be fun to send me on a two month trip around the world, interviewing composers and songwriters. I'm thrilled to announce that the first episode of my Composer Quest world tour is here!
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Quest 20: Olympics

August 20, 2016 • 11 mins
Since I'll be on my Composer Quest World Tour this fall, I decided we had to do something worldly and big for the final composing quest. In the spirit of the 2016 Rio Olympics, I'll be hosting the official Composer Quest Olympic Games!
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Sound Design and Score: An Indie Film Round Table

June 29, 2016 • 76 mins
How does a composer write music that doesn't draw attention to itself? How can a director convey scoring ideas if they're not a musician? Why is temp music important for an editor? When should sound design reflect the real world, and when should it be from a character's psychological perspective? Will the dialogue editor choose the lavalier or boom mic recording, or both? These are just a few of the conversation-sparking questions...
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Hypnotherapy and Creativity with Vanessa Cornett-Murtada

June 22, 2016 • 64 mins
St. Thomas professor Dr. Vanessa Cornett-Murtada specializes in teaching piano, creativity, and performance anxiety reduction techniques. In this episode of Composer Quest, Vanessa shares some tips on getting past mental blocks as a composer, and she explains how hypnotherapy can be helpful in reducing stress, increasing productivity, and sparking creativity. She also explains why Brahms is her favorite composer.
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Comic and Sublime Songwriting with Erik Ostrom

June 15, 2016 • 72 mins
Erik Ostrom was working at a Silicon Valley startup when he realized songwriting was his true passion. He has since moved back to Minnesota and found another passion: the improv comedy world. In this episode of Composer Quest, Erik and I talk about his recent performance with The Local Music Scene, a song-based improv comedy troupe. Erik also shares some great stories behind his songs and insights into writing interesting lyrical r...
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Episode 150: UBK on Music Production and Arranging

June 7, 2016 • 79 mins
For this special 150th episode of Composer Quest, I got to talk with Gregory Scott, co-host of my favorite music production podcast, the UBK Happy Funtime Hour. Gregory answers my tough music production questions like: “what effect would you use if you could only choose ONE?” He also shares his process in creating the upcoming Sneaky Little Devil record with his wife Sarah. Also in this episode, you’ll get to hear the results of o...
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Magical Songwriting Tips with Jess and Peter

June 1, 2016 • 62 mins
Jess Scherer and Peter Lund faced a songwriting quandry: what do you write about when you've been happily married for several years? They decided to stretch their imaginations by writing a magical concept album about wizards, and it turned out to be great songwriting fuel. In this episode of Composer Quest, our conversation covers songwriting tips, circuit-bending a teletubby, and a nomination for the greatest Texas jingle of all t...
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Thing a Week with Bryan Schumann

May 25, 2016 • 59 mins
Composer Bryan Schumann has embraced self-imposed deadlines; he’s been consistently making at least one “thing” every week in 2016 and blogging about it. In this episode of Composer Quest, we talk about what he’s learned from this experiment. Bryan also talks about his eco-friendly music projects, like a bike-powered electric band and his future solar-powered recording studio.
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Quest 19: MIDI Remix

May 18, 2016 • 7 mins
Since the recent episodes of Composer Quest have been about electronic and video game music, I thought we could do a composing quest related to it. So here's your challenge, should you choose to accept it: create a loop-able piece of music that's under 2 minutes, using MIDI. Send me your audio file and MIDI layers (charlie@composerquest.com) by May 25th. Next, I'll send your MIDI layers to another random participant in this quest,...
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