Musician / Music Editor

I write and perform songs & edit music for film and television.

Career Roadmap

My work combines:

My work combines:

Music

Writing

Being Creative

Day to Day

On a great day, you wake up, pick up your guitar, and a great song spills out of nowhere. You take your new song down to a local music venue and play a great set, and everything goes well! That, unfortunately, happens maybe 2% of the time. The other 98% of the time, you put your head down and work as hard as you can on writing a new song that says what you're trying to say, and accept that sometimes, your song just isn't that good. Then you start all over again!

Skills & Qualities Beyond School

The ability to not get discouraged by failure. Music editing and songwriting can both be extremely rewarding, but they can also be very frustrating. When you can't make an edit work at 11:00PM the day before a deadline, it can be tempting to give up. When a song you've been working on for a month just isn't coming together, it can be tempting to give up, too. At these times, thinking outside the box for alternate solutions is really critical! Finish difficult pieces and move on to the next.

Advice for Getting Started

Here's the first step for high school students

Songwriting: always focus on the art first, and trust your own voice. Be prepared to make money elsewhere, if you want to stay true to your art - which you should! If you find fame & fortune, great - however, it's not a guarantee and not a sustainable end goal! Music editing: learn Pro Tools inside and out! Listen to film music, especially in the context of films and TV shows.

Recommended Education

My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:

Bachelor
Music, General