an "outlandish" composing tip

My Dearest Tortured Composer,

I write to you today with a strange, outlandish composing tip.

One that could help you if you've ever felt stuck.

Can't finish music.

Can't take the next step.

Can't figure out why nothing seems to be working even though you've read the books, watched the tutorials, and know more theory than you did a year ago.

Because here's something that nobody in the music education world will tell you.

More knowledge is often not the answer.

Not the answer when you’re feeling like you want to pull your hair out because you can’t quite figure out how to end a piece…

Back in my days of coaching musicians/producers/composers, we used a framework whenever someone came to us feeling stuck.

It's called Neurological Levels, developed by a man named Robert Dilts.

And what it basically says is this.

Human behavior works on several different levels at the same time.

And they all influence each other.

At the bottom you have your environment.

Where you are. When you work. The physical conditions around you.

Above that is behavior. What you actually do. Your habits and actions.

Above that are your capabilities. The skills and strategies you have available.

Above that are your beliefs and values. What you think is true. What you think is possible. What you think you're worth.

Above that is identity.

Who you believe yourself to be. Are you a composer? Or someone who dabbles in composing?

And at the very top, purpose. Why any of this matters at all.

And here’s where most composers tangle themselves up in knots…

Most composers who feel stuck reach for the capabilities level.

They buy a new course. Read another theory book. Watch more tutorials.

And sometimes that helps….

But many times… it leaves them feeling like they just got slapped in the face with a wet piece of raw chicken!

They read something… try to put it into practice… and it doesn’t help AT ALL.

Or they’re more confused than before they read it…

You see, much of the time, the problem isn't at the capabilities level at all.

It might be at the identity level.

If you don't truly believe you are a composer...

If deep down you think of yourself as someone who just fiddles around with music...

You’re not going to walk around with a feather in your cap, like an artist with something to say…

Or maybe your identity is just fine.

Maybe you know exactly where you want to go. You want to write for film and TV.

You have the desire. You have the music.

But the in between stuff keeps you stuck.

Who do you reach out to? What do you say when you do? How do the contracts work? How do you make sure you actually get PAID?

Theory, sure. Orchestration, absolutely. A thousand courses for those.

But the part between finishing the music and cashing the check? Silence.

The problem could also be at a different level…

It might be at the environment level.

Which is much simpler to fix than you might think.

And one that almost produced miracles for some of the people we worked with…

Beethoven took long solitary walks through the forested valleys of Vienna every afternoon. He always carried a pencil and sheets of paper in his pocket to capture musical ideas that arrived while he walked.

Gustav Mahler did the same. Three or four hour walks after lunch, stopping to jot ideas in his notebook.

Benjamin Britten said his afternoon walks were "where I plan out what I'm going to write in the next period at my desk."

These were deliberate environment changes that unlocked something their desk couldn't.

I've heard of composers renting a cabin for a weekend when they needed to finish something.

Getting out of their house and into a bustling city.

Setting up in a coffee shop instead of a home studio.

One time I wrote music in a tent…

I wrote music on the top of a mountain…

I rented a small beachside Airbnb for very cheap… and brought along a keyboard and some staff paper.

Composer Zach Heyde, when preparing to write an album, went and deliberately sourced objects and pieces for his studio that would capture the exact mood he was going for.

He built the environment that would produce the music before he wrote a single note.

Something as simple as where you compose (or when) can have a dramatic impact on what comes out.

So if you've been stuck, and you've been reaching for more knowledge, I want you to try something different this week.

Take a different action. Something you've never done before.

Talk to someone new. A player, a filmmaker, another composer.

Explore a genre you've never touched.

Or change up the studio itself. Write somewhere different. Write at a different time.

Take a walk with a notebook in your pocket like Beethoven did.

Record a voice note in your phone with a melody…

You might be surprised what shows up.

And keep your eyes open over the next week or so.

I've got something coming that could give you a very “old school” but surprisingly effective way to land your first (or next) paid gig.

Stay tuned.

And remember…

The world waits for your music…

Luke

P.S.

If you want to see Zach Heyde break down how he set up his studio…

Click here to watch a cool and inspiring video about how to set up your creative environment

At Tortured Composer's Society, it's our mission to create and provide a community that helps you live a more creative and fulfilling life as a composer. When Tortured Composer's Society was established in 1685 (or thereabouts), we wanted to make the community an inclusive, welcoming table where everyone can come to overcome their creative blocks and thrive as composers.

We believe that every composer, from the bedroom producer to the concert hall maven, deserves a place to explore their craft without judgment. Our community understands the unique challenges of staring at blank manuscript paper at 3 AM, the peculiar torture of hearing a melody in your head that refuses to translate to the page, and the specific type of existential crisis that comes from comparing your work to Bach's while eating cold pizza in your pajamas.

We will always aim to get better at what we do every single day. This means constantly refining our understanding of what makes composers tick, what makes them stuck, and what makes them suddenly breakthrough at the most unexpected moments. We study the patterns of creativity, the psychology of artistic blocks, and the practical realities of making music in a world that often doesn't understand why you need absolute silence to hear the French horn line in your head.

In addition, our primary focus is on our relationship with you. This isn't about broadcasting generic advice into the void. It's about understanding the specific flavors of torture that each composer experiences. Some of you are tortured by perfectionism. Others by comparison. Still others by the haunting suspicion that maybe you should have become an accountant like your mother suggested. We see you. We understand you. We're here for all of it.

This way, every time you hang out with us, you end up getting an idea that takes your compositions to the next level. Sometimes that idea is a technical solution to a thorny orchestration problem. Sometimes it's permission to write something terrible. Sometimes it's just knowing that someone else out there also had to Google "what note is the open G string on a violin" for the hundredth time.

We particularly appreciate when our following provides feedback via testimonials, reviews, and comments left on our site or social media accounts. Your stories of breakthrough moments, creative disasters, and everything in between help shape our understanding of the composer's journey. When you tell us about the time you accidentally wrote a fugue in your sleep, or when you finally understood what secondary dominants were after years of confusion, these stories become part of our collective knowledge base.

Because with that feedback, we can use it to make your next newsletter even better than the last. We're constantly refining our approach based on what resonates with you. Did a particular analogy finally make modal interchange click? Did a creative exercise unlock something you'd been struggling with for months? We want to know about it.

Since we put so much effort into the relationship with you, we hope that any investment in us is exactly the way you hoped it would be. Whether that investment is your time reading these emails, your emotional investment in trying our exercises, or eventually perhaps joining our community in a more formal way, we take that trust seriously.

Because by choosing to go with Tortured Composer's Society, it's our promise that we provide a community you will fall in love with over and over again. A place where your creative struggles are understood, where your small victories are celebrated, and where someone will always understand why you're excited about discovering a new chord voicing.

Now, as much as we care about making the world more musical and more creative, we also care about your privacy. In an age where every click is tracked and every preference is monetized, we believe your creative journey should remain yours. We're committed to the right to your privacy and strive to provide a safe and secure user experience.

Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, store and use personal information, provided by you on our website. We don't sell your information to companies who want to market sample libraries to you (though honestly, you probably already have too many). We don't share your struggles with perfectionism with companies selling meditation apps. Your creative journey is your own, and we're simply honored to be a small part of it.

It also explains important information that ensures we won't abuse the information that you provide to us in good faith. When you tell us about your compositional challenges, your victories, your preferred DAW, or your secret love of parallel fifths, that information stays with us.

By accessing and using our website, you can trust that what you want to be kept private, will be kept private. Your unfinished symphonies, your experimental phase with serialism, that time you tried to write a rap opera, all of it remains confidential.

If at any time, you would like to read our Privacy Policy and get a better understanding of your rights and liabilities under the law, feel free to visit our site, find the privacy policy in the footer and read it. It's written in plain English, not legalese, because we believe you should actually understand what you're agreeing to.

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If you wish to view our official policies, please visit our website TorturedComposers.com. There you'll find not just policies, but resources, exercises, and a growing collection of stories from composers just like you who are navigating the beautiful, terrible, wonderful world of music creation.

Remember, composing is not just about the notes you write. It's about the journey of becoming someone who writes those notes. Every struggle, every breakthrough, every moment of doubt and every moment of clarity, they're all part of the process. We're here to make that process a little less lonely and a lot more fun.

The world waits for your music, but there's no rush. Take your time. Make mistakes. Write garbage. Write gold. Write everything in between. We'll be here for all of it.