My Dearest Tortured Composer,

I write to you today with a composing tip I had to discover the hard way.

I had been working for a company that helped composers, producers, and musicians get unstuck.

And finish LOADS of music.

We were trying to come up with a way to explain the process we’d developed...

And we’d hit an absolute wall.

Nothing was making any sense.

And despite knowing this system worked well, we just couldn’t figure out how to explain it.

So in our desperation, we decided to try an exercise.

The owner of the company asked me to write a handwritten letter to one specific person, explaining the system.

I tried it, and we immediately struck gold.

Everything made sense in my letter, and it all seemed to finally click.

By writing to a single person, rather than something vague like “musicians,” we were able to clearly communicate our message.

And I find the same is true for composing.

Many times, we try to write in a style, write for an “audience,” or just try to make something good.

But this can leave us rudderless.

It is hard to write something with an abstract goal like that.

A much easier process is to pick a particular person, and write something for that person.

It makes composing decisions MUCH easier.

In his book “Keep Going,” author Austin Kleon says to pick out a person and create a gift for them.

I find this narrows your options in the best possible way.

You stop asking what an “audience” would want, and start asking what Steve would like.

You may not always be right. But you can guess. And move forward.

So try it.

Pick your person. Make them a musical “gift.”

That’s it for today...

And remember...

The world (and Steve) waits for your music...

-Luke