Hello!

I have a bachelors degree in (classical) music composition from California State University Northridge (CSUN).  I began working as a musician during and after college, playing in bands, teaching music both individual lessons and in a private school.  I playing for ballet classes, night clubs, parties and whatever other gigs I could get.

It was harder to find many composing jobs until I got into the video game industry where I wrote the music for dozens of early video games.  Back then we had very limited capabilities, and the music was quite simple.  I sometimes cringe to think how little we had to work with.  But eventually computers and consoles got the ability to play digital music, and the music got much better.

I write in a wide variety of styles, including classical, jazz, blues, rock, indie and country.  I am currently writing country songs and working on a musical called ‘The Blues (or something like it)”.

This blog will try to explain my process and how I think about composing, and highlight new insights wherever they come up.  It is not going to be a blog on music theory or other dry, academic stuff.  Composing is fun, and I want this blog to be about my personal experience doing it.  I hope you enjoy it.

Russell Shiffer