@@zachary4670 If you listen to music , you're gonna be influenced by it subconsciously , so if you want to sound like you and not anyone else it's best that you stay away from music when writing
@@Kaeilios film music is dumbed down and theres not much to learn from it in terms of what a real orchestra can do, now if youre writing some score with synths and thats what youre listening to then fine but most film music with orchestras just use them for long sustained notes and drones and comepletely boring uninspired chords
I think we have so much to learn from film music - I mean, the film music I listen to are mostly orchestras recorded live, such as the Harry Potter soundtrack. Gotta say, I was taken aback when he said that!! Film music is some of the best!
@schmidchrs yes, but what if what inspired them doesn't inspire you? what if what THEY created inspires you? if we all draw on the same inspiration, wouldn't THAT result in similar music being created everywhere? Music is heard and responded to differently by everyone, no matter how subtle the difference may be, and we should all listen to ourselves and focus on what inspires us. Of course, we should do this with a broad knowledge of musical genres so that we may THEN choose what inspires us.
This must be one of the most inspirational and hilarious videos of this type and field that exist out there. I am grateful that people like you exist and are sharing insights and "mentoring" the community; in this "flood" of click-bait channels and videos of "How to..." "This is the secret of making killer music" "5 mistakes producers do" and all that sort of crap, there are few outstanding channels with human and organic content which truly share and inspire. So for this, again, thank you for existing and for inspiring!
Dear Christian (after this video you shall let me call you like that). I'm a Brazilian producer and composer. Brazil is going through hard times. Sometimes, living here make me loose confidence on human behavior. Your 100th video was a big support on helping me to return to one of the most beautiful Brazilian characteristics: tenderness.
The 100 Do's & Don'ts - Fantastic advice and it can pretty much apply to a lot of different disciplines and careers. Remember, "common sense" isn't very common anymore!
As a music producer just getting out of college, this is one of my favorite videos on UA-cam. Thanks so much for your insight, it's so so so valuable to a clueless 21 year old :-)
This will become a timeless classic! Henson at his absolute friggen fabulous best! Thank you Christian. Really just thank you for the time and love you put into your vlog. with much gratitude and respect. Peter
Beauty! The Christian Henson difference: great advice offered by a foul-mouthed Poet Laureate. There's always at least one turn of phrase or metaphor that makes me laugh out loud. Timing on the advice re: stemming out before sitting on the beach couldn't be more timely. Thanks for 100 fantastic entries - and here's to many more!
Met Christian at GMC 2015, nice man....and over the years even though I never bought any of the Spitfire Audio stuff I came back to some of the tutorials because they're really useful...... but tonight I really needed to hear the "don't kill yourself" bit multiple times because it really is crucial.....maybe you're working another job too to pay the bills and killing yourself, your relationships and all to make that music....or maybe you are freelancing full time for the first time ever and hadn't had a day off in months.....these things aren't good ideas and it's really important to treat yourself well and if you don't treat yourself well nobody will....your client won't respect you any more for killing yourself, it doesn't make you look successful or hard working or anything....you will just look stressed, tired and distracted.... thanks Christian, I really needed to hear this tonight...... 👍
Being a self employed creative for 27 years (not as a music composer) I have to say, this is the most profound, concise advise for everyone who wants to make it in any sort of creative business.
There is so much wisdom in this 14:29sec.. That could be applied to all arenas of life and professions...this will become a new Fave.."Be yourself, Everyone else is taken" about knock me down.. Thank you so much..very inspiring..Cheers..
Christian, your channel is so much of what so many of us students out here look for to hear and understand in music. Thank you so much for your work into these videos, they have enriched my life and given me more structure to how to lead the next few years of my life to give my best attempt to become a media composer. -Alden
The best video, on the best channel, on UA-cam. No doubt. And definitely don't send emails after a Peroni or too (remember that one? Still makes me smile).
I'm not a film composer but I've spent a lot of time in theater as MD, arranger, and composer. My resources have mostly been limited to piano-centered scores with drums and bass as luxurious additions. I'm well-versed in counterpoint and have always composed with an ear to make harmony the result of voice leading. So, when writing for piano I often imagine orchestral instruments or vox to create singing lines. But that's a very different beast from writing orchestrally from the git go. I'm retired now, and in the Covid bubble I've been experimenting with digital orchestration and creating short mockups in cinematic style. First off, your posts have been enormously helpful and I'm very grateful for the access to your experience. Thank you! In this initial bit of my learning curve, (contrary to your admonitions) I'm finding the computer to be a terrific place to compose. Placing orchestration (unavailable to me in my former career) in the forefront has dramatically changed how I think about musical gesture as a composer. My internal templates are developing over time and my ability to imagine orchestrally will increase, but for now I'm in a glorious sandbox - at the computer. The other related admonition which gave me a slight pause was, "Don't listen to film music." There's a tongue in the cheek with that one, so I take it as a caveat against the trap of imitative writing. Well, in my initial steps, I'm doing a lot of imitating in order to better understand, for example, how Johannson created such lovely, transparent but deliciously warm sounds. I'm writing a short piece which borrows from a cue in his score for "The Theory of Everything." I began with an identical orchestration but because of the diferences in the meter and trajectory of my experiment, I'm having to find my own answers to moving forward. I'm trying to push the evolution of imitation to personal sound in each attempt. Sorry I went on but perhaps it's of interest to others. Cheers!
This is simply one of the best advice “tutorials” ever! I’ve just managed to save up and buy the British Drama Toolkit, Spitfire Audio are the best company around, such a diverse group of people creating amazing tools.
Binging your videos now, where the f... were all these absolutely awesome/inspirational/informative/entertaining videos when I was starting out as a media composer??? Now I'm getting back in the business so I truly feel blessed for having discovered this channel. Please keep doing videos like this!
I typically save composing and career videos, to watch them later, when time permits. But something told me watch this NOW. It was spectacular. Entertaining, Engaging, and Inspiring. Christian, I thank you more than I can express ...
This video is absolutely amazing!1 I am at a place where I really needed to hear this......I just want you to know how much you pushed me....God , Thank You!!
Absolutely brilliant....So many things in there that I relate to and do but also tons of stuff I haven't thought of. Thank you for sharing Christian I am going to holding onto this video. As for your midlife crisis, you haven't stated your intros with "what is happening You Tube " So you are doing ok :)
Hey, Christian, we actually happened to talk on the spitfire customer support chat not that long ago. I was looking at your Albion One pack for a business plan and you complimented me as being the first musician you had heard of doing such a thing. Anyhow, thanks so much for all the advice and encouragement. Your videos have been an inspiration for me to actually try and make some money at music. But, as to the last few minutes of your video where you are saying that you need to maintain a proper work-life balance so that your family can see you. Well, I have a family and I am wondering how it is that I should be keeping a healthy distance from my work when it sounds like so many folks in the industry seem to have a "work like a dog" mentality. This is something that seems to be a problem in many modern industries and I think the science bears out that this just doesn't work out for us as human beings, health-wise. It seems as if you can hamstring yourself pretty badly by having the mentality that you need to be there for your dependents. Or is it more that you have had an opinion change on this recently in your life and are working on trying to be different in an industry that largely finds dependents as inconvenient? Do I just need to be diplomatic about saying "No" to opportunities? It seems this hasn't generally hurt your brother in his ventures as a video game composer. Sorry, btw, I know that this is an "old news" post so to speak, but, it would be great to hear more on this. Thanks so much again, it is because of your encouragement and a generous friend who introduced me, that I have recently had an amazing opportunity to actually start talking with an established video game composer and start getting advice and begin my sojourn of networking into the industry. Merry Christmas and I hope the new year finds you and yours happy, healthy and refreshed.
Congrats, Christian! I often pimp your channel as a life coaching seminar for independent creatives as much as it is for composing. This is why. All of us appreciate all of the technical and non-technical advice. Cheers!
"Don't drink too much, but if you do drink the good shit. Don't take too many drugs, but if you do, take the good shit". Had me laughing my ass off but at the same time it's like, how fucking true. Like if you're going too it might as well be good and fun.
Loved this!! This was awesome and hilarious! I’d like to see a full segment of how you start your ideas that are just a few notes from scratch to a full fleshed out song! That would be awesome to watch even if it will be hours long! Keep it up man!
"Be yourself because everyone else is taken", great Oscar Wilde quote.
I think I understand, so make sure you upgrade your operating system in the middle of a project?
I mean you would want the best, most recent OS for a project right? RIGHT?
You understood wrong. You have to upgrade to a beta operating system in the middle of a project.
LOL!!!! The best comment
hahaha! Deserving of more likes.
Reading all these...dead haha
Great episode! thanks mate.
Those final 2 1/2 minutes are perhaps the most profound things you've given us in your 100 videos. Cheers Christian.
SpeaksForMe.
I love this video because you know each sentence was hours, if not days of effort, leading to months, if not years of lessons learned!
Nice one ! I would love some more about "Don't listen to f***ing film music"
madkeim music interesting point. Why is this something important?
@@zachary4670 If you listen to music , you're gonna be influenced by it subconsciously , so if you want to sound like you and not anyone else it's best that you stay away from music when writing
@@Kaeilios film music is dumbed down and theres not much to learn from it in terms of what a real orchestra can do, now if youre writing some score with synths and thats what youre listening to then fine but most film music with orchestras just use them for long sustained notes and drones and comepletely boring uninspired chords
I think we have so much to learn from film music - I mean, the film music I listen to are mostly orchestras recorded live, such as the Harry Potter soundtrack. Gotta say, I was taken aback when he said that!! Film music is some of the best!
@schmidchrs yes, but what if what inspired them doesn't inspire you? what if what THEY created inspires you? if we all draw on the same inspiration, wouldn't THAT result in similar music being created everywhere? Music is heard and responded to differently by everyone, no matter how subtle the difference may be, and we should all listen to ourselves and focus on what inspires us. Of course, we should do this with a broad knowledge of musical genres so that we may THEN choose what inspires us.
I usually don't watch these kinds of vlogs but this channel is just pure gold.
"don't drink to much. and when you do drink, drink the good shit. don't take too many drugs. and if you do, take the good shit" love it
This channel is my new happy place on UA-cam! Thanks Christian
This must be one of the most inspirational and hilarious videos of this type and field that exist out there. I am grateful that people like you exist and are sharing insights and "mentoring" the community; in this "flood" of click-bait channels and videos of "How to..." "This is the secret of making killer music" "5 mistakes producers do" and all that sort of crap, there are few outstanding channels with human and organic content which truly share and inspire. So for this, again, thank you for existing and for inspiring!
Dear Christian (after this video you shall let me call you like that). I'm a Brazilian producer and composer. Brazil is going through hard times. Sometimes, living here make me loose confidence on human behavior. Your 100th video was a big support on helping me to return to one of the most beautiful Brazilian characteristics: tenderness.
I NEEDED to hear this... It has done nothing for my confidence or my imposter syndrome, but it literally covered everything else.
Love this Guy, so down to earth and a real dude with experience, 👏🏼👏🏼🎹🎹👌
I have this sudden urge to upgrade my operating system in the middle of a project.
what was the price 😂
The 100 Do's & Don'ts - Fantastic advice and it can pretty much apply to a lot of different disciplines and careers. Remember, "common sense" isn't very common anymore!
i watch this every few months. always great to watch i think.
As a music producer just getting out of college, this is one of my favorite videos on UA-cam. Thanks so much for your insight, it's so so so valuable to a clueless 21 year old :-)
Wow! This is pure Gold, Christian!
The right words, the right time. Thanks so much for this hilarious and inspiring gem.
As a person who experienced at lest a half of what was said on my own skin, watching this is a real blessing! Thank you Christian!
This will become a timeless classic! Henson at his absolute friggen fabulous best! Thank you Christian. Really just thank you for the time and love you put into your vlog.
with much gratitude and respect.
Peter
I just watched this, again, today. It's always an inspiring bit of counseling. Thanks, Chris!
"Do you really need to quantise that?. Did you click save?" 😂 Brilliant episode Christian.
You forget to mentionned that noboby should upgrade his operating system in the middle of a proect.
@John Paesano
Beauty! The Christian Henson difference: great advice offered by a foul-mouthed Poet Laureate. There's always at least one turn of phrase or metaphor that makes me laugh out loud.
Timing on the advice re: stemming out before sitting on the beach couldn't be more timely. Thanks for 100 fantastic entries - and here's to many more!
Met Christian at GMC 2015, nice man....and over the years even though I never bought any of the Spitfire Audio stuff I came back to some of the tutorials because they're really useful......
but tonight I really needed to hear the "don't kill yourself" bit multiple times because it really is crucial.....maybe you're working another job too to pay the bills and killing yourself, your relationships and all to make that music....or maybe you are freelancing full time for the first time ever and hadn't had a day off in months.....these things aren't good ideas and it's really important to treat yourself well and if you don't treat yourself well nobody will....your client won't respect you any more for killing yourself, it doesn't make you look successful or hard working or anything....you will just look stressed, tired and distracted....
thanks Christian, I really needed to hear this tonight...... 👍
this man preaching, Lord have mercy. bless your heart Christian
How can I give this a thousand thumbs up??? Awesome reminder to common senses that escapes a looot of us for reasons unknown.
"Be yourself, because everyone else is taken." Brilliant!
Thank you Chris - you are too generous in what you give
Being a self employed creative for 27 years (not as a music composer) I have to say, this is the most profound, concise advise for everyone who wants to make it in any sort of creative business.
Made me think, smile, laugh, and restart a project. Perfect. Couldn't ask for more. Thanks!
There is so much wisdom in this 14:29sec.. That could be applied to all arenas of life and professions...this will become a new Fave.."Be yourself, Everyone else is taken" about knock me down..
Thank you so much..very inspiring..Cheers..
I watch this regularly. Helps a great deal.
"But do make a bunch of freaky music on a UA-cam channel that no-one watches. He will find you."
If only it was that easy. lol
Nobody said it was easy, but it's one of the 100 tips that MAYBE would help you so.. try everything!
@@damjanstojanovski3144 Well, I'll definitely keep at it!
One of the best episodes!
Lovely view from Arthur's Seat.
I love your perspective on music. I always appreciate it!
Thanks Christian, Very true about operating systems, been there done that.
So many nice T-Shirt slogans in this one.
Genuinely saved to my favourites.
Christian, your channel is so much of what so many of us students out here look for to hear and understand in music. Thank you so much for your work into these videos, they have enriched my life and given me more structure to how to lead the next few years of my life to give my best attempt to become a media composer. -Alden
Wow, I'm floored by how helpful and clear this is. A massive, massive thank you
This is probably the single best video to watch for any composer at any stage in their career. Now i'm going outside for a run.
The best video, on the best channel, on UA-cam. No doubt. And definitely don't send emails after a Peroni or too (remember that one? Still makes me smile).
Cheers...that was really useful. 4 yrs later...
I'm not a film composer but I've spent a lot of time in theater as MD, arranger, and composer. My resources have mostly been limited to piano-centered scores with drums and bass as luxurious additions. I'm well-versed in counterpoint and have always composed with an ear to make harmony the result of voice leading. So, when writing for piano I often imagine orchestral instruments or vox to create singing lines. But that's a very different beast from writing orchestrally from the git go. I'm retired now, and in the Covid bubble I've been experimenting with digital orchestration and creating short mockups in cinematic style. First off, your posts have been enormously helpful and I'm very grateful for the access to your experience. Thank you! In this initial bit of my learning curve, (contrary to your admonitions) I'm finding the computer to be a terrific place to compose. Placing orchestration (unavailable to me in my former career) in the forefront has dramatically changed how I think about musical gesture as a composer. My internal templates are developing over time and my ability to imagine orchestrally will increase, but for now I'm in a glorious sandbox - at the computer. The other related admonition which gave me a slight pause was, "Don't listen to film music." There's a tongue in the cheek with that one, so I take it as a caveat against the trap of imitative writing. Well, in my initial steps, I'm doing a lot of imitating in order to better understand, for example, how Johannson created such lovely, transparent but deliciously warm sounds. I'm writing a short piece which borrows from a cue in his score for "The Theory of Everything." I began with an identical orchestration but because of the diferences in the meter and trajectory of my experiment, I'm having to find my own answers to moving forward. I'm trying to push the evolution of imitation to personal sound in each attempt. Sorry I went on but perhaps it's of interest to others. Cheers!
“Be yourself... Everyone else is taken.” I think I’ll watch this one about a dozen times.
Want to watch this every day now!
Such a good reminder to come back to. Thanks Christian! :)
Thanks Christian, amazing...
Thank you Christian. Well said.
This is one of the best videos on the internet, I will be coming back when I forget what to do
Thank you so much Christian. No matter how often one might have heard any or all of these tips, they’re all worth hearing again and again.
Great tips! Fantastic delivery! Not the least, genuine. New fan.
One of my favorite UA-cam videos. I come back to it again and again whenever I’m feeling wobbly. Thank you so much Christian
Just beautiful
Love the 'add 12 months' for game scores. So true.
Great as usual, Christian. Thanks!
Such an inspiration. Thanks for all the great videos!
This is simply one of the best advice “tutorials” ever!
I’ve just managed to save up and buy the British Drama Toolkit, Spitfire Audio are the best company around, such a diverse group of people creating amazing tools.
Binging your videos now, where the f... were all these absolutely awesome/inspirational/informative/entertaining videos when I was starting out as a media composer??? Now I'm getting back in the business so I truly feel blessed for having discovered this channel. Please keep doing videos like this!
Absolutely sage advise. Not just for musicians and composers, for everyone in any career.
These are all brilliant!!! But 60-80 are so close to home
This is the best advice on composing I’ve EVER seen.
Recently discovered your channel. Your videos are so much fun. Very creative and educational...
Very entertaining vid. Good wisdom and funny too. I watched it a couple times.
Mr. Henson...your my hero ;-) Fun AND helpful tips for the less heard/watched of us. Can’t remember how I ended up here, but glad I did!
Fantastic video Christian, so many great tips!
Required viewing. Super insightful!
lovely stuff. Watched these before, but just going over your videos again cause they give me a lot of inspiration
congratulation Christian !!! and thank you ......
Thanks Christian. Enjoyed that video enormously.
“Did you save it?” Brilliant, haha!
I typically save composing and career videos, to watch them later, when time permits. But something told me watch this NOW. It was spectacular. Entertaining, Engaging, and Inspiring. Christian, I thank you more than I can express ...
Thank you for #95, it is the mantra of the assistant guidebook I wrote last year. Carry on, CH! 🙌🤗
6:24 I'm so dead with that sequence
Really enjoyed your advices, quite inspiring and honest, thanks for sharing
Very good. Enjoyed that. Thank you.
I love this video. I come back around every few months and watch it again.
Standing ovation :) Pearls of hard earned wisdom. Thank you.
This video is absolutely amazing!1 I am at a place where I really needed to hear this......I just want you to know how much you pushed me....God , Thank You!!
Absolutely brilliant....So many things in there that I relate to and do but also tons of stuff I haven't thought of. Thank you for sharing Christian I am going to holding onto this video. As for your midlife crisis, you haven't stated your intros with "what is happening You Tube " So you are doing ok :)
DON'T UPGRADE YOUR OPERATING SYSTEM IN THE MIDDLE OF A PROJECT!!! This is wisdom at it's finest!
I really appreciate your candor and openness, Christian. Highly relatable and obviously a good dude. Cheers!
Brilliant. Thanks.
Hey, Christian, we actually happened to talk on the spitfire customer support chat not that long ago. I was looking at your Albion One pack for a business plan and you complimented me as being the first musician you had heard of doing such a thing. Anyhow, thanks so much for all the advice and encouragement. Your videos have been an inspiration for me to actually try and make some money at music. But, as to the last few minutes of your video where you are saying that you need to maintain a proper work-life balance so that your family can see you. Well, I have a family and I am wondering how it is that I should be keeping a healthy distance from my work when it sounds like so many folks in the industry seem to have a "work like a dog" mentality. This is something that seems to be a problem in many modern industries and I think the science bears out that this just doesn't work out for us as human beings, health-wise. It seems as if you can hamstring yourself pretty badly by having the mentality that you need to be there for your dependents. Or is it more that you have had an opinion change on this recently in your life and are working on trying to be different in an industry that largely finds dependents as inconvenient? Do I just need to be diplomatic about saying "No" to opportunities? It seems this hasn't generally hurt your brother in his ventures as a video game composer. Sorry, btw, I know that this is an "old news" post so to speak, but, it would be great to hear more on this. Thanks so much again, it is because of your encouragement and a generous friend who introduced me, that I have recently had an amazing opportunity to actually start talking with an established video game composer and start getting advice and begin my sojourn of networking into the industry. Merry Christmas and I hope the new year finds you and yours happy, healthy and refreshed.
I'm going to have to construct a scheduler that reminds me to watch this video again every month or so. Hats off, this is so chock full of wisdom.
great stuff. honest. funny. slick.
Excellent!
Congrats, Christian! I often pimp your channel as a life coaching seminar for independent creatives as much as it is for composing. This is why. All of us appreciate all of the technical and non-technical advice. Cheers!
Brilliant !!!
"Don't drink too much, but if you do drink the good shit. Don't take too many drugs, but if you do, take the good shit". Had me laughing my ass off but at the same time it's like, how fucking true. Like if you're going too it might as well be good and fun.
Thanks for this. Much appreciated!
Impressive! Thank you!
Real talk and I love it. Earned my subscription 👍🏻
Wise words you speak, sir!
Brilliant Christian! My cheap beer must be the reason. Lol
This is lovely Christian. Your channel is a jewel found on a windswept beach.
Loved this!! This was awesome and hilarious! I’d like to see a full segment of how you start your ideas that are just a few notes from scratch to a full fleshed out song! That would be awesome to watch even if it will be hours long! Keep it up man!