I have just started the course Film, TV, & Video Game Music Composition + Production Basic by Steven Melin. Steven Melin also wrote the book that I reviewed a while ago (paid link) The Family First Composer.

It was interesting for me to come across this course as I really enjoyed the book that he wrote.

It looks as if the course has been recently updated to include a lot more information about the business side of things, with many interviews with different people and with Steven Melin himself.

It looks as though the bulk of the course (at least time wise) concentrates on the business side of things with less emphasis on the actual composition side, so I am interested to see what this course involves.

There is over sixty hours of video included in the course so there should be a lot of information included.

The course starts off structured to build skills with such modules as

• Writing and recording musical ideas
• Notation and score preparation
• Melody, harmony, and advanced chord techniques
• Electronic music production and sound design
• Orchestration fundamentals
• Mixing and mastering
• Scoring for film, TV, and video games

There is an exercise associated with each topic which is fun to try.

The remainder of the course deals with the business aspects and building a career path for yourself.

His philosophy, that you can build a sustainable composing career without sacrificing your family, health, or values is certainly interesting and I am hoping that this part of the course will reinforce the ideas of The Family First Composer providing an additional roadmap for the furtherance of one’s career.

I will let you know how I get on with the course and whether I find it useful.