 British Composer Kezia Tomsett by Jenny Leigh Hodgins
This is Part 1 of 2 blogs featuring my interview with UK Composer, Kezia Tomsett. Watch this space for Part 2 posting August 25. LISTEN TO THIS ON YourCreativeChord Podcast, “How Do We Progress Women Composers? Talk About It!” featuring UK Composer Kezia Tomsett in two episodes. After connecting through the Women Composers Collective Facebook group last fall, I spoke with a young, female, British composer of Reading, England. Kezia Tomsett had just finished her BA Music degree at The University of Leeds. I was interested in hearing from her as a recent graduate and upcoming young female composer. I was especially intrigued that she’d done her dissertation on why there aren’t many women film composers. Let’s dive in to our conversation with Reading, England-based composer Kezia Tomsett… LISTEN to the PODCAST: Episode 1 Episode 2 Tell me about your musical background. I went to a local comprehensive where music was much more of a hobby. I performed at many school assemblies, but found that I really excelled and, moreover, enjoyed composing music. I was always a nervous performer but much less so with my own work and got more satisfaction from this! I did all the piano grades before my A Levels and it was after this that I really found my joy and passion in music, in messing about on the piano and writing my own music. My Dad was and is my inspiration. He just loves music! He taught me piano for my first couple of grades and then I got a teacher from grade 3. I’m only beginning to make money from music, having just finished my degree. I’ve previously worked on projects as part of my degree or to gain experience. I have recently earned money through collaborating with writing on an advertisement pitch and through singing on a pitch. Tell me two things that were pivotal for the opening of your professional path. My university offered a ‘year-in-industry’ year, a sandwich year between second and third year. This gave us the opportunity to find any placement (so long as it had something to do with music!) for the year. I spent that year with WMP studios in Leeds where they welcomed me as part of their team. I collaborated with them and wrote music for film - specifically TV advertisements, sound design, and library tracks. The other pivotal project for me was my dissertation. I decided to investigate women writing to film. During my year-in-industry, having attended several events and conferences, I realized there was a distinct lack of women at these events. There was also a significant lack of published literature researching this area. During my dissertation, I conducted my own research, reaching out to composers in the industry, and interviewed eight women writing to film. Through this, I was welcomed into the Women Composers’ Forum of London and have had opportunities through this group to become more involved in the industry. How do you obtain clients? So far, not how I anticipated! I’ve obtained clients through conversations at music conferences (such as Manchester’s Tune Up and Leeds’ The Yorkshire Music Forum). The friends I‘ve made in the industry have also begun to offer me work. I plan to attend more networking events, but for me, thus far, work has come through the relationships I have developed. What technology or music gear or skillsets do you feel are essential to your music-making? Having software like Logic (or whatever it may be) is pretty essential as you need to be able to mock up a demo that sounds professional, rather than sending over voice memos! Once you have the software however, you also need to have the skillset to really enter a client’s head in response to what they are asking from the composer. You need to be able to understand their point of view so you can deliver what they want. This perhaps entails good communication skills and empathy. What advice would you give someone who wants to make a living as a composer? I had a conversation with one of my role models in the industry in my dissertation and she said ‘passion’. It may sound cliche but you really have to love your job. Another theme that seems to keep coming up is being able to cope with rejection because there is a lot in the industry. I’m sure I’m only just at the start of it! Be persistent, work hard and love what you do. What are the best and worst aspects of being a semi-professional composer? As a recent university graduate, for me the best aspects are;
Describe your strengths as a creator. I love starting new ideas. I love being creative! I love thinking outside the box, using the resources I’ve got to illustrate what I’ve got in my head in a session. I’m also determined and persistent, which are strengths I feel anyone needs in the industry. I also really appreciate collaborations with other composers - I enjoy working with others. Do you have resources (besides gear) that you regularly as a creator? I have just finished an EP and used my voice! Using the resources you have can be an asset. As a pianist, I also use my piano regularly to sketch out ideas (even to get a sense of the harmony progression in a piece) or to take a step back and mess around on the piano. Playing the piano is like my diary, it enables me to get my thoughts out. What influences your creativity positively? Weirdly, I tend to find that I am most creative when I’m a little tired! When writing my own music, I often find influence from stories, basing my tracks from the viewpoint of a character (existing or not), whether the piece has lyrics or not. This is so I can enter the character’s mind and experience their state of being. I also appreciate feedback from other composers and find this really encouraging. What hinders your creative flow? Uprooting myself tends to throw my routine a bit - I have just moved location and am having to settle back into my routine! Spending too much time by myself can really hinder my creativity. I make sure to spend time with people, taking breaks from my work so I can go back with fresh ears, fresh inspiration and determination! Take us into your creative process to describe a snapshot scenario of how you would approach composing a new musical project. Or give an example of how you created one of your musical compositions. It changes on every project but here’s a typical overview - I first make notes on the brief and research any other relevant reference tracks. I map out what the director is asking for and write a snapshot of how I think the project will go forward. I sketch out a rough idea on the piano (even if there is no piano in the piece) to get an idea of the structure of the piece. I import sounds into a Logic file (digital audio workstation) that I feel would suit the project and begin writing! I think planning is an essential ingredient. Especially in terms of structure and being influenced or inspired by the reference track (if there is one). WATCH THIS SPACE FOR PART 2 OF OUR DIALOGUE AS WE CONTINUE WITH THE QUESTION, "Why do you think there aren’t many women film composers?" Find Kezia Tomsett and her music on Twitter or Instagram, and at her SoundCloud Page Here. Where to find Kezia Tomsett: https://twitter.com/KeziaTomsett https://www.instagram.com/keziatomsett/ https://soundcloud.com/kezia-tomsett If you enjoyed this blog--Please SHARE &/OR LEAVE A COMMENT here!
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Interview with Composer, Sound Designer & Course Creator, Alex Pfeffer Germany-based Creative Professional, Alex Pfeffer By Jenny Leigh Hodgins
Germany-based Alex Pfeffer is an award winning composer and sound designer who has composed music for games (Crysis 2, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Risen 3, Battleforge etc.), movie trailers, production music (Pacific Rim, Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes etc.) as well as audio content and official sound library demos for many world class sample library developers! He’s also an audio editor on the 60 million EUR show “EQUILA” which is currently being performed in Munich, Germany, and arranged for Frank Peterson (Sarah Brightman, Gregorian, Andrea Bocelli)! Pfeffer has a sample library store, String Theories, and offers an online blog and courses for audio production creatives. To learn more about Alex Pfeffer, check out his music and sound library links here: http://www.alexpfeffer.net https://stringtheories.space https://lifebuff.blog Here is YourCreativeChord’s interview with Pfeffer: YCC: As a creative professional with 10 years of sound design and successful professional composing experience, 30+ years of guitar playing, and your constant thirst to learn more with recording gear, plugins and hardware, you have a lot to offer music and sound creatives! Your personal story is equally inspiring. Please tell us about your hearing loss and your family’s experience with your daughter’s health, and how these personal experiences moved you to create your online blog and courses for creative professionals. Pfeffer: First of all, thank you for having me! When I was three years old I suffered from a cholesteatoma, which is sort of a destructive and expanding growth inside the ear. The resulting and necessary surgery left me deaf on my right ear for the following ten years. At around the age of 13 I had another surgery resulting in bringing back some hearing to around 30%. This may have been responsible to dive into the audio world to somehow compensate what happened to me. When I was 14 years old, I started to play guitar and took private lessons. Fast forward, when my daughter was born, it was pure chaos. No one had any clue or could say how she would turn out and besides that there wasn’t a lot of sleep going on. However, I made sure to approach the whole situation as positively as possible. Throughout the years, as she grew older, I was amazed by how mindful, peaceful and funny this little girl was. Even though she suffers from epilepsy, can’t walk or talk, she seems to be happy to be alive and enjoys every single day. I learned so much from her and became aware that this was the only way to work it out! I researched, learned and worked a lot on myself. I looked back and noticed what a confident man I have become. I am someone who, no matter what, wouldn't want to miss a second of anything that's happened in my life! Around this time I really noticed how many people really are suffering from everything the audio industry brings along: Impostor Syndrome, Stress, Lack of Self Confidence, Existential Fear, you name it. So I decided to do something about it. I started my blog and my courses to contribute to the audio industry. YCC: What was pivotal for your interest in creativity and life boosters as a specialty? Pfeffer: When I came back from studying music in Los Angeles at the Los Angeles College of Music, I started to work as a guitar teacher and got hired as a lead guitarist in a rock pop band. Throughout that time I really enjoyed what I did but, especially while recording our album, I was fascinated by the work “on the other side of the studio console." From then on I tried to compose more. A few years later, I was able to land my first gig for a video game, called Railroad Pioneer. YCC: What was pivotal for your interest in creativity and life boosters as a specialty? Pfeffer: I really like to break things down, no matter if it's a problem, a new skill, or why a human being behaves like he/she does. There are so many tutorials, courses and lessons around that deal with the topics of studio gear, plugins, songwriting, music theory, getting rich and successful. But you hardly ever find anything about creativity and mindfulness tailored towards the audio industry. You can be the best composer on this planet, make tons of money and get one well paid gig after another, but creativity and mindfulness are the driving fuel to make music. We all know what happens when your car runs out of fuel or your smartphone’s battery is low! YCC: Describe one of your favorite aspects of your job. Pfeffer: Of course, in some way we always work for someone, but I really appreciate that I can make money by doing what I love. Not just that I have a specific love towards music, but the fact that I can work by doing what I love. To me, this is the driving force for investing more time, being eager, more focused and truly dedicated to each project. YCC: Describe your strengths as a leader on the topic of creative process. Pfeffer: I think we both know that there aren’t many websites, courses and people in general who care about the well-being of people working in the audio industry. Of course, if someone is interested in meditation, breathing techniques and becoming more mindful, that person can research and strive to achieve those skills. But, most of the time I see people posting around on social media complaining that they don’t feel very well. Most of the time it is about topics such as the Impostor Syndrome or insomnia. As for me, personally, it was time that I try to do something about that! YCC: Describe your typical day as a composer, sound designer, creativity educator. Pfeffer: The night before, I roughly make a plan of what I want to work on the next day. I don’t have a specific structure. But I try to make sure to either take a walk or do some exercising, and most importantly, do at least 10 minutes of meditation. There is nothing better to reset your brain, especially since it is the “main tool” we need to compose music or write a blog post. YCC: Tell us a bit about what is covered in your LifeBuff Pro courses and your teaching approach toward creative professionals. Pfeffer: My LifeBuff Pro course consists of three essential things: Building blocks that deal with the topics of stress relief, becoming more mindful, improving your self-confidence, worrying less, and getting into basic psychology. These topics are essential to work on the topics in more advanced blocks, like dealing with customers, achieving your dreams, overcoming impostor syndrome, self doubts, writer’s block and so on. Besides the building and advanced blocks, my courses include general blocks on topics such as your body & mind, sleep, nutrition, your workplace, meditation lessons tailored to audio people, some exercises that can be done in your studio or workplace, and much more. All in all my full course features around 100 lessons. There will be one new lesson each week from now. YCC: Who would be eligible to participate in learning from your courses? Pfeffer: Generally every creative person. Even though I talk about the audio industry, you could simply replace "tracks" with "graphics" or "videos." But in the end, it doesn’t matter if you are a composer, singer, musician, songwriter or a graphic designer, writer... The course is especially for creatives. YCC: What are some of the best tips toward successfully tapping creativity that you’ve gleaned from your career? Pfeffer: To be able to know when to stop and breathe for a moment. We tend to solve problems at night, we work as long as possible because we think this is the most productive way. We try to be more efficient when it comes to work so we also try to trim down our spare time. Then we get back from holiday or have two days off, and suddenly realize how refreshed we feel! What really made me wake up is becoming aware of this and realizing that, with decent breaks, some meditation and fresh air, we are capable of getting more done in less amount of time. YCC: What role does technology play in your exploration of creativity? Pfeffer: A very important one when it comes to researching creativity and how to learn about all the different methods on this planet. There are some great games, shows and other tools which can boost your creativity. However, when it comes to maintaining your own creativity, it is important to not forget that we are human beings. When our brains are too exhausted by using too much technology, even if our body isn’t tired, this creates problematic imbalance. YCC: What advice would you give someone who wants to make a living as a creative professional? Pfeffer: To be successful, you really have to work your butt off. You truly have to invest a lot of time and money, believe in what you do, and absolutely focus on it. I’ve experienced so many people giving up too early. A truly successful professional has probably failed more times than someone else has ever tried. However, you have to find a balance between spending energy and recharging yourself. The most essential thing someone has to learn is how to convert negative stresses into positive challenges, and learn to take care of the body and mind. YCC: What are the three most important skills you recommend to pave a path as a creative professional? Pfeffer: A strong belief in yourself, focus and consistency! YCC: What are your goals for your future with regard to creativity? Pfeffer: I take care to maintain my creativity because it is my daily fuel, whether it is writing blogs posts, creating worksheets or composing music. A balanced body and mind are fuel for creativity. We all know what happens with a car when it runs out of fuel! I will keep researching, experimenting, finding solutions, writing blog posts and creating course material on how to maintain your creativity and keep a sane mind in the audio industry. Click here to learn more about Alex Pfeffer’s courses on creativity for audio industry professionals. And...if you loved this blog don't forget to show your awesome support by Liking the link, Subscribing for more updates and adding your comment below! CLICK HERE for a list of piano and music-making resources I use and recommend. |
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