Music to music, notes to notes; music transcription, production, arranging & reduction, and more.

So whatcha whatcha whatcha want?

Fancy some original composition work for your project? Want some tweaking to the horn parts to give them more funk? Need to tighten up a beat? All done by someone that's understanding, fast, and easy to work with? I'm your guy.

Transcription/Reduction/Transposition

By far my most common request is to transcribe a song for which sheet music isn't available, or to reduce a track down to piano + vocal lines, or to take existing sheet music and transpose it to another key -- or any combination of the above. This type of work ranges from straightforward & quick-turnaround, to lengthy and challenging, all driven by the complexity of the source material. Whenever possible, I do endeavor to first locate decent sheet music for sale -- in other words, I view my first responsibility as getting you the product you need, even if I don't get a music service fee. I'll only start transcribing when locating sheet music fails! Back to top

Arranging

Reduction is a basic form of arranging, but I enjoy doing much more. My most common request these days is arranging for horn section or for SATB/other vocal structure. I discuss with my clients how closely they want me to stick to the source material; some times it's merely transcription & adaptation for different parts, other times arranging involves me taking the seed of the original idea and turning it into something new & fresh. Back to top

Backing/Demo Track Production

Another reason people often come to me is in the creation of full-blown backing/demo tracks. My digital project studio is stocked to the gills with digital sampler instruments of several walks, specializing in pianos and acoustic drums, as well as digital effects. If a client wants me to create a backing track from an existing song, they have the option of asking me to try and mimic the original recording's "sound & feel" as closely as possible, or treat the track as a new recording, mixed & engineered more generally.

I've also got a knack at locating existing backing/demo/karaoke tracks available out there, once again striving to save my clients time & money. However, if a track's not available without vocal, or the backing track we find sounds awful, I love stepping up and putting one together.

I generally advise my clients against booking me for guitar- or horn-heavy backing/demo tracks; while I have several digital acoustic & electric guitar samples, as well as a physical electric guitar with virtual amps by Native Instruments, Waves, and others, the sound is usually tough to make sound realistic. However, clients have sometimes provided their own guitars, which I of course can record and mix alongside my other tracks. Back to top

Demo Recording

Going alongside my backing/demo track production, I'm often called on for a low-cost vocal or instrumental engineering session. I keep costs down because, rather than keeping an expensive mic cabinet and all the various preamps, compressors et. al needed to make a recording shine, I rent my gear on-demand from a provider near my Astoria location. This includes phenomenal vintage mics as well as the hot new mics, classic pres such as Neve and API but also new classics such as John Hardy, and even high-level multi-input interfaces if mine doesn't cut it.

For simple vocal demos I usually just record in my apartment by renting an SE Electronics Reflexion Filter as my space is not treated, but for more pristine recording or if there's a plethora of ambient noise there are room options for rent around Astoria, or I can come to you anywhere in NYC for a small fee. Back to top

Production

I can take your song idea or create my own and bring it all the way to a finished product, in nearly any style. I specialize in several styles including pop/rock, R&B, hip-hop, dance/electronic, but have also done ambient, folk-rock, and even classical production.

I am also available for the studio defition of production, where I help you focus your sound or help you in your songwriting to get to the essence of your song or musical identity. This process is a much more involved service than any other, and I take very, very few customers in this capacity per 3-4 years. Back to top

Other Music Services

I often provide mixing/engineering, light mastering, session work, entertainment and other services for existing customers. I'm proficient in Logic Pro, Reason, and Sibelius, capable in ProTools and Cubase, experienced in Ableton Live, Nuendo, and Sonar, and familiar with Finale and Digital Performer. I'm able to pick up and quickly work with a variety of hardware devices, specializing in keyboards and sequencing workstations. I've given master, intermediate and beginner classes on MIDI, electronic music production, and other topics over the years.

You name it, I can probably do it, or find a way to get it done. Back to top