Cover image of Composer Quest: A Songwriting and Music Composition Podcast

Composer Quest: A Songwriting and Music Composition Podcast

Join the quest! Learn how composers and songwriters create music in this podcast hosted by Minneapolis composer Charlie McCarron. Whether you’re a music composition grad or simply an occasional noodle... Read more

Ranked #1

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Magical Songwriting Tips with Jess and Peter

Magical Songwriting Tips with Jess and Peter

Jess Scherer and Peter Lund faced a songwriting quandry: what do you write about when you've been happily married for se... Read more

1 Jun 2016

1hr 2mins

Ranked #2

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Music Theory for the Bored with Justin Merritt

Music Theory for the Bored with Justin Merritt

In order to be more productive, composer Justin Merritt once tried polyphasic sleeping, meaning he slept only a couple h... Read more

9 Apr 2014

41mins

Ranked #3

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Dame Evelyn Glennie on Percussion and Dynamics

Dame Evelyn Glennie on Percussion and Dynamics

Evelyn Glennie lost her hearing by the age of 12, but that didn’t stop her from becoming a percussion virtuoso, a three-... Read more

7 May 2014

41mins

Ranked #4

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Merry Podmas: 7 Composition Podcasts

Merry Podmas: 7 Composition Podcasts

Welcome to this special Christmas episode of Composer Quest! Since I’ll be taking a break from interviews (until I find ... Read more

9 Dec 2014

42mins

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Ranked #5

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Composing with Knobs and Patch Cables, Featuring Mike Olson

Composing with Knobs and Patch Cables, Featuring Mike Olson

Mike Olson schooled me in the ways of old-fashioned analog electronic composing, where you only have dials and cords to ... Read more

29 Oct 2014

59mins

Ranked #6

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Tour 1: Games in Chicago

Tour 1: Games in Chicago

For the final season of the Composer Quest podcast, 110 Kickstarter backers decided it would be fun to send me on a two ... Read more

9 Nov 2016

1hr 17mins

Ranked #7

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Quest 9: Film Scoring for Live Orchestra

Quest 9: Film Scoring for Live Orchestra

The MNKINO filmmaking group and the Composer Quest podcast are teaming up to bring you a fun challenge for the summer. F... Read more

14 Apr 2014

15mins

Ranked #8

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Patchwork Scriabin Results

Patchwork Scriabin Results

100 years after the death of Alexander Scriabin, his music lives on in a form he would never have expected. A week ago, ... Read more

26 Apr 2015

17mins

Ranked #9

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Song Exploder’s Hrishikesh Hirway on Songwriting

Song Exploder’s Hrishikesh Hirway on Songwriting

Hrishikesh Hirway removes as much of himself as possible from his interviews with musicians in Song Exploder. In today’s... Read more

22 Apr 2015

1hr 3mins

Ranked #10

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Geriatric Songwriters and Music Therapy with Angela Johnson

Geriatric Songwriters and Music Therapy with Angela Johnson

It isn’t every day you hear about a CD release party at a nursing home. Music therapist Angela Johnson worked with some ... Read more

5 Nov 2014

1hr 1min

Ranked #11

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Tour 3: Theory in New York

Tour 3: Theory in New York

This episode, I'm in Philadelphia and New York to chat about music theory, film scoring, and slot machine composing.

23 Nov 2016

1hr 59mins

Ranked #12

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N64 Composer Grant Kirkhope Talks Banjo Kazooie, GoldenEye, Perfect Dark

N64 Composer Grant Kirkhope Talks Banjo Kazooie, GoldenEye, Perfect Dark

It was an honor interviewing legendary composer Grant Kirkhope about his time at Rare, where he worked on some of the mo... Read more

3 Dec 2014

1hr

Ranked #13

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Quest 20: Olympics

Quest 20: Olympics

Since I'll be on my Composer Quest World Tour this fall, I decided we had to do something worldly and big for the final ... Read more

20 Aug 2016

11mins

Ranked #14

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Quest 14: Patchwork Scriabin with UniqueSound

Quest 14: Patchwork Scriabin with UniqueSound

In honor of the 100th anniversary of Alexander Scriabin’s death, Composer Quest and UniqueSound are teaming up to bring ... Read more

15 Apr 2015

8mins

Ranked #15

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Chopin, Hendrix, and Pianist Paul Cantrell

Chopin, Hendrix, and Pianist Paul Cantrell

What do Chopin and Jimi Hendrix have in common? What do “Graceland” and “Yesterday” have in common? How do mp3s work? Wh... Read more

12 Nov 2014

1hr 10mins

Ranked #16

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Chiptune Composing with Ben Burnes

Chiptune Composing with Ben Burnes

In today’s episode of Composer Quest, I talk with fellow Minnesotan Ben Burnes, who has been writing chiptune music for ... Read more

26 Nov 2014

56mins

Ranked #17

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Tour 6: Creative Work in LA

Tour 6: Creative Work in LA

If you've ever thought about moving to Los Angeles to pursue a creative career, today's episode will give you a glimpse ... Read more

14 Dec 2016

2hr 40mins

Ranked #18

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Tour 4: Songwriting in New England

Tour 4: Songwriting in New England

From pig racing to public-access TV, this three-hour episode chronicles my adventure around New England. I talk with fou... Read more

30 Nov 2016

3hr 10mins

Ranked #19

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Episode 150: UBK on Music Production and Arranging

Episode 150: UBK on Music Production and Arranging

For this special 150th episode of Composer Quest, I got to talk with Gregory Scott, co-host of my favorite music product... Read more

7 Jun 2016

1hr 19mins

Ranked #20

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Behind the Curtain of Composing Wizard Tyler Tholl

Behind the Curtain of Composing Wizard Tyler Tholl

My talented friend Tyler Tholl evaded coming on the Composer Quest podcast for over a year, but finally my pestering pai... Read more

30 Apr 2014

40mins

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