Orchestrator and Arranger

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: This feels like a loaded question. Because I'm the type of person to get held up on semantics, I have to ask the obvious question. Is there electricity?? I wouldn't bring any gear if all I could do was look at it. Ignoring this mountain of a plot hole though, I love my keyboard. I could spend hours playing any piece of sheet music put in front of me. Honestly, give me the keyboard, my primary display, my mouse, my computer keyboard, and my studio monitors. That should give me everything I need to just write and play music until I die of either starvation or lack of creativity.

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: My very first project after I graduated was pretty large considering my lack of experience. I arranged 4 songs for a client, booked the studio, hired the musicians, produced the sessions, and went through the post production process all right out of college. It was a firsthand, crash course, "welcome to the industry" experience, but the fact that I made it out in one piece with a final product I could take pride in gives me confidence to this day.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm currently working on the score for an animated tv show. That's about all I'm allowed to say at the moment.

Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

A: I've only just found this website so I don't know anyone on it, but I look forward to being able to make recommendations!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital to work in. Analog to listen to.

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: The slogan of my company, CAJ Music Company, sums it up nicely. Versatility is our forte. Quality is our standard. People are the reason.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love that every project is different. Nothing is ever redundant because the music is never redundant. Getting to work from home is nice, although it is a double-edged sword. Honestly though, making a living working on music is satisfaction enough.

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A: Most people don't even know about the orchestration position. I didn't even know about it until about 2 years ago. So I pretty much have to explain that one from the ground up. Once they know what I do though, people typically want to know what the projects are that I've worked on. And, of course, I'll always start with the more impressive ones.

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: As an orchestrator, it would be that it's not creative work. An orchestrator is basically a professional problem solver. Compromises have to be made regularly, and there are often logistical issues that the orchestrator has to make decisions on that the composer was not even aware of. As an arranger, probably something similar. Even though it's someone else's project, the arranger has to make a lot of decisions. Sometimes you put exactly what's in the demo. Other times, you create an entire brass section from scratch. Every project is truly different.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: -How involved do you want to be in this process? Some people want to just give me their music and forget about it. Others want to see every note the moment it's written. -What's your budget? This is probably the most important question, as it determines the studio location, number of players, instrumentation, and much more. -Are you set in stone on how your project sits now? Some people take great ownership in their music, and that should be respected. If they want something exactly how they have it, then that's how it should stay. On the other hand, some people prefer if the arranger/orchestrator takes create liberties if they think it would make the song better. That's fine too.

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: Your music doesn't have to be perfect when you bring it to me! The beauty of what I do is that it's interactive. My work process involves back and forth communication with the client and multiple rounds of edits. A lot of people never take the next step because they're never happy with what they have. I understand that, having been in that position myself. But with that said, it will never be finished unless you take that next step.

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: I interned for an orchestrator in Nashville for the first four months of 2022. After graduating immediately after, I've been able to continue to work with this orchestrator as well as gain a few new clients on my own.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I love film music, specifically film music centered around the orchestra.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: I would love nothing more than to orchestrate for the legendary John Williams himself. To meet him in person would be to stare the source of all of my inspiration in the face.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: No project is too big for you. Every time you start a new project, you'll feel overwhelmed by it, maybe even unworthy of it. But the only way that you'll get anything done is if you just put your head down and start working. You'll be surprised at what you can accomplish if you just put metaphorical (or literal) pen to paper.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: Film music if I'm lucky. That's definitely what I enjoy working on the most. Although other projects recorded in smaller studios typically involve strings and brass so I'll write for those as well.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skills would likely be my affinity for efficiency and my attention to detail. I have some perfectionist and OCD tendencies, so I think those work in my favor.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: That's a tough question. No one project has the same elements, so it's hard to say that there's one thing I bring to every song. I guess I would say that what I bring is context. If someone brings a song to me, then that means it's missing something. All I do, as simple as it may sound, is find that missing piece and satisfy it. Whatever it may be.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I guess that depends on what I'm working on. If I'm working on a film orchestration, the first things I need to do are create a Pro Tools session, create a MIDI Reference File, and create a Score File in Finale to work in. From there, I can look at the MIDI that the composer has sent and reference it against the mockup that they created to create the full score, and eventually parts.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: As far as screens go, I have 3 monitors and an iPad in front of me. Generally, the front monitor is for Finale, the far left monitor is for Pro Tools, and the far right monitor has all my Dropbox files pulled up so I can access them quickly. I've programmed a screen full of shortcuts to the iPad in front of me to make my work in Finale much more efficient. To my left is my Native Instruments S88 keyboard. I also have a 32 key keyboard on my desk in front of me. Behind my screen monitors are my studio monitors. A pair of them are linked to my center/right display and the other pair is linked to my left display.

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: I learned everything I know about orchestration from David Shipps. A lot of my work still comes from him and we still talk a few times a week. He is one of the top orchestrators in Nashville, if not THE top orchestrator. I've even modeled several facets of my studio setup after his.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: I'd say it's probably a pretty even split between orchestration and arranging. Although, I do the occasional composing project as well.