Steve Kirk Blog

Steve Kirk's multi-part guide to scoring video in Pro Tools continues with part five. In this installment Steve shows you how to export a MIDI score to Sibelius — something you can print and hand out to actual human session players. Exciting!  

Now that you've got your video loaded into Pro Tools and you've mapped out some basic musical ideas, Steve Kirk shows you how to bring those rough sketches closer to what your finalized score will sound like in this, the forth installment of his scoring movies in Pro Tools how-to.  

The third installment in guest blogger Steve Kirk's guide to scoring movies in Pro Tools. Come for the free tutorial, stay for the deeply unsettling animation.  

The second installment of Steve Kirk's series on scoring music to video shows you how to set up your Pro Tools session and import a movie file. Composing to the action is much easier when your video is synced up to your session.  

Video may have killed the radio star back in the 80s, but the ongoing convergence of digital media is opening up amazing new opportunities for today's composers. Pro Tools, along with several other DAW applications, make it easier than ever to custom-create a specific piece of audio to match a specific piece of video. In the first of his latest series of posts, regular blogger Steve Kirk tells you what used to be involved when syncing sound to picture, and how a digital workspace can ease the burden.  

If you've been honing your compositional chops, you might want to try hanging a shingle and offering your services for hire. Regular blogger Steve Kirk has been down that path a time or two, and has some valuable advice on how to avoid some of the common pitfalls. His sample contract is well worth the click.  

As we get deeper into Fall and the temperature slowly sinks, it's a good time to think about heading for warmer weather. Regular Gearwire blogger Steve Kirk has the right idea. He recently visited New Orleans for some tasty food and some even tastier music. A fella could do worse.  

Tension in your composition makes your music more interesting. Tension in your band makes rehearsal less enjoyable. Regular blogger Steve Kirk examines the group dynamic and offers helpful tips for productive band practice.  

In the latest installment of his regular blog, Steve Kirk examines the relationship between the volume knobs on your guitar and the rest of your rig. Think it's only about soft and loud? Think again. These simple insights can have a big impact on both your tone and feel.  

Part Three of Steve Kirk's examination of improvisation and modal composition, looking at using modes with other scales and over chord progressions.  

Steve Kirk's continues his examination of improvisation and modal composition, this time delving into hybrid modes.  

If you've been following Steve Kirk's regular blog on Gearwire, you know he's already touched on the topics of improvisation and modal composition. This week;'s entry brings both concepts together, examining the practical application of musical modes through both improvisational and compositional lenses.  

Guest blogger Steve Kirk offers his thoughts on the New York vs. Chicago scenes, IO vs. Second City, and the Harold vs. other forms.

Oh wait, not that kind of improv.  

Steve Kirk takes us on a trip through musical history in this installment of his regular blog. Understanding the Dominant 7th, Diminished And Augmented Chords means understanding the roots of American popular music, and might just give you a few (thousand) compositional ideas.  

Regular blogger Steve Kirk has been teaching guitar for long enough to know that every student has different needs, goals, and—unfortunately—tastes in music. He's also been teaching long enough to know you need a reliable poker face to get through some teaching sessions (even if he's still working on developing his own). Read on for more of Steve's advice on approaching teaching—not just guitar, but any instrument.  

If you know what a pan-tonal melody is. . . well, even if you don't, you'll find this latest music-theory-musing from regular blog contributor Steve Kirk to be enjoyable and enlightening. Perhaps even more so for your ignorance. See? It IS bliss!  

Steve Kirk's first guitar-tone love was a Jordan Boss Tone fuzz effect, a neat in-line plug that yielded instant "acid rock." While original, working Jordan units are hard to find, Steve did manage to get his hands on a Mahoney Buzz Tone -- a faithful recreation -- and recorded some excellently saturated samples for this warm and fuzzy installment of his ongoing blog.  

While many guitarists work their entire lives trying to attain that Holy Grail that is "perfect tone" buy going through endless permutations of pedals and other tricks, GW's regular blog contributor Steve Kirk thinks they're trying too hard. He shares his thoughts on getting great guitar tone the easy way.  

Ever wonder how that tune that's stuck in your head* got written in the first place? More likely that not it started as a gleam in some chord progression's eye. Steve Kirk -- our non-resident, regular blog contributor -- offers his thoughts and advice in creating melodies from chord progressions.

Is that tune Black Sabbath's Iron Man? It is now.  

Composer, guitar instructor and regular GW contributor Steve Kirk shares with us his approaches to learning new music. It's a methodical process that Steve learned from his favorite teacher. Cue Lion King overture.  

Our guest blogger Steve Kirk has quite a few professional composing credits to his name, including a few ditties you've undoubtedly heard if you're a fan of the social networking game Farmville (Steve wrote the main theme). Steve's oeuvre extends well beyond the digital realm, and in this installation of his Gearwire Blog, Mr. Kirk shares with us his strategies for staying out of creative ruts.  

What do you get when you combine blogs and guitar lessons? Globssons? Why not just call it Steve Kirk's Gearwire blog? In the first installment of this new series, the composer, arranger, guitarist, singer, and occasional instructor covers efficient alternate picking techniques and syncopation.