FINALLY Finish Your Music...
With A Process, Not Guesswork.
"Before using this method, I would get stuck and just throw out entire ideas and start over. Now, I have a much better understanding of how to make my ideas stronger and develop them into something."
"This method shows that composition is a PROCESS. I'm not sure what I thought it was before, but I wasted a lot of time sitting around waiting to feel inspired. I wish I had known this stuff sooner!"
"I have an musical education from Berklee, but I found this method so incredibly freeing! To just start a piece and explore linear harmony without worrying about a key signature or set of formulas was really exciting and inspiring."
"This program took the guesswork out of writing music, but left me enough creative space to experiment with the focus and intentionality I was looking for."
- CCS Cohort Alum
Which of these best describes you?
1. You've spent years:
- learning theory
- practicing your instrument
- building your musical knowledge.
Yet, when you sit down to write your own music, you feel stuck. Overwhelmed by too many options, too many ideas, and a paralyzing sense of perfectionism. You have the tools, but no blueprint to build with them. (*coughs* this was 100% me btw)
OR
2. You're just getting started and you're:
- Overwhelmed by all there is to learn
- Confused why everyone keeps telling you "just learn more theory"
- Wishing someone would give you actionable steps you can take to start writing music
You’re not alone. The real enemy isn't a lack of knowledge. Sometimes it even feels like we know TOO much.
It's the paralysis of:
- overthinking
- over-analyzing
- too many options
This is a problem that every artist has faced. But the best artists I know don't seek limitless freedom; they intentionally create boundaries. Boundaries that force them to be creative.
The Problem Isn't You. It's Your Process.
"Just play stuff until it sounds good, bruh" is not a process. Eventually, it will end in a creative roadblock. Even if it works for a while, your compositions start to feel like places you've already been a thousand times before.
What if composition was its own process? A process that could be learned, practiced, and improved upon.
The Composition Clarity System is a proven blueprint to build your musical intuition through doing. It's a method that takes out the guesswork and gives you a solid foundation so you can start exploring your own voice with clarity and direction.
The underlying principles are timeless, and now you can start putting them to work for yourself.
Here's what the early enrollees have to say...
...And what the members of the current CCS Cohort are saying:
Over the course of 6 modules you'll:
- Write linear chord progressions without being restricted to fixed key signatures.
- Create effective sequences and turn them into mini-arrangements.
- Harmonize existing melodies using "harmonic escape."
- "Simulate" focused melodies with effective structures.
- Develop new, contrasting sections from existing material using "thematic mining."
- Combine all these techniques to create a finished piece of music using a repeatable process.
- Gain new, inspiring frameworks for writing your own music, providing a continuous source of inspiration.
Still trying to decide if the CCS is right for you?
What's actually in this program?
6 Modules containing 5-7 video lessons. Each module contains specific prompts/exercises which will allow you to immediately put the concepts I teach into practice.
Are there other resources included besides the videos?
Yes! I've included downloadable MIDI files, as well as notated examples to accompany each prompt. It will be like I'm doing the prompts alongside you, explaining how I would approach each exercise and addressing common problems. With the MIDI files, you can drag my examples into your own DAW and compare them with your own.
There are also listening examples featuring pieces of music that demonstrate the specific concepts shown in each module.
Do I need to have an advanced knowledge of music theory to benefit from this program?
No.
If you have a basic knowledge of intervals (half-steps, whole-steps, leaps up to an octave), and the ability to drag MIDI notes around in a DAW or traditional notation in a scoring program, you can do these assignments.
I've attempted to make this as accessible to musicians of all backgrounds as possible.
While it is beginner friendly in terms of execution, it will provide composers of ANY level with a fresh perspective on composition and nearly endless inspiration to avoid writer's block.
Will this course teach me EVERYTHING about composition.
No.
The promise of this program is to help you eliminate overwhelm and give you a new approach you may not have considered before.
It intentionally is not a theory course, production course, or exhaustive composition course.
It is focused on digging deeper into the most important compositional concepts with well thought-out exercises which will immediately reinforce those concepts and help you write music with them.
These are the principles I actually use, with no unnecessary fat.
Disclaimer: If you don't like my music or the way I teach music on YouTube, you probably won't enjoy this program either.
The Composition Clarity System (Syllabus)
Introduction
Module 1 - Exploration
Module 2 - Structure
Module 3 - Expansion
Module 4 - Simulation
Module 5 - Development
Module 6 - Arrangement
The average cost for one year of tuition at a music school like Berklee is $52,000+
And every year, composition students leave those schools with lots of knowledge and still no idea how to apply it in a creative process.
I got lucky. My teacher, Luigi Zaninelli (pictured to the right with a much younger me), wasn't just a teacher - he was DOING it. He was a composer who had studied with some of the greats (Gian Carlo Menotti, Samuel Barber, and Rosario Scalero).
Now you can learn what he taught me, combined with my own experience since for less than 1/100th of that cost and in 1/20th of the time.
So, it's your choice. You can buy another bundle of plugins you'll only use for a few weeks. Or you can invest that in yourself - in compositional skills you can use for a lifetime of inspiration.
"From my first time working with Nathan, the rapport was instant. I really appreciate how genuine he is, and how completely honest his opinions are when it comes to working on music. We've collaborated on several projects, and he does not stop until the job is done. I've learned a great deal working with him, and would recommend him to anyone."
- BP Moore, recording artist/composer
"When I finished my vocal Album, and needed a producer and second set of ears I could trust, my first thought was Nathan, because of his immense experience in both classical and ambient directions.
Nathan brought a deeper sound quality, more emphasis and light or darkness to the character of the music that was already there. He gave it a new dimension and made the pieces have a third dimension; he enabled each piece to achieve its best quality."
- Maire Awadis, pianist, recording artist, composer
