My Roots in Music (Christmas Edition)

Back in the summer I started writing a little about my earliest musical memories and how I got interested in instrumental music. One of my earliest memories was of Christmas time and getting to hear Chet Atkins.

Work in Process

I've added nothing new to my portfolio in the last week or so, as I've been working on non-music projects. I've not been ignoring the music entirely, though. I'm working on a collection of action-suspense cuts. These will be suitable for dramatic underscores like you hear behind narration in science and documentary videos on Discover or NatGeo.

Each cut will feature a repetitive score with variations, followed by a short build to a climax for setting up the next scene. I hope to offer four variations on each: a 1:30-1:45 cut; a shorter :30-:45 cut; a really short piece that will be just the build to climax; and a looped version. I have two in the works now, and hope to add more. Check back for details.

Also, In case anyone was paying attention and remember that I had announced my intention (hope) to independently release an album this year, obviously that isn't going to happen. I'm now hoping for 2014.

An Ambient Exotic Track

Here's a track featuring a hypnotic wash of rhythmic textures with atmosphere.

Add this ambient exotic track to your stock media collection, royalty-free!

Raise the Roof

With basketball season getting into full swing, I thought now would be a good time to introduce some background music for your sports hero's highlight reel.

Add this thumping track to your library today!

Site Update

To make it easier for those coming to the site to find music in different styles, I've added a tag cloud at the top left of the site's pages. If you're looking for music that is "ambient," then just click on that tag and the site will bring up all the music I've tagged with that label. The same goes for "dramatic," and so on. I hope this will make it easier for you to find something you like and that meets the needs of your latest media project. As always, thanks for stopping by!

Bittersweet Memories

This lush background with strings and flute is suitable for memorials and tributes.

Add this track to your stock music library, royalty-free.

A Serene Interlude

Here's a quiet electronic piece with a percolating sequenced line to play behind your corporate or commercial videos.

Click here to add this bubbly "Serene Interlude" to your stock music library!

Happy Thanksgiving 2013

It is Thanksgiving Day in the U. S. and I want to take this opportunity to express my thanks. Thank you to everyone who has supported my music in the past year by buying or just stopping by and listening. It is an honor and a privilege to provide you with music for your libraries and productions. I'm feeling joyful today so . . .
Here's some "Holiday Joy"

For Your Epic Achievements

Celebrate or inspire with this techno track.

Add "Epic Achievement" to your stock music library today!

Another Dreamy, Eerie Track

Here's a track that is good for creepy things like horror movies or psychodramas where you want to impart a sense of unreality. It has a coda that's slightly different and quieter than the rest of the track. I simply call it "Dream Sequence 3."

Add this slightly creepy track to your stock music library today!

Historic First

Yesterday marks the first time in my brief career as a stock music artist that I had three different titles sell on the same day. Two of my best sellers -- "Holiday Hustle Bustle" and "Ambient Shifting" -- and a newer track, "Sad Sparse Underscore" all registered sales yesterday on Pond5. Awesome!

I know I probably beat this next point to death, but I don't care. I am just so grateful to everyone who supports the music I'm doing whether by buying, referring, or just listening. Thanks everyone for your support and I hope to continue producing useful music for your libraries or special needs.

Building Urgency

Here's a dramatic track that starts out ambient, ebbs and flows, and finishes strongly.

Add "Building Urgency" to your stock music library today!

October 2013 Sales Update

October was a pretty good month for me. Here's what sold this month.

"Holiday Hustle Bustle" (Got a sale of the looped version, too.)

"Holiday Joy"

"Ambient Shifting"

"Sense of Foreboding"

"Bright Shiny Logo"

"Bright Intro"


Thanks to everyone who supports my music by purchasing or just stopping by to check it out. I couldn't do this without your help!

A Bright Cheerful Electronic Tune

"Bright Future" will put a smile on your face and a spring in your step. It did for me, anyway.

Add this happy little track to your stock music library today!

Approaching Doom

Here's a dramatic, dynamic track that starts softly and builds relentlessly. It's great for "day of reckoning" or "eve of the battle" scenes. It's also my 75th upload to Pond5.

Add "Approaching Doom" to your stock music library today!

Motivational Track: Meet the Challenge

Here's a good musical backdrop for motivational, dramatic or book trailer applications.

Add "Meet the Challenge" to your stock music library today!

Quiet Energy

Here's an upbeat track that's good for corporate, commercial and motivational applications. In addition to the full version heard here, it's also available in 60-, 30- and 15-second edits (sold separately).

Find out more about licensing "Quiet Energy" royalty-free.

A Jaunty Business Track

Here's an electronic piece that's nice as a musical backdrop for corporate videos.

Add this track to your stock music library today!

A Sad, Sparse Underscore

This short piece, featuring just guitar and cello, can be used to convey all sorts of sad, lonely emotions in your next media project.

Add this plaintive track to your stock media collection today!

A Happy Tune

"Happy Times" is a sweet bouncy little track, another of my "one-minute wonders" that's nice for 60-second commercial spots. Use it for child or family-oriented commercials and other media applications.

Add this royalty-free track to your stock music library today!

The Slasher Strikes!

Just in time for Halloween, here's a cut that's perfect for your next horror flick. Short, intense, pounding, dissonant.

Add this cut to your stock music library today!

Recap of Recent Sales to September 25

Here's what producers are buying from my library this week.

"Sense of Foreboding"


"Holiday Hustle Bustle"


"Old School Bossa"


To find out more or buy any of these tracks for your own stock music library, just click the link above each. Thanks for supporting my music!

Pastoral Innocence

Here's a sweet and peaceful little tune that is perfect as a commercial underscore where you want to depict beauty or serenity.

Add "Pastoral Innocence" to your stock music library today!

Mounting Tension

Here's a cut that would work as an underscore for an espionage scene.

Add "Mounting Tension" to your stock media library today!

A New Heroic Theme

Here's a new orchestral track with a heroic theme. The improved sound quality is due to a software upgrade I was able to swing recently. More like this is on the way.

Add this action theme to your stock music library today!

Moment of Inspiration

Here's a 60-second track that celebrates the "eureka" when a problem is solved or an insight gained.

Add "Moment of Inspiration" to your stock music library today!

The Big Five-Oh!

I'm pleased and proud to announce the fiftieth download of my royalty-free stock music from Pond5. I want to express my gratitude to everyone who has made this possible by buying my work, stopping by and listening, or spreading the word. If you're looking for royalty-free music for your next heroic epic, mystery, horror movie, book trailer, corporate motivational video or commercial spot, please check out my portfolio. I have over 60 pieces of music in various styles and lengths, and am adding more regularly.

Check out my portfolio today!

A Little Spy Music

Here's "Covert Operation," a piece with a spy/private eye feel.

Add this piece to your stock music library today!

Changes to the Dramatic Samples Page

I've made some changes to the "Dramatic Samples" page (see link above). One of the additions is the track "Ambient Ominous" which is my best seller. Another is a new track with full orchestration that I'll be discussing in more detail in a post next week. Check it out!

Making Magic Happen

Here's a brisk little ditty that's a great background for corporate and commercial applications.

Add this bright, "magical" track to your stock music library today!

Update: Foreboding Sells

Thanks to the producer who just bought my track "Sense of Foreboding" royalty-free on Pond5.

This track is now my best seller in revenue terms.

Another Ambient Dream Sequence

Here's "Dream Sequence #2," another ambient piece. In contrast to "Dream Sequence #1," this is more dissonant. Maybe I should have called it "Nightmare Sequence #1."

Add this soundscape to your stock media library today!

Ambient Bittersweet Track for the End of Summer

"Long Last Look" is an ambient track, awash in reverb, with long drones and a faux blues harp riding on top in the last half of the tune. This is good for those "long goodbye" type scenes, or maybe where you want to pan to the horizon. It also has (for me at least) an "end of summer" vibe.

Add this bittersweet track to your stock music library today.

Quiet Confidence Sells

Just got a sale of the 60-second edit of the "Quiet Confidence" track.

Thanks again to everyone who supports my music by listening or buying!

Holiday Tracks Starting to Move

I got a sale today on my original piece called "Holiday Joy." Looks like producers are starting to gear up for their seasonal videos and other media projects.

Thank you all for listening and buying . . . and may all your Christmases be bright.

Quiet Confidence

Here's a nice mid-tempo track for corporate, commercial or inspirational media applications. It's available in a full version as well as a 60-second edit.

Add "Quiet Confidence" to your stock music library today!

Update: August 14

I had more sales the last couple of days. Thanks to all who support my music. You're giving me confidence that I can actually make this a significant career activity. At the moment I'm still working on some non-musical projects, but hope to be getting back into creating tracks for your stock music collections soon. Thanks for hanging in there!

More Sales This Week, and Updates

I had two more sales Tuesday and yesterday. One was the "Ambient Shifting" clip, the other was for the cute little "Retro Happy" clip. Thanks to everyone who supports my music through buying or listening.

On the updates front, I'm giving serious thought that it's time for me to take the next step and join a performance rights organization, or PRO. That way, if anyone uses my work in a broadcast production, I can receive royalties from the broadcast. I'm also giving some thought to reinvesting what I've made into software or sounds to expand or improve my capabilities. More on this stuff later.

New Sales Monday

Pond5 confirmed two new sales of clips on Monday. The two were the alternate version of "Ambient Ominous" and the original full version of "Sense of Foreboding." Someone may be planning a suspense-thriller, and I wish them success and thank them for their business. Of course, as always I'm very grateful to all who support my work, whether by buying it or just stopping by for a listen.

Taking a Break

I have some non-musical projects that I'm working on at the moment, so I'm taking a short break from writing new music. I'll continue to try and post updates here once or twice a week. I hope to be back in full swing by the middle of this month (August 2013). If you've stopped by for the first time, or haven't visited recently, please check out my pages with different samples of stock music available for purchase at Pond5. Happy August!

Battle Music

Here's a cue suitable for the battle scene or the buildup to one.

Add this high energy cue to your stock music library today!

A Cinematic Underscore

Here's an underscore that could be used for dramatic scenes like riding to battle, or just your next Sharknado.

Add this dramatic underscore to your stock music collection today!

By the way, I had two more sales this week. Let me express yet again how grateful I am to everyone who supports my work by buying or listening and passing the word along. Thanks so much!

Ambient Track: Dream Sequence #1

Here's one that reminds me a bit of Josef Zawinul, the legendary keyboardist and founding member of Weather Report. It's awash in ambient reverb and has lots of spacey electronics, yet is somewhat uptempo and has some rhythm going.

Add this dreamy musical background to your stock music library today!

Samples in the Menu

I've added some new pages to the site that feature samples of my work in various categories. "Dramatic Samples" include things with applications for dramatic underscores or trailers. "Motivational Samples" are the same, except these are written for corporate, motivational, inspirational, or commercial applications. You'll find these in the site menu. Most of these have been posted here previously; this just makes it easier for people who want to hear things without having to dig through a bunch of blog pages.

In each page along with the samples are links for each track. If you like any of these, you can add it to your stock music library by buying it from Pond5. I'll probably rotate these in and out over time so check them out every now and then. Also, I plan to add at least one more category ("Romantic Samples") in the near future. Stay tuned, and thanks for stopping by.

An Easy-Going Corporate Track

Here's a nice track for corporate applications: "Center of Excellence."

Click here to add this track to your stock music library today!

More Ambient, More Ominous

I got inspired over the weekend and went back and created an alternate version of my "Ambient Ominous" clip (which, by the way, is now my best-seller all-time in terms of downloads on Pond5). It features more percussion and is mixed louder than the original. Also, I did a little more processing on the piano to give it a kind of psycho edge. Here's the alt version:

A Contemplative Piano Interlude

Here's a short solo piano piece to sit under contemplative scenes, landscapes, and the like.

Add this contemplative piece to your stock media library today!

A Little Space Music

Here's a "cosmic" background track with lots of electronic ambience.

Add this track to your stock music library today.

Soaring Spirit

Here's a track that combines piano with electronics. When I wrote this I got a sense of flying through the clouds, hence the title: "Soaring Spirit." You may hear something else, and that's OK too.

Add "Soaring Spirit" to your stock music library today!

Another Sale

Thanks to everyone who has bought my work, including my latest sale:



To find out more about my work please click on the link above to see my portfolio at Pond5.

More Sales Over the Weekend

I made two sales over the weekend.

Action-suspense Theme 1



Romantic Vista



Thanks so much to everyone who supports my music by buying, referring, or listening. You are all the greatest!

Update: End of June 2013

Things have slowed down after a couple of months of sales growth in the spring. The "Ambient Ominous" piece I featured here a while back has quietly become my best seller outside of holiday music. I continue to create music and upload it to Pond5. I'll be featuring some of the new tracks next week, so please check back often. Again, I really want to thank everyone who supports me by buying or reading. If you like what you see (and hear) please pass the word.

A Nostalgic Track: Sweet Slow Dance

Here's a sweet little tune featuring pedal steel guitar over a bed of piano, rhythm section, and orchestra. It's mixed to give a warm, analog feel to the music. A great choice for high school or college reunion projects, or any application where you want to evoke nostalgia for the late 1960's or 70's. Also available as a 60-second version for commercial applications.

Add this "Sweet Slow Dance" to your stock music library today!

How I Got Into Instrumental Music

I've started documenting a little about me and how I got into music. I grew up in a musical household. Mom had very eclectic tastes, but my older brother and sister were more into the pop music of the day. There was a lot of music you could hear on the radio, but there was also instrumental pop.

My Roots in Music

I was sort of half asleep and half awake yesterday morning and remember vaguely dreaming about things when I was a kid that got me started in music. So I think I'd like to document some of that here, starting with this little bit of trivia . . .

Music With a Sense of Foreboding

Here's a track that conveys approaching doom with ambient and rhythmic elements and lots of atmospheric electronic percussion. It's a great choice for your next conspiracy theory documentary or just foreshadowing. It also comes in an alternate version with an abrupt ending. There are also a couple of logo/stingers available and a looped version as well.

Here is the full version:


Here is one of the two short logo/stingers:


Learn more about licensing "Sense of Foreboding" today!

Quiet Strength

This is a one-minute piece that conveys a sense of energy and confidence. A great choice for commercial applications.

Add "Quiet Strength" to your stock music library today!

Rock Out!

Here's a one-minute "classic rock" musical background.

Add this track to your stock music library today!

A Retro R&B Track

Here's a musical background reminiscent of the Watt-Stax era.

Click here to make this funky track part of your stock media library today!

The Big "Five Oh"

I just got curation approval of my fiftieth upload to Pond5. It's an upbeat little tune that's designed for corporate and commercial applications. This is something of a milestone for me, since it means I'm building out my portfolio of music. I'll soon be uploading another piece that is more ambient. This one is a little new for me, since I created multiple versions. I hope to start doing that with other things I create as well. Please stay tuned as I'll be previewing all of this here in due time. Of course, if you just can't wait you can always click on the link at the top of the page to check out my portfolio any time you like.

A Little Optimism

"New Day Breaking" is an uptempo piece that evokes new beginnings, hope, or just a bright morning mood.

Add this optimistic track to your stock music library today!

June 3 Updates

I've been working on a new track for the digital album I hope to release later this year as well as trying to make a living, so there's not much new at Pond5. There are a couple of items on Pond5 that I have not yet featured here, and I'll post them soon along with a preview of the new track.

I've also recently had a couple more sales of my "Ambient Ominous" track. Maybe I underpriced that one just a bit?

Thanks, as always, to everyone who supports my music by buying or just stopping by, listening and reading. I must end this now, as my son's dog is barking to come in.

An Electronic Logo

Here's a logo - a short audio piece designed to make people think of you and your business or projects. This one sounds like a gong, and I call it "Electric Gong Logo."

Add this logo to your stock music library today!

Sporty Rock

Here's an uptempo rock track suitable for sports or motivational media projects.

Add "Sporty Rock" to your stock media library today!

Remembering Ed Shaughnessy

I was saddened to read the news of the death of drummer Ed Shaughnessy. Ed is best known to musicians as the man who held down the drum chair in Doc Severinsen's NBC Orchestra on "The Tonight Show" for almost thirty years. Lesser known, but equally important, were his efforts to educate and promote musicians. I had the honor to meet the man, and count myself better for the experience.

Mirror Lake

This is "Mirror Lake." It's a quiet, impressionist New Age piece and will be included on the album I hope to release later this year. But you can license it now, royalty free.

Quiet Motivation

Here's an uptempo, but not overbearing motivational piece. It features a chamber orchestra arrangement and evokes a sense of getting moving with quiet determination.

Add this quiet motivational piece to your stock music library today!

A Jazzy Blues Shuffle

Here's a jazzy blues shuffle featuring a nice Hammond B3 to start off the week.

Add this blues shuffle to your stock music collection today!

When Ideas Kidnap You

As the title of this post indicates, sometimes I feel like musical ideas come along from seemingly out of nowhere and hold me hostage. Once captive, I have to finish them or else. Or else what? It haunts me and interferes with the rest of my life until I get it into a form I can publish, or at least call "finished enough." As I've mentioned before, I'm a perfectionist, and have been known to revisit something I committed to analog or digital media 20 or more years ago just because the muse bugs me and whispers in my ear "the bass could be just a little louder." So this can absolutely drive me nuts.

Other times I get started on an idea, work on it for an hour so, and then just run out of gas. It's almost as though I'm hunting through my mind for a sound I want to make. Within in an hour or so, I'm either committed to make it happen or I sort of "lose the scent" and the music seems to escape me. My excitement level suddenly flags, and then the inspiration flees as quickly as it showed up. At times like that I often wonder if I don't like where my muse is going with an idea, or if it's the other way around.

Strange how in all of this I compare myself both to a captive and a predator. It is dinnertime yet?

A Fanfare for Today

I had a couple of new sales over the weekend, including this "news lead fanfare."

Thanks again to everyone who supports my royalty-free music through buying or spreading the word. Your patronage means a lot to me!

An Action-Suspense Theme

Here's an action-oriented theme with lots of orchestra splashes, it starts slowly but quickly builds to a dramatic climax. Great for action-oriented book trailers.

Add this action-oriented theme to your stock media library today!

A Hopeful Track

Here's a track designed to convey a "Glimmer of Hope" for your media project.

Add this track to your royalty-free stock music library today!

Christmas in May!

I sold two new pieces overnight. One is "Holiday Hustle Bustle," which is one of the first pieces I created and uploaded to Pond5 last November.

This is a nice surprise to say the least. "Holiday Hustle Bustle" was my first sale back then and remains my most successful track to date. Whoever bought it was smart to do it out of season, because I'm planning to raise the price on this one come fall.

I also got a sale of the track "Bright World," which I featured here recently. Thanks so much to everyone who supports my music by buying royalty-free or just passing the word along.

A Retro Latin Groove

Here's a romantic track with a retro ballroom feel. It features jazz guitar and vibes, and alternates between a light samba and a beguine feel. A great background for period media projects or a golden anniversary video.

Add this sweet little Latin rhythm to your stock music library today!

New Controller and More Tracks on the Way!

I managed to scrounge together a few dollars to buy a new MIDI keyboard controller. It's a Korg Microkey 37, and I've greatly enjoying working with it the last couple of days. Before I got the Microkey I was literally typing in all the parts on the computer keyboard. Now I can play them in with, and although I'm hardly a virtuoso (I can barely play!) it does give the music a more natural, human feel. I will admit that I'm still going back and digitally tweaking a few things here and there when it gets a little TOO natural and human!

I've already created a couple of pieces with the new controller. One is a blues shuffle, and the other is a bright uptempo little piece with a chamber orchestra feel. I hope to post links to them in the next couple of weeks, but if you're too impatient to wait, you can check for them ("Blues Shuffle #1" and "Quiet Motivation") in my portfolio on Pond5 as soon as they pass curation.

An 80s Progressive Pop Background

Here's a background track in the style of 1980s progressive pop.

Add this "prog pop" track to your stock music library, royalty free, today!

Thanks For Supporting My Work

A got another sale last night, this one for the mystery suspense theme I posted a couple of weeks back.

I am very grateful to everyone who supports my music by buying or passing the word. Thank you so much!

A Tune With a Light World Beat

Here's a little tune with a light beat featuring udu and other drums.

Add this track to your stock music library today!

A Happy Whistling Tune

Here's a happy little whistling tune that sounds just a little like an iconic TV theme, but different enough that you can use it for diverse commercial or media applications. It's available for purchase now, royalty-free, at Pond5.

Add this "retro happy" track to your stock music library today!

Smooth Jazz Track With Muted Trumpet

Here's a slow smooth jazz groove with a muted trumpet over a rhythm section of Rhodes electric piano, bass and electronic drums. Great for urban scenes.

Add "Smooth Muted Trumpet" to your stock music library today, royalty-free!

April 16 Update

I put together a new track last night that is similar in style to 1980s progressive pop, most similar to Genesis. I expect to post it here in the next week or two. Also, I got a small payday from Pond5 yesterday (they pay on the 15th of each month). Thanks again to everyone who has bought my tracks.

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the events at the Boston Marathon yesterday.

A Bittersweet Flute Piece

Here is a short piece of music with a bittersweet flute melody and an accompaniment in the style of a Baroque or late-Renaissance continuo (harpsichord and cello). You could use this in a period piece or to convey a sense of mixed sadness and sweetness in your media projects.

Add this bittersweet track to your stock music library today.