Blog For My Father

Christmas 2014 has come and gone, and the year is winding down. This was a year of big changes for me, mainly centered around my dad, who passed away in September at the age of 90. Finding myself with a little down time at the moment, I'd like to take an opportunity to talk about what he's meant to me and my music.

Raising Stock Music Prices Tomorrow

I'm raising prices on several of my stock music tracks tomorrow on Pond5. I'm doing this early to avoid an automatic bump of $10 in licensing fees that Pond5 announced effective Monday, December 15. Check out my recent previous posts to see some of my better selling work that's going to be affected. If you like them, license them now and save.

Only Five Days Left

Here are some more of my tracks that will go up in price when minimum prices at Pond5 increase on December 15.

License this action-suspense theme and save before 12/15/2014!

License this corporate techno anthem and save before 12/15/2014!

Just 10 More Days Before Music Licensing Fees Rise at Pond5

Here are a couple more of my better selling tracks that will increase on December 15.

Only 13 Days Until Music Prices Go Up at Pond5

Effective December 15, Pond5 is raising the minimum price on music tracks to $15. I'll be raising prices on many tracks to match, and for some top sellers exceed, the minimum. Act now and save!


 

License "Ambient Shifting" now and save!

License "Ambient Ominous" now and save!

Gearing Up For Christmas

With snow on the ground over a large part of the U. S., it seems like a good time to get ready for the holiday season.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Sax

I have been known to mark the passing of musicians who had an affect on me, so I'd like to change things up a bit and acknowledge an important birth.

The Next Step

I recently noted that some of my work was used in a political ad. There's bad news and good news about this.

A Milestone of Sorts

Everyone who creates stock music hopes that someday their work will be heard on television. Guess I can check an item off my bucket list.

Select Tracks Now on Motion Elements

I'm pleased to announce the availability of selected tracks from my portfolio on Motion Elements.

Big News Pending

I'll have an announcement in the next few days regarding some great things happening on the stock music front. Here's a hint:

RIP Paul Revere

I was working on the post I just published a few moments ago when I saw the news about the death of Paul Revere at age 76.

Living 32-Bit in a 64-Bit World (Part Two)

I recently wrote about some difficulty I was having getting my 32-bit workstation software to play nicely with the 64-bit SampleTank 3 module I got for a great crossgrade price from IK Multimedia. I'm pleased to report (after some delay) that I was able to solve the problem. For details please read on.

RIP Joe Sample

I just read this evening about the death of keyboardist Joe Sample at the age of 75. Here are a couple of examples of his versatility and mastery.

Living 32-Bit in a 64-Bit World (Part One)

Lately I've had the unpleasant experience of dealing with changing technology.

A Couple of Corporate Background Pieces

Here are a couple of electronic background tracks I recently completed.

Of Trash and Treasure

There's an old saying, "one man's trash is another man's treasure." It seems to be true with stock music as well.

It Was a Dark and Stormy Mood

I have some stressful things going on right now. Time to write some music.

So, Why "This?"

With the recent launch of my new website, I noted previously that this blog would begin to look more like a blog. So this post starts the "blog" era . . .

Saluting Those Who Serve

Use this track to honor and showcase all the people in your organization who go above and beyond the call of duty each day to serve customers, peers, and other stakeholders. This track is also available as a radio-friendly 60-second edit.

Here's a Countdown Timer

This piece takes exactly 60 seconds from the beginning to the bell at the end. Use it for game shows, limited-time sales ads, or other situations where you want to evoke a sense of the clock ticking down.

New Site

I'm pleased to announce that my web site and YouTube channel are up and running.

A New Site in Sight

I have news about a new web site that I plan to launch this week.

A Piano Piece to Inspire

"Inspirational and Hopeful Piano" is exactly what the title says it is. It's a musical light piercing the darkness, featuring piano atop a light ethereal pad. In addition to the 60 second edit previewed here, there's also a longer version available to license.

Corporate Atmosphere

Here's a business friendly track featuring ambient piano and synth flourishes contrasting with the steady four-on-the-floor rhythm. A nice background for scenes of work getting done. The awesome watermark is courtesy of Jake Sommers at Spare Space Creative. (My man!)

A Noisy, Yet Dreamy Cue

"Dream Sequence 4" combines elements of noise and ambiance with a lo-fi beat to give an urban feel to your next dream sequence footage.

A Positive Vibe and a World Beat

"Positive World" evokes a carnival atmosphere and adds a touch of world percussion to the mix. A great choice for your happy summer or international corporate video. This is the full version; you can check out the 60-second edit at Soundcloud.

Imminent Danger: A Brisk Action Cue

Here's a fast-paced background or cue for fights, chases, and similar scenes, or for building tension toward a plot climax. A looped version and outro are available separately.

A Quiet, Uplifting Musical Background

"Quiet Resilience" is a gently uplifting musical background suggesting hope, perseverance, and strength of the human spirit. You can also use it as a relaxing underscore to accompany nature scenes, clouds, and similar content in your media projects.

A Musical Background for Business Videos

"Business Plan" fits well under corporate presentations as well as informational podcasts and videos. Make it part of your stock music library today!

Put the Top Down!

"Summertime Cruise Control" is the perfect musical backdrop for your road trip or great outdoors adventure video. It combines a lively, rocking groove with a hint of a Dave Matthews-Bela Fleck vibe. Add it to your stock music library today, royalty-free!

How I Got Into Instrumental Music (Part Six)

This post will be the last documenting how I got into instrumental music, and talks about how it all fits into how I compose now.

Updates: Now on Luckstock

I now have a limited number of tracks available to license at luckstock.com, and plan to add more all the time, so if you're a Luckstock user, please visit and bookmark my page there:

http://luckstock.com/users/Bruce_Smith/

Note that one of the tracks there, "After Hours Intrigue," is currently available to license exclusively at Luckstock.

A Corporate Anthem

Make this the soundtrack of your team or organization's success story! This driving corporate anthem, "Business Excellence," tells the world -- your customers, employees, suppliers, and investors -- that your story is epic and you couldn't do it without them.

Wondrous Adventure Music

Looking for a royalty-free track to inspire awe, wonder and adventure in your next media project? If you are, then "Sense of Wonder" is for you! This driving track features dramatic strings over a pulsating bass, with splashes of horns, woodwinds and bells. Talk about positive! There's not a single minor chord in the entire piece. Just click the shopping cart at the upper right of the Soundcloud player to add this track to your library now!

Updates: Soundcloud, YouTube and More

After a brief summer lull, I have some exciting news and updates to share. Read on!

Corporate Energy

:"Corporate Energy" is a bright uptempo piece that makes a good fit for videos of your work group in action, goals being accomplished, visions and plans, and so on.

Tense Moments

Here's a short cue to play behind rising tension in drama or hard-hitting journalism projects. It's also available in a looped version.

A Dramatic and Energetic Theme

This short piece is just in time for Independence Day in the U. S. A great choice for patriotic and military tributes, it's also suitable for heroic, action-oriented book trailers. You can license this inspirational theme today, royalty-free/

An Eerie, Creepy Soundscape

Random noises and pitch-shifted wind chimes punctuate this 100-second cut that evokes feelings of the macabre in your video, podcast, or other media project.

A Peaceful, Dreamy Track

This 60-second cut can add a soothing touch to your next media, or consider it as a musical backdrop for short sequences in planetarium shows or nature videos.

Making Music on a Budget: Virtual Instruments

If you're trying to get music out of your head and into a computer-based mix as I am, you just can't make it happen without decent instrument sounds. This post from my series on producing music on a budget focuses on instrument sounds, some of which you can get at little or no cost.

Epic Success

Here's the perfect soundtrack for your personal or business success story. The intensity level builds throughout most of this high-quality track's two minute, forty second length. A change from minor to major key near the end signifies the breakthrough and your ultimate triumph over the greatest challenges. Celebrate your biggest wins or lay out your bold vision with this track in the background.

Music of Devastation

It was a cloudy day, so I wrote this. It's a great choice to convey stark emotion behind scenes of destruction or tragedy.

How I Got Into Instrumental Music (Part Five)

The last post in this series talked about the fusion of musical styles in the 1970s. This post delves specifically into the influence of progressive rock on me at the time.

An Exotic Soundscape

This musical background features a wash of noise and chords over an undulating bed of rhythm.

Heightened Suspense

Here's a 90-second cut that adds layers of instrumentation as it builds toward a climactic finish and resolution.

Making Music on a Budget: Reverb

This is the second in a planned series of posts describing ways musicians can create good sounding music without breaking the bank. This post is about reverb, a critical aspect of any project studio.

Sneaky Music

"Sneaking Around" is a short incidental cue that can be a little creepy or light-hearted depending on the application. A great choice for Halloween, mystery, or horror parody videos.

Western Suspense Mashup

Here's something that starts out like a background for a western, then adds elements of action suspense music. A little something different.

Thanks for Supporting My Work in May 2014

May has just wrapped up, and I'm really grateful to everyone who bought and downloaded my work last month.

Slowly Building Background Music

Here's a piece that builds slowly, allowing you to create tension leading up to a revelation in your media projects.

An Ambient and Nervous Track

Here's a track that combines an ambient vibe with a hint of drum and bass. Use this musical background to convey nervous tension in your story.

How I Got Into Instrumental Music (Part Four)

For me, no discussion of my roots in instrumental music would be complete without mentioning the fusion movement of the 1970s.

Music That Means Business

"Progress in Process" is a bright, uptempo corporate music background for scenes of work getting done, teams succeeding together, and similar themes.

Making Music on a Budget: Workstation

Musicians and composers on a tight budget face an uphill battle to produce marketable tracks. Here's how I approach the problem, starting with recording and sequencing.

A Sonic Dreamscape

Here's a dreamy soundscape that can sit up front or way in the back of your video or presentation.

An Eerie Soundscape

Here's a creepy sounding musical background for mystery or horror projects.

Add this eerie musical background to your stock music library.

A Hopeful Anthem

Here's an instrumental pop ballad for conveying the emotion one might feel in overcoming adversity.

Tell your story of hope with this track, royalty-free.

How I Got Into Instrumental Music (Part Three)

I have more previews of new stock music coming this week. In the meantime, here's a little more biographical information about my lifelong fascination with instrumental music.

Back in the Saddle, More or Less

The dust is finally clearing from my recent move, and I've resumed working on music. I put together three new pieces this week. One is very uplifting tune I mentioned in an earlier post that I'd been working on for some time. The other two are short soundscape type pieces I was able to put together pretty quickly. I'll be previewing them on this blog beginning next week, and will hopefully be back to regular posting for everyone -- all two or three of you :) -- who stop by.

April Sales Highlights

Once again in April, a number of my pieces had their first sales.

Working On New Music

Slow but steady wins the race, I've always heard.

March Update

Here's a recap of what folks were interested in from my portfolio last month

How I Got Into Instrumental Music (Part Two)

I've moved into a new place, but don't yet have a quiet space to work on music. So I'm still on hiatus. In the meantime, I thought I'd take some time to document a bit more of my musical background.

Thoughts on Moving

If you're here to check out my latest music, I'm still on hiatus, and this post is decidedly off-topic.

On Hiatus

I'm out of the loop for awhile as I'm completing a move. I'll probably post something about my moving experience soon. (Trust me, it ain't pretty.) I hope to settle in soon and new stuff for all you producers out there who need stock music for your projects. Take care.

Another Space Music Background

Here's another spacy underscore. This one has lots of electronic swells and washes.

License this track today!

A Spacy Musical Background

Here's a nice musical backdrop for science presentations, planetarium shows, and such.

License this track today, royalty-free

Robo Drummer

A researcher at Georgia Tech has come up with a cool invention for disabled drummers.

Tick Tock

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the changes on this track. "Time Running Out" is a nice choice to play behind big decisions and revelations in your video projects.

 Buy this track royalty-free

Futuristic Battle Cue

This is a short, intense, loud cue for futuristic battle scenes and other applications.

Add this clip to your stock music library today

February Update

I was blessed with diverse sales in February.

Another Intense Action Underscore

Here's a pounding underscore for fight or chase scenes. Besides this full version, it's also available in a shorter 0:42 cut.

Find out more about this track

Ambient Shifting: The Sequel

Here's a short track with shifting textures and rhythms, great for presentations and documentaries.

Add this track to your stock music library today.

Proof That Music IS a Language

You may have heard someone say that music is a language all its own. Well, here's proof.

Music for a Carefree Day

Here's a nice, easy-going background for your family or family-oriented videos.

This track is also available without the piano melody, and in a shorter, loopable version either with or without melody.

Buy it today, royalty-free.

More Ambient Suspenseful Stuff

Here's another ambient suspense cue for mysteries or supernatural videos.

Add this creepy track to your stock music library today.

It Was a Dark and Stormy Track

Here is an ambient cue for your mystery, science, or conspiracy theory project.

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

Marking 100 Uploads to Pond5

This week I'm marking my 100th upload to Pond5. I hope this year to expand my marketing efforts beyond that site. In the meantime, I'm working on doing some things within Pond5. For example, I now have a collection of ambient tracks and cues for those who are specifically interested in that style. You can find it here.

A Wistful Piano Interlude

Here's a quiet little piano piece to convey quiet thoughts or bittersweet emotions in your next media project.

Add this little interlude to your stock music library today!

A Science Fiction Action Cue

Here's a cue to add intensity to your science fiction, or science fact, media project,

Add this "Sci-fi Action Cue" to your stock music library today, royalty-free!

A Quiet, Yet Intense Theme

Here's a good little cut for science fiction, mystery, or documentary projects.

It's available in :60 and :30 edits, and also as a short cut with just the final few bars.
Find out more.

Recent Sales Update: January 2014

Here are a couple of cuts that sold this month, and both are seasonally timely for the end of January.

"Romantic Encounter" is a slow, swaying track featuring piano and drenched in reverb for lots of ambiance. It's great for Valentine's Day projects, whether personal or commercial.

Add "Romantic Encounter" to your stock music library today, royalty-free.

I recently featured "Tropical Paradise" here. It has a great Caribbean vibe with steel drums and percussion for your spring break getaway video.

Add "Tropical Paradise" to your stock music library today, royalty-free.

Thanks to everyone who supports my music, either by buying, getting the word out, or just stopping by!

A Big Retro Cut

Here's one that sounds like it came right out of the 80s, with a big retro beat.

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

Lounge Track With a World Beat

Here's something a little different: a track with a lounge feel but featuring world percussion.

Add this "world lounge" track to your stock music library today, royalty-free!

A Bouncy, Uplifting Theme

Here's a little tune that will add spring to the step of your corporate, advertising, or personal video. At 60 seconds, it's perfect for commercial applications.

Add this uplifting theme to your stock music library today, royalty-free!

Business Presentation Music

Here's a repetitive, yet varied musical background to play behind corporate presentations, infomercials, or reveals.

Add this presentation background to your music library today, royalty-free.

Tropical Vacation Music

Here's a one minute audio clip to play in the background of your winter getaway travel video or ad.

Add a bit of "Tropical Paradise" to your stock music library today, royalty-free!

Action Drums

Here's a brief cut that's all drums, tympani, and cymbals for your action video sequences.

Add this action drum cut to your stock music library today, royalty-free!

Cut to the Chase!

Here's a great, high-speed, tension building cut for your next chase or fight scene.

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

Cold Weather, Hot Track

The temperature outside is below zero at my place right now, but you can heat up your next media project with this action cut. Also a good choice to play behind breaking news.

Add this hot action cut to your stock media library today!

New Year, New Track

I hope everyone had a glorious holiday season and enjoyed ringing in 2014. I'm in an action-adventure frame of mind to start the new year. The following underscore is available in the full version or 60-second, 30-second, or looped versions.

Add this intense action underscore to your stock music library today, royalty-free!

If you just like the end of the track, it's available separately as a stinger.