I finished a track a while back for a pitch then forgot to submit it! So, I just made a video to show it off!

To get started writing this track, I found some short hang gliding footage seen at the beginning of this montage (the first 20 seconds) to get inspired. I started fiddling with the simple, upward-moving piano motif, and then the arrangement just....took off from there! 

I added some additional footage later to fit to the whole music track.

This "Uplifting Orchestral Instrumental" was composed, orchestrated, and mixed by Yours Truly.

The track is also on Soundcloud:

Here is the video version of an email from the weekly series I subscribe to from Jordan Raynor that I never fail to get inspired by. I also recommend his podcast, which is the only one I'll listen to on my walks .... religiously, pun intended! 

Which means: “Hey cool track, I'm going to pass this on. It may be usable to the TV/Film/Publishing pro that will hear it next."

Well, WOW. I got another one of these (and then the previously submitted Trailer Inst) sent on to a music publisher. This is some real encouragement right here!

I modeled this one after the trailer for the Christopher Robin movie. It's like a self-paced, online course into everything that goes in to writing these. The previous forward is posted down below as well. 

Here's what I used where about 1:30 worth of music somewhat fits the video. After that I'm not writing the music to the video any more, just focusing on the build to the climactic ending, as the end goal is such that the music has to stand on it's own for another project. 

FANTASY TRAILER-Style INSTRUMENTALS and/or INSTRUMENTAL CUES are needed by a NEW International Music Licensing Company started by highly experienced, successful founders! 

TAXI TIP: This is a hot new Library that's BRAND NEW to requesting music through TAXI, so chances are you don’t have any material in their catalog yet! This company is all about "new, fresh music," so this is a great opportunity to get in first and create a new outlet for your music and begin a new relationship with an awesome new company! 

This Company is searching for Instrumentals and/or Instrumental Cues in the general ballpark of these references: 

Come Away Trailer 

The Mysterious Benedict Society Trailer 

Christopher Robbin Trailer 

Please submit top-tier Fantasy Trailer Instrumentals (or Cues) that could help create an epic, wonder-filled mood and work well in the context of family-friendly fantasy movie trailers. Enchanting, sweeping melodies, top-notch arrangements, and three "acts" that build throughout to a climactic ending are all musts for this request. We think Orchestral-based instrumentation will probably suit your submissions best. If you are planning to use any virtual Orchestral instrumentation, please be sure it is indistinguishable from the real thing – nothing that sounds stiff or obviously MIDI-driven will work for this request. Overall, your production should be polished and generally competitive with the references. 

TAXI Tip: Don't be afraid to layer up your instrumentation to create a majestic, blockbuster sound – the bigger the better for these types of Instrumentals! 

IMPORTANT NOTE: This Company offers an Exclusive deal, and has a strong preference for signing material from songwriters who have worked for libraries and licensing companies in the past and understand how standard deals work. If you don't have that experience and you don't know the drill on typical deals, they politely ask that you don't submit to this request. 

All submissions should be at least 1:45 minutes long and no longer than 2:45 minutes, with non-faded, buttoned endings. Do NOT copy the referenced examples in any way, shape, or form. Use them only as a general guide for tempo, tone, and overall vibe. Broadcast Quality is needed.

Here is a modest collection of tracks either signed by music libraries or released by yours truly in the year 2021.

As you may know, live music is my "day gig", but when I'm at home I'm working on original music, most always during the day, so.... now I'm confused....  haha. Anyway, as usual, my musical tastes are all over the map. 

Find both of these tracks on Spotify, Amazon, iTunes, etc.!

After a short study of the chord structure and melody from John William's Theme for Jurassic Park, I wrote a piece for a music pitch and orchestrated it mainly using Spitfire's BBC Symphony Orchestra Core library samples with a little help from EastWest Hollywood Orchestra.

While it was sent on to a music library for further consideration, I went ahead and found some public domain footage for my experiment.

By the way, I came up with the title after needing an ear break while I was working on this. I step outside, gazing upon our garden at home and it popped into my head and sort of...."grew" on me. 

Here's the track by itself:

Wow, I was disappointed. I wrote a short piece of music for a specific pitch looking for "election" music.

I uploaded it but FORGOT to pitch it! Now what to do with it? I know, make a silly video featuring my exciting original score.

Here's the track on it's own:

 

I've always wondered what it would be like to "score to picture". You know, like John Williams, Randy Newman. Then this opportunity came along...

The Westworld Scoring Competition

Oh, sure there was stuff to win for the lucky participants out of thousands chosen by the creative minds behind HBO's "Westworld". Who does't want to win?! I'm a beginner, so I wanted to have some fun, at least. 

I gave myself the whole month to finish it, interspersed amongst my more serious musical efforts writing tracks to specific industry pitches. I figured I could do 1 minute of music per week or so. Live performances for Hotel California were/are shelved for the time being, so off I went in the land of film/TV composer!

I must say, it was a creative rush! I sensed/chose a tempo by the pace of the action, trying to weave in and out of dialogue and gunfire. I aimed (ha ha) to use the gunfire actually as a percussion instrument all it's own! 

Well, here it is... [I noticed too late after I bounced the finished video that one of my "Buh's" in my big drum "buh-BUH's" did not play for some reason. ]

Years ago I signed a bunch of songs with an online music library.

One way of presenting the music they represent is by making compilation albums with songs of multiple artists. That's why you may see my name appearing on all these different genre-specific collections on places like Spotify, Apple Music, and the like. The video below show what's this looks like on Spotify, for instance.

So any tracks of mine you find on the internet that don't appear on an album or single that I put out, that's how they got there! 

Here's an example of my top-played tracks apparently on Spotify.

Here are two songs you can add to your Christmas playlist.

These are YouTube versions below, but you can search and find them everywhere on the web!

The blog series that highlights a selected song from my latest album, "III" 

Episode 2 : MY HAPPY PLACE

The seed of this tune came firstly not from artistic inspiration - "Oh, I must capture this song immediately while the muse flows freely through my ever-sensitive creative soul!!" - Oh no, my friends.

There's a song that I really like by Christ Stapleton called, "Whisky and Me". I decided one day to take the form of the song, rhyme scheme, etc and just write something in the same pattern. As an exercise and a way to "jump start" the writing process. First thing I did was search for a title with the same syllables as "whisky and me" from list of title ideas I'm constantly adding to. I decided on "My Happy Place". I then flipped the sentiment - the former song was sad, mine would be happy.

Click play:

I just started my usual "just writing anything until something sticks" (if anything even would that day). I remember sitting on the floor, "reaching" for the possible song that might be floating around "in the room". Stuff started appearing on my yellow pad:

"Fridge is humming" ?- We have an older fridge thta keeps chuggin along!
 "Browning onions smell like heaven in a pan"? True story. Love it.
"Pillow laying on the floor" - There it was to my left, the couch throw pillow
"That Christmas present that never made it out the door"? There it was, over to my right. 
"Puppy paws" - 2 dogs, 8 paws in the household!

The "tie comes off" bit is a bit of a fabrication. I don't wear a tie and come home from the office every day. (Although I've been know to wear one onstage)

In many songs, the "hook" comes right at the beginning of the chorus. I let "My Happy Place" close out every verse.

The stuff about Disney and New York City in the bridge? That's me. My happy places. But the bridge closes out with very best kind of "happy place"

And of course, the ultimate "happy place" in Verse 3.

-----

It was suggested in a songwriting critique session to rewrite the bridge. But I left it as is to move to another song. Someone else may not want to recorded it, but it has a whole not of "me" in it, so I figured I'd keep it for myself.

-----

There you have it! A song that might never have been born that day if I hadn't practiced a little pro-writer discipline and shown up to the solo "writing session"! 

Check out the photo below. I was surprised to be reminded in my scribblings that "My Happy Place" started at the beach but ended up in the living room! 

I love songwriting! How about you?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the song pattern inspiration for "My Happy Place":

Get the album "III" HERE

The blog series that highlights a selected song from my latest album, "III"

Episode 1 : I LOVE YOU MORE

At the time I wrote this fun little song, ukuleles were still prevalent in popular music. So I purchased a nice-sounding, small, Hawaiian ukulele and started getting busy on a "uke" song of my own. I wrote two actually, but this one made it to the finish first. It's one of my personal favorites on this album. All vocals and instruments performed and recorded by yours truly. 

Click on the Play button.

Get the album "III" HERE

During my first visit to Paris, France, here I am just below Sacre'-Coeur.

Four chords, an old saying, and a drum loop. A song is born!

Special cover art created by Chris McCormick.

If there’s a song written in 2011 that you need to sound like the 80’s, I’m your guy! 

Click HERE to find out where it's available! 

 

New Single intro video:

 

..Which means: “Hey cool track, I'm going to pass this on. It may be usable to the TV/Film person that will hear it next." 

And just like that, another forward to follow the previous "Urban Dramedy" track. This one has been around for a while. You may have heard it. After it was written for a previous pitch, I never heard back, so I released it as a Christmas single. There's even a video!

PUBLIC DOMAIN CHRISTMAS SONGS (In Various Genres) with Male or Female Vocals are needed by a growing Music Library that’s actively pitching to a number of high-end Films and TV shows. Send them great, Mid-to-Up-Tempo Songs that you’d expect to hear on playlists with artist/songs like (but not limited to): “Jingle Bells” by Tiffany Alvord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDMmJ6u0R3w “Silent Night” Justin Bieber: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WZI4g7qKrg “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” by Hannah Kerr: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_TdWsWPD6E Jingle Bells (Rock Version): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTuXPUP06H0 Do you have a Rockin’ version of Jingle Bells? How about a stripped-down acoustic Singer/Songwriter-style version of Silent Night, or a Jazz version of Joy To the World? If so, this Music Library wants to hear it! Please submit well-crafted Public Domain Covers that capture the true essence of the holiday season, with a great overall performance that sounds really fresh and current. Please stick to the original melody and lyric of the song(s) you choose to cover and submit. You’d be wise not to send something that’s too whacky or outside-of-the-box for this pitch.

 

On the last day of our trip to Paris, as I had just exited a gift shop (somewhere around where this crooked window photo on the left was taken) ......I get a message from our Airbnb host,

 "Hi Steve, I heard about the terrorist attack in front of Notre Dame. I hope you are fine. Any way I heard that only the terrorist was injured. Just try to avoid Notre Dame area because around that area I heard that everything is blocked..."

I can't say I was surprise. Alarmed, but not surprised. A lone, hammer-wielding man attacks police and is very quickly brought down. 

Okay, so when returning to our rented place, we'll go around the area.

Then we realized, "What about the concert we had tickets for that same evening being held inside the gargoyle protected cathedral?"

On our way back to our "home" area across Point de Sully and over the tiny island of île Saint-Louis, back to the Latin Quarter, we passed police directed traffic jams. (Below)

Somber, overcast sky hangs over Notre Dame just hours after the incident. (Below)

Stopping at our favorite, La Methode Restaurant, we pondered our next adventure. Will the concert go on? Would the performers bow out? Our waitress, as well as an employee who just arrived, said they'd probably have the square in front of Notre Dame closed. I called Shakespeare & Company book store near the river Seine (a prior visit told me they spoke English) to have them tell me it looks like the area is open. 

We decided to see for ourselves. 

We were rewarded with an amazing experience. Under heavy security, the likes of which I have never seen before in person, all patrons were ushered into a side door. The concert, Ordo Virtutum by Hildegarde Von Bingen, would go on! (see below) (I filmed a short video excerpt of concert at very bottom of this post)
[Ordo Virtutum is about the struggle for a human soul, or Anima, between the Virtues and the Devil...] *Wikipedia . 

With the cathedral's outside perimeter bathed in a halo of armed police, the vocalists on the altar, and vocalists entering from behind, it was as though angels were all around us! 

Still trying to put this night into words, but I'll just say that I felt part of a world of peace-loving citizens who aren't about to let the evil in the world win out, because in the end, it doesn't! 

Heading back to dessert (and a beer for me), we passed a welcomed line of vehicles manned by the men and women who deal with this on the front lines every day. (see below)

We were safe and I was so deeply moved by this, our last evening in the City of Light.

ThrowBackThursday Post- Looking back on a blog post of recent yesteryear (and bringing it over from the old website for further reference). 
______________________________

A fast-paced slide show of my visit to NYC in the Summer of 2009. I've already been again (2010) so guess I'm a little behind! This may be boring to you. unless you're a family member, but I'll post it anyway for posterity! If you like Wicked, Sinatra, Disney, you'll like the music!

As is my habit all photos were taken with my simple phone camera. I shot numerous angles of some of the same shots and ended up putting them all in, to make it even more boring for you!  Some are blurry, dark, and even backwards, but there ya have it.

I really, really "heart" NYC!

I took a quick listen to some Guns N' Roses before getting to work on this classic rock instrumental that was recently signed with a publisher for future use with Fox Sports.

All instruments performed by me. Recorded and mixed with Logic Pro on a MacBookPro.

Within the space of a week a got a chance to witness on stage two of my favorites (three actually).

Kenny Loggins with his new band Blue Sky Riders at Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, CA

Kenny and I "go way back" (Definition: He was a musical inspiration - an idol as they say - in my formative, unformal musical studies) Some real good music happening with Blue Sky Riders. Here's a video, the only one, from the very show I was at:



Idina Menzel at Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA

I've been a fan since, a number of years ago while on the road, I found a used CD of the Wicked Musical in a Goodwill store in downtown Bakersfield for 25 cents! I loved her voice, but had know idea who she was. I was like, "Who is this voice?"

Very cool finding videos  of the concerts you were at on YouTube. :)


 

 

All tracks (except guitars) played on my now since replaced Korg Triton Keyboard. All vocals/instruments recorded and mixed on a Korg D1600MKII 16-Track digital recorder. (Replaced that as well!)

Inspiration: Started with the title stemming from my desire for exercise when on the road as in: "Forget the elevator, take the stairs and give the heart a little jolt". Then I built the song's setting around a trip to San Francisco. I've actually been there a couple times. And there's bonus! It's a ThrowBackThursday post.

"Let's Take The Stairs" is included on my album "Window Seat" available at:

"Let's Take The Stairs" on CD Baby: http://tinyurl.com/cwtz7rq

"Let's Take The Stairs" on iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/c3uayeh

"Let's Take The Stairs" on GooglePlay: http://tinyurl.com/ckpf3pj

"Let's Take The Stairs" on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/dy9y2vu

"Let's Take The Stairs" on Bandcamp: http://tinyurl.com/c8s59ru

I know: Silence.

[Insert cricket noise]

It's been a Summer of transition for the Probst family. And I've been home (ie. not traveling for work] for all of it! (A good thing)
 My daughter Emily, within the past week or two, got her teaching credential, then started a brand new job as band director for a nearby middle school.
Son, Jonathan, just completed his last year marching for Phantom Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps. We got to witness this "graduation-like" event(s) over this last weekend in Indianapolis. Emily "aged-out" two years ago. As parents, we're super proud of our kids when they follow there passions and dreams, yes? 


Jonathan is at 5:29 in video
______________________

My wife, Liz, being the stellar teacher that she is, has had the summer off naturally. ("Hey, who is this person hanging around all the time?")

...That would be me, Mr. Husband-home-off-the-road.

I've been thankfully working a lot of local gigs, mostly private though.

Oh! I also auditioned for a Beatles Tribute/Theatre act, believe or not. I know one of the co-creators who was excited that I would give it a shot, otherwise I maybe wouldn't have done it. They were looking for a George Harrison. They chose someone else that auditioned, but you know what? I've got a great "Taxman" tone set up now! 

Hey - who wants to hear some new music? Okay, hold on. I'll be getting back to it shortly.
  
 

 

@probstmangg #dci #phantomregiment #home #dog

A video posted by @steveprobstmusic on Aug 12, 2015 at 9:42am PDT

I used some assorted loops that to me sounded like something you'd hear while shopping a Nordstroms. I thought there was a hint of Santana in this as well. Norstrom+Stratocaster+Santana = name of song!

Bonus!!: Featuring guitar photos from 2014!

Played my 1974 black Strat for all guitars. Recorded and mixed on MacBookPro Logic 8. 2011

Here's my spin on the classic Christmas favorite. I released "Away In A Manger" back in 2012 and just posted a video to go along with it.

I occasionally record tunes requested for specific industry song pitches. A case in point is this rendition of "Away In a Manger". Though it was passed on for the pitch, I can now offer it as a single-song download for you. Their loss, your Christmas-cheery gain!

I ended up giving my self-produced version a bit of a "Island" feel. Enjoy it annually!

Vocals and all instruments by Steve Probst
Recorded and produced by Steve Probst

"Away In A Manger" on iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/b9782bd

"Away In A Manger" on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/pxumb95

"Away In A Manger" on CDBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/steveprobst2

"Away In A Manger" on Google play: http://tinyurl.com/mfc79rm

"Away In A Manger" on Bandcamp: http://tinyurl.com/ol87pf2

"Away In A Manger" on Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/4QXgwl7Un7ryqOd7HTbBiT