Composing Music – Heather Fenoughty

2 February 202430 January 2024

More Music for Arturia – Pigments 5 Expressive Explorations Soundpack

I composed another demo track for Arturia, this time for the launch of their upgraded Pigments synth and using sounds from the Expressive Explorations sound pack. Listen to 'Aeon of Ascension' here along with a track breakdown.

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12 January 202412 January 2024

Music for Arturia – Analog Lab Play and Inward Universe Soundpacks

Arturia asked me to create some music to demonstrate the range of a couple of their new soundpacks - and here they are below, along with appearing on their website. Arturia is a music hardware and software company, and these collections of sounds were a real pleasure to use to compose the following tracks: Haruto's …

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5 January 202413 January 2026

Haunting, Mournful Horns in Netflix’s The Crown

A French Horn sits on a stand by Wim Vant Einde for Unsplash

Whatever you might think of The Crown, the big-budget Netflix show about the royals of Britain, there’s no denying it’s got a cracking score. In the first season, it fell decidedly within the Zimmer camp. Gregson-Williams' score wouldn’t have been out of place in Inception or Blue Planet. Sweeping strings alongside tasteful synths with a …

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10 February 202321 March 2024

How do you Write a ‘Catchy’ Tune?

Notes for What Makes a Catchy Tune Photo by Heather Fenoughty

So, you’ve been asked to write some music that’s ‘catchy’, ‘sing-able’ and ‘hummable’? Or you’re after it from your composer? This isn’t rare. A huge proportion of my career has involved writing music that is deliberately memorable. But what does a tune being ‘catchy’ actually mean? Aren’t all good tunes memorable? Or is it their ‘memorable-ness’ that makes them 'good'?

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9 January 202324 August 2023

Why Would You Want to Skip Intro? Title Sequences are Awesome!

Black CRT Television on Soil agains a Moody, Cloudy Sky - Gaspar Uhas for Unsplash

Sometime last year (or maybe it was the year before… the last few years sort of blend into one blur of time), I was emailed by a local radio station to see if I would comment on air about ‘Skip Intro’ options on streaming services. Good on them for trying (again and again). Every few …

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5 December 202224 August 2023

The Penultimate Draft – Blogmas #5

I’m at (fingers crossed) the stage of the penultimate draft on this project. Between the last draft and this one was a massive overhaul in tone to really shift the vibe of the film to a far more dark, serious and ominous arena.

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2 December 202224 August 2023

A Good Director – Blogmas #2

Two Robot Toys Holding Pencils by Heather Fenoughty

I got feedback! It is as I suspected; time to evict the lovely... which gives a very different tone to some of the scenes, but it’s like I’m watching a new film. There are some subtleties and nuances to the acting and direction that weren’t coming out before I started putting ominous dark drones under …

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1 December 202224 August 2023

All About The Lovely – Blogmas #1

Is this a good idea? A blog-post-a-day challenge, just December from the 1st til the 24th (or maybe 25th). I like blogging. I like writing. I like writing about composing. So to get me back in the habit, and to stop overthinking it, I’m doing a blog a day til Xmas. If I like it, …

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17 June 202223 August 2022

How To Compose Music – A Simple Guide

When you first think about composing music, it can be daunting. A little scary, even. How on earth do you go about putting together sounds to make a coherent piece of music, that expresses what you want it to say? Here’s a simple overview of the way I think about my process when I compose music.

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6 May 202223 August 2022

Listen to Me Talk About Music, Art and Videogames on the Art of Fury Podcast

Art of Fury Podcast Yshani and Heather copyright Leila Johnston RESIZED to 1000 px

I talked with a group of lovely and fascinating women on the Art of Fury podcast. We discussed all things music for games and interactivity - listen here on Apple Podcasts, or here on Soundcloud. Yshani, Emma, Leila and I had a brilliant chat about our experiences in creating music for these special kinds of media.

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