Staccato Spotlight: Composers on ArrangeMe
Composing for instruments has a special kind of magic. Unlike writing words or lyrics, instrumental music communicates entirely through sound, color, and texture. It can tell stories without a script, evoke landscapes without images, and create emotion without a single line of text. For many composers, the challenge and joy lie in unlocking the unique voices of different instruments and shaping them into something new.
In celebration of September being Classical Music Month, we sat down with four ArrangeMe composers — Andrew Shapiro, Jean Ahn, James Marler, and Keith Gehle — to hear about their journeys with instrumental composition, what inspires them, and how they bring their ideas to life.
Andrew Shapiro is a Brooklyn-based composer and songwriter whose music blends Philip Glass–inspired minimalism with ’80s New Wave and soft rock influences, has been featured worldwide on radio and in outlets such as The New Yorker and ABC News, and encompasses solo piano albums, synth-pop, film and theater scores, and collaborations with artists including Neil Gaiman and Daniil Simkin.
Jean Ahn is a Korean-born composer whose diverse body of work spans solo, chamber, orchestral, choral, dance, and electroacoustic music, has been performed internationally by ensembles including the Berkeley Symphony and Bang on a Can pianist Lisa Moore, has earned multiple awards and fellowships, and integrates Korean folk traditions and extended techniques into contemporary performance while teaching and directing ensembles at UC Berkeley.
Keith Gehle is an Atlanta-based guitarist and composer whose diverse repertoire ranges from original compositions and classical works to popular songs, Beatles tunes, Spanish and Latin pieces, and blues, and who has performed professionally across the Southeast for over two decades, delivering high-quality, versatile performances for intimate and large-scale events alike.
James Marler is a composer, arranger, orchestrator, and educator with over 30 years of experience creating original compositions and intricate arrangements across genres, blending classical training with contemporary sounds to craft emotive, engaging music for concert halls, media, and collaborative projects.
How did you first get started composing?
Andrew:
I had the incredible fortune of going to high school where my band director was Carl Strommen. A truly extraordinary guy. What a vibe. The best. He's not a known guy, like, in the world. But in a certain world... he's a giant as both a composer and arranger. We all got to see what he was doing. One day we'd come into jazz ensemble and there'd be a piece of music on our stands. And it was pretty much done but he wanted to have us run it down and I guess he'd tweak it afterwards. And then a few months later we'd see the published, engraved piece.
I played clarinet and later saxophone very seriously while playing piano on my own. But it didn't seem to make sense to me going to Conservatory as a clarinetist. I didn't see a future in that. So I went to a so-called normal college, Emory University and still played music. But I wasn't feeling particularly inspired. I didn't know what I was going to do, really. But in my second year there a new professor arrived, John Anthony Lennon. And he had a vibe. He oozed confidence, artistry and his music was lovely. It wasn't, you know, the kind of art composer concert music that was so popular in academic circles. And he just had this effect on me and because I had taken some theory I became reborn as a musician. A passionate music theory guy and a composer. And he was a great teacher. And I made the decision that I was going to prime myself for a full-time music career and left and ended up at the Oberlin Conservatory. I think that's my start.
Jean:
I loved composition at a young age, maybe 4? I loved improvising at the piano at a young age and called myself a composer.
James:
I decided about halfway through high school that I wanted to create music somehow, but in my senior year I became fully dedicated to the writing of music (composition, arranging, and orchestration).
Keith:
My interest in writing original music started as a college freshman and I seriously considered composition as my concentration as a music student. However, I realized that in order to write good music you first have to study and perform great music. For that reason and others, I chose a performance track. I did some arranging and writing during college, but it was several years after graduation before I started being deliberate about composing my own works. And while I write and arrange a lot these days, I still hesitate to call myself a composer as I have no formal training in composition and mostly write what I consider simple works for solo guitar at an intermediate level.
What does your creative process look like? Where do you most often find inspiration?
Jean:
Learning instruments or researching instruments. I like to get ideas from what the instrument can do.
James:
Inspiration is a tricky thing. I try to write whether I am "inspired" or not. More often than not it's the "getting started" that leads to an inspirational moment. I might just sit at the piano, or even at the drumset, and play for a while until I hear something that interests me. Alternatively, I might give myself an "assignment" and treat it like homework. I HAVE to write it or I "fail." That kind of restriction can be very helpful in finding ways to be both inspired and creative.
Keith:
I don’t really approach composing with a process per se but find that if I noodle on the guitar and have the desire to create, something usually appears. Often it’s just a theme or two that I jot down then return to days, weeks, or sometimes years later. If I’m lucky, I can finish something quickly but a piece typically isn’t finished the same day I start it; I tend to let things rest a bit after inception and sometimes experiment with demos of the music and listen back for a different perspective.
As far as inspiration, I would say it comes from two main sources: being in nature and the family/friends and experiences I’ve had through the years. I love being outside and walking on the many woodland trails around my home in North Georgia. As a result, I find my pieces often have a pastoral quality and so I frequently choose nature themed titles to describe them. Other compositions are deeply personal expressions that have comforted me after difficult losses including the death of my brother Ken in 2010. Almost all of my recent singles and music publications have been tributes to lost loved ones or those in my life facing struggles including: “For Jess”, “Elegy”, “Francie’s Lament” and “The Winter of 19”.
“More often than not it’s the “getting started” that leads to an inspirational moment.”
How do you promote your original music? Do you have a marketing strategy?
Andrew:
“The magic bullet is knowing that there's no magic bullet. I just put the music out into the world in a way that makes sense for me, emotionally and (hopefully) effectively within the budget constraints I face…
Also having a descriptor, like a five word phrase or two sentences describing one's music is useful, right? … How many bios have we read where it says "Sally Jones is from Nebraska and studied at University of Nebraska with Barbara Johnson and Derek Paulson. And she attended the ABC Festival for many years. Her piece "XYZ" was well received. She has written for orchestra and has a small chamber opera premiering next year. Blah blah blah."
Well, this tells me nothing. If it said Sally Jones performs with her marimba duo to put her own slant on the Norwegian folk music she loved as a child then I know what the music is RIGHT AWAY. It's amazing how many people don'’t describe their music in their bio.
Oh, and maybe part of a marketing strategy is "don't be an a--hole.””
Jean:
“I am horrible at this. I send it out to performers and give them free scores. Sometimes the performers would promote the music and purchase it for their students or ensembles.”
James:
“I'm probably more lax about promotion than I should be–and by "probably more lax" I mean "absolutely guilty of not promoting myself as much as I should.” The strategy (which I'm still streamlining) I like to employ is to create a score video using graphic score output overlaid on a relevant video background. I always employ links to the piece and my catalog.”
Keith:
“Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out the best way to market my original music. I’ve had decent sales in the last couple of years since joining AM but how and why those sales have happened, I do not know.”
“Not everyone believes that all art is good or even great, but in my opinion the cathartic process of creating something is magical and that’s the real reward.”
What do you find the most rewarding about composing? Most challenging?
Andrew:
“The climb, the grind...whatever you want to call it. I've been grinding since the day I graduated from music school.
In the beginning or I guess all of the time you raise a flag up a flagpole and you see who salutes to it so that’s basically the story of my life in a way, people just coming at me that’s really the only way to do it I mean if you join a law firm they just give you work for you to do as I said earlier—raising a flag up a pole and seeing who salutes to it is really all you can do and so when someone does salute to it it is very, very satisfying.”
Jean:
“When you get a good live performance! The challenge is when you are stuck and cannot proceed but the deadlines are approaching.”
James:
“Probably the most challenging aspect is not knowing what's going to "work" in terms of sales. I was asked to arrange "Wildflowers" which was, at the time, a song I had never heard. How in the WORLD is it my best-selling piece? I couldn't tell you.
In terms of what is most challenging, I find finishing a piece to be the most difficult. What I mean by that is how to know when a song is actually finished. I have always been guilty of "tweaking" a piece until it's exactly like I want it. The secret, as a friend once shared with me, is to set a date that a piece must "ship." After that, even if it isn't done, it's done; and I'm not allowed to touch it again for at least six months (a year is better).”
Keith:
“I taught courses in music technology for many years and would frequently encourage students to find ways to be creative and live a creative life. I would also suggest to them that if you do something artistic/creative that’s original, it will either be good or great because it’s original. Not everyone believes that all art is good or even great, but in my opinion the cathartic process of creating something is magical and that’s the real reward.
The challenge I sometimes face with composing may be best described by Peter Buck of the band REM when he said: “I often ask myself at 2 in the morning will anyone really care if I finish this song”? It's challenging to one’s soul to pour so much effort into something you love with the knowledge that it may never be heard or performed by another human being. But Joni Mitchell also famously said this on song writing: “if you don’t write it down, it didn’t happen”. So for me, it is my mission to write it down no matter what!”
At this point in your career, what is your 100-foot wave? What are you chasing?
Andrew:
Performing "Mint Green" on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. It's on my vision board: an image with Jimmy on stage and my friend inserted me, at the piano, on the image next to him. I’m looking at it right now.
Jean:
I’ve never really thought of myself as chasing anything. I’m grateful that I continue to be invited to write new pieces, and I try to give my full attention and care to each one. I don’t have a grand vision I’m aiming toward; instead, I focus on doing my very best with the piece that’s in front of me at this moment.
James:
I'm currently working on a a orchestral tribute concert of music by Prince. If I could get THAT done...
Keith:
Most days are spent chasing down the next paying gig. LOL! But seriously, in addition to managing a busy performance schedule around Atlanta and North Georgia, I’m always composing/arranging new music and working on recordings in my studio. I would have to say that my biggest long term goal is to publish and record as many of my original works as possible in the years to come and just see where the road takes me.
“I don’t have a grand vision I’m aiming toward; instead, I focus on doing my very best with the piece that’s in front of me at this moment.”
What is your favorite thing about ArrangeMe? What do you find most valuable?
Andrew:
Every interaction I've ever had with ArrangeMe people has been lovely, kind, and helpful. I think one of my favorite things about ArrangeMe is going to be what happens as more and more states start putting (my piece) “The High Line” sonata in their (repertoire) books.
Jean:
Easy to use! Both as a composer and the buyer. The fact that they are open to updates since I constantly edit my score.
James:
I believe the greatest aspect of the ArrangeMe platform is that arrangers have access to publishing without the gatekeeping and hurdles that typically come with trying to break into the arranging aspect of this business. Additionally, there is a real freedom in not having to run all the paperwork of approval to arrange, rights permissions, bookkeeping, royalty payments, etc.
Keith:
I really like that everything is taken care of by the ArrangeMe system in a very timely manner. After the real work of writing or arranging a piece of music is done all I have to do is fine tune the score, print to PDF, and upload to the portal. Usually within a day or two the music is in the market place ready to be enjoyed by others. I believe ArrangeMe has opened up the music publishing world for independent artists and it’s really nice that there’s no longer the need for a middle man deciding what can or can’t be available for consumers. The only possible downside is that it's hard to get noticed for your work without heavy promotion and a bit of luck as there’s just so much for the consumer to sift through.
Learn more about these fine composers:
Andrew Shapiro: andrewshapiro.com
Jean Ahn: jeanahn.com
James Marler: X, Instagram, YouTube
Keith Gehle: www.keithgehle.com, Facebook
