Just in time for Christmas: Gift Sponsorship Subscriptions

Some time ago, someone I know from Twitter got in touch to ask if she could purchase a gift subscription -- and if so, would there be something to unwrap? The answer was yes; in due course, I made a sponsorship subscription card and it's currently with her, waiting to be unwrapped. It says: Hurrah! Someone lovely has given us both a gift by sponsoring me at the Crotchet level on your behalf! I...

Musical Hat Draw: Music Sale!

About a month ago I tried a new-to-me experiment: I asked the internet to suggest texts for me to set to music, on the understanding that I'd do my best at some drafts with random selections of text, and then eventually put the completed music up for sale online. I called it the Musical Hat Draw because I was going to pull numbers out of a hat to decide what order to set the texts in. I loved...

Musical Hat Draw: “Stars”

Welcome to the inaugural, experimental, Musical Hat Draw! For this round, the theme is “stars”. If you have a favourite poem about stars that you’ve always wanted to hear set to music, or if you’ve written about stars and wonder what your poem might sound like sung, the Musical Hat Draw is for you. How it works: From today until midnight BST on 11th September, you can send me text...

Sleep Songs: Wordless Lullabies for the Sleepless

Would you like to be sung to sleep? Or, if sleep really is unattainable, how about some soothing, calming music, music without words, to listen to while you are awake? Megan Ihnen is commissioning over 25 composers, including yours truly, to compose wordless lulllabies for the sleepless, which she will then record. I'm very pleased to be involved. I saw her quote-tweet Shaya Lyon, who said, "On...

November Patron Drive

I've commissioned this lovely piece of artwork from Arkady Rose: All new supporters at my Patreon page during the month of November will get a copy of this in postcard format (unless you don't give me your address, obviously). Further, patrons at the $5 level will be sent a new postcard quarterly, and at $10 and $15 will be sent multiple copies -- one with a message for you, and one or more to...

Patreon, one year on

It's a little over a year since I first set up a page on Patreon, with a view to getting paid for some of my composing. I've been promising to write a post about my experiences, and I'm finding the "what" and the "why" aren't easy to consider separately. But I'll have a go at discussing the "what" in this post, and the "why" in the next. Patreon is a platform for distributed, or crowd-funded,...

Postcard 5

Over at Patreon I have a few different “rewards” for different levels of funding. The idea is to thank my patrons for their support, while also doing things that are musically useful or relevant. If you want to learn more about Patreon I've given a brief explanation. For pledges of $3/work or more, if patrons disclose their postal address, I send a hand-drawn postcard with a short, unique...

Postcard 4

Over at Patreon I have a few different “rewards” for different levels of funding. The idea is to thank my patrons for their support, while also doing things that are musically useful or relevant. If you want to learn more about Patreon I've given a brief explanation. For pledges of $3/work or more, if patrons disclose their postal address, I send a hand-drawn postcard with a short, unique...

Postcard 3

Over at Patreon I have a few different “rewards” for different levels of funding. The idea is to thank my patrons for their support, while also doing things that are musically useful or relevant. If you want to learn more about Patreon I've given a brief explanation. For pledges of $3/work or more, if patrons disclose their postal address, I send a hand-drawn postcard with a short, unique...