Composer · teacher · builder
I’m Richard. I compose music for film trailers, teach composers how to do it, and build little websites about things I love.
My music has been in trailers for Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros and Universal. This site is the hub for all of it: the music, the courses, the free guides and the side projects.
- 100+ trailer placements
- 8 awards
- Captain America: Civil War
- Glass Onion
- WandaVision
- The Conjuring 2
I compose
Music for film trailers, TV and ads, and a record label of my own.
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Trailer & TV music Over 100 placements in trailers and ads, including Captain America, Glass Onion and WandaVision. -
Pryn Music ↗ My independent label and royalty-free music library. The heart of everything I do. -
Soft Piano Music Podcast An audio sketchbook. Short piano ideas that keep me writing every day. -
The Diary of a Music Maker ↗ My newsletter on Substack about making music, running a label and figuring it out as I go.
I teach
Courses, coaching and free step-by-step guides for composers.
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The Composer Academy Every course I've made, live group coaching and track feedback, in one membership. -
Courses Step-by-step courses on trailer, horror, piano and orchestral music. -
Learning paths Free, ordered routes through 500+ articles so you always know what to read next. -
The Trailer Music Composer's Podcast Over 100 episodes with composers, editors and music supervisors. -
The Accelerator One-to-one mentoring for composers serious about trailer and sync music.
I build
Small, useful (and occasionally silly) websites about the things I’m into.
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Composer HQ ↗ The hub for working composers. Plugins, sample libraries, courses and music libraries side by side, plus free tools. -
Free music tools A chord detector, a chord progression transposer and a tap-tempo BPM finder. -
The Name Generators ↗ Free name generators for D&D, fantasy writing and games. Elves, taverns, swords and lots more. -
Haunted Hotels UK ↗ 80+ haunted hotels you can actually stay in, with the ghost stories and the rooms to ask for. -
Acorn & Ink ↗ Free printable worksheets for home-educating families, made fresh every time you press the button. -
Dots, Lines & Paper ↗ Drawing, doodling and creativity for the fun of it. Drawing ideas, colouring pages and card ideas. -
Travels with Five ↗ Our family travel journal. Mini breaks, family resorts and day trips with three kids.
free learning paths ↓
Don’t just read. Follow a path.
I’ve written over 500 articles. These paths put the best of them in order, step by step, so you always know what to read next and can tick off your progress.
Trailer music, from first cue to first placementWrite trailer music that gets placed
Make a living from your musicTurn my music into an income
Horror and suspense musicWrite music that scares people
Cinematic pianoWrite emotional piano music
The orchestra for composersUnderstand the orchestra and write for it
Music theory for people who skipped itFinally get my head round music theory The Composer Academy
Stop making music in the dark. Courses, live coaching and real feedback, together.
A community, course library and coaching space for composers working towards a career in trailers, libraries and sync. Every course, live sessions with me, and real track feedback.
- Get specific notes on your tracks, not "this is great, keep going"
- Know which cue to write, where to send it and what libraries are looking for
- Keep writing with a monthly challenge and a community that keeps you honest
- Work through the whole course library at your own pace, in whatever order suits you
- Bring real projects and career questions to live calls with me
Latest writing
Everything- Safety in making pointless shit no one wants
There Is A Certain Safety In Making Pointless Shit That No One Wants Or Even Cares About . You Don’t Have To Worry About It Being Successful Or Not Because It Is Shit And You Know…
- I dreamt this
How a rabbit hole can fill up your cup
- Fossil Hunting & Tiny Pebble People
Me and my family went fossil hunting on Charmouth beach on the Jurassic coast over the weekend. I’ll be honest we really didn’t have a clue what we were looking for and at first…
- Combining the joy of creating with networking, marketing and portfolio building.
By making music for other people's content and sharing it with them.
- What are we exactly?
Thoughts on struggling to find the words to define what you do and as a result who you are.
- Too many choices
Overwhelmed by choice and fear of focus and boredom...
Gangland | Official Trailer 
The Pale Blue Eyes | Official Trailer 
Branson | OFFICIAL TRAILER 
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery | OFFICIAL TRAILER