Meep and Myrna Productions

Composing, Scoring, Arranging, and Publishing

The historical relationship between guitar players and sheet music can be best summed up by the following joke told in musician's circles:

Q: How do you get a guitar player to turn down?
A: Put sheet music in front of him.

Like many guitar players, I got started with rock and roll, and I learned songs by ear. There was no pressing need to read music. In fact, in the world of rock and roll, it is frowned upon.

However, as I became more interested in jazz, sheet music (or "charts" in jazz vernacular) played more of a factor. I found that the ability to read a chart got me "up and running" with a particular tune more quickly than having to get a recording of each and every tune and learning each and every one of them by ear. However, I will say that, when possible, I try to obtain and listen to a recording of any tune I am playing as a "cross-check". Charts have been known to be inaccurate, and when it's my ear against the chart, I go with my ear every time.

As I started composing my own tunes, I found that charts provided an effective and efficient means of communicating my ideas with the musicians that I wanted to play them. Yes, you still need talented musicians to "breathe life" into the piece, but a good chart gives you an outline as a starting point. It provides access to a common language that has been used by musicians for centuries, and it eliminates the inefficient process of telling your bass player that his part in the verse goes "da-dah-da-DEE", but then in the chorus it goes "da-DEE-da-dah," and then there's this little ditty in the middle that goes "da-da-da-da-BOOM-ba-dah". Enough said.

I use the scoring capability of Steingberg's Cubase SX (the same program I use for production) to create charts of my compositions and arrangements. The scoring capabiltiy is linked to the MIDI capability of Cubase such that I can play back the score that I have entered to make sure that it sounds the way I intended.

On the left is a chart of my composition called "The Rave-In," which is the first track on Outta Scope's "Time Machine" CD. Click here to listen to a sample.

I publish my compositions and arrangements though my publishing company, called (naturally) "Meep and Myrna Music". I have composer and publisher memberships with ASCAP.