Welcome to Exploring the World of Library Music – Exploring Library Music Together
Welcome, I’m Trevor. I’ve spent most of my career—25 years and counting—teaching piano and theory, first to local students, then online to students across Canada, the U.S., the U.K., and Australia. It’s work I truly love. But alongside teaching, I’ve always had an interest in a hobby I set aside for years: composing. I studied orchestration for film and television a long time ago, but once I started teaching full-time, I never made the space to fully develop it.
Now, I’m easing back into it, and one area that’s caught my attention lately is library music—those short, versatile pieces you hear in everything from YouTube videos to corporate presentations to TV dramas. I don’t have experience in this field, but I’m curious enough to start exploring it. This blog category is where I’ll share that journey as it unfolds.
What This Category Is About
This space is dedicated to my research and first attempts at writing library music. I’ll be learning what it actually is, how it works, what makes a piece licensable, and how composers structure tracks for this world.
I don’t expect to hit the ground running—but I do want to see if this is something I can understand, enjoy, and maybe even get involved with in some small way. Let’s be clear: I don’t expect much success here. Ask anyone who does this for a living and they’ll tell you it’s a full-time job that demands a serious time commitment. I’m not approaching it that way—but I am curious to learn more and see what happens.
Why Follow Along?
Because I’m not starting this from the position of a professional producer—I’m just curious. Library music seems like an accessible and flexible outlet for composers, but it’s a world with its own rules, trends, and expectations.
If you’ve also wondered what it takes to break into this type of writing—or just want to explore a new creative direction—this might be a useful (or at least relatable) place to start. I’ll be figuring things out as I go, and I’ll be honest about what’s working, what’s confusing, and where I’m hitting roadblocks.
What Kind of Posts to Expect
Here’s what you might find in this category:
- What Is Library Music? – A beginner’s look at what defines this field and how it works.
- Genre Templates – Trying my hand at different library music styles like tension cues, ambient beds, or uplifting corporate tracks.
- Licensing Considerations – Notes on what I’m learning about what sells, what libraries are looking for, and how to balance that with your own creative voice.
- Quick Turnaround Tests – Challenges where I give myself a time limit and try to produce something in just a few hours.
- Production Tips – From a composer’s point of view: thoughts on structure, mix, transitions, and how to keep things sounding clean and purposeful.
Curious Too? Stick Around
If you’ve ever wondered what goes into composing music for libraries, sync, or licensing—this is the part of my blog where I try to find out. It’s all a bit of an experiment right now, but if you’re also learning (or just watching from the sidelines), feel free to stick around and follow the journey.
Until next time,
Trevor
