Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amy Yu. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Amy, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
I think the most important thing that keeps creativity alive is the constant input of new knowledge. As a composer, our brain is a library full of musical language. Listening to music and analyzing it is a great way for us to input new things into the library. Therefore, when I feel a lack of creativity, I just need to listen to music, and I can quickly find new ideas. Usually, it doesn’t need to be someone else’s music, even your own music can still inspire you.
For me personally, the other way to keep creativity alive is to take a shower. While taking the shower, your brain will be completely empty, and this can be the best time to pour in the inspiration.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a film/video game composer and arranger. Graduated from Berklee College of Music, majoring in Film Scoring, and has served as arranger for many student concerts during her school years. Now I’m studying Media Scoring and Production at Frost School of Music, University of Miami, as a full scholarship teaching assistant. The short films she scored have been selected for many international film festivals, such as NATAS, CICFF, BAFF and AWFF. I have won the “Best Original Score” in Hollywood Shorts Fest in 2023, and won the “Best Soundtrack” in Montelupo Fiorentino Film Festival in 2022.
I’m a Chinese composer with a 5-year composing/arranging background. Began to learn classical piano at the 5 and has won lots of gold medals in piano competitions. I’ve done a lot of music composing and sound design in the graduation works of students in the professional fields among film and television editing, game design and art creation. In addition, I have many original songs and orchestral music works. Proficient in various sound and music editing and notation software such as Sibelius, Protools, Cubase and Logic Pro x. Familiarity with a range of musical genres, with special experience in writing orchestras.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
First of all, creativity is the decisive factor of a composer’s success. Without that, works would be difficult to be recognized. Creativity is embodied in the awareness of life, the sense of feeling and the discovery of the environment, these factors can determine the type and style of music to be expressed. Coming up with ideas is a key part in the process of composing. It also comes from the deep perception of life and the study of the advantages of other people’s music works. To optimize oneself by learning from each other’s strong points in order to achieve the realm of perfection.
Secondly, we should always be ready to take risks and have a strong psychological quality. As a musician, you usually don’t have a steady full-time job, so always be prepared for the unsteady income. Writing music is like gambling, which takes your whole lifetime, effort and money to invest. Music is not only a high-risk industry, but also a highly competitive industry, and it needs to bear the consequences of works not being recognized by the market and the public.
The most important one is time management. Arranging our time wisely allows us to get more done in the limited time we have. I always plan ahead and have a clear list about what I’ve been doing and what I’ll be doing, especially when there’s a lot of projects going at the same time. There’s a small blackboard which records my daily and weekly schedule, and I’ll mark them on while getting finished.
These qualities together can form the cornerstone of a composer’s success.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
I would definitely say teaching. I’ve been teaching students about media scoring(Film/Animations/Video Games) since September in last year. Now, it’s been more than a year. Fortunately, I not only gained experience from teaching, but also greatly improved my composing skills. When you do teaching, you will find that you will be constantly exposed to new knowledge while teaching students, which is a great opportunity to improve yourself quickly.
At the same time, as teaching requires constant talking, my language organization and communication skills have been greatly improved.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://amyyumusic.com
- Instagram: amyyujh
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