We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Canon Herring a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Canon, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)
The most valuable thing we as humans have is our time. To invest into anything means to set aside the time to make it succeed. Growing up, my dad set aside his time to teach me music, and now I set aside my time to make a career out of it. My best investment was putting the time into gaining industry experiences. I realized at the beginning of my career that experience is everything. Without gaining the needed knowledge through hands on experiences, I couldn’t build working relationships, knowledge of the industry, or a professional portfolio. In order to pursue this passion I needed to prove to myself and potential clients that I could do it. Time is the investment, but it is also the greatest risk. My concerns were “who would hire a composer that didn’t go to music school?” or, “am I wasting time in the long run of my end goal?” But what I realized is that if I could spend the time and effort to get just one client to believe in me, I could start building my experience and portfolio from the ground up. My greatest investment and my greatest risk was my time. I took the time to gain experience, find clients, and build upon everything I learned.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
As a film composer, I provide musical compositions and high quality audio productions for anything video related. This could be movies, short films, documentaries, commercials or even YouTube videos! My clients come to me, not just to compose music, but to take their project and insert the desired emotions. Music brings things to life! My job doesn’t just require a musical ear and technical skills, but also an ability to read emotion and create in and through it. One might be tempted to use canned music, but do not use it! A personal and passionate film requires personal and passionate music specifically fit to one’s own creativity and desires! That’s why my job as a film composer is so fulfilling. I get to take someone’s passions and collaboratively build them up through the joy of music! I always welcome new clients with a desire to create something new and inspiring! Recognition for my work is always a plus, but my goal is to live what I love, be fulfilled in my calling and to be a light!
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I have two main goals in my creative journey. My biggest goal is to reflect God as the creator through my own creative expression. As a Christian, I desire to use my gifts and calling to uplift the soul and to direct attention to the Lord. None of my talents are my own. The lord has given me a tool to advance HIS kingdom, not a gift to build my own name or image. My musical creativity was given to me so I can express the Father’s emotions and turn hearts towards Him. Another big goal is to be able to work on fun movies back to back! I long to work on new and interesting films often so I can grow my skill and meet new people!
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of my job is having the creative outlet to express all the interesting ideas in my head! There’s no better feeling than sitting down at my piano and finding a new way to express a common emotion. I love closing my eyes and piecing together all the parts in my head, composing a whole orchestra before my hands even hit the piano. I love making little mistakes while composing and finding them pleasing to the ear. My rewarding passion is dwelling in a musical moment of creation and putting it to paper.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://CanonHerring.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/canonherring