We were lucky to catch up with Merritt Goodwin recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Merritt thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I am an avid learner. I am always studying and trying to be better both personally and creative. I think a key is to also have a learners mind and never close yourself off to knowledge simply because you think you know something.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a musician/composer here in LA. I am currently in a band signed to Sony Orchid and I am a composer of different types of media. I got start first by moving to LA in 2010. I started going to school at Musicians Institute, where I played in many bands and then in 2014 I joined my current band Stitched Up Heart. We got signed to Century Media in 2015 and it has just been crazy since. In 2015 I also started to composes music for libraries, trailer companies, and short films. I have been trying to push both careers forward as much as I can ever since. For the band, the biggest thing I am proud of is our current album, due to be released in a few weeks. It’s called To The Wolves. When we got signed we got thrown into the active rock radio world and this album we decided to go back to our roots, in a way, and lean more toward the metal side. For the composition career, my I am most proud just being able to do it! Every project I get, no matter how large or small, a film or trailer, I count my self so lucky and grateful that I even get the chance to write this type of music.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most awarding aspect of being an artist or creative are a few things. One is seeing how music can have a positive effect on people. The power of music is so crazy. To be apart of something with that has so much power and watch it help people through different times is amazing. The other thing is that every time I write something and finish a project I feel as if I have grown more as an artist and as a person. I love the feeling of growth and conquering something that seems like I could never have conquered it.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Well when I first started to write music. I wrote everything out by hand. I wasn’t writing concert work or anything, this was just band stuff. Then in 2008 I bought my first Mac book and got Logic Pro 8. From here I shifted from writing by hand to writing in a DAW. I grew up in Flagstaff Az, which is a small mountain town, so I didn’t have access to a lot of resources and knowledge that others may have. I really wished I just knew how to find more information about music technology. Nowadays its great because the information is everywhere. Back then it was still there but harder to find.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.merrittgoodwin.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merrittgoodwinofficial/
• Other: https://stitchedupheart.org

Image Credits
Amy Harris, Mixi Demner, Black Gate Photography, Neil Limsang Photography