Film Scoring - Part 2 - Techniques For The Modern Composer (Udemy.com)
Master the Art of Composing For Film and Learn To Find Gigs Doing It
Created by: J. Anthony Allen
Last updated May 2026
What you will learn
- Get started building a portfolio of work to show their film composition talents
- Score a feature film using a variety of techniques
- Understand the process of writing music for film
- Creating atmosphere
- Using "Pad" sounds with orchestra
- Finding Atmopshere in film
- Harmonizing string melodies
- Polyrhythmic accompaniment
- Working with string orchestra
- The chase scene
- Working with drum loops in chase scenes
- Using the brass section
- Building tension
- Writing tension cues
- Ponticello
- Tremelo
- Glissando
- Writing comedy and animation cues
- "Mickey Mousing"
- Getting gigs as a film composer
- Techniques for building a portfolio
- Finding film makers
How it compares
Against the other 270 rated Udemy courses in Music on CourseDuck:
- Rating4.5 out of 5higher than 25% of them
- Reviews142#172 of 271 by number of reviews
- Length4.1 hourslonger than 57% of them
- Last updatedMay 2026more recently than 82% of them
Course Description
** UDEMY BESTSELLER **
Welcome to the COMPLETE Music COMPOSITION AND FILM SCORING Guide!
100% Answer Rate! Every single question posted to this class is answered within 24 hours by the instructor.
This is a class designed for the average person who is ready to take their music career (or music interest) and develop it into something more. Whether you are an active musician or an aspiring musician, this class is perfect for you.
In this course, we will learn the essential techniques used in writing music for film. Through a series of analysis' of well-known film scenes from your favorite movies we will learn what makes a great cue, and then apply those techniques by writing our own. I'll be showing you some of my own projects for film and television throughout the class, and walk you through my process when composing music for a film project.
By the end of this course, students will understand the tools, lingo, and techniques used in the film composing world and will be ready to dive into their own projects. I'll walk you through how to get started on your first project by using freely available movies that need a score.
Throughout my career, I've worked with major American orchestras, film studios, and video game designers. I'm also a Ph.D. in music composition and a university professor (of music composition).
Recently I was named as a semi-finalist for the Grammy Foundation's Music Educator of the Year award because of my in-person university classes. Now I'm taking those classes to Udemy in an online format in order to reach more students and give them the joy of Music Theory.
There are several "sections" of this class, and this is Part 2. As the class grows, we will go deeper and deeper into my techniques.
In this class, we will cover:
Tools of the trade
Creating an atmosphere
Using "Pad" sounds with an orchestra
Finding the Atmosphere in film
Harmonizing string melodies
Polyrhythmic accompaniment
Homorhythmic accompaniment
Working with string orchestra
The chase scene
Working with drum loops in chase scenes
Using the brass section
Building tension
Writing tension cues
Ponticello
Tremolo
Glissando
Writing comedy and animation cues
"Mickey Mousing"
Getting gigs as a film composer
Techniques for building a portfolio
Finding filmmakers
And much, much, more!
And of course, once you sign up for this class, all my other classes are yours at steep discounts! Over half off for all future sections!
The course is a roadmap to launching your career as a composer!
All the tools you need to prepare, organize and start your career are included in this course and the entire course is based on real-life experiences - not just academic theory.
Please click the "Take This Course" button so you can launch your music career today.
** I guarantee that this course is the most thorough music business course available ANYWHERE on the market - or your money back (30-day money-back guarantee) **
Closed captions have been added to all lessons in this course.
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Praise for Courses by Jason Allen:
⇢ "It seems like every little detail is being covered in an extremely simple fashion. The learning process becomes relaxed and allows complex concepts to get absorbed easily. My only regret is not taking this course earlier." - M. Shah
⇢ "Great for everyone without any knowledge so far. I bought all three parts... It's the best investment in leveling up my skills so far.." - Z. Palce
⇢ "Excellent explanations! No more or less than what is needed." - A. Tóth
⇢ "VERY COOL. I've waited for years to see a good video course, now I don't have to wait anymore. Thank You!" - Jeffrey Koury
⇢ "I am learning LOTS! And I really like having the worksheets!" - A. Deichsel
⇢ "The basics explained very clearly - loads of really useful tips!" - J. Pook
⇢ "Jason is really quick and great with questions, always a great resource for an online class!" M. Smith
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Students who register for this course will receive ongoing exclusive content and discounts to all future classes in the series.
Instructor Details
- 4.5 Rating
142 Reviews
J. Anthony Allen
Dr. Allen is a 2026 Apple Distinguished Educator.
Dr. J. Anthony Allen is a distinguished composer, producer, educator, and innovator whose multifaceted career spans various musical disciplines. Born in Michigan and based in Minneapolis, Dr. Allen has composed orchestral works, produced acclaimed dance music, and, through his entrepreneurship projects, he has educated over a million students worldwide in music theory and electronic music production.
Dr. Allen's musical influence is global, with compositions performed across Europe, North America, and Asia. His versatility is evident in works ranging from Minnesota Orchestra performances to Netflix soundtracks. Beyond creation, Dr. Allen is committed to revolutionizing music education for the 21st century. In 2011, he founded Slam Academy, an electronic music school aimed at increasing accessibility to music production education. His innovative approach to academia was highlighted in 2024 when he received tenure and resigned from his university position on the same day.
As a composer, Dr. Allen is known for his unique synthesis of diverse musical influences, often blending acoustic music with electronic dance music elements. With a Ph.D. in Music Composition, multiple master's degrees, and numerous awards, Dr. Allen's academic and professional achievements are substantial.
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Reviews
By Consuelo Scivoletto - Cordey on 10/25/2022
I enjoyed this course. There are a lot of good notions to learn, but some of the music examples have no images to accompany them, which makes the learning pointless, so maybe look at reviewing this part (it's when you explain atmosphere).
By Anthony Alvarez on 7/26/2020
This is a very informative course! Jason does a great job of explaining musical concepts that will help improve your musical writing skills for film. I learned a ton!
By Willard Jansen on 12/4/2019
After taken many of his courses Jay is my goto guy for learning and refreshing. He has become my personal music encyclopedia that never lets me down. His has a Phd, is packed with music knowledge and understands how to level with his audience like no other. Easy learning much.
By Barend Gehrels on 4/26/2019
Jason is an excellent instructor, he explains all things he handles really well. Also in this second course, which goes into more detail of some subjects, the material is excellently taught.
By Jeff Boehm on 1/3/2018
I like that Jason does his work in real-time, so that you get to see his thought process. It helps the student to not only know what the process is like, but that there is a lot of experimentation that happens. The only real critique I have is that it might have been better for him to pick out a film that met the needs ahead of time. That said, there was much to gain from how he dealt with the awkward situations that the film provided.
By David Young on 12/19/2017
Jason did a good job of covering the different methods used in film to help tell the story, create suspense, set moods, and push the narrative of the arc in a film. I enjoyed both parts of this course. Now I just have to practice this until I feel comfortable with the process and build up some experience.
By Kristoffer Bersamina on 5/26/2017
These two courses on film composition give a lot of insight as to what is involved when scoring music for film. It offered a wonderful introduction to what this style of music making entails and what techniques are used. I'm still a novice in making music but these courses give me more confidence in getting started when making music for film. Jason is also an excellent teacher and seems very likeable and easy to talk to. He teaches his lessons in a way that anyone can benefit and learn from.
By David DeLizza on 3/14/2017
This course really isn't for me. I haven't learned anything new, I was at least looking for some real world practice and to see someone else work, but the cues are very cheap and there is certainly no final product that I would want to work to work toward.
By Benjamin Salas on 2/13/2017
Jason Allen is one of my favorite instructors of UDEMY. And I just loved this course (the whole 2 parts). Buy one and use the coupons at the end of the course... it´s a steal!
By Louis van der Stam on 1/14/2017
This course shows how to tell a story with music really well. Similar to the first part, the analysis of what has been created in terms of music theory made me understand a lot more about creating music then I expected.
Quality Score
No CourseDuck member has rated this course yet. Taken it? Give each part a thumbs up or down.
Overall Score : 90 / 100










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