About Me

Welcome! My name is Martin Connor, a music composition major of Duke University. This
blog is where I feature many different aspects of my diverse musical interests. Here, you will find many things: academic analysis of rap using the concepts of music theory, rap transcriptions (sheet music) of popular rap songs, my own writings on music and the craft of composition, recordings of my own
musical works, and still more, such as interesting playlists I’ve created. Communally, they all reflect what I am currently working on in my career at this point. I am available as a composer by commission, having recently been commissioned by a choral group in Tennessee, as well as St. Joe’s Prep in Philadelphia, PA. Also, I work as a
freelance blogpost writer, having recently been featured on the Warbeats
website and the Malignant Brain Humor podcast, as well as a transcriber, copyist, and arranger, having recently contributed to a rap performance class taught at the Music Institute of Los Angeles.

I started this blog as a way to connect with family and friends through
music by showing them what exactly it is that I do as someone who works
in music academically. It’s hard sometimes to discuss composition
because it’s such an individual endeavor, and few people have experience
with it or can discuss it articulately. I started this blog because I
want you to experience and share in what I feel so passionately about,
what I love: music. It is my hope that the articles and videos I post
here will make you want to ask questions of “why?” and “how?” So if you
have ANY questions, comments, ideas, etc., don’t hesitate to get in touch with me, which you can do in many different ways:

E-mail: [email protected]
Twitter: @ComposersCorner

Thanks for reading!

Martin Connor is a music teacher & writer from Philadelphia, PA, with a music degree of high distinction from Duke University who is currently studying for a master’s degree at Brandeis University in Boston, MA, while focusing his research on the vocal melodies of the rap genre. He has contributed freelance articles to HipHopDX, Complex, and Pigeons and Planes, and had multiple articles from his website, www.RapAnalysis.com go viral on BET, The Source, XXL, and MTV. He teaches rap lessons online through the music school LessonFace, and has a book, The Artistry Of Rap Music, forthcoming from the McFarland Publishing House, scheduled for release in late 2017, as a follow-up to his 2014 contribution to their anthology "Eminem & Rap, Poetry, Race." He welcomes all comments, compliments, insults, and restaurant suggestions at [email protected].

1 Comment

  1. Just discovered your blog, and have to say I'm really enjoying it. I've been searching for anyone doing analysis on rap and hip hop, and you're the only one I've found so far. I also studied composition, but have begun to focus more on contemporary musical and cultural analysis since graduating. Anyway, just wanted to commend you on the blog. You can check out mine here, if you're interested: zapharatu.wordpress.com

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