Welcome to MyMusicWriter.com. I'm Bryan Nelson, the owner and producer at My Music Writer.  I serve an incredible group people who put together a weekly worship environment — one of the toughest jobs.

I live in Topeka, KS with my awesome wife Lisa and our three wonderful kids - Joshua, Kayla, and Tyler.  Lisa works at home as a full time mom and finds time to teach piano and teach kids at church weekly.  For me - My Music Writer is a side project, serving worship leaders in the local church — saving them time to focus on more important things such as relationships.

How My Music Writer Started

I began leading worship about 15 years ago.  A lot has changed in those years — and My Music Writer came from some of those changes.  My Music Writer originally was a site that put together notated music — if you need an orchestral part transcribed, we'd do it.  At one point, the church where I'm on staff as worship pastor was out of space.  The only viable space giving us an additional 200 seats was a lower auditorium directly beneath the main worship area.  Our building is vintage, so all sound bleeds between rooms.  We opted to synchronized two bands from experience of our drive-in Christmas light show (long story).  The bands started together, flowed together, rehearsed together, ended together, prayed together — all to click track and loop.  Several times we'd even mix in the musicians from the main worship center and mix them in the band downstairs.  We needed to stick together — and a click track with verbal guide cues was about the only way we knew how.  This was a paradigm shift for us.

We looked for a library of affordable click tracks and loops to get us started. At the time, the software and computers to run the tracks were expensive, time consuming, and looked like you were checking email while leading worship.  In addition to the complexity, I knew going in that I'd be the only one who would hold the keys to operating the software/computers.  If something ever happened to me, the bands would fall apart.  So we searched for a library of MP3s, but didn't find any large collection.  And with our need of clear verbal guide cues and specific needs, we began to build our own tracks.

Several years later, My Music Writer began offering this resource to others — offering its full track library and taking some custom requests.  MP3 click/loop tracks are cheap, easy to setup, and very little training is needed to allow others to operate.  Just about everyone knows how to setup a playlist on a computer or MP3 player.  Yes, it was that simple — but there was no large library.

My wife and I considered what God wanted to do with My Music Writer. Currently, we support Trash Mountain project for kids in the Dominican Republic.  We've adopted a young boy named Darlin, and also support the mission as a whole.  You see, when we leave this life, we won't be judged by the amount of time we've spent on our music — but our relationships with God and others.

It's important to know My Music Writer exists today. We exist to help worship leaders focus on more important things than mere music.  Music already takes time, but relationships are what will be measured at the end of our lives.  Instead of creating time consuming behind-the-scenes tools to leading worship, it's our goal to continue to provide these tools in an affordable way.  At the same time, we want to follow God's heart and reach some kids at Trash Mountain who are on the cutting edge of existence.  Every time you use one of our tracks we hope you remember with us — it's not about music...it's about relationships.

Thank you so much for visiting My Music Writer. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.  God bless His ministry through you this week!

What is a click track?

A click track is the band's time keeper. But that's what a drummer is for, right? Um, yes…and most drummers are human, subject to ebb and flow. And it's never fun to be the drummer when the band speeds up or slows down. Click tracks allow a band to begin a song together without an audible count-off (like stick clicks or shout outs by the leader).

What is this "verbal guide" with the click track?

A verbal cue simply announces to the musicians what section in the song is coming up next. Every song has different sections (introduction, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, etc.). All of the click tracks at mymusicwriter.com have built in verbal cues which announce to the band what section is about ready to happen. The click track (with verbal cues) then turns into a guide for the band to announce the song title, start together in rehearsed tempo, move to different song sections seamlessly, slow down/up at certain places, and even signal the end to the song. Having an "audio skeleton" which the band plays with can elevate the quality of any group of musicians playing together in a live situation. By the way, those listening to the band never hear the click track or verbal cues — which is the beauty of click tracks because they help behind-the-scenes with no one knowing.

What exactly is a loop?

A loop is a term for audio playing over and over (looping) again, usually accompanying other live stage instrumentation. Advanced looping in special computer software (Ableton Live, Reason, etc.) allows users to select which, when, and how often a loop is played. However, mymusicwriter.com loops take the guesswork out of someone who would both construct and then control the loops in the live situation. Loops from mymusicwriter.com are designed as an accompaniment to the band — mixed with the band, not drive the band. These loops are not backing tracks (backing tracks are designed to replace the band). Loops from mymusicwriter.com simply augment what you already have going on. The best loops are the ones that you can't tell they are happening, but there's definitely a charge of energy with what's happening live sonically.

Are MMW tracks/loops easy to setup use?

Yes. All loops and click tracks from mymusicwriter.com are MP3 files which are played back on conventional MP3 players or any computer (using iTunes or similar windows media player). These MP3 files are then played back and feed into the sound system.

How to do I setup my equipment to run loops and click tracks?

How to Route Your Audio for Click Tracks/Loops

What is the easiest way to introduce click tracks and loops?

Honestly, the best way is to incorporate it into your sound check process — which is all setup with our 7 Minute Sound Check process. It will get you using a click track and loop every week. The click track level can be set for the monitoring at the beginning of rehearsal this way. It will allow the sound engineer to get a steady level and mix with the loop during sound check too. And there are lots of other advantages to using this sound check proces — not to mention that you'll be done with the sound check every week in 7 minutes flat. Besides, the musicians love jamming with a strong signal to the Am 12 bar blues.

How do I download the tracks?

Once a purchase is made, an email is sent to the email address that was given. This email is sent almost instantly — so be sure to check your spam/junk folder if you do not see it.

I'm having trouble downloading MP3 tracks to my iPad.

You'll have better results if you first download MP3s to a computer, then sync the iPad with the computer.  Sometimes when you click on an MP3 link on an iPad, it will simply stream the audio file instead of downloading it.

When I try to download the link, it says it's now "invalid" — what gives?

It's likely that you've clicked on the link several times and our system thinks you've already downloaded it.  It then deactivates the link.  No worries.  Simply email me at help@mymusicwriter.com — and I'll email you the file(s) you need.

How often do you update the library?

I add new tracks every week or so, and sometimes more often. It depends on the custom production queue at the time.

Can I request or suggest a certain song for the library?

Sure thing. You can email help@mymusicwriter.com with a request at anytime. Keep in mind, the library is most often updated once a custom project is produced.

Can I run click tracks and loops without a computer or looping software?

Absolutely! In fact, this is the focus of MMW. A standard split track MP3 will run on a standard MP3 player. There's no need for purchasing a computer and software to get started. Simply setup a playlist in your favorite MP3 player, and you are all set.

What track formats do you offer?

We offer three formats — split track MP3, multi-track MP3, and multi-track MIDI formats. I've choosen specificaly to keep our tracks with MP3 and MIDI because it works cross platform and offers the most fleibility. Multi-track MP3 and multi-track MIDI formats are cross platform and work with any DAW — like Reason, Ableton Live, Pro Tools, GarageBand, Logic Pro, and a host of others. MIDI formats allow for maximum fleibility on any platform, even allowing for music notion to be printed with notation software (Finale, Sibaleus, etc.).

What if I need a track/loop in a different key, instrumentation, or tweaked?

That's why we're called My Music Writer — we'll take of it for you.. For example, if you hear a loop that has a piano part in the instrumentation of the loop — but have a skilled piano player, we can take the piano for. Or if you have one skilled electric guitar player — but the song requires 2-3 electric guitars, we can add an electric guitar track for you. Simply send us an email to custom@mymusicwriter.com and describe what you are looking for — and we'll respond quickly.

What are the advantages of MP3 split tracks/loops?

There are some big advantages for using MP3 split tracks.

• Everyone knows how to operate an MP3 player. No training for musicians. It's less focus on the technical aspect and more focus on worship.
• It's really easy on your budget because it's the cheapest way. No expensive software, computer on stage, or audio interfaces.
• It's the most straight forward for the FOH (front-of-house audio position).
• It's easier to setup and more portable. Imagine bringing your MP3 player in your pocket to rehearsal. Put some velcro on the back of it and stick it on your drum kit, mic stand, or your favorite place for easy access. Got multiple campuses? Share the loops via email or network so all bands can begin and end on time.
• No need to keep computers/software updated...MP3's are pretty standard.
• Stability. Computers and software tend to crash more often than MP3 players/iPods.
• Your band can rehearse on their own with their own MP3 players or via online planning web apps (we highly recommend planningcenteronline.com) if you upload the loops for them.

So you are admitting there are disavantages to MP3 split tracks/loops?

Yes, there are disadvantages.

• Not as flexible on the fly...meaning you can't doctor in/out instruments on the fly (meaning you can't play 'with' the loops while on stage). However, you can always fade the loop out using the MP3 player's control (or iPhone/iPad Sound Cue app), kill the click/loop altogether, or simply string a set of songs together using Garageband or Audacity (free software) for seamless transitions. But remember, we offer multi-track MP3 and multi-track MIDI formats for importing into your favorite looping software.
• It's a mono send to the house. Some people just like stereo — and have a worship environment setup for it. Shoot, some people swear 7.1 surround sound is better than stereo. But let's face it, how much panning do we do in a live worship setting. Sure you'd slightly pan two guitar players...but loops can live in the middle of your mix.

Remember, multi-track MP3 and multi-track MIDI formats imported into your favorite looping/DAW software can give you flexibility. I am simply sharing the disadvantages of the split track MP3 format.

What are my payment options?

I accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. You can also pay with PayPal.

Why are your tracks/loops so expensive?

While you can download your favorite song for $0.99 on iTunes or Amazon — the speciality nature of the tracks/loops and customization is what makes the tracks more than songs that get a gazillion downloads. Besides, other multi-track loop sites are offering songs for $15 or more. Custom work at other sites are for $80-$100. I'm attempting to keep the price low enough to make this attainable for the average church, help some kids on the cutting edge of existence in the Dominican Republic at Trash Mountin, and keep MMW sustainable for the long haul. It takes about 2-3 hours to write several tracks of a song well. Then I create different versions, export, upload, and maintain the library. If average guitar teacher makes $15 every 30 minutes, I should be teaching guitar instead. But I know this is a huge help to many others in the worship environment — saving others time so they can focus on more important things.

Okay, then, why are your tracks/loops so cheap?

The worship environment in the local church is already complex enough. This is a way I can serve churches by saving time and making things simpler. I know many worship leaders and musicians have plenty of talent to make their own tracks/loops. There are websites dedicated to them sharing their content — some for free and some for purchase. Bottom line, I'm attempting to bring the click track, loop, multi-track world to smaller church settings who would benefit from it. I ultimately hope this site is both a valuable and affordable resource for churches, and hope to be able to cover my expenses, and help those less fortunate. Furthermore, as a worship leader, I gain ideas and resources by creating them for other worship leaders.

Can I share your tracks/loops with others?

Um, we don't appreciate that kind of thing. We'd love for you to simply mention the site and direct them our way. We provide free material for people to get started.

How do we transition from song to song using click tracks/loops?

Ah, you mean Loop Track Cues. Using loop track cues in your playlist between your loop click tracks to allow time between song sets. The extra cushion will allow for pre-planned space. When it’s time for the next track, simply select NEXT. Multiple spacers can be used for more time if needed. The END and PAUSE cue tracks can be reminders to the operator to stop playback. This prevents inadvertent triggering of tracks in the middle of a announcements/message. We have these on our site for free — actually they are $0.01 (because we aren't smart enough to offer free stuff just yet).

What's the secret for going from a slow song to the fast song with click tracks/loops?

The old "slow to fast" trick is easy, once you know a handy little trick. It's easy to go from a fast worship song to a slower one. But going the opposite direction (slow to fast) is one of the most difficult. If you add loops and click tracks…that's an even more seemingly complicated transition. Here's the solution from a slow to fast song transition (read here).