Short, sharp, and to the point—micro/Maker brings you a quick dose of creativity and craftsmanship from the composers and artists heard on music/Maker with Tyler Kline.
A podcast from Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Online at looseleaftransmissions.com.
Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Short, sharp, and to the point—micro/Maker brings you a quick dose of creativity and craftsmanship from the composers and artists heard on music/Maker with Tyler Kline.
A podcast from Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Online at looseleaftransmissions.com.
Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Returning to the University of Northern Iowa as a faculty member, Brett Copeland describes the strange cognitive dissonance of inhabiting both student and professor roles at once—still attending everything, still assigning himself weekly goals, still operating with a learner’s mindset. Teaching in Iowa has sharpened his awareness of how limited many students’ career models are, shaped largely by the visibility of band directors as the primary professional endpoint. Rather than rejecting that path, Brett works to widen the frame, introducing students to alternative models rooted in performance, electronics, entrepreneurship, and hybrid careers that don’t fit traditional academic narratives. His approach is grounded less in disruption than in exposure: showing what’s possible by example. The conversation culminates in a broader philosophy of work and life, illustrated through a parable about unknowingly building the house you’ll one day live in. For Brett, the lesson is simple but uncompromising—love the daily process, because the career you’re constructing isn’t abstract. It’s the structure you’ll inhabit every day.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon.
Follow us on Instagram: @loose.leaf.transmissions
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sinclaire Marie describes atmospheric firing as a collaboration rather than a technique—one that requires attention, patience, and a willingness to relinquish control. Drawn to fire as both an ancestral element and a living force, she frames wood firing as a communal, physically demanding process that demands full presence: listening to the crackle of the flames, responding to their rhythm, and accepting that the kiln will not always do what you want it to do. She reflects on how this uncertainty becomes a teacher, revealing growth through small, unexpected victories—a cup whose surface finally shows looseness and history, or a teapot that playfully subverts its own form. Rather than chasing efficiency or perfection, the process becomes about attention, endurance, and learning how to play seriously—to let labor, tradition, and experimentation coexist in the work.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon.
Follow us on Instagram: @loose.leaf.transmissions
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ania Vu reflects on the interplay between language, identity, and musical composition. Drawing from her multilingual upbringing, she shares how text influences her creative process — not just through semantics, but also through the sound and feel of words.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.
Follow us on social media @LooseLeafTransmissions.
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hannah Selin talks with Tyler about GADADU, the cross-genre songwriting project she co-leads with her husband, composer/pianist Nikki Adams. The duo’s kaleidoscopic mix of jazz, pop, and experimental textures has deeply shaped Hannah’s work as a composer, challenging her to rethink form, rhythm, and collaboration. She and Tyler reflect on what happens when concert music and songwriting meet—and why embracing both can make each more alive.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon. Follow us on social media @LooseLeafTransmissions.
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Andrew Noseworthy reflects on how a DIY ethos became less a philosophy than a survival skill—one forged through limited access, institutional gatekeeping, and the repeated experience of being told “no.” Rather than waiting for permission, he learned to build the structures he needed himself: founding labels, curating genre-fluid concerts, organizing consortium commissions, and prioritizing collective momentum over individual validation. For Andrew, the appeal of DIY practice isn’t just autonomy—it’s sustainability. He questions institutional models that fund single premieres without long-term life, and instead advocates for communal approaches that allow pieces to circulate, evolve, and be heard multiple times by different performers and audiences. Drawing inspiration from band culture and touring models, he frames DIY work not as an alternative to legitimacy, but as a way to imagine a future where new music grows beyond its own bubble.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.
Follow us on Instagram: @loose.leaf.transmissions
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Shelley Washington shares how her earliest experiences composing music were actually a creative rebellion against piano practice as a child — a spark that would later shape her career. From early improvisations to discovering composition formally during graduate school, Shelley’s path unfolded with encouragement, collaboration, and discovery.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.
Follow us on social media @LooseLeafTransmissions.
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
From an early encounter with a living composer who jokingly warned him about the difficulty of the profession, Charly Daniels moves through the formative stretch of his creative life — first believing he’d follow a conventional composer’s path, then discovering that the reality was far more winding. He recalls early orchestral successes, the ego shock of graduate-school rejection, and the moment he realized his music needed to expand beyond the frameworks he'd been taught. That realization led him to form his own “chamber-rock” ensemble, integrating percussion, intuition, performance, and personal history into a practice that felt more fully his. It’s a story of recalibration — and of reshaping a career to reflect the artist he was becoming.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.
Follow us on Instagram: @loose.leaf.transmissions
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Composer and percussionist Sean Hamilton didn’t plan to become a musician — in fact, he came to drumming through historical reenactments, not the school band. In this episode, Sean shares how he discovered his voice through punk, screamo, and grindcore, and how those early influences continue to shape his approach as a composer and performer. He and Tyler discuss what it means to seek out the edges of a genre, the importance of taste over technique, and why playing music was the first thing that truly felt like his own.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @loose.leaf.transmissions.
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Anna Huffka joins Tyler Kline to talk about the intentional design behind her salon, from the layout of the service to the feeling she wants clients to carry with them. She shares how her approach centers on comfort, calm, and care — down to the gratuity structure, the dry approach to cutting, and a signature lay-down shampoo experience. Tyler also reflects on his own shift from viewing haircuts as purely functional to recognizing the artistry behind them.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.
Follow us on Instagram: @loose.leaf.transmissions
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Improvisation reshaped how James May thinks about composing. In this conversation, he talks about how studying free improvisation at University College Cork helped him move away from rigid notation toward scores that invite performers to explore sound and texture. James shares how this shift—from control to collaboration—has led him to create music that’s both structured and alive, blurring the line between composer and performer.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.
Follow us on Instagram: @loose.leaf.transmissions
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What began as a budget constraint became a revelation: when Emma O’Halloran couldn’t afford a librettist, she turned to her uncle, the celebrated Irish actor-playwright Mark O’Halloran. Adapting his fierce short play Mary Motorhead into an opera showed Emma the power of direct, unflowery text—and the joy of music layered with words. Their partnership grew into Trade and beyond, a collaboration marked by trust, humility, and discovery. For Emma, it was also a backdoor into opera itself: a genre she once dismissed but now embraces as fertile ground for creative exchange.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.
Follow us on Instagram: @loose.leaf.transmissions
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Caterina Schembri talks about returning to her earliest creative love—literature—and how that reconnection reshaped her compositional voice. What began as a lifelong attachment to books eventually surfaced as a desire to write her own texts, opening up a new dimension in her work where language and music develop together. She describes the different ways text enters her process: sometimes through existing poetry, sometimes through her own writing, and often through a fluid, iterative exchange where musical ideas and words evolve in tandem. She also reflects on the freedom and vulnerability of writing original text, the intuitive choices that emerge from rhythm and phonetics, and the shift that happens when she treats language not just as something to set, but as a structural and expressive force in its own right.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.
Follow us on Instagram: @loose.leaf.transmissions
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Emily Koh talks with Tyler Kline about her evolving identity as both a composer and bass player — and how those worlds finally merged after finding community in Georgia. She shares the origin of her “super bass” concept, composing for violin and bass as a single sonic unit alongside percussion, and the inspiration behind her piece Memento Mori. Emily also reflects on the physicality of bass frequencies, and how playing bass can feel like becoming one with the instrument.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.
Follow us on Instagram: @loose.leaf.transmissions
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Shruthi Rajasekar talks with Tyler about what pulled her toward the UK—first as a study-abroad student, later as a graduate student, and eventually as part of her professional orbit. She traces the pattern she’s begun to recognize in herself: moving toward the things that scare her, even when the first experience abroad was marked by culture shock, loneliness, and the complexities of navigating race in Britain. Over time, that instinct led her to study Indian classical music scholarship at SOAS, dive into composition at the Royal Northern College of Music, and—almost accidentally—enter a series of early-career “schemes” that reshaped her trajectory. What emerges is the story of how a sequence of UK mentorships, opportunities, and artistic communities opened doors she never planned for, and how those connections continue to ripple through her career today.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts or at musicmakerpodcast.com.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.
Follow us on social media @LooseLeafTransmissions.
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ania Vu shares how she wrestles between musical freedom and formal clarity — between gestures that defy meter and notational structure that keeps things communicable. She discusses her favorite extended techniques, the challenges of letting go of control, and the artistic impact of works like Joshua Hey’s Lens from Alpha Centauri.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.
Follow us on social media @LooseLeafTransmissions.
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hannah Selin unpacks her idea of biocentric composition—music that honors and engages with the natural world. She and Tyler talk about field recordings, data sonification, and what it means to write music in dialogue with nature rather than about it. Along the way, Hannah reflects on the limits of concert music as activism, and how meaning begins when sound and awareness meet.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon. Follow us on social media @LooseLeafTransmissions.
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nicolás Lell Benavides talks about what it means to compose for real people—and the accountability that comes with it. He and Tyler discuss how opera has reshaped his sense of collaboration, why trusting performers makes the music stronger, and how staying open to revision keeps the work alive. It’s a look inside the workshop: where artistry meets empathy and every choice counts.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon. Follow us on social media @LooseLeafTransmissions.
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hannah Boissonneault shares the winding path that led her to music school—one filled with detours, self-doubt, and ultimately, resilience. In this excerpt, she recalls the first time she met a working composer, how one supportive teacher helped her take the leap, and why it took persistence to find her place in the composition world. Her story is a powerful reminder that there’s no single right way to begin a life in music.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.
Follow us on social media @LooseLeafTransmissions.
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Chris Opperman’s career defies categorization. From video game soundtracks to jazz, rock, classical, and experimental projects, he thrives on variety—taking inspiration from Miles Davis, Frank Zappa, and Carla Bley in continually evolving his voice. He shares how hyperfocus, single-tasking, and even a “six-minute rule” help him balance composing, orchestrating, teaching, and running his label—while keeping his creative practice energized across every style.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.
Follow us on Instagram: @loose.leaf.transmissions
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Composer Mahdis Golzar Kashani shares memories of discovering music as a child in post-revolution Iran. In this excerpt, she describes how early improvisation at the piano opened the door to composing, even as formal training and musical resources were limited. With the encouragement of her mother, Kashani began creating pieces that blended her natural musical instincts with the sounds she heard in classical piano repertoire.
micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!
Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.
Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions. Follow us on social media @loose.leaf.transmissions.
micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.