Alon Marcus

I am very excited that there is so much to learn about music. It's a world that always renews itself for me. 

I also have to admit that I am a hardcore geek when it comes to electronic music and dance music. The reason is that these genres are not my natural habitat. I feel much more comfortable and connected when listening to jazz and classical music. So, in the realm of electronic music, I consider myself more of an explorer, approaching it like a scientist and a keen listener rather than someone immersed…

Between the years 2007 and 2010, I studied film and screenwriting at Tel Aviv University. What remains with me from the degree is a profound love for storytelling, movies, and some of the things I've written, translated, and published. Currently, I am deeply involved in creating music for media, film, and video.

I'm always on the lookout for gems, especially short films and instances where music is used brilliantly. This film, even an Oscar winner, is undeniably a touching masterpiece. It revolves around a…

Artificial intelligence becomes an inseparable part of our lives. There are many concerns and fantasies. Personally, I love it very much. It's another game, another tool, another maze to wander through, another world to explore. In this blog, I also write about things I learn and read, trying to connect it to the music I listen to and create. Recently, I started reading the materials of the 'Artificial Intelligence for Education' course at the Khan Academy and encountered the concept of LLM - Large Language…

I'm trying to explore the music of my people, Jewish music. I'm trying to understand if there are rhythms, chord progressions, and scales that characterize this music. However, Jewish music is characterized by something elusive. Sometimes these are songs that belong to a specific region or period, influenced by the local context. Other times, they are songs characterized by narrative lines and specific lyrics. It's a fascinating challenge to delve into and understand the diverse roots and influences of…

Arabic music fascinates me. I started showing interest in it a while ago, but I always postponed the moment when I would delve deeper and explore it. The rhythms, the sounds, the maqams, quarter-tones, the unison playing of the bands—all these musical elements really excite me.

The best way for me to learn is by combining theory and practice. So, every day I add a bit of information to my knowledge, while simultaneously trying to apply something in one of the tracks I'm creating. Today, what caught my…

The world of music is infinite. I always enjoy discovering and exploring new sounds and musical instruments, whether electronic or organic. Today, I came across a unique wind instrument, closely related to the family of the oboe, called the zurna. 

It has a strong and penetrating sound, so the zurna is commonly played outdoors at wedding ceremonies, enlistment to the army, and folk celebrations. The zurna can be tuned according to the scale and tone one wishes to play. The tuning is actually determined by…

It's a unique experience to listen to the track 'Iris' by Miles Davis. This piece, composed by Wayne Shorter is taken from the album titled ‘ESP’. This album by the Second Quintet marks the beginning of their adventurous period, where they favored a more flexible and abstract style that sometimes led me to get completely lost as a teenager or a man in his twenties, listening to this music obsessively and becoming addicted. But 'Iris' is a different piece because it is very melodic, and they still maintain…

The electro-acoustic realm is really magical and fascinating for me. These sounds have the ability to create worlds. It's sparse and leaves a lot of room for imagination. It's also very artful and one can notice the attention given to small details, various sonic colors and sound effects. 

What I really like about modern RnB music is the way chord progression are used. It's a new approach. 

Very few chords are played and they are repeated in a loop. The progression is very ambiguous and unstable. For the listener it means it means hanging in uncertainty. A feeling of something really close without the possibility to catch it or hold it. For musician it means using modes, clever modulations, hiding strong and obvious harmonic functions like the tonic or disguising it as a dominant. 

An amazing…

For me ukulele means freedom, humor, and laughs. The sound reminds you not to take life too seriously. While strolling with my little daughter and listening to my vintage MP3 I discovered the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. A live album full of jokes and uplifting music. Masterfully arranged cover versions of iconic songs and instrumental like: Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf, famous movie themes, a mind blowing combination of Life On Mars and My Way.  

My daughter is very sensitive to attention. When we…