The Scoring Samurai is a blog about what it actually takes to do serious orchestral work at a professional level—not just the craft, but the whole ecosystem. The tools that remove friction. The habits that protect the hours. The philosophy that keeps you at the desk when nothing is urgent and everything feels far away. Written by a working orchestrator for anyone who takes the work seriously.
You Don't Wait to Feel Like It
There's a specific kind of morning I've come to recognize.
The coffee is good. The light is right. The desk is clear. And still—there's a pull toward everything else. Email. Admin. Reading about the work instead of doing it. Cleaning the portafilter for the second time.
It doesn't feel like laziness. It feels almost rational. I'll start when I'm ready. When I'm in the right headspace. When I feel like it.
Steven Pressfield has a name for what's happening in those moments.
Year’s End Reset
December is noisy: deadlines, shopping, family logistics. But once the concerts are played and the cookies are eaten, there’s a pocket of silence. Everyone has their out-of-office set until the first Monday of January anyway, so the world slows down. Those quiet days are my favorite time for a “Year’s End Reset.” It’s not a reinvention. It’s more like defragmenting a computer—clearing the buffer so future projects run smoothly.