A graduate of Johns Hopkins University's prestigious Krieger School of Arts and Sciences Program in Film and Media Studies, I taught myself to write songs while earning a degree focused in screenwriti... ng and other forms of creative writing. In the ensuing twenty years I have written hundreds of songs on my own and collaborated on hundreds more, many published and released on various independent labels, along with myriad experiences in screenwriting, poetry, prose, direction, videography, musical performance, production and studio session work. I now teach guitar, piano and songwriting at a music company in Nashville and am developing my own songwriting and production business called SongCycle. Current freelance projects include a book-to-film screenplay adaptation for a noted Atlanta production company and upcoming musical releases. My extensive experience includes charting albums of my own composition, a produced screenplay, a Film Composer credit, videography work with Lucinda Williams, Brandi Carlile, Steve Earle and much more. Whether acting as songwriter, screenwriter, prose writer, poet, director, videographer, editor or tutor, it is a writer's overall aesthetic sensibility that permeates, with special attention paid to story structure, framing, syntax, linguistic reference, poetic metaphor, editing, character development and world-building. read more

Hello there! I'm Ben, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee, though I've lived and toured all over. I have a deep artistic drive toward creative writing, songwriting, screenwriting, musical perform... ance and filmmaking. When not doing one of those things, I may be shooting hoops, playing pickleball, reading books or hanging out with my wife. I currently work as a guitar, piano and songwriting instructor for a music company in Nashville and as a freelance screenwriter. I find teaching and tutoring very rewarding. It's a joy to help foster new skills and outlets for creativity, be they linguistic or musical (or both!), then see those creative skills blossom on their own in my students. My style is more student-directed and Montessori in approach than others, my temperament cool, loose and open to the possibilities of whatever creative endeavor we embark on together!read more