Q: when you're composing, i'm assuming you sit at the keyboard and hash it out, but are you hyperscribing that into Finale/or-whatever? or do you flesh it out in your fingers/brain first and notate
  it in f
 or sequencing/composing later?
A: i never use computer notation programs -- i only do that when i want to use notation in videos. whenever i use notation for writing, i do it on paper, it's much faster. from 2009-2010 i actually wrote everything on paper first, not even using an instrument, i actually did most of it in the library. you can see many of these charts on the site, so you can see the level of detail it includes. it includes exact melody, lyrics, and chords, but not really all the little details of drum parts or aux parts. it will usually have a tempo marking, and sometimes a 'hint' at what the groove should sound like, maybe just referencing another song. but the details of the groove and the little background parts are all worked out during the recording. but the 'road map' (how many bars in each section, how to end it, what the intro is, especially the lengths of things) HAS to be solid before recording. i found that out the hard way. you can't be wondering how it should end when you're recording it. road map has to be set, that's just what i learned. ... Ok, that being said, starting in 2011 i actually learned how to write using a keyboard and voice memo recordings. for a long time i didn't do this because i didn't know how to brainstorm and keep it organized, but i finally figured out how to do it, and wrote like this ever since -- including the massive amount of revisions and updates i made to the existing song catalog during 2012-13. basically there is a master text file, which has a lyric sheet, and every part has a reference audio file that goes with it -- so the text will have the lyric, and then at the end of the stanza or whatever, it would say "see audio 27.mov" and that would be just a desk recording of me demoing how it goes, and perhaps giving other instructions or indications of how to deliver it. sometimes even when the song is done, i might do a paste-together of all these demos, or just do a full run through with a click. occasionally i still might use paper, especially if i have a bridge or something that has really interesting changes, but these days i find it's not even worth it -- does not make for easy access, because it would be buried in a book somewhere and i can't 'search' for the file. Before recording a song, i find it very helpful to make a "studio chart" which is actually just mainly a chord chart, and it also has specific rhythmic indications of when to play certain chords (particularly when certain chords need to be anticipated)