Today we’d like to introduce you to Nestor Estrada.
Nestor, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always had a close relationship with music as far back as I can remember. I was obsessed with film and video game music. Back in the 90s, my brother and I would play a game up to a certain level. Once we reached that level, we’d hit record on a tape recorder and just let the level’s music play for a while. There were no official video game soundtracks back then so this was how we used to listen to video game music. We also did this for films or anything that came out on the radio.
I saw the movie The Rocketeer when I was around 6 or 7 years old. I saw it on TV and remember just falling in love with the main theme. The soundtrack was written by my all-time favorite composer James Horner. I loved it so much my parents bought me my first keyboard. My parents couldn’t afford piano lessons as I came from a poor family. I used my ear to try to play the main melody. I could never figure it out, but I’d mess around with the piano as much as possible. I grew up listening to all kinds of music. I listened to hip hop, rap, and pop almost exclusively during my younger days. That changed when I started learning the guitar when I was 14 years old.
It was during that time I started listening to rock, metal, classic rock, classical, and so on. I knew then I wanted to pursue music as a career. I taught myself how to read music and studied guitar books. This was also when I started to transcribe music by ear using a software program called Power Tab Editor. I started with video game music. I also used the program to write and arrange songs and notate my band’s music during high school.
I went to a community college and learned everything I could about music. I felt I was so far behind everyone else at the time who already had years of proper musical training and a good understanding of music theory. So I studied every day and trained my ears more. I learned to properly notate, took classical guitar lessons, and studied music composition. My music theory professor encouraged me to pursue music composition and/or film scoring as a career. All the stars aligned at that point and it was then I truly felt I knew what direction to go with music as a career. I was accepted to the film scoring program at Cal State University, Northridge.
My musical knowledge expanded during my time at CSUN, I’ve made a ton of new friends and various connections, and I found a deep appreciation for jazz. The jazz classes I took were some of the most insightful and eye-opening out of the whole bunch during my time at CSUN.
After graduating, I started to do freelance work as a composer. Some years later, I was listening to a video game soundtrack and did a quick transcription of it. I started to arrange it and just like that, I had the idea about starting a project which I called Tune in with Chewie. The goal was to experiment with different musical genres I wasn’t comfortable with, collaborating with others who have different skillsets and to just have fun. Three years later, I’ve earned a good amount of money doing this and slowly started to build a fan base. It’s been a fun experience and one in which I get to utilize all the skills I’ve learned throughout the years.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not been easy at all. The film and music industry is tough and not for everyone. I’ve failed a lot and still do. I’ve learned to embrace failure and use it as fuel and to learn what I did wrong in order to improve. I had to learn so much about marketing and how to properly use social media to my advantage. It’s a learning process. I’ve reached out to hundreds of people about getting music placements, work, and so on. I’d try out different hashtags on Instagram and learn what worked and what didn’t. I’d see what’s currently trending in the video game world and arrange a track from the game in the hopes of getting engagement on YouTube.
It helps to have short and long term goals. Once you have those goals set, you can work backward from there to figure out how to best meet those goals. This is not a sprint but a marathon. It’s a mindset I had to practice and get used to. It’s easy to feel down, especially when you compare yourself with the success of others. There’s more than one way to succeed and what worked for others might not work for me. So I focus on what I need to do and help others along the way with their journey.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
I wear many hats, but I’m a composer first. I write for film, tv, and so on. I also arrange music from video games, anime, film, and write original music under my artist name Tune in with Chewie. As a composer, I love to craft melodically driven scores. It’s my bread and butter and whenever I get a chance to write this type of music I welcome it. Being a composer means you will write in various styles and you got to do whatever’s required for the project. I’ve made many friends with directors, producers, writers, and actors over the years.
I also have to fulfill my other creative side which is to write and arrange music with no restrictions. This is where Tune in with Chewie comes in. I’ve had my music and arrangements played on popular Spotify playlists, YouTube channels, by popular Twitch streamers, and even at huge events like Game Done Quick (GDQ).
Many fans have reached out to me about using my music for their YouTube channels or just to let me know how much they like my music. I think that’s what I’m most proud of. The fact that there are people out there that enjoy my music.
I’m a composer who writes for media, but also a musical artist who writes Lo-Fi Hip Hop with orchestral, jazz, indie rock, and other elements. Basically, a combination of all of my influences. This puts me in a unique position and there are not many people out there doing what I do. They’re either a composer focusing purely on writing for media or an artist writing and producing music not attached to anything else. I like to be in between. Composers have to find unique ways to expand their work beyond film and tv nowadays. Many do trailer music, ad placement, and so on. Some make a great living just writing trailer music. I’ve never been a fan of writing for these mediums as I feel it restricts me too much and I personally don’t think it’s fun. So I decided to go a different route and it works for me.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
To me, success means being able to make a living off music and having my music reach out to as many people throughout the world as possible. Not many people in the film and music industry can do that. As I said, it’s a very tough business to get into. You have to make a lot of connections. You also need to have clear short and long term goals, never give up, be tough as nails, and welcome failure.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nestorestrada.com
- Email: nestorestrada.music@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tuneinwithchewie/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tuneinwithchewie
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChewieTunes
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5456358/
Image Credit:
Hand-drawn portrait of me by Aubrey Postier. Tune in with Chewie logo and graphic design art by Jonas Sella.
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