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UPCOMING EVENTS
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A GIFT
A Free SoundscapeCOMMISSION
Bespoke SoundDEVELOP
Music LessonsSUBSCRIBE
Being Sound on SubstackA GIFT
A Free SoundscapeAn invitation to shift from performing to sounding with. A spacious, open container to practice within—whether you enter through active listening, vocal exploration, or an instrument. Yours to download and keep.
COMMISSION
Bespoke SoundImagine your sonic world. Bespoke auditory environments and compositions for practitioners, creators, and spaces whose work demands the same level of mastery in its sound as its craft.
"He gave both my podcast and my membership a sonic world that people actually remember." — Maia Benaim
DEVELOP
Music LessonsDevelop your musical craft. Music Lessons are a 1:1 space for people who want to grow their musicianship while staying connected to intuition, integrity, and expression. Lessons begin with the songs and sounds that already inspire you, using them as the doorway into embodied craft.
"I felt way more confident about my playing after we worked together." — Sam B.
SUBSCRIBE
Being Sound on SubstackSubscribe to Being Sound on Substack for free writing, resources and inspiration on sound, music and creativity.
BESPOKE SOUND
Imagine your sonic world.
You've poured intention into every detail of your work — the words, the visuals, the physical space. But an immersive experience is instantly broken by auditory dissonance.
I create bespoke soundscapes for people whose work demands the same level of mastery in its audio as they bring to their craft. Sound that doesn't just accompany your work, but holds it.
Every piece begins with listening: to your work, to its resonance, and to what's being communicated beyond the words. The music is created from an immersion into this world.
WHAT THIS CAN SUPPORT
Each project is shaped to fit its specific use, audience, and context.
HOW WE WORK TOGETHER
Every project begins with a conversation about your work, your audience, and the kind of attention the sound needs to hold.
From there, projects take different shapes:
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
Every collaboration is tailored, but may include:
PRICING
What a project costs depends on the kind of sound it asks for.
Environmental & Atmospheric ($400+)
This is functional sound design. Drones, tones, field recordings, and ambient textures meant to act as auditory architecture. Like a wash of color on a wall, these soundscapes create a physical space or state of mind without demanding the listener's direct attention. Ideal for meditations, treatment rooms, or deep-focus practices.
Composed & Structural ($1,500 – $4,000)
This is narrative sound. Melody, arrangement, and structure that develop into a clear, recognizable sonic signature. This work guides the listener through a journey and defines your auditory brand identity. Ideal for podcast themes, course identities, and cohesive brand worlds.
Larger commissions — retreats, platforms, or systems of pieces working together — are scoped on their own.
The discovery call is where we find what your work is actually asking for. It's free, with no expectation beyond seeing if the work fits.
IS THIS FOR YOU?
This work is most aligned with people who:
LISTEN
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
NEXT STEP
If this resonates, you're invited to schedule a discovery call.
TOOLS
Instruments for Presence
Technology in the service of embodiment. Alongside the music, I build the digital tools, templates, and systems my own practice needs to stay grounded—then share them here to support yours.
WEB APP
MACOS APP
NOTION TEMPLATES
ABLETON TEMPLATE
BESPOKE DESIGN
Build the thing your practice needs.
The same attention I bring to sound, applied to the things people use. I design and build websites, tools, and instruments for practitioners, teachers, and small studios — working end to end, so what you get is finished and yours to keep.
WHAT THIS CAN SUPPORT
SELECTED WORK
NEXT STEP
MUSIC LESSONS
Develop your musical craft.
Music Lessons are a 1:1 space for people who want to grow their musicianship while staying connected to intuition, integrity, and expression. Lessons begin with the songs and sounds that already inspire you, using them as the doorway into embodied craft.
AREAS OF FOCUS
WHO THIS IS FOR
Students of all ages and skill levels, from complete beginners to working musicians refining their craft. My primary instrument is the guitar. I also teach ukulele, voice, and music technology.
PRICING
$100 per hour. Packages, sliding scale, and alternate payment options available upon request.
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
NEXT STEP
If this resonates, you're invited to book a free 15-minute clarity call, or go straight to a first lesson.
ABOUT STU PENDER
Stu Pender is a Chicago-born guitarist, composer, and sonic artist working at the edges of where sound shifts from being performance to being presence. His central question asks: how do we express what’s actually moving through us, in our playing, and in our lives, rather than what we’re performing for somebody else?
He came to this through a jazz studies degree at SUNY Purchase and a decade in New York’s live scene. A founding member of the improvised collective Poetic Thrust, a guitarist with Photay, Elijah Wolf, and August Ponthier, and a session player and recording engineer for artists including Topaz Jones and Carlos Niño & Laraaji. The stage was exhilarating, Stu found, but also a safe place to hide. His work since has been that of a more reflective self-inquiry: his solo records Stillness In Motion and Being With, a deepening study of North Indian raga and vocal meditation with Silvia Nakkach, and ongoing training in the Zen and Tibetan Bön traditions.
Through Being Sound, Stu crafts bespoke sound for practitioners, creators, and spaces, and teaches sound and music as an embodied, relational practice. How we listen is how we live.
A GIFT
Soundscape in C. An architecture for deep listening.
An invitation to shift from performing to sounding with. With no grid to follow and no tempo to keep, this is a spacious container to practice within. Whether you enter through active listening, vocal exploration, or your instrument, we leave room for a slower, more embodied way to listen and create.
YOU'RE IN
Here is your soundscape.
It runs a full hour, unmetered. Listen to an excerpt below, then take the whole piece with you — there's no right way in and no tempo to keep.
STAY IN THE LOOP
Good to meet you.
[PLACEHOLDER — one warm sentence for someone who just met you at a show, workshop, or event. Edit freely; the wiring stays the same.]
![4.5 [with Stu Pender]](https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a2255686736_10.jpg)
