I first considered writing instrumental songs in June 2021, during an international flight to Turkey. I was tired of watching movies and thought about what I could do more to leave tangible things behind for my loved ones. The idea of leaving songs dedicated to my family sounded really exciting. When I returned to the USA, I began taking guitar lessons in August 2021. I tried three different teachers at the Guitar Center. Some were OK, but none of them were serious guitar players. At least one, named Jake, introduced me to GuitarPro, which became very handy for recording musical notations later. At the same time, I was also taking classical piano lessons from Mrs. Ilana Pomeranz. I was still at a beginner level, but I was starting to see the relationship between the piano and the guitar better. In September 2021, I wrote my first song, “The March of the Wardens.” I was hardly able to play it without really understanding what I was doing, yet it gave me the courage to pursue other songs. By January 2022, I had three compositions and decided to release an album with a target of eight songs. That same month, I met Arthur Struck, my guitar instructor, who had a profound influence on my songwriting. Art was a skilled guitar player and could effortlessly transition from one style to another. He provided me with practice routines and encouraged me to understand the guitar fretboard better. I studied music theory and applied the techniques I learned from my piano and guitar instructors to my songs. In March 2022, I decided to name my album “Farewell to Midgard”. I was in the middle of the album, and a new window opened in front of me as I started matching my solos to the background chords more tightly, especially using triads. By June 2022, I had composed all eight songs. After a long summer break, I studied music production in September 2022 using Udemy and started recording my songs in the order I had written them. After the first song, I decided to hire a professional Logic Pro X expert to work with me on producing my songs. I worked with Damon Fadjo between September and December 2022. The song composition and playing technique should improve as the album progresses. Each song has a story, and I tried to explain the conception – how the initial idea came to me, the execution – what each section of the song represents, and the mechanics – the musical theory behind it – below. I have included the musical notations of all songs and also sample audio clips, providing a glimpse into how I composed each song.