I thought I'd let you guys know what I've been up to lately. Now that I'm away from the horrors of Pug-sitting, I can emerse myself in something I actually enjoy.

My elder brother is nearing the end of his epic Naruto fanfiction, and he's enlisted a number of artisans (myself included) to help bring his work to life. Both my cousin, Shinji, and younger sister, ShikamaruRocks, are acting as illustrators for his original characters, whereas I have been commissioned to create theme music for many of these said characters and also themes for key moments in the story.

To give you an idea of what this story is like you must know that as of late, the chapters he's been finishing take over three hours to read and the total page count is greater than that of The Fellowship of the Ring. It's massive, violent, and complex. So, the music should match.

I've nearly completed two themes already, and have three others in the works. My major hangup is that most of this composition takes place in front of my piano, an instrument I have a bit of experience with, but that in itself is quite limiting. Writing music while sitting at a piano means most of that music will be tailored to the piano. When it comes to writing percussion, strings, or wind parts, I'm finding it hard to mix the sounds in my mind when all I have to go by is my Yamaha. I've broken out my violin and shamisen to fool around with some of the themes, but until I get acquainted with a software program that will allow me to mix it up and play back some of what I've written, I'll have trouble moving into multi-instrumental parts. It's frustrating and I need advice.

Does anyone have or know of a good music editing and composition program? This is a pretty specific piece of knowledge, but if you have any suggestions, I'd be glad to here it.