After graduating James M. Coughlin High School, Cardoni studied engineering at Pennsylvania State University.

[6] While touring with Alien Crime Syndicate, the group's manager suggested he enroll in UCLA film scoring classes.

[6] Cardoni has stated that his classical training has greatly informed his compositional style—whereas many composers prioritize computer technology in their scores and workflows, he prefers to work with musical instruments whenever possible, and continues to hand notate themes in his scores whenever taking on a new project.

[7][8] He also identifies himself as partial to "old-fashioned"[6][9] scores that put melody above ambient sonic textures.

[7] Cardoni has explained that the meeting point between the worlds of technology and melodic counterpoint has informed some of his scores, including The Secret Lives of Dorks (2013).