I'm a fifteen year old piano student (grade 2/3) and I compose a lot of music and I enjoy composing a lot but I would also really like to study composition. Are there any places I can study composition other than universities?
Thanks
Full Version: Learning Composition
With your regular music teacher. Study music theory at least up to grade five and you'll have the tools to start on composition. Then you can take postal exams with LCM. It's a good idea to develop your instrumental skills at the same time so you can develop an ear for what you're composing.
Hi wurlitzer, and welcome to the forums 
I started writing music when I was around G2-3 - just simple tunes to verses that I'd written. I asked around locally about learning composition - only one teacher was willing to take me on at that level and it turned out that what we would have been doing was in effect learning theory up to at least G5 first. And you learn a lot more about composing if you do G6-8.
If you want to find a teacher locally to ask about composition lessons, have a look at musicteachers.co.uk
You could consider putting your compositions into a programme like Sibelius which I think lets you do it free online but you can't print it off. There are other programmes as well which may let you do this but I'm not sure. If your composition skills are more advanced than your piano skills at this stage, you could then play around with what it sounds it more easily.
But in the first instance, I would recommend getting to G5 theory as quickly as possible to at least give you some grounding. And carry on doing your compositions informally in the meantime - it's fun, innit!
Hope you enjoy the forums
PS. I'm not a teacher by the way, wurlitzer, I'm just an adult student with an interest in theory and composition.
I started writing music when I was around G2-3 - just simple tunes to verses that I'd written. I asked around locally about learning composition - only one teacher was willing to take me on at that level and it turned out that what we would have been doing was in effect learning theory up to at least G5 first. And you learn a lot more about composing if you do G6-8.
If you want to find a teacher locally to ask about composition lessons, have a look at musicteachers.co.uk
You could consider putting your compositions into a programme like Sibelius which I think lets you do it free online but you can't print it off. There are other programmes as well which may let you do this but I'm not sure. If your composition skills are more advanced than your piano skills at this stage, you could then play around with what it sounds it more easily.
But in the first instance, I would recommend getting to G5 theory as quickly as possible to at least give you some grounding. And carry on doing your compositions informally in the meantime - it's fun, innit!
Hope you enjoy the forums
PS. I'm not a teacher by the way, wurlitzer, I'm just an adult student with an interest in theory and composition.
I agree that working towards the higher theory grades would be a very good idea but am not sure that getting a pass at grade five as soon as you can is the way to go.
I teach a lot of composition students and many of my piano players and singers begin composing things from a term into their lessons. Learning to write music is the logical step from learning to read and play the works of others, be they the simplest of single line melodies within a range of five adjacent notes or something more complex.
The LCM graded exams in composition are very useful and make a good course of study.
If you are serious about learning composition I would recommend that you find a good teacher locally. It is possible to study composition at the major music colleges as a first study so a graded exam or two would be a good plan.
Study the works of as many other composers as you can as you learn. It is no bad thing to write pastiches of the works of the masters as you develop your own style of writing.
Good luck and have lots of fun writing. Try to get your works performed too. Gather a group of friends together for a jamming session of your compositions or works in progress and do let us know how you get on.
I teach a lot of composition students and many of my piano players and singers begin composing things from a term into their lessons. Learning to write music is the logical step from learning to read and play the works of others, be they the simplest of single line melodies within a range of five adjacent notes or something more complex.
The LCM graded exams in composition are very useful and make a good course of study.
If you are serious about learning composition I would recommend that you find a good teacher locally. It is possible to study composition at the major music colleges as a first study so a graded exam or two would be a good plan.
Study the works of as many other composers as you can as you learn. It is no bad thing to write pastiches of the works of the masters as you develop your own style of writing.
Good luck and have lots of fun writing. Try to get your works performed too. Gather a group of friends together for a jamming session of your compositions or works in progress and do let us know how you get on.
Thank you!
I'm learning theory with my piano teacher also. (She does practical & theory with all her students) and I'm just coming to the end of grade 3 theory and I'm going to be doing a few practice theory papers hopefully soon then moving on to grade four.
I'm always doing my best to develop my piano skills too, (three to four hours of practicing daily at the moment as I have 6 weeks off school) and so I think I'm progressing quite well.
On the other hand I do think that my composition is more advanced than my playing, and I am composing in a romantic/modern style (even though the two eras are about 100 years apart!).
I feel that I'm very much influenced by the works of Chopin, Debussy and the modern composer, Emily Bear. (You should search her on youtube, shes really fantastic! A child prodigy who composes all of her own music)
Also one of my compositions has already been performed in public. It was my piano teacher that performed it, at her students concert. It was a piece I had written for her and I was so pleased when she played it.
I'm learning theory with my piano teacher also. (She does practical & theory with all her students) and I'm just coming to the end of grade 3 theory and I'm going to be doing a few practice theory papers hopefully soon then moving on to grade four.
I'm always doing my best to develop my piano skills too, (three to four hours of practicing daily at the moment as I have 6 weeks off school) and so I think I'm progressing quite well.
On the other hand I do think that my composition is more advanced than my playing, and I am composing in a romantic/modern style (even though the two eras are about 100 years apart!).
I feel that I'm very much influenced by the works of Chopin, Debussy and the modern composer, Emily Bear. (You should search her on youtube, shes really fantastic! A child prodigy who composes all of her own music)
Also one of my compositions has already been performed in public. It was my piano teacher that performed it, at her students concert. It was a piece I had written for her and I was so pleased when she played it.
QUOTE(wurlitzer @ Jul 29 2009, 01:06 PM) 
Also one of my compositions has already been performed in public. It was my piano teacher that performed it, at her students concert. It was a piece I had written for her and I was so pleased when she played it.
What a lovely thing for her to do - she must have been very impressed with it, well done!
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