We downloaded Sibelius 6 demo the other day, and my daughter (10) is having a great fun, and I find it fun to play with too! She passed theory G5 in the summer, so she has some theory foundation. She also plays the piano & violin. I am wondering if anybody knows any composition workshop (one-off, or regularly held) or tuition book for young children with theory G5 level knowledge. I wish I could facilitate her at home, but my knowledge of composition is really limited (I can manage so far with perfect cadence, simple chord progression as I have started self-teaching G6..) Or do you recommend that I read composition tuition book written for "adults" and try to work with my 10 year old? Any idea, pointers are appreciated.

I don't know about any workshops that may be held, or about tuition books but I will offer some advice anyway!

I love to compose and I am 15, so not much older than your daughter.
I didn't really have that much theory knowledge when I started composing (about grade 2-3 theory) but I had a go anyway.
I didn't really know what I was doing but managed to get some nice melodies.
I would recommend that a good way to begin composing is to just improvise a little melody on piano or violin, nothing too complicated. Then she could perhaps write the melody into sibelius and then use the notes of the melody to work out what chords should be used.
I think that's quite a good way to start.
Perhaps she could try writing a nocturne. The premise of a nocturne is that it is a melody played alongside an arpeggiated accompaniment and the piece should also be evocotive of the night or evening time.

Best of luck. (Hope this has helped a little)

[Edit]

Upon reading David's answer, I feel worse about my own.

Thank you for sharing your first hand experience, wurlitizer. It is valuable to listen to young people like yourself how you have been enjoying composition work. I think having "a go" is what she's got to do, as you did yourself. I will see if I can support her in anyway without becoming a hindrance, and see what comes out. Keep composing, and best of luck to you, too!

Hello, David,
Thank you for your advice. I have looked up the link you gave me, and it looks very interesting. I will have a look, and see if I can be of any help for my daughter while she is "having a go". As wurlitzer rightly pointed out, the most important thing is for her to have a go, and the last thing is for me to get too excited about it and nip her budding interest, which is easily done (with too much enthusiasm by a parent, if you know what I mean, and I do get too excited particularly during her practice time....)

I've just ordered ' Inside the music' (book by Dave Stewart) and so far it looks great, humorous too!

It deals with chords, modes, chord sequences, unusual chords etc and has lots of advice on composing, improvising etc. Plus it was under £6 from amazon.

Best of luck to your daughter, hope she really enjoys her composing!

Saxgirl

to hear some of my recent compositions, please visit; http://www.reverbnation.com/keridegg

http://www.keridegg.co.uk

I mentioned this book in an earlier thread about equal temperament. At the time I said it wasn't a book which should be put down lightly, it should be thrown with great force! Shame you didn't see that post, as I offered the book to anybody who was interested, and would post it at my expense! I could have walked it to you!

Perhaps I don't like the book because of its style, and the info I was looking for at the time of purchase wasn't explained to my satisfaction. Anyway, if you want another copy..................

Hello, Saxgirl,

Thank you for letting me know about the book. Having listened to your recent composition, I don't know why you need any more composition reference book! I suppose every book is different, and one never stops once s/he has started... My daughter said, looking at your site: "Did this lady compose all that? She is a wood windy person, and she's cool!" You have got fans here now!

Funny how people respond so differently! I think I will try to borrow this book from a library and see how I will find it. As you say, it may not have been the right book for you at that particular time in your life.... Actually... it will be nice to have some "book review" thread somewhere....

I ordered this and was frankly very dismayed by its standard of presentation and content.

Other than as a thumbnail sketch of the requirements for the "own composition" part of their own (VCM) performance exams, I cannot see who it is aimed at. A fronsipiece addresses itself to children starting composition but the first few pages are taken up with a (very indifferent) exposition of the learning styles/ right and left brain activities involved in composition, which is far too wedded to rather hackneyed educational theories to be of much use to teachers and surely of little interest to children.

There is a brief introduction to each grade level chapter which as David says lists the theoretical knowledge required but goes nowhere near discussing these or suggesting ways in which their development might be built into the composition exercises. The rest of the intros show over enthusiastic use of the copied and pasted bullet point and a much repeated suggestion that we buy "Theroy Frenzy". (I haven't). This aside there is roughly a facing page of tuition for each grade level from 1 to 8. Each one gives an example of one style, one piece, one instrument - despite the fact that from G3 there are usually at least three choices of how the piece can be presented and for which instrument (eg solo plus accompaniment, piano solo or keyboard melody with chords over). There are simply not enough working exercises and learning activities in the "book" (really a spiral-bound desktop-published folder) for it to be helpful to teaching, and why if you are trying to cover composing grades 1 - 8 in fewer then 40 pages you waste 12 sides on some clumsily home-made manuscript paper I really fail to fathom....

They have refused me a refund so if anyone wants a free copy..... PM me, I will never use it!

On the other hand I have found Rhinegold's AS Composition and AS Music Literacy books rather good so far. They cast more but give you much more to work with. A bit too serious perhaps for younger children though so possibly still not what the OP is truly after.

The have-a go option seems best still!

Mozart instructed his own pupils in musical composition using the famous book by Fux, "Gradus ad Parnassum". This is a codification of the rules of counterpoint that guided European composition from Palestrina to the present day (with departures from it since c. 1870 becoming accepted in innovative music).

I agree with the following from part 3 of the introduction to this on-line course:

"... a person who devotes time and energy to this practice will reap an invaluable reward: the ability to hear the delicate relationship between melody and harmony, line and interval. Species counterpoint is one of the great ear-training phenomena of all time."

This particular course may not suit your daughter, unless she is prepared to learn alto clef. What I know of species counterpoint I learnt it from Salzer and Schachter. "Counterpoint in Composition".