A Composer's Journey - Learn the Art of Composing Inside the Score

I walk you through a short, epic orchestral adventure, taking you through some mixing decisions, and scoring decisions that can lead to exciting orchestral textures with natural orchestral forces.

This audio was taken from a YouTube video - if you want to watch my screen as I talk through this, you can do so here: https://youtu.be/HLQ5zNDwsuI

Check out my composing course here: https://www.insidethescore.com/composer

 

 

This episode talks about the one big question you should ask yourself if you're trying to develop and grow as a composer. From years of teaching, I've learned that beginners and more advanced composers can get so much out of studying the same piece of music - but they'll take completely different lessons from it. So, if you're interested in growing as a composer, whatever level you're at, have a listen!

Join the Free Composing Workshop! It's happening this week, from the 29th April to 6th May. I'm only doing this once this year! You can join the workshop here.

This episode talks about developing a musical style, and specifically: What exactly is musical style, and how can we develop our own unique voice? 

In the last part of the episode, I mention my upcoming free Composer Workshop, which is happening live online from 29th April - 6th May. If you want to register for this event, you can visit https://www.insidethescore.com/workshop

I'm excited to announce a Composing Workshop, which will happen live from April 29th to May 6th! It's completely free, and while I've drafted the lesson plans, I need your help putting the finishing touches in! Listen to this podcast to learn how you can help me to create the perfect Composer Workshop.

To join the list and send me your ideas, you can visit THIS LINK

After last week's illuminating conversation with David Conte (check out the podcast episode), I decided to try out memorizing a few short pieces of music, to see what the experience teaches me. Spoiler alert - I'll definitely be doing more of it in future. In this episode I talk about what memorizing music has taught me, so far... and it's only been two weeks!

For a lot of free bonus content on composing, which is coming up over the next few months, go to https://www.insidethescore.com/composers

This is one of the most illuminating conversations on music I have had in living memory. Our guest today is David Conte, who is Chair of Composition at the San Francisco Conservatory, student of Nadia Boulanger, and apprentice of Aaron Copland. He's a successful composer with over a hundred published works, many of which are becoming staples of the modern repertoire. 

In this interview, he talks about:


The key points he learnt from Nadia Boulanger
The skills he finds most valuable for a composer to learn
His thoughts on the "chief job of a composer"
What originality in composing really means, and where it comes from
The utility of learning traditional harmony and counterpoint
Why Nadia Boulanger's music is receiving newfound attention

And much more. I'm not exaggerating when I say I was fascinated by David's thoughts, which stem from his decades of experience teaching and learning composition at the highest level. 

I really think you'll enjoy this conversation, and you'll learn a lot too. 

If you want to join the email list, to receive a once weekly piece of bonus composing content, you can do so for free, by visiting this link!