Advice, Please

Hello. I would like to study music composition. How should I begin?

Thanks in advance.

Thank you. What's the best way to do this? How long will it take me to learn everything?

Yes. Piano, mostly.

No, I do not take lessons---though I once did. I have been playing for nearly twenty years. I would like to study formally at one of the New York conservatories, but I have no idea how to begin preparing myself.

Again, thank you.

Get a teacher. Find people who are into music conservatories, go talk to teachers there, or find a composition postgrad, for example, who needs to teach someone for his diploma. Listen to music. Subscribe to local musical libraries and read a book or two. There are quite a few introductory books in composition, there's a book which is very elemental and simple, very good for people with no previous experience in composing, by Dietre de Motte, but you can also find books on composition by composers such as Smith Brindle, Schoenberg, as well as books on fundamentals of counterpoint, harmony, orchestration, instrumentation, all of which are fundamental aspects of composition. Basically, a good thing would be to follow courses in conservatories or music schools, as they should cover all of those aspects in the courses.

Hope this helps :)

Get a teacher. Find people who are into music conservatories, go talk to teachers there, or find a composition postgrad, for example, who needs to teach someone for his diploma. Listen to music. Subscribe to local musical libraries and read a book or two. There are quite a few introductory books in composition, there's a book which is very elemental and simple, very good for people with no previous experience in composing, by Dietre de Motte, but you can also find books on composition by composers such as Smith Brindle, Schoenberg, as well as books on fundamentals of counterpoint, harmony, orchestration, instrumentation, all of which are fundamental aspects of composition. Basically, a good thing would be to follow courses in conservatories or music schools, as they should cover all of those aspects in the courses.

Hope this helps :)

Oh, I believe it will. Thanks very much for your help. You seem to be familiar with the world of conservatories. Do you think my age (24) will hinder my chances of getting into Juilliard, MSM, Eastman, et al? I am a skilled performer (no Liszt, but I have good technic courtesy of Hanon, Czerny, and Dohn

Why do you go for those huge, higher-education conservatories? For one thing, your piano playing skills are less likely to get you in the composition course of these schools, and these are not places for beginners. You should try something for beginners. If you don't know where to go, the best thing to do is either ask at a music shop, or send an e-mail to one of these universities/conservatories and ask them if they have any courses for a total composition beginner, or what kind of courses/places/teachers they would suggest. I am sure they will be very helpful and you will learn much more from them than you would from me about this, since I don't live around you and don't know places or courses to suggest. Alternatively, you could contact individual composers and ask them for lessons.

I don't think 24 is a late age to start composing - Birtwistle didn't start composing seriously until his late 20's. You might think that it gives you a disadvantage in that you have to catch up with a lot of things that other people who started studying earlier know or have learned, but it's not how much time you've got to learn these things, it's how dedicated you are in learning them and how much time and effort you're willing to spend studying these things. Of course, it's not going to be easy, since when you're 24 you're probably more busy than when you're 14, but nothing's impossible :D

Contact schools and composers/teachers around you, and ask for their help. They'll give you much more in-depth feedback on where to get proper education and which places will be good for you :D Take care and good luck :)