Composition teacher?

Well, i'm thinking of getting a composition teacher. What's your experiences with this? Would you recomend me getting one? The reason as to why i want a teacher is mainly that i need someone to motivate me, studying music theory can be quite dull, you know. :P

Yes, that would be a good idea. Where are you from? Are there any colleges/universities there who have composition courses? If so, the teachers there are likely to give private tuition too.

wow you can do that!? I'd never thought of trying that but now that i see this I'm thinking that an awesome idea! Do think there are many instrumental teachers who would teach composition as well?

ciao

Beth

I have a compositions teacher, kinda... harmony etc teacher.

I can lend him to you, if you come to Toronto, that is. =)

Costs a fair amount of money, doesn't it?

I've had a composition teacher for a semester. It was a little helpful, but I find I can be more motivated with less pressure... if that makes sense. In any case, you have to be very active and intentional, the less you contribute to the direction of the lesson, the less helpful it will be (true of any music lesson).

For me, I found that semester wasn't as helpful as it could have been. I was very, very new at composition - a matter of months - and it didn't seem like the lessons were being tailored to that. Most lessons were a critique of what I'd done and a nudge in a particular direction. What I'll be asking my teacher for this fall is a more comprehensive approach... I want to write for orchestra, not just piano, so I have some specific things I've run into as I try to write that I want to hammer out. For example, I have trouble writing transitions, so I would like some exercises in that.

Know where your weak points are going in, and guide your teacher to focus on them! Make the most of your time. This is especially true for me, as I'll be graduating college soon, and my teacher is a prof I won't have contact with for much longer. Before I leave him for good, I want to sit down with him and outline a plan for myself in future years - things as a composer I need to practice, good exercises/studies, good books to read through. Right now I just don't have much of an idea of how to proceed in my compositional growth on my own.

A definite yes if you're serious in the career.

No, NOT a definite yes. I know of at least one completely self-taught composer who has a university faculty appointment right now. I also don't think there's too much in composition that requires a teacher... the technical part can be learned on your own, with pointers from other people around you, and you either have the creativity or don't have it. But then, what do I know? I'm only an amateur...

The important thing, whether you have a composition teacher or not, is that you decide what direction your study is going to take.

Greetings All!

I'm new here, been composing off and on (more off than on) and trying to get serious in the last few months. I fall into the "mature" category age-wise but still young in spirit.

In answer to your question I took composition at a local community college for two semesters and it worked out well for me. I was surprised to discover that it was a one-on-one meeting with the teacher once a week, which was great. I could take the discussions anywhere I wanted and didn't have to go over material I was already familiar with.

Once I described my background we were able to move directly into me bringing in a work in progress and he would offer advice and comments. To his credit he didn't try to "help" me compose but offered hints in various ways.

Once someone has enough knowlege and skills what we need is an objective knowlegable musician who can provide feedback, not necessarily a "teacher" who provides information we don't already know.

As an example, he said one time, "As a listener, I would like to hear your theme repeated before you move into the next section." This was a revelation. I had been working on the piece at that time for about two or three weeks and had heard it so many times that the thought of repeating a section never occurred to me. He was able to provide the viewpoint of an audience member who was hearing the piece for the first time.

Of course, a trained musician as teacher can set you on the right path by teaching harmony, counterpoint, etc. as well.

If you can find the right person and circumstances, I recommend it.

Good luck.

Earl

Composition teachers are very much an asset. I've been studying with one for about six months now and he has greatly affected my ability to compose. Everything from learning about my own compositions, how to approach them, what to look for, ect... to learning about other compositional styles/languages... tonal, atonal, polytonal, counterpoint, inverted counterpoint, dissonant counterpoint, harmony, extended harmony, seralism, set theory, experimentalism, etc...

Now i stress that I learned ABOUT these things, and dont really have comprehensive knowledge of all of them, but the fact is, six months before I had no knowledge of more than half of these things...

I would say go for it... there is nothing to lose.

Becoming involved in getting a teacher... someone who can help you with problems, whose struggled with them as well, someone who can share knowledge... only ensures that you are doing everything possible to becoming a better composer.

Theory, harmony, progressive technicality teachers yes, sometimes.

Composition can be a very personal and deep expierance, unless you have a good teacher who has a very progressive outlook people will try to shun your integrity. Theres a difference between studying theory and learning how to write.

There is a very fine line from shallowly composing on how you think you should and composing on what is very enigmatic and mysterious even to you. It'd really be different with each teacher so pick a good one if you go that route.

I am partially self taught and partially taught by other musicians (or learning from them and learning from my own mistakes.) I regard my work as deeply personal so I get a good catharsis of anguish when I compose a deep piece, which makes me feel great!

Never limit your creativity no matter what you do though.