Is It Too Late To Consider A Career As A Composer?

I've practiced composition since I was about 13 years old on my computer, but I only just took up playing an instrument seriously a few months ago. I've decided that I wanted to be a career musician and sound designer, but most of the composition programs I've seen require an audition of an instrument during admissions. I'm nearly 24 years old right now and I'm attending a community college with hopes to later transfer to a music college on a composition major.

Have I just missed the boat here? I was never too interested in performing but I always made time to write. Is it impossible to be a career composer if composing is in fact the only thing you know how to do?

Thanks?

I'm talking more along the lines of whether or not it's realistic to pursue a music major with just a portfolio, or whether or not I should probably go back and focus more time and energy on performance. I guess I'm sorry I asked :longface:.

The answer to your question is, in principle, no; however you must be able to devote yourself to learning your craft as a performer and/or composer, something which may be trickier than starting as a child or teen as you will have to also find a means of supporting yourself and funding your education. I often have to point out the importance of learning an instrument in order to learn how to compose, for numerous reasons which I will not go into much detail on here, suffice to say that I cannot think of a single 'classical' composer to this day who did not also play an instrument to near-professional standard (and a good few were active professionals), and that doing so will give you a knowledge of existing repertoire that will aid your compositional development. I would consider electro-acoustic and 'media' music the field in which playing ability is least vital (although certainly not unnecessary), as it tends to demand more knowledge of software and hardware than actual instruments. Community college is a good first step, but be aware the entry requirements for university are not there to catch you out but because you will need a good all-round ability to cope with specialising in any segment of musical study. Ideally you would play piano and one other orchestral instrument to near-professional standard, be able to sing a capella, have a working knowledge of music history and theory, be able to arrange and compose in several styles including having studied tonal harmony and counterpoint, have some practical pop and jazz knowledge, have a working knowledge of all common instruments and have performance and possibly directing experience

There is, of course, no reason why with a little pointing you could not become an excellent self-taught composer (Elgar is the shining example) but again we come back to this being a product of having abilities as a performer (Elgar was also an excellent violinist and pianist) and exposure to repertoire and other musicians. We haven't mentioned the lifestyle of a professional musician either: for me I can summarise this as the joy of being able to play, compose and teach to a high standard offsetting the many pressures and difficulties that come with this career choice.

Thanks, siwi. That puts a lot into perspective. I already work in marketing/branding/entertainment so I don't intend to leave that industry. I'll probably maintain commercial work and won't be working as classical musician. You can say my relationship with music is weird this way. A lot of musicians learn music by using their instrument as the foundation to how they learn theory. I tended to gravitate towards computers/software and eventually sound programming. I studied theory and composition without an instrument because I didn't feel like I needed to. Now that's starting to bite me in the donkey as I look for teachers. I appreciate your input, it was very insightful!

Composer Phil, you're really annoying with your sarcastic and unpleasant answers. :mad:

I was never too interested in performing but I always made time to write. Is it impossible to be a career composer if composing is in fact the only thing you know how to do?

I can surely relate to that. I barely play any instrument at all, and my musical energies have devoted exclusively to composition. That been said, a career as a professional composer is virtually out of the question for me, as where I live the opportunities for that are next to zero. But if I had the chance and the quality to do it, I would be almost certainly asking myself this very question.

People who don't know better often mistake my concise realism for sarcasm. I didn't feel it necessary to unnecessarily prescribe a path for the girl to be successful because people need to find their own paths. A simple Google search to various universities and conservatories would tell her all she needs to know regarding her current inquiry (trust me: several don't require an instrumental audition for undergrad). It's a little irking when I'm working my donkey off towards starting my own career and someone prances along trying to do what I want to do, though clearly putting 1/100th of the effort in.

So are you going all out to help others or to stiffle eventual competitors?

@Austenite I wouldn't go that far. It depends on what you want to compose. I don't think it's realistic for even seasoned professional to make a living solely on composition work ( A lot of people do mixing, rent out their studio, sound design, and etcetera ), but the work is out there for composition. Without knowing an instrument, finding a good teacher has become a bit challenging, though.

@Phil A google search wouldn't have given me the answer siwi did. Sometimes it's worth it to hear someone's point of view. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Furthermore:

"It's a little irking when I'm working my donkey off towards starting my own career and someone prances along trying to do what I want to do, though clearly putting 1/100th of the effort in."

Was that called for? With all due respect, you don't know me. It sounds like you're trolling.

I'm the only poster here not sugar coating reality.

Bold claim, dude.

In the interest of providing you with a relevant answer, could you maybe clarify a bit what kind of music career you're hoping for? You've described it as "career musician and sound designer", but those are very very different things if I'm understanding you correctly.

A career musician is a performer, and a sound designer is an entirely different creature. One of them by definition requires mastery of an instrument, while the other does not.

Arianna, I forgot one other very valuable piece of advice: network. Meet and collaborate with as many other musicians and musically-interested people as you can (YC is a good first step!), trade ideas, exchange scores and tracks, go to performances and link yourself to other people in related fields. You won't just get work from this but a continual source of new ideas and also make yourself known.

When it comes to pursuing your career there is no age limit for that, so you must be able to devote yourself to learning your craft as a performer and as a composer. If that is your passion then go for it, life is short so do what you can do that makes you happy.

Marius is spot on with his question.

A high degree of Instrument proficiency is not necessary to be a versatile composer. A versatile composer is one who may write for two or more situations: concert and dramatic music for traditional instruments, electro-acoustic, educational music geared for church use ot pedagogical use, and sound design ( usually this may mean creating more realistic renderings of other people's computer renditions of their music, creating sound effects and meshing them with composed music - common with film and video game music, working with visual artists and architects to create sound component of a multi-media installation).

In addition, a versatile composer will possibly teach or engrave other peoples' music

However, if you wish to be a composer and earn your main income from music, then your best bet for income is composer/performer/teacher where advanced instrument proficiency is a huge help.

What is most important is EXPOSURE to music and developing your ear through singing and aural drills. This is just for building a disciplined awareness so you get the most from your wide exposure to a variety of musics. Counterpoint studies I advocate mainly as it is a centuries-old procedure to develop musical discipline. Plus it has general utility as one tool for judging the spacing and relations of your voices.

The question you have to ask in the future is: are you committed enough to composition and earning your income from it so that you will do some of the following?:

1) Teach a general music course to k- 6th grades as a visiting composer or general music teacher? Or go on the college teaching track by teaching a few classes as an adjunct, lead say a choir for extra money, while you have private students and earn your doctorate.Not many get tenured college teaching positions.

2) Develop a new music group to perform your works - that is find funding, get musicians, pay musicians, find venues, etc???

3) Write music for films or commercials that you have to generate enthusiasm and interest in when starting out so you get projects that interest you.

I think to start you need to write for a number of ensembles, solos, etc and a variety of purposes (a concert, film, choir, etc) to find what you want to do.

The one caution is, if composing ALWAYS becomes something you HAVE to do and you are indifferent to the results because you are so concerned about paying bills or "making it big" , then I would pause and reflect why you are even doing this as there are more lucrative ways to pay the bills, save, and take a vacation than writing music.

Finally, check maestrowick's post which further expound on these topics.

Answering the main question: no, isn't too late - never is. But you must keep in mind it'll be harder than begin as a teenager. If you plan well (MAIN POINT: your income - there isn't art with hunger) and follow a good path to learning your craft (good teachers and/or good books and TONS OF DISCIPLINE), in a few years (maybe even less) you'll be at the same level of a graduate in composition - it's my own case. I'm bachelor in information science (major in system analysis, minor in business), I'm finishing a professional degree in orchestration and a course in film and tv music. Now, at this very moment, I'm preparing myself to enter in a master's degree in composition or sonology, and further pursue a doctorate.

So, again. Plan well, build a solid and good path and, finaly, engage all yourself in this: mind, body, spirit.

This is a great question...

from all the musicians i know, i can surely say that 99.9% cannot live from composing (actually i don't know any!!).

Yes, they can live as musicians and as music teachers, but the money they get from composing is very little.

How can live as a composer nowadays? The people composing for Hollywood films?

Still, I would tell you that in my opinion it's never too late to set our mind in one goal and follow it with all our energies.

Studying music, learning to play an instrument and playing music (alone or in ensembles) brings us much more rewards than we can see.

GO FOR IT!!! =)

There have been some great responses on this post. I'll just reiterate it is never to late. Heck, I have friend now who is starting in his 50's! It takes passion and discipline.

As far as income, that's a whole new conversation. I make more money arranging than composing (As I think Siwi pointed out). I'm doing more things now to make money composing but this includes multiple genres (classical, jazz, R&B, hip-hop.) Like Quincy Jones said, it's all twelve notes. *The type of music doesn't make a difference.

Bibliography :)

*http://eriklundegaard.com/item/movie-review-under-african-skies-2012

*(the real quote is) There are only 12 notes out there, but it's amazing what God has given us for the last 500 years.

http://gc.guitarcenter.com/interview/quincy-jones/

I'll just reiterate it is never to late. Heck, I have friend now who is starting in his 50's! It takes passion and discipline.

Maestrowick hits it head on. Hey, we have even YC members who are starting at their 50s or even 60s!

Even as I (so far) have never made money on music, the pleasure of being able to produce a quality work and the hope that it might be appreciated by someone else are strong enough driving forces.

(BTW, in order to clean up the thread and allow it to remain focused, I've removed some of my earlier posts which no longer make sense, as they were directed to counter senseless trolling).

I have to agree with what said on music composition; it is a tough a skill. Nevertheless, being proficient in at least in one musical instrument would be a good starting place. Here, you would about literature and study scores in direct manner. Out side that, know the quartet of music proper: Harmony, Counterpoint, Form and Orchestration. And always write. Never stop writing and playing.

I've been wondering this too...I'm going on 30, went to college (mistake) 12 years ago to work as a PC tech, then the economy died and it's never recovered in my hometown. I've got the whole "starving artist" thing down pat now, so I hope I can move on from here. ;-) No but really, music has always been a passion of mine. I guess that we should be dissecting the word "career". You can be a career composer -- i.e. a musician interested in composing and in it for the long haul -- at any age, and it's got to be a lifelong pursuit, regardless of the financial success you find or don't find. But as far as being someone who's 24/7 a composer and only a composer? Very few people get to do that regardless of what their age is. All we can do is keep on hitting the desk every day and plugging our notes in and biting our nails when it's played. What happens next? Nobody knows . . .

How can live as a composer nowadays? The people composing for Hollywood films?

Maybe. You should think Hollywood as an Olympus. Only the "greatest warriors" can ascend to meet gods there. To be there, you must have a great networking and a good portfolio. So, to get there, you need start from somewhere - scoring for artistic films, independent films, universitary...

We must think that Hollywood (maybe Bollywood in India too) is an industry; they make films in industrial pace. So, "artistic" music isn't a must there, it's even discouraged - because it has its own sound aesthetics, the directors are always pursuing that sound. This causes the "Hollywood orchestra sound" effect - and various composers sounding similar ( example:

But there's another medium for audiovisual composers: tv/radio shows and programs, ads & jingles, theater plays, poetry soirée et caetera. It's less harder to get in and pays decently.

Film composition isn't really comparable with "audio" composition. The skillsets are pretty different. An audio composer isn't expected to put together large quantities of music very quickly under the supervision of a director; a film composer isn't expected to produce music that can stand up on its own merits.

Composing for sound alone doesn't pay well because it's pretty much the ideal job. You set your own hours, you have (theoretically) absolute creative control, your music will always take center stage, and Tom Service has to say nice things about you to keep his job. Film composing pays more because it's much less comfortable. How much money you make tends to scale up with how unpleasant your job is; if you wanted to be rich, you should have become a lawyer >.>

I think that composition as a stand-alone career is pretty much a thing of the past. The people getting the commissions here in England all seem to be members of the composition departments at conservatoires and universities. I doubt most of them would bother with teaching if composing alone could support them financially. You could always follow that route. It seems like one of the more realistic of the various long shots at a composition career.

Although the odds are against anyone having a decent career as a composer, it is definitely never too late to become a good composer if you're willing to invest the time and effort and if you do become good enough, you've won half of the battle. The other half is luck, but in my experience, people who work at it tend to make their own luck.

I can concur with siwi and marius comments from above. Thus, you need to start young, like me, and you need to know your material.

you need to start young

Oh Aaron, this is a hell of an advise, if someone asks whether it is too late...

Oh Aaron, this is a hell of an advise, if someone asks whether it is too late...

Rofl. I see your point, Jaap, Nevertheless, It may or may not be too late for some one who is an elder though. :) Starting at a young age just means it will be easier to gain experience and knowledge that is required vs. starting later in ones life.

How much money you make tends to scale up with how unpleasant your job is; if you wanted to be rich, you should have become a lawyer >.>

I don't think so. If you want to be rich, learn first the enterprising business. You'll never get rich only receiving wage. You must need to make your money work for you. And, as Schwarzenegger (and others great) said, you must chase your dreams endlessly with a neverending passion. "Create like a god. Command like a king. Work like a slave" - Guy Kawasaki.