I’ve been composing and studying music for a long time. It strikes me that although there are more composers in the world than ever before, the effort and corresponding access by composers for further compositional study is non-existent. Professionals in all walks of life and at any level proudly continue their advanced studies; many states even mandate this in order to maintain the privilege of licensure.
Composition instruction at conservatories and universities is quite lumpy, to say the least. And therefore the work of many talented (and some not so talented) composers follows. Technique often falls wayside to technology, sound design, and the unfounded commercial message that somehow learning more about craft can interfere with the creative spirit.
Many of us believe that quality and craft trump volume and technology. The more you know, the better the music, and the joy of great music we wish to share with the world.
I’m doing my share to give back. Not only to compose the very best music that I can, but to pass down to others the advanced compositional techniques I was privileged to learn from great masters of the twentieth century that learned from others that preceded them.
Steve Lebetkin, Composer in Chief, Composition Online [email protected]
