*** PLEASE NOTE *** This toolkit was developed many years ago and some links may be out of date. We are currently redeveloping a new series of adaptive and relevant toolkits — in the meantime, this toolkit is here for reference. Thanks for your patience, and for any questions contact us or sign up to our newsletter to hear about the new toolkits as soon as they are published.

Created specifically for under 25s, this toolkit is designed to help you find events, competitions, advice, videos and more to help develop your composing skills.  

If you have any ideas that might help to develop this toolkit, please get in touch. 

Young man composing on laptop

Advice

www.youngcomposers.com— An online forum for young composers

Heather Roche — Advice from composer Heather Roche on working as a composer  


Education

Go Compose— Regional composition workshops for young people aged 12 - 18

Junior RNCM — Extra-curricular music training on Saturdays during term time 

Aldeburgh Young Musicians — Artistic development for gifted musicians under 18 

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group — Creative music making and composing activities 

Birmingham Young Composers' Project — Workshops for young composers aged 14 - 18 in collaboration with Birmingham Conservatoire of Music 

South West Music School — Composers' Programme 

National Youth Orchestra — Creative hub 

Royal College of Music Sparks — Composing workshops for 13-18 year-olds, spring term and summer holidays 

Leeds College of Music — Junior department Summer workshops: includes song writing and composing 

Arts Award — Supports people under 25 to develop as artists and arts leader through five different award level 


Resources

Composing for Film and Television — A video series with Debbie Wiseman from the Sound and Music Summer School 2013 

Starting points for composition — A video series from Sound and Music's Summer School tutors 

Promoting yourself as an artist — Q&A session by Scanner from the Sound and Music Summer School 2014 

Composition Lab — Online resources exploring every orchestral instrument, plus information on composing and contemporary music

Philharmonia Orchestra Online resources exploring the orchestra, instruments and repertoire 

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group — Composing and creative music-making resources 

Fanfare —  Ideas on composing fanfares from the Royal Opera House in conjunction with their annual competition 

Tips for Young Composers — A selection of videos from BBC covering melody, timbe, texture and structure 

Learning Zone — Additional materials on music and music technology from the BBC 

NUMU — A safe community for sharing your music with other young people 

Tomorrow's Warriors Inspires, champions, nurtures and promotes gifted and talented jazz musicians 

The Sound Vault — Free music making resources from Music for Youth 

BBC Inspire Competition — Annual competition for young composers aged 12 - 18

Young Composers & Improvisers' Workshop — Online resource from the USA for teachers who want to bring creativity into their music lessons 


For Teachers

Listen Imagine Compose — Supports teachers teaching composition at KS3 and KS4 through resources, research and CPD. NEW in 2016: certified CPD and resources now available 

Minute of Listening — Sound and Music's ground breaking application that provides a different minute of music or sound each day for primary schools 

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group — Schools' programme 

Sonic Pi Explore and teach programming concepts through the process of creating new sounds with an emphasis on creativity. Includes KS3 lesson plans 

Take Note! — Resources for teachers from the New York Philharmonic 

Making Music Mine Resources for teachers to help students develop their cognitive thinking skills when exploring music from the Tucson Symphony Orchestra 

Infinity — Providing grassroots support to non-specialist teachers in the form of a music resource pack and CPD opportunities 

Love Music Trust — Primary Music Curriculum resource 

Musical Bridges Guides, case studies and video supporting classroom activity  

BBC 10 pieces— For secondary schools; includes ideas and resources for composing 


Opportunities

For composing opportunities, including open calls, commissions, courses, and summer schools, check out the Sound and Music Opportunities page.

See also


Whiteboard with coaching-related words

This toolkit is a useful introduction to the differences between coaching and mentoring and how they may be useful in your artistic development

Learn more about coaching and mentoring

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** OLD TOOLKIT **
Designed to give composers and sound artists information and advice on how to build and sustain a career in the music industry, this toolkit has valuable insights for composers at any stage in their career.

Start reading our Composer's Toolkit

Other Resources

From Covid-19 resources to resources aimed at campaigners, educators and young composers, we have developed a range of useful toolkits to support the sector.

Browse our resources