*** PLEASE NOTE *** This toolkit was developed many years ago and some links may be out of date.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.
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
This toolkit is a useful introduction to the differences between coaching and mentoring and how they may be useful in your artistic development
** 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.
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.