Make Real Progress
And Become a Well-Rounded Composer
Learning the technical side of composing is tricky. It's not so hard to pick up a bunch of random things, like cool chords, or exotic scales.
What you're missing is the way they all connect.
This course is designed to get you from confusion to clarity, and along the way, you'll compose a complete piece of classical music.
This is the follow on to the free course The Vocabulary of Composition.
Reviews
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Oustanding Teaching and Course!
Matthew Plaski
I very much enjoyed this course, and I will definitely be taking more of Jon's composing courses in the future. He explains difficult concepts well and makes...
Read MoreI very much enjoyed this course, and I will definitely be taking more of Jon's composing courses in the future. He explains difficult concepts well and makes them easier to understand. I especially liked the applied examples from Beethoven, Mozart, and Mahler. Also, the workbook exercises help solidify the concepts without becoming tedious or boring. Overall, it was a fantastic course, and I learned a great deal about melody, harmony, and form.
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Fundamentals of Musical Composition
Chris Carter
I'm really enjoying the Art Of Composing online courses! My composing is has improved so much since I started a month ago. All the lessons are presented cl...
Read MoreI'm really enjoying the Art Of Composing online courses! My composing is has improved so much since I started a month ago. All the lessons are presented clearly with nice musical examples! I can't wait to dive into another lesson today! Thanks Jon!
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The Fundamentals of Musical Composition
Jeremy Penalosa
The whole course is very informative. I personally enjoyed it and learned something new.
The whole course is very informative. I personally enjoyed it and learned something new.
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Good information
Christopher Wheeler
There are very few people that present theory in this way online. Most people probably think theory is just knowing scales and circle of fifths and a lot o...
Read MoreThere are very few people that present theory in this way online. Most people probably think theory is just knowing scales and circle of fifths and a lot of places online present it like that. This course presents the theory of what the musical system is and how to use it and the functions it has. People disregard theory because they think it is a bunch of rules and it will limit their creativity while this couldn't be further from the truth. The musical system which we use was designed and created by people and is a system with some technicalities and must be properly understood.
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Gives an outline of what is in the course
Pamela Deeming
It expanded my knowledge from what I already know about Composition
It expanded my knowledge from what I already know about Composition
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Course curriculum
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1
Week 1: Create a Basic Melody
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2
Week 1: Make More of Your Melody
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3
Week 2: Master the Essentials of Harmony
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4
Week 3: How Harmony Works
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5
Week 4: Understanding Form
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6
Week 4: Compose a Sentence
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7
Week 5: Chord Progressions, Minor Keys, and Simple Modulation
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8
Week 6: Master Melodic Composition
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9
Week 7: Understand Voice Leading and Harmonization
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10
Week 8: Compose a Period
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11
Week 9: Embellish Your Melody
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12
Week 10: Composing a Beginning, Middle, and End - Small Ternary Form
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13
Week 11: Add Accompaniment
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14
Week 12: Capstone Project: A Few Bagatelles
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What Makes a Decent Melody? Fundamental Concepts How We Got To Tonality The Major-Minor System Composing a Basic Melody Download the Course Workbook Worksheets: Simple Chord Tone Melody Guided Exercise 1-2-1: Simple Chord Tone Melody 1 Guided Exercise 1-2-2: Simple Chord Tone Melody 2 Q&A on Creating Basic Melodies -
Limitations and Creativity Connecting the Chord Tones Worksheets: Connecting Chord Tones Exercise 1-3-1: Adding Non-Chord Tones 1 Exercise 1-3-2: Adding Non-Chord Tones 2 Q&A on Connecting the Chord Tones -
Intervals Exercise 2-2-1: Interval Workout Triads and Inversions Seventh Chords FREE PREVIEW Basic Chord Progression No. 1 FREE PREVIEW Q&A on the Essentials of Harmony FREE PREVIEW -
Intro to Harmonic Functions FREE PREVIEW Tonic Function Dominant Function Pre-Dominant Function Intro to Harmonic Progressions Prolongation Progressions Cadential Progressions Sequential Progressions Q&A on Functional Harmony -
Introduction: An Overview of Classical Form FREE PREVIEW Discuss Understanding Form -
The Sentence and the Basic Idea Ex. 3-2-1: Composing the Basic Idea Repetition of the Basic Idea Ex. 3-3-1: Repetition The Continuation Phrase AOC Podcast Interview with William Caplin, author of Classical Form Ex. 3-4-1: The Continuation Phrase Q&A on Composing a Sentence FREE PREVIEW -
Functional Harmony Continued Ex. 4-1-1: Functional Harmony Minor Harmony Ex. 4-2-1: Minor Functional Harmony Simple Modulation Ex. 4-3-1: Simple Modulation Q&A on Creating Chord Progressions -
Introduction to Melodic Techniques FREE PREVIEW Melodic Traps The Ingredients of a Melody and Scale Lines Chord Line Melodies Rhythm Q&A on Melodic Composition -
Intro to Voice Leading Range Doubling Completeness Spacing Melodic Motion How to Harmonize a Melody Q&A on Voice Leading -
The Period Q&A on The Period -
Intro to Embellishment Start with a Simple Melody Identify Your Essential Tones Add Neighbor Tones Add Suspensions and Anticipations Add Turns and Use Rubato Transpose and Add Appoggiaturas Q&A on Melodic Embellishment -
Intro to Small Ternary Form Exposition Contrasting Middle Recapitulation Creating Contrast Compose Your Contrasting Middle and Recapitulation Q&A on Small Ternary Form -
Accompaniment 1: Principles of Clarity Accompaniment 2: Patterns for Composing Q&A on Accompaniment -
Bagatelle No. 1 Bagatelle No. 2 Q&A on the Capstone Projects
Membership
Want to pay monthly instead?
Instructor
Film Composer
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Creator of Art of Composing
Jon Brantingham
I've composed for over twenty years, and I am passionate about teaching and learning composition. I am currently a working composer living in Los Angeles, CA.
FAQ
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Do I need prior composition experience?
No. You must be able to read music notation in treble and bass clef. Everything else is explained in the course.
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Are the lessons downloadable?
No.
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Will it work for my style of music?
Yes. These techniques work for classical as well as popular styles. I've had songwriters, dance music producers, film composers, and everyone in between take the course.
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Does it work on mobile?
Yes.
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Is there a certificate at the end?
Yes.