This blog began in the fall of 2008 as a forum for the discussion of issues relating to classical music composition. Although my primary objective has always been pedagogical – posts are generally aimed at students and others wishing to improve their composition skills – feedback from all interested readers, irrespective of their background, is welcome via the "post a comment" link at the end of each post.
I used to get my composition students at Memorial University's School of Music to write their own weekly blog posts reflecting on things that went well and things that were challenging in the process of creating their own compositions; links to these student blogs can be found at the bottom of the right-hand column, grouped by course number (Mu3100 is "Introduction to Composition," and Mu4100 is the follow-up to that course).
Enjoy your visit, and please leave a comment on anything that interests you, even if you are not taking my courses! I receive automatic notifications of all comments, irrespective of how old the original post is, so if you leave a comment, I will see it.
I am a composer of music for soloists, chamber groups, orchestra, voice, and electronics, as well as a guitarist and professor of Composition and Theory (since 1992) at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada.
I teach Composition, 2nd-year Music Theory (chromatic harmony and large form classical music), Renaissance Counterpoint, Baroque Counterpoint, and Music Technology. I have also taught Electronic Music, Orchestration, 20th-Century Techniques, Music History, Ear-Training, and Classical Guitar.
I welcome feedback from all non-spam bots! If you have any suggestions of topics you'd like me to cover in future posts, please let me know!