SIBELIUS 6 SERIES

What a disappointment when I tell them it doesn’t even work like that for those of use who’ve been doing it for 20+ years. The first stumbling block, which I’ll deal with later, is what I call blank page syndrome, which is where the student sits in front of a blank page of manuscript paper or (even worse) computer screen and gives up because they are expecting the entire piece to leap out, fully formed, onto the page. These videos centre around the skill of developing a musical idea, which I think is one of the main stumbling blocks for students learning to compose. And although they are not quite finished (7 of 11 lessons are done) I’ve decided to release them to celebrate the end of term (and hopefully I can knock off the final 4 over the break!).

SIBELIUS 6 SERIES

I have, however, managed to carry on every now and then working on a new series of videos for composition students who are lucky enough to have access to Sibelius 6. So I’m looking forward to handing back to our much more competent usual HOD tomorrow and moving back behind the scenes as composer-in-residence. This term at MLC School I’ve been acting head of department and gosh, it has been rather a lot of work. I haven’t managed a blog for quite a few weeks now.