How To Be a Composer

Journalist, critic and self-confessed music addict Paul Morley embarks on a year-long pursuit to the heart of his obsession: learning the art of musical composition.

Episode 1 (18th July 2009)

Morley begins a year of intense lessons and tutoring from one the most prestigious music schools in the world, the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he joins the composition department as an undergraduate student. This is the first time Morley has been back in education since the age of 16, and it is by no means an easy year as he feels his way through his first lessons on rhythm and notation before finally composing his own music for an ensemble of young virtuoso musicians.

Episode 2 (19th July 2009)

After taking tentative steps towards writing a piece, Morley dives head on into being a composer, seeking advice along the way from expert instrumentalists and composers such as Bond and Tan Dun. The film captures the essence of learning to make music, showing in detail how anything from a John Williams popular film score to a Rachmaninoff or Copland symphony is composed and, by taking an obsession close to Morley's heart, observes the process of him reassessing his analytical take on music. As the relationship between Royal Academy teachers Christopher Austin and Hannah Riddell and the students builds, Morley's confidence and knowledge flourish, culminating in a grand performance of Morley's String Quartet in the Duke's Hall.