Music Composition lessons

I teach composition and music theory at the Open Academy at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, open to all ages.

As an experienced teacher with a PhD and years of expertise, I tailor lessons to each individual, offering guidance in the writing process, feedback, assistance with music software, and a diverse range of ideas to enhance and expand musical understanding, including:

Pitch: tonalities and modality, chromatic and microtonality, melodic cells and contour, register, voice-leading,
Rhythm/Duration: meter and hypermeter, polyrhythm and polymeter, additive/subtractive patterning, syncopation, groove, tempo modulation.
Harmony: functional harmony, secondary functions, modal interchange, extended tertian, quartal/quintal writing, planning, nonfunctional sets, parsimonious voice-leading.
Dynamics: phrase shaping, envelopes, accent hierarchy, microdynamics, articulation, terraced and graduated changes
Timbre: orchestration and registers, extended techniques, spectral thinking, synthesis and sampling, FX chains and filtration.
Texture: monophony/homophony/polyphony/heterophony, stratified layers, counterpoint, canon and hocket, ostinati and drones, density and space.
Form: phrase and period design, binary/ternary/rounded binary, variation forms, strophic/ through-composed, cyclic design, large-scale architectures (sonata, fugue, arch form, collage). Contemporary/experimental approaches (modular, aleatoric, process-based, open form).

I also offer lessons for: HSC examinations, AMEB, child education, focusing on building a strong foundation for future learning, self-confidence, and introducing musical concepts through fun, interactive, activities. Lessons are available both in person and online.

Dr Daniel Portelli

There is also compositional thinking that extends beyond the scope of traditional musical analysis. In addition to structural and theoretical approaches, I also see composition as part of embodied and indicative relationships, such as those articulated in Denis Smalley’s concept of the 9 Fields. These fields highlight how gesture, texture, and surrogacy create meaning through perception and embodied experience, offering an expanded framework for analysing and creating music. See below:

Gesture/Texture
Surrogacy: sound and physical origin
Temporal framing: micro, meso, and macro timescales that condition perception
Utterance
Sounds generated within the body, including voice, breath, and corporeal contact.
Behaviour
Dominance and subordination
Conflict and coexistence
Causality as perceived agency within interactions
Energy and Motion
Momentum, inertia, vectors
Converging and diverging, ascending and descending contours, growth and decay
Rate of change, acceleration and deceleration

Based on: John Coulter—Extension of Denis Smalley’s Model of Creativity: https://vimeo.com/112869189

Object-Substance
Material-like qualities and massing
Motion types that suggest objects and their affordances
Morphology with gestural origin, grain versus continuity
Environment
Activity outside the immediate human orbit
Temporal frames that define ambient or ecological context
Vision
Quasi-visual listening and auditory imagery
Synaesthetic and cross-modal associations
Space
Spectromorphological properties across distance, width, and depth
Diffusion and spatial projection
Listener interpretation and imaginal placement

Modern & Contemporary Textbooks

Music Composition in the 21st Century: A Practical Guide for the New Common Practice, Robert Carl. A clear guide to contemporary composition, including technology, minimalism, sound art, collaboration, and stylistic diversity. Buy / eBook: https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/music-composition-in-the-21st-century-9781501357589/

Techniques of the Contemporary Composer, David Cope. A practical introduction to twentieth-century and contemporary techniques, including serialism, indeterminacy, algorithmic composition, and electronic music. Borrow / locate: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL18295185W/Techniques_of_the_contemporary_composer

Materials and Techniques of Post-Tonal Music, Stefan Kostka and Matthew Santa. A strong foundation for analysing and composing post-tonal music, including pitch-class sets, scalar materials, and twentieth-century techniques. Buy / eBook: https://www.routledge.com/Materials-and-Techniques-of-Post-Tonal-Music/Kostka-Santa/p/book/9781138714199

Creative Music Composition: The Young Composer’s Voice, Margaret Lucy Wilkins. A practical book for developing an individual compositional voice, with examples across instruments, voice, and electronic music. Buy / eBook: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203036204/creative-music-composition-margaret-lucy-wilkins

Methodological & Technical Readings

Composing with Constraints: 100 Practical Exercises in Music Composition, Jorge Variego. A practical exercise-based book for developing ideas through limits, systems, and compositional challenges. Buy / eBook: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/composing-with-constraints-9780190057244

Twentieth-Century Harmony: Creative Aspects and Practice, Persichetti. A classic text on harmonic materials and practices after 1900.. Buy: https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393095395

The Technique of My Musical Language, Olivier Messiaen. Messiaen’s own account of his rhythmic, melodic, and modal techniques, including modes of limited transposition. Buy: https://www.halleonard.com/product/48185466/the-technique-of-my-musical-language

New Musical Resources, Henry Cowell. A landmark text on tone clusters, rhythm, pitch organisation, and expanded musical materials. Buy: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/new-musical-resources/1F3E93F749AC564CF0941EA63CEE818B

Cross-Cultural & Analytical Perspectives

Analytical and Cross-Cultural Studies in World Music, Michael Tenzer and John Roeder, eds. An advanced university-level collection that examines musical structures across different traditions, including rhythm, form, pattern, and analytical method. It is useful because it does not treat Western art music as the default model, but instead gives students tools for comparing complex musical systems across cultures. Buy / locate: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/analytical-and-cross-cultural-studies-in-world-music-9780195384581

Instrumentation & Notation

Behind Bars: The Definitive Guide to Music Notation, Elaine Gould. A major reference for modern score preparation, notation clarity, layout, and professional engraving practice. Buy: https://www.fabermusic.com/shop/behind-bars-the-definitive-guide-to-music-notation-p6284

The Study of Orchestration, Samuel Adler. A widely used orchestration textbook covering orchestral instruments, ranges, techniques, and ensemble writing. Buy: https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393920659

Music Notation in the Twentieth Century: A Practical Guidebook, Kurt Stone. A useful guide to notating contemporary techniques and twentieth-century performance practices. Buy: https://www.thenile.com.au/books/kurt-stone/music-notation-in-the-twentieth-century/9780393950533

Instrumentation and Orchestration, Alfred Blatter. A detailed orchestration and instrumentation reference, especially useful for instrumental ranges, combinations, and practical writing. Borrow / locate: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL2542219M/Instrumentation_orchestration

Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroo, Robert Hutchinson. A free online music theory textbook with downloadable PDFs and exercises. Free online text: https://musictheory.pugetsound.edu/

Aesthetic & Philosophical Readings

The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century, Alex Ross. An accessible history of twentieth-century music, composers, politics, aesthetics, and listening culture. Buy: https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780007380862/the-rest-is-noise-listening-to-the-twentieth-century/

Silence: Lectures and Writings, John Cage. A foundational text for chance, indeterminacy, experimental music, and twentieth-century sound aesthetics. Buy: https://www.amazon.com.au/Silence-Lectures-Writings-John-Cage/dp/0819571768

A Composer’s World: Horizons and Limitations, Paul Hindemith. A reflective book on composition, aesthetics, craft, and the practical limits of musical creation. Buy: https://www.halleonard.com/product/49008370/a-composers-world