Can Anyone Learn to Compose?
- Diana Mascari
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
There's something about the creative process that seems to separate many people into two groups.
It's as if people say, "I'm not creative, but you are."
I was at an art exhibition recently and spoke with one of my doctors, who happened to be attending.
He told me how much he admired and appreciated the artist's creativity because, in his words, "I'm not creative." I found that rather perplexing, because my doctor has many photographs of himself wearing elaborate costumes and unusual outfits. His imagination and sense of humor are unmistakable. Yet he genuinely believed he wasn't creative.
His comment reminded me of something a neighbor once said to me: "I'm not creative at all. All I can do is create mayhem." I've shared these stories because they illustrate something I hear surprisingly often.
Creativity is all around us, yet many people assume it belongs to someone else.
Perhaps we've been asking the wrong question.
People often think creativity is something you're either born with or without. I don't believe that's true. I think what separates people isn't creativity itself, but whether they've had instruction, encouragement, and the opportunity to develop a particular creative art.
Take drawing as an example.
If someone walked into an art class and couldn't draw, we wouldn't conclude they lacked creativity. We'd simply recognize that they needed instruction and practice.
The same is true of painting, sculpture, photography, dance, theater, writing, and music.
When my wife taught high school art in New York City, she didn't begin by asking her students to paint masterpieces. She began by teaching them the elements and principles (basic components) of the language of art, including the drawing of lines. From those first simple exercises, her students gradually learned to create paintings, prints, and other works of art that were eventually exhibited throughout the school.
Creative ability didn't suddenly appear.
It developed.
The same thing happens in music.
Adults can learn to play the piano at virtually any age. Even more remarkable, I've watched many adults who returned to the piano later in life become wonderfully expressive musicians through thoughtful instruction and regular practice.So why should composition be any different?
For many years, I never imagined I could learn to compose.
Lessons were offered on piano and other instruments. I studied music theory and music history. But no one ever suggested that composition itself could be learned.
Instead, the emphasis was on faithfully performing music written by great composers—with precision, good technique, and musical expression.
Those are wonderful goals.
But they left me with the impression that composing belonged to a gifted few.
Eventually I began asking myself a different question.
Where did all this classical music come from?
I like to imagine Beethoven walking through the woods when a musical idea suddenly came into his mind. Whether or not that familiar story is literally true, one thing certainly is. That tiny musical idea didn't become a symphony overnight. It grew through days and weeks of listening, experimenting, revising, and developing. That's exactly what composers do.
And, in my own way, it's exactly what I do.
I begin with a short musical idea and spend time developing it.
Years ago, while taking a music theory class in college, I received an assignment to compose a short piece. I sat down at the piano and decided to try writing something for flute, cello, and piano. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Then two friends and I played it back.
Hearing those notes come to life was one of the most exciting musical experiences I'd ever had. I was hooked.
Although I later wrote several jazz compositions, I eventually realized I wanted to compose concert music as well. Nearly twenty years later, I took my first composition lesson. That changed everything.
Composition lessons didn't give me creativity.
They gave me tools.
They showed me how to develop the ideas that had always been inside me.
Today I teach a thirteen-year-old composition student who reminds me very much of how all composers begin.
When she was nine years old, she started writing little pieces inspired by the music in her beginner piano books. She simply experimented with a few notes.
Later, she began entering her ideas into notation software on her iPad.
Then something wonderful happened. After hearing her music played back, she began composing music for flute and piano and later for violin and harp.
To me, hearing your own music for the first time is one of the most satisfying moments in the entire creative process. Suddenly those notes are no longer ideas in your imagination—they've become music.
If you've ever quietly thought, "I wish I could compose, but I'm probably not creative enough," I'd like to challenge that belief.
Like painting, writing, dancing, or learning the piano, composition begins with curiosity, guidance, and the willingness to take the first small step.
Can anyone learn to compose?
I believe many people can, especially those who have some musical background from taking piano lessons or lessons on another instrument.
Like every other creative art, composition grows through instruction, experimentation, listening, and practice.
If you're curious about exploring composition, here are a few suggestions to begin:
Reach out for instruction.
Use notation software and listen to your ideas through its playback feature.
Spend at least ten minutes each day developing a short musical idea.
Listen regularly to chamber music and notice how composers build their ideas into complete musical conversations.
You may discover, as I did many years ago, that composing isn't a mysterious gift reserved for a select few.
It is a creative journey—one musical idea at a time.
Continue the Journey
If this article has sparked your curiosity, I'm excited to share that I'll soon be announcing a free online masterclass for adult musicians who have ever wondered, "Can anyone learn to compose?"
Together we'll explore how simple musical ideas become the beginning of an original composition. Whether you've never composed before or have experimented with a few musical ideas of your own, I hope you'll join me as we begin exploring this creative journey together.
