ABSTRACT
Discovering that you can compose music is very exciting and can lead to a lifetime of creative fulfillment. You will embark on a journey of exploration to find your own composing voice, and, on the way, you will encounter stimulating ideas and techniques that have fascinated other composers. Helping you to develop as a composer is the object of this book. A postgraduate has likened the process of discovering your own voice to that of sculpting: the voice is hidden inside the block of marble, and the task is to chip away until the sculpture, or the voice, is revealed. The Italian sculptor, Antonio Canova (1757–1822), famous for his beautiful The Three Graces (marble, 1814–1817), offered the following advice to his students: 'Study Nature, consult the works of the great masters of Antiquity, and, after careful comparisons, arrive at your own original style."1
