How to get a career into music composition?

Question

Here 's an obvious question but how well would you have to play the instrument? in terms of acoustic music like andy mckee or piano music?

i would like some clarfication from someone who knows to what extent / minimum ability to play on chosen instrument

Answer 1

composers/arrangers have to know the ranges & transpositions for all the instruments you are writing for. you also should have knowledge of what's physically impossible to do on any instrument.

it helps to have composing software like finale, or sibelius.

personally, i suggest having strong skills on at least one instrument will help alot. keyboard/piano skills are neccessary to do well.

Answer 2

you should be able to play at least one instrument (and most composers know how to play several) very very well. you need to be able to not only read and write music, but you should be able to transcribe (listen to notes and identify them by sound, which is difficult and took me years to learn), and be stellar at it at that. i went to a very highly regarded performing arts school and the composition program was fiercly competitive and the composers in the program were absolutely incredible; the friends i made there knew how to play 3 or 4 instruments and they were able to pick up any other instrument very quickly. composition is very very competitive, so your music playing abilities as well as your music writing abilities have to be superior to thousands of others with the same goal in order to have any kind of success. good luck!

Answer 3

The more important thing is HOW WELL CAN YOU READ AND WRITE MUSIC?

If you plan to be a composer, they you need to play the piano pretty well, because that is the prime instrument for composing.  I still use the piano to compose songs for the Guitar and when I get a new piece of music, I play it on the Piano first to see what it should sound like, before I adapt it to the guitar.