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tonebase Guitar Course

On Composing

Taught by renowned guitarist 

Stephen Goss

Ever wonder how a great composer can take a fragment of a musical idea and expand it into a work of true brilliance? Steve Goss shows you his own process from both a philosophical and practical point of view - one that has gone into many compositions recorded and commissioned by the likes of John Williams, David Russell, Xuefei Yang, and more.<br/><br/>Goss begins the lesson by discussing the five stages of his compositional process which include impetus, ideas, design, finding good notes, and refinement. He then breaks each of these down, putting special emphasis on the “finding good notes” stage which composers generally avoid talking about.<br/><br/.In the second half of the lesson, Goss demonstrates how this process functioned in the context of four pieces: “Broadgate Sculptures” from The Flower of Cities, The Seed Cathedral, his Guitar Concerto, and Labyrinth.

  • checkmark icon
    Category: 
    skills
  • checkmark icon
    Difficulty: 
    advanced
  • checkmark icon
    Duration: 
    c. 
    1
     hours
     hour

Course Syllabus

On Composing
Ever wonder how a great composer can take a fragment of a musical idea and expand it into a work of true brilliance? Steve Goss shows you his own process from both a philosophical and practical point of view - one that has gone into many compositions recorded and commissioned by the likes of John Williams, David Russell, Xuefei Yang, and more.

Goss begins the lesson by discussing the five stages of his compositional process which include impetus, ideas, design, finding good notes, and refinement. He then breaks each of these down, putting special emphasis on the “finding good notes” stage which composers generally avoid talking about.
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Stephen Goss
meet YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Stephen Goss

Guitarist and composer Stephen Goss’s music receives hundreds of performances worldwide each year with recent projects featuring John Williams and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

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Stephen Goss
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