Opportunities

OCA offers Composing Music courses at three levels which are best studied in sequence. Projects are set in a broad range of musical contexts, including percussion solos, pentatonic melodies and counterpoint. The grounding they give should be of equal interest to musicians across the spectrum of traditions, including folk and jazz as well as ‘classical’.

Composing Music 1• Exploring rhythm• Exploring melody and scale• Rounds, descants, polyphony• Exploring counterpoint• Exploring harmony

Composing Music 2• Harmony with words, including word setting and accompaniments• Voices together, including a vocal jingle and a choral ‘amen’• Adding strings, including guitar prelude and a short piece for string quartet• Expanding the band, including a brass fanfare and a TV signature tune• An exploratory finale including a dance band arrangement and a serial piece.

Composing Music 3• Develop an extended piece, with support from an experienced tutor composer• Build up the work in agreed sections, receiving ongoing guidance and feedback

About OCA

• Courses developed by award-winning British composer Patric Standford

• Study at your own pace, in your own time, in your own home

• No formal qualifications required, but students would benefit from a grounding in music theory (e.g. Grade 5 from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music)

• Accredited courses at three levels, either standalone or as part of a degree programme

• Personal support from experienced distance learning tutors

• See also listing for new course: Music 1: From the Present to the Past

• Open College of the Arts is an arts education charity, founded in 1987 by Lord Michael Young of Dartington

• Also offering accredited courses in Creative Writing, Art History, Art & Design and Photography.