Teaching yourself to compose? You might not know what you’re missing.
Creating your own music and bringing it to life is an unparalleled thrill, but we don’t have to tell you that. You probably know, because you fall into one or more of these categories:
- You fell in love with video game, film, or classical music and started figuring out how to make it yourself.
- You're actively studying music performance or education and have started composing as well.
- You're already a music pro (teacher, producer, arranger, songwriter, performer), and you've expanded into composition.
- You used to compose but you fell off and you're starting to get back into it.
You’re self-motivated, which is the only way to truly grow. But what you don’t know is… what you don’t know. You pick things up here and there from YouTube, friends, and various communities. You try to figure out what’s going on in the music you like. You look at scores and try to figure out how the composer could have possibly gotten that out of their head. What might you be missing, and what questions would you even ask to get there?
Imagine a little happy place on the internet where
- You can show up every week to hear feedback on your own music or that of your peers.
- You can grow your knowledge through a trusted set of self-paced resources.
- You have a community of like-minded composers to learn from.
- If you have a question, you can just ask a professional composer.
Introducing…
The Synthase Composers Academy
The Synthase Composers Academy is a source of trusted community, mentorship, and resources to help aspiring composers grow in their art and craft. It’s run by professional composers with a passion for teaching and for supporting your own musical voice. We are fluent in both DAWs and notation software, and can help you make the move from playback to real instruments, or support you in digital creations
How You'll Grow as a Composer
Meet your people.
Find inspiration from others who get you, and let others be inspired by you. Collaborations begin here.
Sharpen your skills.
Dig deeper on the topics that are holding you back, from theory to orchestration to software.
Explore your artistic voice.
We’re not trying to make you a carbon copy of anybody—we’re here to support your unique path.
Stay up on developments.
What’s possible today—through technology or culture—that wasn’t yesterday? Find out from tuned-in peers and mentors.
Hi! We're Nate May and Susie Ling, and we're here to help.
We’re composers, keyboardists, and educators with international performances, awards, and doctorates in composition from Yale and Duke. Other than that, we’re pretty different:
Nate grew up in West Virginia and studied jazz before playing in bands, scoring a feature documentary (seen on PBS), and integrating electronic and acoustic music.
Susie (Huijuan) grew up in Hunan province in China, attended Shanghai Conservatory from the age of twelve, and went on to an award-winning career of solo, chamber, and orchestral music.
There are two of us for a reason: we’re building something bigger than one person can make. By working with us, you benefit from two different perspectives rather than one person trying to turn you into a clone of themselves.
All members get full access to these features:
Studio classes
Receive live feedback on your music from Susie, Nate, or a special guest artist. Studio classes happen every week except when there are special live events or
A growing library of courses
At the time of writing there are thirteen courses in the Academy, but refresh the page and there might be another one—every month we add new members-only content.
A friendly community of composers
The forums are filled with like-minded people you’ll get to know and grow alongside.
Discounts on lessons and workshops
The Academy is a central access point for our private studio, and for workshops that give you an opportunity to work with live professional musicians.
Here's what our students say about us!
Frequently asked questions
If you’re at least 13 years old and you’re an aspiring composer, then yes!
No—we’ve gone out of our way to make sure beginners have a path to learning within the Academy.
No problem—many of our resources are not notation dependent.
If you’re at a stage where you don’t feel like feedback on your work is very helpful, the Academy might not be for you. But even if you’re comfortable with many techniques of composition, you’ll likely encounter new approaches in the Academy.
Given that you need to be good at composing to make money as a composer, yes. We don’t currently have a focus on business-related topics, but those discussions are certainly welcome in the forums.
No—content is only available to current members.
You can do so at any time from the “billing” section of your account.
Yes, anytime!
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