''How to Be a Composer'' is a British television documentary in two episodes, first shown on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

in July 2009.

Background

Produced and directed by Paul Yule, the show was based around the former ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

'' journalist

Paul Morley Paul Robert Morley (born 26 March 1957) is a British music journalist. He wrote for the ''New Musical Express'' from 1977 to 1983, and has since written for a wide range of publications and written his own books. He was a co-founder of the reco ...

learning how to create a piece of classical music. The films observe Morley spending a year at the prestigious

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Morley begins without knowing musical notation or music theory. By the end of the year, with the help of his tutor Christopher Austin and the students at the academy, we see the performance of his string quartet.

References

External links

* BBC television documentaries Classical music television series 2000s British documentary television series 2000s British music television series 2009 British television series debuts 2009 British television series endings Royal Academy of Music {{BBC-documentary-tv-prog-stub