Hello everyone

Welcome.

Why Rome and not Naples?

If you are willing to move, I know that Bologna is well-equipped for music for picture/film, and something very recent should have also started in Rome (as in Milan).

If you want to head towards the academic world, you must start with pre-academic courses. If you have a high school diploma, you can access three-year degree programs, but the entrance exams will be quite demanding; it depends precisely on your background of knowledge.

I see no age limits in starting to compose; often, instrumentalists who are already graduated approach composition, so even "ultra" twenty-somethings [are included].

pas wrote:

3) I contacted the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome (more precisely the student secretariat via email) but they are not responding to me, do you know why?

You are not the only one, take comfort... well, the usual.

http://www.pianoconcerto.it/forum/index.php?/topic/2131-corso-pre-accademico-composizione-santa-cecilia

Welcome Pas

I wanted to thank thesimon for the time spent because I couldn't access the site and obviously I also thank the others for the answers, I would like to study in a good conservatory and the one in Rome immediately came to mind since it was attended by Morricone;

I wanted to ask you, therefore, to study composition, do I have to take the pre-academic course in an instrument or is there a specific pre-academic course for composition?

Thank you

If you read the topic I indicated to you, you can get a good idea.

As far as I am concerned, you can also study on your own or take private lessons; a diploma in composition only certifies a course of study, but it is not the only one.

Thanks Barbara, just read it;

The problem is that I don't know anyone who teaches privately... especially I don't even know friends who have studied composition privately; I remember a classmate from elementary or middle school who studied piano, but I believe it has been 10 years since I last saw him;

I thought that the conservatory was fundamental to be well-guided and learn the basics, then surely a touch of fantasy is needed to compose anything;

For me it is not that simple

pas wrote:

then surely a touch of fantasy is needed to compose anything at all;

Every "anything" requires specialization. Composition (let's say) on commission (Contemporary), Jazz Composition, Composition for images, etc., are disciplines that, although they share a common layer, require a different orientation of "fantasy". And for every field, one must have an incredible background of listening, KNOWLEDGE, craft; and if you listen to Lachenmann for a lifetime, it's not like you can then write something credible in the Jazz realm... maybe some atmosphere for film music, yes. But I hope the message is clear, because the same applies to film music.

In short, there are common areas of knowledge, but they must then be channeled toward a very specialized goal. And it is extremely difficult for a musician to express themselves in pop and simultaneously in rock (does it even make sense to do that anymore?) and in Contemporary music with excellent results. In the end, you take a path and follow it... studying at a conservatory can certainly give you a solid foundation, but at the end of your studies, you are only at the first stage

Zazza wrote:

For me, it's not that simple

Every "anything" requires specialization. Composition (let's say) on commission (Contemporary), Jazz Composition, Composition for images, etc., are disciplines that, although they share a common layer, require a different orientation of "fantasy." And for every field, you need to have an incredible background of listening, KNOWLEDGE, craft; and if you listen to Lachenmann for a lifetime, it's not like you can then write something credible in the Jazz realm... maybe some atmosphere for film music, yes. But I hope the message is clear, because the same applies to film music.

In short, there are common areas of knowledge, but they must then be channeled toward a very specialized goal. And it's extremely difficult for a musician to express themselves in pop and simultaneously in rock (does it even make sense to do that anymore?) and in Contemporary music with excellent results. In the end, you take a path and follow it... studying at a conservatory can certainly give you a solid foundation, but by the end of your studies, you are only at the first stage.

Thank you so much, you have practically cleared up most of my doubts; one question: does this specialization, also driven by an attraction toward a certain style, have to be achieved by continuing to deepen one's knowledge on one's own after the conservatory, or is there something similar to, for example, in medicine, where a specialization is included within the conservatory course?

Even from the three-year course you can direct your choices. For the first year, the situation is what it is

Thanks for the answers;

Guys/girls, I realize I ask a lot of questions, but I wanted to ask you one last thing out of pure curiosity: I listen to a lot of dance/pop, pop/rock, and soft/rock music, and I notice that when a song is presented, people almost exclusively talk about the singer, but never about the other people behind it, such as a composer or a lyricist... I wonder, and I am asking you, why is that?! Am I wrong, or are the composer and the lyricist somewhat the mind of the song, while the singer is the "body" or the "arms" of it?

Thanks.

... in light music the lyrics are fundamental, not by chance is "tal" Mogol well known. The singer's voice is extremely important; it is the main parameter for making a song recognizable. The composer? I mean, to write 4 chords that were already old in the '600 and a banal melody?

Let's talk about it

If anything, why is it not known who prepares the clips... which are another fundamental thing for establishing oneself in the world of pop music.

I'll try to answer you...
Because in these listening contexts, attention falls on the singer, who is the image of that song.

The process for publishing a song is very long, and you can't imagine how many people might be working behind it.

It starts with the composer and the lyricist who lay the foundations for a song in its embryonic state, played with vocals and, usually, guitar or piano.

From them, we move to the arranger who often, in fact, almost always, works hand-in-hand with the composer. They are responsible for creating the rhythm of the song, deciding on and employing the instruments in the track to create what is technically called a "demo."

Everything is then passed to the recording studio, which carries out the actual mix of the song. Once the mix is finalized, the singer is called in to record their vocals.

After this phase is completed, the material is passed to a mastering studio, which is responsible for creating the master of the track for the album.

Once mastering is complete, the song is ready to be broadcast on radio channels and released on the market as a record, but not on online and television channels where a music video is required.

The creation of the music video is a highly complex matter because, in conjunction with the lyricist, a director, and a screenwriter, they must set up what is called a "storyboard," which is a sort of comic-strip story that must synthesize the scenes of the video.

The production of the video is delegated to a crew that possesses suitable equipment depending on the scenes to be filmed, always governed by the director and screenwriter. Often, a choreographer is also brought in. Today, drones are also commonly used for aerial shots. In that case, an ENAC-certified pilot must be contacted for critical operations (if there are people, houses, and objects in the immediate vicinity) or for non-critical operations (in the case of filming open spaces that are unpopulated and outside urban centers: e.g., at the seaside in winter).

The produced videos must then be sent to a video editing studio. In the case of special effects, portions of the video will be sent to a studio dedicated to special effects. Once the clips containing the special effects are obtained, the final editing proceeds. Meanwhile, the recording studio sends the mix back to the mastering studio because mastering for internet distribution requires different procedures than those for a record; the same applies to television production (they must respect Loudness limits).

Finally, the audio is edited onto the video by synchronizing it, and the finished product is obtained.

The process, however, does not end here... Usually, in fact, investment is made in advertising and the dissemination of the published product, and the task is passed to other professionals who deal with image promotion and social media marketing; this is because you can make the most beautiful product in the world, but if nobody knows about it, it won't make its way on its own.

You understand well that to carry out all these phases, a large number of professionals are needed (and the list I have given you is very superficial; consider that one could talk for hours about each of these points), but the central point upon which attention is fixed in all these steps is still the singer:

in the mix, what stands out is the singer's voice

in the music video, the main subject is the singer

special effects are often aimed at highlighting the singer's actions

the shots themselves place emphasis on the singer

dissemination and image promotion are centered on advertising the singer's image

It is not difficult to understand how the public (which is not normally a professional in any of the aforementioned fields) places its attention solely on the singer.