Music Composition
Cohort 2
A six-week live program applying the full composition process — all 7 elements of music, the day-by-day timeline, and direct feedback on your work from Dr. Smith.
Composition as a practice,
not just a process.
The Music Composition email course teaches the complete framework. The cohort is where that framework becomes a habit — applied to a real piece of music, refined through peer critique and live feedback, and finished in six structured weeks.
Format
Six structured weeks, one focused topic per week. Each week opens with lesson material delivered by email, followed by a group or individual work session. Coaching tier members join three live calls with Dr. Smith for direct feedback on their work.
Community
Every cohort member gets access to a private cohort Discord channel for the duration of the program — peer feedback, work-in-progress sharing, and direct communication with Dr. Smith between sessions.
What You Finish With
A completed piece of work — a finished track, composition, or catalog review depending on the cohort — plus a Certificate of Completion from composeproducemusic.com, suitable for professional development documentation.
What happens
each week.
Every week has a clear focus, a deliverable, and either a peer review or direct feedback from Dr. Smith. You always know exactly what you’re working on and why.
Inspiration, Form & Motif
Define your emotional concept, map your formal structure, and develop the motif that will drive the entire piece. Group review of blueprints before writing begins.
Rhythm, Timbre & Harmonic Foundation
Establish your rhythmic feel and sonic palette, then build the chord progression that underpins your melodic material. Critique focuses on whether these choices are consistent with your stated concept.
Melody — Draft & Critique
Write your primary melody and bridge material. Peer listening session with structured feedback on shape, rhythmic identity, and memorability.
Texture, Dynamics & Full Draft
Layer your arrangement, map your dynamic arc, and complete a full first draft. Group critique identifies where the elements are working together and where they’re conflicting.
Refinement & Advanced Techniques
Apply counterpoint, harmonic color, rhythmic variation, and other advanced techniques to deepen the piece. Focused one-to-one feedback in the Coaching tier.
Final Polish & Presentation
Final arrangement, mix prep, and metadata. Each composer presents their finished piece to the cohort with a brief compositional statement.
Two ways to
join the cohort.
Both tiers include the full six-week program and all recorded materials. The difference is the level of live access to Dr. Smith.
- All 6 weekly lesson modules delivered by email
- Private cohort Discord community access
- All course articles, diagrams, and reference materials
- Peer review sessions each week
- Permanent access to all recorded session materials
- Certificate of Completion
- Everything in the Core tier
- 3 live group calls with Dr. Smith during the 6 weeks
- Live call format: teaching + your work critique + Q&A
- Direct feedback on your work at each call
- All calls recorded and added to your permanent library
- Priority Discord access — Dr. Smith responds directly
- Certificate of Completion
Both tiers include:
Six weeks of direct access
to Dr. Smith.
Dr. Smith is the author of Compose and Produce Music Like a Pro — the textbook this cohort is built on — and has been teaching music composition at the university level for over 30 years, including at Howard University, North Carolina Central University, and Bowie State University.
The Music Composition cohort is the live, applied version of that teaching: six weeks of structured composition work with direct feedback on every phase of the process.
Finish a composition.
On a deadline.
Six structured weeks. A finished, polished composition. Direct feedback from the author of the textbook. 25 spots.
