How to Be a Composer

How to Be a Composer is a British television documentary in two episodes, first shown on BBC Four in July 2009.^[1][2]

How to Be a Composer
How to Be a Composer title card
Genre	Music
Directed by	Paul Yule
Starring	Paul Morley
Narrated by	Poppy Edwards
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	2
Production
Executive producers	Adam Barker Roy Ackerman
Producer	Paul Yule
Production location	London
Editor	John Street
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	Diverse Production (Zodiak Entertainment)
Original release
Network	BBC Four
Release	18 July (2009-07-18) – 19 July 2009 (2009-07-19)

Background

Produced and directed by Paul Yule, the show was based around the former New Musical Express journalist Paul Morley learning how to create a piece of classical music.^[1][2]

The films observe Morley spending a year at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in London.^[1] Morley begins without knowing musical notation or music theory.^[3] 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.^[1][3]