We are thrilled to announce an exciting new partnership that celebrates the joy of musical creation! I Can Compose is officially teaming up with the prestigious Pianist Magazine for their upcoming, highly anticipated Piano Composing Competition.
Whether you’re a seasoned composer or a dedicated pianist stepping into the world of composition for the first time, this collaboration is built around supporting your creative journey. Together, we want to help you develop those initial musical ideas into beautifully structured, compelling piano works.
Win a Kawaii ES520 Piano worth over £1700!
The winner receive a Kawai ES520 white piano with matching stand, pedal set and bench worth over £1700.
Plus…
- Winning score featured in a future issue of Pianist
- Winning score recorded concert pianist Chenyin Li and distributed on Spotify
- Performance of winning score filmed by Chenyin Li for the Pianist YouTube channel
- Runners up will receive honourable mentions
Inspiration and Learning Hand-in-Hand
Starting a new piece from scratch can sometimes feel daunting. Staring at a blank page of manuscript paper / computer screen or sitting at the piano trying to think of ideas, is a creative challenge every musician faces. That’s why we wanted to offer something valuable to every person who steps up to enter the competition.
To provide inspiration, some fresh ideas, and a toolkit of practical techniques, every single applicant who enters the competition will receive a free I Can Compose course of their choice.
How it works: Simply submit your entry to the Pianist Magazine Piano Composition Competition (details below), and you will receive access to an expert-led online course.
Choosing Your Free Course
You can choose a free course that best aligns with your musical goals. Our range of interactive online courses includes specialised modules that cover essential composition techniques:
- Developing Musical Ideas: learn how to take a simple motif or short melodic fragment and expand it into a fully formed theme (Try: How to Compose a Great Melody).
- Harmony and Structure: learn to harmonise a melody, modulate between keys, and structure your piano piece to keep your listeners engaged from the first note to the final cadence (Try: How to Modulate)
- Writing for the Instrument: gain insights into creating idiomatic piano textures, making full and expressive use of the keyboard’s range (Try: How to Write a Piano Accompaniment)
Free Resources to Support your Composing
For your piano composition entry we have plenty of resources to get you started:
- Free online course: Composition – How to Get Started
- Free Inspiration Page – library of diverse pieces with insights and prompts
- Piano Accompaniment Patterns Resource – 20 piano accompaniment patterns on four A4 sheets to download and print (paid resource).
A Creative Collaboration
Pianist Magazine has long been the gold standard for piano education, performance tips, and repertoire inspiration. Partnering with them aligns with our core mission to make music composition accessible and engaging for everyone.
This competition is a celebration of contemporary piano music and the fantastic community of musicians who keep it alive. We’re proud to play a part in helping you discover your unique compositional voice.
