Exam boards: Edexcel, AQA, OCR

The AS Music Composition Workbook will help students gain the necessary skills and confidence to write a successful composition for AS music.

It assumes a GCSE level understanding of composition, and offers a series of exercises focusing on developing musical ideas, textures, word-setting, harmonisation and orchestration.

There is also detailed advice on how to write effectively for a variety of instruments and how to plan a composition.

Alan Charlton is a freelance composer. He was awarded the first ever PhD in Composition from Bristol University in 1997 and was the first Eileen Norris Fellow in Composition at Bedford School (1999–2002). He was head of music technology at Bedford School from 2000–2009 and is also an examiner for Edexcel.