About Composers & Songwriters
Composers and songwriters work in many ways. Some write detailed notation, some build tracks in studios, some improvise, and others create collaboratively with performers, producers, lyricists, and engineers.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Bach became famous for complex counterpoint, sacred music, keyboard works, and instrumental pieces.
Learn MoreWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart composed operas, symphonies, concertos, chamber music, and sacred works.
Learn MoreLudwig van Beethoven
Beethoven helped bridge Classical and Romantic musical styles.
Learn MoreDuke Ellington
Ellington was a major jazz composer, pianist, and bandleader.
Learn MoreFlorence Price
Florence Price became the first Black woman to have a symphony performed by a major U.S. orchestra.
Learn MorePhilip Glass
Philip Glass became associated with repetitive structures and minimalist music.
Learn MoreSongwriters
Popular music often separates melody, lyrics, arrangement, and production among collaborators.
Learn MoreGlobal Traditions
Many musical cultures do not center the Western idea of a single named composer.
Learn MoreJohann Sebastian Bach
His music later became central to Western classical education.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
His career shows both extraordinary skill and the realities of eighteenth-century patronage.
Ludwig van Beethoven
His later works were composed while he experienced severe hearing loss.
Duke Ellington
He wrote for the distinctive sounds of individual musicians in his orchestra.
Florence Price
Her music combined classical forms with African American musical influences.
Philip Glass
His work includes operas, film scores, symphonies, and ensemble pieces.
Songwriters
Credits can reveal how many people contribute to one recorded song.
Global Traditions
Improvisation, oral transmission, collective authorship, and community ownership can be equally important.