Music composition lessons in The Netherlands

Hernan is not just a good teacher but an exceptional one. I have had only one lesson with him so far, but I got so much from it, that I am looking forward to the next one. He went above and beyond from the beginning. He is very modest and professional in his teaching style, which makes it easy to absorb what he teaches. I would say I am an advanced composition and intermediate orchestration student with decades studying and composing by myself. I had been thinking about taking some advanced online courses available on the internet, but almost all such courses are really work-on-your-own courses. They might have Facebook groups available at best, where you can post questions. But they cannot compare to having a real teacher with the hands-on knowledge guiding you one on one. That one session was packed with so many great insights which I could have never gotten out of any video course or book. Only an insider of orchestration craft and the music composition industry could have such insights. I am looking forward to what I can learn in future lessons. UPDATE AFTER 15 LESSONS: I stopped after 15 lessons because honestly it will take me a long time to process and apply everything Hernan has given me. I will be applying it to my large portfolio of compositions, and I know my compositions are going to be much more mature and well-crafted after I apply what I have learnt to them. I have a completely tranformed attitude and understanding of music composition and orchestration craft. I thought it was simply a matter of learning additional material to get me to the advanced level of the masters. But I have learnt it is a whole world of nuances, subtleties and experience that the masters had a grasp of that allowed them to create at that level. Hernan has given me a good initiation into that world. I have also acquired tools and skills that will allow me to continue the journey on my own. Thank you Hernan.

Lou-Indigo is hands-down the best teacher I have ever had the pleasure of learning music from. Having been taught by a number of music teachers for a variety of different instruments, I have experienced a range of different teaching styles and personalities, yet nobody has been able to keep me focused and captivated by music in the way that Lou-Indigo does. In the past, music lessons would always bore me, as I found that my perspective of music being an outlet of creativity would often be tarnished by previous teachers who took too much of a strict, structural approach to music. On the other hand, some other teachers would be too relaxed, often leading to me becoming frustrated by a lack of progress and direction. Lou-Indigo manages to skillfully combine structure, creativity and a relaxed atmosphere into a 60-minute lesson. I am the complete opposite of bored and genuinely look forward to every lesson. Instead of feeling drained after sessions, I feel inspired to learn more. In my opinion, Lou-Indigo does this by crafting just the right amount of challenge into each exercise, enough to give you a sense of progress and achievement, but not too much to make you feel frustrated or overly daunted. Furthermore, his clear explanation of music theory and guitar techniques, evidently backed by years of experience, gives you a deeper insight into music, uncovering the medium's potential for creative expression. I could not recommend Lou-Indigo more.

We just have started to work with Yannis, but I am really happy about how we progress and feel inspired and looking forward to future lectures. Yannis teaches me to develop a vision on how to approach working with sound, while recording, processing and using it in electronic composition. I would say he is opening my mind in a way toward the analysing a character of sound as a compositional element. I like that lessons are not only just about a particular technique (and there are so many to learn from Yannis), but about developing a workflow and a mindset. Examples from historical electronic pieces to listen and analyse from legendary electroacoustic composers are really inspirational. After each lesson there is a home task and in the following lecture there is an analysis of the results and based on that Yannis gives lessons on what needs to be changed, improved, pay attention to etc, in order to develop compositional skills. I highly recommend Yannis as a teacher, if you are into modern experimental electroacoustic composition and improvisation.