Composition teacher in Copenhagen — and online worldwide.
I am a Danish composer, and I have specialised in teaching composition. I work from Copenhagen, in person in Frederiksberg, and online with serious students wherever they are. If you would like to begin, you are welcome to write to me, and we will find a good way in.
Who teaches you
A composer who has specialised in teaching composition.
I studied composition at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. Since 2017 I have taught at MGK Sjælland, and from 2018 I have been responsible for the composition line at MGK Hovedstaden — Denmark’s pre-academy talent-development programme for young musicians, feeding the Royal Academies.
Alongside that work I teach independent students, online and in person, who want serious work with their own music. Teaching composition is not a sideline for me; it is the centre of what I do.
In Copenhagen, I teach
Where lessons happen
In Copenhagen, or online if you cannot come.
In-person lessons are possible in Copenhagen, usually in Frederiksberg, which is very central. And if you cannot come to Copenhagen, online lessons are a genuinely good solution — one that loses very little.
Online lessons take place on Zoom: we share the score on screen, listen together, mark passages directly with a digital pen, compare alternatives and discuss revisions in detail. The annotated PDF can be sent to you afterwards as a working document.
In practice a student in another country gets the same close, score-based attention as one who lives across town.
How I teach
I do not impose a style. I try to help you hear what your music is already doing — and what it could become.
From there the craft follows. Harmony, counterpoint, orchestration and analysis come in where the music actually needs them, as ways of hearing more clearly rather than subjects to get through. The feedback is precise and honest: what already convinces, what does not yet, and why.
How lessons work in practiceRead more
Where to go next.
This page is the short version. Each part of the work has its own page with the practical detail.
Composition lessons
The main access page — composition lessons, score feedback and portfolio preparation. Begin with a score, sketch, recording or question.
OpenOnline composition lessons
How online lessons work in practice — Zoom, shared scores, annotated PDFs, and detailed discussion across time zones.
OpenComposition feedback
A serious response to one piece, sketch, recording or portfolio. Written, annotated, online session, or a combination.
OpenPortfolio preparation
For applicants to music academies, conservatories or talent-development programmes. Diagnostic review, revision priorities, deadline planning.
OpenMusic theory for composers
Theory not as rule-knowledge, but as a way of training the ear to understand what music is actually doing.
OpenIt's a major help to get tailored teaching online, especially as a composer living in Iceland. Daniel is both flexible and helpful when it comes to planning and managing the distance. I have asked Daniel for lessons through many years now. Highly recommend.
Stefan Sand · Google review Read on Google
Practical questions.
Do you teach in person in Copenhagen?
Yes. In-person lessons are possible in Copenhagen, usually in Frederiksberg, which is very central. Most students work online, so we can use detailed score-sharing and annotation, but in-person sessions can be arranged when it makes sense.
Can students outside Copenhagen study with you?
Yes. Online lessons take place on Zoom: we share the score on screen, listen, mark passages with a digital pen and discuss revisions in detail. A student in another country gets the same close attention as one across town, and the annotated PDF can be sent afterwards as a working document.
Do you prepare students for MGK or conservatory applications?
Yes. I am responsible for the composition line at MGK Hovedstaden and also teach at MGK Sjælland, so application and portfolio preparation is a large part of my work. For applicants I look at what a portfolio currently shows, what may be missing, and what should be revised before a deadline.
Do I need to be advanced before contacting you?
No. What matters is not your level, age or institutional background, but whether you take the music seriously, and are willing to listen, revise and think carefully about it.
Begin with one concrete thing.
Tell me a little about your music and send a score, sketch, recording, link or question. If you are not sure what kind of help you need, that is also a good reason to write.
Send a score, sketch or question