The composition curriculum
your homeschool has been waiting for.
From the very first lesson, your student writes music.
Not worksheets. Not passive video watching. Real composition — built on the same method that trained Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms, rebuilt as a practice system your student does every day.
Most music curricula teach theory concepts.
Almost none teach students to compose.
Your student can name intervals. They can identify a major scale. They may have worked through several years of theory. And yet — they have never written a piece of music. Knowing and doing are two different things. Gradus was built to close that gap.
What your student has been waiting to do is compose.
The reason students stop playing an instrument is almost never technical — it is that the music never becomes theirs. Composition changes that. When a student writes something, music becomes something they do, not something they consume.
One method. Two doors.
An adventure-map world with colorful note characters, real staff notation, and playable tools designed for young learners. The ear comes first — always.
- ·Colorful note characters with names and personalities on a scenic staff landscape
- ·Real staff notation — not abstract blocks — from the very first lesson
- ·"Read to Me" mode reads lessons aloud for pre-readers
- ·Rhythm Playground, Melody Builder, and Echo Counterpoint — playable tools, not videos
- ·Parent Guide in every lesson with facilitation tips for the adult in the room
- ·Maestro welcomes each student at the start of every lesson in a friendly speech bubble
Ten stages of conservatory-method compositional study. From a single melodic line through full orchestral writing — the same tradition as every great conservatory in the West.
- ·Ten stages of compositional study — from single melody to full orchestral writing
- ·Fux counterpoint, figured bass, chorale harmonization, score study, and orchestration
- ·Composition studios with real notation entry and live playback
- ·Maestro critiques every composition: what works, what needs attention, what to try next
- ·470+ annotated orchestral works in the score study library
- ·Aligned with classical and Charlotte Mason approaches to arts education
Three principles behind every lesson.
Independent families and co-ops,
both at home in Gradus.
Independent homeschoolers move at their own pace — the curriculum has no fixed schedule and no external deadlines. The student works when you work.
Co-op directors can use the Teacher Dashboard to track multiple students at once — assign specific curriculum stages, review composition submissions, and see progress across an entire group. Gradus fits the way co-ops already run.
Built on proven tradition.
Built for students who are ready to compose.
The students who compose are the students who stay in music. Give yours the method that makes it possible.