The Virtual Water Cooler : Facebook Groups

Composing can be rather solitary work.

It's not necessarily a bad thing - I frankly could not imagine having the breakthroughs I've had had I led a more active social life - but it is a thing; the hours add up and do need a counterbalance.

But what can one do when deadlines are pressing, and there is no time to go out? If this were a 'real' job, you could commiserate and consult at the water cooler, allowing the sense of community to buoy your spirits. As a composer though, you're likely working alone (even if you do have a water cooler).

Perhaps the ubiquity of this situation is what led to the rise of so many music and composition-related Facebook groups - we needed them, personally and professionally.

Keeping with the mission of this project (to provide a working example of how to create a project from the ground up and help spread the word about resources), I want to take a break from composition updates to highlight three groups that I find especially helpful as well as offering a broader list to explore.

First my top three:

Orchestration Online - An excellent place to listen to conversations - and the many examples that are posted - or ask questions about anything related to orchestration. Though I have not been especially active in this group, checking in to read through threads and watch the posted videos has been a meaningful way to progress as a musician and engage with music I may have otherwise overlooked. As a bonus, the group has a website - another utterly invaluable resource. Both are run by composer and orchestrator Thomas Goss, who I honestly can't say enough good things about. Go explore! One more bonus: this group is where I learned about Alan Belkin, another fantastic composer and educator. Check out everything he does - especially the 'Teacher' section of his website - regardless of whether you compose or not; you'll be better for it.
Music Engraving Tips - Probably my most-visited group on Facebook, this is a fantastic forum for getting perspective on those tricky bits of notation and engraving that just don't seem to look right. Also, quite a valuable place to 'listen' or search to gain perspectives from a wide variety of ability levels and backgrounds. Fair warning: comments get a bit snarky from time to time and conversations do wander. Still, Justin Tokke (founder) and the mod team do a great job of keeping things focused and supportive; also, the range of perspectives really cannot be beaten.
Sibelius Software Forum - The group that you don't think you need until you need it. Though it is quite possibly my least visited group, it is also the one which has saved me from quite a number of mishaps. An excellent place to ask for answers. Many, many thanks to the people in this one for helping me out of the technical binds I have found myself in. (If you're not a Sibelius user, there are also groups for Finale (101 and Powerusers), Dorico, and MuseScore.)

Though the three groups above happen to be my favorites, they are my favorite because of my needs. The list below should in no way be considered "second tier," they are simply groups that I do no use as often.