You’re never too young to develop a passion for music: whether it’s Mozart beginning to compose by the age of 5 or Beyoncé bringing down the house at age 7, there are tons of examples that show how there aren’t any age limits when it comes to music.

You don’t have to be a child prodigy to take part in the wonders of music, either. Just look at our Flat community, where there are composers old and young, beginner and advanced, all developing their talents and enjoying music at their pace.

And one of those young artists is our composer of the month: middle schooler, trumpeter, and band enthusiast Dylan French.

“I joined the band in school in 2020, and started composing in 2021. We had a band performance coming up in school, and so I thought it would be fun to compose something to play there.”

As one might hope, Dylan’s composing technique is based on a simple principle: when a melody jumps into his head, he’ll use that as the starting point and see where it takes him.

“I really just start at the beginning, and then kind of think of more stuff along the way.”

That’s a simple way to begin, and it’s a big contrast from how Dylan thought composing would be before he decided to sit down and try it out.

“Before, I saw composing as this big, huge, almost impossible thing. But it doesn’t have to be that - in reality, it’s quite simple. And sure, the first thing you make might not be the best, but as time goes on, you’ll get better.”

When talking about his experience with Flat, Dylan said two things that warmed the hearts of everyone at Tutteo.

First, the developers were excited that all of our SEO efforts are paying off: “I found Flat on Google - I searched for ‘free online music composition”, and Flat was the top result.” Then the product and community teams were pumped as he continued, “Not long after that, I upgraded to the Power subscription and opened up even more features, since now I can include the whole band in my compositions.” 😍😍😍

Having that ensemble sound has opened up new possibilities for Dylan’s music. Between that and being a relatively young composer, it’s no surprise that Dylan is most proud of his latest work, entitled “Fall of Atlantis”. With its low, rumbling beginning that builds to the jaunty arrival of the horn section, it’s sure to please anyone who enjoys spending some time on Sea Shanty TikTok 😉🧜‍♀️🧜

Like so many of our fellow Flat composers, Dylan’s love of music comes back to its ability to help him express himself.

“Music is a different way to show emotion, it can communicate without talking. I love showing my compositions to my family and friends, and I’m also a big fan of the monthly challenges.”

One thing’s for sure: we’re happy to have featured Dylan as August’s composer of the month, and we’re very excited to see how his sound develops as he keeps growing, both as a composer and in life!