what to do with my own compositions?

[NoamKrief]

Hi, i play piano but I also most of all love to compose.
What should i do with my composition? Play them for my friends?
If they are worthwhile, should i worry about showing them to people on the internet that i don't know? Should i worry about people stealing them?
Do i need to copywrite? How do I do that?

Thanks

[ted]

As I'm not professional and I doubt anything I write will set the world on fire I can't be bothered worrying about mine; I just dish out my recordings and scores to anybody. Ask your solicitor if you're really worried about it.

[jr11]

Can you play them well? Record them! Make copies of the cd's and sell to whoever. You could have demo clips on a website and sell the cds on-line. Well, you might sell a couple that way. Better yet, anywhere you can play in public, just leave a few copies of your cd on the piano. If people enjoy your playing, again you might sell a few. Just make sure you write on each disc a copyright date and your name, though consider it flattery if someone tries to 'steal' it.

I guess there's the old idea of sending yourself a copy of your cd and score via registered mail so you can prove the date it existed (leave the envelope sealed), but the value of this is questionable.

Writing is fun, but for the vast majority of us, it is strictly a hobby that we and others may think is kind of cool. Few make much money at it.

[galonia]

You own the copyright to your original compositions until you give or sell your copyright (i.e. the legal right to make reproductions) to someone else.  Sending a copy of the composition to yourself is no protection legally.

If you want to sell copies of the manuscript, I guess the best thing to do is to approach a publisher and discuss your options with them.

If you just want people to hear your work, then definitely play them for your friends!  Make recordings, make the recordings available to other people, and if you wish for other people to play your music, too, then make the manuscripts available.