Frank Zappa was a compositional autodidact.
Frank Vincent Zappa ( December 21 , 1940 -- December 4 , 1993 ) was an American musician , activist and filmmaker . In a career spanning more than 30 years , Zappa composed rock , pop , jazz , jazz fusion , orchestral and musique concrète works , and produced almost all of the 60-plus albums that he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist .