Naturally enough, the boy tried his hand at composition, but his master wisely made no account of these efforts until they had brought forth something really commendable for its ideas and their treatment. All the while new branches of study were suggested, in all of which Donizetti made commendable progress, learning to appreciate the classic masters of Italy and Germany, to play passing well upon the pianoforte, the organ, the flute and the double-bass, beside making constant progress as a singer, although it is said that his exactitude and grace were more noticeable than any fulness or strength of tone. Besides those professional studies, he was taught history, mythology, Latin and rhetoric, so that when in time he devoted himself to theatrical composition, he was well equipped. His special bent was shown, not only in his arranging a little stage for juvenile performances in which his part was always well done, but also in his attempting a tenor part in a real theatre; but failing in this, he gave up any hopes of becoming a professional vocalist and decided to devote himself to composition.
By 1815 Mayer concluded that Donizetti ought to have other training than Bergamo could give and therefore sent him to Bologna, a city still prominent for its understanding and love of the arts, in order that he might study fugue and counterpoint under Mattei, who had recently brought out Rossini and other worthy pupils and could strengthen this youth where he was weak. Thither Donizetti went, furnished with letters and introductions, one of the most profitable of which was to Giovanni Ricordi of Milan, founder of the famous music-publishing house of that name.
It appears that Donizetti remained as a member of the Philharmonic Lyceum of Bologna until sometime in 1818, and that he made such good use of his opportunities as to obtain extra lessons from Mattei and to write things which the library of the school still preserves with respect. They are mostly for full orchestra and solo voices and several of them had public presentment.
His formal studies ended, Donizetti returned to Bergamo, where he kept at work training his memory and his quickness of mind and hand, and writing string quartets after the style of such masters as Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. A variety of compositions for the voice, mostly ecclesiastical, and for the piano were published by him, but no request was yet made to him for any theatrical music, at which he was much disappointed. It was indeed a difficult period for a new writer; the stage was not yet weary of the operas of Cimarosa, Paisiello, Zingarelli, Paër and Mayer, while the few opportunities of which a new comer might hope to avail himself were scarcely more than sufficed for the genius of Rossini and of Bellini. Any attempt to rival in his own field either of these would necessarily have been fatal, and Donizetti was prudent enough to create an independent style for himself while maintaining, like them, that the melody of human voices was of the first value in the lyric drama.