Hello! I've never been big on New Year's resolutions, but as we enter 2024, I'm increasingly focused on the community we have created at https://community.masteringmusescore.com and how I can continue to shape it to serve your needs better. If you're a member of the community, you may have seen this already, but if you missed it, I'd love it if you would complete this very short survey!
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Meanwhile, we're continuing our work on SATB arrangements this month, so I'll be focusing on that topic and looking at submissions in that format in my Music Master Class.

Mastering MuseScore

For the ultimate guide to the world's most popular music notation software, see my online course Mastering MuseScore 4.

MuseScore Café

This week in the MuseScore Café with Marc Sabatella, we look at various aspects of creating choral music in MuseScore. We'll discuss lyrics, use of multiple voices, special conventions for notation of rhythms, dynamics, and articulations, and whatever else comes up along the way.

The free MuseScore Café is live on Wednesday at 12:30 PM Eastern (16:30 GMT, or 17:30 during the winter months), and you can access past episodes in the archive.

Tip of the Week

Choral scores for soprano, alto, tenor. and bass (SATB) are sometimes written with each part on a separate staff (open score) and sometimes with the four parts combined onto two staves using multiple voices (closed score). In this video post, I show you how to convert between these two formats using the implode and explode tools and other facilities within MuseScore.

Musicianship Skills

If you want to learn more about music - theory, composition, improvisation, and more - become a Gold level member and receive access to all of our music courses as well as exclusive benefits like my weekly Office Hours.

Music Master Class

This week in the Music Master Class with Marc Sabatella, we'll be looking at music submitted by Gold-level members for our SATB project.

The free Music Master Class is live on Thursday at 12:30 PM Eastern (16:30 GMT, or 17:30 during the winter months), and you can access past episodes in the archive.

In Theory

A basic principle of voice leading is that the leading tone tends to resolve to the tonic - in fact that is why it is called the leading tone. How important is this, though? In this video post, I explain how "it's OK to frustrate the leading tone sometimes, but you don't have to crush its dreams".