profile

Outside Shore Music / Mastering MuseScore

Humanizing

Published over 2 years ago • 2 min read

Hello! First, I want to apologize for the technical issues (not my fault!) that prevented me from being able to broadcast the MuseScore Café last week. All should be well now, so we'll be revisiting the originally-scheduled topic from last week - humanizing playback. I'll also be pushing my luck and trying something new in the Music Master Class - talking live on camera to the composer of the piece I'll be looking at!

Also, as mentioned last week, I've made some adjustments to my pricing. My offerings are still an incredible bargain, but I've decided to extend a special discount just for you subscribers - good this week only - to give you a last chance at something like the old prices. Just apply coupon code LASTCHANCE at checkout. Click the following link for the full list of courses - Mastering MuseScore, Basic Music Theory, Harmony and Chord Progressions, etc. Just do it soon, the discount ends this weekend!

MuseScore Café

This week in the MuseScore Café with Marc Sabatella, we look at some techniques for making playback sound more "human" - tweaks to tempo, dynamics, note durations, and more. It's more an art than a science, and I expect that some of you have your own favorite tricks to share, so please join live if you can!

The MuseScore Café is live on Wednesday at 12:30 PM Eastern.

Tip of the Week

If you follow my MuseScore Café, you've probably seen my customized palettes and possibly heard me describe how to create them. If not, I've got you covered here! You can add a new palette using the button at the top of that window, and then drag elements from other palettes - including Symbols ("Z") and Special Characters ("F2") palettes - into your custom palette. You can also Ctrl+Shift+drag elements from a score into your palette, allowing you to add customized text, lines, or other symbols.

I cover this topic in more detail in the lesson on palette customization in my MuseScore course.

Music Master Class

This week I will be focusing on a choral work And In That Day by Dean Hamill and talking to him about it live! I hope to be using this "interview" format more often going forward.

The Music Master Class is live on Thursday at 12:30 PM Eastern.

In Theory

Another technical glitch has plagued musescore.com over the past few days, so those of you who follow me there may have received notification about a new educational handout but not been able to access it. It is there now, so I thought I'd feature it here as well. Here is the handout:

https://musescore.com/user/2975/scores/6882431?share=copy_link

It covers some basic definitions used in contrpuntal music. In particular, it explains what the term "polyphony" means, by comparing a polyphonic example to various arrangements of the same material that are *not* polyphonic.

By the way, this is actually going be the very first lesson in my counterpoint course, even though I've already uploaded dozens of later lessons. I'm going back to the beginning and working forwards now to fill in the remaining gaps. It's shaping up to really be a pretty amazing resource, and I look forward to be able to open it up for enrollment soon!

Outside Shore Music / Mastering MuseScore

by Marc Sabatella

My name is Marc Sabatella, and I am the founder of Outside Shore Music - a pioneer of online music education since the dawn of the web. As the creator of Mastering MuseScore, A Jazz Improvisation Primer, and other resources, I have dedicated most of my life to helping as many musicians as I can. Subscribe to my free newsletter for MuseScore tips, theory insights, and more information on how to create your best music!

Read more from Outside Shore Music / Mastering MuseScore

Hello! This week in the Practical Counterpoint course, we are wrapping up our focus on two-part counterpoint. We have a fun project to cap it off with, so even if you're not taking the course, you'll probably enjoy this week's Music Master Class! Mastering MuseScore If you are interested in getting the most out of the world's most popular music notation software, join our community with a Mastering MuseScore membership for the most comprehensive training & expert support available! MuseScore...

2 days ago • 1 min read

Hello! This week marks the first day of spring, and after the snowstorm we just experienced here in Colorado a few days ago, I'm ready! In the Practical Counterpoint course, we are continuing our exploration of so-called "species counterpoint". This is a subject that is often taught with little or no reference to any actual context, making it seem like an abstract concept with no relevance to real music. My aim is always to focus on the practical value of the theory, and species counterpoint...

9 days ago • 2 min read

Hello! An important note to members outside the US: we started daylight savings time this week. That means if you didn't also set your clocks ahead in your part of the world, my live events will now be an hour earlier. So be sure to do the math to see what 12:30 Eastern now works out to be for you! For the rest of spring / summer / fall, events will be at 4:30 PM (16:30) UTC.Meanwhile, a new batch of lessons is now available in the Practical Counterpoint course, so be sure to check them out,...

16 days ago • 2 min read
Share this post