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!
Fascinating Rhythm
Hello! This week we continue working on rhythm in Basic Music Theory, so you'll hear me focusing on that. It turns out the song Fascinating Rhythm (George & Ira Gershwin) entered the public domain not so long ago. So, I'll be using it as an example where I find opportunities! BTW, in case you're wondering - I Got Rhythm enters the pubic domain soon as well. But, while an incredibly infleuntial song harmonically, it's actually not as interesting rhythmically! Mastering MuseScoreFor the ultimate guide to the world's most popular music notation software, see my online course Mastering MuseScore 4. MuseScore CaféThis week in the MuseScore Café with Marc Sabatella, we continue our first-Wednesday "ask me anything" series. Come with your questions, and I'll do my best to answer!
Tip of the WeekWhen entering notes into MuseScore, we normally select the duration first, then the pitch. That is built into how MuseScore works. But that doesn't mean it isn't possible to change the duration of a note after entering it. There are several ways of doing this, depending on whether you want to do it while still in note input mode or after returning to normal mode, whether or not you want to move subsequent notes earlier/later in response to the duration change, and if you want to change just a single note or an entire passage (say, to double the durations of all notes).
Musicianship SkillsIf 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 ClassThis week in the Music Master Class with Marc Sabatella, we'll continue with the coursework on rhythm from Basic Music Theory, and dig deeper into the fundamental rhythmic patterns and how they relate to notation rules.
In TheoryAs an adjunct to the Let It Be project for the Basic Music Theory course, here is a video showing my process for transcribing rhythms by ear, using the first lines of the song Fascinating Rhythm (Tony Bennett / Diana Krall recording): |
Until next time, keep making music! Marc Sabatella c/o ConvertKit, 113 CHERRY ST #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205 |
Outside Shore Music / Mastering MuseScore
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!
Hello! This month I am introducing a new theme for us to focus on: melody. This is an area of study that often gets short-changed in educational settings. I assume that's because it's hard to talk objectively about what makes a good melody. There are fewer "rules" to follow than for chord progressions, and there is also correspondingly more incentive to make your melody unique. So in many cases, people are left to fend for themselves in terms of composing melodies. The one area of my...
Hello! This week we will wrap up our summer focus on orchestration and listen to more of the final projects members have submitted. Starting in September, we will be changing gears to look at another topic - to be announced - that I think many of you will find at least as interesting and useful!In other news: the music notation software Finale - for many years the leading program of its kind (and what I used for many years before MuseScore) - is being discontinued. The company that produces...
Hello! It's been a long and busy summer so I'm taking a bit of a break this week with this abbreviated newsletter. Also, FYI, Office Hours this today will likely be abbreviated due to other commitments. But I'll do my best to help folks out during the time I do have available! 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 &...