Hello! Thanks for bearing with me over the past week as I was setting up my new studio. While I still have work to do, we should be back to business as usual with respect to my live events.
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Meanwhile, this week in ​Practical Counterpoint​, we're wrapping up our initial exploration of writing for three or more voices, and in Music Master Class we'll be looking at your projects on this topic.

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 Café

This week in the MuseScore Café with Marc Sabatella, we continue our third-Wednesday "score of the month" series. I'll be entering a three-part piano piece where the middle voice wanders between staves, and I'll show you how I deal with the various issues that come 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

When you add instruments to a score, MuseScore automatically chooses a default instrument order based on standard orchestral conventions. But if you're writing for a different type of ensemble, a different order might be more appropriate. In this video post, I show you how to get MuseScore to automatically order your instruments correctly for various standard types of ensembles and also how to customize this further.

Musicianship

If you are serious about learning music - theory, composition, improvisation, and more - become a Gold-level member and receive access to all of our music courses and workshops, as well as exclusive benefits like my weekly Office Hours, in addition to our acclaimed Mastering MuseScore resources.

Music Master Class

This week in the Music Master Class with Marc Sabatella, we look at three-part projects submitted as part of the Practical Counterpoint​ course.

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

When you're writing counterpoint or filling in inner voices in an SATB or similar arrangement, you may find yourself needing to construct a third part after creating the first two. In this video post, I demonstrate a technique I call "connect the dots", where your line is based on choosing target notes that complete the harmony at key points and building a melody around those notes.