MuseScore

Welcome to October’s edition of “MuseScorer of the month.” This is your chance to get to know one of MuseScore.com’s many brilliant members each month of the year. We’re featuring a wide variety of composers and types of music in this series, as well ... [More] as some members who use MuseScore to transcribe and share public domain sheet music. Last month, we introduced you to Aaron David. This month, meet the inventor of the gymnosolitude (see below), Finnish pianist Tuukka Jokilehto, aka Rivergrove! How did you discover MuseScore? I browsed the Internet for a free notation software to write down a few piano pieces I had composed and quite luckily found MuseScore right away. It was just what I was looking for. What motivates you to compose? I’m mainly interested in composing easy-to-play piano music for amateurs, beginners and children. My experience as a piano teacher tells me what kind of passages take a lot of practice and what kind don’t, so I try to write music that doesn’t take too much time to practice but would still be interesting for the player and the listener. A big motivation for me to compose is the ready audience and the immediate feedback and comments one gets from all the nice people here on MuseScore. What is your typical composing workflow like? I try to improvise some interesting sounding patterns on the piano and develop them into a piece. If I can’t come up with something in ten minutes, I quit and try again later. An interesting (unusual, funny, etc.) title is usually very inspiring for me. A good example of this might be a piece called ”Nagging Piano Teacher”. When I came up with the title, it didn’t take me more than a few minutes to compose the actual piece. What have you shared on MuseScore.com that you’re most proud of? The main body of my work, the numerous piano pieces written for beginners which I hope take a fresh approach to piano playing and learning. If I had to pick just one piece, I would go for ”Champagne Rag Overture”. It’s a large-scale, virtuosic rag turned into a symphonic kind of overture. Special section on the origins of the gymnosolitude The story of the gymnosolitude began when I thought of composing a sequel for Burping Dinosaur, a piano piece for children. This time, however, the piece turned out to be a little bit too big and difficult for a children’s piece. I was imagining the dinosaur wandering about with nowhere particular to go. So I invented, with a little help from Satie (the composer of the three gymnopédies), a musical genre describing solitary walking, the gymnosolitude. To my astonishment, people here on MuseScore started writing gymnosolitudes, all with their own unique styles. Champagne Rag Overture by Rivergrove Watch for our next MuseScorer of the month in November! [Less]

Welcome to October’s edition of “MuseScorer of the month.” This is your chance to get to know one of MuseScore.com’s many brilliant members each month of the year. We’re featuring a wide variety of composers and types of music in this series, as well ... [More] as some members who use MuseScore to transcribe and share public domain sheet music. Last month, we introduced you to Aaron David. This month, meet the inventor of the gymnosolitude (see below), Finnish pianist Tuukka Jokilehto, aka Rivergrove! How did you discover MuseScore? I browsed the Internet for a free notation software to write down a few piano pieces I had composed and quite luckily found MuseScore right away. It was just what I was looking for. What motivates you to compose? I’m mainly interested in composing easy-to-play piano music for amateurs, beginners and children. My experience as a piano teacher tells me what kind of passages take a lot of practice and what kind don’t, so I try to write music that doesn’t take too much time to practice but would still be interesting for the player and the listener. A big motivation for me to compose is the ready audience and the immediate feedback and comments one gets from all the nice people here on MuseScore. What is your typical composing workflow like? I try to improvise some interesting sounding patterns on the piano and develop them into a piece. If I can’t come up with something in ten minutes, I quit and try again later. An interesting (unusual, funny, etc.) title is usually very inspiring for me. A good example of this might be a piece called ”Nagging Piano Teacher”. When I came up with the title, it didn’t take me more than a few minutes to compose the actual piece. What have you shared on MuseScore.com that you’re most proud of? The main body of my work, the numerous piano pieces written for beginners which I hope take a fresh approach to piano playing and learning. If I had to pick just one piece, I would go for ”Champagne Rag Overture”. It’s a large-scale, virtuosic rag turned into a symphonic kind of overture. Special section on the origins of the gymnosolitude The story of the gymnosolitude began when I thought of composing a sequel for Burping Dinosaur, a piano piece for children. This time, however, the piece turned out to be a little bit too big and difficult for a children’s piece. I was imagining the dinosaur wandering about with nowhere particular to go. So I invented, with a little help from Satie (the composer of the three gymnopédies), a musical genre describing solitary walking, the gymnosolitude. To my astonishment, people here on MuseScore started writing gymnosolitudes, all with their own unique styles. Champagne Rag Overture by Rivergrove Watch for our next MuseScorer of the month in November! [Less]

Welcome to September’s edition of “MuseScorer of the month.” This is your chance to get to know one of MuseScore.com’s many brilliant members each month of the year. We’re featuring a wide variety of composers and types of music in this series, as ... [More] well as some members who use MuseScore to transcribe and share public domain sheet music. Last month, we introduced you to TheLight OI. This month, meet Texan composer Aaron David! How did you discover MuseScore? From a young age I loved playing the piano and would often write little songs, arrangements, and mashups of movie soundtracks I liked. I usually forgot them after a while because I hated writing the sheet music by hand and it was very time-consuming. In desperation, I did a quick Google search for music notation programs, and MuseScore was at the top of the list. This was around June 2012. The program allowed my music writing to flourish immediately as I began using it to write more and more original music. I soon joined the online community and started regularly uploading scores. What inspires you to write music? I suppose there are several things that inspire my music. Nature, other music, life experiences. I simply gather my thoughts and write what I hear in my head. I try to use each composition as a learning experience in order to constantly grow and write better, more complex scores. Stepping out of my stylistic “comfort zone” is something I like to do from time to time, and it keeps my pieces fresh. What is your typical composing workflow like? Some pieces are written differently than others, but the main steps are usually somewhat identical. I will start with either a small melody or perhaps a new chord progression that I like, record it using Mixcraft, and keep writing from there. I do not start with a full orchestra in front of me; rather, I start with one instrument and add more only when the song needs them. My writing process involves a lot of listening. I will write a few measures, sit back and listen to it, and continue writing what I hear in my head. Once the song is completed, it’s off to MuseScore to transcribe the Mixcraft MIDI file into a neat, presentable score. What have you shared on MuseScore.com that you’re most proud of? A couple of years ago, I wrote a song called “Journey.” Perhaps my longest piece to date, it was quite a time-consuming effort to put together, but I was able to write several themes that I liked and put them together into a song that I quite liked. It became more popular than I could have imagined, garnering over 1,000 views in a single week (almost 5 times my normal viewing rate at the time). Because of the strength of the song’s themes and its increasing popularity, I decided to write a sequel, “Reflection: Journey’s End.” This worked well, but still seemed incomplete. This resulted in a prequel, “Inspiration: Before the Journey.” Out of this trilogy, I would say I’m most proud of “Inspiration.” I was able to utilize strange time signatures, develop original themes in a way I’ve never done before, and add new themes that worked alongside the existing ones to create one seamless piece. Inspiration: Before the Journey by Aaron David Watch for our next MuseScorer of the month in October! [Less]

Welcome to September’s edition of “MuseScorer of the month.” This is your chance to get to know one of MuseScore.com’s many brilliant members each month of the year. We’re featuring a wide variety of composers and types of music in this series, as ... [More] well as some members who use MuseScore to transcribe and share public domain sheet music. Last month, we introduced you to TheLight OI. This month, meet Texan composer Aaron David! How did you discover MuseScore? From a young age I loved playing the piano and would often write little songs, arrangements, and mashups of movie soundtracks I liked. I usually forgot them after a while because I hated writing the sheet music by hand and it was very time-consuming. In desperation, I did a quick Google search for music notation programs, and MuseScore was at the top of the list. This was around June 2012. The program allowed my music writing to flourish immediately as I began using it to write more and more original music. I soon joined the online community and started regularly uploading scores. What inspires you to write music? I suppose there are several things that inspire my music. Nature, other music, life experiences. I simply gather my thoughts and write what I hear in my head. I try to use each composition as a learning experience in order to constantly grow and write better, more complex scores. Stepping out of my stylistic “comfort zone” is something I like to do from time to time, and it keeps my pieces fresh. What is your typical composing workflow like? Some pieces are written differently than others, but the main steps are usually somewhat identical. I will start with either a small melody or perhaps a new chord progression that I like, record it using Mixcraft, and keep writing from there. I do not start with a full orchestra in front of me; rather, I start with one instrument and add more only when the song needs them. My writing process involves a lot of listening. I will write a few measures, sit back and listen to it, and continue writing what I hear in my head. Once the song is completed, it’s off to MuseScore to transcribe the Mixcraft MIDI file into a neat, presentable score. What have you shared on MuseScore.com that you’re most proud of? A couple of years ago, I wrote a song called “Journey.” Perhaps my longest piece to date, it was quite a time-consuming effort to put together, but I was able to write several themes that I liked and put them together into a song that I quite liked. It became more popular than I could have imagined, garnering over 1,000 views in a single week (almost 5 times my normal viewing rate at the time). Because of the strength of the song’s themes and its increasing popularity, I decided to write a sequel, “Reflection: Journey’s End.” This worked well, but still seemed incomplete. This resulted in a prequel, “Inspiration: Before the Journey.” Out of this trilogy, I would say I’m most proud of “Inspiration.” I was able to utilize strange time signatures, develop original themes in a way I’ve never done before, and add new themes that worked alongside the existing ones to create one seamless piece. Inspiration: Before the Journey by Aaron David Watch for our next MuseScorer of the month in October! [Less]

Welcome to September’s edition of “MuseScorer of the month.” This is your chance to get to know one of MuseScore.com’s many brilliant members each month of the year. We’re featuring a wide variety of composers and types of music in this series, as ... [More] well as some members who use MuseScore to transcribe and share public domain sheet music. Last month, we introduced you to TheLight OI. This month, meet Texan composer Aaron David! How did you discover MuseScore? From a young age I loved playing the piano and would often write little songs, arrangements, and mashups of movie soundtracks I liked. I usually forgot them after a while because I hated writing the sheet music by hand and it was very time-consuming. In desperation, I did a quick Google search for music notation programs, and MuseScore was at the top of the list. This was around June 2012. The program allowed my music writing to flourish immediately as I began using it to write more and more original music. I soon joined the online community and started regularly uploading scores. What inspires you to write music? I suppose there are several things that inspire my music. Nature, other music, life experiences. I simply gather my thoughts and write what I hear in my head. I try to use each composition as a learning experience in order to constantly grow and write better, more complex scores. Stepping out of my stylistic “comfort zone” is something I like to do from time to time, and it keeps my pieces fresh. What is your typical composing workflow like? Some pieces are written differently than others, but the main steps are usually somewhat identical. I will start with either a small melody or perhaps a new chord progression that I like, record it using Mixcraft, and keep writing from there. I do not start with a full orchestra in front of me; rather, I start with one instrument and add more only when the song needs them. My writing process involves a lot of listening. I will write a few measures, sit back and listen to it, and continue writing what I hear in my head. Once the song is completed, it’s off to MuseScore to transcribe the Mixcraft MIDI file into a neat, presentable score. What have you shared on MuseScore.com that you’re most proud of? A couple of years ago, I wrote a song called “Journey.” Perhaps my longest piece to date, it was quite a time-consuming effort to put together, but I was able to write several themes that I liked and put them together into a song that I quite liked. It became more popular than I could have imagined, garnering over 1,000 views in a single week (almost 5 times my normal viewing rate at the time). Because of the strength of the song’s themes and its increasing popularity, I decided to write a sequel, “Reflection: Journey’s End.” This worked well, but still seemed incomplete. This resulted in a prequel, “Inspiration: Before the Journey.” Out of this trilogy, I would say I’m most proud of “Inspiration.” I was able to utilize strange time signatures, develop original themes in a way I’ve never done before, and add new themes that worked alongside the existing ones to create one seamless piece. Inspiration: Before the Journey by Aaron David Watch for our next MuseScorer of the month in October! [Less]

Welcome to August’s edition of “MuseScorer of the month.” This is your chance to get to know one of MuseScore.com’s many brilliant members each month of the year. We’re featuring a wide variety of composers and types of music in this series, as well ... [More] as some members who use MuseScore to transcribe and share public domain sheet music. Last month, we introduced you to Tim Weaving. This month, meet Chinese-Canadian composer/pianist Liyang Yang, aka TheLight OI! How did you discover MuseScore? Back in 2013, I was going to perform as part of a 500-spectators concert for which I challenged myself to transcribe my solo composition into printable sheet music. I immediately devoted myself to this unbelievable software. Slowly but steadily, I built up my own song list. How could I have thought of having a fanbase consisting of several hundreds of passionate composers, transcribers and arrangers four years later? What motivates you to compose? My first two pieces were arrangements (they are still on the website) that I was deeply proud of. I think that’s why I kept on going with MuseScore, and upgraded to a Pro membership. Before that, I had created an alternate account. Practicing should be as enjoyable as composing, so I spend my time practicing as well. I regularly discover amazing works by fellow MuseScore users, and being passionate about music and having a keen sense of creativity, with MuseScore I found myself reliving the pleasures of my childhood. What a truly wonderful community MuseScore is! What is your typical composing workflow like? If I have a melody in my mind, I make a recording of it first, and then listen to the recording when notating it. (This method is very ear-training-oriented.) I highly recommend using the piano keyboard function (in the software) for composers of any level to construct melodies. You can benefit a lot from this combination of tools to create sheet music. I suggest the best way to come up with a melody is through imagination. Give it some time. Listening to some well-known classical music would help too. What have you shared on MuseScore.com that you’re most proud of? The piece that I treasure the most is without doubt Star of The North. Although it is not the one with the most favorites, the critics (including myself) seem to think this piece really stood out. Secondly, twelve hours of work built a piece that can be interpreted as light-hearted desolation. As it is near Father’s Day [editor’s note: it was at the time of writing], I particularly want to share the song I wrote for my father. And finally, the piece that is my most viewed, Flow of Water. Nevertheless, every piece is the fruit of hard labor. The same amount of input leads to different kinds of output; a not-so-successful song still leads me to gain experience and enjoy the wonderful process of composition. Star of The North by TheLight OI Watch for our next MuseScorer of the month in September! [Less]

Welcome to August’s edition of “MuseScorer of the month.” This is your chance to get to know one of MuseScore.com’s many brilliant members each month of the year. We’re featuring a wide variety of composers and types of music in this series, as well ... [More] as some members who use MuseScore to transcribe and share public domain sheet music. Last month, we introduced you to Tim Weaving. This month, meet Chinese-Canadian composer/pianist Liyang Yang, aka TheLight OI! How did you discover MuseScore? Back in 2013, I was going to perform as part of a 500-spectators concert for which I challenged myself to transcribe my solo composition into printable sheet music. I immediately devoted myself to this unbelievable software. Slowly but steadily, I built up my own song list. How could I have thought of having a fanbase consisting of several hundreds of passionate composers, transcribers and arrangers four years later? What motivates you to compose? My first two pieces were arrangements (they are still on the website) that I was deeply proud of. I think that’s why I kept on going with MuseScore, and upgraded to a Pro membership. Before that, I had created an alternate account. Practicing should be as enjoyable as composing, so I spend my time practicing as well. I regularly discover amazing works by fellow MuseScore users, and being passionate about music and having a keen sense of creativity, with MuseScore I found myself reliving the pleasures of my childhood. What a truly wonderful community MuseScore is! What is your typical composing workflow like? If I have a melody in my mind, I make a recording of it first, and then listen to the recording when notating it. (This method is very ear-training-oriented.) I highly recommend using the piano keyboard function (in the software) for composers of any level to construct melodies. You can benefit a lot from this combination of tools to create sheet music. I suggest the best way to come up with a melody is through imagination. Give it some time. Listening to some well-known classical music would help too. What have you shared on MuseScore.com that you’re most proud of? The piece that I treasure the most is without doubt Star of The North. Although it is not the one with the most favorites, the critics (including myself) seem to think this piece really stood out. Secondly, twelve hours of work built a piece that can be interpreted as light-hearted desolation. As it is near Father’s Day [editor’s note: it was at the time of writing], I particularly want to share the song I wrote for my father. And finally, the piece that is my most viewed, Flow of Water. Nevertheless, every piece is the fruit of hard labor. The same amount of input leads to different kinds of output; a not-so-successful song still leads me to gain experience and enjoy the wonderful process of composition. Star of The North by TheLight OI Watch for our next MuseScorer of the month in September! [Less]

Welcome to August’s edition of “MuseScorer of the month.” This is your chance to get to know one of MuseScore.com’s many brilliant members each month of the year. We’re featuring a wide variety of composers and types of music in this series, as well ... [More] as some members who use MuseScore to transcribe and share public domain sheet music. Last month, we introduced you to Tim Weaving. This month, meet Chinese-Canadian composer/pianist Liyang Yang, aka TheLight OI! How did you discover MuseScore? Back in 2013, I was going to perform as part of a 500-spectators concert for which I challenged myself to transcribe my solo composition into printable sheet music. I immediately devoted myself to this unbelievable software. Slowly but steadily, I built up my own song list. How could I have thought of having a fanbase consisting of several hundreds of passionate composers, transcribers and arrangers four years later? What motivates you to compose? My first two pieces were arrangements (they are still on the website) that I was deeply proud of. I think that’s why I kept on going with MuseScore, and upgraded to a Pro membership. Before that, I had created an alternate account. Practicing should be as enjoyable as composing, so I spend my time practicing as well. I regularly discover amazing works by fellow MuseScore users, and being passionate about music and having a keen sense of creativity, with MuseScore I found myself reliving the pleasures of my childhood. What a truly wonderful community MuseScore is! What is your typical composing workflow like? If I have a melody in my mind, I make a recording of it first, and then listen to the recording when notating it. (This method is very ear-training-oriented.) I highly recommend using the piano keyboard function (in the software) for composers of any level to construct melodies. You can benefit a lot from this combination of tools to create sheet music. I suggest the best way to come up with a melody is through imagination. Give it some time. Listening to some well-known classical music would help too. What have you shared on MuseScore.com that you’re most proud of? The piece that I treasure the most is without doubt Star of The North. Although it is not the one with the most favorites, the critics (including myself) seem to think this piece really stood out. Secondly, twelve hours of work built a piece that can be interpreted as light-hearted desolation. As it is near Father’s Day [editor’s note: it was at the time of writing], I particularly want to share the song I wrote for my father. And finally, the piece that is my most viewed, Flow of Water. Nevertheless, every piece is the fruit of hard labor. The same amount of input leads to different kinds of output; a not-so-successful song still leads me to gain experience and enjoy the wonderful process of composition. Star of The North by TheLight OI Watch for our next MuseScorer of the month in September! [Less]

Welcome to July’s edition of “MuseScorer of the month.” This is your chance to get to know one of MuseScore.com’s many brilliant members each month of the year. We’re featuring a wide variety of composers and types of music in this series, as well as ... [More] some members who use MuseScore to transcribe and share public domain sheet music. When we started this series six months ago, in January, our first MuseScorer of the month was Timothy K Hamilton. Now, at 2017’s halfway point, it’s time for another Tim—so meet Tim Weaving! How did you discover MuseScore? I first started to dabble with classical composition in 2010, around the age of thirteen. Whilst at secondary school I was introduced to Noteflight, an online music notation application which I used for several years, though never felt that it provided enough freedom and flexibility. In 2013, I progressed into sixth form college where I was approached by a peer who had been working on a dramatic adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island; he asked if I would write the score. I started to notate my ideas in Noteflight but soon became fed-up whilst battling with its limitations. As a student, unable to afford a software solution such as Sibelius or Finale, I searched for free music notation programs and immediately came across MuseScore. MuseScore saw me through the Treasure Island project and I even opted to use it over Sibelius (available on the college computers) when writing my final A-level music compositions. To this date, I use MuseScore exclusively and haven’t found myself needing anything more! What motivates you to compose? There are many composers’ works I currently enjoy listening to and take inspiration from, such as those of Sibelius, Rachmaninov and Stravinsky; most notable, however, is the music of Shostakovich. Shostakovich’s fluid dynamic transitions and inventive use of chromaticism and chromatic alteration, whilst still being grounded in tonality, is very appealing to me—my piece Marche Macabre is probably most evocative of Shostakovich’s style. The satisfaction in having a piece of music that is yours and yours alone is one of the biggest motivations for me and MuseScore provides a brilliant platform for composers to reach an audience they would not otherwise have access to. Any feedback I receive on my pieces (good or bad!) is also a great motivation and encourages me to develop as a composer. I find musical composition to be very therapeutic and as a mathematics student, it provides a creative outlet that I would not necessarily get otherwise. What is your typical composing workflow like? Any new piece generally begins its life at the piano, where I take note of any harmonic progressions, melodies and motifs that catch my ear. Once my initial ideas are formed I play around a little with the orchestration, deciding on which timbres suit certain melodies. With the main theme established, I allow the composition to develop as far as possible before my inspiration starts to falter, at which point I return to the piano. Once the composition reaches a stage where it makes sense musically and all the various components are in place, I listen to it in its entirety a few times over. At this point, I will perhaps move some parts to different instruments, fill out harmony in places, add embellishments and generally refine the piece. Finally, I go through and adjust any articulation or ornamentation that is misplaced or missing completely and improve the overall aesthetic of the score. What have you shared on MuseScore.com that you’re most proud of? There are two pieces of mine which I consider most musically “mature”—my Serenade No. 3 in A minor and Marche Macabre in C minor. Of the two, however, I would say that I am most proud of the latter. Marche Macabre by timweaving Watch for our next MuseScorer of the month in August! [Less]

Welcome to July’s edition of “MuseScorer of the month.” This is your chance to get to know one of MuseScore.com’s many brilliant members each month of the year. We’re featuring a wide variety of composers and types of music in this series, as well as ... [More] some members who use MuseScore to transcribe and share public domain sheet music. When we started this series six months ago, in January, our first MuseScorer of the month was Timothy K Hamilton. Now, at 2017’s halfway point, it’s time for another Tim—so meet Tim Weaving! How did you discover MuseScore? I first started to dabble with classical composition in 2010, around the age of thirteen. Whilst at secondary school I was introduced to Noteflight, an online music notation application which I used for several years, though never felt that it provided enough freedom and flexibility. In 2013, I progressed into sixth form college where I was approached by a peer who had been working on a dramatic adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island; he asked if I would write the score. I started to notate my ideas in Noteflight but soon became fed-up whilst battling with its limitations. As a student, unable to afford a software solution such as Sibelius or Finale, I searched for free music notation programs and immediately came across MuseScore. MuseScore saw me through the Treasure Island project and I even opted to use it over Sibelius (available on the college computers) when writing my final A-level music compositions. To this date, I use MuseScore exclusively and haven’t found myself needing anything more! What motivates you to compose? There are many composers’ works I currently enjoy listening to and take inspiration from, such as those of Sibelius, Rachmaninov and Stravinsky; most notable, however, is the music of Shostakovich. Shostakovich’s fluid dynamic transitions and inventive use of chromaticism and chromatic alteration, whilst still being grounded in tonality, is very appealing to me—my piece Marche Macabre is probably most evocative of Shostakovich’s style. The satisfaction in having a piece of music that is yours and yours alone is one of the biggest motivations for me and MuseScore provides a brilliant platform for composers to reach an audience they would not otherwise have access to. Any feedback I receive on my pieces (good or bad!) is also a great motivation and encourages me to develop as a composer. I find musical composition to be very therapeutic and as a mathematics student, it provides a creative outlet that I would not necessarily get otherwise. What is your typical composing workflow like? Any new piece generally begins its life at the piano, where I take note of any harmonic progressions, melodies and motifs that catch my ear. Once my initial ideas are formed I play around a little with the orchestration, deciding on which timbres suit certain melodies. With the main theme established, I allow the composition to develop as far as possible before my inspiration starts to falter, at which point I return to the piano. Once the composition reaches a stage where it makes sense musically and all the various components are in place, I listen to it in its entirety a few times over. At this point, I will perhaps move some parts to different instruments, fill out harmony in places, add embellishments and generally refine the piece. Finally, I go through and adjust any articulation or ornamentation that is misplaced or missing completely and improve the overall aesthetic of the score. What have you shared on MuseScore.com that you’re most proud of? There are two pieces of mine which I consider most musically “mature”—my Serenade No. 3 in A minor and Marche Macabre in C minor. Of the two, however, I would say that I am most proud of the latter. Marche Macabre by timweaving Watch for our next MuseScorer of the month in August! [Less]