New Course: A Complete Guide to Digital Music Notation

Have your students print out a score of their very own compositions.

New Course: A Complete Guide to Digital Music Notation

Digital Music Notation

Hey there piano teachers!

Have you ever thought about how cool it would be to notate and print your own music?

Imagine being able to give students tailor-made sheet music that you’ve written to test a particular skill…or perhaps being able to create your own exercises for them to take home.

These are great additions to your teaching arsenal, but many teachers are hazy about the idea of digital music notation and printing professional looking scores.

With limited time in our busy schedules, writing scores out with pencil and paper can be simply too difficult an ask.

But, luckily there’s a solution!

Digital music notation means notating scores on the computer, and it is the answer to time restraints, and makes your scores look beautiful on the page.

“But… how on earth do I know where to start? Which software should I use? How do I learn how to use that software?”

Creating scores on your computer may seem a foreign task. However, digital music notation is simpler than you probably thought, and anyone can learn. Having someone to show you the ropes makes everything possible, and that’s what I’m here for!

My Digital Music Experience

I’m Fraser Myers and I am a film and music composer, so I spend a fair bit of time notating on my computer.

I am also a part of Tim Topham’s TopMusicPro team. So, I thought I could be the perfect person to show you exactly how anyone can learn to use digital notation.

I use notation software everyday while I compose for various productions, so have become extremely familiar with how it all works. Because of this, Tim kindly approached and asked me to create a full video course to teach members how to use it.

So, I went in to my studio and designed a course that would help piano teachers in particular. I wrote a short piano piece and created 12 video lessons showing my entire notation process from downloading software, to printing the finished score.

My course, “The Nuts and Bolts of Digital Notation” is now live at Tim’s TopMusicPro Academy, so if you’re a member, head over to the Academy now and you’ll see all 12 lessons ready for you to start.

Taking this course will tell you absolutely everything you need to know as a beginner to start notating your own scores. The best part about it is that the software I use is FREE, meaning you can download and follow along at no extra cost!

Currently, you’re probably wondering what this course includes.

I mean, you’d want a sneak peak into the content before starting, right?!

Well, I’m going to give you a summary of how the course works, as well as the list of all the lesson titles, plus a free download, so that you can see my order of processes.

Couple the new digital notation course with Tim’s 4 Chord Composing framework! Have your students compose a piece, and then notate it digitally instantly. Click here for more information.

Inside the Course

The course is designed as an interactive course. By that I mean that not only do I want you watch, but I also want you to do what I do.

To get you familiar with the process of digital music notation and how to write a piece of music on your computer, I decided that I would write a short piano piece and take you through every step of notating it digitally.

Together, we will start with a blank score, and each lesson we will fill in new sections and elements, teaching you a different skill every time.

I’ve provided a reference score in the downloads for each lesson so you can check that your score looks like mine, at every step of the way.

I’ll teach you how to download and install the software to prepare for the process, so all you have to do for the whole course, is follow my steps. If necessary, I want you to pause the video and catch up to where I’m at, if you’re lagging behind.

By the end of the course, we will have a fully notated piano piece, ready to print. As you will have created your own version, you will gain experience using notation software and will be confident and ready to notate your next piece of music on your own.

Click here to view the piano piece that we will notate from scratch together.

Here Are the Lessons

  • Lesson 1: Quick Summary of Notation Software
  • Lesson 2: How to Download and Install Musescore
  • Lesson 3: How to Create a New Piano Score
  • Lesson 4: Understanding the Interface
  • Lesson 5: Note Input Using the Mouse
  • Lesson 6: Note Input Using a MIDI Keyboard
  • Lesson 7: Speeding Up Your Workflow
  • Lesson 8: Entering Chords and Chord Symbols
  • Lesson 9: Articulations and Dynamics
  • Lesson 10: Adding Bar lines/Bars/Repeats
  • Lesson 11: Formatting
  • Lesson 12: Exporting and Printing

How Can I Access The Full Course?

The full course is available in the Academy section of Tim Topham’s TopMusicPro Academy.

In the community, you get access so hundreds of piano teaching resources, including lesson plans, teaching videos, online workshops as well as full online piano courses like this one.

My post popular courses, including 4 Chord Composing and No Book Beginners, are just a small part of what you will get access to.

With over 800 members from around the world, it’s a supportive community all working together to impart a love for piano onto our students.

Final Words

I wish you all the best with your adventure into digital notation. If you have had any experiences with digital music notation, please share them in the comments below.

You can also check out my orchestral music portfolio here.

Have a fantastic 2019!

Fraser Myers

Fraser has played piano and guitar from the age of 6, coming from a family of musicians. After graduating from school, Fraser built his own music production studio, equipped for scoring live and virtual film scores.

Fraser is privately mentored by professional Australian film composer, Amy Bastow. Amy hand-picked Fraser to work along side her in her studio, and to help fine tune his orchestration, composition and production skills for the work in the media industry.

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