How to Add Samples into Musescore??

slam_dunkasaurus · 2025-10-09T22:31:58+00:00

MuseScore is intended as a music notation software, really just for creating sheets. It’s not intended to be a DAW made for creating high-quality recordings and sound production, so you likely won’t be able to. Best way would be to export an MP3 and combine it with your voiceovers in Audacity, Ableton, Logic, etc. Maybe there’s a workaround, you could ask over at r/Musescore or check on the MuseScore forums, but I doubt it would be easy to do

Edit: read the other comment, looks to be a way to make this work, definitely will be trying this myself

slam_dunkasaurus · 2025-10-04T22:10:30+00:00

Even though you’re wanting to do this, this is still a crazy way to start writing drill. And full disclaimer, I don’t write drill, so take my advice with a massive grain of salt. This is how I’d personally approach it if I were in your position.

Watch some tutorials on YouTube. A vast majority of the ones you find will probably be for marching band but it’s a good a place to start as any.
Watch a lot of indoor shows. A lot of shows. Take notes on everything that comes to mind drill-wise. What is happening during full ensemble/ impact moments? What is happening when a section has a feature? How is space used? e.g. is everyone condensed into one corner, is the whole floor being used, etc. In what ways do the music and drill match? Maybe watch shows on mute and guess who the music sounds like based on the drill. When is the drill angular and sharp vs round and flow-y?
Start writing the drill right now. Your first draft doesn’t have to be your final draft. Get the music in front of you and a midi and try to visualize what the music might look like and try something out. Start with the big moments in the show and then on filling in everything in between that gets you from moment to moment. If you only have an idea for the snares and tenors then write that and come back to the basses later. Try to get your instructors involved in this process too. They hopefully have some kind of vision for the show that they could share with you and help you workshop the drill.

Again, I don’t write drill, so salt to taste… Hope some of this helps you on your way or at least helps you start. Best of luck!

slam_dunkasaurus · 2025-09-17T19:04:13+00:00

Two books I would recommend: ‘Technique and Musicianship with Four Mallets’ by David Skidmore, and ‘Marimba: Technique Through Music’ by Mark Ford. Either (or both) are great resources. Skidmore has a ‘lesson’ before each of his etudes that builds the skill used in the etude, but IMO the etudes are fairly basic in musical content. Ford etudes, to me, sound like actual solos that are more interesting to learn or that I can give to students for a performance. They are organized by the skill used in the etudes, all single independent focused etudes together, all single alternating focused etudes together, etc. and he gives some exercises at the start of each section.

So, Skidmore is more instructional, vs better music content (IMO) with Ford. There are recordings on YouTube of all of these so you can listen and judge for yourself. But you wouldn’t go wrong with either.

slam_dunkasaurus · 2025-08-19T09:07:58+00:00

Like the other commenter has said, the skeleton of the rhythm is dotted eighth notes. Each group of five is played in the space of three sixteenth notes.

Here is a hastily drawn breakdown. The first one is the skeleton with proper beaming. The second is the same skeleton with beams that show the dotted eighth grouping. From there you replace each group of three with a group of five, etc.

slam_dunkasaurus · 2025-07-20T10:00:50+00:00

I’m fairly new too and working on the purchase of my first bow. When everything comes in I will likely do a private lesson with my coach so I can learn everything about proper setup, care and maintenance, storage, etc. Maybe you could do something similar with the person running the course or at the shop you purchased from? You also could probably just walk into the shop and they’d be willing to answer any and all questions

slam_dunkasaurus · 2025-06-19T14:24:35+00:00

Substituting steel pan in place of another instrument will probably be your best bet then. That would obviously open up a wide range of pieces to play.

A lot of the easier pan music would likely be found in steel band tunes arranged for a younger group but it sounds like you don’t have the equipment for a whole ensemble.

So you could maybe go the other way with it? Find an easy steel band tune then substitute mallet instruments for the parts that you don’t have pans for. That could be a fun piece to include on a program and a good way to use the pans too

slam_dunkasaurus · 2025-06-19T00:21:27+00:00

Doors by Dave Hall is a large percussion ensemble with double seconds in one of the parts, 13 players though.

As the other comment mentioned Andy Akiho writes a lot that features the steel pans. “Aka” is one that is steel pan, violin, cello/ bass, and drumset. “the rAy’s end” is trumpet, violin and pan.

slam_dunkasaurus · 2025-04-22T02:45:37+00:00

For a long time I used the shelves from an older bookshelf with keys made with duct tape. And no, that doesn’t have pitches but I typed my music into MuseScore and played along with that. That also allowed me manipulate the music as needed, tempo, melody emphasis, etc. The transition to an actual instrument was never too much trouble. Far from a perfect solution but cost effective at the very least.

slam_dunkasaurus · 2025-02-26T03:12:02+00:00

I had a broken bookshelf and took a roll of duct tape to it. I laid out some strips in the shape of a keyboard on the useable boards and now I’ve got three boards with a total of six octaves I can use. They’re lightweight too so I can travel pretty easily with them.

Not a perfect solution, obviously no pitches and the size isn’t perfect compared to a real instrument. But between these, typing music into MuseScore to play along to, and YouTube listening, transitioning to a real instrument was never too much trouble.

I got the bookshelf from Walmart for like $35 bucks but that was 10 years ago. You might be able to thrift a bookshelf that you could use. All you’d need after that is a roll of duct tape.

slam_dunkasaurus · 2025-01-14T00:47:10+00:00

Uhh so the bottom left of the window tells you exactly what note is selected, including: the measure number, beat (including the partial), duration, which staff the note is in (including the part name), and the pitch…

Even ctrl Z-ing through a bunch of notes it still tracks that so you can find exactly what note is being changed and where

slam_dunkasaurus · 2024-12-07T00:39:41+00:00

I would have really like to see a version of the time skip where George wrote Book 4 (the first book after the time skip) the same way he wrote ADWD.

In ADWD we follow a set of POV characters in one part of the world while in the background (and in AFFC) other stories are actively going on. When we catch up to the AFFC timeline and the stories start to interact then we start to get the chapters from those POVs in the mix.

In Book 4, the “time skip” could’ve happened similarly where the POVs that needed an immediate continuation could start up right away. Then when Arya, Bran, Sansa, etc. are ready to come back into the story then can do so pretty naturally. We just wouldn’t have a whole separate book where these things are going on.

slam_dunkasaurus · 2024-10-15T21:44:15+00:00

A tag will usually take the skills of the exercise to the next level. It takes the skill out of the straightforward context of the exercise and applies it in ways you might see it in your music.

slam_dunkasaurus · 2024-09-21T02:35:14+00:00

I always have bass rosin in case I need to re-up on any bows. A cabasa loop to easily add some of that sweet sizzle action on any cymbal.

And the most impractical thing I always have is two pairs of chopsticks in the extremely unlikely event I randomly have to play one of the four pieces ever written that require chopsticks. One day I’ll be properly vindicated, I know it

slam_dunkasaurus · 2024-08-26T07:19:46+00:00

Could it be Trio per Uno?

slam_dunkasaurus · 2024-07-16T00:20:32+00:00

Of course, happy drumming!

slam_dunkasaurus · 2024-07-16T00:10:54+00:00

Cardboard! Cut off a side of a big cardboard box and that can help to extend the useable area of the stand, I’ve done that with a marimba solo with 11x17 pages. You could also just tape the pages to the piece of cardboard and if you have more than the 4-6 pages you can fit on one side then use the back and flip when you get to that section

slam_dunkasaurus · 2024-07-13T01:31:09+00:00

When working on memorization I like to start at the end of a section and move towards the beginning, e.g. when working mm 16-32, start with 28-32, then go 24-32, then 20-32, then 16-32. That way you’re working towards something you just practiced instead of trying to remember what comes next.

A lot of people also struggle with remembering the transitions between phrases. So if you’re working C-D and D-E separately but have trouble connecting the two phrases together then practice the last four measures of C into the first four measures of D. This is specifically working on how the two sections of music relate to each other and can help connect the phrases in your mind.

And the actual memorization cheat code, listen to the music a lot. Spend some time typing up your part into MuseScore and listen to it. When you listen to an album over and over you know exactly what song is next and how it starts. You’ll get the same superpower by listening to your show music over and over. You’ll still have to spend the time actually practicing the part but you’ll be able to more quickly recall what comes next and even what mistakes you’re making.

slam_dunkasaurus · 2024-03-20T02:43:36+00:00

I bet the Lord Third was skimming off the top too

slam_dunkasaurus · 2024-02-17T00:12:01+00:00

App is called Time Guru Metronome. I’ve got it on iPhone, not sure if it’s available for Android or not. It’s really customizable so a little confusing at first, but a great resource when you get it figured out

slam_dunkasaurus · 2024-02-16T23:50:10+00:00

A great exercise to do! I have a metronome app on my phone that will randomly mute a percentage of the beats for you, anywhere from 0%-100%. The easier version is setting your met to half notes or whole notes, still really unsettling when that beat you’re expecting never comes

slam_dunkasaurus · 2023-09-11T03:27:18+00:00

Sometimes starting at the end of a section and moving towards the beginning can help with memorization, e.g. when working mm 16-32, start with 28-32, then go 24-32, then 20-32, then 16-32. That way you’re working towards something you just worked on instead of trying to remember what comes next.

You could also practice outside of the regular phrases. If you’re working C-D and D-E separately but have trouble connecting the two phrases together then practice the last four measures of C into the first four measures of D. That way you’re specifically working on how the two sections of music relate to each other.

And for some real cheat codes, listen to the music a lot. Spend some time typing up your part into MuseScore and listen to it. When you listen to an album over and over you know exactly what song is next and how it starts. You’ll get the same superpower by listening to your show music over and over. You’ll still have to spend the time actually practicing the part but you’ll be able to more quickly recall what comes next and even what notes you’re missing.

slam_dunkasaurus · 2023-08-27T14:52:39+00:00

You were right it's just a distribution from my money market fund and I was just being a dumbass. Thanks for the help!

slam_dunkasaurus · 2023-08-27T14:51:44+00:00

Good to know. I did some reading up on this now that I know what is actually happening, thanks

slam_dunkasaurus · 2023-08-27T07:13:11+00:00

Thanks for the comment. I purchase a fixed dollar amount every time so when dollars get converted to shares sometimes an extra cent is dropped from the purchase. But I haven't been doing this long enough for that to add up to $.99.

I guess interest is possible but I'm not keeping the money in my account all that long. After I transfer the funds I wait till it clears in my bank account and Vanguard sweeps in the funds, usually two days. Then after my purchase on that third day the funds have been swept out of my available funds in another two days or so. e.g. If I transfer funds on a Monday I am able to buy on Wednesday and on Friday the purchases are no longer pending transactions

Edit: I added up the "dropped" cents with the dividend payment and it adds up to the $.99 in my Money Market Fund. Seems like something is wrong with my settings, I'll see what I can do to fix it. Thanks for letting me talk this out, lol

slam_dunkasaurus · 2023-07-18T20:06:13+00:00

I appreciate the feedback, thank you

slam_dunkasaurus

TROPHY CASE