While composing in a notation program like Finale or Sibelius is a quick way to get your music in front of players, there are a number of scenarios when it is necessary to use Virtual Drumline within a sequencer such as Logic, Cubase, or Digital Performer. Some of these situations might include:

In this email: Sequential Studies – Level 2 just released!, Come see us at TMEA, Meet & Greet with Ralph Hicks and Eric Rath, Virtual Drumline Demystified now available for free viewing online, View the latest releases.

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Over the years, our onscreen tutorial Virtual Drumline Demystified has helped countless VDL users on the road to mastering it within Finale and Sibelius. Another thing that has occurred over the years is that software has continued to evolve, making the onscreen examples in VDL Demystified appear a bit dated. VDL expert, and founder of Visaudio Designs, Bryan Harmsen, did a fantastic job in presenting these lessons in a friendly, progressive manner. Bryan is a good friend of ours and subjecting him to ongoing rounds of endless video shooting and editing to stay current with frequent OS and applications updates isn’t feasible.

As such, we’ve decided to take this product off the market and make it available for free. While the older versions of Sibelius, Finale, and Kontakt won’t look entirely current, the main theories will still apply. We’ve removed a couple lessons in which outdated methods of installing template files was no longer relevant and would create more confusion than assistance.

IN THIS ISSUE: Happy Holidays, Midwest Clinic, New Releases, Concertpiece for Marimba and Wind Ensemble (Clifton Taylor), Download Pieces Available, Welcome Chad Heiny.

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IN THIS ISSUE: New Solos: The First Steps in a New Direction (Michael Charles Smith), The Fairview Hymns (Holst & Vaughan Williams; arr. Brian Mueller), New Duets: My Beautiful Chaos (Thomas R. Marceau), New Ensembles: Aeolian Dreams (Chris Roode), Nzuri Mwana (Stuart P. O’Neil), Nimrod (Elgar; arr. Michael Charles Smith), Angels in the Moonlight (Brian Slawson), TRiBE (Chad Heiny), Sofapilla (Chuck Ricotta), A Work of Fiction (Tyler Nechamkin), Concertpiece for Marimba and Percussion Ensemble (Taylor; arr. Jason Baker), VDL Tip: Timing Suspended Cymbal Rolls in Finale.

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IN THIS ISSUE: New Ensembles: Schnabel (Robert Sanderl), Three Scenes from the Desert (Alex Stopa), New Solos: Danny Boy (Traditional; arr. Brian Mueller), Impromptu No. 3 (Schubert; arr. August Pappas), Tristesse (Chopin; arr. Benjamin Holmes), New Books: The Golden Age of Ragtime (Ralph Hicks & Eric Rath), Sequential Studies-Level 1 (Julia Gaines), Nine Minute Drill (Hicks/Rath), VDL Tips: Impose Sketch onto Template, Zero-G (Roger Carter).

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IN THIS ISSUE: Tapspace at 2018 TMEA, New Books: Nine Minute Drill (Ralph Hicks & Eric Rath), Sequential Studies for Four-Mallet Marimba – Level 1 (Julia Gaines), Scores for Festivals.

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IN THIS ISSUE: Escape Rooms, Tapspace at 2017 MWC, New Releases: A Second Look (Thomas R. Marceau), Melody in Repose (Michael Charles Smith), Deleclusiastics (Scott Fairdosi), Animal Cracker Rag (Brian Slawson), Beyond the Clouds (Jim Casella), Jalopy (John Herndon), Holiday Gift and Concert Ideas, Tapspace Mixtape 17.12.

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IN THIS ISSUE: Tapspace at 2017 PASIC, New Releases: Chemical Songs (Chad Heiny), Faded Lines (Andrea Venet), Windows of the Maloca (Jim Casella), Boom Bap (Nick Werth), Duende (Francisco Perez), Orchestrations of the Underground (Toby Fox; arr. by Kirk J. Gay), Holiday Gift and Concert Ideas.

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HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS

It’s official: the holiday season is upon us! Give the special percussionist in your life something they really want by consulting our list of holiday gift ideas.

HOLIDAY CONCERT ENSEMBLE IDEAS

And if you’re still looking for some rum-pa-pum-pum for your upcoming concert, here are some holiday-esque ensembles that come together in a flash!