StaffPad Autumn 2023 Update

A new update is out for StaffPad. I have been testing the app and have more to say about it on a future episode of the podcast. For now, read about the update from the StaffPad team, themselves…

Autumn 2023 Update:

It's been a while since our last update and, in the interim, we've been working hard on a lot of very interesting challenges and technologies - all designed to make writing music in StaffPad more productive and more flexible than ever.

This has resulted in some major changes under the hood, and a huge amount of R&D. I'm extremely proud of the work the team has done on this release, bringing features out of the research phase and into production use.

As always, this update is free and available in the App Store and Windows Store now. The video below gives a general overview of the update, covering composing using Piano Capture, MIDI Capture, Video Staffs, and more. Let's dive into it! Keep reading here…

The new piano capture and MIDI capture are paradigm-shifting additions to this update that offer entire new input methods. StaffPad is not my only notation tool, but what I appreciate about it is that the features the team chooses to focus on are all features that lift the burden off of me. For example, writing directly on the staff with an Apple Pencil eliminates the abstractions of menus and buttons. Recording my upright piano straight into the staff is, similarly, a concept that let’s me more directly get my thoughts our of my head and into the app, and without fussing with interfaces, USB connections, and MIDI controllers.

This update is very much worth a look and I am excited to discuss it more down the road.

Scoring Notes on Apple Updates and Notation Software Compatibility

Music notation software and macOS Sonoma [updated] - Scoring Notes:

Sure enough, last week’s downloadpalooza included iOS 17, iPadOS 17, tvOS 17, and watchOS 10, so if you haven’t stretched your bandwidth with all of those updates, by all means go grab them and treat your devices to the latest and greatest.

With all that in mind, however, the music notation software we primarily discuss here on Scoring Notes is still anchored to the desktop — albeit with healthy outposts on iPad and, to a lesser extent, iPhone — so this article will focus on what Mac users need to know about their favorite music notation software that runs on Mac, and its newest OS.

Keep reading here…

Asked and answered, part 3: Back to school - Scoring Notes Podcast

I’m very happy to have a few of my questions addressed on a recent episode of Scoring Notes (listen here).

Philip and David have been doing a series of episodes featuring listener questions. In part 3, the questions are centered on educational topics. Their responses are insightful, considered, and practical.

#71 - Adrian B. Sims

Composer Adrian B. Sims joins the show to talk about his career, musical journey, and favorite tools.

Learn more about Adrian and check out his upcoming music catalog here.

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App of the Week:
Robby - Ridiculous Fishing
Adrian - Hevy

Album of the Week:
Robby - Phoenix - Dirty Loops

Adrian - Myth (album) - Wikipedia

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Music Ed Tech Talk Episode #70 - Robby Is In The Phantom Zone, with Will Kuhn and Dr. David MacDonald

Will Kuhn and David MacDonald return to discuss Logic and Final Cut for iPad, the Ableton Push 3, Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference, and the Apple Vision Pro. Robby struggles with his internet connection.

In the Patreon feed: Zelda Talk.

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Show Notes:

App of the Week:
Robby -
Sequel

Will - Whisky
David -
Newzik

Album of the Week:
Robby -
KNOWER FOREVER

Will - [1000 Gecs](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kmoCFzuKniN8yTiL701Ardjwq7oMkvnz8

David - WDR Big Band on YouTube

Where to Find Us:
Robby -
Blog | Book
Will 
David 

Art by Ryan Bailey.

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Everything Must Be Paid for Twice

This blog post is worth a read. Via Andrew Hitz.

Everything Must Be Paid for Twice:

The miracle of industrialization has reduced many first prices tremendously, but has also given us many more of them to consider paying. With all the wonderful toys on offer, almost nobody feels like they have quite enough money, enough acquisition power. When a person receives a windfall, they immediately think of more first prices they can now pay.

But no matter how many cool things you acquire, you don’t gain any more time or energy with which to pay their second prices—to use the gym membership, to read the unabridged classics, to make the ukulele sound good—and so their rewards remain unredeemed.

I believe this is one reason our modern lifestyles can feel a little self-defeating sometimes. In our search for fulfillment, we keep paying first prices, creating a correspondingly enormous debt of unpaid second prices. Yet the rewards of any purchase – the reason we buy it at all — stay locked up until both prices are paid. Keep reading here…

Music Ed Tech Talk Episode #69 - I Don't Want a Valuable Life Lesson, I Just Want an Ice Cream, with Jaye Mateyko

Kick off the summer right! Jaye returns to the show to talk about AI, robots, mechanical keyboards, analog habits, Bluey, and focus modes.

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Become a Patron!

Buy me a coffeeBuy me a coffee

Thanks to my sponsors this month, Scale Exercise Play-Along Tracks.

Show Notes:

WHERE TO FIND JAYE

Show edited by Jaye Mateyko.

Art by Ryan Bailey.

Please don't forget to rate the show and share it with others!

Google Sheets Dashboards — David Getz Creative

David Getz is an educator from Illinois who is doing crazy awesome things with Google Spreadsheets to track the progress of his orchestra students. It reminds me of some of my own goals for tracking data and assessing students. Read about his awesome workflow on his blog.

Post #3 - Creativity in Organization: Google Sheets Dashboards — David Getz Creative:

Spreadsheets begin as endless rows of empty cells, neatly organized in columns and rows; a pure, blank canvas. What’s hidden in each cell though are endless formulas and shortcuts that can allow any creator to manipulate them for artistic and imaginative purposes.

I have always enjoyed goofing around with spreadsheets, but it was typically for the sole purpose of organizing baseball statistics or populating March Madness brackets. It wasn’t until I began coaching cross country that I began using my knack for number crunching for a professional purpose. After a few seasons of gathering large amounts of running data and analyzing trends to help us in our races, I realized I could also be using Google Sheets for educational purposes in my classroom. Music teachers often have the same students for multiple years, so having a way to analyze data over a long period of time is essential.

This year, I have decided to take a deep dive into building Google Sheets Dashboards. Keep reading here…