By Matt Ridge
mattridgemusic.com

One of the most popular uses of Tapspace’s flagship software instrument, Virtual Drumline (VDL), is integration with notation software. This produces lifelike, real-time percussion playback for composers/arrangers directly within the compositional workflow. Setup has been made easy in Finale and Sibelius for years thanks to third party plug-and-play mapping templates, such as those produced by The Write Score.

The nerds among us have recently been excited by a newcomer in the music notation market: Dorico. This program, built from the ground up by former Sibelius employees, brings a host of revolutionary features to the table, including: automatic condensing of conductor scores, incredible flexibility in note/dynamic input, cues updated to the source material in real time, handsome engraving defaults, and much more. As a constantly-maturing program, it’s sure to attract percussion composers and marching arrangers in greater numbers over the coming years.

In this email: COVID-19 resources for teaching, Five/Nine Minute Drill online versions, Books available digitally, Tap-Off in the classroom, VDL/Sibelius tip, Videos and latest releases.

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Greetings from our little corner of the world! 

As cliché as it is to say, “We hope you’re doing well in these unprecedented/uncertain/crazy times in which we live,” we really honestly do. We here at Tapspace HQ have fared well, all things considered, and are grateful for the opportunity to continue working and doing what we do best – releasing great music for all of you in percussion education.

We are thinking of all of you in the teaching community, about your concerns and struggles amidst the pandemic. You are to be applauded for the myriad ways in which you continue to rise to the challenge of keeping students engaged in music and percussion.

Likewise, for students. Has it ever been harder to be a student than it is right now? Your dedication to continue to strive for yourselves and become better players and future teachers is to be commended.  

In that spirit, we wanted to inform you that we have created a special COVID-19 filter on our website that we hope will serve you as you think about your upcoming challenges in the fall.

We have combed through our entire catalog and highlighted the pieces that satisfy the following COVID-era requirements:

UPDATED JUNE 2021

While much of the world was sheltering in place during the 2020-21 COVID-19 pandemic, we offered free access to the popular daily drill methods Five Minute Drill and Nine Minute Drill available online to users who either already owned or had just purchased the book(s). This was a temporary fix in order to aid those teachers and students needing to work in remote learning environments.

With the return to widespread in-person learning, this temporary online version will become unavailable on June 18, 2021. Please revert to using physical versions of the book instead.

Stay safe, and keep practicing!

During these uncertain times, we are taking measures to scale back our operation and take precautions toward the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Following state-mandated social distance guidelines, we are still fulfilling shipments from our office in Portland, Oregon. We will continue to operate in this manner as long as the US Postal Service and UPS remain functional and so long as it is safe for our staff to continue to do so.

Contacting Us:
We will continue to provide the service you’ve come to expect from us, albeit more remotely. Please contact us online rather than via our office phone. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.

International Shipments:
For the time-being, we will not be making international, non-US shipments from Tapspace.com. The majority of our catalog is available in downloadable PDF format, so we recommend purchasing your music that way if possible. We also encourage you to check with one of our dealers who may be able to more quickly provide your shipment.

We’re headed to the San Antonio for the Texas Music Educator’s Association (TMEA) convention next week! It’s one of our favorite places to witness the power of music education, eat some great Tex-Mex, and visit with some great people in the Lone Star state.

Through the University Interscholastic League (UIL), Texas has an influential list of prescribed music titles for solo and ensemble events. We’re honored to have a large portion of our catalog sanctioned on this list! Download a complete listing of all Tapspace titles on the UIL list, organized by event, grade, and UIL code.

In this email: So we’ve made a few new things. Over 100 new pieces produced in 2019. We’re headed to PASIC Nov 13-16 in Indianapolis; macOS Catalina compatibility warning for VDL users; Featured videos: Nightscape (Shane Mulligan), Palm Reader (Benjamin Holmes), In the Fog (Aaron Locklear), Canon Fodder (Chad Heiny).

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