Please note that everything written here is my opinion. In April, 2024 Hal Leonard/MuseGroup (HL/MG) expanded their “ArrangeMe” (AM) self-publishing platform with a paid subscription “Pro” feature. For those that don’t know, AM allows composers and arrangers to upload their own music as well as arrangements from a large list of copyrighted titles. The music […]
a Introduction In the mid-1990’s I started using Finale (version 3.7) as my music notation software of choice. (Prior to that I used MusicPrinterPlus). When version six of Sibelius came out I tried it out and switched to it because it was far more intuitive than Finale. When Dorico 4 was released in early 2022 […]
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New Videos
I’ve been going through my music catalog and producing demo recordings (with video of the music) and uploading them to YouTube. See my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/jamesgilbertmusic As of today’s date, all my brass music, Any Size church orchestra series, concert band and most, if not al of of my orchestra or instrumental ensemble scores […]
I thought I’d give you an update as to what I’ve been up to lately. Links to all places mentioned below can be found in the menu above. Piano lessons. I am still teaching piano lessons via video conferencing software on the internet. I am also available to teach in person lessons in Micanopy. Computer […]
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Year in Review – 2021
A look at what happened with JamesGilbertMusic.com this past year. The ongoing worldwide pandemic has dramatically affected musicians throughout the world including me. The number of piano students I have declined dramatically in 2020. I have been unable to gain any new students in 2021. You can be anywhere in the world to take piano […]
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New Album Release
Starting March 1, 2021 my latest album will be available on streaming sites everywhere. Please leave comments and questions here in the comment section. I also have 13 other albums available on all digital music streaming sites (Scroll to the bottom for links to all the sites)
For those that work with orchestra or any music that requires parts to be produced, you may want the bar (measure) numbers in the parts to look different than the numbers in the score. I take a look at that issue in a YouTube tutorial video. I also talk about how to make a special […]
Classical Music for solo Organ I’m happy to announce that my 13th album is now available. You can listen to it on YouTube at: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mv5_JJPl9WFBnKCAV-yTDfqFEuzdGECaM You can also purchase it at https://music.apple.com/us/album/classical-music-for-solo-organ/1544011235 or listen on Spotify at: https://open.spotify.com/album/6Qz1uT9cZSc3ZQmdp6I2t5 This album is an all Organ music album. It features the following short works. Sortie-Franck (2:45)Allein Gott […]
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New Orchestra Title
An arrangement of All Things Bright and Beautiful for Solo Orchestra is now available. View a demo recording here: To purchase this title, go to the music catalog menu at the top and scroll down or search for the title.
My story of ordering it and installing it (and a few comments about the software). I routinely update, or is it upgrade (?) Komplete from Native Instruments. I almost immediately went to the website to pre-order it as soon as it was announced. The product page said nothing about the possibility that some libraries/programs would […]
Update: Be very careful where you put your metering plugins when mixing. It turns out I had Insight one step before the final mix. As a result, my mono mixes are now about -2 to -2.5db softer than the stereo sounds, not the same as the article below says. This is acceptable, though not ideal. […]
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Videos and links
Update: @JGSheetMusic is my Twitter handle Since January of 2020 I’ve posted quite a few videos on YouTube. These videos are demos of various sheet music titles I have available. They are full length recordings along with the sheet music. You can see them all at my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/jamesgilbertmusic I also released a new […]
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Musicians and the Pandemic
Musicians Need Help too Our hearts go out to anyone suffering from the current virus worldwide. Virus or not, there are always people worse off than any group of people I might mention. Right now musicians are already suffering. You can help out by listening to their music via streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music […]
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A Little Praise
A Little Praise Any Size Orchestra series play through Visit https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/20389663 to see more and visit https://jamesgilbertmusic.com for more music
Hymns – Plugged In I’ve been at it again. A new album is now available. It is title Hymns – Plugged In. A collection of traditional hymns set in contemporary styles using all electronic instruments. Available at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083TPXRBP as well as on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and all digital music sources. Here is a demo […]
Free Music If you didn’t know it, my website has quite a few complete pieces available for download for free. There are also some free titles that would be of use to teachers or students, particularly as related to music theory. Unlike many free products out there, you don’t have to register, you don’t have […]
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Slurs, ties and phrases
Let’s talk about slurs, phrases and ties. As a long time piano teacher, I find many students, even advanced players get confused. Slurs – curved line over/under two or more *different* notes. Tie – curved line connecting the *same* note(s) immediately next to one another. Phrase – a musical idea, often indicated with a slur […]
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Kontakt Player Intro
In my latest YouTube video I am taking a quick look at Native Instrument’s Kontakt Player. This is a free product that comes with a respectable amount of instruments. It is ideal for anyone getting started with sampling or interested in getting into music technology. I made the video for some of my piano students […]
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New Sheet Music
New Music Available now at my website and SheetMusicPlus, are the following titles. For a list of all titles I have available, visit https://jamesgilbertmusic.com/catalog.php Ancient Quandary — Orchestra — https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/20964252 Christ Is Made The Sure Foundation — Orchestra — https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/20964255 David’s Lamentation — Orchestra — https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/20964256 Heaven Above — Orchestra — https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/20964259 I Remember You, […]
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Choir Labs contest
Choir labs contest From time to time I enter various arranging or mixing contests. Recently Spitfire Audio – a British company that makes very good sound libraries – sponsored a contest. They make available various free libraries, one of which is based on the Eric Whitacre choir. The contest was to compose and record music […]
Late October additions to catalog and Soundcloud Listen to my contribution to a collaborative effort with Spitfire Audio. (Alas it wasn’t selected as part of the song). I added 3 new sheet music titles to the sheet music catalog (https://jamesgilbertmusic.com/catalog.php) Two versions of the Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah. One for solo organ and one for […]
New Choral Music I’ve released 2 new choral titles through my distributor Sheet Music Plus Direct. As with all my current arranging, I use Sibelius for the composing and layout. First, an unaccompanied setting of Are You Washed In The Blood for SATB choir. See more details here: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/20804287 Secondly, an accompanied setting of Christ, […]
No Time To Relax Track 9 from my album Sampler. It can be found wherever digital music is available A melancholy piece featuring pads, light drums and vocalise melody to start with. Then the track adds in some synth leads and synth bass part. The end echos the feel of the start. The Gravity sound […]
Continuing with my series of liner notes for my album Sampler, we get to track number 8. This is a darker sounding track. It consists of 6 instruments and various effects. You can find all of my albums anywhere digital music is available. First up is the Bass, the Padaboom patch from the Substance library […]
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Exciting times (track notes)
Continuing my liner notes for my July 2018 album “Sampler” Track 7, Exciting Times, was my first experiment on doing something entirely from loops. Not audio loops, but MIDI loops. The entire track was produced from MIDI loops. I use to subscribe to a magazine that included a download link or a DVD that had […]