[April 19, 2012]

MakeMusic Partners with Drum Corps Luminary Michael McIntosh

MakeMusic, Inc. (NASDAQ: MMUS) today announced a partnership with acclaimed percussionist, clinician, educator and composer Michael McIntosh to incorporate percussion arrangements he creates for The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps into SmartMusic and to share The Cavaliers experience with percussionists worldwide.

"SmartMusic is breaking new ground by providing access to music content delivered in a way that is simultaneously fun and educational," said Michael McIntosh. "This is unprecedented, as they have provided a new way to reach aspiring young percussionists everywhere."

As McIntosh creates the percussion music the seven-time world champion Cavaliers will play this summer, it will appear in the SmartMusic repertoire. As a result, Cavaliers percussionists will be able to practice the new music in SmartMusic at home before they attend their monthly training camps, ensuring camp time is spent fine-tuning performances, rather than learning rhythms.

In addition, aspiring percussionists of all ages and skill levels will have access to this same repertoire through SmartMusic, enabling them to study and practice along with The Cavaliers' drumline. Those who aspire to become part of this elite corps can experience first-hand what it takes and see how the show is refined over several months.

"SmartMusic is ideal for the distance learning required by drum corps," said Karen van Lith, MakeMusic CEO. "While at least ten world-class Drum Corps International (DCI) corps incorporate SmartMusic in their recruiting and training programs, this partnership is a first. It offers an inside glimpse into the preparation of a world-class show, and an opportunity for other percussionists to aspire to and achieve performance levels of the champions. By featuring this exclusive content-and related digital media-with multiple virtual communities, we plan to attract a broader audience of student percussionists from around the globe."

"The combination of Michael McIntosh and SmartMusic representsan incredible opportunity to inspire and guide young musicians," said Dan Acheson, DCI CEO. "SmartMusic offers a means to share Michael's expertise and enthusiasm in a way that allows everyone to participate."

The partnership will also allow fans to follow The Cavaliers beyond camps into the performance season. "Michael's music, combined with video of tips and behind-the-scenes fun, will produce an experience as close to being one of The Cavaliers as you can get without riding on the bus," said van Lith.

Sharing this experience through social media channels ensures that it will reach students where they live digitally. Inspirational and instructional video content, created by McIntosh with the SmartMusic team, will be an integral part of the campaign, and will be featured at www.facebook.com/ILoveSmartMusic, and other virtual communities for aspiring musicians.

Connect with fans via social networks from the SmartMusic and Finale Community pages.

About Michael McIntosh
Michael McIntosh is a graduate of Butler University with a degree in composition. He is a composer, educator, digital sound designer and Yamaha (News - Alert) artist/clinician. McIntosh is a member of The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps creative team and is one of two percussion designers and arrangers for the corps. Since 1997, he has been a percussion specialist at Carmel High School in Carmel, Indiana. As of 2012, McIntosh will be design for the Gateway (News - Alert) Indoor Independent World percussion group and also arrange for the George Mason University Indoor percussion ensemble.

McIntosh currently has works published by Row-Loff Publications, Yamaha Sounds of Summer, Tapspace Publications, Key Poulan Music, Drop 6 Media, The Hal Leonard Corporation, Innovative Percussion, Marching Show Concepts and Dynamic Marching. He has presented clinics on percussion design in the Netherlands, Japan and China as well as throughout the U.S.

About MakeMusic, Inc.
MakeMusic^®, Inc. is a world leader in music technology whose mission is to develop and market solutions that transform how music is composed, taught, learned and performed. For more than 20 years, Finale^® has been the industry standard in music notation software, enabling composers, arrangers, musicians, teachers, students and publishers to create, edit, audition, print and publish musical scores. MakeMusic is also the creator of SmartMusic^® education software that is transforming the way students practice. With SmartMusic, students and teachers have access to thousands of band, orchestra and vocal pieces allowing students to practice with background accompaniment and get immediate feedback on their performance. SmartMusic allows teachers to individualize instruction and document the progress of every student. The SmartMusic® Inbox™, an Android (News - Alert)™ and Apple^® mobile application, provides additional access for teachers to review, grade and comment on student assignments. MusicXML™ is an Internet-friendly way to publish musical scores, enabling musicians to distribute interactive sheet music online and to use sheet music files with a wide variety of musical applications. Garritan™ sound libraries provide musicians with state-of-the-art virtual instruments with the playback quality of a live performance. Additional information about this Minnesota company can be found at www.makemusic.com.

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