Music Preparation Guidelines for Composers

Robert Paterson

Special thanks to Stephen Cabell and Bill Holab for offering suggestions and helpful information.

The following guidelines pertain to book design for music publications (i.e., scores and parts). They are a good starting point for most pieces, but the instrumentation and the specific details of each work will dictate which choices to make.

General Comments

  • Pieces may not exceed 8 minutes in performance duration.

  • Scores must be engraved (computer or by hand): i.e., no illegible sketches.

  • Clefs and key signatures (if used) must appear at the beginning of each staff.

  • Care should be taken with the use of the abbreviations 8va and 8vb, avoiding their use if possible. They are sometimes acceptable in C scores to save space, almost never in orchestral parts, except for piano or other keyboard parts. They are generally helpful for a span of more than three notes with three or more ledger lines.

Front Matter

Title Page

  • Title

  • Composer

  • Lyricist (if applicable)

  • Short instrumentation (e.g., for Orchestra)

  • Description (e.g., TRANSPOSED SCORE, C SCORE, or Flute I)

  • Name of the publishing company, if applicable (centered on the bottom)

  • Note that title pages are generally only used for scores or substantial parts and are not usually included with most orchestral or chamber parts. If a part begins on page 2 (i.e., not recto-verso), then a title page may be used for the front of the part, where page 1 would typically go.

Notes pages

  • The full title of the work, printed as it would appear in a formal concert program, includes appropriate capitalization and diacritical markings, along with movement titles in their proper order.

  • Full instrumentation (for orchestra works), including doublings and percussion instruments

  • Program Notes (recommended). Note that the commissioning credit is often included at the end of a program note but can also be included at the bottom of the front matter.

  • Performance Notes:

    • Describe any deviations from standard musical notation.

    • Describe any special equipment, synthesizer settings, or other technical requirements (also note these details on the cover page of the instrument’s part). Instructions should be as specific and as understandable as possible.

    • Include any special instructions for “prepared instruments” or other uncommon instruments. (also note these details on the cover page of the instrument’s part).

    • Describe any specific staging instructions. Detailed diagrams are helpful to illustrate particularly complex staging.

  • First performance

  • Duration

First Page of Music

Top of Page

  • Title

  • Short instrumentation (e.g., for Orchestra, usually right below the title)

  • Dedication (if included, usually right above the title and in italics). Note: we are grateful when composers add a dedication on their score above the title and/or in the front matter, such as “Written for American Modern Ensemble,” “Written for Mostly Modern Ensemble,” or “Written for Mostly Modern Festival,” etc.

  • Movement title, if applicable

  • Composer (usually the right side)

  • Year composed (optional, usually under Composer)

  • Duration (usually on score only, left side)

  • Lyricist (if applicable, usually left side, bottom justified with Composer)

  • Description (e.g. (FULL SCORE or Flute I, top and left-justified)

Bottom of Page

  • Name of publishing company (centered on the bottom).

  • Copyright Information, e.g., © Copyright 2018 First Name Last Name (ASCAP or BMI)

Paper

Although many performers, conductors, and organizations use tablets to read music, many musicians still use—and even prefer—printed scores and parts. The type of paper you use is important and is a balance between the following criteria:

  • Durability: The paper for parts should be of substantial quality to avoid show-through of music from the reverse side, to ensure durability, and to stand up to on-stage wind patterns caused by ventilation systems or even gentle breezes when outdoors. Paper that is too thin will easily tear and will not lay well on a music stand, and pencil markings could potentially damage the paper. Therefore, the paper should, at a minimum, be 28 lb (110 gsm) and ideally 32 lb (120 gsm). Please do not use standard office paper (which is usually 20 lb, 80 gsm) or regular laser paper, which is 24 lb, 90 gsm). If you are in the U.S. or printing in the U.S., we recommend Premium Color 32 lb Copy Paper, 12 x 18 Tabloid Extra 100 Bright (folded for 9 x 12 scores and parts; see below). This is both sufficient and acceptable for scores and parts. If you are printing in Europe, Asia, or elsewhere, please see below for equivalent paper sizes.

  • Opacity: One of the main reasons typical office paper is not sufficient for scores and parts (and especially parts) is it is too transparent, and any pencil markings on the pages could show through to the opposite side of the paper.

  • Is It Archival Quality?: the paper we recommend is acid-free, archival quality paper, and will not yellow over time.

  • Weight: We recommend not using cardstock (32-110 lb, 176-360 gsm) since it is difficult to turn cardstock pages, they are unnecessarily thick, and fewer pages can be included in a part or sore without making it heavy and unwieldy. Paper for parts that are used for rental (i.e., orchestral parts) is usually of a heavier weight (but not as stiff as cardstock) because it will be used over and over again and needs to stand up to repeated use.

  • Viewability: Bright white paper is not ideal; slightly off-white is better, but if an off-white paper isn’t available (and it typically is not), then standard white paper will suffice. The reason bright white paper isn’t typically ideal is because stage lighting can create a glare and make bright white pages difficult to read, but this is a minor concern unless the pages have a coated surface. Bright white paper can also cause eye strain, but this is also a somewhat minor concern when taking all other factors into consideration.

  • Availability: The paper we suggest above is typically available. We don’t recommend using paper that is difficult to procure.

  • Cost: this is probably the least important factor for our purposes, but publishers and printers definitely consider this aspect when printing sheet music. The paper we suggest here is usually somewhat affordable. To reduce cost, look for special offers, purchase in bulk, consider purchasing larger amounts at a discount, and consider splitting the order with other composers.

Note that any of the suggested printers at the bottom of this guide will print on paper that is at least this quality or better.

Formatting and Binding

  • Parts and scores should be bound to lie flat on the stand. Generally, the best and easiest way to bind folded parts is to staple the spines using a large-format stapler, which is easy to find on sites like Amazon. If your notation software doesn’t format for staple binding, on Apple computers, a helpful App is Cheap Imposter, which will automatically format your PDF to be printed as a booklet or this page.

  • Coil binding may be used for scores but not for parts. Once again, parts should not be coil-bound as coil-bound parts are too bulky and cannot fit into folders. Make sure you request or use large enough spirals for score pages to turn quietly. Most music printing services know what to do.

  • Plastic comb binding should be avoided, as it is noisy when pages are turned and falls apart easily over time.

  • Parts should be printed double-sided on large-format, Tabloid Extra-sized paper, folded and stapled.

  • To bind multiple loose part pages, affix library tape (not Scotch tape) to the left margin of the part. All pages should be attached to the center spine. Loose pages should be taped or attached to the center margin of the spine.

  • Tape: Vital Presentation Concepts Inc. or 3-M Corp. Micropore surgical tape.

  • Accordion fold parts (single-sided sheets taped side-to-side) are not acceptable.

  • Fold-out pages should be avoided or, if necessary, used sparingly.

Page Sizes, Orientation, Margins, Etc.

Note: Page size rough equivalents are listed below. Visit this site for detailed explanations of international paper sizes.

  • In general, the four significant sizes for music are:

    • 9 x 12” – folio size, used for parts and some scores, equivalent to UK/EU paper size C4. 9 x 12" (12 x 18" Tabloid Extra size folded in half) is an ideal size for most parts and even many scores. Although 9 x 12 is the preferable size for parts, they may be printed on 8.5 x 11 (UK/EU A4) paper (i.e., 11 x 17 or UK/EU A3 folded and stapled-bound) as a last resort.

    • 11 x 17" – (UK/EU A3) or 11 x 14" (UK/EU B4) (scores, and very rarely, parts)

    • 8.5 x 11" – roughly equivalent to UK/EU A4 (choral scores/parts)

    • 10 x 13" – roughly equivalent to the European size B4 but mostly unavailable in the U.S. and does not always fit into orchestral folders. 10 x 13 is more of a standard size in Europe. In the U.S., 9 x 12 is more standard. To print 10 x 13 and staple bind, you will need to locate 13 x 20 paper and likely run it through a large format printer.

  • It is strongly recommended that you never set up scores or parts in landscape fashion, for various reasons, unless your music is graphically notated or the pages are meant to slide from left to right, such as with some graphic scores or marimba solos. Note: we will not accept landscape scores at MMF unless they are performance scores using graphic notation, i.e., scores that the performers will read from.

Scores

  • Page size: 9 x 12” (UK/EU C4), 11 x 17” (UK/EU A3), or 11 x 14” (UK/EU B4)

  • Staff size: 4 mm. to 6 mm.

  • Margins: sides .75” (1.905 cm); top/bottom .5” (1.27 cm)

  • The first page of music (scores and parts) should have a copyright notice centered at the bottom of the page.

  • All tempo indications should appear above the top staff and above the first violin line on each score page.

  • Instrumental scores (not choral scores) may be optimized (empty staves removed) to save space and to fit more systems per page.

  • C scores and transposed scores are both acceptable; each has advantages and disadvantages. C scores are sometimes more helpful for highly complex, keyless, and/or non-tonal music (i.e., New Complexity, twelve-tone, etc.). One of the drawbacks to C scores is that some transposing instruments will necessitate more ledger lines, which can look a little cluttered and cause the staves to take up too much vertical space on the page. Conversely, transposed scores allow more of the material to appear in the staff, creating a tighter-looking score. Most conductors can easily read transposed scores and are quite used to them, especially since they are more common for older, traditional music through the Romantic era. These days, it’s a toss-up, depending on your style. Whether it’s a C score or transposed, you need to indicate that on the first page (usually upper left-hand corner).

Piano/vocal Scores

  • Page size: 9 x 12” (UK/EU B4)

  • Staff size: 7 mm.

  • Margins: sides .75” (1.905 cm); top/bottom .5” (1.27 cm)

Chamber Scores

  • 9 x 12” (UK/EU B4). Although 9 x 12 is the preferable size for chamber scores, they may be 8.5 x 11 (i.e., 11 x 17 folded and stapled-bound) as a last resort. UK/EU equivalent is A3 for 11 x 17" folded.

  • Staff size: 7 mm.

  • Margins: sides .75” (1.905 cm); top/bottom .5” (1.27 cm)

  • Solo instrument(s) with piano: make the solo instrument staves 60% of the standard size (7 mm.).

Choral Scores

  • Page size: 8.5 x 11” (UK/EU A4)

  • Staff size: 5 mm.

  • Margins: .5” (1.27 cm) all around

  • Note that it is very common for choirs to provide 3-ring bound books of parts for choristers since the choral members often perform while standing and holding their music, and anything larger than 8.5 x 11 or A4 would be heavy and unwieldy. This is why choral parts are often on folded 8.5 x 11 or A4 paper.

Parts

  • Page size: 9 x 12” (UK/EU B4). Although 9 x 12 is the preferable size for chamber parts, they may be 8.5 x 11 (i.e., 11 x 17 folded and stapled-bound) as a last resort. UK/EU equivalent is A3 for 11 x 17" folded.

  • Staff size: 7 mm.

  • Margins: sides .75” (1.905 cm); top/bottom .5” (1.27 cm)

  • The first page of each part must have the instrument name.

  • All subsequent pages must have a small header at the top indicating the instrument name. Please don’t forget to do this. For example, PIECE NO. 1 – Piccolo. Please don’t forget to do this.

  • All odd-numbered (righthand) pages must have page turns.

  • If a part begins on page 2 (for page turns), please include a title page as page 1.

  • In some cases, 11 x 14” (or UK/EU B4) parts are acceptable to accommodate music with serious page-turn problems, but they should be avoided for orchestral parts if at all possible. It’s better to have 2-3 staves per page to accommodate a page turn than to resort to 11 x 14” (or UK/EU B4) parts.

  • In some cases, foldouts are acceptable, but only as a last resort.

  • If parts are notated using a computer software program, they should be completely computer generated, without any handwritten additions.

  • Logical cues are expected during long periods of rest, the cues being transposed to the reading key of the instrument. Cues must be audible to the musician reading the part. Generally, you should probably add a cue if there are eight or more measures of rest for bars with the same meter (and even if there are different meters).

  • Tempo and meter changes must be shown on all parts, even during periods of extended rest. The use of “Tacet until. . .” is not acceptable.

  • Pay careful attention to the placement of page turns; build blank pages into the parts to facilitate turns. Each blank page should include a phrase such as "Blank Page for Page Turn" to indicate that the blank page isn't a missing page of music.

Page Numbering

  • Odd-numbered pages are on the right (recto); even-numbered pages are on the left (verso). Exceptions to this rule are extremely rare and should be avoided if at all possible.

  • We do not count the front matter (pages before the music starts) in music. The first page of music is page 1, and the rest of the book should continue sequentially. The convention is to put page numbers in the top “outside” corners, odd numbers on the right, and even numbers on the left.

  • If you have a large number of pages in the front matter (e.g., more than 4-6 pp.), they are numbered with lower-case Roman numerals centered at the bottom of the page.

  • The first page number is never shown (e.g., page 1 or page i).

Measure Numbering and Rehearsal Letters

  • Measure numbers should be stated at the start of every system, at the top, in italics, at a readable point size. It is not necessary to number every bar or number every 5 or 10 bars. Page numbers should be continuous from movement to movement. Therefore, if movement one is a hundred measures, then 1-100, and movement two would begin with 101, etc. The placement of measure numbers should be the same throughout the work, i.e., above the top staff or on a special line of the grand staff, such as above the first violins. For orchestral or other significant works, measure numbers usually appear above the top staff and above the strings, so two places on the score and above the voices or solo part (if any). If a work consists of distinct pieces coupled together (for example, a set of short one-act operas one after the other), measure numbers should be restarted and not continuous.

  • Numbering every single measure should be avoided, except in the case of multi-measure rests, where measure number ranges are helpful (e.g., “27–117”) or in orchestral scores, in which each measure may include a measure number at the top (or less likely, the bottom) of the score. Film scores also sometimes benefit from every measure being numbered.

  • Rehearsal letters (if used) should correspond to musical landmarks and be used in conjunction with—not instead of—measure numbers. Rehearsal letters are generally unnecessary in most scores and only used for significant works such as opera scores, works for chorus and orchestra, and substantial orchestral or wind band/wind ensemble works.

Typefaces

  • There are two basic styles of fonts used for music text—page numbers, headers, front matter, technical indications, etc.: serif (i.e., Times New Roman, Plantin, Times, Garamond, Goudy, or Caslon, etc.) or sans serif (i.e., Helvetica, Futura, Optima, Gill Sans, etc.). Serif fonts are generally more common. Whichever font you use, that same font style and family should be used throughout your entire piece; never use both Plantin and Times New Roman, for example. It is always best to use as few fonts as possible, but different styles within a font family (plain, bold, italic, wide, or narrow versions of the same font) are perfectly acceptable when appropriate. For the sake of consistency, Times New Roman will be suggested below.

  • Tempo indications (above the staff): Times New Roman, bold, 14 pt.

  • Tempo alterations (like rit. and accel.): Times New Roman, either italic or bold, 14 pt.

  • Title, composer, lyricist. These are usually in a serif font, like Times New Roman. Sizes may vary depending on house style, but the default sizes in programs like Sibelius are perfectly acceptable.

  • Page numbers on large-format scores, i.e., 11 x 14 (UK/EU B4) or 11 x 17 (UK/EU A3): Times New Roman, plain, 12 pt. so that they are visible when printed as smaller study scores.

  • Technique text (above the staff): Times New Roman, plain, same font as tempo indications.

  • Expression text (below or above the staff): Times New Roman, italic.

General Notation Comments

Although there is a myriad of excellent music notation books and resources (see Suggested Resources below), here are a few basic suggestions for how to make your music more readable and playable:

  • Less Is Often More: Notation is a delicate balance between providing enough information to achieve the desired effect and, simultaneously, not over-notating. If a traditional symbol or basic notation gets the job done, inventing a new symbol or using overly complex notation is unnecessary. Every minute wasted in rehearsals trying to interpret or re-interpret an effect that could have been written more simply is a minute wasted. Conversely, if there is no way of achieving what you want with traditional or basic notation, you should notate however you need to achieve the desired effect.

  • French Scoring: for all scores, “French scoring” (i.e., eliminating empty staves on all pages except the first page) is acceptable and preferred. Eliminating empty staves allows you to fit more systems per page, cuts down on printed pages and page turns, and reduces printing costs.

  • Tempo and Metronome Marks: we strongly encourage composers to include tempo indications and metronome marks. These can consist of ranges (i.e., quarter note = 112-120), or by using the indication ‘ca.’ with a singular mark (i.e., quarter = ca. 120), or even just a specific mark (quarter = 120). This can be further enhanced with a tempo descriptor such as Allegro, Adagio, etc. We also strongly feel that composers should utilize standard metronome markings in concert music (i.e., 80 and 120, and not 81 and 121) for live performers for a variety of reasons. Please see the following Standard Metronome Timings and Ratios sheet for more information.

  • Key Signatures: if your music is clearly written using scales, using key signatures to reduce unnecessary accidentals is perfectly acceptable. Furthermore, key signatures may not be helpful if they need to be changed every few bars.

  • Time Signatures: you don’t need large time signatures for scores that aren’t meant to be conducted; standard time signatures (one per staff) are perfectly fine

  • Terminal Dynamics: While most seasoned performers can interpret imprecise or even missing dynamics, such as crescendos and diminuendos, without terminal dynamics, we strongly encourage composers to use terminal dynamics to make their scores and parts as clear and straightforward as possible.

Specific Instrument Comments

Strings

  • String parts should be created with one part per section. Complicated string divisions should be written on separate staves. Avoid dividing the music for the string section into multiple parts unless necessitated by multiple and continuous divisions of the voices.

  • Do not indicate bowings unless you utilize a specialized effect, such as a succession of hammered bowing at the frog with quick downbows. Also, do not use bowings as a replacement for articulation. Bowed string players generally do not like to see bowings in their parts unless it’s for an exceptional effect.

Winds and Brass

  • Avoid creating wind and brass parts with multiple parts on a single stave (e.g., Flutes 1 and 2 must be on separate parts).

  • Make sure to allow time for breathing via rest or breath commas.

Harp

  • Harp pedaling should generally be left to the performer, except for an initial pedal diagram at the beginning of a work, the beginning of a movement, after a very long span of rests, or after many pedal changes. When in doubt, leave harp pedalings out.

Percussion and Timpani

  • The Timpani part should NOT be included in the percussion part, and timpanists should never be asked to play other percussion instruments.

  • Percussion parts should include a list of the instruments required.

  • Percussion parts may be in score form or individual instrumental parts. Each has advantages depending on the music's requirements. When creating orchestral percussion parts, it is always wise to consult with an experienced orchestral percussionist.

  • Percussion instruments should be notated from high to low on the staff, according to their relative pitch. These positions must be maintained consistently throughout the work. A notation key printed at the beginning of the part may be helpful to the player.

  • Metallic instruments such as cymbals are usually written on lines, and drums are written on spaces, but this is a loose rule.

SUGGESTED RESOURCES

All suggested resources are in English; books link to Amazon or other sources when unavailable on Amazon.

Orchestration & Instrumentation Books

Instrumentation Books: Specific Instruments and Extended Techniques

Notation Books

Selected Music Notation and Composition Software and Plugins

Music Printers

  • Skidmore College Print Services: strongly recommended while at the festival. We do not recommend using FedEx Office, but they will work if Print Services is closed. At either of these shops, make sure to specify 32 lb paper or 28 lb if that isn’t available. We don’t recommend Staples since they don’t use or stock the correct paper weight.

  • Subito Music (East Coast)

  • Black Ribbon Printing (West Coast)