Music Preparation Guidelines for Orchestral Music Prepared by the Major Orchestra Librarians’ Association Publication Committee The Major Orchestra Librarians’ Association The primary goals of the Major Orchestra Librarians’ Association (MOLA) are to improve communication among orchestra librarians, to provide support and information to the orchestra administrations, to present a unified voice in publisher relations, and to assist fellow librarians in providing better service to their orchestras. MOLA is an international organization that includes libraries from symphony orchestras, opera and ballet companies, professional bands and ensembles, and educational institutions. Our membership includes musical organizations in North, Central, and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Australia. MOLA periodically invites representatives from music publishers to its an- nual conferences in order to address the publication and condition of printed musical materials. This collaborative effort has led to the formation of the MOLA/Publisher Committee. MOLA is represented on the MLA (Music Library Association) / MPA (Mu- sic Publishers’ Association) / MOLA Joint Committee. In addition, MOLA has cultivated relationships with other music service organizations. These include the International Association of Music Librarians, the American Symphony Orchestra League, the American Federation of Musicians, the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians, and the Regional Orchestra Players’ Association. For further information, contact the orchestra librarian at your local symphony, opera, or ballet orchestra or visit the MOLA website at: www.mola-inc.org 2 score is completed, individual parts are MOLA Guidelines extracted, transposed, formatted, and for Music Preparation printed, saving countless hours of work. This technology provides a great level of flexibility for editing, reproducing, and storing music. These advantages can come with Introduction hazards, however. For example, if the edit- These guidelines for the preparation ing process of a new work continues after of music scores and parts are the result of the parts have been prepared and distrib- many hours of discussion regarding the uted to the musicians, this will require creation and layout of performance mate- additional work by composers, copyists, rial that has come through our libraries. and librarians to keep up with revisions in We realize that each music publisher has the composition and provide an accurate its own set of guidelines for music engrav- and suitable set of parts. Also, as digital ing. We wish to encourage music publish- storage and distribution of music data ers to work together to standardize those files becomes more common, there is the guidelines. In the meantime, we would danger that the librarian will be obliged like to express our thoughts regarding to assume the role of music publisher, ex- the preparation of new music in the hope pected to print, duplicate, and bind all of that an agreement about format may be the sheet music. Not all libraries have the reached. facilities, staff, or time to accommodate these projects, and while librarians can Use of the Computer advise on the format and layout of printed Advantages and Disadvantages music, they should not be expected to act With the advent of computer software as a surrogate publisher. for composing and arranging music, it Nonetheless, whether a score is is possible to produce clear and read- handwritten or produced from a desktop able music from a desktop printer. Music printer, there are common, specific ele- publishers and professional composers ments that make this music readable, and and arrangers are creating scores and ultimately usable by musicians. parts that are as functional and beautiful as traditionally engraved music. The Score The technology allows the composer Cover or the copyist to enter the music into the Although each music publisher will score through various means, including have its own publication guidelines and electronic (MIDI) instruments. Once the style requirements, there is some informa- 3 tion that is important to see on the cover complex staging. If there are deviations of any score. The title of the work and the from standard musical notation, an name of the composer should be printed explanation should appear following the prominently on the cover and spine of instrumentation page. the score. If applicable, the name of the The full title of the work should be arranger should appear, but need not be printed as it would appear in a formal as prominent as the title and composer. concert program, to include appropriate Additionally, the name and address of the capitalization and diacritical markings, publisher should be easily located. along with movement titles in their proper order. There should be an approximate Front Matter (Title Page, duration given for each movement and a Preface, etc.) total duration for the work. There should be a page at the beginning of the work that provides basic The Music information about the composition. This At the beginning of the musical score, should include a list of the full instru- the full name of each instrument should mentation, identifying any doublings, the be listed to the left of the corresponding sys- keys of transposing instruments (clarinets, tem. On subsequent pages, abbreviations of horns, and trumpets), and all percussion the instrument names should be used. instruments. All instructions for tempi and dy- An indication of how many percus- namics should be in a conventional lan- sionists will be required is helpful, though guage such as English, Italian, German, each orchestra may or may not adhere or French. All tempo indications should to that number. Any special equipment, appear above the top staff and above the synthesizer settings, or other electronic first violin line on each score page. keyboard requirements should be noted Each measure (bar) should be num- here, as well as on the cover page of the bered, beginning anew with each move- instrument’s part. These instructions ment. Placement of measure numbers should be as specific and understandable should be the same throughout the work, as possible. Any special instructions for i.e. above, below, or on a special line of the “prepared instruments” or other uncom- grand staff, such as above the first violins. mon instruments should also be noted If rehearsal letters are used, they should here, as well as on the cover page of the correspond to landmarks in the music and instrument involved. Any special staging must be used in conjunction with measure instructions should also be mentioned on numbers. this or a subsequent page. Detailed dia- grams are helpful to illustrate particularly 4 Score Readability Avoid creating wind parts that have If traditional engraving or computer multiple parts on a single stave (e.g., output is not possible, it is preferable to Flutes 1 and 2 should be separate parts). produce a completed score done in ink. String parts should be created with one (Pencil is acceptable, but the publisher part per section. Complicated string must provide some kind of quality control divisions should be written on separate for the final outcome of the reproduc- staves. Avoid dividing the music for the tion.) This should be done on either string section into multiple parts unless vellum or opaque paper and clearly repro- necessitated by multiple and continuous duced, back to back on the page. Right- division of the voices. hand pages must be odd-numbered and left-hand pages must be even-numbered Paper in the top right or left corner of the page. The paper for parts should be of The score should be proofread by the substantial quality to avoid show-through composer and a professional proofreader of music from the reverse side, to ensure before it is presented for reproduction. durability, and to stand up to on-stage wind patterns caused by ventilation systems. The Instrumental Parts minimum requirement is usually 60 or 70 General lb. [100 gsm] offset paper. Standard music notation practice should The page layout should allow com- be observed and any deviation from the fortable page turns. Fold out pages should standard should be clearly explained prior to be avoided or, if absolutely necessary, used the first page of music. The front of each part sparingly. should clearly identify the composer, title of Eight or ten-stave paper should be the work, and instrument, including dou- used for any instrument that is subject to blings and key(s) of transposing instruments multiple ledger lines. Twelve or four- where appropriate. Percussion parts should teen stave paper may be used as long as include a list of the instruments required. symbols are not crowded and clarity of the It is preferable to have complete notational elements is maintained. computer-generated parts, which should not have any handwritten additions. If the Instrumental Part Readability parts are written by hand, they must be The most readable staff size for all in- copied legibly in black ink, using an italic struments is 8.5 mm (measured from the or technical pen. Right-hand pages must bottom to the top of the staff). Although be odd-numbered and left-hand pages 8.0 mm is readable for winds, it is less so must be even-numbered in the top right for strings. Wind players can read music or left corner of the page. 5 from staves that measure 7.5 mm, but • The Timpani part should NOT be this is very problematic for string players. included in the percussion part. Anything smaller than 7.0 mm is unac- • Percussion parts may be in score form ceptable for orchestral parts. Anything or individual instrumental parts. Each larger than 8.5 mm should be avoided, as has its advantages depending on the it is distracting to players. requirements of the music. It is preferable Measure (bar) numbers should ap- to consult with an experienced orchestral pear at the beginning of the first measure percussionist.