These are the things
everyone agrees on regarding reading music.
Be Consistent. A consistent way of writing your
notation or musical markings.
Make it Clean. Make sure your score is legible, clean,
well-lined-up, and not cluttered!
(This being said, composing itself can be a messy process if that's
how you work. All great artists have 'their way'! Just make sure you
clean it up before you give it to your musicians!)
Get Ready...
Some technical suggestions before preparing your score:
- Space out a little. Make space for all the measures in a line
before you put your notes down.
- Snug as... an Egg? Make notes fit snugly on lines
or spaces (they should be ovals like slanted eggs; put down the fastest
notes first (since there are more of them, they'll take up the most
room).
- Accidents Happen. Leave room to put in accidentals before the note.
Get Set...
- Expressive Importance. Identify important expressive
markings and tempi
- Are you a Phrase or a Division? Don't confuse metrical
divisions with phrases—they're not always the same.
- Got Rhythm? Aspiring young composers often have a
hard time with RHYTHM. Yet, it's the most important
component for conveying a TRUE FEEL for your piece. One good way to
practice NOTATING rhythm: listen to songs on the radio and write down
the rhythms you hear.
All that and Handsome, Too!
Here are some pointers for making your score not only coherent,
but good-lookin...
- Alignment. Line up rests, as well as notes.
- Stem direction. There's a reason stems are drawn
in specific directions, and doing so adds to clarity and ease of reading
the notes.
- Measure Numbers. Include these at the beginning of
each line. It will not only help the musicians from getting confused,
it will help YOU too!
- Take a Break. On that note, rehearsal letters at
section breaks are also very helpful.
- Double Bars. Use them at the end of a section to
indicate new meter or a new key.
- Don't Let the "Voices" Scare You. If you have more than one melody on
the same staff, be clear about durations and melodic lines - but avoid
clutter.
- Chords. A rule of thumb is that chords with downward
stems start with the top note to right of stem, then work down from
there (seconds go to the opposite side of the stem. Conversely, with
upward stems, start with the bottom note to left of stem, then work
up from there.
Express Yourself, But...
Save your expressions of individuality for where it counts—in
the music (meaning, what the audience and performer[s]
experience). Trying to do so on the score often leads to greater confusion.
There's nothing wrong with ensuring
musicians find your music interesting and fun to play!
More About Beauty!
- Grace notes. Ask yourself: are they really grace
notes, or do you actually hear a duration? Don't mark 'em when they're
not really there.
- Grand Staff Stuff. You should really only write across
the grand staff if it involves a grand gesture in one voice.
Lining up lyrics – A few guidelines about hyphenating
a word in a song...
- Generally, give only one syllable to one note.
- Hyphenate words according to the prominent vowel sound, not always
according to syllables.
- If one syllable is sustained over several notes, hyphenate through
the long note.
Computer or hand-written?
There are pros and cons to both ways of preparing your score.
- Writing by hand has the advantage of giving you a
hands-on (pun intended!) knowledge of the process. This is an excellent
skill for any music student.
- Using a computer is often (not always!) faster and
it is usually easier to make changes later, to print several copies,
and to share your score.
- If you use a computer, be sure to edit the output,
paying close attention to typos, technical errors, and/or printing gaffes.
Many of today's composers rely entirely on input programs, yet others
enjoy doing it the old-fashioned way! It's up to you. Whichever form
you choose, here are some things to keep in mind:Writing music
is a lot like learning a language:
- You need to be familiar with certain conventions, parts of speech
and turns of phrase.
- You need to be able to use these elements to formulate your own
ideas and opinions.
En (Avant) Garde!
Here are some specific techniques for a more avant-garde style of writing, such as many new-music composers do:
- Repetitive gestures. You can circle the gesture and
follow it with a wavy line until you want the gesture to stop (if you
don't care about it lining up rhythmically with other parts)
- Improvising on pitch cells. You may do the same as
above, but your gesture will have only note heads with no stems.
- Use of tone clusters. Rectangular bars from the top
note to the bottom note are OK. Be sure to write in any special instructions
that might apply (e.g. "black notes only," or "scrape
a washboard")
- Non-traditional ways. Graphic gestures are often
helpful, but nothing can replace written instructions.
- Percussive sounds. If you are creating a non-pitched
sound with your instrument, use an "X" instead of a notehead.
- Graphic Scores. Try several different approaches
to this before deciding on the most appropriate
- Legends. Are very helpful for the performer. Always
place it at the beginning of the piece (usually on the page facing the
first page of music.)
Have a "Heart to Heart" with Your Piece
All artists have to ask themselves some "hard questions"
about their work, especially if they want it to be "successful"
with others. Ask yourself the following about your composition:
- Does it "work?" Does the piece seem organic,
meaning, does it all fit together as a whole?
- Does it go? This may seem like a totally
subjective question, but you will have an idea if you think your piece
"goes" somewhere.
- Does it "move?" Does your piece have contrast that makes it interesting?
Based on its motive and/or other musical material, how does
the length seem? Is it too long? Too short?
Copyright Concerns
Always write your name and a copyright date on your score.
Mail a copy of it to yourself, and have the enveloped sealed. This
is an easy way to protect your copyright.
Always give credit if you use someone else's material (words or music). Be sure to get written permission if you think your piece will be played
for more than just family and friends.
Go!!!!!!
The deadline for submission for the 2008 New Mexico Young Composers'
Project is April 8, 2008. Send your score to:
Santa Fe New Music
New Mexico Young Composers' Project
P.O. Box 6986
Santa Fe, NM 87502
Click here for the guidelines for
the New Mexico Young Composers' Project.
Santa Fe New Music's phone number
is 505-474-6601.
Good Luck!!! |
