10/09
The faculty of the IU Composition Department recognizes that there is not uniform field-wide agreement about many notational issues composers face. This style guide is being developed in an effort to standardize at least the IU composition department preferences for notation, particularly regarding theses and dissertations.
The overriding goal of this guide is clarity of musical intent and professionalism.
Rules are made to be broken, if for good reason. However, if you are preparing a thesis or dissertation, consult with your document chair before deviating from the guide below; this will save everyone a great deal of time.
Standards of Notation
The composition department recognizes the two works listed below as standards of notational practice; you should refer to either one of them when in doubt about correct procedures, and should consult your committee for advice.
Even these sources are not completely up to date with modern practice.
Stone, Kurt. Music Notation in the Twentieth Century: A Practical Guidebook. New York: W. W. Norton, 1980.
(Based on the International Conference on New Music Notation in 1974.)
Read, Gardner. Music Notation: A Manual of Modern Practice. Second Edition. Boston: Crescendo Publishers, 1969. (paperback edition: New York: Taplinger Publishing Company, 1979)
ACCIDENTALS | BARLINES | BRACKETS | BRASS | CUES | FONTS | MARGINS | MEASURE NUMBERS | MUSIC SIZE | ORIENTATION | OPTIMIZATION | PERCUSSION |
PLACEMENT | REHEARSAL LANDMARKS | STRINGS | TEMPO |
TUPLETS | WOODWINDS
ACCIDENTALS
Use accidentals for new octaves of same pitch class.
Use a courtesy accidental for a natural pitch in a new bar, following the same pitch name in the previous bar with an accidental.
BARLINES
a) Use double barlines to indicate sudden changes of tempo - both isolated changes and strict tempo modulations (quarter = dotted quarter).
b) In some situations, it can be helpful to use (single) heavy barlines to indicate phrase divisions, or groupings of bars. An example would be in a fast piece conducted in one; a thick barline here and there relating to the musical phrasing will help players not get lost.
c) do NOT follow the old practice of using double barlines at changes of meter.
d) barlines should break between choirs according to the large group bracketing.
BRACKETS
For orchestra: bracket each choir (woodwinds, brass, percussion [not timpani, piano, harp], strings); secondary brackets on like instruments (flutes, trumpets, violins, etc.); third level brackets for violin divisi.
BRASS
MUTING.
For trumpet and trombone, specific mute indications should be used: st. mute, harmon mute, cup mute, etc.
Muting should be cancelled with "open." (Leave "senza sord." for the strings, unless you are going to translate 'straight,' 'harmon,' and 'cup' into Italian as well - inadvisable.)
Harmon mute: at first occurrence, indicate either a) stem in, b) stem extended, or c) stem removed.
Mute reminders should be placed on all left side score pages, Generally use abbeviations placed either just below abbreviated staff name, or above the staff, using parentheses.
SLURS = legato groups of notes played without rearticulating with the tongue. If you feel you must indicate phrasing, use dotted slurs.
Muliple instruments per staff for brass is allowed, provided the music is very easy to read. Passages that are at all complex should be divided into separate staves for each instrument.
CUES (for parts)
Generally, include a cue if an instrument is resting for more than 10 bars. Beyond true 'cues' that insert other instruments' music, one can also include 'cues' that help a player through a long rest by indicating prominent changes of texture: "brass", or "flute solo", at the start of multi-measure rests, for example.
FONT STYLES and SIZE
SIZE
Tempos: large enough to be easily read by a conductor from 3 feet away from score. (Generally, 18-24 point works well, depending on the page reduction level)
CAPITALIZATION
Principal tempo indications are capitalized: Adagio, Moderato, Allegro, Tempo I, Fast, Slow,...
Tempo qualifications and changes are not capitalized: a poco a poco, assai, molto, meno, little by little, accelerando, a tempo, ritardando, più mosso, rubato, stringendo, slowing, quickening,...
ITALICS
Less common foreign language terms should be italicized, but many words commonly used in music scores need not be italicized, including: pizz., arco, div., unis., a tempo, etc.
from Wikipedia:
Generic titles are those that are not specific to one musical work, e.g., the names of musical forms such as concerto, overture, quartet, sonata, suite, symphony. Titles of liturgical works, such as Agnus Dei, Kyrie, Mass, Requiem, etc. – are considered generic titles, as well. Generic titles are in roman face.
- Piano Concerto No. 5
- Sixth Symphony
- Requiem
True titles are titles specific to a single work. These are titles given by the composer much as an author would title a novel. True titles are italicized, irrespective of which language they are in.
- From me flows what you call time
- Pelléas et Mélisande
From the IU Style Guide:
Foreign words and phrases
Commonly used foreign expressions and their abbreviations are not italicized:
e.g., i.e., ex officio, et al., vis-à-vis, cum laude, in vivo, in vitro
Less common foreign terms are italicized: dies irae (day of wrath)
If a term you’re unsure of is listed in the Webster’s “Foreign Words and Phrases” section, it should be italicized. If it’s in the regular listing, don’t italicize it.
MARGINS (Thesis, Dissertation).
The reason for the 1.5” inner margin is to allow for binding. The non-binding edges all should have 1" margins. The margin is interpreted to be the area within which nothing should be printed, i.e., the distance from the edge of the paper to the first dot of ink.
WARNING: Do not make your margins overly large, leading to extra page turns and less music per page than is ideal.
HELPFUL HINT: Make your staff name abbreviations concise and tight.
MEASURE NUMBERS
Use MEASURE NUMBERS well, preferably in the following four ways:
a) At the start of every system (not enclosed, unless the measure number also serves as a rehearsal landmark)
b) At structural points and/or rehearsal landmarks. Rather than letters (which is also acceptable), using the actual measure number, preferably in a larger font or in an enclosure, is the best way to indicate rehearsal landmarks. Just one counting system to deal with, and rehearsal spots are quickly found.
NOTE: ALL PLAYERS should have these #s, so make sure to break multi measure rests at these points.
Additionally, for parts:
c) At barlines following all mulit-measure rests.
d) Sprinkled liberally throughout the part, especially toward the right side of systems, where it might take some time counting to find certain bars in rehearsal. After a part is edited and formatted, go through it once, adding measure numbers where appropriate.
WARNING: Never use the system of placing measure numbers every 5 or 10 bars. This breaks up multi-measure rests into un-musical divisions.
ALSO: It is acceptable in large ensemble scores to place a measure number below every measure (not in the parts, though).
MUSIC SIZE [Especially for thesis/dissertation***]
Scores to be conducted MUST be sized so that the music can be read from 3 feet away.
It should be expected that for orchestra and other large ensembles, system to system vertical spacing adjustment will be necessary to avoid collisions. It is NOT acceptable to size the music extremely small, with large spans between staves simply to avoid all collisions in one fell swoop.
On the other hand, do not size the music too large; this leads to scores with many unnecessary page turns and makes phrasing and musical flow hard to follow.
***Consult with your committee EARLY in score preparation to make sure that your formatting approach is acceptable.
ORIENTATION
Format all scores and parts in PORTRAIT Orientation. This is the professional publishing standard. Sometimes composers use landscape because they think it fits the ensemble size better; in such cases, composers should simply format for two or more systems on each page. Landscape scores fall off stands, necessitate unwieldy, even theatrical page turns, often require two stands, and simply look unprofessional. Remember that once a portrait oriented score is opened, it is wider than it is tall, so opening a landscape score makes for a doubly wide document.
NOTE: Composing on landscape manuscript paper (11x17) is a different matter and highly recommended - just don't 'engrave' your final scores in that format!
OPTIMIZATION
Score optimization should be used only in certain circumstances, like when doing so will allow two or more systems on one page. You should NOT optimize every page as a matter of course, as this can create too many irregularities from page to page, making scores difficult to read.
PERCUSSION
Reminders should be placed on all left side score pages, so conductors don't need to flip back through the score to figure out what instruments are being played. Generally use abbeviations placed either just below abbreviated staff name, or above the staff (using parentheses in that case).
PLACEMENT OF TEMPO MARKINGS, MEASURE NUMBERS & REHEARSAL LANDMARKS
For orchestra: minimumally, at top of score and above string section; possibly above brass and above percussion as well, depending on size of the orchestra.
For band: top of score, above brass, above percussion.
REHEARSAL NUMBERS/LETTERS (see Measure Numbers)
Rehearsal landmarks, using measure numbers or letters, should be included an frequent intervals, usually about every 10 bars.
STRINGS
DIVISI
div. = section divided; unis. cancels the divisi.
tutti follows indications for partial section playing, like solo, soli, or la metà.
non divisi and/or brackets should be use to indicate undivided multiple stops.
The divisi situation should always be indicated with div., div. a3, etc. near abbreviated staff names or group names.
Divisi sections that are at all complex should be divided into separate staves for each line. Block chord long tones can remain on one staff; divisi in rhythmic counterpoint or with fast moving lines should be separated in both score and part.
HARMONICS
[in progress]
SLURS = bowings. If you feel you must indicate phrasing, use dotted slurs.
TEMPO INDICATION / METRONOME MARKINGS / METER
a) Use metronome speeds for tempo indications (not simply "Allegro"). These should be either clear directions for a new tempo (no parentheses) or a reminders/clarifications of a tempo (with parentheses, as when associated with a "Tempo I" indication).
b) Horizontal placement: The left edge of the tempo indication should align with the left edge of the meter, or the first notational element.
c) Use only one number, not a range, unless the tempo is supposed to be in flux, speeding up and slowing down within a range.
NOTE: Neither a or c overly restricts players, who, as human beings, will approximate tempo, and vary as necessary depending on the situation (acoustics, etc.). Giving precise tempo indications is particularly important in works with a variety of tempi, as the relationship between different tempi is then clear. Musicians will appreciate the clarity of intent.
d) Use numbers found on analog metronomes; musicians are familiar with these tempi. Avoid speeds like 113, unless a precise tempo modulation gets you to that somehow.
e) Express tempo and meter in terms of the duration that will be conducted or felt as the pulse.
Exception: when the meter doesn't clearly express the pulse (5/8, 6/8, 7/8, etc. conducted or pulsed in quarters and dotted quarters.)
f) Use Meters of 2, 3, 4 beats for the most part. Sometimes 5. Avoid large meters of 6, 7, 8, 9, or more beats in a bar. These are usually broken down into twos and threes anyway, and the downbeat is easily confused.
TUPLETS
All tuplets should be easily read. There is not complete agreement on a rule to handle all tuplets, but in general:
- use square brackets if a bracket is needed, as when the tuplet begins or ends with a rest. [Do not use slurs for tuplets.]
- place the tuplet number outside staff.
- do not allow a tuplet to separate a note head and its articulation.
- avoid cluttering up the note head side (articulation must be on note head side; adding slurs and tuplets there can create problems).
Possible 'systems' to follow, advocated variously at IU (consult your chair for preferences):
1. tuplets always on beam side.
2. tuplets always above.
3. varied, according to the situation, choice made for maximal clarity.
In any case, the notation should be clear and consistent, and have no collisions.
WOODWINDS
SLURS = legato groups of notes played without rearticulating with the tongue. If you feel you must indicate phrasing, use dotted slurs.
Muliple instruments per staff for winds is allowed, provided the music is very easy to read. Passages that are at all complex should be divided into separate staves for each instrument.
TOP
