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Only write for instruments which
are actually available!
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A score is your only means of
communication about your music. Whether it is being played by a group of
musicians or read by an examiner, make every effort to ensure that what
appears on the page is an accurate record of the ideas in your head. A score
is a map of your music. If it is hard to read, or incorrectly notated then it
will be virtually impossible to interpret your ideas.
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The ‘layout’ of a score is similar
to the reference co-ordinates of a map where the bar lines mark the distance
in time and the individual staves mark the type of sound. When writing for a
number of instruments, check how they should be ‘laid out’. There is a
traditional order and grouping of instruments/voices (from the top to the
bottom of the page) and bar lines are drawn through each section of the
orchestra, not through all the parts.
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A score must look right. The
visual spacing of bar lines should reflect the length of time the music
takes. The bar lengths will vary depending on how many notes there are, but
you must at least keep the lengths of each beat in one bar consistent.
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You must put in bar numbers, and
perhaps rehearsal letters. This is to enable the reader/performer/examiner to
find a particular point of reference in your map. You can either mark every
5-10 bars, or at the beginning of each system.
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If you are writing for instruments
that you don’t know how to play, always check the technical possibilities
(especially the range) with someone who does or look up the facts in a music
dictionary.
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Remember that double basses sound
an octave lower than written. If you use them to double a cello line,
remember that, the basses’ lowest note is normally the e below the bass clef
(sounding one octave lower of course) whereas cellos have the c below that
(sounding at that pitch).
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Once you have created the overall
map, if your piece is to be performed live, then the parts must be generated.
If you are doing this by hand then use it as an opportunity to check and
double check the music you have written for each instrument/voice. If you are
using a computer system do not expect the programme to automatically make the
adjustments and corrections that will need to be done. You will need to
develop ‘proof reading’ skills to avoid unnecessary mistakes. Read through
each part as if playing it yourself.
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When writing parts remember that
every single articulation, tempo and dynamic mark should appear in each one.
Each performer will have only one small section of the map and need to work as
part of the ensemble to find their way through your music.
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As well as the music, a score
should also contain other information: title page; name of composer/song
writer; date of completion; listings page of instrumentation, performance
notes and programme notes if possible.
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You can write a score in C,
without transposing the parts for horns, clarinets etc but parts for players
should normally be transposed, even if the score is in C. If the score is
not transposed be sure to write clearly “Score in C” and be sure to use the
correct sounding range for all the instruments: for example, if you choose to
write in C for horns be careful not to write too high – their “normal”
register lies quite well on the treble clef when they are notated in F but
writing in C often necessitates mixing treble and bass clefs.
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The use in rough scores (or
time-pressed exams) of ditto and repeat marks - or notes such as “w/ fl, 8ve
dn” together with a bracket or arrow to show how far this applies – can save a
lot of labour when producing a rough score. But remember if you want them
played well, parts should always be produced as beautifully as possible!
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Don’t forget that there are many
ways to produce arpeggios or other figuration when you have a large number of
instruments. Different instruments suit different types of figuration and
sometimes a small re-arrangement or re-distribution of the notes can make the
results much more stylish.
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Never hand in original copies of a
score or parts for any reason. If they are lost or damaged then no one will
be able to find your music again.