1. An unusual number of manuscript charts rather than engraved. Kinda nice to see that side of the art still exists, but it is harder to read.
2. A chart with dynamics uniformly above the staff, and the discovery that my eye doesn't register them unless I make a mental effort to do so.
3. Another chart with bar numbers, dynamics, and hairpins engraved under the staff, by someone who obviously didn't know how to move the hairpins away from the staff to keep them from running into other elements. Very confusing to read, and whether the program was Finale or not, very amateurish.
4. A couple of Finale-engraved charts (identifiable by the use of bar lines on the left of each staff and by the really ugly slurs or ties from one staff to the next) which paid absolutely no attention to the placement of rests for page turns.
5. A 4-page chart with a 7-bar rest at the bottom of page 2 (the ONLY long rest in the piece!), which was almost certainly originally printed with pages 1 and 2 on the front and pages 3 and 4 on the back, necessitating the commotion of a full flip of the paper for the page turn. (Which might make sense for a publisher wanting to save paper, but which is a really bad idea. We played that piece from individual photocopied pages, which may be perfectly legal under some kind of licensing agreement, but which is why I'm not naming the church.)
6. A uniform disinclination to fill all the staves on a page and not end a part in the middle of the last page, as is recommended by a number of listers.
7. (This isn't an engraving observation, but an arranging one.) Two charts from a New York City source that were virtually unplayable. I found out from the Music Minister, who has attended workshops there, that the arrangements are all worked out by ear and all played on synth keyboards, and they're strong and really effective. But some publisher decided to have a transcriber score those charts for conventional acoustic church orchestra, and the translation was terrible and unidiomatic, at least for the strings.
8. At least one chart with no name of the composer (just the arranger), no mention of a publisher, and no copyright notice of any kind. Yeah, I know, the notice isn't actually required since 1978, but it's pretty foolish not to protect yourself unless you're actually trying to hide an illegal arrangement. But then why put your name on it as the arranger!!?
My conclusions? The state of the art of music copying, engraving and page layout may be extremely high among the power users (many of them on this list) who have taken the time and trouble to learn their programs thoroughly and who know what is acceptable, but it is in pretty sad shape among those who (a) do not understand the basic rules (such as they are) for producing musical scores by any method, and (b) use Finale or other programs straight out of the box, having neither the time nor the inclination to become tweakmeisters. And at least some publishers seem to want product fast and cheap, but not necessarily good, and probably don't hire editors who might actually know the difference! Oh, and if composers or arrangers can't produce professional quality engraving on their own, they should be smart enough to hire engravers who can!!
John
-- John & Susie Howell Virginia Tech Department of Music Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240 Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034 (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
