It has been awhile since I looked at the MOLA guidelines and I have to say they are much improved since the last time I read them c. 10 years ago. Some math errors have been fixed, and they are much less prescriptive. (Even the best editions of Beethoven Symphonies did not meet the MOLA guidelines as they were then written.)
The 85 mm staff-size recommendation is a holdover from those days, but it is now more of an option that a requirement. I think there are very few publishers of common practice music who deploy staff sizes that big for orchestral parts of any instrument. I tend to gravitate to about an 86% staff size but I help compensate for presbyopia by increasing the notehead size to 26pt instead of 24pt. This yields noteheads equivalent to 93% staff reduction at 24pt, making for easier reading at a distance, but it allows for fewer page turns and less bulky parts. (I have noticed that in engraved music the noteheads appear larger relative to the staff than for any mainstream music font that I know of.) Many of those MOLA guidelines, even 10 years ago, were very useful advice. But even today I would not slavishly follow it. And I certainly would not use 85mm staff sizes unless you have some sort of contractual obligation to do so. BTW: 85mm staff size is 100% size in Finale. On Fri, Jan 13, 2012 at 10:46 AM, Benjamin Ayotte <ayottemu...@aol.com>wrote: > > Dear Colleagues, > > I am working on a score to being it into accord with MOLA guidelines, and > I need to specify the exact size of a staff to 8.5mm Does Finale allow > this? The resize tool seems only to allow a relative reduction/enlargement. > > Thanks, > Benjamin > > > ___________________________________________ > > Dr. Benjamin McKay Ayotte, Proprietor > > Ayotte Custom Musical Engravings LLC, A.S.C.A.P. > > > Flash website: http://www.virtualconservatory.com/ayottemusic.html > E-mail: ayottemu...@aol.com > > Twitter: http://www.twitter/ayottemusic > Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/benjamin.ayotte > Academic: http://independent/academia.edu/benjaminayotte > AboutMe: about.me/ayottemusic (summary page) > _______________________________________________ > Finale mailing list > Finale@shsu.edu > http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
