----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Edwards" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >...But as long as a > notational element is clearly deliberate and consistent, and according to the > composer's wishes, I am at least wary of having it compulsorily overridden.
I totally agree, even if it might not seem like we're saying the same thing. The key point is that the notational details in a composer's manuscript are not necessarily the composer's wishes in every way. The composer's wish is often to write it down quickly and get on to the next piece. Or to notate it the way Finale or Sibelius will show it by default without fussing. In the days when pencil manuscripts were the norm, I saw a whole lot more odd beaming than nowadays when most composers submit music in Finale or Sibelius, and sometimes I'll even ask composers if their pencil sketches had quirks that disappeared when they put it in the computer. You'd be surprised how often composers do this to themselves rather than wrestle with the software. My experience is that many or most composers don't care much about notational style, just getting the musical information to the player. So for example, they care that a pitch lasts 1½ beats but not so much how those beats are indicated, and likewise with the other topics in this thread. I'll frequently ask a composer "Did you specifically mean to write it this way, or would you be equally happy with this other way?" And like I mentioned earlier, things don't get compulsorily overridden around here - the goal is to most efficiently present the composer's ideas. When that means standard notation to get their musical ideas across, then things are standard. When that means mostly standard, but the composer cares about some idiosyncracies, then that's the way to go for that composer, and that therefore says a lot about that composer when studying the score. So what would you do when a composer is firm about using the term "lyrico" or "mysterioso" when proper Italian is spelled "lirico" and "misterioso" without the y? I want to be true to their intent, but I also want to protect them from misspellings that don't help their music communicate. Daniel Dorff Theodore Presser Company _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
