Hi, Chuck! I was looking at this issue just today and got some guidelines from the Major Orchestra Librarians' Association (MOLA) *There should be 0.75 in margin on all 4 sides of the page, which implies a MUSIC size of 8.5x11" on the 9.5x12.5" parts paper. *The most readable staff size is 8.5mm, measured from the bottom to the top of the staff. *A staff size of 8.0mm is readable for winds, less so for strings. *A staff size of 7.5mm is ok for winds, but not for strings *NO STAFF SMALLER than 7.0mm or BIGGER than 8.5mm *Measure numbers at beginning of line ONLY. *60- or 70-lb offset paper, printed both sides. So if I were more industrious I would look to see what reductions those are in Finale, but this should give you something to go on, anyway! PS: WHERE DO YOU GET THE PARTS PAPER??? Jim W.
________________________________ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of Chuck Israels Sent: Sun 19-Feb-06 15:21 To: [email protected] Subject: [Finale] Re: reduction size (was Pesky Page Turns) I've been thinking about this lately. I've been using a 95% staff size reduction on large (9.5" x 12.5") parts paper, and it's more than readable at a considerable distance. Sometimes I think it's even slightly too large for nice proportions. Orchestral parts I've seen are often smaller - something around 88-90% (and often far more crowded), if I am estimating correctly. I can understand publishers of orchestral parts wanting to conserve paper, and familiarity with the music can make layout issues less critical. For new music, it seems to me that saving paper and paying for that in increased rehearsal time may be penny wise and pound foolish, so I strive for a balance in the look of my music - one that puts things close enough together that the eye can scan ahead efficiently but still clearly delineates formal landmarks. Every part layout requires a little time to be spent on this. (When I used to print everything on letter size paper, I had settled on an 82-85% page reduction as the smallest practical size.) There are times that I think reducing the staff size and increasing the amount of white space around staves and other objects actually might make the music more legible. I'd welcome hearing from others who have put thought into this. My big band and combo scores are all on letter size - landscape orientation and would not be useful to anyone who didn't know the music, unless their eyes were better than mine. If I ever need legible scores, I'll need to go to an 11 x 14 format, which seems nicely proportioned in either orientation and should be large enough for readability. Interesting footnote to this and other Finale subjects: I offered to teach a course in Finale music prep (with the help of Hal Owen's Tutorial and a syllabus that Darcy had sent in preparation for offering a similar class in NY) in our department, thinking that it was sorely needed by students who routinely turn in assignments that look ugly and amateurish - sometimes even unreadable. Not one student signed up! Not sure what the explanation for that is. Chuck On Feb 19, 2006, at 11:30 AM, Christopher Smith wrote: > > On Feb 19, 2006, at 2:17 PM, John Howell wrote: > >> At 12:25 PM -0500 2/19/06, Christopher Smith wrote: >>> >>> End quote. Now for interpretation. >>> >>> 8.5 mm (most readable) is Finale's 100% staff size. >> >> The moral: Finale makes it much too easy to reduce size. Just >> because you CAN do it doesn't mean you SHOULD do it! >> >> I don't know how point size relates to mm or reductions, but in >> working with Mosaic I have settled on 20 pt for parts, 18 or >> sometimes 16 pt for choral scores, and 12 pt for cramming staves >> onto a score page. One of the composers for our community band >> uses Finale-out-of-the-box, and his parts are uniformly too small >> for comfortable reading. >> > > 24 pts is 100% > > 20 pts (or .7 cm) is 83%, which is already smaller than Finale's > default of 85%, so your pal must have changed something else, like > page size reduction, to get it smaller. > > 18 and 16 points are 75% and 66% respectively, while 12 > (predictably enough, since 24 is full size) is 50%. > > Choral scores, since they are typically held inches from one's > face, can take smaller reductions than string parts, which are feet > away from the players, as I am sure you know. > > Christopher > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Finale mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale Chuck Israels 230 North Garden Terrace Bellingham, WA 98225-5836 phone (360) 671-3402 fax (360) 676-6055 www.chuckisraels.com _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
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