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Music Engraving, Orchestration & Lead Sheets

I use Finale, the industry standard music notation program. Music notation software like Finale, Sibelius, & MuseScore have blurred the line between Engraving and Music Copying. Prior to today's software, Engraving included setting plates for presses and Music Copying was something people did by hand with a calligraphy pen. Music Engraving was for published music while Music Copying was for individual scores, such as TV shows, Films, Big Bands, etc.

score

Once programs like Finale matured, the centuries old ways of doing this stuff changed dramatically. Today both use the same tool, notation software. Music is entered into the notation programs, layouts are arranged for easy visual navigation, and both create a polished output.

While this is all great, sometimes I do miss the "old way", copying by hand with a pen. You REALLY knew your score when you did that... but then again... with Finale, when someone asks, "can you make a trombone part of the baritone part?", I'm sooooooo glad the "old way" is behind us :-)

Music Engraving & Copying Samples

Orchestration

Orchestration has a lot of different meanings today. Historically, classical composers "orchestrated" their own music. Orchestration here includes "fleshing out" a piano score, or sketch, etc., for an orchestra or other type of ensemble.

Today "Orchestration" means basically the same thing, but often times the TV and film composer may only have time to create the "sketch". The sketch is then given to an "orchestrator", who orchestrates the music while the composer creates the next sketch. The music is then off to the "Music Copyist" (the orchestrator and copyist are often one in the same today).

Orchestration of simple lead sheets into full scores is also something the modern day "orchestrator" is expected to do.

Examples of "Orchestration"

Nashville Number Charts & Lead Sheets

 

 

 

Mark A. Clark

Mark A Clark

Composer/Arranger/Copyist