Music Preparation - Arranging and Engraving
As a music director, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist, I know first-hand the hours of rehearsal time that have been lost to clarifying questions about poorly or inconsistently prepared music. I take pride in my attention to detail and clarity in engraving, with a player-centered approach to all the music I work on. Whether it’s engraving a new work, writing a custom arrangement for your ensemble, or even editing an audition cut, I want to help your musical project succeed. For samples of my work, click on the thumbnails to the right.
What is a music engraver? Why do I need one?
A music engraver (or music copyist) is a highly-specialized kind of musician, trained in producing legible scores for performers. An engraver’s duties include:
Translating a composer or orchestrator’s sketches into a typeset score that correctly reflects the original author’s work
Editing scores to catch mistakes, ensure consistency, avoid collisions, create good page turns, etc.
Extracting individual parts for performers
Transposing music to a new key
Creating a piano reduction or piano/conductor score
Knowing the intricacies of music notation software and being able to solve problems efficiently and creatively
Creating high-quality printed sheet music or .PDFs
All of this detail-oriented work leads to a rehearsal, performance, or recording session that will run smoothly, without losing time to questions over notation.
Rates
It is difficult to set a flat rate for every project to come across my desk, as no two pieces of music are exactly the same. However, I use $.60 per “active frame” (non-whole rest measure) as a baseline estimate for most work, which covers engraving and formatting of a full score and parts, and a .pdf and .xml file for the client. Contact me at the button above to get a more accurate quote for your music.