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.