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29-page Handwritten Score (before Dorico existed)

My handwriting is absolutely horrendous, so I would have been completely useless with pencil and paper in the day. That makes me especially thankful for notation programs.
 
My handwriting is absolutely horrendous, so I would have been completely useless with pencil and paper in the day. That makes me especially thankful for notation programs.
I suppose that's why copyists always had plenty of work back then! Glad we can all compose music now without developing tendinitis from hours of scribbling on paper.
 
I actually started to think of this more, and it struck me that even though I've been making music for my whole life it seems that I never composed anything reasonable or serious until I was in my early twenties. o_O
 
I remember the rush of copying parts from scores using water proof ink. That encouraged me to jump to the digital world as soon as I could.

Looking at some of my finished parts they're ok, but not great. The experience makes me appreciate the unknown copyist responsible for the Real Book. That person is a master of the craft.
 
I actually started to think of this more, and it struck me that even though I've been making music for my whole life it seems that I never composed anything reasonable or serious until I was in my early twenties. o_O
Well, part of the fun of being a teenager is just playing/exploring and figuring things out. I’m just glad you stuck with it and continue to make music today 😊

All this new technology certainly makes the job easier. I just discovered Synthesizer V is a thing last night, and am feeling excited about potentially trying it out one day. Amazing what is possible now!
 
When I had a meeting with the composer that would have been my main teacher for years, I showed him my quick sketches for a new piece.

His first job had been the copyist for Suvini Zerboni, and his scores are graphic works of art. He killed me with a gaze.

Seized by terror, at the following meeting I gave him a handwritten score that was not too far from engraved.

Paolo
 
I suppose that's why copyists always had plenty of work back then! Glad we can all compose music now without developing tendinitis from hours of scribbling on paper.
Now we get tendinitis from smashing "Batch Resave"

Found this old score of mine recently, composed back when I was 17. I can't believe there are no white-out corrections anywhere on these 29 pages. Amazing. Apparently, I had a lot of free time as a teenager and knew how to use a ruler well. I'm so thankful for computers and notation programs these days!
In awe of people that can notate. This sounds amazing. And at seventeen of all things!
 
Now we get tendinitis from smashing "Batch Resave"


In awe of people that can notate. This sounds amazing. And at seventeen of all things!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. And so true… we’ve simply moved from pen & ruler to mouse & keyboard. Well, at least keyboard macros can save our fingers/wrists slightly.
 
I remember the mad scramble of hand copying parts to get them ready in time for rehearsal.
I always made a deadline but even now I have the odd nightmare about not being able to meet one. It gets worse as I see the musos in the live room and am scrambling to hand write tens of parts with a sick feeling in my guts. I wouldn't mind, but a lot of the time I used a copyist for the big orchestral sessions.
 
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