Daniel Dehaan

Score Prep

tutorialnotationscore-prepmidirecording-session

How to get a score and parts from your DAW mock-up onto the stands: what to print and how to pack it, exporting clean MIDI and MusicXML, the house rules for scores and parts, examples, and per-application how-tos for Sibelius, Finale, and Dorico.

📝 Note

This is not the end-all, be-all score-prep document — it is a reminder of the important things to consider when preparing a score and parts. There are almost always exceptions to every rule, so treat everything here as a guideline, not a requirement.

What You’ll Need to Print

During the all-day print session, each composer prepares the following:

# of CopiesDocumentPaper SizePaper WeightBinding
3Score11” x 17” (Tabloid)HeavyTaped
4Score8.5” x 11” (Letter)StandardStapled Left
1Parts8.5” x 11” (Letter)HeavyTaped
1Parts8.5” x 11” (Letter)StandardPaper Clip

How You Will Deliver Your Score and Parts

Organize everything into two packets:

Performance PacketSpares Packet
2 tabloid scores1 tabloid score
2 letter scores2 letter scores
1 set of heavy parts1 set of standard parts

Exporting MIDI

  1. Save a new version of your DAW project (e.g. DRD_1m01_The-Chase_MIDI-Export-Prep_V001).
  2. Delete all tracks that will not appear in the score.
  3. Remove any doublings that were for mock-up purposes only.
  4. Quantize everything to its exact rhythms and durations.
  5. Transpose all notes to their correct octave.
  6. Remove all key switches that appear in the piano roll.
  7. Remove all CC, program change, or other unnecessary MIDI data that appears in the piano roll.
  8. Rename tracks to score-appropriate names.
  9. Combine all regions/clips on each track that will be exported.
  10. Export your DAW Project as both a MusicXML file and a MIDI file.
  11. Open the MusicXML file in your engraving software and check for pitch and rhythmic accuracy. Return to your DAW to correct any mistakes, then re-export.

Kubi’s Score-Prep Commandments

The house rules, from Kubilay Üner. Follow them and the session will run; break them and someone on the stand will have to stop and ask.

General

  • Thou shalt let the machine do the work.
  • Thou shalt have friends. (Dr. Dan added this one.)

Notation

  • In general, no brackets on full tuplets.
  • Courtesy accidentals always in parentheses.

Scores

  • SCORES ARE CONCERT (except octave-transposing instruments, which are transposed — contrabass, piccolo, glockenspiel) AND INDICATED AS SUCH ON PAGE ONE.
  • No key signatures, ever. (No C major — no key!)
  • Clear names or abbreviations in front of EVERY staff.
  • Boxed measure numbers in every single measure, located between sections — at minimum above the strings.
  • NO rehearsal marks.
  • Double bar lines at every meaningful musical transition, and certainly no less often than every 16 bars or so. (Between every 8 and 16 measures is a good frequency.) Double barlines cause multi-rests to stay separated in parts. This way, musicians can follow the form easily even if they don’t play until measure 56. They also help conductors stay oriented.
  • The SCORE should include as many measures per page as possible while being decently legible. As Eimear Noone said, “I don’t have to sightread every note. I do have to turn every page.” On the same token, no “sleek new music” excess of empty white space. Use the space to convey information, without overloading it. So neither sleek new music all-white-space score, NOR 19th-century black-page publishing.
  • AMPLE hairpins, with both beginning and ending dynamic markings.
  • NO phrasing slurs, ever. Slurs are only for bowing on one bow (strings) or absence of tonguing (winds).
  • All dynamics on a single imaginary line, so they don’t move up and down as you scan the score or part.
  • All dynamics are ABSOLUTE — meaning a fff alto flute in the bottom octave is impossible. Write f, and they will play as loud as they can.
  • Place playing instructions above the strings and at the top of the score. In large scores it’s OK to have them in three spots (above the top line, above the brass, and above the strings).
  • PRE-RECORDS go into reduced-size staves above the strings, below everybody else. If need be, condense them into reductions (multiple percussive synths on one percussion line, multiple pads on one grand staff).

Parts

  • Same as the score, more or less.
  • PARTS ARE TRANSPOSED.
  • Measure numbers are small (no borders) but legible, at the bottom left of every measure; multi-measure numbers appear as ranges centered under every multi-measure rest, on the same imagined horizontal line.
  • Make parts large and easy to read. Some of your musicians may not be 19 years old.
  • There is no award for cramming everything onto a single page. Two pages need no page turn, so two is fine. Keep the lines close enough to scan easily, but far enough apart that dynamics and playing instructions are easy to read.

Examples

Scores

Parts

Additional

Practice Materials

A cue to practice on, as a Logic project and as engraving files (v2022-11-14):

How-To

Prepping MIDI for Export

Import MIDI Files

Sibelius

Finale

MIDI files

Dorico

Large Time Signatures

Sibelius

Finale

Dorico

Bar Numbers

Sibelius

Finale

Studio-style bar numbers in Finale - Scoring Notes

Dorico

Smaller Staff for Cues/Pre-Records

Sibelius

Press I, select the staff in the right-hand column, and check Small Staff below, then click OK. To adjust the small staff size: Engraving Rules → Staves (left-hand column) → Small staff size.

Finale

  1. Click the 100% (Resize) tool.
  2. Click the staff you want to make smaller.
  3. Set the percentage.

Staff Tool Strategies

Dorico

  1. Right-click the staff.
  2. Select Staff Size.
  3. Choose a size.

Additional Resources