Notating parts / scores

[jicetp]

Hi

I was wondering what you guys do to notate your parts ?
I admit I have a double-colored pencil in my case, along with a pencil/eraser and that's it.
Pencil to write down some #/b I might forget, some fingerings to blend with the section (or other musicians = read tuning ), bold marks for repeats, some goggles if I have to watch for something/somebody, sometimes to put some lines to get the counting right.
The blue/red one is used for the dynamics

What are your weapons ?

JiCe

[JayKosta]

I use only pencil, unless the paper is my own property.

When repairing tears, I use 'invisible tape' and on the back if possible. Else be careful to not cover ink with the tape, because it will yellow, etc.

If I have to do extensive 'editing', I make copies and do physical cut&paste, or manually transcribe.

On some 'esoteric' pieces, I do notate on the back when it was performed - the future 'next occurence player' might find it interesting.

Jay
_________________
Most Important Note ? - the next one !
KNOW (see) what the next note is BEFORE you have to play it.
PLAY the next note 'on time' and 'in rhythm'.
Oh ya, watch the conductor - they set what is 'on time'.

[LittleRusty]

I always shudder when I see someone else using something other than a pencil. I never comment on it unless they are my personal charts.

[kehaulani]

I see two uses of notation, one for practice (a copied page) and analysis and the other for performance.

For practice, I can see using phrase marks, breath marks, cadences and important harmonic points, etc. as the practice develops.

Depending on the type of music, for performance, I might use some of the breath marks and key change heads up. Usually, just a few reminders where I might, otherwise, overlook. That's about it.

BTW, I might include non-musical notes. On the sax solo on Shostakovich's Jazz Waltz, I write a note to myself reminding me to check that the G# key is not sticking, having previously played a modal solo with the G# key down/stuck the entire time.
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[pinstriper]

All my music is digitized so I feel quite free to mark the heck out of it.

I have 2 challenges: old eyes, and an old brain that never got real good musical training in my youth so my reading skills are still a work in progress.

To make things easier for my eyes to pick up, and for my brain to process, I make extensive use of transparent color marks. This is visually less dense than adding more marks in black and white, so it is easier for the eye, and the color has a semantic meaning to I know what it is indicating.

Green: navigation. I mark the start and end of repeats. I mark the to/from locations on signs, codas, etc. I also make use of Forscore links.

Yellow: Key signature changes, time changes.

Blue: Directions like mutes, solos, "play first time" etc. Also smears, falls, glissando marks, etc.

Purple: I put a purple dot on each note that is sharp or flat, whether by key signature or accidental. It is a crutch, sure, but it prevents me from forgetting what notes are altered by key, or missing a key change. See note, play note.

I also will resort to writing in fingering in difficult passages, where the computer did like Herr Mozart and has put in "too many notes", or in the event the scribe put some damned foolery in like an E#, B# or a Cb. We actually have one piece with an E double-flat !! Ebb ? Just write D, man. Just write D.

Some will scoff at all this, call it a crutch, say I'm not a real musician. My response is yes, sure, fine. But it helps me function at my community band hack level, so there.

I will also say that the very act of marking up the music helps me learn it and learn to read better.
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