Alright, well, I don't know how much experience people on this forum have with actual honest-to-goodness sheet music, but I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm submitted a couple pieces to different competitions. One is 6 pages (double sided,) and the other is 3 pages (single sided.) Neither of the compositions is really long enough to warrant a binding, but staples/paperclips/frog clips seem crude. Any suggestions as to how I could combine the pages? Just leaving them in the envelope seems tacky. Also, I was thinking about including an Author's note or something on a title sheet for one of them...is an Author's note a big no-no? I've done competitions before, but I wanna get real serious about these ones. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, jj

Hey JJ,

I would be happy to help, but could you tell me a little bit more about the competitions? Are they for universities or other organizations? Do you have a link to the contests? Generally, there are rules for submission and guidelines for formatting. Also, do you have to include only a full score or do you need to send individual parts?

Once I know a little more, I can give you some advice. I've been down this road before.

Thanks,

George

Hey grhufnagl,

Any help or advice you could give would be greatly appreciated. Here is some more of the information you requested:

The current competition I'm working on is for a community chorus. This is the link to the details of the competition:

http://www.delawarevalleychorale.org/resources2009/2010competitionGuidelinesDVC.pdf

I have to submit six hard copies of the score (which are already printed.) The score is 6 pages double-sided. I've got the application all filled out, as well as the envelope. The text is English, so no pronunciation guide necessary, and it was written by Oscar Wilde, so it's public domain. I'm going to get a check tomorrow, and everything is all ready to go...

except I don't know what I should do about the scores.

Oh, I decided to only go for one competition right now...lots of busy things going on.

Hope this helps!


EDIT:

Ok, turns out I'm a huge tool box and didn't even realize that it would be a good idea to include a piano reduction, rehearsal markings, title page, and copy of the poem. After re-orientating my work, I now have 12 pages double-sided instead of 6.

Phail.

This now implies that it should be bound?


[Edited by - jjandreau on February 18, 2010 11:20:08 PM]

From the submission requirements:

"Six (6) hard copies of the score, which is a legible, performance-ready score of
professional quality."

This means bound scores on decent quality paper. Tape binding single-sided pages (back to back) with artists tape would be the best solution. It's durable, pages turn easily and lie flat, and scores will stack easily in an envelope or box. This is the way we bind performance scores for recording sessions.

Alternatively you could comb- or spiral-bind the scores. If you don't have a comb-binder, you can go to FedEx/Kinkos and have it done. Comb binding is the way we bind books of multiple scores for the recording booth (engineer, score supervisor, etc.).

how would I find "artist's" tape to tape bind them? Do I actually bind them myself? If I brought it to Staples or something, could they comb-bind or whatever right there?

You can indeed tape the scores yourself! This is how music copyists bind scores all the time. If you've never done it before, you might want to have someone show you. Basically it works like this:

1. Tape all the individual pages together, side by side, with a piece of tape along the entire edge on the front of each page.
2. Accordion fold them all together to make a book. The backs of the pages will be facing each other and the outside edge of each page will have a piece of tape protecting it.
3. Use a wider piece of tape to bind the "spine" of the book and hold it all together.
4. You'll immediately see why heavier-quality paper and good tape make a difference.

You can often find artist's tape at art supply shops. It's not cheap but it works very well, has a long life, and is even removable from heavy paper with minimal damage if make a goof while taping.

If you decide to comb bind the scores, I think Staples can do that. Give them a call. If not, most Kinko's (now FedEx) or other copy stores can comb bind. If you're using thin paper, comb binding double-sided pages may be the best solution.

Excellent!

Thank you so much for your help. I don't really have access to any high quality paper, and given the time constraints I think I'll go with the comb binding. Would the type of binding affect the judging of the piece?

Thanks again!

The binding most likely won't be a factor in the judging, but a poorly bound score (stapled or not bound at all) could be an annoyance for the judges. Imagine having to judge 30 scores all poorly bound, with pages falling all over the place. That could be enough of an annoyance to cause a judge to spend less time looking at your score.

Comb binding should be fine. The main issue is that the pages turn, lie flat, and don't fall apart so that the score is easily readable.

Thank you very much for all of your help!

I think I'm gonna have Staples do everything for me (apparently they'll print, bind, and ship too!) So I think that's where I'll head.

Thanks again, I'll let you guys know if I hear anything back from the judges.

jj

Best of luck to you! [smile]