Q: So, what is a music engraver?
A: What sets us apart from average Finale or Sibelius users is an extreme eye for detail and a head full of notation rules, conventions, and study. An engraver will keenly assess and finesse every slur, articulation, spacing, page turn. Engravers are the difference between the notation program’s default template look and the look and feel of quality published music.
In my years engraving for publishers, I’ve worked on everything from a massive multi-volume band and string method series to jazz bands, complex percussion books, the Suzuki Method, hymnals, school band/orchestra, and handbell music. Each genre and publisher brings its own set of styles and techniques. Even within the same publisher, house styles can vary between product lines so awareness of these details is a huge part of the job. I keep style books for every product line and publisher I work with.
Two brief examples of program default vs. engraved (Finale):
Slurs
Default slurs crash into staff lines, the leftmost slur will be bleed almost completely into the staff line once it’s printed, and the second two slurs give the player no useful information on where the melody is going next.
Engraved slurs’ tips and arcs clear staff lines and their direction follows the direction of the music. I prefer substantial slurs so these have been customized significantly. Finale’s default settings produce wispy curves that tend to easily get lost in the staff lines.
Repeat Endings
Left to its own (while well-intentioned) devices, Finale will give you some variation of this, depending on how much you tweak out your document options:
When it should look more like this:
Take these two tiny examples and expand that across every single aspect of the printed page and you have a rough idea of the engraver’s role.
Q: What’s it like working for a major publisher?
A: The work is steady and sometimes overwhelming. There always seems to be more to do than hands to do it. That forces us to get creative in ways to save time. If I have to do a process more than once, I always think it through and see if there’s a way to automate the task. I use a macro app called Keyboard Maestro (similar to QuicKeys, but currently has a developer!). I work in a lot of full sets of band and orchestra music, and as a publisher, we extract every part, so I may have thirty parts to make an edit to and then will need to export a new set of PDFs. I have macros to process folders of files, then automatically export PDFs. Keyboard Maestro clicks all of those buttons in a fraction of the time it’d take me. Plus, I can refill my coffee while it cranks.
Q: What is the pace of production?
A: Fast. I copy a lot of session music on the side, so I approach my work from a copyist’s sense of urgency without sacrificing accuracy, and then put on my engraver eyes and finesse like mad. Engraving a 200-bar full orchestra score from manuscript to score and part proofs would typically take in the 16–24 hour range. Multiply that by over a hundred pieces to do in a season, and you see it needs to happen quickly. I currently have 28 56-page advanced band method books with nearly 12,000 individual Finale files along with its matching 600-page score to produce before Summer. Working smart and fast is a necessity.
Q: Finale or Sibelius?
A: For the publishing I do, the answer for now is Finale. Sibelius has never quite caught on with the high-end publishers I know, though I do use and love the platform. Finale’s infinite settings to tweak make it the best choice for us. It’s not perfect, but it’s the right tool for the job right now. Sibelius is a wonderful choice for getting music out quickly, but doesn’t offer the same level of precision.
I hope I’ve shed a little light on the perplexing title of music engraver. I’d like to come back on and answer any readers’ specific questions in the future. I also enjoy interacting with fellow Finale and Sibelius users on Twitter, answering questions and seeing your work! You can follow me @jonsenge.
Jon Senge is a Los Angeles-based music engraver for Alfred Music and owner of Five Line Productions, a full-service music preparation, engraving, and printing service.
website: fivelineproductions.com
email: jonsenge@me.com
twitter: @jonsenge
I’ll just add my big “thank you” to the chorus of praise. I appreciate your tips and your positive attitude!
Thank you for this article. I was just wondering if there was somewhere that I could find style sheets for the various publishers or if that is something that I need to create myself.