FOREWORD

The (music) copyist is a professional figure, in the world of music, who is responsible for producing the scores from which musicians read. The English language further distinguishes between a copyist in the strict sense and an engraver (from the art of engraving), which unfortunately we cannot effectively translate into Italian (“incisore” sounds old-fashioned and out of place since we no longer engrave on metal plates). If in the first case, we are dealing with the simple act of copying the musical manuscript onto another medium (which can be done either physically on another sheet of paper or digitally through music notation software), in the second case, we are dealing with a more subtle art, as it involves the editing of the musical text, i.e. making it clear, perfectly legible and typographically correct. For convenience (and linguistic necessity) we group both terms, copyist and engraver, under the title of copyist.

Since the 1990s, the work of the copyist has definitely shifted to the computer screen, thanks mainly to the rapid development of software dedicated to music processing. However, although their use is now daily bread for composers and musicians, a certain knowledge of typographic rules is still lacking, as well as a certain more exquisitely graphic taste for the musical page. Lorenzo Ferrero, in his Manuale di scrittura musicale (EDT, 2007), already pointed out that «this awareness is still far away. Many seem more than satisfied with the product that comes out of their computer for the mere fact that it comes out printed. Or even musical thinking seems conditioned by the characteristics and limitations of the programme used» (p. xi).

In joking terms, we could say that the good copyist’s job is to make life easier for musicians and to make them lose as little time as possible during rehearsals. If we keep this goal in mind, it will become clear that their work cannot be done in five minutes, nor is it enough to rely on the simple output provided by the music notation software (however advanced) to obtain a clean and perfect score. The copyist is also in charge of standardising the notation, rewriting what can be notated in the simplest and clearest way possible (in short: less is more!).

It is therefore clear that the “human” element, i.e. the developed and sensitive eye for graphics, is indispensable in this type of work. The typographic rules are the starting point, but the adjustments and small transgressions that make improvements to the score are the added value of the good copyist.

WHAT I OFFER

I started my activity as a copyst quite a few years ago. I trained myself practically as autodidact: first by fiddling with software from 2004 and then by studying in specialised books. Thanks to my teacher, Paolo Coggiola, who steered me towards this profession, I have started working with a few publishing houses: in 2016 with Preludio and, since 2018, also with Ricordi. The concrete experience of editorial work has allowed me to further refine my skills and develop the necessary competences to carry out this activity.

If you find yourself in need of: copying a manuscript, arranging a score (restyling), extracting individual parts, or if you simply want to have a graphic-editorial consultation, then you can ask me.

I work exclusively with Finale because it allows me to realise anything without problems and the results I obtain have always been positive. However, I have also occasionally used Sibelius, MuseScore and LilyPond. In the near future, I definitely intend to work with Dorico as well, which is currently, in my eyes, a really promising software capable of great results.

For any kind of work, I provide all materials in .pdf format and the possibility of an initial correction. All corrections and revisions after the first one require a surcharge. I never provide the original Finale file, unless there are specific requests (and even then, a surcharge is required). In the case of restyling jobs where I am supplied with files other than Finale’s, I convert the file and then process it on Finale itself.

If you would like more information or a quote, send me an e-mail (you will find it in the contact section of the website) with the subject “information”. Below you will find some sample pages of work I have done.