740-312 Notation and Music Editing

Students will be able to demonstrate skill in the transcription from early notations to modern notation in line with current standards of scholarly practice. The subject will introduce the criteria and principles of modern editorial practice, and enable students to acquire basic skills in computerised notation programs for the production of scholarly editions. The subject covers selected major styles of notation used in Western music. Seminars will be based around the production of editions of works from manuscript and printed sources.

On completion of this subject students should have developed a capacity to resolve notational problems from diverse sources, develop high-level cognitive skills and practical knowledge, make independent decisions based on sophisticated knowledge of early notations, and be able to produce camera-ready copy of musical scores.

Editions realised during the semester (80%); participation in group projects (20%).

• W Apel, The Notation of Polyphonic Music 900-1600. Medieval Academy of America, 1953.
• J Grier, The Critical Editing of Music: Theory, Method, and Practice. CUP, 1996.