It’s finished; OR; I guess a better thing to say would be, “It’s been sent.”

What a strange sensation it is when almost an entire month of busting a** comes down to only 16 megabytes. Such a crazy world we’re livin’ in!!?? I mean, at least a score is printed on paper. Really, does 16 megabytes even exist!!!???

It’s quite remarkable HOW MUCH time and patience it takes to be an artist.

I’m still not 100% satisfied with the guide to notation (above).
It just seems like there’s never quite enough time or money to do every little thing.
(I just noticed that I spelled some words wrong… for F*^cks sake)
To be fair, in the past I probably wouldn’t even have made a page like this.
There’s actually something to be said for just letting (really good) musicians use their imaginations when it comes to graphic notation.
But, because their time (and probably money!) will also be limited, I had to be as comprehensive as possible on every front.
Another good example:::

I can almost guarantee that the arrangement will end up sounding worse if they just start the first rehearsal at the first measure. This isn’t always the best approach in rehearsals. But I can also guarantee you that Gary Schwartz doesn’t have time to analyze the score in depth before the first rehearsal!! The guide to rehearsing the chart is probably almost as valuable as the chart itself.
[I’ll have to ask Gary, cause who knows; he might not even use it.]

All I have to say is that COMPUTERS ARE  A PAIN IN THE ARSE!

Original plan = “sketch” everything out on paper and then do the final score digitally.
However, the paper “sketch” turned out beautifully.
All of the music was there, and it looked nice (enough).
Given the fact that there’s NO conductor, they don’t really NEED a score anyway.
Following my original plan, I sat down in front of the computer and started inputting the score into (one of the big two) notation software programs.
It took me about 5 minutes to realize that what I was doing was ridiculous.
Simply put, it was the wrong tool for the job.
I realized that the arrangement would be better off if I hand wrote the parts.
I made sure that this was a good idea by doing a couple quick tests.
Check. Good Idea. For Sure. Email Schwartz.

I wrote a short email to Mr. Schwartz saying…
“unless you strongly object I’m going to hand-write the parts.”
To make a long story short, he objected.
crap.
Now I HAVE TO do this with notation software.
yikes.

**A quick word to the wise:
When you’re making a deal for an arrangement, make sure to take into account the time you will spend inputting everything into notation software.
These days it’s just assumed that you will.
HOWEVER, it is my opinion that they are two different tasks.

ANYWAY, pretty much every aspect of getting this score into digital format was a serious pain in the arse!!!! Man, it got pretty bad (after staying up until 5am three nights in a row).
I hate to say it, but computers can be such a pain in the A*&^%$#sss.

Music Notation Software = A Pain In The ARSE!!!!!!!!

–>compared with using a pencil… even putting in SLURS=PainInTheArse

–>Layers, layers, layers… Inputting DRUMS=PainInTheArse

–>Computers need to space everything mathematically… PIANO=PainInTheArse

–>Then once everything has been input… CLEAN UP=PainInTheArse!

–>Great, everything is clean… FORMATTING=PainInTheArse!!

There is just SOOOO much to be said for using a pencil and writing by hand!!!!!!

Unfortunately, here’s another good example…
If you look at the hand-written scores below (in the previous post), you can see a graphic that kind of looks like a skateboarding quarter-pipe.
I had a great plan for drawing this graphic notation into the parts.
But once I was required to do it digitally it all fell apart.

There was just no way that I could put this crap into the score!!
It’s so frickin’ kitsch!
It was definitely 5am, but I still can’t believe I even made that.
maybe I should get it tattooed on my forehead as a reminder of my complete lack of talent.
I ended up using a decrescendo and a line;;;
Totally sucks compared with what I was going to draw.

ANYWAY, there is of course two sides in any situation, and there were some advantages to using the notation software after all… Most everything looks nice and crispy clean.

In the end (after a few all-night extravaganzas);
All of the FINAL parts and the score look REALLY great…
Here’s the first page of Erik Hove’s part.

**I’m not going to put the FINAL score/parts in their entirety online for a variety of reasons.
But, we can work something out if you’re interested in checking ’em out!
www.seanwinters.com