How to mark parts properly?

[AtomicClock]

This is an interesting statement from another thread:

8. Mark your parts in rehearsals, but do so appropriately

Not knowing how to mark parts properly is a deficiency I see in a lot of players, including pros. A professor I know actually teaches a class on marking parts, and I think music schools should do that more often. Getting handed a well-used part that has all kinds of scribbles on it that make it really hard to read is a real drag.

It would be interesting to know what's in that professor's course. I've always marked parts for myself, using my own homebrew shorthand. I carry around a big eraser to clean up parts I get that have unhelpful marks from the last guy.

At this stage, I'm not sure I could learn a new way of marking parts. Most of the marks I make are in the margins or between staves, to reiterate something that is in the part already, but that I keep failing to see in the heat of battle (usually giving myself courtesy accidentals). Any new formalized marking method would have to be really big & obvious, or it wouldn't do me any good.

[Finetales]

As far as I know, the course covers the very loosely-accepted standard for part marking amongst pros. Things like:

- parentheses around notes/passages to tacet
- vi-de with brackets (or just the brackets and a line connecting them) for a cut
- "-1" for off on 1, and similar for other beats
- courtesy accidentals above the note, rather than trying to squeeze it in front
- small up and down arrows above the note for tuning things (e.g. reminding yourself that x note is a major 3rd), or just writing the chord change
- no unnecessary marks like circling notes/passages you missed

The first two (marking notes to tacet or measures to cut) are the most egregious problem I see often with peoples' part-marking. Just scribbling over all of it is really messy and unnecessary, and if it's not your personal copy of a part it makes having to erase the marks for future use a huge hassle.

Some people take it a step further and have a few different colored pencils for different marking types, which can be good. I personally just use a good normal pencil.

[EdwardSolomon]

I ensure that I only use a 2B pencil to mark parts. A soft pencil leaves marks that are easily erased. There is nothing more frustrating than finding parts covered in scrawl left by someone in HB or harder pencils, or worse yet, in pen.

Be considerate and use a soft pencil!

[drpmorris99]

I guess this is another advantage of shifting to digital copies on a tablet device - you can mark how you want as the markings are usually an overlay anyways! I like the idea of accidentals over the top of notes though, that seems like a good idea having struggled to squeeze them in myself!

[tbdana]

Are there enough of these conventions to fill up an actual course?

[Kbiggs]

I ensure that I only use a 2B pencil to mark parts. A soft pencil leaves marks that are easily erased. There is nothing more frustrating than finding parts covered in scrawl left by someone in HB or harder pencils, or worse yet, in pen.

Be considerate and use a soft pencil!

A 2B or a even a 3B works very well for marking parts. Not to be confused with the American No. 1, No. 2, or No. 3. From Reddit:

For many years, pencils in the US came in three basic grades: #1 (soft/dark), #2 (medium), and #3 (hard/light), which was a simplified system from the sometimes confusing European system, which uses B to indicate softer/darker cores, and H to indicate harder/lighter cores, with number to indicate just how B or H it was on a scale (3B, 6H, etc.), with HB in the middle to indicate "medium" (there are some oddities, like F, which is halfway between HB and H, but is rarely used outside the art world).

Generally speaking, a #1 pencil is the equivalent of a 2B, a #2 pencil the equivalent of an HB, and a #3 pencil is the equivalent of a 2H. To keep things simple for those unfamiliar with the systems, and because of the ubiquitous nature of the #2 pencil in the US (commonly used to fill in multiple choice standardized exams), some companies put both systems on their pencils, either in a clear form (HB = 2) or in a less clear form, like 2HB or HB2.

It is important to note that there is no universal industry standard; one company's B2 is another company's B, so you will see some pencils that use 2½ to represent their HB, and others will actually use decimals (#1.8 or #2.2... yes, these are real pencils).

When buying pencils because you need #2/HB for writing, you can use anything that has HB in it (HB, 2HB, HB2) or anything close to #2 (#2, #2½, #1.8, #2.2).

I went through a wooden pencil phase a few years ago and found the above to be true. My favorites? Tombow 2B and Faber-Castell 3B. These don’t have erasers. The white plastic-type erasers work best, although the rubber stick-on-the-end work well to erase markings from 2B and 3B pencils.

[robcat2075]

- no unnecessary marks...

This is where these regimes falter. Everyone believes his own marks to be necessary, or he wouldn't have bothered to make them.

And i suppose the preparer of the parts regards them all as unnecessary. He was sure his notation was sufficient and correct!


If you're going to be famous you will want your marks to outlast you. Mahler used colored pencil.

Bruckner 4 marked by Mahler

[blast]

You mark a part primarily in case you go sick and somebody has to come in and cover. Mark things with that in mind. Beatings, dynamic changes, fast turns, spectacles over tricky things etc.

[ghmerrill]

The digital approach solves several different problems. I really love it. Prior to that I always copied the piece and then marked up my copies. I don't expect any of my mark-up to be immortalized, and I don't particularly like it when other people do -- especially things like writing in BBb tuba fingerings in ink.

[ghmerrill]

A soft pencil leaves marks that are easily erased.

Yes, they ARE easily erased, but ARE THEY in fact erased? I got really tired of getting community band music which was littered with someone else's soft pencil marks -- and having to erase all those myself. I presume that professionals don't face this problem. So I guess it's a kind of "musical 3rd world problem".

[BGuttman]

I should point out that the European lead designations Ken Biggs pointed out also apply to drawing leads used in mechanical drawing. I used to fill out multiple choice tests in school using a drafting pencil with HB leads when they specified #2 pencil.

[ghmerrill]

I should point out that the European lead designations Ken Biggs pointed out also apply to drawing leads used in mechanical drawing.

Yes, I learned it the summer between 7th and 8th grade when I took a mechanical drawing course. I never realized it was European.

[WGWTR180]

This is an interesting statement from another thread:

Not knowing how to mark parts properly is a deficiency I see in a lot of players, including pros. A professor I know actually teaches a class on marking parts, and I think music schools should do that more often. Getting handed a well-used part that has all kinds of scribbles on it that make it really hard to read is a real drag.

It would be interesting to know what's in that professor's course. I've always marked parts for myself, using my own homebrew shorthand. I carry around a big eraser to clean up parts I get that have unhelpful marks from the last guy.

At this stage, I'm not sure I could learn a new way of marking parts. Most of the marks I make are in the margins or between staves, to reiterate something that is in the part already, but that I keep failing to see in the heat of battle (usually giving myself courtesy accidentals). Any new formalized marking method would have to be really big & obvious, or it wouldn't do me any good.

Interesting. All I will say is this: If it's only clear to you that's great if you're the only person ever to use the part. I have been doing Broadway national tours for years where the music is passed around dozens of cities. I've seen everything from wrong articulations, accidentals marked above, below, in front of the notes, to written in slide positions. Yes slide positions. In this particular case one is the custodian of the part for a short time, not the owner of the part. If one has to mark in slide positions(and I don't mean just 1 to remind one of an alternate) you probably shouldn't be doing the gig in the first place.

[AtomicClock]

Some people take it a step further and have a few different colored pencils for different marking types, which can be good.

I've never seen a colored pencil that could be properly erased. Do they really exist?

[AtomicClock]

I should point out that the European lead designations Ken Biggs pointed out also apply to drawing leads used in mechanical drawing. I used to fill out multiple choice tests in school using a drafting pencil with HB leads when they specified #2 pencil.

I used to do all my homework (and everything else) with an HB mechanical pencil. But I had a few #2 woodcase pencils for optical scan tests. Imagine my frustration when as an adult, I found out I could've used my wonderful p205 the whole time.

[tbdana]

- no unnecessary marks

I am a huge opponent of "courtesy accidentals." It's mostly because i'm in my 70th year on the planet and my eyesight isn't what it used to be. Reading accidentals can be a problem. So if I see one, I assume it is altering the note from the key signature, not saying, "No, we really meant the key signature you idiot."

[robcat2075]

I got really tired of getting community band music which was littered with someone else's soft pencil marks -- and having to erase all those myself...

If you should find yourself facing a large amount of erasing I can suggest the "kneaded eraser". Sometimes called "kneaded gum" but not to be confused with "art gum".

It's virtue is that it doesn't erode as you rub out the pencil markings nor is it as abrasive on the paper. There's no pile of eraser debris to blow and sweep away.

It comes in a square tablet but it's like clay. You can roll it into a ball and rub away. When it gets dirty you stretch it out, fold it over itself into a new ball and continue. Keep it in a case or a bag, though, it will acquire any hair or dust it touches.

[Bach5G]

A too soft pencil can smear.

[Finetales]

I've never seen a colored pencil that could be properly erased. Do they really exist?

They do exist but are more specialized than your typical Crayola colored pencils and the like.

For example, Palomino makes Blackwing colored pencils which are just as good as the normal Blackwing pencils and have special erasers built in. I use normal Blackwings for everything, they are wonderful.

[sf105]

- no unnecessary marks

I am a huge opponent of "courtesy accidentals." It's mostly because i'm in my 70th year on the planet and my eyesight isn't what it used to be. Reading accidentals can be a problem. So if I see one, I assume it is altering the note from the key signature, not saying, "No, we really meant the key signature you idiot."

I'm getting on a bit too, so I can miss unclear key changes in highly chromatic music. As long as it's clearly a courtesy accidental, that works for me.

A big change for me was when I saw some (Mahler?) parts from the NY Phil. They were largely clean apart from notes about particular conductors' quirks. Just play the dots.

As an amateur, I see a lot of parts (from school orchestras?) where they've written in every last comment from the conductor. I spend the long rests erasing the markings.

S

[tbdana]

I have to confess, one time when I was playing in a community concert band I got so frustrated with positions being marked on almost every note that I erased them and replaced them with incorrect positions.

[AtomicClock]

So if I see one, I assume it is altering the note from the key signature, not saying, "No, we really meant the key signature you idiot."

I'm constantly forgetting the key signature. Even in things I've played a million times, like the low-numbered Rochuts. I thought this would get better as I got more experienced. But now I'm just getting older.

In a (community) band part where I'm not playing the melody, I might stay for a long time on just a few notes; not enough to cover the whole scale. I dunno. Maybe I haven't internalized enough music theory?

[BPBasso]

A big change for me was when I saw some (Mahler?) parts from the NY Phil. They were largely clean apart from notes about particular conductors' quirks. Just play the dots.

To my knowledge, Mahler was notorious for writing exactly what he wanted in his scores and their parts. To put plainly, a Mahler fortissimo is always such, while a Tchaikovsky fortissimo often needs careful consideration.


I mark nearly every accidental. Key changes that are "hidden" will often get a noticeable circle, or write out "B maj" above the next entrance. Draw large glasses in places that require unique cues or delicate tempo changes. And simply write "less" or "more" near dynamics or articulations per the conductor wishes - though vague it keeps clutter off the sheet and personally reminds me of what the conductor/lead requested.

[Wilktone]

Are there enough of these conventions to fill up an actual course?

Probably not. It's something that I largely picked up from random rehearsals and gigs. The director would say something like, "Everyone write dash one over that note" and I would pick up on what it mean via context or by asking a question. I don't remember when I first hear that circling or brackets mean to tacit, but so many people circle something in order to draw attention to it instead (e.g., they circle the articulation so they don't forget it).

Which is why...

You mark a part primarily in case you go sick and somebody has to come in and cover. Mark things with that in mind. Beatings, dynamic changes, fast turns, spectacles over tricky things etc.

...it's a good idea for having a standard practice.

The digital approach solves several different problems.

I go back and forth on use of a tablet to read music. It definitely has benefits and drawbacks. I use a tablet all the time for reading with certain groups, but with some groups it can become a problem. The big bands I play regularly with often pass around solos and lead parts on more laid back gigs, but if someone is reading off a tablet that can make it tricky to pass their part to the other player.

I have been doing Broadway national tours for years where the music is passed around dozens of cities. I've seen everything from wrong articulations, accidentals marked above, below, in front of the notes, to written in slide positions.

I've played a few gigs for some well-known acts that has similar issues. I recall a famous R&B vocal group's book had the wrong articulations marked on them, something like tenuto markings when they wanted roof-top accents. So we had to mark, in pencil, all the changes for the show, which then got erased for the next town over. I have since heard that this act has digitized their book and it's now much easier to read.

Beatings, dynamic changes, fast turns, spectacles over tricky things etc.

- parentheses around notes/passages to tacet
- vi-de with brackets (or just the brackets and a line connecting them) for a cut
- "-1" for off on 1, and similar for other beats
- courtesy accidentals above the note, rather than trying to squeeze it in front
- small up and down arrows above the note for tuning things (e.g. reminding yourself that x note is a major 3rd), or just writing the chord change
- no unnecessary marks like circling notes/passages you missed

What else can you think of that should be considered "standard?"

Dave

[ghmerrill]

The big bands I play regularly with often pass around solos and lead parts on more laid back gigs, but if someone is reading off a tablet that can make it tricky to pass their part to the other player.

I guess. By the time we play a gig, the solos and parts have been allocated long before that. On the other hand, I never show up for a gig without paper copy as backup -- though I've not had to make use of it yet.

[tbdana]

One marking I use is a "$" for the "money notes." If there's a very important or exposed passage I'll put a dollar sign to remind me and as a heads up for any sub.

[ghmerrill]

I like that. I've just been using a big red arrow. (In my digital versions, of course.) The dollar sign is better in terms of both space and significance.

[dwcarder]

Here's what the books in our band look like. If the fidelity of multi-generation photocopies wasn't enough, at some point decades ago someone with a highlighter went on a rampage. Key changes? Highlighted. Repeats, highlighted (this admittedly is slightly handy -- ONCE). Cues, highlighted.

[elmsandr]

Dunno, drawing a straight line for the repeats of those old marches with random line starts and often funky roadmaps is what I consider good marking.

Using a permanent ink on the only part…. That I don’t like, but if it is a copy; all’s fair.

I find this fits EXACTLY Chris’s note of mark if somebody else will have to play it. If somebody wants to sight read this, they will have to put zero thought into the roadmap.

Cheers,
Andy

[Kbiggs]

You mark a part primarily in case you go sick and somebody has to come in and cover. Mark things with that in mind. Beatings, dynamic changes, fast turns, spectacles over tricky things etc.

This.

Leave out the extraneous and redundant markings. However, I confess to circling some key and meter changes, usually if I’ve missed them once, and certainly if I miss them a second time.

I’ve never used a highlighter, and I won’t. But please, if you do use a highlighter, make your own copy first.

[bwilliams]

I have to confess, one time when I was playing in a community concert band I got so frustrated with positions being marked on almost every note that I erased them and replaced them with incorrect positions.

As a high school math teacher, when student's wrote formulas on their desks, I would make subtle changes.

[robcat2075]

Yes, they ARE easily erased, but ARE THEY in fact erased?

On the few occasions i played for a musical, the part books would always have a big label on the front warning that all marks must be erased or an extra fee would be charged.

But every book I got was still full of pencil marks from whoever had it last!

Maybe they charge the fee... and then don't spend it on cleaning up the parts.

[dwcarder]

In the example I posted, the roadmap at the top is very handy
A1, A2, B1, B2, C, D1, D2, A2, B2, C2, D1, D2
as inevitably the question is what gets repeated or not on the second pass, and it differs between pieces.

[Bach5G]

In bone 2, about two-thirds the way through a Prokofiev, in pencil: “Wake Doug up!”

[stewbones43]

I have a different solution to this problem. I use "Post-It Strips" with information written on them. They are the fluorescent coloured strips (2inX0.5in-5cmX1.5cm) and a mild adhesive patch on one end. Use the colour coding for different types of information-blue for key changes and accidentals, green for time signatures, yellow for beats, orange for dynamics and pink for anything else.
They can be cut down to fit into small spaces. They pull off easily without damaging the part and they are so obvious that you don't leave any behind when you hand back the part. They can easily be changed or replaced when the MD changes his mind about the beat or the pick up after a pause.
Only downside is having a notebook to list the changes at rehearsals and then transfering the info onto the strips afterwards.

The system works for me and has done for some years.

Cheers

Stewbones43