Fred,
Surely (for today’s composers) the important question is to understand how a performer would interpret the composer’s marks?
I think that few composers really understand how any player actually ‘sees’ a part.
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You may think so; but there are some composers who have actually had the experience of playing music written by others. 
David
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You can usually tell from a score if the composer is also a musician 
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LOL! I was in the BMI Composer’s Workshop “house band” in the early 2000s and almost every reading session had a moment where someone said, “I’m sure Finale is playing the hell out of this for you, but no, this is completely unplayable.” 
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I’m still guilty of this sometimes. I’ll look sheepishly at the 2nd violins and say, “Sorry guys, it sounded great on my computer…”
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