Hello,
To celebrate America’s 250th birthday, I’m wanting to make Stars and Stripes Forever look as if Sousa hand wrote the piece using Dorico, ha. I’m needing font suggestions for text (standard text and tempo markings), notes, clefs, and dynamics.
Any guidance would be much appreciated!
Thanks!
I’ll see if I can find some Sousa Marches anywhere and upload a scan. For marching band, the spacing was VERY tight, noteheads were somewhat larger than usual. Repeat systems were used, sometimes complex ones.
Try the Finale Engraver font. Very bold looking.
If it helps, this is the PDF I’m referring to.
I also kind of want to go with a hand written font, but I’m not sure. I’ll be printing this project on some very old style paper as well. I’m wanting to make this piece like it was written in 1867.
So just reprint the original!?
(Sorry, but I find these exercises to be a futile waste of time and effort)
I don’t like the note spacing of the original.
No modern player would like that spacing. So what are you trying to reproduce? You can’t replicate the look and feel without including the typographic errors.
I didn’t say I was copying the spacing.
But the spacing is integral to the look and feel of the original.
I never said I was copying the original to a “T”.
You meant 1897, yes?
(Not 1867 - he would have been 13 years old)
Yes, I do!
i believe these were originally for flip books. but i could be wrong 
There are complete scores, manuscripts, and parts available at IMSLP. The manuscripts can give you an idea of what a “handwritten” font might look like (if you’re looking for a pseudo reproduction. There were a number of different publishers so the font probably varied depending on the “house style” and when it was published. Take a look at some of those and compare! There are a few old threads that have some “font comparison” sheets that might help as well.
— Jim
Sousa’s original manuscript isn’t particularly clear, so I wouldn’t try to emulate that!
The 1897 published score on IMSLP uses some kind of Garamond for the titling on the title page, while the text on the music pages is something like Nepomuk, or Old Standard, Monotype Modern, or possibly ITC Century.
The parts are a bit different, using three separate typefaces for the instrument, title and composer.