For those who still write longhand …

Dorico
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For initial sketching and stuff I still write longhand. Even on the iPad it’s too slow and clumsy to get it out, plus having big sheets of paper where I can block in ideas still works the best compared to being locked into a screen. The annoying thing though is I’ve never found a good writing implement for it, the best has been rotring pens for a nice precise line but they’re so finicky and hard to work with.

Anyhow my father is getting on in years and gifted me his Mont Blanc fountain pen he bought in the 80’s, and I’m surprised to find this is hands down the best music writing pen I’ve ever tried. It has a slightly bigger round nib for writing, not a calligraphy nib so you don’t get those beautiful note heads, but doesn’t matter as this nib is easier for this type of work. With Dorico I’ll never longhand out sheet music, I just need something for banging about.

It’s immensely useful with a large, easily refillable reservoir, easily cleaned, beautifully balanced and crafted of course, so is the most practical pen I’ve tried. I don’t know how this is but getting straight barlines and such is so easy. On downsides it flows a good bit of ink so cheap paper doesn’t work well as you get too much ink flow, just use something reasonably good and you’re set. But now the biggest problem; it ain’t cheap, $650 these days …

Anyhow maybe other fountain pens work as well, but you’ve got a gift suggestion for anybody in your life :sweat_smile:

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Dan, these rastrums to draw a system do still exist; this is an example:

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For years I used an Osmiroid for my copy work. Water-based ink and a fine music pen. I would buy my part paper (Aztec) from Associated Music Copy Services in NYC. The good ol’ days!

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I have just bought a bunch of Ellington fountain pens, which work beautifully, and cost around £35. (I bought 3, in different colours, for different inks.) I’m attempting to improve my letterhand, given how rarely I need to write stuff.

Unsurprisingly, they are made to Ellington’s spec in Chinese pen factories – you can also get some very good Chinese pens, such as Jinhao, for very little money.

I did use some Sheaffers, but they are not as good, IMO.

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I still have my Pelikan Graphos, Aztec ink, and Ken Williams book that I bought there!

Aztec-4
Aztec-41920×1920 245 KB

Aztec-1
Aztec-11920×2880 406 KB

@reberclark, a bunch of us go in to bulk purchase 9.5 x 12.5 paper that’s the same color and weight as the Aztec manuscript paper that they used to sell. The guy who places the order just sent an email out this week that he’s getting ready to place the next order. It’s way too heavy to ship, so you’d have to pick it up from his UWS apartment, but send me a PM if you’re still in NYC and have any interest in being added to the order.

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Thanks, @FredGUnn , but I don’t do much hand copying any more. I still have my pens and nibs but framed them and put them on my wall. I do still use pencil and paper in the beginning stages of an assignment / project. Thanks for the heads up.

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Sorry, I meant the paper size/weight/color is the same, but just blank without staff lines for printing parts from Dorico. I haven’t touched my pen in ages either!

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My music handwriting improved a lot after reading this: McGrain, Mark (1986), Music Notation: Theory and Technique for Music Notation, Berklee Press.

After this pencil-study, a specific music-pen produced nice scores! (Pen & scores should be somewhere… :wink: )

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Yep, I’ve got that one too. I sorta collect notation books, so I, um … have a lot of them LOL.

Notation books I own

Essential
Gould, Elaine. Behind Bars. Faber Music, 2011.
Read, Gardner. Music Notation: A Manual of Modern Practice. Taplinger Pub. Co., 1979.
Ross, Ted. The Art of Music Engraving & Processing. Hansen Books, 1970.
Stone, Kurt. Music Notation in the Twentieth Century. W.W. Norton & Co., 1980.

Essential Hand Copying
Roemer, Clinton. The Art of Music Copying, 2nd ed. Roerick Music, 1985.
Williams, Ken J. Music Preparation: A Guide to Music Copying. Ken J. Williams Publications, 1980. (2 different copies, 1 perfect binding, 1 ring)

General Notation
A-R Editions, Inc. Style Guide. A-R Editions, Inc., 1999. (PDF only)
Boehm, Laszlo. Modern Music Notation: A Reference and Textbook. Schirmer Books, 1961.
Bray, David. Boosey & Hawkes Style Guide, 2nd ed. Boosey & Hawkes Music Pub., 2010.
Bussler, Ludwig. Elements of Notation and Harmony, 5th ed. G. Schirmer, 1890.
Button, H. Elliot. System in Musical Notation. Novello, 1920. (Library copy, reprint date unknown)
Chlapik, Herbert. Die Praxis des Notengraphikers. Doblinger, 1987.
Cole, Hugo. Sounds and Signs: Aspects of Musical Notation. Oxford UP, 1974.
Feist, Jonathan. Berklee Contemporary Music Notation. Berklee Press, 2017.
G. Schirmer. The G. Schirmer/AMP Manual of Style and Usage. G. Schirmer/Associated Music Publishers, 2009.
Gehrkens, Karl W. Music Notation and Terminology. A.S. Barnes Co., 1914.
Gerou, Tom, and Linda Lusk. Essential Dictionary of Music Notation. Alfred Pub. Co., 1996.
Gerou, Tom, and Linda Lusk. Alfred’s Essentials of Music Notation. Alfred Pub. Co., 2009.
Harris, Clement A. How to Write Music. The H. W. Gray Co., 1917.
Homewood, Susan, and Colin Matthews. The Essentials of Music Copying: A Manual for Composers, Copyists and Processors. Music Publishers’ Association, 1990.
Lyle, Scott. An Introduction to the Conventions of Contemporary Music Notation: A Twenty-First Century Vantage. Scott Lyle, 2016.
Major Orchestra Librarians’ Association Publications Committee. MOLA Guidelines for Music Preparation. Major Orchestra Librarians’ Association, 2017. (PDF only)
McGrain, Mark. Music Notation: Theory and Technique for Music Notation. Berklee Press, 1986.
Music Publishers’ Association. Standard Music Notation Practice. Music Publishers’ Association, 1993.
Nicholl, Matthew and Richard Grudzinski. Music Notation: Preparing Scores and Parts. Berklee Press, 2007.
Powell, Steven. Music Engraving Today. Brichtmark Music, 2002.
Read, Gardner. Modern Rhythmic Notation. Indiana UP, 1978.
Rosenthal, Carl A. Practical Guide to Music Notation for Composers, Arrangers and Editors. MCM Music, 1967.
Weinberg, Norman. Guide to Standardized Drumset Notation. Percussive Arts Society, Inc., 1998.
Universal Edition. Product Design Standards. Universal Edition, 2010. (PDF only)
Wood, Dale. Hemidemisemiquavers … and Other Such Things: A Concise Guide to Music Notation. Heritage Music Press, 1989.

Hand Copying
Boustead, Alan. Writing Down Music: A Practical Guide to Preparing Music Manuscript. Oxford UP, 1975.
Donato, Anthony. Preparing Music Manuscript. Prentice-Hall Inc., 1963.
Heussenstamm, George. The Norton Manual of Music Notation. W.W. Norton & Co., 1987.
Jacob, Archibald. Musical Handwriting, 2nd ed. Oxford UP, 1960.
Johnson, Harold M. How to Write Music Manuscript: An Exercise–Method Handbook. Carl Fischer, 1946.
Mender, Mona. Music Manuscript Preparation: A Concise Guide. Scarecrow Press, 1991.
Rosencrans, Glen. A Music Notation Primer, 4th ed. Glen Rose, 2002.

Historical
Apel, Willi. The Notation of Polyphonic Music 900-1600, 5th ed. Mediaeval Academy of America, 1961.
Barksdale, A. Beverly. The Printed Note: 500 Years of Music Printing and Engraving. Toledo Museum of Art, 1957. Da Capo Press, 1981.
Craig, Jean. The Story of Musical Notes. Lerner Pub. Co., 1962.
David, Ernest and Mathis Lussy. Histoire de la Notation Musicale Depuis ses Origines. Paris, L’Imprimerie Nationale, 1882. (Signed by Lussy!)
Flower, Desmond. “On Music Printing, 1473–1701.” The Book-Collector’s Quarterly, Number IV, 1931, pp. 76–92.
Hader, Karl. Aus der Werkstatt eines Notenstechers. Waldheim-Eberle, 1948.
Gamble, William. Music Engraving and Printing. London, 1923. Arno Press, 1979.
King, A. Hyatt. Four Hundred Years of Music Printing. The British Museum, 1968.
Kelly, Thomas Forrest. Capturing Music: The Story of Notation. W.W. Norton & Co., 2015.
Krummel, D.W. and Stanley Sadie. Music Printing and Publishing. W.W. Norton & Co., 1990.
Meyer, Kathi, and Eva Judd O’Meara. “The Printing of Music.” The Dolphin, No. 2, 1935, pp. 171–207.
Poli, Roberto. The Secret Life of Musical Notation: Defying Interpretive Traditions. Amadeus Press, 2010.
Rastall, Richard. The Notation of Western Music. St. Martin’s Press, 1982.
Williams, C.F. Abdy. The Story of Notation. Walker Scott Pub. Co., 1903.
Winternitz, Emanuel. Musical Autographs: From Monteverdi to Hindemith. Princeton UP, 1955. Dover Pub., 1965, 2 vols.

Modern
Boretz, Benjamin and Edward T. Cone. Perspectives on Notation and Performance. W.W. Norton & Co., 1976.
Cope, David. New Music Notation. Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co., 1976.
Dimpker, Christian. Extended Notation: The Depiction of the Unconventional. Lit Verlag, 2013.
Karkoschka, Erhard. Das Schriftbild der Neuen Musik. Moeck, 1966.
Read, Gardner. Pictographic Score Notation: A Compendium. Greenwood Press, 1998.
Risatti, Howard. New Music Vocabulary: A Guide to Notational Signs for Contemporary Music. University of Illinois Press, 1975.
Valle, Andrea. Contemporary Music Notation: Semiotic and Aesthetic Aspects. De Sono, 2018.

Related Works With Some Notation Info
Berger, David, Christian Dancy and Marc Schwartz. Streamlined Sibelius. Such Sweet Thunder, 2022.
Grenet, Emílío. Musica Popular Cubana. Carasa y Cía., 1939. (Purchased in Havana, Cuba Dec. 2010. Reprint date unknown.)
Grier, James. The Critical Editing of Music: History, Method, and Practice. Cambridge UP, 1996.
Gow, George Coleman. The Structure of Music. G. Schirmer, 1895.
Mancini, Henry. Sounds and Scores. Northridge Music, 1962.
Miell, Dorothy and Raymond MacDonald, David J. Hargreaves. Musical Communication. Oxford UP, 2005.
Messiaen, Olivier. The Technique of my Musical Language. Alphonse Leduc, 1966.
Playford, John. An Introduction to the Skill of Musick, 12th ed. London, 1694. Da Capo, 1972.
Sebesky, Don. The Contemporary Arranger, Definitive Edition. Alfred Pub. Co., 1994.
Solomon, Samuel Z. How to Write for Percussion: A Comprehensive Guide to Percussion Composition, 2nd ed. Oxford UP, 2016.
Stiller, Andrew. Handbook of Instrumentation. Kallisti Music Press, 1994.
Tufte, Edward R. Envisioning Information. Graphics Press LLC, 1990.
Uribe, Ed. The Essence of Afro-Cuban Percussion & Drum Set. Warner Bros., 1996.
Uribe, Ed. The Essence of Brazilian Percussion & Drum Set. Warner Bros., 1993.

A fun recent find was basically a complete K&E Leroy Lettering Set. You’ve seen these lettering templates used in a zillion hand copied scores. (And comic books too!) It’s not the same lettering set that Ken Williams used, and that Boosey used in the 50s-60s though, as that set has a very distinctive “e”. I’d be curious if anyone knows what set they used.

K&E Leroy Lettering Set

KE1
KE11920×1280 170 KB

KE2
KE21920×1280 149 KB

KE3
KE31920×1280 228 KB

KE4
KE47728×5152 3.14 MB

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Fred! This post is fundamental and bookmarked! Obviously I have all the essentials and many others, but kudos for your work!

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Wow, man…!

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Going back to the OP, my question is: how do I get my Dorico Fountain Pen™️ to switch from local to global ink? (# Feature request…?)

Kinda fun to reminisce…

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@judddanby HAHA! Perfect.

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I’m with you. I was a professional copyist back n the day. Used india ink, exacto knife, ruler, blotting pads, speedball ‘dip and write’ artist pens (and, of course the music prep guide) on ms and score paper from what was then Judy Green (still available through AllPrint USA). I still use those heavy score pads and ms paper. There is something very satisfying about a writing instrument gliding across high quality paper as I sketch out ideas :grinning:

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I cant read music. I sure do love it though.

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I know this thread is about pens but I want say that for those who use pencils for quickly writing out ideas or for making notes on printed parts the Pacific Music Papers Magic Writer pencil is ideal.

**Leigh

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I still have my Osmiroid pens, with a couple of sizes of nibs. I haven’t used them in eons.

But I still often start compositions on paper with what’s left of my stash of Blackwing 602 pencils, the old Eberhard Faber ones, not the new imitations.

There’s a sense of mystique to them, a vibe that puts me back in touch with how I felt about composing when I was young and just starting, a mindset for composing that they help put me in.

There’s something gratifying in the sensation of a pencil moving on good quality paper that makes you want to keep on writing. :slight_smile:

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Oooh, I’ve never tried the original 602s, just the new ones. CW Pencils was a really cool pencil shop in NYC that unfortunately closed during the pandemic, that used to offer a “Pencils for Musicians” set. I probably still have some of these somewhere. Anyway, their blog is still up, even though the store is closed.

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I live not far from them down here in the LES and was sad when they closed! I never got a chance to try that set though.

I own many of the new Blackwing 602s. I’m glad that someone bothered to revive them, even if it’s slightly different from the originals which I’ve never had the opportunity to try. I think the new ones are very nice, they write in a way which feels “buttery smooth” is how I would describe it. They’re pretty expensive though, and require frequent sharpening, and the erasers are not great… but apart from those issues I would say they have been the most pleasurable pencils to write with, such a great feel, not too scratchy which I hate.

Using them almost makes me feel like a real composer who knows what he’s doing, even when I don’t lol.

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No idea what drawer most of those CW “pencils for musicians” are living in but I looked and did come across a few things that I had gotten from them:

cwp
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For Blackwings and music, I tend to prefer the “soft” graphite models.

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For mechanical, a basic Zebra M-701 with some 2B graphite is pretty hard to beat for the price too:

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