Copyists

A copyist is a person who makes written copies. In ancient times, a scrivener was also called a calligraphus (pl. calligraphi). The term's modern use is almost entirely confined to music copyists, who are employed by the music industry to produce neat copies from a composer or arranger's manuscript.

[edit] Music copyists

Until the 1990s, most copyists worked by hand to write out scores and individual instrumental parts neatly, using used a calligraphy pen, manuscript paper, and often a ruler. In the 1990s, copyists began using scorewriters - computer programs which are the music notation equivalent of a word processor. (Such programs include Finale and Sibelius).

Both handwritten and computer-based copying require a significant understanding of musical notation, music theory, the musical styles and conventions of different styles of music (e.g., regarding appropriate ornamentation), and strong attention to detail and past conventions.

[edit] See also

• Scrivener
• Scorewriter
• Music engraving
• Arrangement

[edit] External links

• "Making a Living As a Music Copyist"