What Manuscript Paper Do You Use?

I purchased some manuscript paper the other day and started to wonder what other composers like to use when writing (notation software aside).

When making sketches, no matter the ensemble, I like to use a spiral bound notebook, usually a 96 page, 12 stave, 9x11 one like the Carta No. 9 or Passantino No. 85 (I've heard that Archives is also a good brand). I'd buy one with more pages if I could, but I haven't found one yet.

For class notes I fill a 1" 3 ring binder with 12 stave, 8.5x11, hole-punched pages (like Carta No. 2), although it might be better to use 10 stave pages so there's more white space to write in. (I'm the kind of guy who takes sloppy notes during a lecture in a notebook and rewrites/reorganizes them on loose leaf paper when I get home so I have a clean copy for my binder. I do this in a binder instead of a notebook so that I can put my class handouts in the pockets of the binder. A large manuscript notebook with pocketed dividers would be nice.)

For me these two types of paper get the job done. I typically sketch condensed scores on a few staves and transfer directly to Finale after that, so I've never needed alternative paper sizes.

Can anyone recommend manuscript paper brands aside from Carta and Passantino? Are there affordable quality notebooks with more than 96 pages? Also, does anyone know of a company that uses brown ink instead of black?

I'm not particular at all except that I like manuscript paper to be in landscape format and the staves to be fairly small. I don't really have a "favorite brand" or anything, so I can't reccomend any that I know are really good. Sorry I can't be of more help.

I don't use it, but perhaps you could look online

I'm not picky, so I just draw my own manucript paper. I rarely use more than 4 staves ever, so it's messy but it gets the job done.

This because it is cheap: Amazon.com: Manuscript Paper Standard Wire-Bound 12 Stave (9780881884999): Hal Leonard Corp: Books

I also use a pocket moleskine for convenience. Amazon.com: Moleskine Music Notebook Pocket (9788883705366): Moleskine: Books

I also use a pocket moleskine for convenience. Amazon.com: Moleskine Music Notebook Pocket (9788883705366): Moleskine: Books

I forgot about those. Moleskines are nice.

I personally never use any bound (spiral or otherwise) notebooks, since such a great percentage of my manuscripts gets thrown away and I don't want to be confined to having my sketches in a definite order (since they may be part of entirely different projects etc.). And torn out pages of a spiral bound notebook look ugly, so I only blocks of single papers. When I buy it, it's almost always the Swiss "Syst

Does anyone know of a bound manuscript notebook besides the moleskine?

It may be superficial, but I tend to be more inspired to write (or at least enjoy it more) when I have a really nice looking bound notebook :P.

It's too bad the moleskine only comes in a pocket size. I'll probably buy one anyway though.

As of now though I tend to just use whatever I can pick up in the music store. I think it's usually of the Archives brand.

I use Archives 18-stave A3-size - it's never given me any problems. The only unfortunate thing is that I'm in the US, using European-standard paper size. Photocopying can be tricky.

Well, um... to edit my last post :P

Last night I had to write some stuff out by hand, and I used Judy Green Music's manuscript paper, seemed to work quite well :)

I usually use the manuscript paper that my school provides at the bookstore.

Now I use manuscript paper that my mom gave me last year as a gift that is in a black bond book that just says "music" on the cover. Its from a company called Piccadilly.

I rarely use manuscript paper these days since computer is so much faster. But, on the odd occasion I don't have a computer around, I'll usually print off my own ad hoc.

Manuscript papers seem expensive. I usually print a sheet of staves from Finale onto copy paper. It's cheap and gets the job done for me but I'm not a music major so take this only for what it's worth. I would have done the same for lined paper but lined paper is dirt cheap during back-to-school sales so I just stock up every year.

I rarely use manuscript paper these days since computer is so much faster. But, on the odd occasion I don't have a computer around, I'll usually print off my own ad hoc.

How do you print manuscript paper if you don't have a computer around? Potato print?

How do you print manuscript paper if you don't have a computer around? Potato print?

Lol. I meant I print it ahead of time if I know I won't have a computer around. Like the other day I went to the beach and didn't have the laptop, so I printed off a few sheets before I left.

Ahah!

You compose on the beach?

You compose on the beach?

Yeah, its very cool! The Atlantic Ocean is quite musical if you ignore all the people running around splashing water everywhere.

I've been waiting YEARS to say this...

I will use any music paper on which the lines aren't spaced too far apart.

For a long time I used music paper on which were spaced too far apart and the staff went all the way to the end of the page. It was literally impossible to write anything down neatly, it just looked hideous. The staves were also too close together, so high notes were always colliding with low notes from the staff above. I didn't even have to think about writing chords (I write mostly jazz heads), because they'd be unreadable.

I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it!!!!!

AAAAAAARGH!!!

*sigh*

I can answer two of your questions:

I) Manuscript Paper That I Use:

I like to compose with size A3 landscape paper with 16 or 18 staves with paper that works best with fountain pen or even dip pen. I used to use pencil but it does not give you a dark enough mark and using ink fills a sort of artistic need of mine. Also by not using pencil, I do not waste time erasing like I used to. Although proficient with computer, I only use computer when the work is done.

Novello (available from musicroom.com and sheetmusicplus.com) makes an excellent 10, 16, 26, etc. staves per page that works wonderfully (40 pages per pad) whether sketching a continuity draft or for a composing a work. Also from England is the "Musician's Manuscript" by Manchester Music Exchange which has 18 staves per size A3 page (stave size is smaller than Novello) which I like to use only for the final manuscript (you can buy from Boosey and Hawks or Manchester Music Exchange). In regards to sketching beginning ideas, I like Clairefontaine's size A4 stave pads (it sort of fits in a standard 3 ring binder).

Of course with paper making not like it used to (i.e. paper that blots when you write with liquid ink), there is also a device called the "Fidolino" which lets you make staves on any type of paper, such as art paper. You put ink in the pad and roll it on paper. It comes in a variety of stave sizes and can be purchased from arc-verona.co.uk.

II. Brown Ink

As far as ink goes, I like black Auora ink but I have seen brown fountain pen ink by J. Herbin available at pendemonium.com.

Hope this is of help to you and anyone else out there.

My parents are to cheap to buy me paper, and I won't find any in my tiny town, so I made one on finale, and got my dad to photocopy it at school, because he's a gym teacher and never runs out of copies.

There's a problem with this though: you can't leave out a time or key signature, the whole rests are still in the middle of the bar, and they're way to big...

I'm just wondering why people use pen instead of pencil.

I assume you don't have the full version of Finale then? Because with the full version it obviously would be no problem to leave out these things.

You could always make your manuscript paper with a graphics software though. There are enough free ones available. It might not be as comfortable at first, but once you have created a first set, you can easily create variations of it with copy/paste and changing the spacings slightly. If you can export as graphics with your version of Finale you could also just do that and then remove the time signatures etc. with a graphics program.

Or simply google for "manuscript paper". You'll find lots of decently sized graphics you can download and print, at some websites even configure yourself to some degree. (For example Free printable staff paper @ Blank Sheet Music .net)

As for pen vs. pencil: I guess ultimately it comes down to three things:

- What feels better to you?

- What is more suitable for producing copies of the final product?

- How much does it matter to you how long your scores will be legible?

The first point is possibly the most crucial one. Writing music is a quite personal thing and you should feel somewhat comfortable doing so. Writing with a pencil feels differently than writing with a ballpoint pen or writing with a fountain pen. Use something you feel comfortable writing a long time with, without getting a cramp (especially important when doing tedious stuff like manual copying or writing out parts!), that looks good to you, is clearly visible and allows you to write precisely. Some composers (such as Boulez) write incredibly small, so obviously they would need a pen that allows for that. Others feel they need the ability of erasing stuff. And so on.

The second point is obviously only a matter of importance when you don't produce your final clean version with a computer, but by hand as well. In that case, having everything in dark black on white paper is the best way to ensure clear copies. Pencil-written scores may become unlegible if you don't darken the copies, which may also be undesirable, especially when your paper is not totally white. It doesn't really matter what kind of pen you use there, as long as it produces a clear black (or at least something very dark). Personally, I prefer felt-tip pens to fountain pens. I always hated fountain pens for some reason. (And ballpoint pens generally don't allow for much precision.) But I only do that for the final clean copy, in the rare cases I don't do that with the computer - everything else, like sketching, I mostly do with a pencil.

The third point is about the durability of certain forms of writing. Frankly, I don't know much about what holds well for how long, and it also changes a lot depending on paper, to how much sunlight it is exposed, etc. But in some cases you won't be able to read what you wrote only a few years later. Or maybe just not quite as well. But again, that's only an issue if you don't input your stuff into the computer at some point.

I really love Judy Green's (now allprintusa.com ) P-538 paper, Double-Sided. It is 14"x17" landscape with perfectly spaced staves on manila colored heavy-stock paper. It is easy on the eyes and gives brilliantly ample room for sketching things out. You can buy it on a huge pad, double-sided. The great thing about the heavy-stock is that nothing shows through from the other side and it's sturdy. The staves are spaced in such a way that it works nicely for piano as well as any groupings of other instruments. But the main thing I'll reiterate is SPACE! Sometimes I notate the piece as it progresses on the front of the paper and on the back I'll test out individual ideas randomly all over the page, or group them if need be.

I make my own staff paper using a staff stencil