Editing Music engraving (section)

== Traditional engraving techniques ==

=== Elements of music engraving style ===
Mechanical music engraving began in the middle of the fifteenth century. As [[musical composition]] increased in complexity, so too did the technology required to produce accurate [[Sheet music|musical score]]s. Unlike literary printing, which mainly contains printed words, music engraving communicates several different types of information simultaneously. To be clear to musicians, it is imperative that engraving techniques allow absolute precision. Notes of [[Chord (music)|chords]], [[Dynamics (music)|dynamic markings]], and other notation line up with vertical accuracy. If text is included, each syllable matches vertically with its assigned melody. Horizontally, subdivisions of beats are marked not only by their flags and [[Beam (music)|beams]], but also by the relative space between them on the page.<ref name=":0" /> The logistics of creating such precise copies posed several problems for early music engravers, and have resulted in the development of several music engraving technologies.

=== Movable type ===
Similar to book printing, music printing began in the fifteenth century with the use of [[movable type]]. The central problem posed to early music engravers using moveable type was the proper integration of notes, staves, and text. Often, staff lines were hand drawn prior to printing, or added to the printed music afterward. [[Ottaviano Petrucci]], one of the most innovative music printers working at the turn of the sixteenth century, used a triple impression technique that printed staves, text, and notes in three separate steps.<ref name=":0" />

=== Plate engraving ===
[[File:Music Engraving on Metal Plates (with sound).webm|thumb|Music engraving on metal plates, demonstrated by [[G. Henle Verlag]]]]
Although [[Engraving|plate engraving]] had been used since the early fifteenth century for creating visual art and maps, it was not applied to music until 1581.<ref name=":0" /> In this method, a mirror image of a complete page of music was engraved onto a metal plate. Ink was then applied to the grooves, and the music print was transferred onto paper. Metal plates could be stored and reused, which made this method an attractive option for music engravers. [[Copper]] was the initial metal of choice for early plates, but by the eighteenth century [[pewter]] became the standard material due to its malleability and lower cost.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Early American Music Engraving and Printing|last = Wolfe|first = Richard J.|publisher = University of Illinois Press|year = 1980|location = Urbana, IL}}</ref>

At first, plates were engraved freely by hand. Eventually, music engravers developed a number of tools to aid in their process, including:
* A [[rastrum]] to draw staff lines
* Scorers for staves and [[Bar (music)|bar lines]], the use of which inspired the term [[Sheet music|musical score]]
* Flat gravers for [[ledger line]]s and [[Dynamics (music)|crescendos and diminuendos]]
* Elliptical gravers for [[Tie (music)|ties]]
* [[Punch (tool)|Punches]] for [[notehead]]s, [[clef]]s, [[Accidental (music)|accidentals]], and letters<ref>{{Cite book|title = Music Publishing in the Canadas, 1800-1867|url = https://archive.org/details/musicpublishingi0000cald|url-access = registration|last = Calderisi|first = Maria|publisher = National Library of Canada|year = 1981|location = Ottawa| isbn=9780660504544 }}</ref>

Plate engraving was the methodology of choice for music printing until the late nineteenth century, at which point its decline was hastened by the development of photographic technology.<ref name=":0" /> Nevertheless, the technique has survived to the present day, and is still occasionally used by select publishers such as [[G. Henle Verlag]] in Germany.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.henle.com/en/the-publishing-house/music-engraving/index.html|title = Music Engraving|access-date = November 3, 2014|website = G. Henle Publishers|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171230063138/http://www.henle.com/en/the-publishing-house/music-engraving/index.html|archive-date = December 30, 2017|url-status = dead}}</ref>

=== Hand copying ===
Historically, a musician was required to draw their own [[staff (music)|staff]] lines (staves) onto blank paper. Eventually, staff paper was manufactured pre-printed with staves as a labor-saving technique. The musician could then write music directly onto the lines in pencil or ink.

In the twentieth century, music staff paper was sometimes printed on [[vellum]] or [[onionskin]]—a durable, semi-transparent material that made it easier for the musician to correct mistakes and revise the work, and also made it possible to reproduce the manuscript through the [[ozalid|ozalid process]]. Also at this time, a [[music copyist]] was often employed to hand-copy individual parts (for each performer) from a composer's full score. Neatness, speed, and accuracy were desirable traits of a skilled copyist.

=== Other techniques ===
* '''[[Lithography]]''': Similar to metal plate engraving, the music was etched onto limestone and then burned onto the surface with acid to preserve the stone plates for future use.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.musicprintinghistory.org/lithography/about-lithography.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141110043057/http://www.musicprintinghistory.org/lithography/about-lithography.html|archive-date=November 10, 2014|title = About Lithography|access-date = November 3, 2014|website = Music Printing History}}</ref>
* '''Stencils''', '''stamps''', and '''dry transfers''', including the Notaset, a system inspired by the [[Letraset]] used in the twentieth century.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.musicprintinghistory.org/stencils/transfers.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110043058/http://www.musicprintinghistory.org/stencils/transfers.html|archive-date=November 10, 2014|title = Transfers|access-date = November 3, 2014|website = Music Printing History}}</ref> Brushing ink through stencils was a high-quality technique used by [[Amersham]]-based company Halstan & Co.
* '''Music [[typewriter]]s''': Originally developed in the late nineteenth century, this technology did not become popular until the mid-1900s. The machines required the use of pre-printed [[manuscript paper]].<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://musicprintinghistory.org/about-music-typewriters|title = Music Typewriters|access-date = October 22, 2017|website = Music Printing History}}</ref> This technique produced low-quality results and was never widely used.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=QCgDAAAAMBAJ&dq=popular+science+1930&pg=PA143 "Machine Types Simplified Music."] ''Popular Science'', August 1948, p. 143.</ref>