Klarinet Archive - Posting 000009.txt from 2010/09

From: Oliver Seely <oseely@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Pros and Cons of Free Sheet Music
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:28:23 -0400


Sy touches on something which I've pondered since around 1995 when I starte=
d to sequence and put music in the public domain on my web site for free do=
wnloading. To the extent that free sheet music very much democratizes know=
ledge and appreciation of a much wider selection of music than when it was =
available at high cost only from sheet music shops, it is beneficial to all=
musicians who would play that music. To the extent that the old business =
model is obsolete is detrimental to those who are still trying to follow th=
at business model.

There is still very much an opportunity to earn money for service rendered,=
but the intrinsic value of music on the printed page (that which is in the=
public domain, at least) seems to be following an asymptotic path toward z=
ero. A clarinetist friend recently asked me for pdf files of parts for a n=
onet with four movements. I wrote that I'd do it, but I'd have to charge h=
im for my time, because I'd have to extract 9 parts for four movements, 36 =
files in all, reformat each of them, "print" to a pdf output program and th=
en send them to him. =

An e-mail friend in Germany asked me for the same thing for a quintet on my=
page. I told him I'd do it for a hundred bucks and would that be acceptab=
le? He decided to download the score files himself and do the grunt work o=
f extraction and reformatting.

I'll leave you with a silly idea which so far hasn't resulted in any money =
(or satisfaction): There are scores of several concertos (single, double, =
triple) including clarinet with orchestra on my page (notes, articulation a=
nd dynamics -- good stuff). I'm just itching for some conductor of an orch=
estra, amateur or professional, to ask me for the printed score and a full =
set of parts for one of these. My answer: Sure, there are three ways to d=
o it: (1) download the score yourself, extract, reformat and print the part=
s; (2) have me do the whole thing and here's my price, $xyz; (3) you pay fo=
r my travel and lodging and I'll deliver what you need at no additional cha=
rge if you let me play the solo clarinet part for the first sight-read. Pr=
etty good deal, huh? Wouldn't it be great to play the solo clarinet part o=
f the Crusell Opus 11 on a sight-read in Boston Symphony Hall, the Concertg=
ebouw, Lincoln Center or Sch=F6nbrunn Palace (Or maybe even the Mariposa Hi=
gh School Auditorium). Ah, well, so far there have been no takers.

Several years ago I actually did earn some money doing three band scores (u=
p to that time only the piano scores were published), work that was approve=
d by the publisher, but if I tried to earn a living that way, I'd starve to=
death. Better to be a professor emeritus before searching for opportuniti=
es which provide fun AND profit. =

Oliver

> From: retiredprof55@-----.com
> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 07:28:52 -0700
> To: klarinet@-----.com
> Subject: [kl] Pros and Cons of Free Sheet Music
> =

> I am sharing an excerpt from my monthly newsletter with this group with t=
he hope of stimulating some dialogue.
> =

> Have you ever walked into a music store and come across a bin of free mus=
ic? Perhaps, but more often, it might be a bin of music at half price becau=
se the music has not sold well. What about finding everything in the sheet =
music department for free? I bet your answer to this question is no. Howeve=
r, I would suggest that the internet has radically changed our expectations=
regarding sheet music.
> =

> With the advent of technologies like Sibelius=92 Scorch Player and PDF fi=
les where downloading and self printing of sheet music is as easy as clicki=
ng your mouse, have we lost sight of what actually goes into the creation o=
f music? Is the availability of free music beneficial or detrimental to the=
music world?
> =

> To read more on this subject, please go to my newsletter at http://www.co=
oppress.net/page9/page15/page50/page50.html
> =

> Dr. Sy Brandon, composer and arranger
> Professor Emeritus of Music
> Millersville University of Pennsylvania
> =

> retiredprof55@-----.com
> Website http://cooppress.net
> =

> =

> =

> =

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=

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