The Clarinet BBoard

Looking for a music writing pen

Author: ron b  Date:   2004-02-23 03:40 Eons ago when I did some manuscripting for personal use I bought a music writing pen. It was so-so but got the job done adequately for my purpose. I'm wondering now, through the magic of cyber communication, if there are still such pens being made; possibly better quality than those of long ago. I haven't begun to seriously search yet but I thought perhaps someone might steer me in the right direction. I'm persently using a calligraphy pen that I ground to a finer point than as it came from the store. It work well but doesn't have the "spring" I'm looking for. The music pen had two slits, allowing for wider variations of the stroke, whereas the calligraphy pens have just one and is not quite as 'flexible' as I remember the old one to be. My present muscial endeavors require that I do quite a bit of copying/transposing at times -- not a steady diet, fortunately -- so I'm looking for something to make the job not necessarily easier, although that would be nice, but a little more "authentic". - rn b -

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Re: Looking for a music writing pen

Author: GBK  Date:   2004-02-23 18:29 Mark Charette wrote: > I'm old enough to > remember when we "graduated" to using fountain pens in grade > school. It's still better than remembering using a quill and an inkwell. ...GBK

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Re: Looking for a music writing pen

Author: ron b  Date:   2004-02-23 19:21 Thank you all for your very interesting and informative comments so far. Fine tools are not cheap, as most of us know. I knew that before I posted, so there's no 'sticker shock' on my part to some of the information set forth in response to my query. I agree that software may be quick and wonderful, and quite adequate for most situations. My preference is a product that is both interesting and pleasing to look at as well as play. The personal touch works both ways, in my opinion; the player who sees something that looks nice, was done with some care, will make a little more effort to make it sound nice. Live music played from handwritten scores sounds different than music played from software-produced scores. The player senses that someone cared enough to sit down and painstakingly write out this (in "our" case, transposed) score - "just for me...". The impulse is to give back some of that care in the performance. I'm not talking about symphonic class performances; rather, simple banquets, weddings, care-home facilities, parties, picnics, etc. We're aiming for the best product we can produce. I'm 'arranging' these numbers, to begin with, for a clarinet quartet. Though some of us have played together casually before we plan to begin serious rehearsals in late spring/early summer... only weeks away. Depending on how things develop, we may cultivate it into a larger ensemble. A good writing tool, I hope, will reduce the Writer's Cramp pitfall to this endeavor; especially if I can recruit an assistant scorer or two. I may, I hope, need more pens... Thank you all, again. I very much appreciate your caring response. - ron b - Post Edited (2004-02-23 19:32)

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