 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Duane
Date: 2004-02-11 02:35
If I look in a music book and see a song that I want to play that was written for C instruments and I transpose it to a B flat instrument BY HAND onto a sheet of manuscript paper and then play it, am I infringing on the authors copyright?
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Author: diz
Date: 2004-02-11 02:47
Not for music written more than one hundred (general rule of thumb) years ago ... for contemporary music you certainly are.
Misconception: if I take a Peters Edition (for example) of a Mozart piano sonata and copy it, am I breaking copyright? Answer: yes and no. Yes because the publishing house has copyright on its typsetting (be it mechanical or handwritten) and not on the intellectual property, as Mozart is over one hundred years gone.
Generally speaking, if you seek the composer's permission for the transcription (for modern/contemporary music) you'll be ok ... they can only say no, afterall. If you are going to earn money from it you are certainly in breach of copyright. Speak to the composer/publisher. Laws are slightly different between the USA and Australia ... you can check for details by searching here as this has been discussed before. Mark Charette also has a wealth of knowledge on copyright laws and his comments are also posted here.
diz | sydney
Without music, the world would be grey, very grey.
Post Edited (2004-02-11 02:50)
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2004-02-11 03:07
It's damn complicated - ask anyone who creates and sells transcriptions.
If a piece is under copyright, you should always ask permission, but the reality is:
If you're going to play it one or twice in public, with no compensation, and won't be distributing copies of your work (for sale or not), no one will really care.
If you're going to make a habit of playing it in public, get paid for playing it, or will be making copies for distribution (for sale or not), then you better get permission!
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Author: David Peacham
Date: 2004-02-11 12:14
I suspect it may make a difference whether you own the book you are copying from.
The Trinity examinations board in England states:
"Visually impaired or dyslexic candidates may perform from large-print (photo)copies of music without infringement of copyright
regulations, provided that the original is also brought into the examination."
Of course, they are talking here about copies, not transpositions. But they cover transpositions in the special case of mini-bassoon (a higher-pitched bassoon for small children):
"This examination may be taken on normal, short-reach or mini-bassoon. If mini-bassoon is used, the accompaniments must be suitably
transposed.Manuscript or computer-generated transpositions will be permitted."
The implication being that you will use the original solo part, and therefore will need to purchase the music.
Your legal system may vary. And my apologies to Trinity for any violation of their copyright.
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If there are so many people on this board unwilling or unable to have a civil and balanced discussion about important issues, then I shan't bother to post here any more.
To the great relief of many of you, no doubt.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2004-02-11 14:37
diz -
I don't think Peters has any copyright in its music engraving. There's no originality there, and "sweat of the brow" doesn't fall within traditional copyright concepts. Older copyright lines often claimed everything, but contemporary ones claim copyright only in the preface and any editing of the music (slurs, dynamics, etc. that weren't in the original).
Duane is at another remove, since his manuscript would not incorporate any of Peters's engraving effort. His worry would be about the composer's copyright, not the publisher's, except for the music editing.
Duane - Transposing is an honorable and necessary skill. You'll need to learn it sooner or later, and better sooner.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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