OpenScore - Holst’s “The Planets”

Are we going to show the empty staves as they appear in the score, and if so, how do we go about doing that?

I thought I'd invite everyone who has sent me a movement from The Planets into a group so that we can see about putting them all together to create an OpenScore Edition.

TRANSCRIPTIONS

I. Mars - https://musescore.com/score/3360046 (Frank Luna)
II. Venus - https://musescore.com/score/4226786 (markpearse)
III. Mercury - https://musescore.com/score/5120892   (Planet Bonezone)
IV. Jupiter - https://musescore.com/score/5036057 (Planet Bonezone)
V. Saturn - https://musescore.com/score/4226791 (markpearse)
VI. Uranus - https://musescore.com/score/4286681 (markpearse)
VII. Neptune - https://musescore.com/score/5063228 (Planet Bonezone)
ALTERNATIVE TRANSCRIPTIONS

To be used if we can't use the primary transcription for whatever reason.

I. Mars - https://musescore.com/score/5022675 (Planet Bonezone)
VII. Neptune - https://musescore.com/score/4287616 (markpearse)

STEPS

1. Download a copy of the Template score - https://musescore.com/score/5094996
2. Copy in the staves from your own transcription.
3. Upload using File > Save Online and then add it to this group. (Continue using Save Online as you make further changes.)
4. Check against OpenScore Guidelines - https://musescore.com/score/3434266
5. Leave a comment here when you've finished a movement.
6. Review each other's scores to ensure consistent engraving style.

Please feel free to discuss and ask questions in the group.

@Planet Bonezone asked:

"are we trying to make it sound like an actual performance, or just providing the notation?"

As explained in the guidelines (https://musescore.com/score/3434266) we prioritise notation over playback, but playback should be as good as it can be, while keeping the notation accurate.

Invisible markings

You shouldn't add any markings that are not in the score. However, you CAN add invisible markings IF they are implied or hinted at by something in the score, even if the marking itself is not explicitly mentioned.

For example, let's say there is a section of music that is played staccato in every recording, even though there are no staccato dots at that point in the score. If the score has text that says "staccato" then you should add the text AND you should also add INVISIBLE staccato dots so that playback is correct. However, if the score does not say "staccato" AND does not have staccato dots, then you shouldn't add text or dots (not even invisible ones).

There may be some cases where we will allow invisible markings even when there is nothing hinted in the score. If in doubt about a particular case, please ask below.

Balance

You are allowed to adjust the overall balance for each instrument via the Mixer, so feel free to do this for your own movement. However, when the movements are all completed and they will get joined into one score. This means they will all share the same Mixer settings, so we will need to discuss this later to decide on the ideal settings for the piece as a whole.

Dynamics

You are allowed to add invisible dynamics between hairpins to control the change in volume of the hairpin, but otherwise you cannot add dynamic markings (p, f, mp, ff, etc) that were not in the original score, unless they were hinted at in the score.

@Planet Bonezone asked for detailed explanation. There are instructions in the opening discussion (https://musescore.com/groups/4979050/discuss/5017349) and in the template itself (https://musescore.com/score/5094996), but here is a step-by-step guide:

1. Open your score and the template.
2. Select an entire staff from your score (select the first measure, then press Ctrl+Shift+End to extend the selection to the end of the piece [Mac users press Fn+Cmd+Shift+Right]).
3. Copy the staff (Ctrl+C / Mac: Cmd+C) and paste into the relevant staff in the template (Ctrl+V / Cmd+V).

I noticed that you all used combined staves for some instruments, like the flutes. You need to split the flutes so that each flute is on a separate staff. Here's the best way to do this:

1. Copy your combined flute staff (or other combined instrument) using the above method.
2. Paste into the top flute staff in the template (i.e. paste into "Flute 1" staff).
3. Select this whole staff (that you just pasted) and go to Edit > Tools > Explode. This will split the notes for Flutes 2, 3 and 4 onto the lower staves.
4. Check that all the notes are correct for each of the flutes, add missing notes and delete any extra notes (the Flute 1 staff should contain only notes for Flute 1, the Flute 2 staff should contain only notes for Flute 2, etc.).
5. Delete all text labels that say which flute is supposed to play what, since these are no longer needed (each flute just plays what is written on their respective line).

That's pretty much all there is to it, though you may need to add tempos and rehearsal marks as these may not be copied across.