Young Composers' Handbook

PART ONE - WRITING YOUR MUSIC
- Manuscript
- Scores
- Parts
- Copying
- Software and Hardware

PART TWO - PERFORMING YOUR MUSIC
- Players
- Orchestras
- Competitions

PART THREE - GETTING PAID FOR YOUR MUSIC
- Copyright
- Royalties
- Commissions

APPENDICES
- Association of Irish Composers
- Irish Music Rights Organisation
- Contemporary Music Centre
- Useful Addresses


PART ONE-WRITING YOUR MUSIC

MANUSCRIPT

On the assumption that you are composing with pen and ink, and not on one of the various composer software programs available, you are going to need a lot of manuscript, even for a moderately active compositional career. Most stationers carry stocks of 6- and 12-line manuscript copies, quite adequate for school and small-scale work: but they are likely to prove inadequate once your horizons expand.

The larger shops, such as Walton's, McCullough-Pigotts, and Opus II carry larger stocks of a wide range of manuscripts. As a working composer, you need to consider (a) legibility and (b) your own comfort. Few things in music are as frustrating as the realisation that you are not going to fit your beautiful music into the space remaining. This is the sort of practical detail that tends to be overlooked or omitted in the music schools, yet it is here that composition happens, and illegibility threatens to come between you and the performer. (You can avoid all of this, of course, with one of the software programs referred to below-but that is another story.)

Opus Two carries a particularly wide range of specialist manuscript papers, from 6 to 40 or more staves to the page, and will also order off-standard sizes, usually by the ream. It is worth paying a visit to your friendly music shop at the outset of composition, so that you can match your musical ambitions to the best paper for the job.

SCORES

Even in something as apparently straightforward as a short piano piece, the question of scoring arises immediately. What range do you have in mind? If you intend to use the whole keyboard, you will need at least 3, or maybe 4 staves, if you are not to saddle yourself with lots of leger lines, or notes squeezed between staves. If you tend to write extensive passages of short-value notes with one or more beams, interspersed with odd-length rests as may be, then you may need longer staves, to avoid turning corners mid-bar, something which many performers detest.

Since your music is, by definition, new, your performer will most likely be reading it at its first performance-a great moment for you, but fraught with tension for the performer. The bigger the notes, the better the light, the more relaxed will your soloist be. All this may seem blindingly obvious, but more than one world premiere has been well-nigh ruined because of it.

How much more is this true when you write for orchestra-perhaps 80 or 100 musicians, and most important, the one on whom you are relying to place your sounds before the world-the conductor.
It is one thing to read the pocket score of one of your favourite works, and admire the juxtaposition of notes, dynamics, and expression marks; it is quite another to reproduce this standard of clarity when you are struggling with inspiration, corrections, rewrites, and so on. If you are writing for large orchestra, it is worth looking for pre-printed manuscript, which carries the names of the principal orchestral instruments, grouped in families, down the left side. You may not want to use all of them, but it's quicker to leave a blank line than to customise your own manuscript.

A new score for a conductor unfamiliar with the music should be at least A3 size-anything less is asking for trouble, unless it's printed-see 'software', below. You will have to make several copies of your score, for the conductor, the orchestra librarian, for competition entries (see 'Competitions'), the sound technicians, if you are being recorded. This means photocopying and binding: not many outlets in Dublin will do A3 binding. The Contemporary Music Centre does, for its members. (See below)

PARTS

Unless you are working to a commission, or are very rich, or have met the criteria for the CMC/IMRO copying scheme, you will have to do your own orchestral parts. If nobody has heard of you so far, they are never going to hear of you unless you have orchestral parts. As far as the average orchestra goes, "no parts, no performance". Quite reasonable, really. If, on the other hand, you are approaching the conductor or orchestra you have singled out to perform your stunning debut piece, come armed with the score and parts. This leaves them only one decision to make-whether or not to perform it. It will cost an orchestra much less to perform a work with parts, given that a 12-minute 60-page score could cost from £1500-£2500 in copying fees.

If this is your first large orchestral work, it's a good idea to do your own parts. Unless you are unusually meticulous in your score, you will find a myriad small mistakes: missed accidentals, overlooked corrections and rewrites, clef changes, intended doublings that aren't. If you don't find them, be sure the musicians will-and put you on the spot. Larger and more embarrassing mistakes, such as exceeding the range of the instrument, mistransposing, or writing impossible notes or passages for it, should be behind us, but you never know! Better to spot these things before the orchestral rehearsal.

Remember that your part is likely to be the only point of contact between you and the players at the desk. If it's illegible, they won't read it. If it's off-putting, they will be put off. If you haven't taken care to arrange page-turns to coincide, where possible, with rests in the music, they are going to be annoyed. If long periods of rest aren't broken up into countable sections, they're not going to come in at the right place. Above all, if you don't write rehearsal letters, preferably with bar-numbers, rehearsals bid fair to be a nightmare, with conductor and musicians unable to agree their place in the music.

It is a good idea to approach your orchestra manager or librarian before writing parts, to ascertain what size manuscript, and how many staves, are preferred, as well as any particular requirements. Would the 2nd oboe like the cor anglais on a separate part, for instance; or how will you divide up your 17 percussion instruments among the 4 players available. (Not many orchestras will hire an extra player just to play your exquisitely placed 'ting' on the small triangle.)

In conclusion: it is worth spending a lot of time over your parts. It is your best chance of winning over the orchestra manager, the librarian, and the players, before ever a note is heard.

COPYING

If you don't fancy writing out your parts, (and it is a long job), you will require the services of a copyist. Ireland is not overburdened with copyists at present, and it is going to cost you money; possibly a lot of money. Exactly how much is impossible to say here-rates change according to size and length of work - but the estimate given above is not far out. If you meet the criteria of the CMC/IMRO scheme (see Appendices), then you will recoup some or all of your outlay-but this is not easy. Remember that when you give your score to the copyist; that is what will be copied-exactly.
No copyist is going to second-guess a composer on accidentals, repeats, solo as against tutti , and so on. Carelessness with stems will lead to parts being left out, or doubled. The time you spend proof-reading and perfecting your score will repay itself by minimising loss of patience and confidence-not to mention time.

SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE

Most composers nowadays set out their notation with the aid of the computer. The basic kit involved is a midi-compatible keyboard, a midi cable, a PC (with printer) and music software. 'Midi' stands for music information digital interface, the word also crops up in the phrase 'midi file', and this is particularly important when attempting to transfer music from one brand of music software to another. Most Irish composers use 'Finale' or 'Sibelius', some use 'Mosaic'. Any of these will give you a very professionally finished score which will, if you spend enough time getting to know them, rival anything produced by a publisher these days (since they use the same equipment). The advantages of using the computer are legibility and speed of score production, particularly when it comes to parts, which the computer will extract automatically from the full score. The disadvantages are that you will be confined to A4 paper unless you have access to a professional printer, and this can be a problem with large orchestral scores. However, if your printer can produce enough dpi (dots per inch) and you use expensive paper, then you can blow up the image on a photocopier quite satisfactorily. Ask around among composers or copyists to decide which software to choose: most agree that Finale is fairly difficult, for example, because its procedures tend to be counter-intuitive. All of this equipment is expensive, including the software programs. Note that PC is cheaper than Mac, and pretty equal in quality and user-friendliness. You might also consider approaching university music departments or the conservatories for access to their equipment. Other programs such as 'Vision' allow you to hear a simulation of your score with fairly good synthesis of acoustic musical instruments.
There is also the question of computer music and electro-acoustic music. To find out about these contact the university music departments or conservatories who can advise and who provide diploma courses in music and technology.

PART TWO-PERFORMING YOUR MUSIC

PLAYERS

There are two kinds of compositions: those for a performance already arranged, and those written in hope of a performance. We will deal here with the latter, since it is assumed that if you have reached the stage of writing to order, you know something of what follows. If you have written something small-scale-a solo Sonata or a chamber work-your best chance of performance lies in approaching players themselves. Accepting that you are presently little-known, you are not likely to attract the attention of well-known players. The best route for an aspiring composer is through aspiring musicians.

Most up-and-coming musicians would be pleased to be approached by a composer with a new piece; there are obvious benefits for both. If players don't play new music, composers don't hear what it sounds like, and the great big audience out there remains totally ignorant of it. There is always the chance that a player may like your music to the extent of becoming an exponent/expert on it: you should be so lucky! Where will you meet players? Frequent the music schools, go to concerts, especially those run by student groups or Youth Orchestras. Players are not going to pay you for performing your music, but neither will they charge you: the matter of money is dealt with in Section Three. At the risk of stating the obvious again; if you sit at home and wait for musicians to beat a path to your door, you'll be waiting a long time! If you have a worthwhile piece, take the time and trouble to consider who might play it, and go and ask-in person: you can't expect a sheet of paper to make a case for the finer points of your masterpiece.

ORCHESTRAS

New orchestral music faces a rather more difficult struggle to get a hearing, not least because of the small number of orchestras in Ireland. RTE maintains two professional orchestras; the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, and the Concert Orchestra, while Belfast has the Ulster Orchestra. There is a number of amateur orchestras in the larger centres of population. Pieces for large or very large orchestras are unlikely to recommend themselves to most amateur orchestras, since they don't usually carry a full complement. There is an increasing number of Youth Orchestras in the country; the National Youth Orchestra fields a stunning 110 players, enough for all but the most gargantuan works.

The composer's problem with all orchestras is the same: how will I get them to play my music?
Unlike smaller-scale works mentioned above, there's not much point in approaching individual musicians from an orchestra, as they don't make the decisions on repertoire. There is, in fact, no 'official' or 'recognised' route for aspiring composers. RTE Music Department will always take a score, but beyond expressing willingness to have somebody look at it, no undertaking will be given. You are in much the same position as if you had a screenplay or an idea for a sitcom. RTE does a fair amount of recording for radio broadcast, and in fact, this would be the most likely first airing of any new piece by an unknown composer. Even being accepted for a broadcast performance can take a long time, since you will have to join the queue-yes, there are lots of composers out there, and only one orchestra. The great benefit of such a recording is that you have a recording, on tape, which you can then use to advance the work's chances elsewhere. Having a score of your new work is nice: a score and a cassette is great: a score and a CD is the best calling card there is.

The other route to a performance is, of course, through a conductor. Conductors do make decisions about repertoire, and some have a considerable input to programming. Conductors like to be seen to be enthusiastic about contemporary music: on the other hand, most orchestras like to play familiar repertoire, both for their own pleasure, and to attract audiences, most of whom are notoriously chary of anything 'modern.' It is quite usual to see a composer lie in wait outside the green room of a concert hall after a concert, intending to shove a precious score into the conductor's hand. Such scores are generally accepted, with a promise to 'look at it'. It helps if you have given some thought to the person you are approaching: what does he/she like to conduct? Why them? Have you heard other concerts that they have conducted? We're all human; and a little research and background will go a long way.

To raise the matter of a recording again: by no means all conductors, regardless of what they say otherwise, are able to get a clear picture of unfamiliar music just from the score. A tape will be appreciated, but a CD is what they really want-fast easy access to various bits of the music. Conductors spend much time travelling, and so have time to listen: it's easier to listen to, than to read, unknown music. Don't forget to include: instrumentation (complete breakdown in the case of orchestra), duration, name, address, phone, fax, email all on the inside front cover of your score. Also include a biographical note of the type you see in programmes. Always include a recording of the work if you have one.

Addresses for the principal orchestras in Ireland are provided in the appendices.

COMPETITIONS

The third route to a performance is through composition competitions, of which there is a large number annually. Competitions come in many formats and parameters; specifications as to age, nationality, instrumentation may apply; and there's always a deadline-a blessing for many composers. To be performed, of course, you must win or be placed in the competition: but as with all such pursuits, a careful study of the requirements, and the past winners, will repay itself. Competitions tend to be won by people who win competitions fairly regularly, and it may be necessary to enter several before you get anywhere. Most competitions require that the piece be unrecorded and unperformed. If you are accepted for membership of the Contemporary Music Centre or the Association of Irish Composers, you will find full details of a wide range of competitions in their newsletters. There are also frequent 'Calls for Scores' from various bodies organising festivals of contemporary music, and your chances here can be much better than in competition, as the response may be low.
Again you should always include: instrumentation, duration, name, address, phone, fax, email, a biographical note, and a recording of the work if you have one. Provide parts if you want to be really helpful, but in some cases it may make more sense to include a note saying 'parts available on request'.

Note that most competitions and festivals will decline to return your score/tape/CD without at least a post-paid envelope, and often not even then: it's too much trouble. If you don't go and collect it yourself, it will be thrown out.

PART THREE-GETTING PAID FOR YOUR MUSIC

COPYRIGHT

Q. How do I copyright my music?
A. You don't; at least, not in any active sense. The mere fact that you have written the music vests the copyright in you. What the above question really asks is; how do I prove that I wrote the music? Can some unscrupulous editor/conductor/composer pass it off as his/her own? Well, undeniably, it has happened, so here is what you can do to protect your rights. Firstly, the European Convention on Copyright has laid down a requirement on all creative artists that they include the following statement somewhere in the text of the work (usually on the flyleaf):

"The Composer A. N. Other asserts the moral right to be regarded as the composer of this work"

Secondly, no sane composer sends the only or original copy of any work to anyone. Make several copies, all including the above statement. Thirdly, in case the worst should happen, take a copy of your work, put it in an envelope, address it to yourself, and post it by registered (recorded delivery) post. When it arrives, put it away unopened along with the dated receipt for the postage. This affords you a simple proof that the work existed on the date in question. It seems curious that there is no procedure analogous to Patent Process for Copyright; but there it is.

ROYALTIES

In order to collect any money at all for your hard work, you must first become a member of a Royalty Collecting Body. In Ireland, in practice, this now means joining the Irish Music Rights Organisation, or IMRO, as it's more commonly known. IMRO has largely taken over the functions of the Performing Rights Society in Ireland, although the PRS is the principal body for Great Britain. The advantage of joining IMRO is that it has reciprocal agreements with its opposite numbers in Europe, America, and the Far East.
Apart from private arrangements between you and performers or concert management regarding payment for concerts, the only other way you are going to get money is through royalties. There are royalties for performance and royalties for broadcasts. Performance royalties in this country are paid pretty well exclusively by RTE, and this is how it works. IMRO, on your behalf, negotiates with RTE from time to time, agreeing a sum of money to be paid to IMRO by RTE for all the music performed by its orchestras and ensembles in a calendar year.
At the end of the year, this sum is divided by the number of seconds' copyright music performed by all the above during the year. It doesn't take a genius to realise that you aren't going to get rich on one performance of a fairly short piece. In practice, IMRO doesn't pay out if your royalties are likely to be under £10, preferring to accumulate them until they make a reasonable sum.

Broadcast royalties are more straightforward, in that you get a fixed sum per second, although this varies from station to station. Within RTE for instance, the payout is larger from those stations which carry commercials than from Lyric; although realistically, Lyric FM is the only RTE station likely to broadcast a 15 or 20 minute piece. Again it has to be said that unless you have a fairly large playtime during the year, you are not going to see much reward for your work.

You should know that any royalty income is free of tax-providing that you can convince the Revenue Commissioners that your work is 'of artistic merit'. Here again, the CD is invaluable: you apply to the Capital Taxation Dept. at Dublin Castle, with form, score, and recording, and hope for the best.

COMMISSIONS

'The financial worries of composers would melt away, if only there were enough commissions to go round'-discuss. Well, maybe; and maybe not. It is undeniably very pleasant to be offered a large sum of money to write the piece you were going to write anyway, but commissions can bring as many headaches as benefits. Specifications as to orchestra size, genre, text, subject matter, may restrict your freedom.

The source of commissions within Ireland is twofold: private benefactors, and the money provided by the Arts Council. If you have a tame millionaire to hand, there is no harm in asking him/her to put up the money for a piece of music. You may have a problem getting it performed, depending on the forces required. (See 'Getting your music performed' above).

The Arts Council administers a sizeable fund for commissioning new artistic work every year, and it is important to know how it works. The first thing to remember is that a composer cannot commission: the commission must originate from outside, as a proposal from a third party in the form of a request to the Arts Council for funding. The commissioning bodies have tended to be public or semi-private entities, or occasionally performers. However under the present scheme, artists in other disciplines (e.g. choreographers or even sculptors) may commission composers. The Arts Council has guidelines, available on request, on the kind of proposals likely to be successful: these refer to 'composers and performers of professional standing'. This means that you are unlikely to succeed at your first attempt, unless you are already known and performed. It's the old chicken-and-egg story again.

That said, the guidelines have been recently overhauled, to the benefit of composers. The requirement for guaranteed performances, reasonable in principle, has been scaled back to one, from two or three. The old, mystifying prohibition on even beginning a work before commissioning has been replaced with an acceptance of 'work in progress'. Again reasonably, the Council does not wish to see 20-year old work dusted down and represented as 'New Music'.

Commissioning Rates, fixed for 2002-3 (these should increase in line with inflation in future years).

Always get a copy of the Arts Council's Awards and Opportunities booklet at the start of each year. Keep informed about closing dates for Commissions, Bursaries, Projects, Recording and Publication awards and prizes or fellowships such as Varming and MacAuley.

APPENDICES

ASSOCIATION OF IRISH COMPOSERS

The Association of Irish Composers, AIC, is the representative body of composers in Ireland. It stands for the interests of composers in all areas of copyright and related issues and acts as a 'trade union' for Irish composers. AIC is funded by a generous grant from IMRO (the Irish Music Rights Organisation) and by members' subscriptions, and receives Arts Council funding for its work in promoting new music. AIC is the Irish section of the ISCM (International Society for Contemporary Music), which organises the annual World Music Days festival. Through international contacts made there and elsewhere, AIC runs an International Concert Exchange Programme, allowing Irish audiences to hear the recent works of composers from other countries, played by musicians from those countries, and allowing Irish works to be heard in those countries.

IRISH MUSIC RIGHTS ORGANISATION

The Irish Music Rights Organisation, successor in Ireland to the Performing Rights Society, exists to protect and enforce the rights of all musicians, composers, songwriters and publishers in the areas of performance (whether live or recorded) and publication. This it does very effectively within Ireland, and, with varying degrees of success, abroad, through bilateral agreements-virtually the whole world is covered, with predictable gaps in the old Soviet satellites, China, and North Korea. It is important to realise that IMRO does not have a magic all-seeing eye-it relies on its members looking out for their own interests. The more you cooperate with it and keep it up to date, the more it can do for you. As mentioned above, small dividends tend to be retained until a reasonable sum accrues.

THE CONTEMPORARY MUSIC CENTRE

The Contemporary Music Centre exists to document and promote the work of all Irish composers. It maintains a unique comprehensive archive of the works of Irish composers, both in score and recording. It is affiliated to the International Association of Music Centres, and is the point of first contact for foreign agencies seeking information on contemporary Irish music. It also undertakes to record all Irish premieres of works commissioned with Arts Council funding. The Centre sells scores and CDs of its composers' works. Representation by the CMC is contingent on acceptance, which is by way of submission of scores. The importance of acceptance can be gauged from the fact that the Arts Council will not normally commission a composer not represented by the CMC. Members of AIC are automatically eligible for representation by CMC.

USEFUL ADDRESSES

The Association of Irish Composers
Director John McLachlan
C/O IMRO
Copyright House
Pembroke Row
Lr Baggot St.
Dublin 2
01 4961484
email info@composers.ie
web: www.composers.ie

The Irish Music Rights Organisation
Director Adrian Gaffney
Copyright House
Pembroke Row
Lr Baggot St.
Dublin 2
01 6614844
email info@imro.ie
web: www.imro.ie

The Contemporary Music Centre
Director Eve O'Kelly
19, Fishamble St.
Dublin 8
01 6731922
email info@cmc.ie
web: www.cmc.ie

The Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon
Music Officer: Nollaig O Fionngháile
70 Merrion Square
Dublin 2
1850 392 492
email info@artscouncil.ie
web: www.artscouncil.ie

National Symphony Orchestra
RTE Concert Orchestra
RTE Vanbrugh String Quartet
RTE Philharmonic Choir
Cór Na nÓg
Contact all of the above through:
RTÉ Performing Groups
Director Niall Doyle
Music Division
RTÉ
Donnybrook
Dublin 4
01 208 3143
email doylen@rte.ie

The Ulster Orchestra
Director David J.L. Fisk
Elmwood Hall
89 University Rd.
Belfast BT7 1NF
048 9066 4535
email david@ulstero.freeserve.co.uk

BBC Northern Ireland Music Dept.
Music Head David Byers
25-27 Ormeau Ave
Belfast BT2 8HQ
048 9033 8292
email david.byers@bbc.co.uk

For a much fuller and comprehensive list of performers and arts facilitators the one essential volume is the Irish Music Handbook published by Music Network. Look for it in music shops, or else contact them directly:

Music Network (Director John O'Kane)
The Coach House
Dublin Castle
Dublin 2
01 6719429
email info@musicnetwork.ie
web: www.musicnetwork.ie