The Composing Process -- The Proof

The Creative is taking an in-depth look at the steps I go through in composing a piece of music, from first ideas clear through the end of the publishing process. Realize this is only my process -- this may or may not work for you, so use it only as a guide. This is the tenth post in the series.

So you've signed your contract, and a part of you in the back of your mind thinks you might just be done with your piece.  Sadly, no, there's still more for you to do, and this is one of the more important things you'll have to do for your piece: you have to correct the engraver's proof.

Nearly every publisher will take whatever manuscript you've sent them and will put it in to their own format: certain fonts, spacing, note styles, text sizes, etc.  No two publishers put out manuscripts that look identical, and after you've read enough manuscripts from certain publishers, you become very adept at telling them apart.  In the process of putting your manuscript over into their format, however, there's the possibility of mistakes.

The engraver's proof is as close to the final published manuscript as you can get without it actually being the final published manuscript.  All that's missing is the cover and the heavier-weight paper they print the final copies on.  Everything is laid out as it will look on the page, down to the last accent.

Your job, as composer, is to go over this proof with a fine-toothed comb and find all the mistakes they made when copying it over.  Much like an English teacher will proofread an essay and mark your spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, you must mark all the note, chord, articulation, and other errors that creep into a manuscript along the way.  Ultimately, the mistakes you find help return the piece to the vision you had of it before you sent it off; any mistakes you miss may come back to haunt you.

Case in point: my third published handbell piece was an arrangement of We Three Kings.  I checked the manuscript top to bottom and reported back all the errors I found.  Then, I listened to the demonstration recording, and they took the piece -- pardon, but it's the only apt expression -- like a bat out of hell.  Why?  Because I hadn't bothered to check the metronome marking at the beginning.  I had put the tempo in terms of quarter notes -- they changed it over to be in terms of dotted half notes.  When they changed it, however, they did the math wrong, and I didn't catch the error.  Their mistake, but the fact that some choirs won't play the piece because it's simply marked too fast ... well, that's all on me.

So what sort of errors should you look for in the engraver's proof?

• Note errors -- these can be single notes wrong, or whole chords.  Realize that whoever is copying this over is looking at hundreds and hundreds of tiny black dots on nearly-identical lines.  It's easy to misread, incorrectly enter, or just plain get confused on the whole thing.  
• Articulation errors -- staccato, accent, or other markings that aren't as they're supposed to be.  If the notes are confusing, a piece with a lot of staccato notes can be all the harder to keep track of.
• Markings -- these can include everything from dynamic markings to crescendos and decrescendos, or even specialized techniques (like martellato and swings in handbells).  They can be the wrong marking, omitted, put in when they ought not be, or just placed at the wrong spot.
• General readability -- measure numbers (which come EVERY measure in handbell music) hiding behind notes or accidentals or ties.  Notes too close together.  Notes overlapping.  Omitted key signatures (yes, with some older notation programs, it happens).  
• Other things you usually don't give a second thought to -- things like the aforementioned tempo mix-up.  I've seen a proof where my last name was spelled "Drug".  Words in performance notes misspelled.  You name it, it's probably happened in an engraver's proof.

I usually go over a proof at least twice, more times if it's a particularly intricate piece or has a lot of errors (where there are many errors, it's more likely there are others I missed).  It's a lot of time and mind-numbing attention to detail, but I know that every minute I spend looking for those mistakes just makes the piece that much better and stronger.  Many are the times I've been in a choir or playing a piece of music for myself and encountered an error.  It breaks the spell of the piece, much like a misspelling in a book pulls you out of the mystery.  Part of my job as composer is to engulf the listener and the musician both in my harmonic spell, and a mistake takes away some of that experience.

It can be tempting, when you reach this stage, to start slacking off -- I mean, by this point, you've made it, right?  But realize this is the absolute last chance you have to make sure the piece the world sees is the piece you want them to see.  When you get here, be careful, take your time, and leave no detail ignored.

Next time, we'll talk about that actual happy time when you see your piece finally and gloriously in print!  Until then, keep on composing!