Score preparation and production notes

June 8, 2026

Originally appearing as a document that composer David MacDonald created for his weekly master class, this bullet-list of score preparation and production notes will improve the quality of your performance materials in no time. To it we have added relevant links from Scoring Notes and other sources.

Calibrating printers — and workflows

February 13, 2026

Specific lessons about calibrating a Ricoh printer to fine-tune music printing translate into general advice for optimizing your workflow, for the benefit of your future self, and possibly others.

Scoring Express for Finale prices permanently reduced

August 13, 2025

In recognition of the coming end of official support for Finale, the price for the Scoring Express templates for Finale — all three versions, plus the bundle — are permanently reduced from their previous prices.

Road report: Seeing Seattle

August 8, 2025

A quick and fun trip to Seattle in the middle of a surprisingly busy summer, meeting living legends in the world of music notation software and technology.

Road report: MOLA 2025 Conference

June 5, 2025

Hosted by The University of Michigan, the 2025 MOLA conference brought together music librarians, publishers, vendors, composers, performers, and technology enthusiasts to share knowledge and connect with each other.

Dorico 6 review: Proof positive

April 30, 2025

Dorico 6 is out with engraving leading the way in this update. Cutaway scores and proofreading are two of the headline features, but there are robust advancements in chord symbols, text, playing techniques, user workflows, and much more.

Importing native Sibelius files with irregular time signatures

April 14, 2025

Sibelius allows you to import files directly into another existing Sibelius file or template, but the feature doesn't work if you have irregular time signatures or a non-standard pickup bar. Fortunately, there is a way, using a very special plug-in.