The Norton Manual of Music Notation Paperback – Illustrated, February 17, 1987

-----In my humble opinion, your reading skills and overall understanding of music notation will be improved if you take the time to write as much as possible. I have found this book to be a great help and resource in helping explain music writing practices.Here is an excerpt from the product description: (taken from the back of the book)"The Norton Manual of Music Notation is designed to serve as a practical guide to music handwriting and music-writing procedures. It provides the music student with an essential tool for learning to put notes down on paper with clarity and speed. At the same time, it serves as an indispensable reference to a wide variety of notational conventions."Here is the Chapter Breakdown from the Table of Contents:PART ONE: ELEMENTS OF NOTATION1. Basic Writing Materials2. Clefs3. Key Signatures4. Time Signatures5. Accidentals6. Noteheads and Stems7. Ledger Lines8. Barlines9. Intervals and Chords10. Accidentals in Intervals and Chords11. Flags and Beams12. Augmentation Dots13. Rests and Pauses14. Ties and Slurs15. Dynamic Marks16. Repeat Signs17. Articulation Marks18. Ornamentation SignsPART TWO: COMBINING THE ELEMENTS1. Spacing2. Changes of Meter, Clef and Key3. Courtesy Accidentals4. Notating Syncopation5. Notating Irregular Subdivisions of the BeatPart Three deals with 'Scoring Practices' while the author also provides an 18 page Appendix as well as a bibliography for further reading and research.Additional clarification is provided in the Preface. Here is an excerpt:"Parts I and II deal with music written on a single staff - first as a single line of notes, then as two lines of notes. In Part III, music on two or more staves, from simple piano notation to full orchestral score is discussed. The manual is organized for maximum accessibility and clarity."AND:"Since this is a manual devoted to basic procedures in music notation, brevity and concision have been our constant watchwords. You will not find special instrumental signs or theory symbols herein, and are therefore urged to refer, when appropriate, to a good orchestration text, a theory book, etc."Additionally, the book includes exercises to strengthen and reinforce what you've learned.-----~

Get book. Gave me exactly what I wanted. Clear. Quick to read & understand. Wish I had this book (and read it) years ago. My charts would look so much better. You will love this text book. I think it is just that good.

If you compose, arrange, or write parts for instruments, you MUST have this book. A reference tool no musician should be without.

It's a good, concise guide for laying out notation with pen and paper. Notation software was in in its infancy when this was written and there is no mention made of it.As a historical document, it's ok. I can't imagine it has much value to modern composers other than students. Some will really like this while others will have no use for it at all.Every composer and arranger should have an old, worn out copy on the bookshelf.

I believe every composer and musician should learn how to write music down on paper. This book goes over all the rules, and tells you what tools you will need to make your music look amazing. I got this manual about a month ago and I can say my skills have improved. At first, writing it all down can be time consuming, but eventually you will get faster at it, as it is very satisfying. Music notation software has made writing and copying music faster, but in my opinion is dehumanizing the art of composing. I highly recommend this book for any composer and/or musician who wants to further there skills in writing music down on paper.

I love this book! Especially since I'm mostly writing on my own. I really like how they explain rigorously how to write correct examples and they show multiple examples of incorrect ideas

Excellent, clearly written, great examples. This is an essential tool for anyone who wants to learn proper music notation.

I am so thankful both these books are not that heavy since I have to carry them in my backpack.