Help! Which sheet music publisher is best?

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Permalink Reply by eddymontreal on October 20, 2009 at 12:39pm

There are few points I can think of (personal and general) that you need to take in consideration when buying sheet music and especially in choosing an edition that best suits what you're looking for:

- URTEXT is a German word meaning original text in English. The web definitions define it as "A hypothetical "best" version of a lost literary text based on correlating later manuscripts and examining the differences between them.". Often you won't find any editing on the music with URTEXT on the cover (e.g. fingering, slurs, etc.). However, some editions (like Bärenreiter) may have an URTEXT version with an edited version in the same book for your viola, violin or cello part. This makes it more interesting since the edited version can guide you in creating your own fingering in the so called "clean" Urtext version if you prefer to do your own editing.
- CLARITY & PAGES FOLD are 2 important elements when choosing an edition. The G. Henle is in general excellent: large paper, space between staves, nice print, strong binding, good contrast between the background and the print, etc. Another tiny (but how important) thing to check is the fact if you need to flip to the next page while playing or if the editor places the rests at the end of the page allowing you to turn the page while you're not playing, or; if the editor provides a part that you can unfold and have your full 3 pages part on your music stand.
- PROFESSIONAL MUSIC EDITORS are usually great musicians and/or influential teachers and they contribute on putting clarity around the music with great fingering, cadenzas, etc.This is where one edition can differ from another or can surpass other editions you find out there. For instance, Ivan Galamian has edited a good number of music for violin and remains somehow my favorite. I strongly recommend you check different editions at your music store and see which one makes more sense to you.
- PRICE is important but don't be fooled by it! Higher price may help into getting a quality paper and print but doesn't necessarily help the cause of the edited music or your playing. In my opinion, most publishers are generally good as long as it best suits your playing.
- PERSONAL TOUCH is another factor not to be missed. It's OK to edit the music yourself (we're not talking here about re-writing music)... We all change the fingering or a position shift here and there and we interact actively with the music.

Above were my personal tips, hope this helps! :--)

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Permalink Reply by elizabeth chaconas on October 20, 2009 at 4:54pm

Hey thank you very much! I was a little overwhelmed!

eddymontreal said:

There are few points I can think of (personal and general) that you need to take in consideration when buying sheet music and especially in choosing an edition that best suits what you're looking for:

- URTEXT is a German word meaning original text in English. The web definitions define it as "A hypothetical "best" version of a lost literary text based on correlating later manuscripts and examining the differences between them.". Often you won't find any editing on the music with URTEXT on the cover (e.g. fingering, slurs, etc.). However, some editions (like Bärenreiter) may have an URTEXT version with an edited version in the same book for your viola, violin or cello part. This makes it more interesting since the edited version can guide you in creating your own fingering in the so called "clean" Urtext version if you prefer to do your own editing.
- CLARITY & PAGES FOLD are 2 important elements when choosing an edition. The G. Henle is in general excellent: large paper, space between staves, nice print, strong binding, good contrast between the background and the print, etc. Another tiny (but how important) thing to check is the fact if you need to flip to the next page while playing or if the editor places the rests at the end of the page allowing you to turn the page while you're not playing, or; if the editor provides a part that you can unfold and have your full 3 pages part on your music stand.
- PROFESSIONAL MUSIC EDITORS are usually great musicians and/or influential teachers and they contribute on putting clarity around the music with great fingering, cadenzas, etc.This is where one edition can differ from another or can surpass other editions you find out there. For instance, Ivan Galamian has edited a good number of music for violin and remains somehow my favorite. I strongly recommend you check different editions at your music store and see which one makes more sense to you.
- PRICE is important but don't be fooled by it! Higher price may help into getting a quality paper and print but doesn't necessarily help the cause of the edited music or your playing. In my opinion, most publishers are generally good as long as it best suits your playing.
- PERSONAL TOUCH is another factor not to be missed. It's OK to edit the music yourself (we're not talking here about re-writing music)... We all change the fingering or a position shift here and there and we interact actively with the music.

Above were my personal tips, hope this helps! :--)

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