What do you charge?
Each job comes with different requirements and caveats. For the best idea of cost email or phone me and we can discuss your needs.
How long have you been doing this?
I have been working in the music industry for 16 years. On a full time basis I have been freelance since 1996. Prior to that I was Librarian/Personnel manager of the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra (formerly Pops Orchestra) for 6 years and went on to be Events Manager for concert promoter Raymond Gubbay for 18 months. See Profile/Biography
Are you registered to a Union ?
Musicians Union/British MusicWriters Council - Member 466126.
Equity - Member M00141547
Federation of Small Businesses - Member 1195763
A lot people advertise in the music press, why should I pick you?
Just owning a computer and the relevant software does not a professional copyist make. There are a lot of people who advertise that own the necessary software and it's fair to say that the majority know what to do with it but if you are commissioning someone to prepare/arrange music for you, you should insist on the assurance that they are an experienced musician first and foremost with a wide knowledge of different musical styles and genres, and also have the necessary grasp of the music technology to then deliver.
My strengths are that apart from being a music copyist/arranger I am also a professional singer (formerly violinist as well) and have very wide musical experience, tastes and interests. I have worked first hand as performer, copyist, librarian and manager at the highest level in the worlds of symphony orchestra, opera, musicals/theatre, pop, session, radio/TV/Film, middle of the road, indeed everything except Folk and Country music. See Profile/Biography
Is there any particular specialism that you have?
I guess it would have to be Orchestral and Vocal music. I have done music copying for all four London orchestras, copied three major symphonic projects for Lorin Maazel including his forthcoming opera 1984 , have been Jose Carreras' orchestral librarian an sometime arranger worldwide now for about 11 years, been librarian for Kiri Te Kanawa, Bryn Terfel, Michael Ball, Sarah Brightman and started working in January 2004 as librarian/music co-ordinator for Hayley Westenra. This included writing all of the arrangements for her Pure Tour (Spring 2004) in Australasia , Japan and the UK (Hayley Westenra)
I regularly arrange, orchestrate, copy and transpose songs and orchestra songs for singers all over the world and did all of the transcribing and music preparation on the Pet Shop Boys' West End musical Closer to Heaven and more recently the workshop for Bollywood musical Bombay Dreams for composer A R Rahman and Meera Syal and producer Andrew Lloyd Webber. See Profile/Biography
What software do you use?
My software of choice, for the past 9 years, is Sibelius 3.1 (PC) or Sibelius 7 (for Acorn). I am also acquainted with Cubase and Logic.
That's all great, but what is music typesetting\ copying\engraving exactly and what does it entail?
In its simplest form it is the transfer of hand written manuscript to publisher quality printed music. The music is inputted/programmed through a combination of MIDI keyboard, mouse and KWERTY keyboard strokes. See the Sibelius web site for further details. They explain things rather well.
For a work with several or many instruments, (orchestra, wind-band, brass band, string quartet etc.) I replicate a handwritten score and then make/extract parts for all of the individual players including correct key signatures for transposing instruments and uniform rehearsal, tempo, bar number markings etc...
The results are clear and quite handsome! See Samples
What is arranging?
This involves taking a piece of music, eg. a song, and subtly adapting the structure, harmony and instrumentation (or any combination of the three) for a specific user or users. Hence Robbie Williams Angels could thus be heard as a full orchestra setting and Beethoven's Ode to Joy could be heard as a Rock Anthem with overdrive guitars…..possibly.
What is transcribing?
This is a pains-taking process of listening to a piece of music over and over again and trying to replicate on paper the sounds you hear on the CD or tape. Basically dictation!
What does a librarian do as it sounds pretty routine?
This is a very simplistic job-title for a very critical role. It is a librarians principal objective to ensure every performer on a stage has the correct music in front of him/her It involves sourcing music for performances which are in the correct key, version, edition or orchestration from publishers and library collections. It is very common for the librarian to edit the music by inserting cuts, bowings for string players or instrumentation changes indicated by a conductor.
This was part of my job at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for six years and a big part of what I do now. I have worked in this capacity for orchestras all over the world including the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic, BBC Concert Orchestra, English National Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestras. I also maintain and curate a library collection for performers including Jose Carreras, Bryn Terfel, Sarah Brightman, Willard White and most recently Hayley Westenra.
Okay, I've got a song I've handwritten on manuscript paper. What would I have to do?
First of all make a copy. Never send original material to any third party! Next email or phone me to talk about your needs, budget and time frame. Feel free to then shop around before coming back!! You can then either post the music to me or meet if living in or near London . The job will then be delivered back to you within the time frame agreed.
What if you are working on something else which means you don't have enough time to do mine?
There is a large network of trusted copyists with whom I collaborate and am familiar with their specific strengths. If I am unable to carry out the work myself, I can recommend you a professional who will do as good a job or better.
Where are you based and how long will you take to return my music and the new manuscript?
I am based in West London although my work takes me all over London and the country to a various degrees.
If you just want a song preparing or transposing this can take a couple of hours and can be sent next day. For larger choral or orchestral works of about 4-8 minutes, I would normally reckon on 8-20 hours copying time depending on the complexity of the writing, so realistically this would take 2 days to turn round/deliver.
Transcribing a song with piano accompaniment would take a few hours whereas transcribing an orchestral work would involve many hours of preparation, depending on complexity.
For any job it is best to phone or email for a quote and a chat about your requirements as the above illustrations are very approximate..
Can I see samples of your work?
Yes. HERE!
Can you deal with clients over long distances or abroad?
Yes. Preparation times for work is the same as for UK so the only additional time factor is distance and carriage duration. I have numerous national and international courier accounts (incl. DHL, TNT, Citylink, FedEx) I use if there is a time/distance factor so there is always a way of returning the music to you in good time.
Do you have a back archive of music available to buy and use?
Yes I have a very large archive of pieces that I have worked on over the years on file and an extensive orchestral music library but I am not a publisher as such. For further details please get in touch.
Please note provision of manuscript or DATA materials does not indemnify the user from publisher permission or charges and in most cases it is necessary to contact the copyright holder to gain performance clearance.
Once I've got my music returned can you help me get it performed/recorded/ published?
Through my former management connections I can offer impartial advice, designed to your needs and budget, as to who to approach and how. I know a huge range and number of singers, instrumentalists, publishers, studios and managements in the classical and pop domains.