Author Topic: Submission Guide - How should my sheet look like?  (Read 215 times)

Squirps

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Submission Guide - How should my sheet look like?
« on: February 14, 2015, 09:49:53 pm »
A fancy font here, another neat font there et voila: the most beautiful sheet you've ever made. Unfortunately, that's not the way they work at The Forums. I often encounter sheets which lack a (proper) title, game-, composer- and arranger-name, copyright or key signatures. Take a look at this picture, and the explanation below.

If there are clear improvements that can be done to an arrangement it will not be accepted.

Here is a basic template for a sheet: http://www.mediafire.com/?brv4yq89pbhwum9

The Formatting Guidelines:



(1) Song Title: Times New Roman, Size 24, Bold, Centre Aligned
Just the name of the song in quotation marks, nothing more to it. This goes at the top of the first page.

(2) Game Name: Times New Roman, Size 12, italic, Centre Aligned
This goes just under the song title. Write the full game name, not any abbreviated versions.

(3) Composer: Times New Roman, Size 12, Bold, Right Aligned
Put this at the top of the sheet like in the picture. Separate multiple composers with commas, with an "&" sign preceeding the last one.
You can either write "Composition by ..." as in the picture or "Composed by ..." That's it. No colons, semicolons, hyphens or anything fancy.

(4) Arranger: Times New Roman, Size 12, Italic, Right Aligned
Put this just below the composer. Write it exactly as you'd like your name to appear on the site. It doesn't have to be your forum username.
You can either write "Arrangement by ..." as in the picture or "Arranged by ..." That's it. No colons, semicolons, hyphens or anything special.

(5) Metronome Marking:
You have to include one of these with your sheet. It must include "note value = number" like in the picture.
You can also add a musical direction (eg Presto) if you wish but don't substitute a Metronome Marking for a musical direction.

(6) Key Signature:
Use a key signature to indicate the key of the song, or at least the key that it tends to hang around most often
If a song doesn't have a definite key, do not use different key signatures every few measures to simply eliminate accidentals.
If you need help with a key signature, just ask, there'll always be someone willing to help you.

(7) 8va/8vb/15ma/15vb:
Use these if the notes tend to go very high or very low and the number of ledger lines impacts on readability.
8va & 15ma are used to indicate that notes should be played either 1 or 2 octaves higher.
8vb & 15mb are used to indicate that notes should be played either 1 or 2 octaves lower.

(8) Clef Changes:
In some instances (eg the left hand going very high or the right hand going very low) a clef change is needed. Insert these as necessary.
If you want a clef change but your version of Finale can't do it, ask around the Submissions Forum.

(9)Copyright: Times New Roman, Size 10, Centre Aligned
This goes at the bottom of the first page. It's easiest to enter during document setup when you first make the file.
Use the format used in the picture - <Publisher> © <Year Published> (Including the spaces, without the <>, just like the example.)

(10)URL: Times New Roman, Size 10, Centre Aligned
Include our URL as in the picture. This goes just under the Copyright.

I hope everyone follows this standard-form from now on. It's really not that difficult and you'll be helping to raise the quality of the sheets on the site.

Other Formatting Guidelines:

Duets:
For Duets written for 2 people on 1 piano, the top piano part should have the high notes played by the person on the high end of the piano while the bottom piano part should have the notes played by the person on the lower end of the piano.
For Duets written for 2 pianos, try to give both parts the melody at some point and aim to have them roughly equal in difficulty if possible (I'm aware that this is not always possible).

Medleys:
Make sure you include the name of each individual song in the medley just above the Right Hand as it appears.
For medleys with songs from multiple games, include the game name in addition to the above as necessary.

Pedal Markings:
Either write out complete pedal markings for a particular section including the release pedal symbol as needed
-OR- write "con pedal" at the start of the section and then "senza pedal" at the end of the section.
Both of these options go under the left hand.

Dynamics
These are now required on all sheets.
Sheets should have, as a minimum, at least an opening dynamic marking. Obviously more would be preferable.
Dynamic markings should be placed once between the two staves. If the dynamics are different per hand, write each one outside their staff(RH above the staff, LH below).

Articulations and Slur/Phrase Markings
These aren't a requirement but obviously we'd prefer it if your sheet had some of these.

Finale Defaults
Sometimes finale automatically puts these things in your blank file. Some of them are unnecessary and need to be removed.
Delete the text box in the top-left corner that says "score" if it happens to exist.
Remove the abbreviation "Pno." to the left of each system. It's redundant to even put that sort of thing on a solo. To remove it, go to the file info/score manager and where it says "abbreviated name", click it and backspace what's there.
Measure numbers are now required. They should occur naturally, but if it is an issue, select the Document tab at the top, then select "edit measure number regions". When the pop up appears, hit "delete" then "add". This should reset them.
« Last Edit: February 15, 2015, 07:35:59 pm by King Sammer »

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