Music engraving - Definition and Overview

Music engraving is the art of drawing music notation at high quality.

This term derives from the traditional process of music printing. Up to the 1970s, the sheet music was made by engraving music into a zinc or pewter plate. Fixed symbols, like note heads and clefs, were punched into the metal with dies, and variable symbols, such as beams or slurs, were engraved by hand.

Since this laborious technology became obsolete in the 1990s, the term is now used to refer to any high-quality method of drawing music notation, particularly on computer ("computer engraving" or "computer setting") or by hand ("hand engraving"). There are numerous computer programs, known as scorewriters, designed for editing and printing music.

The term "music copying" is almost equivalent, though "music engraving" implies a higher degree of skill and quality.

References

• Ted Ross. Teach Yourself The Art of Music Engraving & Processing Hansen Books, Florida.