Tips for Writing Music with Pen and Paper

Link to book composition lessons:
calendly.com/musicauniversalis
In this video I discuss a few tips on how to write cleaner music with pen and paper. I might make a series about proper orthography when it comes to writing music but for now this is just a brief set of tips more than how to write music by hand, that is too big a topic for one singular KZbin video.
A special thanks as always to musopen.org for offering free public domain recordings online.

[@alexmunoz9529]

Great tip about the erasable pens, sometimes I forget they even exist

[@caleb-hines]

When sketching down a quick short idea without access to manuscript paper, and because drawing parallel lines is hard, I use a three-line staff: lower, middle, top (e.g. for treble cleff, e, b, and f) then use "internal ledger lines" for the missing lines (g and d in this case) on an as-needed basis. Its slightly more difficult to read (you have to pay attention to whether notes are in the top or bottom half of the space) but I don't find it too onerous, as it's meant more as a temporary memory aid then something to perform off of.

[@MusicaUniversalis]

Took me a few read throughs to understand what you meant. Cool idea, I might try it some time. Drawing 5 parallel lines is a pain to do on the fly, I once had a pen that drew five lines at once, but the novelty wears off when you have enough manuscript paper lying around.

[@KalebPeters99]

I've done this too! I wish there was some easier way to add staff lines into my pre-bound journal without breaking out the ruler. I'm considering a custom rubber stamp 😆

[@komitaskomitaskomitas]

​@@KalebPeters99 stravinsky invented a pen that drew 5 lines at once. You can see videos of him using it and and see it used in his old sketchbooks

[@TdF_101]

Adorno said that in one of his first lessons with Alban Berg in Vienna Berg gave him instructions on how to neatly write on manuscript paper. Personally I found that the more you write, the better you become over time. But it's not just about making your writing look good, it's about thinking clearly. Even writing words, up until the typewriter, erasing was done after. No cutting and pasting. Your mind is trained to think clearly over time and be less 'messy' and scattered. Of course the computer is still the best for quick corrections and presenting your work beautifully.

[@OdinComposer]

I write half-notes, stem and all, with one stroke. They don't always turn out good, but it's usually very readable. And when they turn out very beutiful it's soooo satisfying

[@WizardOfArc]

I also like to lightly draw vertical lines through the staff where beats are and sometimes dotted for eighth-note divisions.... or I mark the top of the staff almost like a ruler with longer markers for the quarter notes and shorter marks for eighth notes - so I know where to put the notes so it is spaced out visually as like time.... the tip of drawing the open notes with two strokes... is a stroke ( ; ) ) of genius! Thank you!

[@kingavenuemusic]

I use 12-stave paper for the same reasons. I used to buy staff paper (usually from the university bookstore), until one day I ran out - so I made my own in Dorico and just printed it out. Kind of tricky to get it right, but I would absolutely recommend it to anyone already deep into their notation software of choice. I love being able to tweak the spacing, margins, and staff size if I want; or even create paper especially for a particular project with brackets, extra space between systems, and clefs.

[@Shvetsario]

I just designed a simple one on Inkscape and printed it out on letter size paper.

[@unnamed_boi]

same here! usually local bookstores here have 12-stave empty staff papers but after the pandemic it has been really difficult to find, so i decided to print them out as well. i made them in musescore and printed them out on b5 paper, which i felt isn't too clunky as a4 but not as cramped as an a5. i also put them in a binder so i can easily rearrange them around.

[@gringochucha]

Thanks for the video. Most people I know seem to write the solid note heads as a kind of thick line, as it saves time. I'm currently transposing a lot of music for my flute and I'm struggling to write neatly.

[@tedb.5707]

For taking notes or writing down a line or fragment I use 4x4 graph paper in a spiral-bound pad. The top middle and bottom lines of the stave on the gridlines and the two 2nd and 4th lines freehanded between. And the vertical gridlines helps help with spacing and vertical alignment. For 4-line staves I just omit the lowest stave-line. For special projects I have computer printed pages with staves on the left or right 2/3rds of the pages and college-rule line in a column 1/3rd of the page's width. Or sometimes 3/5ths and 2/5ths if there's a lot of textual commentary. I then 3-hole punch or just put prepunched 3-hole paper through the printer. I also have .PDF master's for letter-size and 11x17" full 12-row stave paper.

[@Benjybass]

At 5:48 you forgot to mention how long the stems should be. This is something that is widely overlooked by many people. Mostly all of the musicians that I've asked never know the correct length. The answer:... ONE OCTAVE. Obviously, the stems will very when notes are grouped together, but not with single notes. In addition, if a single note is placed on the first to the fifth ledger line outside of the stave (top or bottom), the stem length should touch the middle line of the stave.

[@joeritchie4554]

Thank you for posting these tips. I am a singer trying to accompany myself on piano and I find that I need to write out the accompaniment for the songs and lead sheets. I have been using a different type of pen and it sucks to say the least. These tips really help. Thank you!

[@curtpiazza1688]

Great pointers...thanx! Love the background music!

[@Shvetsario]

The reason the pencil smears is because the hardness you used was probably HB. There are different hardness pencils, ranging from soft (dark) to hard (light), these are for example 8B to 8H, b being the softer lead and h being the harder lead. There's also F and H hardness leads by themselves. Of course, since the lead you choose to not smear will end up being lighter, that will make it harder to see from farther away.

[@nothanks4255]

when i am writing a sketch i normally use 2 staves no matter the size of the ensemble (i havent written for a solo instrument other than piano) i just write multiple voices on a single stave no more than 2 unless some are simple like held notes it makes it so much easier to play at the keyboard to check what it sounds like especially since i am not a very good pianist

[@MusicaUniversalis]

If I am not mistaken John Williams writes a “double piano” configuration before handing that off to an orchestrator. Orchestrating or arranging for a chamber ensemble from a piano reduction is a very common technique among composers.

[@christianmaltais]

Loved this. Great tips, thanks!

[@Qermaq]

Having learned arranging and composing in the early '80s, it's just amazing how different the world is today. This was the only way you could do it then.

[@TheWorldOfHarmony]

Great tips. Thank you!

[@dim8069]

I personally prefer to use a standard bic pen for writing music (it is a bit more time consuming but the end result is worth it). Also, I use 2 notebooks, one for writing down and developing musical ideas and one for writing down the end result. Also in the one I use for developing my ideas I usually use a variety of pens with different colors for example blue for the notes, red for dynamics, green for tempo markings and black for additional comments.

[@catinthebookshelf]

Great tips! Thank a lot! ❤️

[@brugelxencerf]

I'll try your pen idea! Been doing this for years (and like you, I start on paper (and some Logic sessions), and eventually put it in Sibelius) but haven't found best utensil. For paper for sketching and writing, I make my own on a word processor, landscape oriented, with the ability to make the line spacing, system spacing, etc, however I want, and mass copy it at Kinkos. I still find that the iniitial paper version of my ideas (which is where I always start, working on the keyboard), is my best go to archive of ideas. I also make tons of audio sketches in Logic, but it is so hard finding stuff in multiple files, each of which has multiple tracks covering many minutes! You need a detailed log book to find stuff, and I find all that computer stuff (even the notation program) distracting from the primary act of finding ideas at the keyboard and sketching on paper.

[@NidusFormicarum]

The problem I have is to take the time to write down what I have composed on paper. I find it impracticval to write directly into a software; I feel you have more control if you write the music down on paper first. But I write so sloppy that I can barely read what I have written myself.I sometimes find it more practical with large 24-system pages, which I occasionally use - especially when writing for orchestra. However, I almost never write a movement down on paper or into a software before I have completed it as a whole in my head and at the piano.I have a hard time to concentrate on writing my musc down which sometimes have lead to me losing music I had composed many years ago, even though I usually remember most of the music I have composed. I'm just not organized enough for the task. It's so boring! I guess my autism plays arole here because I still have huge troubles with orgnizing papers in files and stuff have often asked for help by others.

[@caterscarrots3407]

I'm autistic too, and my compositions are very organized. I have my high level organization of just like general type of composition(so things like canon, sonata, orchestral work, dance, etc.) and within some of those, I have further levels of organization. My sonatas are perhaps the most organized, as I have an ensemble size level(Solo, Duet, Trio, etc.) and within those, the individual ensembles themselves(Piano Sonatas, Woodwind Quartet, Violin/Cello Duo etc.)

[@Legendoftherock]

Does recording a voice or instrument pose as a solution to this struggle?

[@mantistoboggan2676]

I recently bought a bunch of goose feathers and want to learn how to cut my own quills for writing music.

[@freefreepalestine360]

You are an amaizing teacher❤

[@julesrace2217]

This is really helpful, thanks

[@Todzuum]

When I went to a community college they made us right with pen and paper and Sibelius pretty evenly. I’m glad they did that , even today I still prefer pen and paper.

[@JCM_2]

I would say pens aren't much of a need. I prefer pencils because they don't break/expire as much, and to avoid smudges I just sketch it out lightly.

[@Shvetsario]

To avoid smudges buy harder degree leads, like F, H, 2H, etc. These are more commonly found in art stores, where harder leads I use typically for the underdrawing, to get the perspective and shape, and I can then easily erase it if I want to.

[@JCM_2]

@@Shvetsario Ah, thx for the info

[@arjunsingh1232]

Sir appreciate for your work

[@perplexingpantheon]

I write by hand regularly, but like many composers I don't really go beyond 2 grand staves. Sometimes I'll use a highlighter to remind myself what instrument I'll want and where. I also shorthand a lot of things. I've tried really hard to improve my handwriting and notation writing skills and i still suck, but I've just become content with that fact since I'll engrave everything in notation software for the people that will be reading it. I don't know how you can get away with drawing you bar lines before writing your music, I usually just short hand my time sig and barlines as i go. I really need that pen you mentioned, I completely forgot they existed!

[@omgtkseth]

Awesome video.

[@maxjohn6012]

I've found decent manuscript paper is important - really cheap stuff tends to result in horrible smudging when rubbing anything out (especially when working with pencil!) For piano composition (which is all I've done) I find it helpful to leave an empty stave in between the two in which I write, to leave room for ledger lines above the R.H. and below the L.H. staves. Great tip on the pens! I'll get some :)

[@Shvetsario]

Remember, not all pencils smear. There are more hardness leads than HB. Go for a F hardness or H

[@marymonaghan8756]

this is so helpful

[@djbabymode]

Great video! I personally prefer big ol 18 staff pages, because of the extra space when writing in 6 parts, and for the ability to write in 9

[@waffleman-]

Very good and useful! If only I knew what to write down

[@archangecamilien1879]

Lol...

[@peterlhawks]

Me: I personally love both being versatile and interchanging various music dictation notation methods as a musician/violinist, lol!

[@MahanFarzad]

for me, writing on a paper, is always a filter, a intermediary, a middle man. It is a "Conversion". You convert the sound and music, or sound ideas or music ideas, which are by nature, sounds, into non-sounds, dots and lines, in order for you to understand them better. But if you already understand them, you can directly work with sounds, and sound ideas, which is what music basically is. In this way, there is no conversion, and you are 100% dealing only and directly to the thing that is. the sound. no middle man or conversion. I feel freer and more joyful in this way. P.S: If you have a mentality that can see through music in mathematics, rhythms, and harmony textures, then you can already work with sound and have the efficiency of a good composer. So I don't mean that for example if you are a guitarist, then knowing some chords and strumming and making sounds out of the guitar is enough, or as good enough as the pen-paper-composer. Not at all. The mentality, the vision and the understanding needs to be there.

[@Dannytyrellstudios]

Thank you..!!!! 10x

[@caterscarrots3407]

I started with pencil and paper, but most of my composing these days is with notation software. I mainly use manuscript as a backup these days. Which becomes a problem when I need to go above 12 staves, like I would have to for my symphony. Even condensing all of the same instruments into 1 staff, that still leaves me 3 staves short on the paper. And 15 staff manuscript paper, which would be like perfect to write my symphony in as a backup, is really hard to find, the most I find when I search for manuscript paper just about anywhere is 12.

[@hippotropikas5374]

Thank you so much for this video! I've just bought an erasable pen (the exact same as yours) and tried it. Unfortunately the lines it makes are thicker than yours (see 3:58), which makes writing less precise. Is it that my staff is smaller than yours? Mine is 0.8 centimeters

[@yoneljoassaint3376]

Good stuff! I have a question for you please. I handwrote a few music sheets a few years ago. Is there a software that can read them and then transcribe them into digital sheets for production?

[@diiegopc]

great

[@user-zh2is5eb6o]

I write notes differently and make them like a type of dot

[@zvonimirtosic6171]

Mechanical pencils are neat because they produce consistent lines. But don't use graphite lead in them, because graphite will smudge. Use coloured leads instead, which are usually oil based and pigmented, and won't smudge. There are many types of coloured leads for mechanical pencils, blue, red, green, violet, orange etc. 0.5mm or 0.7mm mechanical pencil and coloured leads will do just fine. TIP: Use lighter colour lead for quick ideas, then come back with darker coloured lead to "fix" the score.

[@ogorangeduck]

Sometimes I'll sketch pieces in pencil then copy them in pen on the opposite page of the notebook. Might be a little wasteful but I'm also kinda lazy to figure out notation software.

[@flrn84791]

It's definitely worth learning, much much more flexible and neat. There's not much to learn though really, MuseScore for example is pretty straight-forward :)

[@archangecamilien1879]

I think someone I know once said that it helped him not to follow the stem-orientation rules too much, lol, for instance, if he writes the stems on a given stave always upward, then he potentially has space to insert something on the same staff underneath, whereas it might be more difficult if he followed the rules (I suspect he doesn't know the rules too well anyway, lol, and he writes pretty sloppily, so, not sure he would be the best to get advice from)...he says, it's a bit like if you are using several voices on the same stave...

[@archangecamilien1879]

If that's how they spell it, lol..."stave"...

[@nicolasrioscardona]

From a video dealing with musical handwriting, real handwriting examples were definitely missing.

[@NnaemekaAmamasi]

I actually make my own music notebooks.

[@juwonnnnn]

In my experience, writing music on paper feels completely different from writing music on a music notation program.

[@mysticakhenaton1701]

what is the name of that song/music that's playing??? thanks.

[@MuhDog]

Brandenburg concerto no 4 by JS Bach

[@Noejjkkkj]

Where ledger lines¿

[@aniadelvecchio]

R u a composer?I would like to listen to your work someday...

[@MusicaUniversalis]

Yes I am, I have uploaded a few of my compositions to this channel. They are all in the "compositions" playlist.

[@loonyfugue3821]

I just wrote one good page of staves with a pen then photocopied it lol

[@fredericoevanchyk7252]

👌 PЯӨMӨƧM

[@gooseface2690]

If pen, paper and inspiration isn't your thing, then there are numerous online resources that allow you to auto-generate entire multi-instrumental compositions with the click of a button.

[@jazzman1954]

You could then get another program to listen to it at the click of a button. That’s gonna save all the hassle of writing it and then listening to it. That way we can get on with doing something useful!

[@duqueadriano0081]

create discord server.

[@wizardish1264]

6:06 C'mon, who would be dumb enough to forget how to draw stems regularly? ...me

[@MusicaUniversalis]

Astonishingly some university professors…..

[@wizardish1264]

@@MusicaUniversalis Really? It's not just me?

[@yantar-rx9kl]

When it's one voice, I draw all to up, not because I write contrapuntal music or anything, because I, well, can't draw them properly

[@ogorangeduck]

Most of the stuff I write is either polyphonic or beamed so I sometimes space out on the direction of stems on half-notes and quarter-notes lol