Scores should look good and be easy to read. I cannot tell you the number of times I have been sent scores by students or hopeful orchestrators using terrible layouts. Perhaps they saw some online (never trust anything you see online, unless it is on this site of course!) or got advice from a friend who had a friend that went to Berkusc or UCLNYU!

Session scores are different from concert scores for several reasons. While concert scores have been typeset for centuries, session scores were done by hand until about twenty years ago and a lot of the ‘look’ is still based on how things were done in that style.

The following list is my standard practice for score layout. It includes some updates to old conventions for use in modern scoring, as well as a few new ideas from my own experience. I think a lot of these things make perfect sense for the concert world as well.

Measures per Page
When scores were done by hand in Hollywood, they were always four measures per page. With the advent of computers it is possible to put more measures on the page and still keep it readable. I like between six and eight per page. Unless it is a big band chart or something that has strict eight-bar phrasing, I do not mind if new sections do not always start on new pages. In fact, it is easier to see a new section BEFORE the page turn if I am sight-reading. The main rule is to never put so many bars on a page that I cannot find my place again after looking up from the score.

Time Signatures
These should be big, but not too big. Too big and they take up too much space and kill toner trees to print. Always use the Finale Engraver Time font (it also works in the other program). Sometimes I feel that people are so proud of their large time signatures that they make them even bigger just for the flex, but it looks terrible and is a clear indicator that you really have no idea why we use them or what you are doing!

Do not try using a normal font and just making it bigger; it needs to be tall but not wide. Never put time signatures above the score or between sections; the conductor’s eyes do not naturally look in those places and the only clue will be silly gaps where the signatures should actually be. In most scores, four large time signatures should be enough to cover the page. Include one on the top line of each section, most importantly at the top of the page and on the first violin line. These are the places my eye jumps to when I look back at a page. If the time signatures are not there, I can miss them.

Measure Numbers
For scoring, it is important to have large measure numbers. I put them below the bottom staff, but some people put them above the strings. Either works; I do below as it keeps the numbers out of the way of any score indications that would be put in the same area above the strings. I also see people put boxes or circles around measure numbers. Why? No idea! On the subject of boxes, we never use rehearsal letters for scoring, as there is no need for them. For concert scores, you should always include them. The general rule has always been that the measure numbers only go on the first measure of each page and are quite small. I think that making them large and including them on each measure like we do in scoring is a good idea for the concert world as well. Any time you are doing new music there are going to be a lot of questions and not a lot of time to answer them, so why not make the conductor’s job easier?

Double Bars
I use a lot of them. They really help to tell where things are going when you are sight-reading. It also helps the copyist break the part into sections.

Key Signatures
As with most modern music, we do not use key signatures in film scores. That’s true even if the score is completely tonal. It is much easier for the players to have each accidental labeled. If we did use key signatures, players would end up writing in a lot of courtesy accidentals, as they will be sight-reading and they do not want to miss any. The one excepted exception to this is when we record songs, we do often use key signatures. (Okay, there was one movie where the composer wanted to use key signatures, fantastic score, won an Oscar, rhymes with Ma Ma Band, but a lot of first takes were blown as players missed the key signature and then they wrote in reminders!)

Concert Pitch
All film scores are printed at concert pitch. This has been the case for twenty years or more. Some people label this at the top of the score, but I do not. In my time in the studios I have never seen a transposed score for a movie, so the default assumption is that it is a concert score. The one caveat to this is that we do transpose instruments that shift an octave to avoid a lot of ledger lines. Piccolo, contrabassoon, glockenspiel, xylophone, celeste, guitar, and contrabass are all printed at written pitch. Octave displacing clefs are not needed, with the one exception to this being the tenor voice if using SATB staves.

Again some people feel the need to mention all this, but it is redundant. No one ever writes these instruments at sounding pitch. If you ever do wish to clarify something to the copyists, use hidden text that shows on the screen but does not print. This is one thing I feel should remain just a studio practice; concert scores should always be transposed.

Tempo and Score Indications
These go in large print above the top staff and first violin line. Use fixed size fonts in your notation program to accomplish this; I use Times New Roman Bold 14 Fixed. Avoid the default tempo indications. The quarter note always seems too large to me; it should balance with the text.
DO NOT include fractions in the score. it is pointless, confusing to players and looks daft. Just as with time code, the score is not the most official holder of that information. It is just a guide, so rounding it off is best practice.

Labeling Tempo Changes
I often see people label tempo changes as ‘sl. slower’ or ‘a little faster,’ sometimes followed by a metronome marking. The problem is, I have no idea how much ‘slightly’ or ‘a little’ is and for the metronome marking to mean anything, I really need to know what the previous one was. In my scores, I just mark a change as -4 or +10. Now I know exactly what the change is. Some people add this after the text and metronome marking, but if I have the relative change, I do not need any other text. If it is a large change, say 25 bpm or more, then saying ‘Faster’ with a new metronome marking is good. But for small shifts, keep it simple. If there is a place that you know you will be picking up from, it is a good idea to put a metronome marking there to save yourself the pain of having to go back to the top and do some maths to work it out.

I will admit that this system of just printing the bpm adjustment is not standard, but it is my preferred way of working. It is very specific and does not waste space with redundant text. Of course this only applies to film scores, where we have tempo maps and click tracks.

Guide Staves
I think it is important to know not just what the orchestra is playing, but also what they are not playing! While the example page I use above is from a session that was completely live, that is actually quite rare these days. There are nearly always some elements staying in the box or pre-recorded.

I like to have a condensed version of everything in what I call ‘guide staves.’ It really helps at the session to know what the orchestra needs to line up with. Is there a synth on the same notes? A rhythm pulse we need to groove with? Are there things we are not recording live like keyboards or percussion? This also really helps if you are ever asked to add the orchestra to them, you have it right in front of you to dictate or have the copyist add to their parts. It also helps you to know what is going on when the orchestra is NOT playing.

This example from Hawkeye shows how the guide staves contain the synths and percussion, which was all programmed.

Multi-part Staves
I propose – and currently use – a new rule. My default is that a line is ALWAYS a2 (or a4, etc.) unless marked otherwise. It seems like such a waste of time writing a2, tutti, or unis. all the time. I notice that when people want just one instrument they label that too, so what is the default? This convention is as pointless as labeling string divisi and unison. And as for using the indication for div. when the flute splits into two parts, what else are they going to do?

In order to make sure the copyist understands what I am expecting, I have hidden text in my score that shows on the screen but does not print. Using hidden text is a great trick for helping the copyists (or giving reminders to yourself). You can put in little notes and not worry that they will ever print or be seen by the players.

We often have six or eight horns on a score and a lot of the writing is in unison. Using three or four staves is a waste, so I use one or two and leave the copyist to split out the parts according to how many notes there are, with the assumption that the section will divide evenly (three players each for two notes, two each for three notes, etc.). This now needs no labeling from me. If I want something different, I will mark it as such. The second staff will automatically hide when not in use. Also note that in the scoring world we do not interlock the horns in the traditional way (1/3, 2/4, etc). We just go in pitch order like every other section of the orchestra. It makes life a lot easier when it comes to making changes. I have found that when you record in places that do not record scores all the time, you need to communicate this to the contractor or they will book a traditional section of high and low specialists. In the scoring world I generally need all to be able to play high.

While on the topic of interlocking, there was a period when orchestrators interlocked the Violin 1 and 2 when they had four parts. I have heard several reasons for this, from it being easier to write and read to ‘the better players sit at the front’ (still unpacking that one, and it was twenty years ago I heard it!). I do not believe in our current scoring world there is any advantage to this practice and just like with the horns, it makes life harder when you make changes.

I like to use multi-part staves to maintain visual balance in the score. For double woods they can have a staff each. This also makes sense as the second player will be doubling. For triple woods, I still like to keep it to two staves per instrument. Player one and two on the top and the third on the bottom, as they will be the double or different instrument. Note that in all of my experience the piccolo still goes in the third (or second if only double woods) part.
As mentioned I use one or two staves for the horns and it is not labeled per part. For trumpets I like to use two staves. If there are three trumpets, Trumpet 1 gets the top one all on its own. Strangely I have noticed many people would have Trumpet 1 and 2 together on the top and Trumpet 3 on its own. This does not make any practical sense to me as it is Trumpet 1 that will be playing on their own if anyone, not 3, so this approach creates more work to clarify. The trombones, however, I have first and second on the top then third and fourth on the bottom. Tuba is always on its own. This layout allows my eye to see and analyze the whole section easily.

Of course if the score is complicated, then use as many staves as you need. If there are not woods, I have been known to use more staves for the brass to balance it out. But I avoid that in a full orchestra as it just looks lazy and wrong to me, wish I had a better reason!

Choirs
Unless the music is complicated, I use a grand staff for choir. The copyist will split it out further if need be. If the whole score is just ‘ah’ then I might put that on the first entry, or maybe not. I know it feels like you need more, but in my experience if it is generic ‘ah’ they know what to do. Remember that the dynamics and hairpins always go above, even if you don’t have any words.

Percussion
My preference is to use a full five-line staff for all percussion. Lots of people use a single line and there is nothing wrong with that. I like five lines as I can easily swap from mallets to untuned instruments, and I can have multiple instruments on the one staff. I always use the same lines so it is easy to follow. Reading in treble clef they are:

Piatti – G above staff
Suspended Cymbal – E at top of staff
Snare Drum – C
Grand Cassa – F
Tam Tam – D below staff (some people use A for this)

The cymbals and tam all get diamond or x note heads. These instruments are set in stone for me, and then other things I will fit in where it works for the cue, using the x’s for wood or metal. Toms I like in spaces only. If you stick to the same positions, you can be more relaxed with your labels. I only label the first entry in a cue, and then after that there is no need if you use standard positions and stay consistent. Note that the copyists will move things around in the part. If you use a single line staff, they will nearly always move it to a five-line staff for the part. I try to stay organized and think about who will do what, but if it gets a bit messy, good copyists will have your back. Timpani will get its own part, the rest are copied as a ‘percussion score’.

I am literal with my ringing. If I do not have a ring over, they will not let it ring! If I want to have it ring, then I add the ring over articulation. No other text needed. Use an eighth note for a choked piatti, etc. I repeat, no text needed!

Just like with the measure numbers, I am not sure why you need to put boxes around percussion names. Even some my best friends do it and all of the copyists in LA will add them even when I don’t. But I still don’t know why! Why? Someone tell me!

Instrument Doubling
I like to see the staff name change as well, as this makes it easy to see what everyone is playing at any time. If you just use some text to describe the change, unless you go and put it on every page as a reminder, it is easy for the conductor to miss it. Changing the staff name solves this. In Finale you do this with a staff style.

Optimization
Unless there is a long section where an entire section of the orchestra is out and you really can go to two systems per page, never optimize the score. I am sight-reading and want everything in the same place on each page. Also, if I need to add parts, I want the empty staff there to write in. For concert works, more optimization is common, but it presents the same issue as measure numbers. If you have limited time to rehearse, I would go easy on the optimization to make it easier for the conductor.

Rests
I prefer to have no default whole note rests. This keeps the score cleaner and if I need to write in new parts, there are no rests in the way. Of course the copyist will put them in the parts when needed, this suggestion is just for the score.

Timecode
Some people label the timecode start on the score. I never do this unless I have been specifically asked to, and that has not happened yet! I am the orchestrator, not the music editor. Things change all the time and there are other people whose job it is to make sure we are in sync. The score is not the ‘master’ these days like it was thirty years ago. Now the tempos and timecodes are all in Pro Tools. On a scoring stage we have a music editor, a Pro Tools operator, and a few assistants who track timecode. The last place anyone will look, much less trust, is the score.

Picture Descriptions
I see a lot of scores, usually student ones, where they have a ‘staff’ (often just a single line) with TC references or descriptions of what is happening on screen. This looks really cool, but is not necessary. Of course if your client asks for it, then go for it. I do it when asked, and the last time that happened was, um, never! I will update this if someone does request it. Many of these scores also seem to have overly large, large time signatures.

Binding
For scoring sessions, always tape the score accordion style. Put a spine on anything larger than four pages but do not include the first and last pages in it. This allows the conductor to open up three pages at the top and three at the end, saving some turns. Do not bind with plastic or rings. It is very hard to turn pages in such a score without making noise.

Paper Size
In the US we use Tabloid, which is 11″ x 17″. In Europe and Australia they use A3, which is a little bigger. For the conductor, the paper should be heavy enough that it holds some of its shape when turning a page. Too thin, and it is impossible to turn quietly.

If the system size is small, do not increase the percentage so it covers more of the page. Instead, have two or more systems per page.

Avoid making landscape scores. It is very hard to turn these pages quietly.

A Legit Perspective
I ran this post by Benjamin Northey, Associate Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Ben conducts a lot of new music.

“Conductors need easily visible time signatures which don’t get in the way of notes. If they are disproportionately big you end up only seeing them and not the detail in the score. The first example looks integrated into the music which is what you want. Measure [numbers] down the bottom, great for easy locating.”