sforzando music engraving

How does it work?

You send us your manuscript and we send you back a professionally engraved, printed copy of the same music. Simple as that.

How long will it take?

That depends on the complexity of your score and our availability. Our usual turnaround is ten working days or less—often a lot less for short music. If your manuscript is longer, with more than a dozen pages or a dozen instruments, it can sometimes take longer. We'll let you know when we've seen your order.

We do have two express options in case you're desperate. We can rush your order through and have it e-mailed back to you within 24 or 48 hours. This is very much subject to availability and the nature of your music, so do check with us before you decide to pay the extra.

How do you deliver the finished result?

That's up to you. Our standard delivery method is by e-mail as a high-resolution PDF (and that's free!). Then you can print and photocopy to your heart's content.

Or we can print your finished score and post it to you. Or, if you have a bit more money to splash around, you can even ask us to collate your score and parts, and then post them out directly to your musicians!

So what kinds of manuscripts do you accept?

Most people send us handwritten manuscripts. As long as they're clear and legible, they'll be fine. But we can also accept music that's already printed, if you want us to reprint it in your own style or to your own specifications. Just make sure there are no copyright issues.

What do you mean, "copyright issues"?

Well, we leave copyright arrangements entirely up to you. You mustn't send us anything that you don't have permission to reproduce—so it must be either your own work or in the public domain, or you should have permission from the copyright holder. If we're in any doubt, we'll contact you and ask for clarification.

No, I meant what about your copyright?

We don't retain any copyright in our work. The finished score is yours, and you can do with it as you will.

And what if you mess up my beautiful music?

We won't. The person who engraves your music will be a professional musician who knows what he's doing, so our finished product will retain all the musical sense of your original manuscript. That's a promise.

But anyway, if you're not happy, we'll rework things until we get it right. Can't say fairer than that, now can you?

But my score is really complicated. How can I be sure you'll get it right?

You can give us as detailed a set of instructions as you think your score needs, and we'll follow them to the letter. We'll drop you an e-mail if we need clarification with anything.

We do offer a premium service for people who just won't feel happy until they've physically sat down with their engraver and talked him through every detail of the score. It costs more. Let us know if you're interested.

If you're still in doubt, check out our samples. Or why not send us a single page of your manuscript as a job on its own? For only £2.50 (£1.25 for students), we'll engrave it for you and e-mail it back to you. Even if, for some bizarre reason, you change your mind, you've only lost a couple of quid, haven't you?

What about instrumental parts?

If we're creating a full score for you, we can easily create instrumental parts from it. Those parts will, of course, be properly transposed and laid out, either to your specifications or following our own industry-standard house style.

There's no additional engraving fee because we don't have to engrave your music again. The only extra cost will be printing and delivery, if you want us to post lots of extra pages to you.

We can even add intelligent cues, rehearsal marks and solo markings. If these are in your original manuscript, then they won't cost you a penny—it's all part of the service. If they're not in your original manuscript, then this counts as a professional musical service so there'll be extra fees.

Can you edit my music too?

Absolutely. We can check for obvious mistakes, add courtesy accidentals and clean up beaming. We can even change your music from an orchestral piece to a guitar duet, or whatever you like. It costs more, though.

I originally asked for just a plain score, but I like it so much that I now want parts/midi files/a bound book/whatever. Will I have to pay the engraving fee again?

No. You only have to pay the engraving fee once for each manuscript, so if you want to add extra services later, we'll only charge you for those extra services. As always, we won't rip you off.

Do you print a strapline on your scores?

Nah, that would be annoying. Our finished scores are clean and professional, and only contain the information that you want on there.

£2.50? What kind of a price is that?

For professionally engraving a one-page manuscript, a damn good one. If you're a student, you'll pay even less.

What, there's a student discount too?

Yes! 50% off engraving costs! So a one-page manuscript will cost you just £1.25! Less than the cost of a pint, even at a student bar. How amazing is that?!

How do I pay?

By cheque or credit card. Fill in the relevant part of the order form when you send your manuscript. We won't cash your cheque or debit your card until we've confirmed your order delivery date with you. And remember, our work is guaranteed.

Why no online ordering?

Because you'll still have to post us your manuscript, won't you?

What if I change my mind about what I want you to do?

Don't worry about it. We won't charge you a penny if you change your mind before we actually start work. If you want us to go back and make alterations once the work is underway, we'll charge you whatever it would have cost in the first place, but there are no penalties.

I need a million gazillion copies of my music. Do you offer a volume discount?

No. We specialise in small projects, which is how we can be so amazingly cheap. That means we don't charge you more for single print runs, but it also means we can't offer savings for huge ones.

If you want loads of copies of your music, the best thing to do is to get us to engrave it once and e-mail you a free PDF or a set of page-by-page graphics. Then you can take the file to a professional printer and get them to run it off for you.

Can you really make proper books? I don't believe it.

Believe it. If you ask us to, we can use a partner company to print and bind your music into bookshop-quality hardback or paperback, with glossy cover and everything. This isn't just leather-binding like you might see on your average PhD thesis—it's creating something that genuinely looks like it's been published. If you want us to arrange this service, drop us a line and we'll work out a quote.

Why are you called 'sforzando'?

No idea. Sounds pretty cool though, don't you think?

So who are you guys?

OK, you've got us there. Despite all the professional-sounding 'we's and 'our's, we're actually a one-man band. The person doing your engraving is me, Toby, a York graduate and professional musician. I don't have a massive company to run, so I can guarantee a speedy and flexible service. But if you don't like that, feel free to go elsewhere and pay some national company or other for your music engraving. See if I care!