Since early 2014, I have regularly worked on a wide range of recording sessions at both large and small studios – for concert music, films, television programmes for broadcasters and online services, and video games.
Credits include:
Last Night in Soho, 2021
The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet, 2021
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet, 2020
The Great Escape - Live in Concert (Big Screen Live), 2019
Our Planet, for Netflix, 2019
Thunderbirds Are Go (Series 3), 2018
On Her Shoulders, 2018
Ibiza Classics with Pete Tong, 2017
The Hitman's Bodyguard, 2017
The Wife, 2017
Kat & Alfie: Redwater, 2017
Burberry September 2016 Live Show at Maker's House
Swallows and Amazons, 2016
Crimson Peak, 2015
Shaun the Sheep Movie, 2015
Hercules, 2014
I've seen first-hand the difference a good copyist makes to the whole process: how well-prepared, organised parts and scores make a session run like clockwork, allowing everyone in the booth to concentrate on the music and the musicians.
A successful session is always my top priority.
quality materials
I only use materials that I know will be suitable in the studio environment, such as thick paper and soft tape to minimise the risk of extra noise when turning pages.
Increasingly, I am using more environmentally-friendly materials, including recycled paper and greener versions of my favourite tape, once I have checked they are also suitable for the studio.
My laser printer has the highest resolution currently available, ensuring that even dense scores with a small staff size are clear and readable.
organisation
For every job, I make a spreadsheet that includes all the required cues, scores and instruments to make sure everything is at the studio and ready to go. On the day, I bring all necessary parts and scores and distribute them to the relevant players if required (and Covid-permitting). With a success rate of having no missing parts so far at a steady 100%, you can be secure in knowing that the only thing you have to think about is making the music.
Part extraction
When laying out parts ready for printing, I always make sure they are clear at first glance – as that's how the musicians will be looking at them.
Common problems, such as page turns, transpositions and clefs, are the first things I check. Then I ensure details like metronome markings are clear, and that, where possible, phrases are kept together on a single line so the players can follow the music easily.
the personal touch
I love doing this work. Paper has always been my favourite medium to work with, and music one of my favourite languages – copying is all about the physical manifestation of music notation on paper to allow it to be heard. That's fantastic.
I take great satisfaction in producing quickly-produced but notationally excellent scores and parts, and presenting them with care.
Due to my role as Technical Writer in the Dorico development team, and the unique insight into the software that has given me, I can also offer part preparation done in Dorico as well as Sibelius. I am naturally biased, but I think the overall look of music prepared in Dorico is superior and beautiful to look at.