🎵 JJ's Piano Playing 🎹

Documenting the journey rediscovering my piano hobby.

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Project maintained by jjvanzon Hosted on GitHub Pages — Theme by mattgraham

Methods

JJ van Zon, 2022

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Sheet Music Notation Simplification

Checklist

• My mind can trip over all those details.
• Could leave out most things except the notes themselves.
• Not needed in MuseScore:
  • Scanning paper and editing score.
  • Brightness / contrast of the scan (e.g. brightness +10%, contrast +10%).
  • Crop image.
• In MuseScore “Load Style” can take care of the following:
  • Thicker lines
  • Bigger notes
  • Removing measure numbers.
  • Removing repeated key signatures.
  • Removing repeated clefs.
• Removing details:
  • In MuseScore, right clicking an element, then choosing “Select” could help with this:
  • Removing the big accolades at the left.
  • Removing expression symbols (and pedal symbols, tempo, words, dynamics).
  • Removing expression bows.
  • Removing fingering numbers.
• Other details:
  • Removing extension bows (and the repeated note).
  • Removing ‘announcing’ key signatures at ends of lines.
  • Removing ‘announcing’ clef change.
  • Adding measure bars if there are none.
• Accidentals:
  • In MuseScore, using the “Plugins” menu, “Accidentals” and the options there may help with the following, though it’s not perfect. (You may install it from https://musescore.org/en/project/add-and-remove-courtesy-accidentals)
  • Adding accidentals (even when part of key).
  • Repeating in-measure accidentals.
  • Introducing key changes to prevent accidental natural symbols .
  • Correcting unnecessary natural symbols.
  • See b and # reasons.
• Voicing:
  • Removing some rest symbols.
  • Simplifying note durations / voicing notation.
  • Left hand / right hand separated and together.
• Layout:
  • Adding title (adding the tern ‘simplified notation’).
  • Removing page headers and footers, mostly.
  • Adding page numbers (suggested font: Calibri 14pt).
  • Adjusting spacing between staves.
  • Adjusting spacing.
  • Consider vertical spacing of 5 or 6 lines per page.
  • Consider wide horizontal note spacing.
  • Consider regular amount of bars per line.
  • Adding double bar lines to separate more fragments.
  • Adjusting line ends to accommodate fragment subdivision.
  • Adjusting line ends to reflect the meter.
  • Smaller time signature numbers (coinciding less with other lines).
• Checking:
  • Checking clef change integrity.
  • Checking by playing in editing software.
  • Checking by playing the print on a piano.
  • Correcting it.
  • Keep checking by playing the print, until no more corrections.

b and # Reasons

• Part of key (specify key).
• Chord shape minor / major.
• Interval shape.
• Melody tones.
• Chromatic walk (b’s down, #’s up).
• Chords shape diminished / augmented (make intervals ‘look like themselves’).
• Chords shape diminished 7th (combination of Bb and C# or Eb and F#).
• Replacing B# => C , Cb => B , E# => F , Fb => E.
• Per-note expectation (C => C#, E => Eb, F => F#, B => Bb).
• Consistency.
• Preventing natural symbols.
• (If criteria contradict, make choices.)

Description

I think this might make for an autism friendly version of sheet music for the piano.

I have autism and may be more distracted by visual details. Ignoring details may be beyond my control. That may be why note reading is extra difficult for me.

I removed things like headers, footers, words, numbers, tempo, dynamics, measure numbers, expression symbols, bows, pedal, accolades, fingering numbers, repeated clefs and key signatures.

Also I repeat accidentals (♭♯), because I cannot quite remember them while reading. Also avoiding B♯ C♭ E♯ F♭ if present. Also simplified note durations / voicing notation. Avoiding rest symbols if possible. Trying to keep right hand and left hand grouped and separated.

The lines are also a bit thicker and the notes a bit larger.

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