Marking music can help – or hinder – music reading. Inexperienced music readers write too much information on sheet music instead of learning to read music notation. Sheet music already contains 95% of the information needed to play the piece. Cluttering it up with English is a crutch, and makes it more difficult to read, not easier. Continue reading Marking music
Category Archives: Copyright
YouTube videos – permissions
It’s fun to share videos of handbell ringing on YouTube, but there are some formalities to take care of first. Continue reading YouTube videos – permissions
Doubt
This article was written in response to a series of bullying incidents in the online handbell forums. Some of the attacks stemmed from ignorance of (or blatant disregard for) copyright law. Most details have been omitted to protect the guilty. Continue reading Doubt
Sight-impaired ringers
Handbell musicians often assume it’s OK to enlarge handbell music for sight-impaired ringers. However, copyright law restricts the right to copy as follows:
1) What: literary (not musical) works
2) Who can copy: institutions that exist to serve the blind, like the Braille Institute
3) For: the legally blind Continue reading Sight-impaired ringers
Copyright quiz
At National Seminar in Portland (July 2013), I taught a class called ‘Copyright Basics for Handbell Musicians.’ While the class was gathering, I handed out this quiz to pique interest and give everyone something to do while waiting. I thought you might enjoy trying it.
A reminder that I’m available to teach the copyright class for other groups, like Area conferences, and can adapt it for other kinds of musicians. Continue reading Copyright quiz
Transcribing vs. arranging
Someone asked recently about the difference between transcribing and arranging, and whether a copyright holder’s permission is needed to perform, say, a piano piece on handbells. These are excellent questions, and I’d like to share some thoughts from my research on copyright, as well as my experience requesting transcription rights from publishers. As stated before, I’m not an attorney, and you need to seek qualified legal advice if you intend to rely on it. However, the need for permission is clearly spelled out in the copyright law. Continue reading Transcribing vs. arranging
Slideshows
For our recent solo concert, I created my first ever slideshow to accompany a piece, and someone requested I write about it. If projection equipment is available, a slideshow is an excellent way to add variety to a program, almost like adding another instrument. I first started thinking about my slideshow a year ago. I had hoped to present it last spring, but that didn’t work out. The delay allowed me to prepare properly, and even to take some digital photos with the slideshow in mind. Continue reading Slideshows
Recording permission and mechanical licenses
Making recordings in any form is one of the rights assigned exclusively to the copyright holder under copyright law. This is partly what the notice “All rights reserved” means. Although technology has changed rapidly, copyright law has not. We’re still bound by the laws on the books, however laxly enforced. If you haven’t already read my articles on Performance royalties and copyright, as well as Photocopies and “fair use,” you may find them helpful in understanding these issues. Today’s article covers audio recording licenses; I’ll write another time about video recording, as well as broadcasting via YouTube or other media. Continue reading Recording permission and mechanical licenses
Photocopies and “fair use”
Making copies in any form is one of the rights assigned exclusively to the copyright holder under copyright law. In addition to the usual copyright notice of “All rights reserved,” publishers sometimes use stronger wording to reinforce that photocopying sheet music is illegal. As handbell musicians, we want to do the right thing, but that can be difficult with so much misinformation floating about.
Read here about:
• The myth of the ‘working copy’
• Ways to accommodate copying restrictions
• What “fair use” really means Continue reading Photocopies and “fair use”
Performance royalties (ASCAP) and copyright
Most copyrighted music has a notation “All rights reserved,” or something similar. Copyright law assigns numerous rights exclusively to the copyright holder, including the right to perform the work publicly. Of course, composers want you to perform their published works, since you have little reason to buy sheet music otherwise. However, royalties are owed to the copyright holder whenever copyrighted music is performed in public. Just buying sheet music isn’t sufficient.
Read here about:
• How to determine whether royalties are owed
• Who must pay performing royalties
• How, when, and where to pay the royalties Continue reading Performance royalties (ASCAP) and copyright