Typesetting & Book Design
My main interest and expertise in typesetting is Highland pipe music, but I also work on broader projects covering other Scottish/Celtic instrumentation.
Please reach out to discuss how I might help with your project!
Information
BAGPIPE / SCOTTISH / CELTIC TUNES:
Professionally typed and laid out as an A4 PDF
ORIENTATION:
You may request landscape or portrait orientation, otherwise I will opt for whichever I believe works best for the tune.
SOURCE MATERIAL:
I am able to work from handwritten manuscript or audio recordings so long as the quality is reasonable.
PAYMENT:
Please contact me first to discuss the project.
Once everything is agreed I will email a link to make payment via this website. All the usual payment methods are accepted.
COPYRIGHTED MUSIC:
It is your responsibility to obtain any permissions required to use copyrighted materials. Permissions must be forwarded to me before final PDFs can be sent.
PLEASE NOTE:
I know we’re not all music theory technicians so if there are any issues or uncertainties with the piece I will provide feedback and offer advice where possible. If it requires a substantial amount of tweaking I may need to increase the cost. Of course, I will make that clear and check with you before starting any work.
Price List
LIGHT MUSIC with typical time signature and layout: £15 per tune
There may be an additional charge to include harmony parts or other melodic lines depending on the complexity.
PIOBAIREACHD with typical phrase structure: £25 per tune
For irregular phrase structures or an otherwise unusual tune I may contact you to discuss options before proceeding.
If you’re not sure about piobaireachd structures, the Piping Centre has published an excellent article by Capt. John A. MacLellan MBE here: https://bagpipe.news/2020/04/30/the-structure-of-piobaireachd-2/
MULTI-PART ARRANGEMENTS / pieces not typical in the Scottish tradition / other unusual pieces – please contact me to discuss.
MUSIC COLLECTIONS / BOOKS: Please contact me to discuss options and prices.
Information on Music Books
BOOK SECTIONS:
A music book typically comprises some or all of these elements:
Covers: Front, inside front, back, inside back, spine (for perfect bound books)
Front matter: Containing a variety of pages such as copyright info, contents, foreword, acknowledgements etc.
Main body: The music, sometimes mixed with information on tunes, photos etc.
Back matter: Contents (if not in the front matter), tune stories etc.
PRINTING:
There are many options to consider when printing a book, such as the types and weights of paper, colour vs black&white, different binding options, the number of copies to be printed in the first and subsequent runs, or Print-on-Demand.
I can offer some advice on these but it is usually best to discuss these options with the print company.
I use a variety of professional computer programs for every part of a book design and can send print quality and correctly laid out files directly to the printers.
I do not work with any specific printer so I am happy to work with any company you prefer, or I can advise on some options.
BARCODE / ISMN:
You may wish to add a barcode or ISMN (International Standard Music Number) to your book.