I write all my stuff down with a quill on parchment. I know in this time we have paper, pens, pencils, computers, software but I prefer to do it the old way.

When I saw a page of Mozart's Requiem at his former house in Vienna I fell in love with it and since then I do it that way. I know that for instance Bach's compositions are showing ink corrosion and Rembrandt for instance used Irongall ink as well, but still it is sooooo beautiful.

Nowwww to get back to the question, on what and with what do you write down your compositions?

Sibelius 5 - not quite as beautiful or artistic as you, but it's quick and easy! Whenever I try writing (with manuscript paper) I always get right near the end and make a mistake ruining the entire page, it drives me nuts!

Oh, by the way, i'd love your feedback on my compositions a few posts down (if you're a piano player)!!!

I cheat and play them on a midi keyboard connected to a computer.

Finale with MIDI keyboard input and playback through headphones.

Our media retain data for shorter and shorter periods:

Carved stone (many millennia)

Ink on wood blocks (2000 y.)

Ink on parchment (1200 y. +)

Ink on rag paper (300-600 y.)

Ink on grass or wood paper (150 y.)

Magnetic tape or disc (< 10 y.)

Flash drive (?)

Computer main memory (a few milliseconds)

Yes, but when you print it out, it becomes:

Ink on grass or wood paper (150 y.)



You could always laminate it

Flash drive lifetime is dependent on use - they degrade with time and are usually rated at a certain amount of read/write cycles. If you wrote stuff to one and didn't touch it for 50 years it'd probably be ok.

Pencil on MS paper....... and then later ink if I have to write it out so anyone else can read it!! And also on Finale (except that at the moment I can't print out and I have a batch of compositions I want to send off to a publisher...... )

I use a pencil and manuscript and manuscript for ideas and also when I'm writing something using strict harmonic rules. I then use sibelius for tidying it up. I have a friend who produces the most beautiful handwritten scores and I've always tried to handwrite mine as beautifully. I spend literally hours on a couple of bars but they're nowhere near as beautiful so I think I was destined to use sibelius.

Sibelius (I have 4, and am in no hurry to upgrade), but also via pen, paper and a good old piano...

I'll have a think about upgrading : that would be a helpful feature. But there's so many other things to get...

Thanks David

Is Sib6 worth it from the perspective of someone who is just really messing about?

It's quite a bit of dosh and I'm debating just getting a newer version of Cubase and going back into making "fun" trance/chillout music again instead now

Shall I send you a stonemason's chisel and a mallet??

If it catches on then I'll start a new line in heavy duty music stands and make a fortune.