Organ Sheet Music Paper Sizes

Paper for sheet music has changed many times over the years of printed music. Originally, paper was made by hand and was very expensive. Acid used to bleach the fibers white would be meticulously rinsed out, and we have today examples of paper from the 10th century. Monks would squeeze in every bit of writing texts with inflection of tones above to make the most of every bit of space, but would mark sections with beautiful, ornate capitals, often in color, in order to draw the eye to the beginning of the section. Music publishing began in much the same way with paper sizes. At first, paper was large and two inch margins insured that “dog ears” and tears would not intrude in the area containing the music. This also allowed for writing notes such as stylistic preferences, registration details, and dates of performance.

Many publishers used landscape paper for organ music. This accomplished two things for the organist: It put the content closer to the bottom of the rack which made focusing easier (electric light bulb invented in 1879) and it allowed for more music on a page resulting in fewer page turns. As time progressed, publishers reduced the paper size to save money but kept the same plates which resulted in smaller margins for music. As paper size was reduced, the likelihood increased of missing notes due to tears and torn sections.

We use paper as close to the original size as possible. For the landscape sizes, imagine the graphic above rotated 90 degrees. We choose paper which is carefully rinsed, nearly acid-free, and which is estimated to last for 200 years; it’s not archival quality, but it’s close. If you’ve ever seen some of the yellowed paper that crumbles with the slightest touch, you witnessed the effects of acid over time. Certain French publishers are today still remembered for their very thin (“tissue”) paper which succumbed even quicker to these effects. Sadly, the cost of labor has eliminated the artistic engraved covers, and the publishing industry has retreated on paper size repeatedly. Print-on-demand services use the 8.5" x 11" or A4 size which has a printable area even smaller. Most home printers used to print the free scores use this commonly found paper. This means more page turns! And, the paper must be bound in some manner to prevent sliding from the rack. Also, the music image is not as easy to read unless the computer software user, formerly known as the engraver because he actually engraved plates, takes the time to make the music notation flow artistically across the page, keeping a sympathetic eye towards note congestion and avoiding awkward page turns. So, when you use the restored music I produce, you will be seeing, as close as possible, what the original publisher produced. I believe you will be pleased!

Close Window