The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1894-04-16
MUSIC COMPOSITION.
1t Is a Trade of Which Little Is General,
Known.

It Trade Of Which Little Is Generally
Known.
A Boston reporter was sent to inquire
into the mysteries practiced by the music
printer ''What is tho special difficulty
I'm setting page OF music' Is 10 anything
a regular compositor could not do at least
after little practiceY" was asked. "To
re even "a fair musical printer, p" was the
answer, lyon must be genius In tho first
place You need not know music, to be
Eure-perhaps IL Is better that you should
not for then you may think you know
more than the composer and try to inn
prove his score for him, but the business
requires instant and accurate Judgment,
perfect familiarity with every box In tho
case, besides great deal of skill and quick
noes in setting your type
In the case which holds the necessary
''sorts' there are no less than 400 varieties
of type, by far tho greater part of which
must be used in setting a large piece of
music. When the reporter was shown
these various characters and how intricate
~ they must all be made 20 combine so a.
10 print without a break or a crack any
where 10 be seen, he did not wonder TO hear
the proprietor continue: You cannot con
ccive how much labor Is involved in set
~
an expert and half dozen newspaper col
umns TO describe IL in all its minute de
tails Yet. after all to do this is not the
greatest achievement Of music printer.
To be able to judge swiftly and surely
when he Is given page OF copy and told
20 accommodate If 10 an entirely different
space Is "A much rurer and moro essential
faculty. Tho spacing must be accurate and
approximately equal all the way through.
On the first piece of spacing tho spacing
all the way through necessarily depends.
For this the printer makes no elaborate
calculations or measurements. He comes
% a reckoning by guesswork, 80 practiccd
and trained THAI the result H. a. exact as
il IL had been carefully figured out on pa
per Then, too, he has 70 overcome the
bother of the words underneath, which
must not be too irrcFllarly strung out, and
every syllable Of which must he placed un-
der its own notn or notes
No wonder that there arr not more that
20 men at most in Boston who are experts
in this beautiful and delicate craft-al-
though Boston, as tho reader may like TO
know, does more music printing than any
other city in tho United States. probably
more than any two Others. "How long
does h. take to master the trade'" asked
the reporter. about three years, on an
average, I should say, although that boy
thcr, pointing 10 n sturdy young Italian
not mor than 10 years old, lis as good
printer AS them Is with only Is months
experience
Not NOM than five or six men arr 70
quired in a good WED shop. A fairly good
printer viii set three nnvss ~ simple music
In "a day. Given "a diinchlt instrumental
scorc however, and he viii not get through
with mure than one and o half pages. lie
Is paid by tho sheet. Wien business Is not
dan, the printer, II a good one, makes
from $50 10 $50 a week. "Do you ever en-
ploy womenf" was the last question the
IMPORTER asked. "Not many-thcy ar not
a success usually, though oyc woman who
worked Tor me ~ years and a. now run
ming place II her own la Chicago. was
a. gupd printer AZ ] ever had. 4"