Here are our best suggestions on how to put your best foot forward when submitting:

Include a great recording 

We cannot stress enough the difference a quality recording makes with your submission. While we realize not everyone has Virtual Drumline or access to an ensemble to generate a live recording, there are still things that can be done much of the time to make even a MIDI recording sound reasonably close to an actual performance. 

Even with the most detailed score, it is often impossible to imagine what a piece will sound like (at least not without investing a great deal of time to do so, which we aren't able to do). You know what your piece is supposed to sound like; please make it a goal to provide us with a recording that accurately reflects your intent.

Lastly, if you have the ability to supply a video recording, that will be extremely helpful. We understand that many times, student performances of your composition may be under par. However, a subpar video performance accompanied by an audio recording you have carefully crafted will give us a very well-rounded view of your work, allowing us to make the most educated decision we can make about the piece.

Supply clean and clear notation 

While we don't evaluate work based entirely on how it's engraved, it is impossible not to make inferences if a submitted score is unreasonably messy or inaccurate when compared to the supplied recording. Take the time to proof and polish your notated manuscript.

Make sure your piece is field tested and playable at the intended level

Playability is important, and individual parts should fall generally within the skill level range you specify. That doesn't mean that all parts have to be at the same level of difficulty; sometimes there is a featured performer or group within the piece, and that's fine. But if it seems obvious that one or more parts is clearly out of range on the instrument(s), technically demanding to the point of ridiculousness, or even musically unnecessary, this is an indication that the work has either not been played, or that its issues haven't been sufficiently addressed. It's very important to us that when someone buy one of our pieces, they get exactly what they expected (or better), and that details of playability have been thought through beforehand and are commensurate with the skill level specified. 

No incomplete thoughts, please 

Finally, we will only review complete and fully realized compositions. Please don't send sketches, single movements, or incomplete thoughts.

For information on how to go about submitting your work, CLICK HERE