The major downfall to writing a large, multi-movement work is the part extraction process. If you are not sure what this means, consider yourself lucky. Once the score is musically complete, one has to “extract” each part into its own page, playable by the performer of a particular instrument. In a large piece like my first symphony, this can mean upwards of thirty individual documents for each movement of the entire work. Phew!
Far too many people think that with the advent of computerized notation programs like Finale, Sibelius, and Overture, the part extraction process simply means “push a button.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, you just push a few buttons to create the initial part, but said part usually looks like crap on a stick. One still has to manually clean up each part, ensuring that all the markings are in place, all the page turns are workable, the spacing is user-friendly, etc. Yes, this is certainly MUCH easier than creating each part by hand, but it is still a meticulous, time-consuming process. For this symphony, I’ve been averaging two parts a day. Each part takes about an hour to complete. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
Needless to say, I hope to finish the part extraction process by spring break, though that may be an optimistic goal.
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