<p>I am applying to NYU as a music composition major, and it is the only school that doesn't accept electronic submissions of scores and recordings. I am not quite sure how to appropriately send them. Should the scores be stapled, put in a sheet protector, etc? And how should the CD be labeled? NYU doesn't outline this information on its website, so I would appreciate any advice. Thanks!</p>
<p>Hi FluteGurl, my son brought hard copy of his compositions to Staples and had them copied and spiral bound with a clear plastic cover and black backing. The CD’s were labled with his name, degree he was applying for and the names of the compositions on the CD.</p>
<p>He also included a typed up info sheet that went into the CD case. One school asked for him to circumscribe “the best 3 minutes” or something like that, so he also specified that. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>
This is what my son did also. Tip: Check the copies very, very carefully to make sure they are in the right order, not upside-down, etc.</p>
<p>I agree - check every page/page numbers. The first few times S had to do this, it took a few tries to get it right. He did his copies back-to-back, which was a little more complicated. Also, as I recall, one of his compositions was printed on oversized paper to make it easier to read. It took a while to get that right between the flashdrive and what actually got printed.</p>
<p>VMT and Hunt have provided exactly the right approach.</p>
<p>VMT, Hunt, Compdad, thank you so much for the help!</p>
<p>Just to reassure, I would say there is probably no one way to do this. The schools are interested in your music, and as long as presentation of your submission is bound, and is neat and respectful (and readable of course) it will probably be fine.</p>
<p>Most copy places will bind the scores for you and will give you some choices. The plastic spiral mentioned above worked fine, with clear cover. If you have hand-written, larger manuscript paper, that is also possible to do at a copy place but watch the process carefully. In my daughter’s case, the larger copies were cut to fit the cover, and the person at the copy place almost cut off part of the score! VMT’s son appears to have found a better, less low tech solution.</p>
<p>I am a little foggy but I think my daughter typed a label for each score with her name, “applicant for the BM in composition” fall 20xx, title of the piece,ensemble or performers who played it, date it was played, where it was played. She stuck this onto the clear cover, but it could just be typed on a cover page to show through. Again, no “right” way to do it.</p>
<p>She typed a similar thing on a square of paper that fit into the CD case like a cover, and also labeled the CD itself in thin marker with her name, title of the piece (ensemble, maybe date/place, not sure). But she had done one piece per CD, which is certainly unusual (not sure why she did this, maybe she didn’t know how to burn them all on one!), and it still worked out okay. VMT’s son’s idea of typing up a sheet for the CD sounds good to me.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I recall Compmom reassuring me last year (since son and I were completely clueless) that as long as it looks neat and respectful, it will be fine. What matters most is the music.</p>
<p>The advice given has been good. I just want to add that in picking a binding style, it is imperative that you pick one which allows the booklet to lie flat on a table hands-free. Spiral/coil and ring/comb binding can do this, but some book or folio style binding won’t accomplish this. Remember, they will likely be staring at the score placed down on a table and turning the pages as they listen to the recording. A spiral bound score also has an advantage over comb in that they allow you to fold the pages back completely flat (combs leave a small gap, since the edge of the plastic bind where the rings end means the pages can’t be turned back completely 360 degrees) but this is a very minor issue.</p>
<p>CDs are less worrisome, although sometimes a cheaply made horrible label can look even less elegant than the clean naked blank disc. The main point to remember though, is once they’ve injected the disc into the player, remember they can no longer read what track labels were written on it! So having that listed elsewhere is a good idea.</p>
<p>My son is also applying in composition and we’ve followed many of the wonderful suggestions you’ve already received. Isn’t this group wonderful?!!</p>
<p>One more option for the CD - If your computer is LightScribe compatible, you can easily create a label for your CD if you purchase LightScribe CD’s. LightScribe CD’s are coated on one side (the standard color is gold, but there are other color options as well). Once you’ve recorded your music on the regular side of the CD, you flip the CD over in your tray and use one of the templates (the easiest way) to design your label. The CD burner burns the image into your CD. It marks your CD with a special code so that if an error occurs, you can simply place the CD back into the burner and start it over. It will completely line up with your previous portion. I decided to go this route after extensive reading of various stick-on labels that sometimes are criticized for unbalancing the CD and rendering it unable to play on every machine. We didn’t want to risk this with something as important as this.<br>
You can read more here: [url=<a href=“http://www.lightscribe.com/]LightScribe[/url”>http://www.lightscribe.com/]LightScribe[/url</a>]</p>
<p>I applied to summer programs with unbound, paper-clipped scores and got in, but the teachers told me that I should not have done that and that I was lucky that my music was unusual enough to surpass the packaging.</p>
<p>That said, I would determine binding in the context of the format of your score. Most of my pieces are relatively short on paper (8 pages or so, translating to 4 pieces of paper). I thus chose to tape-bind instead of spiral bind - this is much cheaper and looks professional enough. I highly recommend Post-It brand 5-line correction tape for binding.</p>
<p>It cannot be stressed enough as EarlGr8 wrote that whatever binding method you choose must allow the pages to lie flat when opened to any page.</p>
<p>And just for when you’re preparing scores and parts for orchestras - here is the standard from MOLA [MOLA</a> Guidelines](<a href=“http://www.mola-inc.org/MOLA%20Guidelines%20Text.htm]MOLA”>http://www.mola-inc.org/MOLA%20Guidelines%20Text.htm)</p>
<p>(Note, when the time comes, there are music publishing companies which will prepare parts and scores to these guidelines at a reasonable price i.e. less than Staples or the local copy shop.)</p>
<p>Hi, I’m new to the forum and would like to know if you have information about music composition competitions coming up. This would be for college age composers.
Thank you so much.
pianomom7</p>
<p>I am applying for NYU film scoring(MA), and can email my Portfolio to them, do u apply for Bachelor? Good luck:)</p>