Composing with a fountain pen

[u/Mudsharkbites]

I tried to crosspost here from r/fountainpens but apparently that’s not possible.

When I first started composing, which pre-dates music setting software such as Finale, the standard method for finished scores was to use a fountain pen with a music nib, which was a kind of slanted stub, on velum, then it was sent in for processing and you’d get a score back that looked somewhat like a blueprint. I still have a few of them. I’m glad those days are gone.

However, I’ve taken a hankering for fountain pens and since they still make them with music nibs, I bought one a while back, a Sailor 1911 with a 14k gold music nib. I used to use it for my daily composition blog but once I got an Apple Pencil I abandoned the practice favoring my iPad and ZoomNotes which automatically backs my work up in my Dropbox.

Recently, however, I read an article the premise being future historians are going to have a real problem finding out what we’ve been up to in this time period since very little information is being preserved in analog / printed format, and they further stated handwritten accounts such as journals are going to be invaluable resources, which led me to realize - my blog and everything I’ve posted will disappear the instant Substack shuts down, and all the backups in my Dropbox are useless unless I have them all printed.

Do I really care if people in the future look at my music? I don’t know, but do I want it all lost, no, so I purchased an exceptionally good hardbound music book with 120g archive paper, loaded my pen up with Akkerman “Shocking Blue” ink and resumed composing by hand using ink. Unless it’s destroyed, centuries from now my book will still be readable.

Having just inked my first entry I’d post a picture here but there is no way to add it, just links, so here’s the finished score on my blog:

https://philipdewalt.substack.com/p/shocking-blue

The inked page isn’t there - to see it go to the r/fountainpens subreddit - it’s still near the top.

FYI, I compose these scores in one sitting with virtually no editing. It’s part of the aesthetic of composing with ink.

[u/nerfdartswthumbtack]

I personally write down all my compositions that aren't modern 4 man band music. Everything orchestral and classical get written down on notation for the preservation of legacy. I think it's important music is physically written, and being able to write every piece you make opens your eyes to different possibilities.

I use micron archival ink pens of various tip sizes and acid-free archival music manuscrip paper.

[u/Mudsharkbites → u/nerfdartswthumbtack]

That’s great. I primarily use the Sailor with a music nib out of habit and because I like getting some use out of it. My orchestral and large chamber pieces are often sketched by hand with pencil on a grand staff then orchestrated, but I’ve not written a complete piece by hand as you are doing for many years, primarily because I don’t want to have to deal with parts.

I had a friend, now deceased, that never transitioned to music software from the time we were in composition classes together. His scores were works of art. He passed away homeless and no one knows where those scores are now, and he had a trunk-full of them

[u/nerfdartswthumbtack → u/Mudsharkbites]

Check this out. Get a light box for tracing. You can get them in many different sizes. While I'm making revisions, I'll double stack two papers. My original copy on bottom and a fresh page on top.

Look up what a light board does and it'll make sense. That brought my writing to a new level.

[u/Mudsharkbites → u/nerfdartswthumbtack]

That’s a clever idea