FAQ
FAQ
Of course there are still questions that have not been answered in the other pages. Here are some important questions and our answers.
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Important general questions can be included anonymously in this FAQ page.
Is NOTUS Music Notation a stepping stone to conventional music notation?
Notus is not a stepping stone to conventional music notation. NOTUS Music Notation is an independent and fully-fledged music notation with which all instruments, all genres and all levels of difficulty can be noted. NOTUS is therefore a full-fledged and lifelong alternative to conventional music notation.
Is ‘NOTUS Music Notation’ music software?
NOTUS Music Notation is not software like Musescore, Finale, Dorico etc. to notate music. NOTUS Music notation is the nature of music notation itself.
Is there any software to notate music in NOTUS Music Notation?
At the moment there is no typical NOTUS Music Notation software. Notation of NOTUS Music notation can be done by hand on specific NOTUS blank staffs. These are part of the free NOTUS download package.
We are doing extensive research into possibilities for developing NOTUS Music Notation software.
Are there enough scores in NOTUS Music Notation?
NOTUS Music Notation is young. It is more important for our target audience to play piano with a limited amount of NOTUS scores than to not be able to play piano despite hundreds of thousands of conventional scores.
It was decided to develop a study pack and stand-alone music scores for piano first. Currently (July 2023), there are about 500 pieces and exercises for beginning adult pianists. These are divided into 4 study books, the BASIC Textbook, the PIANO Textbook 1, the PIANO Textbook 2 and the PIANO Four Hands & Two Pianos Textbook 1. With these 4 textbooks, a study of 2½ to 3 years is possible. A few ‘beginner’ and ‘intermediate’ level compositions are added weekly. These are publications of specific compositions, such as Für Elise by L.v.Beethoven or collections of scores by a particular composer or a compilation of works by various composers. New follow-up textooks are regularly developed so that NOTUS adepts do not run out of new study material. Newly composed collections are also published. Here, we strive for sufficient diversity both in style, cultural period and level. The number of available scores is therefore constantly evolving.
Is it possible to switch from NOTUS Music Notation to Conventional Music Notation to have more scores available?
Switching is, of course, always possible. Our experience with some adult learners who have switched to conventional notation shows a smooth transition provided some limited time attention is paid to specifically reading conventional notation. However, the difficulty in conventional notation for reading the highest and lowest registers of the piano due to the abundance of auxiliary lines is known to them as well. People who switch opt for advanced piano studies of which the study of keys and key signatures forms a part. This will also require extra attention.
Can information, documentation and study material in conventional music notation be used in a NOTUS study?
NOTUS is a musical notation in which the notation of the rhythm is identical to the notation of the rhythm in conventional music notation, except for some details. With a little effort all typical ‘rhythm textbooks’ in conventional music notation can be used by NOTUS adepts.
All piano technical textbooks or instruction videos can also be used because NOTUS does not cover piano technique. However, the piano technique can be learned more quickly than with conventional music notation.
NOTUS is 100% embedded in existing conventional music theory. However, in NOTUS other teaching materials are used and the examples that support music theory are transcribed to NOTUS. There is sufficient music theory, in increasing difficulty, in the NOTUS piano textbooks so that no music theory textbooks in conventional music notation have to be purchased.
Do you want to learn to play a specific song or melody using NOTUS Music Notation?
Contemporary repertoire cannot simply be freely used, distributed (free or commercially) or transcribed to NOTUS Music Notation due to copyright. This is only possible with Public Domain compositions and scores. A composition automatically enters the Public Domain when the composer has passed away for a long time. This period may differ per country. In Canada, for example, the composer must have died 50 years before a work is placed in the Public Domain. But in Europe it is 70 years. NOTUS&BOOKS&SHEETS, the publisher responsible for the transcription and publication of NOTUS PIANO textbooks and sheet music, cannot do without these rules.
Compositions that are not in Public Domain must always receive permission from the copyright manager (usually the music publisher) for further distribution and transcription to NOTUS Music Notation.
In both cases (whether in the public domain or not), NOTUS allows you to transcribe a score to NOTUS for strictly personal study. Strictly personal use means for personal study and without commercial purposes or further free distribution.
As soon as 1 copy of a NOTUS score is put on the market by third parties without the written permission of NOTUS&BOOKS&SHEETS (= copyright on the NOTUS Music Notation System) and with or without permission from the copyright manager of the composition, there is copyright infringement of the NOTUS Music notation system and possibly the copyright of the composition (if the work is not in Public Domain and not authorized by the copyright manager of the composition).
NOTUS&BOOKS&SHEETS cannot be held responsible for any misuse of this right by third parties and for any errors that sneak into a transcription not produced by NOTUS&BOOKS&SHEETS.
Can you request or order a specific transcription?
A request for a transcription is only possible if it concerns a work that is included in the Public Domain (see previous question). If the requested work is not included in the Public Domain, the score must be accompanied by the written permission of the copyright manager of the work for transcription to NOTUS Music Notation.
In both cases, NOTUS&BOOKS&SHEETS will check the artistic, educational and commercial value of the score and thus may or may not be included in a Textbook or published as a stand-alone edition. In the event of a positive assessment, the transcription will NOTUS will be made.
If the artistic and/or commercial value of a work in the Public Domain is questionable, NOTUS&BOOKS&SHEETS may nevertheless decide to transcribe at the expense of the applicant after approval of a transcription offer and down payment of a proforma invoice. All restrictions regarding commercialization or free distribution of scores in NOTUS Music notation by third parties, however, remain valid even if the client has paid for the transcription. Paying for a transcription does not mean that the copyright rights to the NOTUS Music Notation System or to the specific transcription itself have been surrendered. The payment only covers the work of transcribing itself. Only NOTUS&BOOKS&SHEETS has the right to commercialize NOTUS scores or to distribute them free of charge or to commission them to do so.