looking back

I began this site in 2017, and now, more than eight years later, it feels like the right moment to pause, take stock, and look back on what has been a deeply creative journey. I have been genuinely delighted by the interest it has attracted, with visitors from over 80 countries around the world.

It also seems the right time to add a short footnote explaining some of my more personal thoughts on editing piano music. When I look back through my old printed scores, I am always struck by how many markings feel unnecessary — cluttering the page and, at times, obscuring the music itself. I was also reminded of how often the notation was tightly “squeezed,” no doubt a legacy of the high cost of paper.

With today’s paperless possibilities, I felt free to rethink this approach. I now use fewer staves per page, allow the music more space to breathe, and give careful thought to page turns, so that the performer’s experience remains as natural as possible.

I have also chosen to remove some barlines, using dashed barlines instead to suggest phrase lengths, showing only the minimum number of rests, and occasionally clarifying time and key signatures. My own ideas on fingering and the distribution of material between the hands are offered in the hope that they may be useful to future generations of students.

I tend to avoid long phrasing slurs, which are often no more than a general indication of legato. Clefs have been examined with particular care, and I frequently use smaller note sizes for accompanying figuration. Diamond-headed notes indicate material that may be omitted, while blank noteheads show passages to be taken by the other hand.

By allowing more space on the page, I can include up to three staves and limit the layout to a maximum of five systems per page—always with clarity and musical intention in mind.