Do you want to create your own songbook or music book but haven’t found the time to do it? Whether you’re a seasoned composer or are working on your first set of compositions, now is the perfect time to create the music book you’ve always dreamed of! This article will explain some tips and tricks to enhance your music book printing project, whether it’s your first or your fiftieth.
Helpful Tips for Music Book Printing
Why Make Your Own Music Book?
There are many reasons to create your own songbook or music book. If you’re a composer or musician, it’s the perfect marketing tool that augments your revenue while expanding your reach in the music industry. It will also be valuable promotional merchandise at your performances. If you’re a music teacher, you can consolidate your music for your students into easy-to-use collections. If you’re a music aficionado, you can combine all of your favorite pieces in one place. A music book can commemorate a family gathering or camp experience, organize a collection of worship music or an entire music library, or increase the reach of your brand. It is also the perfect sentimental or creative home project!
Is Music Book Printing the Right Choice for You?
In this age of online accessibility, you can publish your book on the Internet or have it professionally printed. While online music books are common, printed ones look more professional, and they can be keepsakes, gifts, merchandise at concerts, and premiums to accompany album sales. They are ready-made for the purchaser who can simply pick up the book and start playing, no assembly or printing at home required! Professionally printing your book ensures that your customers receive a finished product that you, the creator, are proud of. Consider creating both a professionally printed version and a PDF and/or eBook version, as this will give your customers complete flexibility to choose what they want.
Appearances Matter
The first step to selling your book is getting potential buyers to pick it up and look inside. As such, even though people say not to judge a book by its cover, it’s a good idea to design a cover that gives your audience a good idea about the kind of music you’ve included in your book. This might mean finding or creating cover art that illustrates the theme of your music. You can find open access art online that exemplifies this theme, such as a wintry scene for a book of holiday music or a picture drawn by a child for a collection of children’s songs. Consider enlisting the help of a professional designer who can help you create a highly effective cover.
Music books come in many different varieties, in different genres, for different instruments, and different combinations of players. On the cover, consider adding an explanation of the type of songs in your book. Are they solo songs written for the guitar? Are they duets for two players on one piano? Are they written for choral music? Are they adaptations of a popular artist’s music? This will let your customers know what to expect when ordering your book.
As well, use a glossy cover that makes your music book stand out! A glossy cover will indicate to your buyers that you’re a professional and will further encourage buyers to pick up your book and take a look inside. You can even use UV coating or laminating to further enhance and protect your book covers.
Then, once your book is in your customer’s hands, make it easy for them to keep perusing. This might be a no-brainer, but it bears mentioning: choose a font for your cover and interior text that is easy to read and gives a sense of the type of music in your book. This will make your book easy to read and tie the whole book together!
Make Your Music Book Smarter
You want to design your music book with readers and musicians in mind. The following paragraphs will discuss some ways to make your music book the best it can be.
First, choose the best binding for your book. Plastic coil binding lays flatter than any other type of binding, so it will allow your book to open completely flat on a piano or a music stand. This makes it easy to flip the pages as you play your music. You can even flip one half of the book over with coil binding so users can study one page at a time. Comb binding will allow users to remove and replace pages, making it the best option if you plan to alter the songs in the music book in the future. Perfect binding and case binding give your music book a professional appearance, making them great options for a keepsake book that you can treasure for decades.
As you know, it’s often easier to learn to play a piece if you have access to what the piece sounds like. Whether in hard copy or online, consider including auditory examples of the music found in your book. This could take the form of a CD included with your book, digital files found directly on your website, or a link on your website to buy the music from a third-party vendor. This will increase the value of your product while allowing your audience a greater level of engagement with your creations.
Consider Your Audience
Music books can serve many possible purposes and have many possible audiences. When designing your music book, consider how to most effectively design your book for your target audience.
Are you making a book for seniors or young children? If so, consider using larger fonts. Are you making a book for families to teach their children to appreciate music? If so, consider including color illustrations to make your book a piece of art that will excite children and which they will cherish for a lifetime.
If you’re a music teacher creating a book for your students, think about including notes before each song, which explains the technical skills that your students will gain from learning the piece, as well as any information that they should keep in mind as they are practicing.
If you are making a music book for a community, consider adding personal touches. For example, if you’ve written or compiled a songbook for a school or religious community, consider adding quotes from community members about why they enjoy the songs. You could do this at the beginning of the book as a forward, or you could include a short quote or two at the beginning of each song. This will allow community members to remember why these songs are special.
Be Aware of Intellectual Property Laws
This is extremely important: follow all relevant intellectual property laws when creating and publishing your book. If you’re composing your own pieces or arranging adaptations, consider copyrighting your music. If you’re collecting or reprinting other people’s music, be aware of your country’s copyright laws. These might vary based on the country where the book is being published and the types of music you’re publishing, so be sure to act in accordance with your local laws.
Print your music book with the help of a professional printing service!
With decades of experience, The Print Authority can help you print the perfect music book. From design ideas to printing advice, we can help you create the perfect music book or songbook. Contact us today!
