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When you buy a new nice clean score, do you take copies of it, and let your teacher make remarks on that paper to spare your new book, or in your new book to have it "personalized" :-) ? Probably a personal thing, but...

How will you open it 10 or 20 years from now and find forgotten advice? I'm forever - 'I studied this? Sheesh.'

Minor problem: Probably my sons will have to play the same pieces within a few years when he continues.

If you have a teacher whose advice you treasure - well, there you go, I just said it!

I work from the book and like having my teacher's comments and instructions (whether written by me or her) there for future reference. I like the 'historical document' aspect of it.

For your situation with your sons likely learning from the same book, I'd say it depends: if the book is of early pieces that you likely won't go back to as you progress, then you could save yourself some money by photocopying the pieces and working from those such that your sons would have a fresh score to start with. On the other hand, if you think you might be returning to these pieces from time to time, then use the book--make it your own--and spring for the cost of a new book for your sons, when the time comes.

I don't like following the scores my sister learnt from with the fingerings pencilled in or the pieces that my teacher scrawled over in pen.

It's important to keep the notes your teacher makes. Really, it is. But whenever I revisit a piece I ALWAYS begin with a fresh score - even if I have to write it into Finale and manually adjust for changing clefs - and refer to all the other versions of a piece that I might have for fingering, whether other editor's or my own. Some pieces, particularly Bach, where the fingering is crucial, I have over a half a dozen copies of from different publishers and editors, most of which I revisit periodically.

If your score is a bound edition including other pieces (and may be used by others), I'd consider a cheaper edition just for lessons.

Think I will make copies for lessons and save them in the back of the book

I prefer to use a copy for learning, and I can be as liberal as I like with my pencil, highlighter, etc.

I wouldn't have an issue annotating an original book, but when I'm making the notes I don't know which are the "keepers" that I want for the long term, and which are just passing reminders which will be just clutter in the longer term.

I got a good hoot out of my dad's notes scrawled in the margins of Paradise Lost.. It must have seemed quite saucey in a more innocent age.

Initially I want to keep them all nice and pristine, but once something come up that is important that all goes by the wayside. All markings are in pencil of course, but these books will have to be presented at an exam without comments. So as I get better at the piece I erase comments (usually just my own) and all but fingering is removed. I also have erasable highlighters which are a wonderful invention.

I have tried keeping copies but I find that becomes a bit of an admin problem, although on reflection need not be.

Do you have to play from the book at the exam or can you play from a photocopy (made before markings or comments were added) of the relevant pages in the book?


I have a tendency towards the urge to "save" something precious or scarce for when I really might need it. I've been trying to change that mindset because when I really might need it rarely happens, in my experience. So now I don't hesitate to mark up my books, even to wear them out. Did I wince just a tiny bit writing (in pencil, of course) in my Henle edition of Mozart sonatas? Just a quick 'ouch' and then I didn't look back.

you can use a photocopy providing you can prove you own the book.

The more markings in any book the better for me! I have notes and marks in my Beethoven urtext editions for pieces I haven't even played myself, but if I come across something regarding the piece, I will head to the score and take notes right there!