Sheet music collection Mary Sommerfeld July 11, 2013

Not too many done today.
Finished 9 entries and added in 3 to the spreadsheet. A total of 12.
Two interesting scores were from the early 1900's, music to be played to
accompany silent movies.

Sheet Music Collection- M. Sommerfeld July 2, 2013

Working with the sheet music cabinets on the 5th floor I was able to complete a total of 25 entries.
Twelve were completing item already on the spread sheet and three were complete new entries.
There were two entries where the music was actually filed under the name of a co-composer. I made note of this occurrence in the "Mary's note's" field.
Today's covers feature men hair styles that make a bold statement, and one that is a more cleaned up image. Can you remember the Hudson Brothers and their shinny clean pop tunes?

Sheet Music Collection Mary Sommerfeld June 5, 2013

I am on-loan from HMRC today.
Working on the 5th floor with the sheet music turned out to be rather productive.
Starting with row 227 I was able to get through 23 entries (ending at row 250).
With the add ins there were 8 that  plopped into the spread sheet (rows 1288 to 1296).
That ended up with a grand total of 31.
The only real challenge was getting through the Michael Bolton music.

Sheet music collection - Mary Sommerfeld May 30.2013

A few more hours today on the 5th floor.
Got a total of 10 entries completed (including add-ins).
Some in very bad shape dating back to early 1900's.
Two covers to share:
This one reminds me of my recent job at David's Bridal. Think this could be a bridezilla?

The second cover just has a lovely design.

 



 

Sheet music collection, Mary Sommerfeld May 29, 2013

Today I came over to the 5th floor wearing my new archivist hat.
This week due to the current HMRC staff schedule I will be doing some pick-up work with the sheet music collection.
Today I started at row #207 and went to row # 221 for a total 14 entries.
Add ins went from row #1277 to row #1283, a total of 6.
Grand total was 20 entries.
One of the more successful actions was finding the birth/death dates for a number of composers.
In a few cases I was able to get these from the New Grove Dictionary of Music... found in the stacks on the 5th floor. Others I located using websites such as allmusic.com

Sheet music collection - Mary Sommerfeld May 9, 2013

There were a  few challenges along the way today.

But it was fairly productive, rows 192 to 206 were dealt with and 6 new entries added.
That gave a grand total of 20 entries.

I left my USB cable at home so I will be adding some cover art in the next few days.

Sheet Music Collection, Mary Sommerfeld May 1, 2013

Working with the sheet music found on the 5th floor.
I worked through 19 entries (row 172 to row 191).
I also added in 3 new entries to the spread sheet.

One of the folders contained two different covers for the same music.
What was interesting was that each were published in the same year and stated the song was featured in two different shows.

The other cover that stood out has a very pleasant picture. The song title "The Children of the Clouds" refers to raindrops.

 

 



 

Sheet Music collection Mary sommerfeld - April 17,2013

Working on the 5th floor with the cabinets containing the sheet music I was able to work through  a total of 20 entries.
The excitement of the day was  tracking down the sheet music which should have been in the folder for  "The Lords of Discipline". When first opened I found the song "My First Taste of Texas" inside. In tracking that folder down I was greeted by a copy of Tanya Tucker's "Feel Right" instead. After retrieving Tanya's two folders labelled for this song, inside one was the "Lords of Discipline" - finally.

Two covers to share today, both have different but nice art work.

 

Sheet Music Collection - CONTENTdm and SmartScore

Today I was able to completely apply metadata to 12 additional compound objects. I worked on creating additional midi files as well, but a lot of the sheet music is in such poor condition that it is difficult for the software to scan and retrieve discernible notes from the files. As such, I continue working on the more difficult pieces in hopes of creating midi files for these objects.

Sheet Nusic Collection, Mary Sommerfeld Aplril10,2013

Back after nissing a week.

Completed 18 entries (140 to 158) & added in two addtional rows.

This made a grand total of 20 rows for the day.

Of note - there were a few "Not in cabinet" items today.

Sheet music collection - Mary Sommerfeld March 27,2013

Working with the collection on the 5th floor, I was able to complete a total of 22 entries.
I started on row # 119 and ended at row # 139. I also added in two additional entries (#1257 to #1259).
I took photos of several covers but I will have to add these as a separate post since I did not have my cable to connect the ipod.

Sheet Music Collection: SmartScore and Cover Art

This week I was able to process twenty additional midi files using the SmartScore software. There are still issues with the software's conversion process and the reading of the scores - there are too many timing and notational errors (according to the software), so I have been editing the SmartScore files to make sure that there are no hanging notes or sudden stops in the files. The resulting files are of a quality to where I can read the lyrics in tune to the music.

I also did some more scanning - 30 additional compound objects for the collection - as well as completed some derivatives and combined PDFs for the full document and notational parts of the objects.

Here are some cover illustrations that really stood out to me:

This is the first cover art that wasn't an illustration but a photograph. (And if it is an illustration, it is very realistic. Reminds me of Paul Cadden.)

Sheet Music Collection - M. Sommerfeld March 20, 2013

I got through quite a few today.
Startingat row #106 I worked through to row #118 (12).
What really added up was the additional entreies from row #1236 to row #1356 (20).
The grand total was 32. Nothing really notable with the covers, lots of county star at various ages, hair style and assorted icons such as boots, trucks, & dogs.

Sheet Music collection -Mary Sommerfeld March 12, 2013

I worked with the sheet music files on the 5th floor.
Starting with row #93 I completed entris for 10 items, ending at row # 103.
In addition 2 new items where added in (rows 1234 &1235). For a grand total of 12 entries completed.

Sheet music collection Mary Sommerfeld 2/27/2013

Today work on the 5th floor started at row 62 & finished on row 92  (30entries).
Only 2 add ins ( row  1231 & 1232.
A grand total of 32 entries.
There were some notable covers.
First up a very striking patriotic item around WWI

Next a romantic musical interlude.



Finally a as a nod to recent red carpet events a fashion statement. Note the bling.

Sheet Music Collection: SmartScore

I spent all of Tuesday and half of Thursday working on metadata for 14 new items for the collection. This time, the process was much easier since most of the new items were sheet music and not orchestral scores. I also spent a good amount of time on Tuesday creating three different types of derivatives: the first batch to be uploaded to CONTENTdm, the second batch for the full PDFs (items to be attached to the compound objects), and a third batch for SmartScore.

SmartScore is easy to use and very intuitive. My only problem is that I am completely tone-deaf so I do worry about the MIDIs being created for the collection. While I'm not trying to create perfect replicas, I do want the replicas to be at least a close approximation.

One issue I have had with SmartScore is that some scans, due to the condition of the original sheet music piece, do not process completely in the software. In some instances, the software would get stuck on a note, drawing it out in an irritating and unbearable drone. (Think of the BRAAAAM in Inception but not haunting and annoyingly screechy.) When this happens, the other melodies that are being played get drowned out - the MIDI, in my opinion, is completely useless.

After fruitlessly searching for a solution online, I turned to a friend-of-a-friend, and correcting this issue is a set of steps that I have yet to completely work out. The first process involves using SmartScore's image editor to sharpen the notes and (perhaps) make that particular note readable by the software. The second step is to correct the errors on the SmartScore music sheet. Suspected music errors and mismatches in time (which usually occur when the software cannot discern the note or notes) are highlighted in pink. There is a button that one can click on to "correct" the errors by making the software read the sheet music "As written." More often than not, it can make the program get "unstuck" on that note.

Unfortunately, I have several sheet music scores like this. A little under half of the scores do not have workable MIDIs due to the fact that SmartScore is getting stuck on notes. When I return, I am going to take some time to see if I can work out those kinks and make the MIDIs passable for inclusion into the collection.

Another thing I noticed: so far, all of the Drums sections in the orchestral pieces have turned out crappy MIDIs. I have no idea if this is because of the Drum type I am selecting or the software's inability to read the sheet music, as the orchestral pieces are some of the oldest in the collection - one was published in the 1800s! - and there are some pieces in which pages are faded and/or distorted by time and carelessness (e.g., some pages have water stains on them).

Sheet Music Collection: Landing Page and More Beautiful Covers

My time this week was divided between finalizing the PDFs in preparation for (possibly) running the SmartScore software over them next week and scanning more sheet music. I also worked on creating/revising the landing page for the Sheet Music Collection. I tried to be very general about the collection while highlighting a few facts about the collection as a whole. In a few brief paragraphs, I highlighted what kind of sheet music viewers could expect and provided a disclaimer in case there are items in the collection that contain offensive lyrics and/or imagery. Overall, I feel very accomplished this week: I now have 34 items uploaded onto the website (this includes the full PDFs added to each item) and have scanned a little over 30 more items. Next week will probably be all about derivatives, uploading to CONTENTdm, and applying metadata.

And SmartScore!

Now, onto more covers!

Sheet Music Collection: CONTENTdm and Metadata

So this week began my first interaction with the CONTENTdm software and the application of metadata. Much of the information I was able to apply could be found on the sheet music and the inventory spreadsheet created by another volunteer, Mary. In some cases, I had to use the Internet to find the information. For example, I used the Library of Congress Authorities website to find name and subject authority tags. In those cases wherein I was unsure of what tags to use (because, unlike OCLC Connexion, the LOC authorities do not provide describing information for some tags, so it was difficult to know if I was using the right name), I turned to other sheet music collections using WorldCat. With this method, I was able to find which authority tags were appropriate and was even able to retrieve new ones.

One field I am re-thinking is the "full-text for song" field. This field is one I struggle with a bit, mostly because I do not know quite how to frame the lyrics. Do I write it out like poetry using (/) to separate lyrics? Do I maintain the spellings of the lyrics (which I have been doing so far)? I've noticed during my search for metadata that most collections merely provide the first line of the song and chorus. I am seriously considering that option instead of full-text.

I also struggle with providing genre and subject tags. I noticed in my research that many music collections use general tags (e.g., Songs for Piano or Popular music -- 1901-1911). I'm going to stick with these because I am not a music expert at all. I'm quite sure the descriptive genre and subject tags would be different if applied by someone who is knowledgeable about this subject.

Below are some examples of the items I have scanned:

Handwritten musical notation.  

A bug died and merged onto this cover. It also discolored it.  

So pretty and simple.

Sheet Music Collection: First Pieces of Artwork

Well, the first two days on my practicum have been an exciting learning experience!  So far, I've learned about the sheet music collection at HPL and have made a priority list of items based on condition and copyright date. I've only located one Texana item, though I do hope to scan that one sometime next week.

I've also gained some experience with new technologies like the CopiBook scanner at the JIB and using Adobe Acrobat Pro to convert TIFF files into PDF and execute OCR software onto the resulting derivatives. I like that the texts from the scanned music sheets will now be searchable, exportable, and editable. One field in the collection that I am a strong supporter of is the full-text field. I think having a transcript of the lyrics would be a nice feature to the collection.

So far, I have scanned 18 items with the CopiBook scanner. The process was a bit rough in the beginning, but it smooths out a bit once a person has developed a workflow.

For me, I use the down time (e.g., waiting for Adobe to execute the OCR software) to search the spreadsheet for sheet music that are in poor and/or fragile condition (but still meets the public domain requirement) and jot down the call number and barcode - at least 20 titles at a time. Then, I make additional folders in which to save the images. (The file name we are using for the collection is SM0000X since that number should cover us for up to 99,999 documents.) I record this number on the folders housing the sheet music when I am scanning documents so that I know where I am in the scanning process and am not wasting time hunting for non-scanned items (like I did on the first day - thanks to my practicum supervisor for that tip!). Also, having the digital folders already created and named on the hard drive or flash drive also aids me in remembering where I am in the process.

One thing I have discovered while working on this project is that some of the most damaged items in need of digitizing are orchestral compositions, and so far those works have been about forty to fifty pages long. I am hoping that this will not have too much of an impact on the amount of items I have digitized by the end of my practicum, but if I want to bolster the number of items I scan per day, I will probably have to change my priority list a bit.

That said, I finally scanned some artwork!  There was a haunting cover I did today but was unable to download from the computer at JIB.  I will post it next week because it is... unique.