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Frequently Asked Questions | |
| What is a PartAbility CD? What do they cost? What will I hear? How do I use the CD? Which instrument plays my vocal part? My part splits into "firsts" and "seconds Our choral score has a choice of languages Can I design my own "compilation" CD? Will you create a new work for me? Can you customise tempi of movements? Will you customise the tuning? Can I make copies of my CD? You don't give spoken bar-numbers Tracks are not named in Media Player The CD doesn't match my score |
If you have a query that isn't answered below, please ask us.
It's a rehearsal aid, prepared to help you learn the notes for your specific part in a chorus or instrumental group. It is a learning tool, NOT a performance, and as such does not contain any indication of dynamics or the more subtle elements of timing. As always, be guided in these respects by your musical director! Back to Top
For an "off-the-shelf" CD bought online, the price is shown in the catalogue, ranging from £5.99 to £9.99. For a bespoke CD, the price is typically £10.99 for as much as you can fit on the disc. However, if you have a particular requirement for a small amount of material on a CD, please ask us for a price. Back to Top
Look here to hear an example! Your line is always played by an instrument. If your part is instrumental, it will of course match the instrument you're playing. If your part is vocal, it will be taken by a wind instrument - see below for a list of the sounds we use. You'll notice that your part is louder than the others. Also, if you're playing the CD on stereo equipment you'll hear that your part is on the extreme right-hand side of the audio mix. The other chorus (or ensemble) parts are normally on the left, and the accompaniment and/or soloists, where present, are in the centre. Where your part enters at the start of the piece or very close to it, you'll also normally hear a couple of lead-in bars giving pitch and tempo indications. Back to Top
When you're at the early stages of "notebashing", you'll probably want to adjust your stereo balance control towards the right, to emphasise your part even more strongly. As you learn your part, move it to the centre to give a more balanced mix. To eventually test yourself, try moving the balance to the extreme left to see whether you can hold your part against all the others! Back to Top
Which instrument plays my vocal part? A soprano part is played by a Flute, an alto part by a Clarinet, a tenor part by an Oboe, and a bass part by a Bassoon. Back to Top
My part splits into "firsts" and "seconds Here we produce different versions, emphasised for each part. Normally, we will produce just ONE variant of the CD for your entire section, with alternate tracks for you to use depending on whether you're a "first" or "second". Occasionally, though, this duplication means that we physically can't fit all the tracks onto a single audio CD, and then we'll produce an entirely different CD for the "firsts" and "seconds" - make sure you order the right one! Back to Top
Our choral score has a choice of languages One of the advantages of using instrumental sounds rather than real voices is that the CD is reasonably neutral so far as language is concerned. However, there ARE occasions where the details of the word-setting differ slightly between translations. By default, we always produce a work using the setting for the "native" language - that is, the language in which the work would have been ORIGINALLY performed. If you particularly want a rehearsal CD for a different word-setting, please enquire, and we will do our best to help you. Back to Top
Can I design my own "compilation" CD? Yes, by all means, so long as we can fit all the works onto a standard 80-minute audio CD! (To give you some idea, approximate durations are given in our catalogue - but remember to allow a two-second gap between tracks.) Look here to see how the order process works. Back to Top
Will you create a new work for me? That's what we're here for! Please mail us as much information as you can muster about the work - at least the title, composer/arranger and publisher. If possible, tell us the ISBN/ISMN number or failing that, the publisher's catalogue number. Note that a work MUST be currently in print for us to consider creating rehearsal material for it - sorry. (The economics of taking on a work which is unpublished or out of print just wouldn't add up, since our chances of ever selling it to anyone else would be too remote.) Look here to see how the order process works. Back to Top
Can you customise tempi of movements? Quite possibly - please give us details of exactly what you want. Back to Top
Will you customise the tuning? If you're performing a Baroque piece in "authentic" style with pitch flatter than modern concert pitch, we can normally accomodate this; just tell us what value you'd like to use for "A"! We can even alter the relative distance between pitches, if you need to practise to a non-standard scale - tell us what you need. Back to Top
Please feel free to make your own copy on tape or other personal medium but, unless we've given you specific permission, please don't duplicate the CD, disseminate it electronically, or use it for public performance or broadcast. The CD contains copyright material; there will always be rights owned by PartAbility and often, rights owned by third-parties such as composers or publishers, to whom we've paid royalty fees. Back to Top
You don't give spoken bar-numbers In the past, we've used rehearsal CDs ourselves which give spoken bar-numbers, but we're in two minds about the value of this. It can be handy very early on in the learning process, but you DO come to rely on it rather than try to count bars or follow the other parts - and you'll probably have to do this in rehearsal, and certainly in concert! If you feel this WOULD be useful, please tell us. If we get enough feedback along these lines we'll reconsider! Back to Top
Tracks are not named in Media Player When it comes to textual information on CDs, Microsoft use one format (Microsoft's!) whereas the rest of the world (including car CD players and DVD players, as well as other media players such as Nero) use CD-Text. We have chosen to follow the industry-standard rather than Microsoft! However, all is not lost. Look on our Links page for a neat piece of freeware which can read all of your CD-Text and export it to Media Player. Back to Top
Firstly, please check that your edition matches the one we've advertised in the catalogue, and for a vocal part, that you're following the setting for the indicated language. Next, please note that we make every effort to ensure an accurate representation of the composer's intentions, to the extent of correcting the occasional obvious error in a published score. Finally, if you spot any error of pitch or rhythm of ours in your part, please let us know. We will gladly replace any CD containing an error, and the first to report an error will also receive a credit-note against a CD in a future order! Back to Top
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