This method was adopted and used widely by a Frenchman, Pierre Attaingnant.Ĭopyright First page from the 'Statute of Anne' The single-impression method eventually triumphed over Petrucci's and became the dominant mode of printing until copper-plate engraving took over in the 17th century. However, this method produced messier results, as the staff lines were often inexactly aligned and looked wavy on the page. With his method, the staff lines, words and notes were all part of a single piece of type, making it much easier to produce. This method produced very clean results, though it was time-consuming and expensive.Īround 1520 in England, John Rastell developed a single-impression method for printing music. The first impression was the staff lines, the second the words, and the third the notes. His printing shop used the triple-impression method, in which a sheet of paper was pressed three times. He flourished by focusing on Flemish works, rather than Italian, as they were very popular throughout Europe during the Renaissance.

His first collection was entitled Harmonice Musices Odhecaton and contained 96 polyphonic compositions, mostly by Josquin des Prez and Heinrich Isaac. The father of modern music printing was Ottaviano Petrucci, a printer and publisher who was able to secure a twenty-year monopoly on printed music in Venice during the 16th century. Hand copying persisted long after the invention of printing and music was widely disseminated in manuscript form well into the 18th century, both in personal copying and scribal publication.Ī page from the Odhecaton Petrucci Examples include the Squarcialupi Codex of Italian Trecento music and the Chantilly Codex of French Ars subtilior music. The few collections of secular music that are extant were commissioned and owned by wealthy noblemen. This was a very labor-intensive and time-consuming process, so it was first undertaken only by monks and priests seeking to preserve sacred music for the church. Prior to 1501, music books were owned by the wealthy or religious institutions, and music had to be learned by ear or copied out by hand. The earliest example, the Mainz Psalter, dates from 1457, and is the second book to be printed on the Gutenberg Press after the Gutenberg Bible.

Music publishing did not begin on a large scale until the mid-15th century, when mechanical techniques for printing music were first developed. This article outlines the early history of the industry. Music publishing is the business of creating, producing and distributing printed musical scores, parts, and books in various types of music notation, while ensuring that the composer, songwriter and other creators receive credit and royalties or other payment (where applicable). ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Ī page from the Mellon Chansonnier (c.1470), prepared for the wedding of Catherine of Aragon JSTOR ( January 2013) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).

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Renaissance sheet music manuscripts