Hit All the Right Notes with Digital Sheet Music: Despite the Early Difficulties, Printing Technology Had a Profound Effect on the Musical World

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Think for a moment how difficult it was for early printers to produce sheet music. If they were printing a book and a letter didn't line up with other letters in a word, the word was usually still readable, but if they were printing music and a note didn't line up precisely with the musical staff, it would become a different note.

In 1501, the Italian printer Ottaviano Petrucci published Harmonice Musices Odhecaton, the first book of sheet music printed from movable type that included 96 pieces. "Petrucci's printing method produced clean, readable, elegant music, but it was a long, difficult process that required three separate passes through the printing press," according to the Wikipedia entry for sheet music. "Petrucci later developed a process which required only two passes through the press, but was still taxing since each pass required very precise alignment in order for the result to be legible."

Despite the early difficulties, printing technology had a profound effect on the musical world. Sheet music could be distributed more widely, more quickly, more efficiently, and at a lower cost than ever before. Today, digital technology is amplifying the effect. Several Web sites are developing vast collections of sheet music that let musicians worldwide quickly and easily find and print the music …