Editor for music texts

If your music dissertation needs editing, count me in

If you have a writing project on a music topic, I can help. I know the language of music. I will edit your music dissertation or thesis, academic paper, or instructional materials for clarity and consistentcy, no matter how complex your topic.

I have a master’s degree in musicology, an editing certificate from Simon Fraser University, and years of experience performing, teaching, and researching music. Let’s discuss your project.

 

Editing music instructional materials

I am a published music educator with 20 years of experience teaching music to children, teens, and adults. I was also a professional musician (guitar player) and have experience playing and teaching many musical styles. If you have instructional materials that need anything from a light copyedit to a total reorganization, contact me. I can also check music notation examples and point out any discrepancies.

Music dissertation and thesis editing

I will edit your music dissertation or thesis so that it is clear, consistent, and error-free. I can also check your tables, figures, and musical examples to ensure their format, capitalization, and punctuation is consistent. Whether you use in-text citations or footnotes, I will ensure their consistency and correctness. I also provide editing for bibliographies.

I am experienced in several major style guides: APA, Chicago, and Turabian. I can also follow your institution’s required style guide.

I have extensive knowledge of numerous areas of music, including jazz music (eras and styles, improvisation, arranging, and pedagogy), music education, guitar playing, music theory and analysis, and many popular Western musics of the twentieth century.

 

Do you need a style sheet?

A style sheet is essential if you want to keep your writing consistent. Style sheets are a handy reference so that you don’t have to constantly look up your chosen rules and preferences. They are also helpful if you have more than one person working on the writing.

The style sheet stipulates how certain elements should be dealt with. For example, a music style sheet can address:

  • the format that will be used for chord symbols, scale degrees, accidentals, and other nomenclature

  • names of musical pieces and whether they should be in italics, quotation marks, or set in Roman type

  • which words should be capitalized

  • the correct spelling for proper nouns and other words that can have multiple spellings

Even if you use a particular style guide, the style sheet means you don’t have to constantly refer to the guide. A style sheet also contains information specific to your writing project that may not be addressed in the style guide.