Where to put the arranger's name on sheet music and questions about copyright
I arranged a few rounds originally found in Ravenscroft's Pammelia (1609) for personal use and now I am putting together a booklet to share. I am thinking of about putting my name on the arrangements. Where on the page does this go and what information do I include?
In my little singing group I also used rounds from a website - all the music is originally from the 1609 text - that look like they were taken from some kind of unnamed publication and posted. There is no contact information provided. How do I cite these rounds - or do I even need to?
Thank you for your help.
Comments
The traditional place for arranger info is right below the composer, so I normally enter it as part of the same text, which MuseScore places at the upper right of the score by default (the traditional location).
As for citing, that's a tougher question. In the copyright message at the bottom you could include whatever you know, but if it's truly all sourced from material centuries old - not copied from a more modern arrangement that might still be under copyright - there are no specific legal requirements I am aware. That is, *legally*, you could probably even publish a note-for-note copy of a Beethoven piano sonata, put your name on it and never credit Beethoven, and be within your rights. But there is what's legal and what's "right". I say, include whatever info feels right.