‘Music to Play’ Submission Rules

RULES AND GUIDELINES FOR SUBMITTING PIECES FOR “MUSIC TO PLAY”

We are opening our metaphorical doors to all of you composers of solo guitar music out there, if you’d care to submit a piece for publication in CG.

Here are a few ground rules and some of our thoughts:

1. The piece must be no longer than two pages long. (It could also be two one-page linked miniatures.)
2. You must control/own the copyright of the piece (i.e. if it’s available from Les Productions D’Oz or Ut Orpheus or any other publisher, we cannot publish), and you must guarantee that it is original. It does not have to be “current” work of yours to be considered.
3. When you submit a piece, include the full music (ideally in the native Sibelius or Finale format) and also an MP3 recording of the piece being played, whether by you or someone else. No pieces will be considered without the recording. (Video is encouraged, but not required.)
4. We’d also like to know a little about the piece and about you, so please include a paragraph or two about your guitar background, where you live, etc. And if you have any specific suggestions about playing the piece, please include those.
5. Everyone is going to have a different definition of “intermediate” and “advanced.” We’re looking for pieces that will not frustrate most intermediate players, while still offering a satisfying experience for more skilled players.
6. Be selective. Do NOT deluge us with your entire writing output. Please limit submissions to no more than two pieces (one is preferable).
7. Be patient. At this point we have no idea how many pieces will be submitted and how/when we’re going to be able to evaluate them. Running just one piece every three months means that if one of your piece is chosen, it could be a long time before it is printed. Perhaps up the road we will be able to publish more than once piece per issue, but for now assume that is not the case. Also, we’re going to try to vary the styles of pieces we publish, so keep that in mind.

We look forward to hearing what you have to offer, and with any luck, you players (and listeners) will be exposed to some wonderful new pieces. Please email all submissions to: editors.cg@stringletter.com 

—Blair Jackson, Editor, Classical Guitar