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Rating: 
Summary: Where has this book been?
Review: About 95% of everything you need to know about the mechanics of score writing are in this book. If you score on computer, much of this is taken care of for you, but as you create final versions you want 'correct', this book is essential for the many manual placement items as well as stylistically being clear to the modern musician. I wish I'd had this 10 years ago. I read this book from cover to cover and learned a lot. It is brief, to-the-point, and doesn't get distracted by addressing theory or orchestration. It's about the notation, pure and simple. The book is small -- fits into your pocket easily. My single complaint is that the binding is rather cheap. I expect sooner or later pages will begin to come loose - an annoyance for a reference text. On the other hand, at under $10, I guess I can afford to just buy another copy.
Rating: 
Summary: Comprehensive, Accessible, and Essential!,
Review: The 'Essential Dictionary of Music Notation' is in pocket-dictionary style allowing cross-referencing and easy-to-find explanations alphabetically. The range of topics covered is large and the amount of detail useful. It allows the book to be useful both to beginners and to professionals. It forgets that most computers can automatically layout pages correctly, for example, and that some of the theory is nowadays irrelevant. But this is good, and often useful to know when writing by hand and when editing. Illustrations depicts the meaning often. For an example, under 'Articulation' it lists the 5 main types of articulation and then divides them into Durational and Forceful. It then tells you in detail what they all do and how they should be written. Although dynamics are obviously listed in this way, the range and detail of the dynamic, I feel, is inadequate. The book covers traditional notation as well as TAB, and specialist requirements for certain instruments. 351 pages - for the price the dictionary is excellent. Portable and full of information, which can be easily and quickly understood. However, the authors don't try to make out that this guide is all you need to know. A larger book would be more detailed. This is well worth it!
Rating:
Summary: This book may well serve you the rest of your musical life.
Review: This is highly recommended as a quick reference guide on how to produce notation that is correct both in terms of the notational details (exactly when should I alternate stem direction in a divisi passage? When should I use octave signs?) and the overall layout (Where do I put the composer/arranger/lyricist credits?). If you are a composer, you should probably own this book. If you are a music student, you should definitely own this book - you will find it invaluable, and at an excellent price. (Those looking for a much more in-depth discussion of modern music notation conventions should search for Kurt Stone's 'Music Notation in the Twentieth Century'.)
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