Here is a chart with strange notation at the top. "8/5 circle 41". I don't know what it means, though I have asked numerous old timers, from Boston to Louisiana to Los Angeles, but the notation shows up nationwide on various charts. Different numbers, similar style. This particular chart has probably been handed around in the Boston area for decades, but I have Dave Pell charts with similar notation and those are from the other coast. I have heard every speculation, but not one person has been able to say for sure by personal experience.
chart hieroglyphics
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baileyman
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chart hieroglyphics
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boneapart
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Re: chart hieroglyphics
I can tell you what that means and who wrote that "code." A chart so designated came from the collection of Charles Anderson, a California native who managed to assemble thousands of arrangements of various sizes and provided them to band leaders and the general public. As for the numbers, 8 - 5 - 41, the first means that the arrangement is for 8 brass, the second mean it's for 5 saxophones, and the third means it's 41 pages in length.
Aside from collecting charts, Charles Anderson also assembled a gigantic fake book, primarily of early jazz material. On my bookshelf, it consumes about 2-1/2 linear feet. Much of it was transcribed from early recordings. I may have done as many as a hundred of the transcriptions myself. I still have stacks and stacks of cassettes he sent me for that purpose. Before he died, about 15 years ago, Anderson passed the body of his work on to another Californian, so it's still possible to access his collections today. If anyone wants additional information, I can provide it.
Aside from collecting charts, Charles Anderson also assembled a gigantic fake book, primarily of early jazz material. On my bookshelf, it consumes about 2-1/2 linear feet. Much of it was transcribed from early recordings. I may have done as many as a hundred of the transcriptions myself. I still have stacks and stacks of cassettes he sent me for that purpose. Before he died, about 15 years ago, Anderson passed the body of his work on to another Californian, so it's still possible to access his collections today. If anyone wants additional information, I can provide it.
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BGuttman
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Re: chart hieroglyphics
Thanks for that. I should mention that while the 1st trombone was marked that way, the 2nd trombone part was not (I was playing 2nd next to Baileyman). Wonder why it would appear on some parts and not others.
Bruce Guttman
Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra
"Almost Professional"
Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra
"Almost Professional"
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baileyman
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Re: chart hieroglyphics
That's terrific! A complete solution. Thanks much. On to the next thing my leetle brain gets hung up on...
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boneapart
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Re: chart hieroglyphics
Bruce -
Admittedly this is a little more supposition than my previous remark, but here goes . . .
To further elucidate, the "hieroglyphics" Charles Anderson wrote on the charts were strictly for his convenience. (It didn't matter to him that, in writing the code at the top of a chart, he was defacing it.) One might find the code on any of the lead parts, usually first alto, first trumpet, or first trombone. In the earlier days of maintaining his collection, Anderson didn't keep a detailed spreadsheet of all the charts he had collected. However, when he opened up the folder for a particular chart, without thumbing through all the pages, he could immediately see the instrumentation and how many pages he might have to copy.
- boneapart
Admittedly this is a little more supposition than my previous remark, but here goes . . .
To further elucidate, the "hieroglyphics" Charles Anderson wrote on the charts were strictly for his convenience. (It didn't matter to him that, in writing the code at the top of a chart, he was defacing it.) One might find the code on any of the lead parts, usually first alto, first trumpet, or first trombone. In the earlier days of maintaining his collection, Anderson didn't keep a detailed spreadsheet of all the charts he had collected. However, when he opened up the folder for a particular chart, without thumbing through all the pages, he could immediately see the instrumentation and how many pages he might have to copy.
- boneapart