User:Bobnotts/Help:Contributing to CPDL

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How can I post my own scores?

If you have created your own edition of a public domain score, you can post it to CPDL and make it available to other users:

However, before following the above link, you will probably find it useful to read the score submission guide. If this is the first time that you are submitting an edition to CPDL, reading this page is highly recommended.

If you add a large batch of scores or make other significant large-scale changes, please consider making a note on the ChoralWiki:Current events page to alert other users.

How can I add a text or translation?

CPDL is a wiki site, which means anyone can edit it. So you add a text or translation simply by clicking the 'edit' tab at the top of the page, then typing (or pasting) the text and saving the page.

That's it!


If you are more familiar with the wiki format, you can use a few extra tricks when adding a text or translation. This saves other editors a little work.

So, in addition to typing the text, you should also:

  1. Remove the line that reads '{{NoText}}'.
  2. Delete 2 lines (if necessary). These are obsolete lines from a long time ago. They do not even appear in wiki pages, due to the 'Commenting characters' '<!-- ' and ' -->'.
    • '<!-- <b>Original text: </b> -->' becomes '<b>Original text: </b>'
    • '<!-- <b>Translation(s): </b> -->' becomes '<b>Translation(s): </b>'
  3. Add a language template at the top of the text that corresponds to the text or translation that you have added (i.e. {{Text|Latin}}, {{Translation|English}}, {{Translation|Dutch}}, etc.)

You also may wish to check out some wiki formatting commands such

  • <br> - line break
  • '' - italics (2 single quotes)
  • : - indent

How can I correct an error I've spotted?

CPDL is a wiki, which means that any user can edit it. If you notice a mistake on a CPDL page (wrong voicing, wrong composer, whatever), it's easy to correct it.

Above the title of each page is a row of tabs marked 'Article', 'Discussion', 'Edit this page' and so on. Clicking the 'Edit this page' tab displays the source code for the page in question.

If you want to make changes, you should:

  1. Enter the changes you wish in the source code.
  2. Click on 'Show preview' to review your changes and check how they look on the original page.
  3. Add a short note in the 'Summary' box explaining your changes (also, if you are not logged in as a registered user, please identify yourself in the 'Summary' box). If you are not satisfied with your changes, you can go back to (1) to make more changes, (2) to 'Show preview', and (3) add a summary (if you haven't already).
  4. Once you are satisfied with your edit and how it will appear, click on 'Save page' to make your changes permanent (at least until someone makes a subsequent edit).

Your changes will be visible immediately to everyone who visits CPDL. Users will also be able to view the history of changes made to the page and will themselves be able to make edits to your edits. That way, over time, the site becomes gradually more accurate and more comprehensive.

If you add a large batch of scores or make other significant large-scale changes, please consider making a note on the ChoralWiki:Current events page to alert other users.

Quick guide to source code

When you edit a page, what you're actually editing is the source code that generates the page. Most of the time, the source code looks pretty similar to the content of the page itself, and you can modify, delete or add to it simply by typing in the normal way. However, there are a few extra elements which you can use to improve the page.

  • Wiki links: These are words that appear blue and underlined, and which link to other CPDL pages when you click on them. When you edit the source code for a page, you can make any word into a wiki link simply by putting two square brackets on either side: [[ at the start and ]] at the end. For instance, if you type [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]] in the source code, the page will display Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as a wiki link.
By default the text that is displayed is the same as the link: if you wanted to link to the page given above, but didn't want Mozart's full name to appear on screen, then in the source code, after you type the opening square brackets and the page title you wish to link, e.g. [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – you should then type the pipe character (which appears as a vertical bar, " | " ), followed by the text you wish to appear on screen, and then typing the closing square brackets ]]. For example, [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] links to the same page as above, but only displays the linking text Mozart.
  • Internet links ('real' links): These are ordinary links that point to websites elsewhere on the internet (as opposed to just within CPDL). CPDL displays these in blue and with a little jumping arrow sign like this. To create these links, simply enclose the web address in single square brackets, like this: [http://www.sheetmusicplus.com]. If you think the bare address looks a bit ugly, you can add a description to display instead. For instance, if you type [http://www.sheetmusicplus.com Sheetmusic Plus website] in the source code, the page will display Sheetmusic Plus website.
  • Inter-wiki links: Some websites affiliated with CPDL can be linked by a shorthand method: for example, rather than specifying the full URL for Abel di Marco's Cantoral website (http://www.pucpr.edu/diocesis/14cantoral.html), the site can be referred to succinctly as [[cantoral:|Cantoral web site]], which produces Cantoral web site. Likewise, specific pages on some of these affiliated websites may also be specified, e.g. [[icking:ByComposer/Lasso.php|Orlando di Lasso work page]]. This technique is described as "inter-wiki" linking: a full list of sites that are interlinked from CPDL will be made available shortly.
  • Italic text: To make a word or phrase italic, type two single quotes '' at the beginning and again at the end. For instance, if you type ''Ave verum'', the page will display Ave verum. (Note that typing two single quotes '' is quite different from typing a double-quote or speech mark " !)
  • Bold text: To make a word or phrase bold, type three single quotes ''' at the beginning and again at the end. For instance, if you type '''Ave verum''', the page will display Ave verum.
  • Headings: To make a word or phrase into a section heading, type two or more equals signs == at the beginning and end of the phrase.

There are many, many more advanced elements of wiki source code which you can use if you like. These are catalogued fairly exhaustively in the help pages for Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia that, like CPDL, is also a wiki.

If you don't have time

If you find an error but don't have time to fix it, it would be helpful if you could mark the page for someone else to fix later. To do this, simply add the following line at the very bottom of the page: {{Cleanup}}. The page will then be listed at Category:Pages awaiting cleanup, an area where contributors can go to while away the hours improving pages on CPDL. If possible, please indicate the problem(s) you found.

What else can I help with?

Volunteers are needed for many different CPDL projects. To find out more, click a link below:


How can I make a donation?

CPDL depends on the donations of many people, in the form of time, skill, server space. Nevertheless, there are fixed costs (software, hardware, access charges). If you'd like to donate to help support CPDL's operations, here's how you can help. Donations will be used to pay the operational costs of running the website.

  • Monetary Donations: Checks can be sent to CPDL at the address below:
CPDL
1442A Walnut St. #212
Berkeley CA 94709
  • Partner Affiliation w/SheetMusicPlus: If you need to buy music that is not available here, click on the SheetMusicPlus link on the bottom of the CPDL main page (or to the right), and 8% of your purchase will go to CPDL.
Smp_logo_assoc_120x60.gif

Where can I discuss CPDL with other users?

CPDL has a set of off-site forums (chat boards, bulletin boards) where you can discuss the website, request scores, make suggestions for change, and generally chat away to your heart's content with other CPDL users.

You need to register separately for the forums, even if you have already registered for the main CPDL site (and vice versa).

These forums are to some extent a transitional provision. In the fullness of time, user discussions will probably be integrated into the main wiki site.

How can I combine different editions of the same work on the same page?

CPDL currently has a problem. Some scores have been temporarily lost during the transfer from the old site format into the new CPDL wiki format. The scores themselves have not been deleted, but the pages that link to them no longer exist, which makes them (almost) inaccessible.

If you're familiar with the wiki format (perhaps from sites like Wikipedia), you could help CPDL enormously by rescuing and reinstating some of those duplicate scores. This is a very involved procedure, and not for the faint-hearted...

How did this happen?

CPDL has always had multiple editions of some scores: for instance, there are lots of versions of Mozart's Ave verum.

When CPDL was first transferred to wiki format, every score on the old site was tranformed into a page on the new site and then imported. However, when several scores on the old site had exactly the same title and composer (because they were multiple editions of the same score), only one of those scores was transformed into a page.

This means that there are now lots of duplicate scores on CPDL - which are different editions of the same work by the same composer - which have been temporarily lost.

Where can I find a list of duplicated scores?

Right here.

How can I fix one of these problems?

Take a deep breath and have a go at following the instructions below.

Step One

Go to the composer's page - let's say, Josquin des Prez. Let's try to combine all editions of this composer's 'Ave Verum' onto the same page. The composer's page lists 4 entries:

File:Combining different editions 1.JPG

Notice that there are different spellings of the work’s name: "Ave Verum" and "Ave verum". This is important, because it means that there are two different pages on CPDL, one per spelling. The first is named 'Ave Verum (Josquin des Prez)' and the second is named 'Ave verum (Josquin des Prez)'. Each page has different information on it.

Note: Just to be awkward, some composers made multiple different settings of the same text during their lifetimes. Before you continue, you should be sure that the duplicate scores you're working with really are duplicate scores, i.e. different editions of the same work. You could try opening the pdf or source files on separate windows to compare them.
Also: Arrangements for a different number of voices or transpositions are considered to be duplicates, and should be listed on the same page as the original.
Also: sometimes the same work is listed under two different, but similar, titles.

Step Two

OK. Since we have 2 different spellings, we'll have to go into these two pages.

When you click on the first of the list, "Ave Verum", you go to the "Ave Verum (Josquin des Prez)" page that has the catalogue number CPDL #3317. Here it is:

File:Combining different editions 2.JPG

Step Three

Go to the history tab. A list of all the versions that this page has had appears. Click on the oldest version, at the bottom of the list.

File:Combining different editions 3.JPG

Now the page that appears has a different catalogue number: CPDL #1281. This is one of our elusive missing scores!

File:Combining different editions 4.JPG

Step Four

Click on edit this page and copy the information that appears between the following two lines: ==Music files== and ==General information==. Paste this into a spare text file for future use. Don’t save the page - you haven’t changed anything yet.

File:Combining different editions 5.JPG

Step Five

Go back to the history tab, and check if the next oldest version has a different CPDL number from the oldest, and from the current version of the page. If it has, repeat the process described in Step Four above, copying the relevant information into that same spare text file. You are basically hunting through old versions of the page to find out how many different scores (identified by their different CPDL catalogue numbers) have been lost.

Important: Please take a look at the General Information section of each version, particularly at voicing. If this is different from edition to edition, it would be a good idea to add this information to the Edition notes so it won't get lost in the process of combining editions on the same page.

Step Six

As soon as you have all the information about all music files, you can edit the current version of the page. Just go back to the current version of the page, click on article and then on edit this page. Paste the information you collected on the text file into the section ==Music files==, following the one CPDL catalogue number that already exists. If possible, please list the editions in reverse order, so the most recent edition is on top of the list.

Step Seven

Save the page.

If everything works out all right, then your page should now list all the lost editions, and the links should work. For instance, the "Ave Verum (Josquin des Prez)" page should have, under the Music files heading, these two editions:

CPDL #3317
CPDL #1281

Don't worry if something hasn't worked out right. It's always possible to restore previous versions of the page!

Step Eight

If all is well, now you have to repeat the process of copying the music file information for any other pages which have slightly different spellings in their titles - in our example, for the page that has the name "Ave verum (Josquin des Prez)". Click on its name on the composer's page and repeat the history - edit this page process to collect the information about these editions (CPDL #5197 and CPDL #1952). Paste this information into the section ==Music files== of the "Ave Verum (Josquin des Prez)" that you treated previously. After this, all four editions of this work should be listed on the "Ave Verum (Josquin des Prez)" page:

CPDL #5197
CPDL #3317
CPDL #1952
CPDL #1281

Step Nine

Nearly done! With all the lost scores now recovered, all we need to do is tidy up a few things.

Firstly, we still have two different pages for the same work ("Ave verum (Josquin des Prez)" and "Ave Verum (Josquin des Prez)": different spellings, different pages!), and we also have four entries on the composer's page!

Let's first fix the 2 different pages. on the page that you didn't add the different editions to ("Ave verum (Josquin des Prez")), click on "edit this page". Delete everything and write #redirect[[Ave Verum (Josquin des Prez)]] It has to be the exact name of the page where all the information is. Save the page.

Step Ten

Now go to the composer's page. Edit the page, find the listing of the four works under ==List of choral works==. Keep the one you added the different editions to (the first of the list), delete the other 3 entries and add, on the one that you kept: ''multiple editions available'' (the 2 single quotes '' format the text in italic).

File:Combining different editions 6.JPG

Step Eleven

All done. Thanks a lot!

If you still have doubts and questions, please feel free to post them at the user forum.


I posted scores on the previous site, but now they don't appear on the composer's page. What happened to them?

They're probably still on CPDL, but you can't "see" them.

When CPDL was first transferred to wiki format, every edition was tranformed into a wiki page and imported. The main problem in the transfer occurred when two pieces had the exact same title and composer. Then the wiki page was overwritten and so some editions were lost. Post a message on the CPDL forum "Questions" page with the score specifics, and we'll see it we can make it appear again, or as a last resort, ask you to resubmit it.

If you wish, you can help fix this problem. Check out this help page to see how to contribute.