Double bars, and sketching a score...

In music notation, a double barline signifies the end of a piece or a movement and it is a particularly satisfying symbol to draw. One slim, vertical line is followed by a bolder, thicker one immediately adjacent to it. Working with pencil, it takes several strokes before the shape is revealed. It's a lead eating beast, forcing every finish to be a flourish.

I still really like making my manuscript with pencil and paper. Whereas I always "engrave" the final copy of the score in notation software, this manuscript phase is an important stage in composing that teaches me too much to even consider eliding. It is direct, but takes time. It forces me to be organized, but allows me freedom to explore, to make mistakes, to adjust. I make sure that the manuscript is more than just a sketch, too: it is a fully realized score with straight, ruled lines, and well-formed noteheads. Hypothetically, one could perform from the manuscript. Yet it is still an intermediate stage in the composing process, and the final, engraved score almost always has some (at least minor) editorial changes.

This is where I find myself with my current project, a solo guitar piece for the amazing Pablo Gómez Cano. The double barlines have been drawn on the first movement (which I think can be played alone), and I will start the engraving process soon. But not too soon. It's nice to revel in the moment.

Absence, for guitar: 1st movement, last page