Editing Sheet music (section)

===Western manuscript notation===
Before the 15th century, Western music was written by hand and preserved in [[manuscript]]s, usually bound in large volumes. The best-known examples of Middle Ages music notation are medieval manuscripts of [[Monophony|monophonic]] [[chant]]. Chant notation indicated the notes of the chant melody, but without any indication of the rhythm. In the case of [[Medieval music|Medieval]] [[polyphony]], such as the [[motet]], the parts were written in separate portions of facing pages. This process was aided by the advent of [[mensural notation]], which also indicated the [[rhythm]] and was paralleled by the medieval practice of composing parts of [[polyphony]] sequentially, rather than simultaneously (as in later times). Manuscripts showing parts together in score format were rare and limited mostly to [[organum]], especially that of the [[Notre Dame school]]. During the [[Middle Ages]], if an [[Abbess]] wanted to have a copy of an existing composition, such as a composition owned by an Abbess in another town, she would have to hire a [[copyist]] to do the task by hand, which would be a lengthy process and one that could lead to transcription errors.

Even after the advent of music printing in the mid-1400s, much music continued to exist solely in composers' hand-written manuscripts well into the 18th century.