A music copyist is a person who takes musical scores and rewrites all of
the parts, instrumental and vocal, on manuscript paper exactly as they were
written by the composer or arranger.
Music copyists produce professional-looking handwritten or computer-generated
musical scores for each musician to use and study during rehearsals or performances.
In general, music copyists copy musical parts to produce separate scores for
different parts and correct small, basic mistakes.
The whole score is not always copied. Depending on the job, copyists may
write only specific instrumental parts. Or they may write the lead sheet,
which contains the melody line, chord symbols, and the words to the song,
if there are any.
Most music copyists work as freelancers from their own homes on a contract
basis with composers and arrangers. However, music copyists are occasionally
hired by music publishers, television and recording studios, and performers
to work in-house.