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The PSALM Liturgical Music Resource

Standards for Submissions

In order to provide users with the highest quality of sheet music for divine services, material posted on the PSALM Liturgical Music Resource must meet certain standards, established by the Editorial Committee:

  • The score must be accurately titled and attributed according to the titling and attribution standards of the Liturgical Music Resource
  • The score must be musically and notationally correct, accurate, and legible. Preference is given to material that is typeset, using Finale™ by MakeMusic Software or a comparable music typesetting program. Please make use of PSALM's Templates and instructions for formatting typeset music.
  • Although PSALM's policy with regard to translations allows for a number of different styles, the lyrics in the score must be grammatically accurate, correctly punctuated, and, for settings in English, syllabified according to a standard dictionary of the English language. Settings in languages other than English must be phoneticized according to one of several recognized phonetic systems for languages such as Arabic, Church Slavonic, or Greek.
  • In terms of musical style, settings must be appropriate for Orthodox worship.

Material meeting the above criteria is eligible for being posted in one of three areas of the PSALM Liturgical Music Resource.

  • The "Liturgical Music Exchange" -- submissions in this area, having undergone a basic editorial review, are posted for a period of one year, during which time they can be downloaded for free. The submitters receive no royalties.
  • The "Liturgical Music Resource" proper -- submissions in this area, having undergone careful editorial scrutiny, are made available on a permanent basis. Depending on the wishes of the submitter, they are available a) for free; b) for a suggested contribution (shareware principle); c) for a specified download fee.
  • The "Free Liturgical Music Core Library" -- submissions in this area fall into the category of basic resources. Examples are chant melodies transcribed from original sources, prototypes of "model" melodies (prosomoia, podobny), instructional materials for teaching the Eight Tones according to various tonal systems, vocalises, choral warm-ups, pitch-giving patterns, etc.