Music Vs Italic Nib

[royter]

Apart from the 3 tines of a music nib, is there any difference between a music nib and say a crisp italic or stub nib? It seems to me they both achieve the same thing, namely, thick lines on vertical strokes (in relation to the nib not the page) and thin on horizontal strokes.

[Anton Emdin]

I'm no expert, but in my experience italics have sharper edges, creating a crisper line. Cursive Italics are a bit smoother. Musics are like very broad stubs. They were literally designed for writing sheet music (quavers, notes etc.)

 

And there are two-tined music nibs to make things even more difficult!

[Tsujigiri]

For calligraphy, you'd want a sharp edge to make the precise line variation. For everyday writing, the edges are rounded to make the pen smoother. Music, stub, and cursive italic nibs belong to the latter group. So a Music nib would be like a stub, but not a crisp italic.

[royter]

Sorry in the original post I meant to say cursive italic rather than crisp italic (my excuse is they both start with c!). So would it be fair to say a music nib is just a cursive italic or stub which is just sized appropriately for writing sheet music? Or are they actually ground differently in some way to a cursive italic or stub?

[The Grim Sheaffer]

I have read that Music nibs are wet and juicy nibs, the composer would have been a able to put them down, tinker on the keyboard and expect it write straight off when he picks it up again. There is a bit of flex as well to make the nib softer - easier to write on an uneven surface.

 

I don't know if this is true however. If you look at a music score it has thin down strokes and fat horizontal strokes. Should an Arabian nib then not be used.

 

A broad curvasive Italic with some flex will give more line variation with all the advantages of a music nib.

 

Pilot music nib

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_jh-xbbONKvw/SrCtLKdTLlI/AAAAAAAAAzY/eSxtApGE1ZE/s800/IMG_1627.JPG

 

 

Curvasive Italic with flex

 

 

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_jh-xbbONKvw/Sq6wEGoSNAI/AAAAAAAAAuI/S3exIHDokAw/s800/IMG_1585.JPG

[Anton Emdin]

Sorry in the original post I meant to say cursive italic rather than crisp italic (my excuse is they both start with c!). So would it be fair to say a music nib is just a cursive italic or stub which is just sized appropriately for writing sheet music? Or are they actually ground differently in some way to a cursive italic or stub?

 

Check out Richard Binder's page on nib nib basics. I'm pretty sure the music is closer in shape to the stub than the italic, but any nib grinders out there, please feel free to correct me.

[Inka]

Not all Music nibs have more than one slot, some do merely to allow for the extra flow of ink to the page.

Speaking of R.B.s' nib information, this is a drawing/example of what he refers to as ...

 

a Music nib...

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/ref/glossary/music_shape.jpg

 

This is his diagram of a Crisp Italic...

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/ref/glossary/crisp_italic_shape.jpg

 

This is his diagram of a Cursive Italic...

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/ref/nib_primer/cursive_italic_shape.jpg

 

This is his Stub diagram...

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/ref/glossary/stub_shape.jpg

 

As you can see in his diagrams, the Music nib has a more sloping, gentle grind, so someone say standing at a podium can use the nib tip at a higher angle, say for drawing musical notes on a page of sheet music.

This is Richards' definition of a Music nib....

 

Music nib: A nib that is relatively flexible and has a tip shaped like a broad stub italic with very soft edges ... to allow for extreme freedom of use, especially at very high angles of elevation relative to the paper, as when a composer or arranger writes on the music desk while sitting at a piano. Music nibs often have three tines to support a very heavy flow. See also italic, nib, stub.

 

So you see while a Music nib can achieve the same or similar results to say a Stub or Cursive Italic,it is more specialized than either in that it's made for more extreme angle variation of nib to the page when writing.

I hope this helps.

[bwidjaja]

This topic is something I have been pondering recently. So this means that if I am not planning to use the pen at different angles, music nib will not provide much difference as compared to a cursive italic? (other than being more wet)

[Sandy1]

This topic is something I have been pondering recently. So this means that if I am not planning to use the pen at different angles, music nib will not provide much difference as compared to a cursive italic? (other than being more wet)

Hi,

 

In the linked Post, there are samples from a Sailor 2-tine MS nib, and a 1.0 Stub: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/169539-sailor-sapporo-broad-vs-music-nib/page__view__findpost__p__1696700

 

The Cursive italic is much sharper than an MS nib. i.e. The line-width ratio of down-strokes to narrow side-strokes is greater.

 

Bye,

S1

[*david*]

Not every writer of music will have the same favourite pen either. I would say, don't bother with music nibs unless you're actually writing music. And if you ARE writing music but want to improve your skills and procedures, then get the excellent book Music Notation by Gardner Read. His music-obsessiveness makes our pen-obsessiveness look half-hearted and lazy. (not to mention his self-obsessiveness)

 

Writing text with a music nib is like pounding nails with a screwdriver - sure you can get the job done, but why not use the right tool?