Sheet music is printed on thin paper that yellows, and a song usually runs over several pages. We frame single pages, open spreads and sets of pages on acid-free board.
We frame sheet music: the song from a first dance, a score signed by its composer or performer, vintage song sheets with illustrated covers, a handwritten manuscript. Printed music was made to stand on a music stand, be marked in pencil and be replaced, so the paper is thin and often acidic. Framing it means choosing which pages show, holding them with no glue and filtering the light. The work is done at 1242 Davie Street.
Which pages to show
A song usually runs over several pages, so you choose what shows.
The first page. It carries the title, the composer's name and the opening bars, so it is the page most people recognise.
The cover. Vintage song sheets have illustrated covers, and a cover can be framed as a picture.
An open spread. Two facing pages, shown as the music lay open on the stand. A folded sheet stays whole, and the fold shows as a line down the centre.
Several pages in one mat. Every page of a short song in a row or a grid, each in its own opening. A mat is a border of card with openings cut in it.
A chosen passage. The page with the line of the song that matters to you, placed so that line falls near the centre.
A page printed on both sides shows one side. To show every page of a song printed on both sides, you need two copies, or printed copies of the hidden sides.
How the paper is held
A single sheet is hinged: small tabs of thin paper fix its top edge to the backing board, and the sheet hangs free. A whole booklet with staples rests in a recess, a shallow space cut to its size in the board, and lifts out later with its staples in place. The board and the mat are acid-free, made so they stay free of the acid that browns paper. Pencil fingerings and a teacher's notes in the margins are part of the page, and the mat opening can be cut wide enough to show them. The page keeps its full size, because the frame is cut to the page.
A drawing is held with the same care as a sheet of music, with acid-free board behind it. The Forgotten Melody, a coloured pencil drawing on artboard, 30 by 40 cm, shows a woman in a red dress at a piano overgrown with green plants.
Glazing means the sheet of glass or acrylic at the front of the frame. We recommend UV glazing, which filters ultraviolet light, the part of daylight that causes the most fading and yellowing. A signature in pen on a score fades sooner than the printed notes, and a manuscript written in ink fades as well. Hang the frame away from direct sun. If the piano stands near a window, check where the sun falls during the day before you choose the wall. Our guide to UV glass and glazing lists the types.
Music with a photograph or a record
The first page of a first-dance song can share a mat with a wedding photograph, each in its own opening, as described under wedding keepsake framing. A song sheet can also be framed with the record of the same song, the sheet behind one opening and the disc or sleeve in a recess beside it. That frame is deeper, and our record framing page explains how the disc is held. A signed score follows the rules on our autograph framing page.
Original or printed copy
A new copy of a song, bought or printed for the frame, is easy to replace. A manuscript, a signed score or a sheet from a relative's piano bench is a single original. For an original you still play from, a print shop can make a copy for the frame, or the original can be hinged so it comes out when you need it.
A painting is a single original, like a manuscript. Weightless Farewell, an acrylic on canvas in black and white, 30 by 40 cm, shows a flying saucer and a beam of light above a woman in a white gown, and it comes from our gallery.
The outer size, the number of openings in the mat, the glazing and the moulding, the shaped length of wood or metal the frame is cut from. Six pages in one mat make a wide frame with six openings to cut. You get the quote at the counter when we have seen the music.
What to bring or send
Bring the music flat in a folder, with every page, and mark the pages you want shown with a slip of paper. If you live outside Vancouver, send the page size, the number of pages and a photograph. Old printed pages of other kinds are covered under newspaper and magazine framing.
Walk in at 1242 Davie Street during opening hours. Enter your email on this page for a 10% framing code to show at the shop, and see custom framing for everything else we frame.
How it works
1
Bring it in, or send photographs
Walk in to 1242 Davie Street during opening hours. If you are not in Vancouver, send the dimensions and a photograph and we will work from that.
2
We look at the actual piece
What it is made of, what condition it is in, and where it is going to hang all change the answer. You get a straight recommendation and a price for your piece, not a rate card.
3
It is made by hand and fitted
Cut to the piece, using conservation materials, and finished with hanging hardware rated for the actual weight.
Common questions
Which page of a song should I frame?
The first page of a song is the usual page to frame, because it carries the title, the composer's name and the opening bars. A vintage song sheet is often framed for its illustrated cover. You can also choose the page with the line that matters to you, or show every page of a short song in one mat with several openings.
Can several pages of sheet music be framed in one frame?
Yes, several pages of sheet music can be framed in one frame, each behind its own opening in a single mat. The pages are placed in reading order, in a row or a grid. Pages printed on both sides show one side each, so a song of four printed sides needs two copies of the music, or printed copies of the hidden sides.
Can sheet music be framed open as a two-page spread?
Yes, sheet music can be framed open as a two-page spread. A folded sheet stays whole, and its fold shows as a line down the centre. The mat opening is cut to the full width of the two pages, and the sheet is hinged along its top edge to acid-free board. A stapled booklet rests open in a recess cut to its size.
Will pencil marks on old sheet music stay visible in the frame?
Yes, pencil marks on old sheet music stay visible in the frame. Fingerings, breath marks and a teacher's notes are left as they are, and the mat opening can be cut wide enough to show notes in the margins. Pencil smudges when it is rubbed, so the glazing is kept off the page, and UV glazing slows the yellowing of the paper.
How do I frame a signed score?
A signed score is framed with the signed page showing, hinged at its top edge to acid-free board behind UV glazing. A pen signature fades in daylight sooner than printed notes, so the glazing and a shaded wall both matter. No glue or heat is used on the page. A score that is a booklet rests whole in a recess, open at the signature.
Can sheet music be framed with a wedding photograph?
Yes, sheet music can be framed with a wedding photograph behind one mat with two openings. The first page of the first-dance song takes one opening and the photograph takes the other, and both are cut in one sheet of mat board. A small third opening can hold a card with the date. Bring the printed photograph and the music together.
Is old sheet music paper too fragile to frame?
Old sheet music paper can be framed even when it is yellow and brittle at the edges. The backing board supports the whole sheet, and hinges at the top edge hold it with no glue. A mat can overlap chipped edges by a narrow strip. Bring the music flat in a folder, and turn the pages as few times as you can on the way.
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We frame, stretch canvas and reframe by hand, in our own workshop inside the gallery at
1242 Davie Street. Enter your email and your code appears right here. Show it at the
counter and we take 10% off the job. The code does not expire.
Send the measurements, what it is made of, and a photograph. We will tell you what it actually needs, including when the answer is that it needs less than you expected.
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