Soundboard: Guidelines for Articles and Proposals to the Quarterly

Soundboard is published quarterly by the Guitar Foundation of America (GFA). The journal serves as the voice of our classical guitar community, featuring content that reflects the community’s professional and creative diversity. Each issue offers a central theme presented in three or more feature articles and/or interviews. When space allows, thematic articles are followed by articles on history, analysis, performance practice; score offerings; an additional interview; or other writings. Each issue also includes columns on such topics as “Pedagogy,” “Technique,” “From the Professional Community,” “Luthier Profiles,” “New Gear,” “Community Service,” “Entrepreneurship,” or “From the Soundboard Archives.” Current news items and reviews of recordings and publications also appear regularly.

Article guidelines are outlined below. Prospective contributors may direct questions, writing proposals, and thoughts to Soundboard editor Bob Ferguson at .

Article Proposals

Please send Bob an email describing the topic of your article. Alternatively, you may send your completed article without any preliminary inquiry. Please do not send rough drafts. Completed articles should be sent as Microsoft Word documents. Each photo, figure, or other graphic accompanying your article should be sent in its own file (see more below under “General Formatting Guidelines”). Resolution of images should equal or exceed 300 dpi.

Guidelines for Length

Feature articles:

·  2,000–4,000 words +

·  Photos, figures, or other graphics.

Score articles (new composition, transcription, etc):

·  One to about eight pages for scores.

·  700–1,500 words for textual introduction to score(s) +

·  Photos, figures, or other graphics.

Columns (Pedagogy, Technique, From the Professional Community, New Gear, etc.):

·  700–2,000 words +

·  Photos, figures, or other graphics.

Interview Articles:

·  2,100–4,000 words +

·  Photos, figures, or other graphics.

News (“Reverberations”):

·  Submit news items to xxxxxxxxxxxxx

General Content Guidelines

·  Articles should interest our membership: performers, teachers, scholars, students, amateurs, luthiers, and industry professionals.

·  Articles should offer original perspectives and information.

·  Articles are not intended for the commercial promotion of products, programs, or

people.

·  Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the material presented and are responsible for obtaining copyright and licensing of scores, exercises, quotations used in the text. The author, not GFA, is liable for any action resulting from the publication of inaccurate information or copyright infringement. Please note that Soundboard issues will also be made available online to members and possibly more widely on the web; and also that they may be sold later in compilation format.

·  The editor requests copies of all releases (print, digital and mechanical) along with submission of the article.

·  Soundboard will not print articles previously published in English. We will consider republishing translated articles in other languages.

·  GFA retains copyrights to articles published in Soundboard unless other arrangements have been make. Permission to reprint must be obtained in writing from the editor.

·  Soundboard style points follow The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition.

General Formatting Guidelines

·  Text: Microsoft Word, no tabs set, no indentations on paragraphs, single spaced with one line in between paragraphs, 10–12 point Times New Roman font.

·  Photos and graphics should be sent as separate files, sent as high res (300

dpi) PDF, greyscale or cymk tiff or eps files.

·  Scores: single page (8.5x11) PDFs: high res, fonts embedded.

·  Score excerpts in a text-based article: Send each separately as high-res PDF.

Figure/example labeling in text

·  Figure 1 (in the body).

·  Figure 1 (as a caption).

Soundboard 2013 - Guidelines for Reviews

CDs and Publications:

·  800 words maximum.

·  The purpose of a review article is to highlight new releases (recordings and

publications) in our professional community. Reviews should focus on the sounds, textures, art, information, and perspectives present in these releases.

·  Soundboard is the voice of our community. As such we ask our reviewers maintain constructive objectivity in their reviews.

·  Reviewers are not obligated to review every item submitted.

Festivals, Masterclasses, Events:

·  300–600 words.

·  One or two photos per article.

·  The purpose of these reviews is to recap the event, offer perspective and context, and provide the reader with information about its happenings, performances, masterclasses, results, etc.

·  Again, reviewers should maintain constructive objectivity in their reviews.

·  These reviews should not be an advertisement for a follow-up event or an

endorsement of a particular performer or person.

“New Gear”:

·  300–400 words.

·  One photo per article.

·  This type of article is to be informative rather than “thumbs up/thumbs down.”

·  Many of our potential authors in the guitar community endorse strings/gear or use one brand exclusively. Therefore, we ask that our authors disclose their affiliations and/or preferences to the editor before writing their article. Performers

with an endorsement contract will not be asked to write reviews of products in that category.