Due to recent changes and updates, please read the Frequently Asked Questions before going to the order form.
Please note that we are no longer offering paper copies of sheet music; all pieces are available exclusively as PDF documents. If you are interested in purchasing paper copies of the music, please email [email protected].
If you are an educator, please take a moment to read this.
Please note that we are no longer offering paper copies of sheet music; all pieces are available exclusively as PDF documents. If you are interested in purchasing paper copies of the music, please email [email protected].
If you are an educator, please take a moment to read this.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What will the order form do?
A: It will let you specify the sheet music you’d like to order as well as the quantity. You will also enter your name, contact information, shipping and payment preferences, etc. In other words, filling out the order form will provide all of the information we will need to send you an invoice.
Q: What will the order form not do?
A: It will not calculate the total cost, it will not collect your credit card number, and it will not process the payment. In other words, it is not a “shopping cart.”
Q: Why isn't this a more traditional online store?
A: Because, while Chris has been writing music for years, he’s fairly new to the “selling music” thing. Over time, as the business grows, expect the store to becoming more advanced and do more. But in the mean time, this is clean, user-friendly, and it gets the job done.
Q: Why can't I find “Missa Brevis” and “All Flesh is Grass” on the order form?
A: The order form is only for Chris’s pieces that are published by Bickerstaff and Sons (ASCAP), while Missa Brevis and All Flesh is Grass are published by Mark Foster Music. They can be purchased wherever fine sheet music is sold, such as J. W. Pepper.
Q: Why can I only buy PDF documents?
A: Frankly, it’s to save you time and money. [This is Chris talking; enough of the third-person stuff.] When I first started publishing and selling my own music — as I’ll explain a little later, Bickerstaff and Sons is a self-publishing pseudonym — I was basically a self-employed musician. I had the odd job here and there, but mostly, this was it. Now, I’m a (more or less) full-time music minister with a family, and I simply don’t have the time to devote to this that I used to. It takes time to print and ship music, and it’s time that I’d rather spend giving you the best service I can. The easiest, most obvious, and most environmentally conscious way to do this is to sell PDF documents rather than hard copies. But don’t worry; if you really need paper, just email me at [email protected], and we’ll work something out.
Q: What is a limited copy license, and why do some pieces have it while others don’t?
A: A limited copy license is a phrase that will appear on the bottom of each page of some music purchased in PDF format, and it will indicate that you, as the purchaser, have the right to make a certain number of copies of that music. (This is why it’s important that you enter a quantity.) Specifically, it will be on choral music and works for larger ensembles, but it will not appear on art songs, song cycles, or chamber pieces unless you purchase several copies. (Incidentally, for works for larger ensembles, it is not necessary to enter a quantity; parts that may be photocopied, such as string parts, will simply have a limited copy license, while others will not.) Does this sound confusing? Don’t worry, it’s actually pretty intuitive, and if you have any questions, you can always email [email protected].
Q: Can’t I just buy one PDF copy and print several copies?
A: Well, yes, you could, but it’s against the law. When you purchase several copies of music in PDF format, you are essentially purchasing the right to make the specified number of copies of that piece, and there will be a phrase at the bottom of each page (a limited copy license — see above) indicating just that. If you make more than the specified number of copies, you are violating the license agreement, and charges could be pressed. And anyway, why would you want to? Chris is a hard-working independent composer with a wife, a son, and a mortgage (and he’s a nice guy to boot), and when you make unlicensed copies of his music, frankly, you’re stealing from him. So anyway, back to the original question... Can you just buy it once and make copies? Yes, technically, you could, but you’re not that kind of a person, are you?
Q: What is Bickerstaff and Sons?
A: Bickerstaff and Sons (ASCAP) is the publishing pseudonym of Chris Massa. [This is Chris again.] One of my creative influences is the great satirist, Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels and A Modest Proposal. Through his writings and sermons, Swift was able to strike what seems to me to be a near-perfect balance of faith, humor, and activism. These three elements form the philosophical backbone of much of my music. One of Swift’s pen names was Isaac Bickerstaff, so it seemed appropriate to borrow it, to use one of his pseudonyms as one of my own. It sounds official, established, and British, and besides, “Some Guy with a Laser Printer and a Staples® Account” was already taken.
A: It will let you specify the sheet music you’d like to order as well as the quantity. You will also enter your name, contact information, shipping and payment preferences, etc. In other words, filling out the order form will provide all of the information we will need to send you an invoice.
Q: What will the order form not do?
A: It will not calculate the total cost, it will not collect your credit card number, and it will not process the payment. In other words, it is not a “shopping cart.”
Q: Why isn't this a more traditional online store?
A: Because, while Chris has been writing music for years, he’s fairly new to the “selling music” thing. Over time, as the business grows, expect the store to becoming more advanced and do more. But in the mean time, this is clean, user-friendly, and it gets the job done.
Q: Why can't I find “Missa Brevis” and “All Flesh is Grass” on the order form?
A: The order form is only for Chris’s pieces that are published by Bickerstaff and Sons (ASCAP), while Missa Brevis and All Flesh is Grass are published by Mark Foster Music. They can be purchased wherever fine sheet music is sold, such as J. W. Pepper.
Q: Why can I only buy PDF documents?
A: Frankly, it’s to save you time and money. [This is Chris talking; enough of the third-person stuff.] When I first started publishing and selling my own music — as I’ll explain a little later, Bickerstaff and Sons is a self-publishing pseudonym — I was basically a self-employed musician. I had the odd job here and there, but mostly, this was it. Now, I’m a (more or less) full-time music minister with a family, and I simply don’t have the time to devote to this that I used to. It takes time to print and ship music, and it’s time that I’d rather spend giving you the best service I can. The easiest, most obvious, and most environmentally conscious way to do this is to sell PDF documents rather than hard copies. But don’t worry; if you really need paper, just email me at [email protected], and we’ll work something out.
Q: What is a limited copy license, and why do some pieces have it while others don’t?
A: A limited copy license is a phrase that will appear on the bottom of each page of some music purchased in PDF format, and it will indicate that you, as the purchaser, have the right to make a certain number of copies of that music. (This is why it’s important that you enter a quantity.) Specifically, it will be on choral music and works for larger ensembles, but it will not appear on art songs, song cycles, or chamber pieces unless you purchase several copies. (Incidentally, for works for larger ensembles, it is not necessary to enter a quantity; parts that may be photocopied, such as string parts, will simply have a limited copy license, while others will not.) Does this sound confusing? Don’t worry, it’s actually pretty intuitive, and if you have any questions, you can always email [email protected].
Q: Can’t I just buy one PDF copy and print several copies?
A: Well, yes, you could, but it’s against the law. When you purchase several copies of music in PDF format, you are essentially purchasing the right to make the specified number of copies of that piece, and there will be a phrase at the bottom of each page (a limited copy license — see above) indicating just that. If you make more than the specified number of copies, you are violating the license agreement, and charges could be pressed. And anyway, why would you want to? Chris is a hard-working independent composer with a wife, a son, and a mortgage (and he’s a nice guy to boot), and when you make unlicensed copies of his music, frankly, you’re stealing from him. So anyway, back to the original question... Can you just buy it once and make copies? Yes, technically, you could, but you’re not that kind of a person, are you?
Q: What is Bickerstaff and Sons?
A: Bickerstaff and Sons (ASCAP) is the publishing pseudonym of Chris Massa. [This is Chris again.] One of my creative influences is the great satirist, Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels and A Modest Proposal. Through his writings and sermons, Swift was able to strike what seems to me to be a near-perfect balance of faith, humor, and activism. These three elements form the philosophical backbone of much of my music. One of Swift’s pen names was Isaac Bickerstaff, so it seemed appropriate to borrow it, to use one of his pseudonyms as one of my own. It sounds official, established, and British, and besides, “Some Guy with a Laser Printer and a Staples® Account” was already taken.
All set? Then go ahead to the order form.
Any other questions? Feel free to contact [email protected].