Product Categories

In Chordata, Products are categorized by three separate fields, each acting as a hierarchical tree. When combined, they are able to accurately describe a product in three separate ways: what instruments are needed to perform the piece of music, what kind of notation or content is contained in the product, and what physical format the product takes. Each tree progresses from broad to more specific with each level.

Each category tree is outlined below. Items colored red cannot be selected as the last level in a category selection and must include a higher level of specificity. Example: Music > Set is not a valid category selection; it must be Music > Single Work > Set.

Forces

The Forces category tree describes what instruments or ensemble is needed to perform a piece. The tree generally follows description by number and gets more specific at lower levels. Several common Classical Music ensembles are outlined explicitly given their ubiquity in most publisher catalogs. We have strived to eliminate ambiguity among the categories, i.e. forcing a product to be a member of one category, and only one. But sometimes this isn’t possible, especially in the Chamber section. These ambiguities will be pointed out in the tables below.

Category Forces

Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Chamber	Solo	Accompanied^[1]	Woodwinds
			Brass
			Percussion
			Fretted Strings
			Strings
			Vocal
		Unaccompanied^[2]	Woodwinds
			Brass
			Percussion
			Fretted Strings
			Strings
			Vocal
		Piano and Keyboard
	Duet^[3]	Woodwinds
		Brass
		Percussion
		Fretted Strings
		Strings
		Vocal
		Piano and Keyboard	Two Pianos
		Piano and Keyboard	Piano, Four Hands
		Piano and Keyboard
		Mixed^[4]
		Flexible^[5]
	Trio	Woodwinds
		Brass
		Percussion
		Fretted Strings
		Strings
		Vocal^[6]
		Piano and Keyboard
		Mixed
		Flexible
		Piano Trio^[7]
		String Trio^[8]
	Quartet	Woodwinds
		Brass
		Percussion
		Fretted Strings
		Strings
		Vocal^[9]
		Piano and Keyboard
		Mixed
		Flexible
		Woodwind Quartet^[10]
		Flute Quartet^[11]
		Saxophone Quartet^[12]
		Brass Quartet^[13]
		String Quartet^[14]
		Piano Quartet^[15]
	Quintet	Woodwinds
		Brass
		Percussion
		Fretted Strings
		Strings
		Vocal^[16]
		Piano and Keyboard
		Mixed
		Flexible
		Woodwind Quintet^[17]
		Brass Quintet^[18]
		String Quintet^[19]
		Piano Quintet^[20]
	Sextet or Larger	Woodwinds
Brass
Percussion
Fretted Strings
Strings
Vocal^[21]
Piano and Keyboard
Mixed
Flexible
Flute Ensemble^[22]
Saxophone Ensemble^[23]
Choral	A cappella^[24]	Unison and Two-Part Mixed Chorus
		Three-part Mixed Chorus
		Mixed Chorus
		Treble Chorus
		Men’s Chorus
	Accompanied^[25]	Unison and Two-Part Mixed Chorus
		Three-part Mixed Chorus
		Mixed Chorus
		Treble Chorus
		Men’s Chorus
Opera	Full Orchestra^[26]
Opera	Chamber^[27]
Orchestra	Chamber Orchestra^[28]	Concerto
	Chamber Orchestra
	Full Orchestra^[29]	Concerto
	Full Orchestra
	String Orchestra^[30]	Concerto
	String Orchestra
Band	Concert Band^[31]	Concerto
	Concert Band
	Wind Ensemble^[32]	Concerto
	Wind Ensemble
	Brass Band^[33]	Concerto
	Brass Band
	Jazz Band^[34]	Concerto
	Jazz Band
	Marching Band^[35]

1. ^ For solos with an accompaniment part. Accompaniment is defined as a subservient keyboard instrument, such as piano, organ, harpsichord, or harp.
2. ^ For solos without any accompaniment part.
3. ^ Duet is defined as two instruments/voices of equal weight. Solo pieces for an instrument and piano should instead go in Solo Accompanied.
4. ^ Mixed is an ensemble that takes instruments from multiple sections.
5. ^ Flexible is an ensemble that has multiple options for instruments.
6. ^ This should be vocal solos. Ensemble works go under choral.
7. ^ A specific, traditional ensemble of Violin, Cello, and Piano
8. ^ A specific, traditional ensemble of Violin, Viola, and Cello
9. ^ A specific, traditional ensemble of Four Vocal Parts
10. ^ A specific, traditional ensemble of Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon
11. ^ A specific, traditional ensemble of Four Flutes of various sizes
12. ^ A specific, traditional ensemble of Four Saxophones, usually SATBar or AATBar
13. ^ A specific, traditional ensemble of Trumpet 1, Trumpet 2, Horn, Trombone
14. ^ A specific, traditional ensemble of Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello
15. ^ A specific, traditional ensemble of Violin, Viola, Cello, and Piano
16. ^ A specific, traditional ensemble of Five Vocal Parts
17. ^ A specific, traditional ensemble of Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon
18. ^ A specific, traditional ensemble of Trumpet 1, Trumpet 2, Horn, Trombone, Tuba (or Bass Trombone)
19. ^ A specific, traditional ensemble of Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Violoncello 1, Violoncello 2 OR Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola 1, Viola 2, Violoncello
20. ^ A specific, traditional ensemble of Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Violoncello, and Piano
21. ^ A specific, traditional ensemble of Six Vocal Parts
22. ^ A specific, traditional ensemble of various Flutes
23. ^ A specific, traditional ensemble of various Saxophones
24. ^ Choral works that have no accompaniment (voices only)
25. ^ Choral works that have some sort of accompaniment, even if only optional
26. ^ A dramatic staged work with vocalists and orchestral accompaniment
27. ^ A dramatic staged work with vocalists and a chamber ensemble accompaniment
28. ^ A smaller ensemble that still covers the full gamut of orchestral sections, usually defined by the composer or editor, especially when in comparison to another, full orchestra version, of the same piece
29. ^ An orchestra of winds, brass, percussion and strings; necessary choral parts may be disregarded or included here (i.e. Ravel Daphnis, Debussy Sirens, Holst Planets, Mahler Symphony No. 2)
30. ^ An orchestra of only string instruments
31. ^ An ensemble of winds and percussion, usually doubled
32. ^ As defined by Frederick Fennell, a non-doubling concert band of higher caliber
33. ^ An ensemble of brass and percussion, in the British or Salvation Army tradition
34. ^ An ensemble of saxophones, brass, and rhythm section, in the jazz tradition
35. ^ An ensemble of winds and percussion that marches in formation

Format

The Format category tree describes the physical form of the product. For the most part, this is a summary of the “Print Specs” of the product, however it also describes if the piece is digital rather than literally printed, or contains additional digital materials. It may be helpful to think of this as describing the paper of a product.

Category Format

Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4	Level 5
Book^[36]	Cover^[37]	Saddle Wire Stitch	With Insert^[38]	With CD or DVD^[39]
			With Insert^[38]	With Download^[40]
			With Insert
			With CD or DVD
			With Download
		Saddle Wire Stitch
		Perfect Bound	With Insert	With CD or DVD
			With Insert	With Download
			With Insert
			With CD or DVD
			With Download
		Perfect Bound
		Spiral	With Insert	With CD or DVD
			With Insert	With Download
			With Insert
			With CD or DVD
			With Download
		Spiral
	Self-Cover^[41]	Saddle Wire Stitch	With Insert	With Download
			With Insert
			With Download
		Saddle Wire Stitch
		Fold	With Insert	With Download
			With Insert
			With Download
		Fold
	Digital^[42]
Octavo^[43]	Cover	Saddle Wire Stitch	With Download
		Saddle Wire Stitch
		Perfect Bound	With Download
		Perfect Bound
		Spiral	With Download
		Spiral
	Self-Cover	Saddle Wire Stitch	With Download
		Saddle Wire Stitch
		Fold	With Download
		Fold
	Digital
Single Sheet^[44]	Digital
Single Sheet
Folio^[45]
Other	Shrinkwrap^[46]
	CD
	DVD
	Download^[47]
Other^[48]

36. ^ More than one page bound together, usually 9″x12″
37. ^ Has a hardstock cover
38. ^ A book with one or more inserts not bound to the main binding
39. ^ A book with a CD or DVD attached to the inside cover
40. ^ A book with downloadable files available on website
41. ^ Does not have a cardstock cover, usually same paper stock as the guts
42. ^ A digital download of a book
43. ^ An octavo-sized book, usually 6.875″x10.5″
44. ^ A single sheet of paper with no binding; these are usually individual parts with no folds
45. ^ A product with a cardstock jacket and inserts; most large ensemble sets are folios
46. ^ Loose pages that are shrinkwrapped together
47. ^ Some sort of file that is sold
48. ^ Any other products that cannot be categorized

Function

The Function category tree describes the content of the product. The tree is broadly split into Music, Text, and other, and then describes the type of music or text work respectively that this product is functioning as. For example, a full score would be marked as such here, in contrast to a single part, or a text libretto, which all may have the same Format category, but have vastly different Function categories. It may be helpful to think of this as describing what is printed on the paper of a product.

Category Function

Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Music^[49]	Single Work^[50]	Score	Full^[51]
			Large^[52]
			Study^[53]
			Condensed^[54]
			Performance^[55]
			Vocal Score^[56]
			Piano Reduction^[57]
		Set	Score and Parts^[58]
			Set of Performance Scores^[59]
			Set of Parts^[60]
		Part^[61]
	Single Work
	Collection^[62]	Score	Full
		Score	Condensed
		Score
		Set	Score and Parts
			Set of Performance Scores
			Set of Parts
		Part
	Collection^[63]
	Methods and Studies^[64]
Text^[65]	Textbook^[66]	Workbook^[67]
		Student Book^[68]
		Teacher Book^[69]
	Textbook
	Libretto^[70]
	Worship Planner^[71]
Text
Other	Media	Video	DVD
		Video	Digital
		Audio	CD
		Audio	Digital
	Media^[72]
	Teaching Material^[73]
	Promo^[74]
Other^[75]

49. ^ A product where the dominant form of content is music notation
50. ^ A product where the dominant form of content is text
51. ^ A product that contains a single work of music
52. ^ A product that contains multiple works of music. They can be related to each other (i.e. Set of Etudes) or not (Assorted Progressive Solos)
53. ^ A score with all instruments shown on many staves
54. ^ The full score, but on larger paper, usually for easier conducting
55. ^ The full score, but on smaller paper, usually too small for conducting
56. ^ A score with a few staves and instruments reduced
57. ^ A score intended to be performed from by a player other than a conductor. Most often seen in chamber works where all players get all parts
58. ^ A score intended to be used by vocalists in a performance. Most often seen in works for chorus and orchestra
59. ^ A score intended to be played by the conductor at the keyboard
60. ^ A complete set, with scores and parts included
61. ^ A complete set comprised of a set of performance scores
62. ^ A set of parts, not including a score. Typically chamber like String Quartet
63. ^ An individual part
64. ^ Any other types of score for a collection of pieces
65. ^ A book intended for education or training of a musician that has a majority of music
66. ^ A book intended for education but with a majority of text
67. ^ A book that supports a textbook with additional work or exercises
68. ^ A student version of a textbook
69. ^ A teacher’s version of a textbook, usually containing supplemental materials
70. ^ A text copy of the words from an opera or other large vocal work
71. ^ A calendar planner for church/liturgical use
72. ^ Media that cannot be categorized otherwise. (e.g. VHS)
73. ^ Products intended for teaching or education but are not books, i.e. flash cards
74. ^ Products that are promotional in nature
75. ^ A catch-all for any uncategorized product