The focus of this paper is on the “extended score documentation” of electroacoustic music. Different forms of electroacoustic music need different forms of extended score documentation — there are  examples from our Dutch repertoire. The documentation and publication of electroacoustic music involves fundamental issues like the role of the composer, the identity of the composition and the preservation, repeatability, reproduction or representation of musical compositions. Documentation of electroacoustic music involves ontological questions about the definition of the electroacoustic work, the difference between composition, improvisation, interpretation and performance, the demarcation and intertwining of music and other disciplines, and the articulation and symbolisation of semi-unconscious electroacoustic musical features. The extended score documentation relates to and extends the musical tradition. Although conventional music publishing may not seem to suit the variety of electroacoustic and mixed media music, it is a worthwhile effort to find means of extended score publication that make the works themselves available in the best possible way. Extended score documentation and publication of electroacoustic music is best served by a flexible approach geared to the versatility of this genre.

The paper was written in 2005–06 for the Electroacoustic Music Studies Network Conference 05 at McGill University in Montréal; it was re-published in 2008 in eContact! 10.x in a special issue on archiving and preservation (Canadian Electroacoustic Community). The paper describes the electroacoustic music activities of the Dutch non-profit Music Information Centre and music publisher Donemus and its programme for electro-acoustic music: NEAR (Dutch electro-acoustic repertoire centre).

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