For the record: what exactly is a musical score?

A musical score is essentially a set of instructions for the performance a piece of music. These instructions most often involve a particular specialised language, or notation. European musical notation - consisting of the familiar note heads, bar lines, clefs and so forth - is by no means the only form of notation. Nonetheless, it’s the most widely recognised and arguably the most developed system we know of. It has at least a 1000-year history and is very much still evolving. Like any language, there are numerous variations, idioms and dialects that can be confusing even for those who believe themselves able to read music. No single person created this language, and no single authority is in a position to maintain it (even if certain people claim some sort of authority). Instead, music notation has continuously developed to address the needs of different instruments, different styles and different contexts. Finally, like any language, European notation has its limitations, and there have been repeated attempts by composers to improve this system, or even reinvent it. Graphic notation is one of those many attempts.