Music Scores: To Mark or Not to Mark?

I have always been taught to never write in my music scores in pen. When we were kids,we would only mark in our music in pencil, and then we'd erase all of the markings in the music every time we played for an adjudicator. This way, we'd be more likely to be able to pull the wool over their eyes because we wouldn't tip them off to our problem spots when they saw markings in our music. The sad part about this is that I don't get to have the souvenir of all my teacher's suggestions. One particular teacher made brilliant suggestions in my music, not to mention gorgeous handwriting, but now I don't have her suggestions since I always erased everything before an audition.

Now that I'm in graduate school, I don't see a need for a clean score, unless you just can't stand looking at your handwriting. In fact, at my last jury, I was not required to present scores of any of the music I played. They jury made their decision strictly on the sound and the effectiveness of the performance.

Nowadays, I write all over my music. Sometimes I even use a highlighting marker (Gasp! Yes! Ink!). I particularly like to make a note of fingerings, so I don't have to make them up all over again every time I practice. I think it makes for efficient note learning (especially in my level of playing, where 30 notes per second are flying by). I like to make a note of the harmonies or patterns that are going on in the music, to help me in memorization. These days, I even mark the date I learned a section, or a metronome marking at which I played the section to keep track of my progress. A little marking can be a journal of sorts, right there in your music. I see it as one more way to document all my hours of hard work on this intangible art which exists only in time.