This new volume from the series Compendiums Music presents, for the first time within the German-speaking world, a handbook that offers beginners a comprehensive insight into the current state of the long-standing music philology and can also serve as a basis for further discourse among professionals. Starting from the common types of editions, the functions of various manuscript and printed sources are introduced, specifics of the transmission of musical texts are discussed, and fundamental questions of musical textual criticism are addressed. Philological core terms are elucidated through a glossary. The focus of the anthology, which has largely been written by contributors working at music editing institutes, is on editorial practice.