In the quiet, dust-moted sanctuary of the Metropolitan Symphony library, Elias Vance
was a king of paper and ink. As a performance librarian, his job wasn’t just to organize scores—it was to ensure they were actually playable. On his desk lay the MOLA Errata List, a sacred text compiled by the Major Orchestra Librarians' Association (MOLA).
To the uninitiated, the list looked like a dry spreadsheet of typos: Piccolo, m. 132, beat 2: add duration dot. To Elias, it was a map through a minefield.
The orchestra was preparing for a premiere of a rediscovered 1950s suite. The conductor, a man whose temper was as legendary as his baton technique, was already on edge. Elias opened the MOLA Errata List for the piece, his eyes scanning for the "ghost notes"—errors etched into the original plates decades ago that had never been fixed. "Found you," Elias whispered.
Measure 202. The first violins had an E-flat that, according to MOLA’s collective wisdom, should have been an F. If he didn’t mark it now, the rehearsal would grind to a screeching halt tomorrow morning. The conductor would bark, the concertmaster would argue, and twenty minutes of expensive rehearsal time would vanish into the air.
He spent the evening hunched over the desks, a pencil his only weapon. He wasn't just fixing a score; he was preserving the legacy of the music. Every "duration dot" added to a rest and every accidental corrected was a silent contribution to the harmony of the coming night.
The next morning, as the first chord of the suite filled the hall, Elias sat in the back, watching. When measure 202 arrived, the violins soared through a perfect, resonant F. The conductor didn't stop. He didn't even look up.
Elias smiled. In the world of the MOLA Errata List, silence from the podium was the highest form of praise. Mola Errata List
No single official "Mola Errata List" is published by the Guna General Congress. Instead, savvy collectors maintain their own. To start yours:
If you are teaching Mola Mola, ensure you emphasize the difference between Trashing (removing from the game) and Discarding (cycling cards). Mastering when to permanently remove low-weight cards to thin your deck is the key strategic element of the game.
Note: This list is based on the standard rules provided by Japon Brand and community-sourced FAQs. Always refer to the latest official rulebook for definitive rulings.
The Silent Guardian of the Score: The MOLA Errata List In the world of orchestral performance, the distance between a masterpiece and a catastrophe is often just a single misplaced ink stroke. For the audience, the music of Mahler, Stravinsky, or Beethoven feels like a timeless, immutable force. However, for the musicians on stage and the librarians behind the scenes, a musical score is a living document, prone to the same human errors as any complex manuscript. At the center of the effort to ensure "perfect" performances stands the Major Orchestra Librarians' Association (MOLA) and its most essential resource: the MOLA Errata List The Origin of the Errata List
Musical notation is incredibly dense. A full symphonic score contains thousands of individual instructions regarding pitch, rhythm, dynamics, and articulation. Despite the best efforts of world-class publishers, errors are inevitable. A missed accidental in a trumpet part or a wrong clef in the violas can derail a rehearsal, wasting precious (and expensive) time. Major Orchestra Librarians' Association (MOLA)
, founded in 1983, recognized that orchestral librarians across the globe were independently discovering the same mistakes in the same editions. To prevent this duplication of effort, MOLA began compiling a centralized "Errata List"—a definitive catalog of known errors in standard orchestral repertoire. A Tool for Precision and Efficiency
The MOLA Errata List is more than just a list of typos; it is a critical tool for performance preparation. When a librarian prepares a "set" (the individual parts for every musician), they do not simply hand out the music. They must first "proof" it. According to professional resources like the Manual for the Performance Library In the quiet, dust-moted sanctuary of the Metropolitan
, using a MOLA errata list is one of the fastest and most reliable ways to check for major discrepancies without a note-by-note proofing of every single part. Librarians use these lists to: Correct Pitches and Rhythms:
Ensuring the notes on the page match the composer's original intent. Synchronize Rehearsal Numbers:
Preventing the confusion of a conductor asking for "Letter C" only to find it is in a different place in the woodwind parts. Standardize Articulations:
Ensuring the phrasing is consistent across the entire string section. The Collaborative Spirit of Music
What makes the MOLA Errata List unique is its collaborative nature. It is a living database built on the collective intelligence of the world’s most prestigious musical institutions. When a librarian at the Berlin Philharmonic or the Chicago Symphony identifies a new error in a contemporary work, like Aaron Copland's The Red Pony , they contribute that finding to the community.
This spirit of sharing ensures that a small community orchestra has access to the same high-level editorial corrections as a world-renowned ensemble. It democratizes musical excellence, ensuring that the integrity of the composer's voice is preserved regardless of the venue. Conclusion
The MOLA Errata List is a testament to the invisible labor that sustains the performing arts. While the conductor takes the bow and the soloists receive the applause, the quiet diligence of the orchestral librarian—armed with a red pencil and a MOLA list—ensures that the music played is the music intended. In an art form defined by precision, the Errata List is the ultimate safeguard against the chaos of the "wrong note." specific example of a famous error found in a major orchestral work? How to Build Your Own Mola Errata List
The Common Error: Giving the sunfish a cute, upturned, parrot-like beak or a perpetual, friendly smile. Why It Happens: The sunfish’s mouth is small and terminal (at the front of the head), but when preserved specimens dry out, the jaw contracts and curls upward, creating a "grin." The Correction: The Mola mola does not smile. Its mouth is a permanent, small, oval-shaped hole. In live specimens, the mouth appears downturned or strictly neutral. The Errata List is famously brutal on this point: "A smiling sunfish is a dead sunfish. Draw the grim reality."
As of 2025, the Mola Errata List has evolved. It is no longer just a static list of "don’ts." A group of 3D modelers at the University of Zurich are turning it into an open-source digital sculpting guide. Meanwhile, a children’s book publisher was recently forced to recall a title because their sunfish illustration violated Erratum #1 and #3.
The list has also expanded to cover the other sunfish species (Mola alexandrini and Mola tecta, the Hoodwinker Sunfish). Each has its own errata profile.
You might ask: Does it really matter if a cartoon sunfish has a tail?
According to marine biologists, yes. The Mola Errata List has become a tool for combating "taxonomic drift"—the phenomenon where public misunderstanding of an animal’s anatomy affects conservation efforts. For example, if the public believes the sunfish is a slow, vertical drifter (due to bad art), they may not support boat-speed regulations designed to protect it. In reality, Mola mola are powerful, laterally undulating swimmers.
Furthermore, the Errata List has been cited in two academic papers on Science Communication and Visual Bias (2018, 2021). It serves as a case study for how peer-review should apply not just to text, but to diagrams.