The best general rule I know of, is, to set the tune on the letter the author has set it, unless he has given directions to the contrary.

Every letter has its own peculiar air, which air is very much hurt if the tune is not rightly pitched; for instance, if a tune is set on A natural, and in pitching the tune, you set it a tone too low, you transpose the key into G, which is perhaps quite different from the intention of the author, and oftentimes very destructive to the harmony.

Money is the best rule of commerce.

It is much the best way... to lay the emphasis on the first part of the bar in triple time, and on the first and third parts of the bar in common time.

The general rule is that anything that is passed on in reproduction does not undergo senescence.

Not to say that authors are all such sourpusses, but you meet the author in the best possible way, on the written page. I am at my best there, more patient, more thoughtful.