Score study is the act of reviewing
and marking a score in preparation for playing or conducting the work. Many of us don’t really know what to do when
we see a score for the first time, so here is a simple guide to score study.
1.
Open the score.
What are the first things you notice?
What does the title convey? Who
is the composer? Do you know this
composer or anything about him/her? What
instrument(s ) is the piece for? Is
there anything odd about the instrumentation?
2.
What key is the piece in? Is this an odd key for the instruments that
will be playing? Ie. Strings often have
a harder time in “flat” keys, and brass in “sharp” keys. What is the opening time signature? What is the tempo? Are there any mood markings?
3.
Next, flip through and mark changes in key,
tempo, and meter as they occur. Will any
of these transitions be difficult? Often
a fermata or ritard occur before a section change. Do these pose problems for the conductor or
players?
4.
Go back to the beginning and sketch the story of
the piece. For example, this piece
starts off in a happy march in 6/8 time played by woodwinds. Then, more instruments (brass) are added
until the instrumentation is quite “full”.
The music slows and moves into a charming but haunting ¾ waltz in a
minor key. This continues, changing
instrumentation three times until a break and finally a rousing fanfare finale.
5.
Go through the score by groups of
instruments. Is there anything difficult
for the players that jumps out at you? A
few bars that seem amazingly technical?
Slurred octave (or greater) jumps for brass? Lots of shifting for strings?
6.
Make a list of what may be hard for the
players. Are they supposed to enter low
in the range of their instrument on a piano dynamic? Are there sections in fourths or fifths that
may be hard to tune? Are there difficult
rhythms? Any strange notation?
7.
Finally, use a keyboard to play through sections
of the piece. Perhaps play one line of
the winds on the right hand and the brass choir accompanying them with your
left hand. Yes, this takes a bit of
keyboard skill, but if you don’t have the skill yet this also serves as
excellent practice. Playing through
sections gives you another viewpoint by which to catch any weirdness that you
may not have seen just by looking at the score as a whole.
8.
Finally, listen to several different recordings
of the piece and see how others perform the work. Make notes on the differences and
similarities between the performances, and use this information to make your
own decisions about how you interpret the score.
9.
Armed with information, create a plan of attack
for rehearsal, first starting with the largest problems the players are likely
to encounter and then gradually working towards the more “picky” nuances.
This
is the general manner in which I approach all of my scores, and hope it is
helpful to you as well.
