Score Study

Abstract

Through their careful score study, conductors gain a thorough understanding of a composition’s harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic elements, coupled with the discovery of the form, orchestration, motivic development, and other building blocks employed by the composer. But the depth of the traditional score study may also lie beyond the time available to the busy school band director. This chapter offers suggestions designed and chosen expressly for efficiency, and for their relationship to the band director’s role as both conductor and teacher. After briefly reviewing conventional score study strategies, and comparing the educational value of the full and condensed scores, the chapter trains its focus on timesaving methods for band directors. Specifically, the discussion features tools, advice, and even shortcuts for teachers to learn the score while using the process to design lesson and rehearsal plans. A special feature is the inclusion of many musical standard-repertoire excerpts to illustrate the suggested strategies. A major section of this chapter describes how the band director can use a score as the basis of many facets of the music education curriculum. The teacher’s most effective work is guided by discoveries garnered through these score study procedures.