Score Study For Everyday Conductors
Score Study For Everyday Conductors
Score Study For Everyday Conductors
Everyday Conductors
Henry E. Duitman, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Music
Grand Valley State University
Avoidance Tactics
I am a really, really busy school music director.
I spend at least 60 hours a week doing my
administration and teaching.
George Solti
He had an unorthodox method of score
study. He simply would start at the
beginning and completely ingest only a
page or two each day, learning
absolutely every note and how it related
to others horizontally and vertically.
The next day he would go on and do
the same with the next page or two.
My
Despairometer
Arnold Gabriel
His major points about score study:
My
Despairometer
My
Despairometer
Margaret Hillis
I decide whether the harmony functions as a tonic
or a substitute tonic, subdominant or dominant;
whether a Neapolitan 6th is a substitute
subdominant or has a dominant function. This
helps a great deal in preparing choruses because
then you always know where your leading tones
are and they always have to be reasonably high.
My
Despairometer
Gunter Herbig
I read through each instrumental line horizontally.
I start reading the double-basses for a length of
perhaps 32 measures....Then I go to the cellos: I
see what they are doing with the double basses; I
read everything, every dot on the notes, every little
accent as if I am playing the line very slowly. I
go through the entire score in this manner.
My
Despairometer
Eduardo Mata
I studied with Carlos Chvez, who taught us the
possibility of analyzing scores exhaustively....He
used anatomical and morphological analysis
related to the density and important of the
material utilized...Soon I realized that there is no
better way to learn a score.
My
Despairometer
Roger Norrington
I study in lots of different ways. If I dont know
a piece, Ill listen to a recording....any recording
would do. Id listen just to get the sound of the
score in my head. Id probably listen to it while
driving. Id just get used to it subconsciously....So if
Im driving its good because I cant look at the
score. I have to listen to whats happening...I dont
use the piano much since I never learned how to
play the piano well. However...
My
Despairometer
Roger Norrington
...then I go into a whole lot of detail. I might not
label every chord but I know what its doing and
where its going. Then I go through the score with
a more inventive mind, forgetting about structure.
I ask, Whats really happening?....is the music
funny or serious, whether a particular gesture is
tragic or comic. I ask what the flavor is....I live
with a work a minimum of six months before
performing it.
My
Despairometer
Claudio Abbado
The conductor must know everything that can be
found out about the composer, and this should
include studying all his chamber and vocal works
as well, to get a feel, a better idea of his style.
My
Despairometer
Catherine Comet
Well, first of all, it takes hours and hours.
Score learning is basically about score analysis.
You go as deeply as possible. You need to be
able to reconstruct from scratch what the
composer originally did and then put it back
together again....Then you think that once you
have spent maybe 200 hours on a score that you
have learned it. Well, thats not true....
My
Despairometer
Hypothesis
Patrie Overture
Georges Bizet
Off to battle
C minor
Tutti
ff
C minor
Tutti
ff
G Major-B Major
Tutti
ff
C minor
Tutti
ff
reh B
4 compliment
4 repeat
3 comp repeat
C Major
strings, ww
mf-pp
C Major
strings, ww
p-cresc-f
C Major
strings, ww
mf-pp
C minor
Tutti
ff
reh E
Optimism
4 comp
F Major
vla, fg, cl, low st
ff-mf-fff
4 buildup
reh F
F Major
upper strings contrapuntal
pp-cresc-dim-pp
F Major
upper strings cont
pp
reh
6/8
Jaunty
nationalism
C Major
strings then brass ww fanfare
f
C Major
strings then brass ww fanfare
f
C Major
strings then brass ww fanfare
f
reh V
4
to dominant G
strings, wws
pp to ff
8
all on dominant G
tutti
ff
b.
c.
d.
References
Feldman, E. & Contzius, A. (2011). Instrumental music education. London: Routledge.
Gabriel, A. (2008). Session at Midwest Band & Orchestra Conference. Chicago, IL.
Green, E. & Malko, N. (1975). The conductor and his score. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice
Hall.
Matheopolis, H. (1982.) Maestro: Encounters with conductors of today. New York: Harper &
Row.
Wagar, J. (1991). Conductors in conversation. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co.
Handout
If you wish to receive a pdf handout of todays
presentation, please send me a request by email to
duitmanh@gvsu.edu
and I will send it to you as an attachment.