1

Score Analysis, Exploration and Preparation

A method (in development) combining techniques and viewpoints of Ren Clausen, Drew Collins, Kenneth Jennings, Ann Howard Jones, Jameson
Marvin, Daniel Moe, Weston Noble, Robert Shaw and Howard Swan.

It has been asserted that the final product of score study is to have become so intimate with and knowledgeable about a
work that the conductor not only knows it better than any of the performers, maybe even better than the composer. This checklist is
designed to provide a framework for analysis that will lead the conductor to know the music well enough so that, in a pinch, the
piece could even be rehearsed memorized.
Kenneth Jennings recommends that the conductor schedule a regular time for practice--alone and uninterruptible. For
some of us, though, score study is done piecemeal as time allows. However much time you are able to give, using this checklist can
be a quick reminder of what needs to be done, and in what order. In this way, it is designed to optimize your time.
Feel free to photocopy these pages at will. It is recommended that this method be used for short works as opposed to
extended or multi-movement works. If used for the latter, the conductor may prefer to photocopy a checklist for each movement. I
prefer to make a copy of pages 2-5 for each piece or movement conducted. Feel free to skip any items that are not applicable to the
piece or movement you are studying.
Before we delve into the intricacies of exploring a score, it must first be determined if a score will withstand the scrutiny of
analysis. Tastes and biases aside, the following may be used to objectify our programming process, thus ensuring that our singers
time will be well spent.
This method assumes that four scores will be used: Study Score, Rehearsal Score, Singer Score, and Performance/Concert
Score. This is not always practical or useful. Use your best judgement.
This method is incomplete. It is a compilation of techniques of various well-respected conductors and pedagogues. The
order was devised solely by me, however, and does not necessarily reflect the original intentions of the source conductor.
-Drew Collins

Determining a scores inherent worth

Before anything else, read through the text to determine the quality of the poetry. Good music set to bad poetry rarely yields
a worthwhile composition.
In your opinion... Does the music fit the text? Is the text presented or commented upon by the music? Does the music
augment the text? Are the text and music married? Does the composer seem to have a correct understanding of the poets intent?
Does the composer employ good part-writing techniques? Determine if tessitura and range are appropriate for each part. Does
the composer demonstrate a knowledge of writing for the chorus, or is the composer writing instrumentally?
Does the composer avoid using effects for effects sake?
Is the text painting - if any - imaginative or distracting?
Does the piece have any unifying elements (fugue, canon, a specific harmony, motives, etc.)? Is this the product of a
composer, or a song writer? Is this simply a pretty melody with a pretty harmonization? Is this art or entertainment? Does the
piece play on the emotions (tug on the heart-strings)?
Is there anything about the piece that is trite? Is the audience talked down to?
What, if anything, makes this piece imperfect?
If early music, is this the best edition available?
If an arrangement of a folk song, hymn, or spiritual, does the arranger maintain the original intention of the text, and the
style(s) of the originating culture? If not, is it intentional (such as a fantasia or theme and variations)? Is there anything that might be
construed as disrespectful of the original culture?

2
MACRO - Getting Acquainted With the Piece
As you work, it is recommended that you have a metronome going at the pieces tempo (or, if there are more than one, the beginning
tempo) in the background. As you complete these tasks, keep a list of questions you need to find answers for.
Number all measures
Play the vocal parts through together (in open score).
If accompanied, play through the accompaniment.
Read text aloud, dramatically and poetically. Discover the composers reaction to the text (Study the music as a
setting of poetry). Make sure to explore the text in context, if applicable (such as surrounding bible verses, etc.).
Analyze the piece structurally/formally discerning the broad outlines of the piece: the main sections, repetitions,
rhythmic and melodic patterns.
Determine the key(s) or mode(s) the piece is in.
Analyze the piece harmonically.
Gain an understanding of the dynamic landscape by creating an image on graph paper. Note differences between
terraced vs. shaped/tapered dynamics. Discover the overall shape of the piece.
Whisper through the piece, speaking the text rhythmically. Use a metronome to maintain metric and tempo
accuracy. In polyphonic sections, jump from part to part as needed.
Emphasize the following markings using the indicated colors
Blue hi-lighter

Dynamics and dynamic changes (forte, decrescendo, etc.)

Pink hi-lighter

Meter/tempo changes (Allegro, rit., a tempo, etc.)

Repeat signs, coda, segno, etc.
Cessura and fermati

Yellow hi-lighter

Expressive markings (dolce, espressivo, cantabile, etc.)

Orange hi-lighter

Articulations (Tenuto, Marcato, Staccato, etc.)

Determine the following, and mark as indicated

Red felt-tip

Cues: important entrances

Green hi-lighter

Themes/subjects, important balance notes

Green felt-tip

Vowels that might need modeling

Blue felt-tip

Syllabic stresses

Note the range of each voice part:

&
?

3
MICRO - General Preparations; Background
When was the piece written?
When was the text written?
WHY was the piece written? Under what circumstances? For whom?
What building or hall was the piece premiered in or written for?
Are there biographies or other print sources - for either the composer or the piece - to be explored?

MICRO - Study Score Preparations

During this time, the conductor should feel free to mark up this score with sketches and ideas about phrasing, et. al.

If in a foreign language, write the literal translation word-for-word in the score

Note the contour and articulation of the musical phrase; its musicality or lack thereof (especially alto parts).
Does the piece have a categorization (Opus, BWV, or Kchel number)?
Are there general performance practice considerations?
Are there particular places where tessitura is a significant factor (either from a compositional/interpretive standpoint,
or from a rehearsal standpoint)?
Determine a tempo range (spanning about 10 bpm) if one is not provided.
Analyze the piece melodically. Are there times when the melody illustrates the word or text?
Are there times when the harmony illustrates the word or text (tone painting)?
Mark the main sections, repetitions, rhythmic and melodic patterns. Complete bar form analysis.
Listen to and evaluate recordings, if available. (Note: To avoid inadvertent mimicing, this should be reserved as a
final step.)

4
MACRO: Stepping back
Choose some descriptors that summarize the character of the piece.
Is the pieces texture (homophonic/polyphonic) linked to the text in some way?
Are there balance, scoring or voicing considerations that would warrant a change in the formation of the ensemble?
Be able to state the general idea(s) of the text.

MACRO: Making sure youre ready for rehearsal

Be able to play the accompaniment (or reduction) in rehearsal if necessary.
Be able to play the vocal parts in a rehearsal setting. (In hard, polyphonic sections, be able to play at least two parts
together at the same time.)
Sing through each part a cappella. With a pencil, circle any intervals or rhythms you miss or have difficulty with.
Repeat 2 or 3 times, distinguishing what clears up with some exposure, and what remains a difficulty.
Be able to sing each part a cappella from beginning to end perfectly.
Determine and mark breaths, lifts, added rests and no-breaths/carries (based on textual line, musical line, harmonic
implications, etc.) using a blue or black felt-tip pen. Consider marking the singers scores with these decisions as well to save
rehearsal time.
If alive and available, consider contacting the composer to clarify his/her intentions. (Have a list of questions
prepared ahead of time!)
Make written notes of any errors in the score (being sure to compare the reduction against vocal parts).
Memorize structure.
Memorize order of entrances.
If accompanied, are there any harmonic, melodic or rhythmic conflicts between the vocal parts and the
accompaniment?
Are there any times when a rising line or interval needs to be unstressed syllabically? Where is/are the climax(es)?
Conduct through the piece practicing gesture and cues. At this stage, there is no need to conduct anything besides
correct meter and tempo. Use a metronome, subdividing in head. Note measures that pose technical conducting problems. Use a
mirror, checking your response to yourself as if you were a singer. If there are any meter changes, practice them until the changes are
effortless.
Some people find it helpful to copy the piece by hand onto scratch staff paper (not necessarily from memory).

5
Singer Score Preparation
Replace all decresc. and cresc. markings with handwritten alligator symbols.
If not done by the publisher, write in rehearsal letters of each main section.
Determine the following, and mark as indicated
Green hi-lighter

Themes/subjects, important balance notes

Mark standing and sitting cues as necessary

Make notes of any errors in the score.
Mark the tempo range
Determine and mark breaths, lifts, added rests and no-breaths/carries (based on textual line, musical line, harmonic
implications) using a black felt-tip pen. Consider marking the singers scores with these decisions as well to save rehearsal time.

Performance Score Preparation

Replace all decresc. and cresc. markings with handwritten alligator symbols.
Highlight the following markings in the indicated colors:
Blue

Dynamics and dynamic changes (forte, decrescendo, etc.)

Pink

Meter/tempo changes (Allegro, rit., a tempo, etc.)

Orange

Expressive markings (dolce, espressivo, cantabile, etc.)

Mark themes/subjects and important balance notes with green hi-lighter

Mark only necessary cues in red felt-tip pen (there should be a lot fewer in the performance score than the rehearsal
score.)
Mark standing/sitting cues and formation changes as necessary.
Prepare a list of people to acknowledge (Concertmaster, soloist, accompanist, et al.)

6
Information Sheet
This is a sheet intended either for distribution to the singers, or for future instances when the conductor might choose to conduct the
piece again (saving research time).
Include the following information:
Create a brief biography of the composer.
The text/poem in verse form.
In what year was the piece written?
Under what circumstances, and/or for what reason was the piece written?
If this piece is part of a larger work, what movement is it?
If this piece is part of a larger work, in what ways does it relate to the rest of the work?
Note range/tessitura of each part.
Conductors thoughts.
Composer quotes about the piece

7
Final Checklist
The conductor should know be able to address these issues from memory before taking the Self-Quiz.

Does the composer choose one emotion for the entire piece/movement, setting the basic meaning of the
poem? Or does the composer set individual words programmatically? Or both?
What unifies the piece or gives it its character: harmony, melody, rhythm, form, dynamic usage...?
What compositional methods does the composer use to achieve contrast (if any)?
Does the composition subscribe to a compositional school or device (such as 12-tone, Impressionist, etc.)?
Whats the tempo marking at the beginning of the piece (if given)? ______________________
Describe the texture of the piece: Monophonic, Homophonic, Polyphonic (fugal, canonic....?)
Describe the style of the piece (lean, programmatic, objective/subjective, etc.)
During what epoch was this piece written (Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Post-Romantic/NeoRomantic, 20th Century, Contemporary)? Is this piece typical for the period?

Self-Quiz
Composer:
Title of work:
List the composers birth and death dates:
In what epoch(s) did the composer work?
In what year was this piece written?
Under what circumstances was it written? For what purpose/event?
In what key does it begin?
What, if any, tonal modulations occur?
In what meter does the piece begin?
What, if any, metric (mensural) shifts occur?
Describe form/texture (ABA, Rondo, Fugal, Through-Composed, etc.)
What are the tempo/expressive markings at the beginning of the piece?
What, if any, tempo changes occur?
What is the source of the text (Poet, Bible, Mass, Hymn text, composer, etc.)?
What is the range of each voice part?

&
?

Write out as much of the score as possible from memory (including notes, rhythms, text,
accents, dynamic markings, etc.) on scratch staff paper.