Playing open scores (full scores with only one voice per staff) is one of the most difficult tasks undertaken by pianists, usually not encountered until college. There are some strategies that can make score-reading easier. Techniques discussed in this article include “anchoring”, in which the pianist marks the notes that do not change from chord to chord. One can mark intervals and stepwise motion with visual cues and analyze significant chords. The eye moves in a zigzag motion, scanning each chord from the bottom up. During performance, it is possible to “cheat” to avoid disaster by playing the structural chords with the correct timing and duration, without worrying about inversions, always maintaining the pulse. The pianist must make choices about inversions, omissions, and octave transpositions where the range exceeds the span of the pianist’s hand. Hand distribution varies throughout the score, and should be marked before performance. The pianist can use intervallic transposition for the transposing parts, and must play in the concert key, which can be found by “adding” the key signature of the transposed instrument to the key of the instrumental part in the score (sharps and flats cancel).
Largo from Sonata in A minor, by Georg Philipp Telemann
This is a short, 22 measure movement from a cello sonata, in AB form (both the A and B sections are repeated). The piano part consists only of a bass line, with figured bass symbols, and the cello part is written in alto clef. The piece is in C major. Both the cello and piano parts have quarter notes or notes of longer duration, and the rhythms are simple and even, in 6/4 time. As I sight-read this piece, I found it useful to visually group the quarter notes in groups of three—there are no phrasings in the score, so I penciled in slurs over the quarter notes. The bass clef part in the left hand was very simple, so I was able to focus almost entirely on reading the right hand melody in alto clef. The ties across the bar line in measures 17-19 required some attention. I couldn’t look too far ahead, as I had to focus on reading the notes in alto clef; in retrospect, a quick glance through the score before playing it for the first time would have been helpful.
Quartet in B-flat Major, by Franz Schubert (excerpt)
The trio from a quartet in B-flat major is actually easier to sight-read than it first appears. My eye movement was about a half-measure ahead, as I had to go slowly to read the alto clef. This excerpt is in two sections, both repeated, the second section about twice as long as the first. In the first section, the first and second violins play in octave doublings. The viola enters by itself, playing quarter notes in ¾ time. The second note of each measure only changes every three measures. The cello enters in measure 9, an octave below the viola, so for the first section, I only have to read two lines: one of the violins, doubled at the octave, and the cello, doubled an octave above for the viola.
In the second section, the violins are still doubled at the octave, and the cello has the quarter notes by itself now. The viola has two measures of rests, then an A-flat dotted half note that forms an augmented second with the second violin. The viola has another two measures of rests, followed by another augmented second, this time between a G-flat in the viola and an A-natural in the violins. Things look a little more complex between measures 27 and 34, but the viola moves up by step, and the cello alternates between C and D. After the fermata in measure 34, the first section returns. The excerpt ends with the viola and cello still in octave doubling, but the first and second violin have different parts for the last four measures.
Sonata, by W. A. Mozart
This is the development of the Allegro movement of piano sonata by Mozart, in B-flat major. It is two pages long, and moves at a brisk tempo in 2/4 time. The left hand’s part is simple, primarily accompaniment. The right hand begins in triplet 16th notes, but switches to 32nd notes in groups of four. I found it difficult at first to maintain the pulse—I wanted to slow down during the triplets and speed up during the 32nd notes. Feeling each measure in “two” helped, and it was much easier to maintain the tempo when the left hand had repeated 16th note chords. The notes were easy to read—B-flat major, with few accidentals, and primarily scales or “Alberti bass”.
The second page contains a 32nd note pattern that is first played ascending in the right hand, then inverted and played descending in the left hand. The left hand has several lines of 32nd note Alberti bass, while the right hand has the melody, which has some more complex rhythms. The left hand is the time-keeper. After the appearance of the secondary dominant C major chord (the V of V), we transition to the key of F major. In the second-to-last line, the left hand and right hand interact more than they had previously, with the right hand playing descending arpeggios followed by alternating notes and chords with the left hand. The final line consists of a repeated 32nd note figure in the left hand, and sixteenth note appoggiaturas, ending on an F major chord, the new tonic.
From PATRICK MICHAEL KENNEY, September 24, 2007
“A Summary.”
The best way to prepare for playing a musical score is to get it as far ahead as possible. Then, one can become familiar with the piece as a whole, and even use “anchoring” to further knowledge of its nature. Four voice chorales are the best place to begin score reading, especially since they give the reader a reasonable sense of chord structure and placement. Adding one part at a time proves to be the most helpful way to dissect a piece. Keeping a constant pulse is the most important element in playing score reading. Labeling chords can help to keep the pulse steady. When certain notes are out of a pianists’ reach, he or she needs to make adjustments and decide which notes are important. Score reading is essential to any pianist’s success, and should be taught from the beginning of a piano playing career.
It’s a beautiful day for a sight reading journal entry, don’t you think?
I began with Georg Philipp Telemann’s “Largo.” This song is in the key of A minor, making it rather easy to pick up right away in the left hand. The right hand, however, was not as easy. Although I’m working on becoming more literate in its language, I’m still very shaky with the concept of the alto clef. I have tried to put the strategy introduced in the “Deep Secrets” article to use. I noticed the solo part of this song was written for the cello. I kept this in mind as I sight read, using dynamics and motion to form a musical contour akin to a cello. Accidentals occurred sparingly, and no dynamic markings exist in the piece. Altogether, this piece proved to be a challenge, only because of the alto clef in the right hand.
The second song I chose was “Die liebe Farbe.” An accompaniment in B minor, this arrangement possessed an interesting counter-melody in the left hand. Looking through the piece, I noted a general pulse that ran through it—generally, the accompaniment crescendos and decrescendos constantly. A fortepiano on the second page proved important in the emphasis the D major chord. All in all, this piece did not prove to be a great challenge.
The third and final piece I chose was Richard Strauss’s “Allerseelen.” Marked “tranquillo,” this piece moves calmly and gently. In order to get myself in the mindset of the piece, I read the lyrics beforehand, which conjured a sullen, reflective mood. I made note of some of the interesting tied rhythms. Accidentals crept up on me now and then, especially the double flats, which really caught me off guard. I made sure to play the piece in a calm, reflective manner, and gradually crescendo to fortissimo in measure 34. I closed the piece with a decrescendo and a rolled E-flat major chord.
From Bob Logan, September 24, 2007
Summary of score reading article:
Reading open scores is one of the most difficult challenges for a pianist. Fortunately, there are a number of techniques and strategies to help make the process more manageable. A simple way to start is to practice reading 4-voice chorales, labeling intervals and marking notes common to adjacent chords. This improves the pianist's ability to recognize chords and intervals. Listening to a recording of the score can also help; knowing what the piece sounds like makes it easier to play. After mastering 4-voice chorales, one can move on to 3-part scores, then 4-part scores, then string quartets, and then band/orchestra scores, using the same reading strategies as with the 4-voice chorales. The author recommends labeling important chords, and then playing through them. This will help the pianist understand the layout and general sound of the piece. Another useful strategy is to start by playing one voice, and then add on other voices one by one until the whole score is mastered.
For sections whose range is too wide for the pianist's hands, lesser parts should be omitted or transposed to a reachable register (as long as it doesn't drastically change the sound). To prepare for reading transposed parts in band or orchestra scores, the pianist should practice playing one-line transposed parts alone.
Nocturne in G Minor, Op. 15, No. 3 (Chopin)
I found this piece to be a good choice for sight reading. At first, it is easy to read, using simple patterns and (mostly) predictable chords. Toward the middle of the piece, accidentals begin to appear more and more. The center section uses a wide variety of chords and strays far from the original key – there are bars in which every note has an accidental. In the easier parts, I sometimes caught myself being lazy and looking only a beat or two ahead. By making a conscious effort to look at least a bar ahead, the reading became easier. This was especially true in the section with all the accidentals, where I had to scan each chord from bottom to top to see what kind of chord it was (although I didn't look as far ahead as I did in the easier part).
I had never heard this piece before, and I found its construction very interesting. After the clearly-defined first two sections, I expected the song to return to the opening theme. However, it transitions instead into a section that is (as far as I can tell) unrelated to anything else in the piece. This unexpected section is marked "religioso", something I have never seen in a Chopin piece before. Surprisingly, the melody at the beginning never returns after its disappearance earlier in the song. As a result, this song feels to me like a journey from one place to another, rather than the usual round trip. Chopin kept me guessing all the way through, right up to the unexpected G major chord at the close of the piece.
Rodent Rhapsody
This song was pretty easy to sight read because it's simple and uses familiar melodies. However, it differed from most of the songs I've sight read so far in that the treble and bass parts are roughly equal in importance. The left hand is more of an independent melodic line than an accompaniment. This requires more concentration than reading a song with a melody in the right hand and a repeating pattern in the left. I shifted my focus mainly to the area in between the staves to make it easier to pay attention to both.
Valse Noble (Schubert)
This song makes heavy use of simple chords, so I found it easy to read. The accidentals in measures 5-6 almost caught me off guard, but I was looking far enough ahead to prepare for them.
From Hallie Houge, September 24, 2007
In the article “Preparing and Performing Open Scores” by Brenda Wirsten, there are many suggestions as to how to sight read open scores successfully. First off, it is better to receive the score prior to a performance to allow for more preparation time. Some strategies for reading the piece include defining the chords in a choral progression before performing the piece, practicing chorus music by voices, recognizing where to place the tenor voice on the keyboard, preparing oneself for the infamous alto clef, and understanding how to utilize ones fingers to the max. In other words, sharing voices with both hands, especially for orchestral music, is a way to make the song easier to play. Basically, there are many things to remember when reading open scores. Most importantly, is remaining calm and going easy on oneself because score reading is a challenge even for the most skilled pianist. However, score reading is an essential part to being a well rounded accompanist, and knowing how to approach an open score is the key to a successful performance.
This week, the first piece I decided to sight read was Mozart’s Sonata in Bb Major. After an initial scan, I knew I would have to be aware of the counting, what with all the 32nd notes, many of which were scales and arpeggios and also the left hand was repetitive, making this task slightly easier. Basically, the counting was what worried me, and I knew I had to be careful. Sure enough, as I ran through the sonata, if I got lost in the counting, it would throw off my accuracy and I stopped paying attention to dynamics, focusing solely on playing the right notes with the correct rhythms. It started out rough, but as I became more accustomed to the piece, the sight reading became easier. This classical piece I knew was difficult to begin with, but I knew that if I concentrated hard enough, and was aware of the scales and rhythms, and invoked the written articulations, that I would be able to sight read this piece at least half-way decently. The second time I played it was much easier because my fingers remembered the runs they needed to do, so I could focus on articulation, dynamics, and the ornaments.
Next, I turned to the Adoramus te Christe, which is a quartet for women’s voices. Fortunately, all were in treble clef making my task immediately less complicated. Also, the tempo is Adagio e sempre piano, so I did not have to go very fast. The only problem was playing all of the notes in such a condensed register on the piano, especially when I noticed that the voices tended to cross one another. So even thought the tempo was manageable, I still had problems with fingering this song simply because the voices overlapped. The other difficulty was in imitating the singing quality that only a human voice owns, and using correct articulation when necessary. Once I began the piece, I recognized a wonderful melody and a beautiful blend of voices which was pleasing to the ear, and an enjoyment to perform for myself. I could only hope to someday hear this song performed by an actual quartet someday.
Finally, I decided to challenge myself again and attempted to sight read Telemann’s Largo for a piano and cello. I knew this piece would be hard for me, because I’ve always struggled with the alto clef, but I also knew that I needed the practice and decided to take this opportunity to once again attempt to read the alto clef. Luckily, I could devote an entire hand to the cello line and only one hand was needed for the keyboard’s part. I also noticed the time signature, and the abundance of accidentals in the cello’s last line. Being prepared, I dove into the piece, and the result was actually as success. I’m finding the alto clef much easier to read upon command and I found that I enjoyed the conversation between the keyboard and cello parts. I struggled with the accidentals, but luckily I expected the obstacle and handled the dilemma with a sense of calm and determination which aided me in my successful run through of this piece, which I am rather proud of and pleased with.
From Kelvin Ying, September 25, 2007
The "Summary"
Even with basic knowledge of harmonic structures and solid piano technique, any pianist will struggle with reading open scores. However, there are several strategies that can facilitate score reading at any level, and the more time you have to implement these strategies, the easier the reading becomes. One strategy is to mark all stationary notes in the score—that is, notes that don’t change from chord to chord—thus allowing the pianist to focus only on notes that shift. Another strategy is to force a student to read ahead in the score and prepare chords ahead of time. The student’s eyes should grow accustomed to reading in a zig-zag fashion, where each chord is read bottom to top and internalized before it is even played. A third strategy is to highlight melodic passages so that the pianist has an anchor line to fall back upon. Other reading difficulties involve transposition once the student has moved to choral scores with a tenor line and orchestral scores with transposing instruments. In general, the student should realize that transposing instruments sound lower than the actual written note, and thus should know how to shift the part vertically. Finally, when performing a score, the pianist should constantly remain aware of the pulse and not double back to correct mistakes. By finding anchor points in the music and “cheating” by twisting the actual playing of the music, a pianist can successfully realize a score without struggling too much.
By far the trickiest piece I sight-read this week was “Adoramus te Christe” by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. I dove right into the piece without reading the header, thereby missing the warning to “Watch for crossed voices.” The beginning is fine and reads like normal music, but at m. 8, Soprano 2 becomes the upper voice, supported by Soprano 1 and Mezzo-Soprano. This changes your entire method of reading the music. Whereas before m. 8 you could form chords by reading top to bottom and playing them in the same fashion, the crossed voices in m. 8 force you to read outer voices first, then the middle voice. This slowed my reading down severely. To make it even more difficult, the notes often overlap, with one voice often taking the note held previously by another voice. I often found myself holding the wrong notes and not playing others. To go along with this difficulty, suspensions such as those in m. 7 which change the chord in mid-measure often contain instances of the above phenomenon of overlapping voices. Although it shouldn’t be too hard to read, for a pianist who constantly analyzes pieces according to traditional theory, the suspensions throw an added curveball into the mix of sight-reading the chorale.
On the flip side, one of the easier pieces I read was the dark Schubert vocal piece “Der Tod und das Mädchen.” The only major tripping point came at places like m. 13, where Schubert threw a diminished seventh chord to facilitate a modulation. The accidentals are the only difficult part in sight-reading this piece, but the chords do not fall outside the realm of diminished sevenths in modulation and consonant chord inversions. When I first read the piece, I was tempted to play loudly and dramatically, since that’s how the music spoke to me from the page (I don’t speak German, so I had no idea what the title says). But the dynamic marking is pianissimo, so I had to force myself to play softer and add a lighter touch to the chords.
