Process of Reading a Score

Question 1

Transposition Clarinet in Bb

Answer 1

Major 2nd descending

Question 2

Transposition Bass Clarinet Bb

Answer 2

Major 9th descending

Question 3

Transposition Alto Saxophone in Eb

Answer 3

Major 6th descending

Question 4

Transposition Tenor Sax Bb

Answer 4

Major 9th descending

Question 5

Transposition Trumpet in Bb

Answer 5

Major 2nd descending

Question 6

Transposition Horn in F

Answer 6

Perfect fifth descending

Question 7

Transposition Baritone sax in Eb

Answer 7

Major 6th plus 1 octave descending

Question 8

Transposition English Horn

Answer 8

Perfect fifth descending

Question 9

Transposition Clarinet in A

Answer 9

Minor third descending

Question 10

Transposition Clarinet in Eb

Answer 10

Minor third ascending

Question 11

Transposition Soprano Sax in Bb

Answer 11

Major 2nd descending

Question 12

List woodwind instruments by score order

Answer 12

Piccolo
Flute
Alto Flute
Oboe
English Hornn
Eb Clarinet
Clarinet
Bass Clarinet
Bassoon 
Contra Bassoon

Question 13

List brass instruments by score order

Answer 13

Horn
Trumpet
Trombone
Tuba

Question 14

List percussion by score order

Answer 14

Timpani
xylophone
Chimes
Snare drum
bass drum
cymbals

Question 15

List strings by score order

Answer 15

Violin
Viola
Cello
Bass

Question 16

Explain how to read alto and tenor clef

Answer 16

The Alto and Tenor Clefs have two curves that meet in the center. The line on the staff where these curves meet is the note C. These clefs are also called C Clefs for this reason.

The Alto Clef is positioned on the middle line. This line becomes the note C. (This note is also Middle C.)

Tenor Clef the second line from the top becomes the note C. (This is also Middle C, just like in Alto Clef.)

Question 17

What instrument reads alto clef?

Answer 17

violo

Question 18

What instrument reads tenor clef?

Answer 18

cello, bassoon

Question 19

What is the reasoning for using multiple clefs?

Answer 19

The use of three different clefs makes it possible to write music for all instruments and voices, even though they may have very different tessituras (that is, even though some sound much higher or lower than others). This would be difficult to do with only one clef, since the modern stave has only five lines, and the number of pitches that can be represented on the stave, even with ledger lines, is not nearly equal to the number of notes the orchestra can produce. The use of different clefs for different instruments and voices allows each part to be written comfortably on the stave with a minimum of ledger lines. To this end, the G-clef is used for high parts, the C-clef for middle parts, and the F-clef for low parts—with the important exception of transposing parts, which are written at a different pitch than they sound, often even in a different octave.

Question 20

Explain staccato bowing

Answer 20

The dot indicates staccato bowing, but it can also indicate spiccato. This technique uses a bouncing stroke for each note: the bow loses contact with the string, which continues to ring between the separate strokes. Whether this passage is played staccato or spiccato depends on context.

Question 21

Explained slurred bowing

Answer 21

A tenuto mark indicates a portato or ondulé, sometimes called louré bowing. These are played on the string; the bow is stopped briefly (as opposed to lifted) to create a slight separation between the notes, but slurred notes are still played in the same bow direction.

Question 22

Explain an accented bowing

Answer 22

An accent is performed in a manner similar to a dot, only with more bow pressure and a “gutsier” sound. If time allows, the player will usually play a single accented note as a ‘down’ bow. If there are a series of consecutive accents the normal up-down bow stroke is used. A subtle accent is usually implied on the “strong” beat(s) of each measure; however, accents can notated to indicate a change from the time signature’s implied accents or to indicate strong accents within a passage.

Question 23

Explain marcato bowing

Answer 23

A dot indicates separation between the marked note and the note that follows. A note marked staccato may sometimes be considered “short”; the bow is completely stopped between notes. Depending on context, marcato may be performed on or off the string, the latter being called spiccato.

Question 24

Explain legato bowing

Answer 24

In legato bowing, several notes are played in one continuous movement of the bow in a single direction. This gives a very smooth sound to the passage played legato, since no attack or break exists between notes. This technique is indicated by a slur between several notes. A slur may be split into several slurs by the player(s), usually because of its length or the player’s interpretation of a passage.

Question 25

Explain detache bowing

Answer 25

Détaché is played smoothly, without separation between notes. The bow direction alternates with each note. This is the default playing style if nothing else is indicated, although players, may choose to articulate otherwise to enhance the musicality of the passage, especially in solo parts.

Question 26

Define marcato

Answer 26

Marcato (short form: Marc.) (Italian for marked) is a musical instruction indicating a note, chord, or passage is to be played louder or more forcefully than surrounding music. The instruction may involve the word marcato itself written above or below the staff or it may take the form of an accent mark, ^,[1][2][3] an open vertical wedge. This is essentially an intensified version of the regular accent indicated by >, an open horizontal wedge: It asks for a greater dynamic accent. Like the regular accent, however, it is often interpreted to suggest a sharp attack tapering to the original dynamic,[4] an interpretation which applies only to instruments capable of altering the dynamic level of a single sustained pitch. According to author James Mark Jordan, “the marcato sound is characterised by a rhythmic thrust followed by a decay of the sound”[5]

In jazz big-band scores the marcato symbol usually indicates a note is to be shortened to approximately 2/3 its normal duration, and given a moderate accent.

Question 27

Explain the history of dynamic markings in music

Answer 27

The Renaissance composer Giovanni Gabrieli was one of the first to indicate dynamics in music notation, but dynamics were used sparingly by composers until the late 18th century. Bach used some dynamic terms, including forte, piano, più piano, and pianissimo (although written out as full words), and in some cases it may be that ppp was considered to mean pianissimo in this period.

The fact that the harpsichord could play only “terraced” dynamics (either loud or soft, but not in between), and the fact that composers of the period did not mark gradations of dynamics in their scores, has led to the “somewhat misleading suggestion that baroque dynamics are ‘terraced dynamics’,” writes Robert Donington.[13] In fact, baroque musicians constantly varied dynamics. “Light and shade must be constantly introduced… by the incessant interchange of loud and soft,” wrote Johann Joachim Quantz in 1752.[14] In addition to this, the harpsichord in fact becomes louder or softer depending on the thickness of the musical texture (four notes are louder than two). This allowed composers such as Bach to build dynamics directly into their compositions, without the need for notation.

In the Romantic period, composers greatly expanded the vocabulary for describing dynamic changes in their scores. Where Haydn and Mozart specified six levels (pp to ff), Beethoven used also ppp and fff (the latter less frequently), and Brahms used a range of terms to describe the dynamics he wanted. In the slow movement of the trio for violin, waldhorn and piano (Opus 40), he uses the expressions ppp, molto piano, and quasi niente to express different qualities of quiet.

Question 28

morendo

Answer 28

dying away

Question 29

subito piano

Answer 29

suddenly soft

Question 30

dolce

Answer 30

sweet, an indication to play in a tender, adoring manner; to play sweetly with a light touch. Dolce is often used with other musical commands, as in “allegretto dolce e con affetto”: semi-quick, sweet, and with affection

Question 31

maestoso

Answer 31

majestically

Question 32

rubato

Answer 32

robbed time, speeding up and slowing down

Question 33

scherzando

Answer 33

playfully

Question 34

smorzando

Answer 34

smother dynamic to nothing

Question 35

stringendo

Answer 35

quickening