Process of Reading a Score Flashcards
Transposition Clarinet in Bb
Major 2nd descending
Transposition Bass Clarinet Bb
Major 9th descending
Transposition Alto Saxophone in Eb
Major 6th descending
Transposition Tenor Sax Bb
Major 9th descending
Transposition Trumpet in Bb
Major 2nd descending
Transposition Horn in F
Perfect fifth descending
Transposition Baritone sax in Eb
Major 6th plus 1 octave descending
Transposition English Horn
Perfect fifth descending
Transposition Clarinet in A
Minor third descending
Transposition Clarinet in Eb
Minor third ascending
Transposition Soprano Sax in Bb
Major 2nd descending
List woodwind instruments by score order
Piccolo Flute Alto Flute Oboe English Hornn Eb Clarinet Clarinet Bass Clarinet Bassoon Contra Bassoon
List brass instruments by score order
Horn
Trumpet
Trombone
Tuba
List percussion by score order
Timpani xylophone Chimes Snare drum bass drum cymbals
List strings by score order
Violin
Viola
Cello
Bass
Explain how to read alto and tenor clef
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.)
What instrument reads alto clef?
violo
What instrument reads tenor clef?
cello, bassoon
What is the reasoning for using multiple clefs?
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.
Explain staccato bowing
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.
Explained slurred bowing
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.
Explain an accented bowing
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.
Explain marcato bowing
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.
Explain legato bowing
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.
Explain detache bowing
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.
Define marcato
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.
Explain the history of dynamic markings in music
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.
morendo
dying away
subito piano
suddenly soft
dolce
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
maestoso
majestically
rubato
robbed time, speeding up and slowing down
scherzando
playfully
smorzando
smother dynamic to nothing
stringendo
quickening
