score
,
notation
, in manuscript or printed form, of a
musical
work, probably so called from the vertical scoring lines that connect successive related staves. A score may contain the single part for a solo work or the many parts that make up an
orchestral
or ensemble
composition
. A full, or orchestral, score shows all the parts of a large work, with each part on separate staves in vertical alignment (though subdivisions of related instruments frequently share a stave), and is for the use of the
conductor
. (The notation for each performer, called a part, contains only the line or lines he or she is to perform.) Thus, the conductor can see at a glance what each performer should be playing and what the ensemble sound should be. Some conductors prefer to commit the score to memory in order to concentrate entirely on guiding the performance.
The reduction of a full score to fit the scope of the
piano
is called a piano score. Such a score, especially when it is of a complex piece, is often divided between two pianos. A vocal score, used for large works, such as operas and oratorios, in rehearsal, contains the piano reduction of the orchestral parts, along with the vocal lines indicated separately above the piano. The normal
arrangement
of groups as they appear in a full orchestral score is, from top to bottom of the page,
woodwinds
,
brass
,
percussion
,
harps
and
keyboard instruments
, and
strings
. Within each category, the parts range from highest to lowest in
pitch
. If there is a solo part, as in a
concerto
, it customarily appears immediately above the strings. In vocal works the standard arrangement from top to bottom is
soprano
,
alto
,
tenor
, and
bass
, resulting in the often-used
acronym
SATB on the title page of scores for four-part vocal works.
Britannica Quiz
Sound Check: Musical Vocabulary Quiz
The practice of
writing
music
in score dates from the schools of
polyphony
(many-voiced music) in the early
Middle Ages
but declined during the 13th?16th century. At the beginning of the 13th century, it was replaced by the
choir book
?a large manuscript in which soprano and alto parts usually faced each other on the upper halves of two opposite pages, with the tenor and bass parts occupying the lower halves (an economical arrangement because the upper parts, which
sang
the texts, required more space than the slow-moving lower parts). The music was read by the entire
choir
grouped around the choir book set on a stand. In the 15th and 16th centuries,
vocal
and instrumental music was published in part books, each containing music for a single part. The parts of
madrigals
(a
genre
of
secular
part-song) were sometimes published crosswise on a single sheet, allowing singers to be seated around a rectangular table. The modern form of score, in which the bar lines are scored vertically throughout the parts, appeared in 16th-century Italy in the madrigals of Cipriano de Rore and the instrumental ensemble music of
Giovanni Gabrieli
. All six books of
Carlo Gesualdo
’s madrigals were published in score in 1613, a rarity for the time.
One of the most-demanding accomplishments a musician can attain is the ability to play a full orchestral score at the piano, without the aid of a piano reduction of the work. Score reading requires the player to bring out all essential features, such as
harmony
,
melody
, and
counterpoint
, so that an acceptable duplication of the full
orchestra
is achieved. To add to the difficulty, the player must be able to read at sight the alto and
tenor
clefs
as well as the treble and bass clefs and to transpose the parts of those woodwinds and brass instruments whose notation is different from the actual sound. Following the performance of orchestral and
choral
works with the score generally enables experienced listeners to grasp more easily the general design of a work and to identify the ingredients of orchestral effects. A pocket-sized miniature score, although impractical for performance, is useful for study.