SCORE STUDY CHECKLIST
Dr. Thomas Caneva
Ball State University
Determine the composer’s intent and bring it to life utilizing informed
musical intuition and personal artistry
1. COMPOSER (biographical information, mentors, compositional style, is the work
similar to other compositions?)
2. TITLE PAGE (programmatic work, descriptive title, instrumentation, opus number,
transposed or C score?, key signatures, clefs, date of composition, other)
3. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF PIECE (program notes, commission?,
composition date, where was the piece composed?, first performance information,
transcription?, other)
4. PERFORMANCE PRACTICE (terminology, historical style, translation of foreign
terms)
5. INSTRUMENTATION (orchestration, transcription?, unusual instruments, use of
percussion)
6. TEMPO (beginning tempo, tempo relationships)
7. METER (changes within the work?)
8. KEY (modulations)
9. TEXT (if applicable, how does the word influence the interpretation?)
10. FORM (micro and macro, sonata-allegro, binary, ternary, fugue, rondo, etc.)
11. MELODIC LINE – Horizontal influences (counter melodies, augmentation,
diminution, inversion, stretto, development of motives, think about hearing the
melody throughout)
12. CHORDAL ANALYSIS – Vertical influences (general harmonic style, arrival points,
consonance, dissonance, tonal, polytonal, serial, etc.)
13. PHRASAL ANALYSIS (motivic development, climactic points-large and small,
cadences, tension and release, rubato, develop expression for all phrases)
14. STYLE (historical practices, articulation, dynamics)
15. TEXTURE AND COLOR (compositional devices used by composer to influence
timbre, density, special effects-mutes, flutter tonguing, quarter tones, etc.)
16. DYNAMIC RELATIONSHIPS (written and implied, balance and blend to determine
texture and color, climactic moments, use of sfz, fp, etc.)
17. TECHNICAL (PROBLEMATIC) ISSUES – Conductor and Player (attacks, releases,
fermati, tempo changes, cues, meter changes, others)
18. LOOK FOR NEW MATERIAL (changes in instrumentation, melodic and harmonic
development, use of accompaniment, rhythmic changes, timbre, texture, dynamic
contrast, etc.)
19. SPECIAL COMPOSITIONAL DEVICES
20. INTERNALIZE THE MUSIC (sing each part, use piano (or not?!)
21. 1ST ENTRANCE (how to begin!)
We can never exhaust the multiplicity of nuances and subtleties which make the charm of
music…How can we expect to produce a vital performance if we don’t recreate the work
every time? Every year the leaves of the trees reappear with the Spring, but they are
different every time.
Pablo Casals, Conversations with Casals (1956)
The greater the works of art confronting the interpreter, the wider becomes the range of
possible great performances.
Eric Blom, Beethoven’s Pianoforte Sonatas Discussed (1938)
[Refusing to give metronome guidance] Idiot! Do you think I want to hear my music
always played at the same speed?
Johannes Brahms, quoted in Walker (ed.), Robert Schumann: the
Man and his Music (1972)
We are becoming the slaves of little marks on a piece of paper which we call music.
Leopold Stokowski, quoted in Jacobson, Reverberations (1975)
The greatest thing is for us [performers] is to make a phrase sound like you never heard it
before.
Janet Baker, in 1971, quoted Jacobson, Reverberations (1975)
