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Elevate Your Level of Readiness: A Method for Effective Score Study

Known Commodities and Needed Materials of efficiently digesting the scores we have chosen. With all
When it comes to score study and score marking, there our materials accessible, let’s calibrate our mindset for the
are two known commodities to consider: the time we important work in front of us.
have to study and the repertoire. Time, as we have already
Elevate Your Level of READINESS
established, is at a premium, which means that we might “It is not often that a man can make opportunities for
have to begin our score study in a planning period during
himself. But he can put himself in such shape that when
the school day. The first order of business, then, is to define
or if the opportunities come, he is ready.” —Theodore Roosevelt
the amount of time needed for the proposed method of
study. Many music educators operate within two school We all hope that the magic of making music happens
schedules: either (1) a seven- or eight-period day with at some point in every rehearsal, but in reality we never
40-50-minute periods or (2) a block schedule comprised know exactly when those moments will occur. That is
of four one-and-a-half-hour periods, which allows for why we need to be ready at a moment’s notice with a
two 45-minute half-periods per block. For the sake of thorough understanding of the repertoire in the event
argument, let’s define one planning period (in either school that the performers meet us in the rehearsal room with
schedule) to be 42-45 minutes in length. the appropriate level of preparation. In those moments,
Secondly, Texas’ governing body for interscholastic we as conductors have the potential to get past the “nuts
competitions and activities (UIL) defines the eligible and bolts” of tone development or rhythmic precision and
repertoire for our annual Concert and Sight-Reading to share with our student musicians the beauty present
Evaluation at both the middle and high school levels. Also, in all grade levels of band repertoire. How do we prepare
a committee of well-respected music educators, selected by ourselves for those moments? We proceed in this order
the UIL, determines this repertoire listed on the PML. We over a 42-45 minute period:
owe a debt to these fine educators for identifying some of The R.E.A.D.I.N.E.S.S. Method
the best repertoire from the copious literature now available 1. Read every word in the score. (5 min.)
to bands at all levels. Let’s first collect some materials to aid 2. Explore form and structure. (5 min.)
us in this journey. The materials needed include: 3. Analyze key areas and important cadences. (5-7 min.)
• Any clean, well-lit, flat surface 4. Delineate important entrances and emotional arrivals.
• Straightedge or 12” ruler (5 min.)
• Erasable pencils in black, red, yellow, and blue 5. Indicate significant changes in dynamics and
• Music dictionary articulation. (5 min.)
—Harnsberger, L.C. Essential Dictionary of Music: 6. Notate and translate challenging rhythmic figures.
Pocket Size Book. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Alfred Music, (5 min.)
Pub. 1996. (approx. $7.00) 7. Evaluate areas that should be addressed early in the
—Oxford Dictionary of Music as a smartphone app rehearsal process. (5 min.)
(approx. $10.00) 8. Systematically craft and...
• Metronome 9. ...Successfully prepare the rehearsal plan. (5-7min.)
• Clock or time keeping device In my experience, tackling the question of “Where do I
• Scores start?” has been one of the initial obstacles of efficient score
A good smartphone will combine many of these study. A conductor could start anywhere, but setting out on
functions. Just make sure you put it in “Airplane Mode” to our journey with a global view and proceeding to smaller,
avoid distractions like email and social media. Once you more specific areas is an effective way of breaking down
have collected these materials, we can begin the process scores early in the process.

Bandmasters Review • April 2018 23 Texas Bandmasters Association