I didn’t want to pollute the symphonies thread any further with all my posts on score reading, so I’ve created my own thread. I’ve read more about transposing instruments and I still think it would be better to have all parts in full scores at concert pitch. I suppose conductors etc are able to read transposed scores easily, but for me its a real struggle right now.
So far, I’m just trying with one instrument, the clarinet in A, since it’s just down a minor third, but even still it’s a challenge. How do people with absolute pitch play transposing instruments? My last teacher had it, and she could never transpose anything at sight when asked to do so in her accompanying work, because it threw her to see one note and hear another. Even without perfect pitch, we all have some ability to discern pitch in an absolute sense. However, I’d imagine you’d have no concept of what a C is as a clarinetist, if it can be an A or a Bb depending on which instrument you’re playing.
I’m setting myself a goal to get better at reading transposed parts. I’d also like to be able to read alto clef. That’s also really slow going at the moment.
Not related to orchestral scores, but how good are you mofos at figured bass? I used to be semi able to do it during my student days but I don’t think that I could do it now.
Ah, don’t we love USA?
That said, I can sightfuck any figured bass.
Full scores are hard, all the elements need to be learned and digested first - before combining.
As for reading scores at sight - most people who claim they can do it:
Already know the piece
Are reading the outer voices and doing raw impro in all da middle sheeyat.
At any rate, the hardest stuff is probably horns in F and Clarinets, esp when there are enharmonic changes in the score and an “imaginary clef” method no longer works - you gotta read the full phrase and manually transrape it down
Da hair mofo (Mr Sivan) dat I took da score fuckin/song trans/impro/figured bazz class with had da most insane perfect pitch - it did not give him any problems fo score reading.
Yeah, Arrau could do it as well and obviously people like Liszt too. Then again I read comments from people like Muti, Levine etc who were the same as my teacher and always needed people to write out the transposed scores for them.
So what do you teach in figured bass class? As in how do you teach it? Do you just make them do it, or do you make them analyse the harmonic progressions as they go?
Tru, score reading will generally be the outer lines and random inner. Most siteraping is guess work anyway.
I know a viola playing conductor who can score read on the piano better than me coz he’s had to do it. I can siterape 2 staves fine, but have been getting called for chorus rehearsals and having to do 4+ is a challenge (when there’s no reduction).
Even reading a few bars while mentally transposing down a minor third is hard for me, mostly due to having to account for accidentals. I definitely can’t do it in real time.
I see, no, I’m just saying - thinking in a key works up to a certain point, sometimes in da event of an enharmonic change, you haff to do it a min 3rd down.
I remember sum parts off da Messiaen Quartet fo da End of Tym
7:49 good to pracrice the clarinet in Bflat trans
Major second down, an imaginary clef no longer works.
