Guide to Score Study for the Wind Band Conductor by Frank Battisti and Robert Garofalo

Guide to Score Study for the Wind Band Conductor by Frank Battisti and Robert Garofalo is well written book that details a comprehensive method of score study. The authors conceived the text with the intention of filling a void of references on the subject. Most texts written about conducting go into detail about developing the physical skills of the conductor. Fine examples of conducting texts include Elizabeth Green's The Modern Conductor and Donald Hunsberger's The Art of Conducting. These references, while invaluable, have very few pages committed to the art of score study. Battisti and Garofalo in their surveying of young conductors discovered that most novices learn the technical aspects of conducting before they learn an approach to studying the score. These students, they discovered, rarely realize a score with interpretive intent. The young conductor typically consults recording references or bases interpretation on prior school band experience. The guide is written with the music education student in mind and is designed to provide valuable first hand experiences as well as a step by step process approach to score study.

Every chapter in the systematic process begins with a quote from a prominent historical musician. The statements provide the reader with a sense of induction into the greater world of music making as a scholar of the score. After a brief overview and introduction in chapter one, the second chapter introduces the initial step of becoming familiar with the score. The process is divided into three parts, a reading of the printed references provided in the score, an assessment of the facts appearing on the first full page of printed music and a cursory look at each page of the manuscript. After a detailed description of the process, the authors furnish an exercise in applying the method to a full score. The score chosen by the writers is Percy Grainger's Irish Tune from County Derry. An additional illustrative device called "A View From Within the Mind" invites the reader to read the thoughts of hypothetical conductor as he/she approaches the score for the first time.

The third chapter and second step in the method is to read the score at a tempo that will allow the student to hear the music without stopping. The reader is encouraged to permit their creative imagination to surface naturally. Score memorizing, utilizing the piano, or listening to recordings of the composition is discouraged. After this initial reading, the reader is advised to reflect on sections of the music in his mind without consulting the score. Application exercises are provided followed by thought provoking questions for self-evaluation and discovery.

The third step initiates the technique of intensely analyzing the score. Battisti and Garofalo give an exhaustive list of specific components of musical composition to examine. The conductor, after completing the detailed examination, assesses the overall structure of the work. The construction of the large form is studied in the context of the micro components. The authors then encourage the reader to develop a flow chart of the composition. An illustration of the process is provided using the Irish Tune score and excerpted analysis notes from the authors' hands.

The final step, described in chapter five, is a synthesis of the knowledge acquired from the application of the preceding sections. Tempos, phrasing, dynamics, color, texture, the composer, historical context, and the style period are all taken into consideration. The utilization of information synthesis to create interpretation is applied to the Grainger score. The hypothetical conductor returns and the final creative stage is demonstrated. The interpretive analysis of Irish Tune is included in a narrative and in the included full score. The chapter ends with a quiz for the reader and a summary of the entire score study process.

The appendix in the book includes several valuable references and resources. A section on instrument transpositions and clefs is provided. Several score examples, referred to throughout the guidebook, offer opportunities to practice the various steps in the procedure. A detailed reference list, a well-written biographical sketch, and other Percy Grainger materials fill the final pages of the section.

The authors define score study as the process in which music notation and other printed information provided in the score are systematically examined and thoroughly assimilated. The Guide to Score Study is an invaluable reference that can be used to supplement undergraduate conducting classes and provide a well-conceived method for score study for the experienced wind band conductor. It dives into the most fundamentally neglected part of conducting, the learning of a musical score. The authors have put together a text that not only provides a process for conductors to follow to learn a new score, but a way of taking logical steps to elicit a well founded interpretive analysis. The included analysis of Percy Grainger's Irish Tune is complete and well researched. The text truly addresses an aspect of a conductor's education that requires guidance.

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