Building Musical Literacy Through Thoughtful Score Study Preparation

I don’t know about you, but a fresh score and a new set of colored pencils hits me with the same excitement as a brand-new composition notebook and sparkly gel pens on the first day of school!

This past summer, Chris, Ross, and I presented a score study clinic at the Texas Bandmasters Association Summer Convention. It had a pretty fancy title, but it really boiled down to “How to break down a score and find creative ways to teach the music.” As we head into Spring Contest and Concert Season, I wanted to share the resources we put together. 

GOAL: Structure the music learning process to develop literacy skills as we prepare the piece -- similar to the original purpose of études. The focus is not on perfecting a single piece through repetition, but on cultivating musical growth through targeted skill-building.
DOWNLOAD THE SCORE STUDY SCAVENGER HUNT HERE
Clinic Presentation (this includes tons of pictures and examples!)
Clinic Handout
I hope you enjoy your score study and have many wonderfully productive rehearsals ahead of you! 🎶 
Happy teaching from our team to yours! 😊