If you play for a choir, chances are you have been asked to play “open score” in rehearsal. If you are unfamiliar with the term, “open score” refers to the way the music is laid out for a choir: each voice part (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) has its own line of music written on the treble or bass staff.
Why is Reading SATB Open Score So Difficult?
Pianists struggle with reading open score because they are used to reading only two clefs - treble and bass – joined together. In general, the right hand plays the treble clef notes and the left hand plays the bass clef notes. However, when faced with four lines on different staves, the pianist is forced to make choices about which hand plays what.
Additionally, the choral pianist must quickly scan the separate voice parts and decide immediately how to cluster notes together, so that he or she can play as many of each voice parts' notes as possible. Often, it is physically impossible to take all of the notes from all of the voice parts and play them all at the same time.
How Can I Make Sense of Reading SATB Open Score Vocal Parts?
Prioritizing what to play and what to leave out is an essential skill for a choral accompanist, one which is often learned during rehearsal in front of 20-100 people. Talk about a high-stress situation! Usually, the pianist’s response is to go home and try to practice all four parts at the piano, away from prying eyes, and hope for better results next time. However, this really isn’t the best use of time. It would be better for the choral pianist to learn how to prioritize what the choir needs most, mark the score accordingly, and practice that. After all, the voice parts are often only 50% of what the accompanist needs to practice; if there is a piano accompaniment, this also needs to be learned and polished!
What Tools Can Help Me Learn How to Read SATB Open Score?
There are very few resources available online, at least at this writing, for the choral accompanist to learn the skill of open score reading. This is why I have put together a growing collection of tools, a few of which are mentioned below:
A CHORAL ACCOMPANIST'S GUIDE TO OPEN SCORE READING
This free guide will take you step-by-step through identifying harmonies and practicing the different voice parts in a chorale from Bach's St. Matthew's Passion.
THE WELL-TEMPERED CHORALE PLAYER
This guide takes you a step further with practice in all the major and minor keys in which Bach wrote his chorales.
HOW TO READ OPEN SCORE WORKSHOP
This 40-minute workshop is available on-demand and is accompanied by a 37-page workbook with practical guides and charts to help equip the choral accompanist with the strategies needed to successfully navigate choral music in open score.
During the workshop, I discuss a progression of strategies that you can try to help you quickly scan a score, decide what is important to prioritize, and mark your score to assist your playing. We work with several choral scores in real time so that you know exactly how to mark your score. The workbook includes an appendix with additional music that you can practice after the class.
JOIN THE CHORAL ACCOMPANISTS GROUP
There is a new community of choral accompanists forming online where you can find support and encouragement, share your progress, and celebrate your success! Come on over, introduce yourself, and share your stories and questions!
I have plans to expand the resources available to choral accompanists, so keep checking back in! There are several ways to keep in touch: sign up for my monthly newsletter, subscribe to my blog, and bookmark the webpage coribelle.com/choral-piano.
I hope this encourages you in your choral accompanying journey and provides you with some resources to further your skillset and help you bring out the best in your choir.
Happy music-making!
P.S. Do you know an accompanist who would benefit from these resources? Please share this post with them!
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