Orchestral Score-Reading for Pianists

Part of a conductor’s training is learning how to read a score — the ups, downs, and arounds of the musical dynamics, expressions, staves, and clefs.

You must know your C clefs from your G clef, your F clef from your baritone. (Just kidding! The last two are the same.) And, of course, you must know which instruments are written in transposition, and by how much.

Here, then, are the best books for pianists looking to practice reading full scores:

  • Preparatory Exercises in Score Reading, Morris & Ferguson

  • Music for Score Reading, Melcher & Warch

  • Bach Chorales 1-91 in Open Score, ed. Boyd & Riemenschneider

  • Partiturspiel (Vol. 1-4), Creuzburg (Published by Schott; these are excellent, but tricky to find in the US)

  • Score Reading Exercises (Vol. 1 & 2), Lang

  • Score Reading of Orchestral Music: Guide for Conductors and Music Readers, Metelska-Räsänen (This is the academic, one-stop-shop textbook — you can skip this if you just want materials for reading practice)

Dean Balan