Increase Effectiveness on the Podium with Score Study

score study Aug 01, 2025

Estimated Read Time: 5-7 minutes

By Rob Chilton

Would you like to:

Be more effective on the podium?
Be able to identify and correct mistakes in rehearsal faster?
Hear parts and musical lines better while conducting?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, I’ve got a solution for you! It’s the thing that always makes the biggest difference for me on the podium: score study. Let’s discuss!

Color-Coding for Visibility

Using map pencils, I color-code musical lines with a goal of grouping all instruments or voices into 4-5 easily visible color groups. This allows me to quickly identify who's playing what in rehearsal, increasing both my competency and effectiveness on the podium. Let me show you my system using an excerpt from LeAndre Benton’s Sunlight Dances—a wonderful, newly-published Grade 1.5 for concert band.

First, here’s our excerpt with no markings:

Establish the Shell

At first glance, it can be hard to visually and mentally separate the various musical lines. So, let’s start by shading the primary melody blue.

Next, let’s color the bass line green.

Shading the melody and bass lines first helps me establish what I call “the shell.” Oftentimes, this is enough for me to see and process all of the inner lines without further color-coding. Take another look at the above image. Notice how all of the inner voices are now easier to digest?

Decoding the Inner Lines

With the shell established, we can color-code the internal harmonies. The challenge here is that these inner lines are often hybrid parts which are similar, but not entirely the same as one another. For example, in this excerpt, the trombone/euphonium/bassoon part bears a strong resemblance to the bass line. The rhythms are nearly identical, but the pitches are not.

In this situation, I’d likely color the trombone/euphonium/bassoon line the same green as the bass line it most closely follows. Remember, my goal is to group every voice into one of 4-5 color groups for easy identification in rehearsal.

Next, we can color-code the two remaining lines: a harmonized melody (red) and a counter-melody (yellow).

This color-coding system makes it easy for me to quickly call out instrument groups during rehearsal. I don’t have to think too hard. I can just say: “At measure 44, let me hear the oboe, clarinet, and trumpet 2 parts.”

When Voices Flip-Flop

It’s common for instruments or voices to switch lines mid-phrase—doubling a few measures of this part and a few measures of that part. For example, take a look at the oboe part. Notice how it elegantly shifts from harmony to counter-melody to melody?

This is common and composers do this to add depth to music, but it can make score study more challenging for people like me that want everything to fit neatly into a place. To handle this, I’ve tried shading every measure a different color, but doing so results in a camouflage appearance that can be visually confusing—where every measure is a different color and groupings are difficult to see.

If this works for you—great! But remember, my goal is to assign all parts to one of 4-5 color groups so I can quickly and effortlessly isolate them in rehearsal. For this reason, I prefer grouping hybrid lines with those they most closely resemble, even if their notes and rhythms don’t perfectly align.

Don’t Forget the Percussion!

If you teach band or full orchestra, the percussion parts are easily overlooked. Make sure to spend some time on them! Mallet percussion can often be grouped with musical lines elsewhere. For accessories and drums that are used more sparingly, my method involves shading their starts and stops so I don’t miss an entrance or cue.

While you're here, check out our music literacy method!

Making Time for Score Study

In my experience, studying a Grade 1 takes about 3-4 hours, while a Grade 5 might take more than 20 hours to complete. This can be hard to do in one sitting. And while I’ll occasionally study for longer stretches, more often than not, I’m engaging in quick 15-20 minute sessions before or after rehearsal with a goal of becoming more acquainted with one or two passages—often the ones I’ll be working on that day or the next.

Consider this: If you do 15-20 minutes of score study a day, you’ll know your score in a matter of days or weeks, with plenty of time left before the performance. It’s like we tell our students: If their goal is to practice 210 minutes this week, it’s easier to do 30 minutes a day than try to force 210 minutes on Sunday—it’s the same with score study.

Prep Like an English Teacher

While we may be capable of teaching from a fresh score with minimal preparation, our effectiveness on the podium and the speed at which we can respond to our students increases in relationship with how well we know our scores. I often remind myself: if we were teaching English and covering Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, we’d be expected (pun intended) to have read and studied the novel in advance—so why not approach our musical scores the same way?

Final Thoughts

When it comes to score study, what’s important is having a system for becoming more acquainted with the literature we’re teaching. Our effectiveness on the podium is heavily influenced by how well we know our scores.

Stay tuned as I plan to discuss:

Balancing musical lines to create transparency to the listener
Balancing instrumentation within color groups for a richer ensemble tone
Identifying musical motifs that need to be brought out
Helping students understand and adjust for their roles within a passage of music

Sunlight Dances was used with permission by LeAndre Benton and Wingert-Jones Publications. Check out the full score and audio of this light and musical, newly-published Grade 1.5 for Concert Band:

About the composer of Sunlight Dances:

LeAndre Benton is an administrator in Richardson ISD and a published composer with works through C. Alan, Carl Fischer, Excelcia, Wingert-Jones, and RBC. Formerly Associate Director of Bands at J.J. Pearce High School, he is an experienced conductor, clinician, and trombonist with degrees from Northwestern State University and Lamar University. His fundamentals book, The Daily Regimen is widely used in band programs across the country. Outside of music, he officiates NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball and enjoys traveling, composing, and spending time with his dog, Coda. Visit his website at: www.leandrebentonmusic.com.

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About the author:

Rob Chilton is the creator and owner of Readymade Music, LLC and its content. Previously, Chilton was a middle school band director from 2007-2021. His most recent teaching position was the Head Band Director at Killian Middle School in Lewisville, Texas from 2014-2021.

Under his direction, the Killian Honors Band was named the 2018 Texas Music Educators Association CC Honor Band and performed at the annual 2018 TMEA Clinic/Convention. In 2019, the Killian Honors Band was invited to and performed at The Midwest Clinic in Chicago. Additionally, the Killian Honors Band was named a National Winner in the Mark of Excellence National Wind Band Honors Project in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Chilton is a graduate of Southern Methodist University where he had the opportunity to study music education under the tutelage of Lynne Jackson and Brian Merrill. During his years as a middle school band director, Chilton continued his professional growth under the guidance of his primary clinicians, John Benzer and Brian Merrill.

Chilton’s mission for Readymade Music is to promote the overall well-being of music education and support school music teachers by providing solutions to help make teaching music more efficient and inspirational while increasing engagement for 21st century learners.