Particell

(Ger.).
Short SCORE .1

score
(Fr.: partition; Ger.: Partitur; It.: partitura).
A printed or manuscript copy of a piece of music which shows the parts for all the
performers arranged on separate staves; this is distinct from a ‘part’, which shows only
the music for one performer (or for one group of performers). A ‘full’ score has each
instrumental or vocal part separately displayed, with full performance details (though
two parts for instruments of the same kind may be written on a single staff); this is the
type of score normally used by a conductor. An alternative term for this is ‘orchestral’
score.
A ‘vocal’ or ‘piano-vocal’ score shows all the vocal parts (usually of an opera or a
choral work) on separate staves, with the orchestral parts reduced to a keyboard
arrangement. A ‘piano’ score is a full score reduced to form an arrangement for piano.
A ‘short’ or ‘condensed’ score is a reduction of a full score to a smaller number of
staves (related parts, for example woodwind, may be combined on one staff) but not
necessarily arranged for piano. A ‘MINIATURE’ SCORE is a printed score of pocket
size, in which, conventionally, any voice or instrument that rests for an entire system
(see below) is omitted from that system. A ‘study’ score may be either a miniature
score or a full score of reduced dimensions.2

Scores come in various formats, as follows:

A conductor's score
■ A full score is a large book showing the music of all instruments and voices in a
composition lined up in a fixed order. It is large enough for a conductor to be able to read
it while directing rehearsals and performances.
■ A miniature score is like a full score but much reduced in size. It is too small for use in
performance, but handy for studying a piece of music, whether it be for a large ensemble
or a solo performer. A miniature score may contain some introductory remarks.

1 New Grove Online: Particell

2 New Grove Online: Score
 ■ A study score is sometimes the same size as, and often indistinguishable from, a
miniature score, except in name. Some study scores are octavo size and are thus
somewhere between full and miniature score sizes. A study score, especially when part of
an anthology for academic study, may include extra comments about the music and
markings for learning purposes.
■ A piano score (or piano reduction) is a more or less literal transcription for piano of a
piece intended for many performing parts, especially orchestral works; this can include
purely instrumental sections within large vocal works (see vocal score immediately
below). Such arrangements are made for either piano solo (two hands) or piano duet (one
or two pianos, four hands). Extra small staves are sometimes added at certain points in
piano scores for two hands in order to make the presentation more nearly complete,
though it is usually impractical or impossible to include them while playing. As with
vocal score (immediately below), it takes considerable skill to reduce an orchestral score
to such smaller forces because the reduction needs to be not only playable on the
keyboard but also thorough enough in its presentation of the intended harmonies,
textures, figurations, etc. Sometimes markings are included to show which instruments
are playing at given points. While piano scores are usually not meant for performance
outside of study and pleasure (Liszt's concert transcriptions of Beethoven's symphonies
being a notable exception), ballets get the most practical benefit from piano scores
because with one or two pianists they allow unlimited rehearsal before the orchestra is
absolutely needed. They can be used also to train beginning conductors. Piano scores of
operas do not include separate staves for the vocal parts, but they may add the sung text
and stage directions above the music.

Excerpt of a piano-vocal score (from the opera William Ratcliff, by César Cui).
■ A vocal score (or, more properly, piano-vocal score) is a reduction of the full score of a
vocal work (e.g., opera, musical, oratorio, cantata, etc.) to show the vocal parts (solo and
choral) on their staves and the orchestral parts in a piano reduction (usually for two
hands) underneath the vocal parts; the purely orchestral sections of the score are also
reduced for piano. If a portion of the work is a cappella, a piano reduction of the vocal
parts is often added to aid in rehearsal (this often is the case with a cappella religious
sheet music). While not meant for performance, vocal scores serve as a convenient way
for vocal soloists and choristers to learn the music and rehearse separately from the
instrumental ensemble. The vocal score of a musical typically does not include the
spoken dialogue, except for cues.
 ■ The related but less common choral score contains the choral parts with no
accompaniment.
■ The comparable organ score exists as well, usually in association with church
music for voices and orchestra, such as arrangements (by later hands) of Handel's
Messiah. It is like the piano-vocal score in that it includes staves for the vocal
parts and reduces the orchestral parts to be performed by one person. Unlike the
vocal score, the organ score is sometimes intended by the arranger to substitute
for the orchestra in performance if necessary.
■ A collection of songs from a given musical is usually printed under the label vocal
selections. This is different from the vocal score from the same show in that it
does not present the complete music, and the piano accompaniment usually is
simplified and includes the melody line.
■ A short score is a reduction of a work for many instruments to just a few staves. Rather
than composing directly in full score, many composers work out some type of short score
while they are composing and later expand the complete orchestration. (An opera, for
instance, may be written first in a short score, then in full score, then reduced to a vocal
score for rehearsal.) Short scores are often not published; they may be more common for
some performance venues (e.g., band) than in others.
■ A lead sheet specifies only the melody, lyrics and harmony, using one staff with chord
symbols placed above and lyrics below. It is commonly used in popular music to capture
the essential elements of song without specifying how the song should be arranged or
performed.
■ A chord chart or "chart" contains little or no melodic information at all but provides
detailed harmonic and rhythmic information. This is the most common kind of written
music used by professional session musicians playing jazz or other forms of popular
music and is intended primarily for the rhythm section (usually containing piano, guitar,
bass and drums).
■ A tablature is a special type of musical score—most typically for a solo instrument—
which shows where' to play the pitches on the given instrument rather than which pitches
to produce, with rhythm indicated as well. This type of notation, which dates from the
late Middle Ages, has been used for keyboard (e.g., organ) and for fretted string
instruments (lute, guitar).3

3 Wikiipedia: Music Score