Vocal Score
A vocal work printed with the voice parts and a piano reduction of the accompaniment
Related
A vocal score prints the vocal lines of an opera, oratorio or choral work with the orchestral accompaniment reduced for piano, so singers and a rehearsal pianist can share one book.
It keeps the text, role names and numberings, turns overtures and interludes into piano music, and compresses woodwind and string detail into a playable texture, naming the original instruments where needed.
A vocal score is not a solo part. Singers still need their own vocal part for performance, while choirs rehearse from the vocal score because one piano can supply harmony, rhythm and entries at once.
Sources
- 声乐谱的编制与用途，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Vocal score"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.