Open University lecturers Catherine Tackley and Naomi Barker outline how music is written down, what a musical score is and what it does. You will also learn how musicians use and interpret musical scores in their work.

Open University lecturers Catherine Tackley and Naomi Barker outline how music is written down, what a musical score is and what it does. You will also learn how musicians use and interpret musical scores in their work.

Overcoming the challenge of writing down how sounds relate to the time they occupy was a major breakthrough in the history of Western music notation. Professor Susan Rankin talks to Open University Professor David Rowland about how difficult it was to convey both pitch and rhythm in a way that was relatively easy to learn and easy for musicians to use.

Overcoming the challenge of writing down how sounds relate to the time they occupy was a major breakthrough in the history of Western music notation. Professor Susan Rankin talks to Open University Professor David Rowland about how difficult it was to convey both pitch and rhythm in a way that was relatively easy to learn and easy for musicians to use.

In this video, pianist Alexander Panfilov performs the first six variations of Mozart’s Twelve Variations on ‘Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman’. Alexander is a postgraduate student at the Royal Northern College of Music and will be performing in the Leeds International Piano Competition.

In this video, pianist Alexander Panfilov performs the first six variations of Mozart’s Twelve Variations on ‘Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman’. Alexander is a postgraduate student at the Royal Northern College of Music and will be performing in the Leeds International Piano Competition.

Pianist Alexander Panfilov explains how he works with the score to discover more about textures and structures of the piece as he prepares for his performance.

Pianist Alexander Panfilov explains how he works with the score to discover more about textures and structures of the piece as he prepares for his performance.

The final movement of Schubert’s Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667, known as the Trout quintet. The performance was filmed at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and features Siobhan Doyle (violin), Kimi Makino (viola), Christopher Mansfield (cello), Filipe Dandalo (double bass) and Jeremy Young (piano).

The final movement of Schubert’s Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667, known as the Trout quintet. The performance was filmed at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and features Siobhan Doyle (violin), Kimi Makino (viola), Christopher Mansfield (cello), Filipe Dandalo (double bass) and Jeremy Young (piano).