Vocal music is often written for a combination of 4 voices - Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass. It is written in one of 2 ways using either Short Score or Open Score. We have also included the Modern Vocal Score version, which uses all 4 Clefs.
SHORT SCORE (also called Compressed or Condensed Score) uses the Grand Staff similar to the piano. The
In OPEN SCORE vocal music, each of the 4 voices is written on its own staff. The voices appear in order of range from highest to lowest.
Unlike the OPEN SCORE the MODERN VOCAL
SCORE does not use the C clefs. The 3 higher voices are written with the Treble clef with the Tenor notes written an octave higher than they sound. This method of writing music is also known as Novello score.
