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Rehearsal letter
A rehearsal letter, sometimes referred to as rehearsal marks, rehearsal figures, or rehearsal numbers, is a boldface letter of the alphabet in an orchestral score, and its corresponding parts, that provides the conductor, who typically leads rehearsals, with a convenient spot to tell the orchestra to begin at places other than the start of movements or pieces. Rehearsal letters are most often used in scores of the Romantic era and onwards, beginning with Louis Spohr. Rehearsal letters are typically placed at structural points in the piece.
In the course of rehearsing an orchestral piece, it is often necessary for the conductor to stop and go back to some point in the middle, in order to master the more difficult passages or sections, or to resolve a challenge that the ensemble is having. Many scores and parts have bar numbers, every five or ten bars, or at the beginning of each page or line. But as pieces and individual movements of works became longer (extending to several hundred bars) as the Romantic era progressed, bar numbers became less practical in rehearsal.
For example, a conductor can tell their musicians to resume at bar 387, so that the musicians have to find the nearest bar number in their parts (e.g. 385 or 390) and count back or forward a couple of measures. Even if the number 387 is written at the appropriate bar, it might not particularly stand out. But if there is, for example, a big, bold letter M in the score and parts, it is much easier for the conductor to just say "begin at letter M". Even if the conductor were to say "one bar before letter M", that would still be more convenient than saying "bar 386". Alternatively the conductor could first say "before M..." and allow the players time to find M and then say "one bar".
In the score of a full orchestra, rehearsal letters are typically placed over the flutes' (or piccolo's) staff, and duplicated above the first violins' staff. For concert bands, rehearsal letters are placed over the piccolo's staff (or flutes'), and over the trumpets'. Rehearsal letters should appear in every part, but the conductor or librarian should check this and also make sure that they agree with the conductor's score; if they do not, the letters from the parts should be copied to the conductor's score. For typical pieces or movements of the Romantic era marked allegro, the letters A to Z can be used up, though the letters I, J or O (or all) may be skipped.
Placement and frequency of the letters do not follow a hard-and-fast rule. Generally they are inserted at places where there is a musically significant change, for example a new theme, or a change in dynamic or instrumentation or the start of a new section – just those places where a conductor might want to restart in rehearsal. In addition, having the letters coincide with musical signposts can help players who are counting rests confirm they are still in the right place, which would not be possible if the marks were placed at numerically regular intervals.
The letter A is almost always used for a point close to the beginning, but not for the very beginning itself because it is much easier to say "from the beginning". Likewise, rehearsal letters are not necessary at changes in tempo, key signature or time signature, as the name of the new tempo or signature can serve the same purpose. For example, in some editions of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, letter A of the Finale does not occur until bar 140, when the relatively late entry of the first violins with the "Ode to Joy" theme might not stand out enough to the other players to be a convenient point of reference, whereas the reminiscences of the previous movements' themes are more easily referenced by their tempo markings.
A rehearsal letter usually breaks a multimeasure rest in a part (except in cases where a given instrument does not play at all in a given movement of the work). Because rehearsal letters are sometimes independent of edition and in some cases even version, they are also useful for telling applicants for positions in the orchestra what passages they need to play at the audition. They are also useful for easy reference in scholarly essays about orchestral works. However, rehearsal letters are altogether absent from some editions of some pieces that have them in other editions, such as the older editions of Richard Wagner's Meistersinger prelude.
Rehearsal letters are less useful in unaccompanied instrumental music such as the solo piano repertoire (although they may be used in duets), since the instrumentalist has no need to communicate to a fellow player where to resume playing. Songs also tend not to use them, because it is more useful to refer to the lyrics (except in pieces where the lyrics are highly repetitive, or those with long lyric-less sections).
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Rehearsal letter
A rehearsal letter, sometimes referred to as rehearsal marks, rehearsal figures, or rehearsal numbers, is a boldface letter of the alphabet in an orchestral score, and its corresponding parts, that provides the conductor, who typically leads rehearsals, with a convenient spot to tell the orchestra to begin at places other than the start of movements or pieces. Rehearsal letters are most often used in scores of the Romantic era and onwards, beginning with Louis Spohr. Rehearsal letters are typically placed at structural points in the piece.
In the course of rehearsing an orchestral piece, it is often necessary for the conductor to stop and go back to some point in the middle, in order to master the more difficult passages or sections, or to resolve a challenge that the ensemble is having. Many scores and parts have bar numbers, every five or ten bars, or at the beginning of each page or line. But as pieces and individual movements of works became longer (extending to several hundred bars) as the Romantic era progressed, bar numbers became less practical in rehearsal.
For example, a conductor can tell their musicians to resume at bar 387, so that the musicians have to find the nearest bar number in their parts (e.g. 385 or 390) and count back or forward a couple of measures. Even if the number 387 is written at the appropriate bar, it might not particularly stand out. But if there is, for example, a big, bold letter M in the score and parts, it is much easier for the conductor to just say "begin at letter M". Even if the conductor were to say "one bar before letter M", that would still be more convenient than saying "bar 386". Alternatively the conductor could first say "before M..." and allow the players time to find M and then say "one bar".
In the score of a full orchestra, rehearsal letters are typically placed over the flutes' (or piccolo's) staff, and duplicated above the first violins' staff. For concert bands, rehearsal letters are placed over the piccolo's staff (or flutes'), and over the trumpets'. Rehearsal letters should appear in every part, but the conductor or librarian should check this and also make sure that they agree with the conductor's score; if they do not, the letters from the parts should be copied to the conductor's score. For typical pieces or movements of the Romantic era marked allegro, the letters A to Z can be used up, though the letters I, J or O (or all) may be skipped.
Placement and frequency of the letters do not follow a hard-and-fast rule. Generally they are inserted at places where there is a musically significant change, for example a new theme, or a change in dynamic or instrumentation or the start of a new section – just those places where a conductor might want to restart in rehearsal. In addition, having the letters coincide with musical signposts can help players who are counting rests confirm they are still in the right place, which would not be possible if the marks were placed at numerically regular intervals.
The letter A is almost always used for a point close to the beginning, but not for the very beginning itself because it is much easier to say "from the beginning". Likewise, rehearsal letters are not necessary at changes in tempo, key signature or time signature, as the name of the new tempo or signature can serve the same purpose. For example, in some editions of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, letter A of the Finale does not occur until bar 140, when the relatively late entry of the first violins with the "Ode to Joy" theme might not stand out enough to the other players to be a convenient point of reference, whereas the reminiscences of the previous movements' themes are more easily referenced by their tempo markings.
A rehearsal letter usually breaks a multimeasure rest in a part (except in cases where a given instrument does not play at all in a given movement of the work). Because rehearsal letters are sometimes independent of edition and in some cases even version, they are also useful for telling applicants for positions in the orchestra what passages they need to play at the audition. They are also useful for easy reference in scholarly essays about orchestral works. However, rehearsal letters are altogether absent from some editions of some pieces that have them in other editions, such as the older editions of Richard Wagner's Meistersinger prelude.
Rehearsal letters are less useful in unaccompanied instrumental music such as the solo piano repertoire (although they may be used in duets), since the instrumentalist has no need to communicate to a fellow player where to resume playing. Songs also tend not to use them, because it is more useful to refer to the lyrics (except in pieces where the lyrics are highly repetitive, or those with long lyric-less sections).