"Jim Lesurf" wrote in message
...
In article , Iain Churches
wrote:

When I was younger - and even more foolish - than now, I did do this kind
of thing for a while. I still have some pocket scores with markings in
them. At the time some people regarded this as 'essential' if you really
wanted to detect all the nuances, etc. There was a sort of snobbery about
it as you might guess.

No snobbery as far as I am concerned. Just a lot of hard work that repaid
huge dividends later. The more you put in, the more you get out. What my
tutor Bernard Hermann used to call "surface listening" is not always
terribly
rewarding.

I just found it often got in the way of listening, and was a distraction
once you were reasonably familiar with the piece.

That's absolutely true. But studying the score is a very good way gain
that familiarity and learn how symphonic tone colour is built up.

So I decided it was a
waste of time for anyone who didn't have to 'study' the work. I prefered
to
enjoy the music rather than wanting to study it.

Yes. I would agree for most that is sufficient. But for musicians and
students who need a much deeper understanding, the score is the
key to this.

Iain