A Little On Conducting.

Here's just a part of my modular portfolio for my Band Training and Direction elective under Mr Leonard Tan from the previous half of the year...share with you people...Here I will mainly share on what I have learnt on the objective of conducting and what is good conducting.

Why Conduct?
It has been shown that conductor-less large ensembles spend much more time rehearsing than large ensembles that have a conductor to lead them. Thus from here we can conclude two things: a conductor is a time-saver (which is something true but we just hate to admit it) and a conductor is above all, a leader of the entire band or orchestra. A conductor shows through his gestures what he wants of the ensemble, and thus leads them with a single source of interpretation and musicality.

What is good conducting?
Good conducting can be summed up in two aspects: it is clear yet musical. It is quite pointless when a conductor does an emotional tear-jerker piece in a strict 4/4 time pattern throughout the piece even though the score seems to say that everything is in 4/4, and it is equally pointless when the same piece is conducted with great emotion and fervour when none of the players can see or understand what the conductor is trying to convey to them. Good conducting must be clear to the players (not only to yourself!) and equally musical so that the music is music and not just a fixed sequence of sounds being played back in order. One might as well program a computer to play such sounds to achieve the latter.

How does good conducting work?
It is important to understand the effects of conducting; conducting is almost purely psychological in nature (though the players do have to be first ‘sensitised’ to your conducting). Good conducting brings out both the conscious and sub-conscious parts of the player’s mind; it helps bring the player to a higher level than he thinks he can achieve in performance.


How to be a good conductor?
If band instructors tell their musicians to practice their parts, should it not go that they themselves have to practice too? Thus I feel that a good band instructor should do adequate score study before the rehearsal (especially so for new works that have no available recordings…yet) and that he should practice in front of a mirror. Also, the conductor should not stick to what he practices in front of the mirror if it does not work out with the band; either the band has not been ‘sensitised’ to his conducting or there is something wrong with the gestures displayed. Thus a good conductor should also be flexible enough to allow room for change in his conducting when something does not go the way he would like it to go.