Shining Eyes

I was musing over the conducting techniques of various conducters i have seen when i was hit by a revelation.

CONDUCTERS DON'T MAKE ANY SOUNDS

this may seem an obvious point, but it is something most people overlook. conducters make no sounds, play no instruments, nor add to the overall sonority. then i realised something:

CONDUCTERS ARE SUPPOSED TO MAKE THE PLAYERS' EYES SHINE

what does that mean? conducters are maent to, through waving and various motions, bring a sparkle to the players. the players must feel the emotional turmoil that the conducter goes through in directing a piece of music. if the players only make sound (even great sounds) and not be "online" with the conducter, then the conducter has failed. if the conducter is unable to inspire his musicians to bring out all the slight and delicate little movements of the music, then he has also failed.

I will leave you to your thoughts.

(Disclaimer: I am talking about conducting an orchestra/ensemble of COMPETANT musicians who do not need to practice articulation/intonation/tone/rhythm or other mundane aspects. what we have in the band is an Instructor, not strictly a Conducter. instructors preprogram the players, conducters are a bit (**much**) more sophisticated, spontaneous, and flexible.)

That's enough.