DVMTA: Conducting : Beyond the Patterns

What Does a Conductor Do?

One of the most confusing things to a non-musician is the purpose of the guy waving the stick. It’s one thing to be leading a bunch of kids who haven’t yet learned how to play together, but why do grownups and professionals need a leader? Can’t they count for themselves and follow one another?

The simple fact is, whether it’s a high school band, a church choir or a professional symphony orchestra, the conductor fulfills four very important functions in a large ensemble and only one of them has to do with keeping time.

Yes, the conductor is the final arbiter of such mundane issues as rhythm and tempo. A duo, trio or quartet may be able to follow one another. A chamber ensemble may be able to follow one another. A rock band or jazz combo may be able to follow one another. However, once an ensemble grows beyond a dozen or so players, individual variances in the perception of time, tempo and rhythm can make it difficult for the group to stay together. This is further aggravated by the fact that some instruments, such as percussion, “speak” immediately and some need a fraction of a second for strings to vibrate or air to move through a horn. Another problem is that sound moves agonizingly slowly (especially as compared to light). If a player on one side of an orchestra waits until he or she hears a musical cue from the other side of the orchestra, that player will be behind. Only by visually focusing on the baton of a conductor can a large number of players, often more than ten feet apart hope to stay together.

The conductor is the final arbiter of the interpretative vision of the music. As we all know, the notes on the page are not the music any more than the bricks are the house. Music is what happens when players interpret the notes and the symbols and the markings to create a once-in lifetime musical experience for the audience. That fact that each musician brings his or her own personal interpretation to the performance is what makes it artistic. Unfortunately, it is also the reason every member of the ensemble can’t be free to interpret such things as dynamics, phrasing, ritards and fermatas for themselves. The result would be chaos. There can only be one interpretive vision and it must be the conductor’s.
The conductor is the physical embodiment of the musical interpretation for the ensemble and the audience. In a song from “My Fair Lady” Eliza implores Professor Higgins to stop talking about his feelings for her and show her how he feels. Conductors can talk about their musical vision forever but musicians understand it more quickly and deeply if they use their entire bodies to demonstrate their musical ideas. The conductor also transmits this interpretation to the audience. There is an axiom in the music business that the audience “listens with their eyes”. An animated conductor can visually reinforce the aural impact of the music for the audience.
The conductor injects spontaneity into the performance. The whole point of live music, as opposed to recorded music, is that every performance is (or should be) a singular event that has never happened before and will never happen again. This spontaneity is obvious in jazz and other styles of music in which the notes themselves are improvised, but even when the notes are not subject to change, there should be a spontaneous element to the musical interpretation. Of course, as with interpretation, the members of the ensemble are not free to perform in a spontaneous fashion. It is the conductor who must add this spontaneity to the performance.

As Cavalcade approaches, let’s challenge ourselves on two levels: As conductors, let’s each create a personal musical vision for each piece and have the confidence to share that vision with the ensemble and the audience. As teachers, let’s help our students be prepared to follow the conductors on this musical journey. Perhaps that’s why they are called “conductors” in the first place.

Charles Newton