Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. Orchestras, choirs, concert bands and other musical ensembles often have conductors. An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string brass woodwind sections and possibly a percussion section as well For the musical composition see Chorale. A choir, chorale, or chorus is a Musical ensemble of Singers A concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, or wind ensemble A musical ensemble is a group of two or more Musicians who perform instrumental or vocal Music.
Contents |
Nomenclature
The principal conductor of an orchestra or opera company is sometimes referred to as a music director or chief conductor, or by the German word, kapellmeister. An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string brass woodwind sections and possibly a percussion section as well Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Kapellmeister (kəˈpɛlˌmaɪstər is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making Conductors of choirs are sometimes referred to as choral director, chorus master, or choirmaster, particularly for choirs associated with an orchestra. For the musical composition see Chorale. A choir, chorale, or chorus is a Musical ensemble of Singers Conductors of military bands and other bands may hold the title of bandmaster. A military band is a group of personnel that perform musical duties for military functions usually Respected senior conductors are sometimes referred to by the Italian word, maestro ("master"). Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Maestro means " Master " or " Teacher " in Italian.
History of conducting
An early form of conducting is cheironomy, the use of hand gestures to indicate melodic shape. Cheironomy (or Chironomy) is the use of Hand signals to direct Vocal music Performance. In Music, a melody (from Greek μελῳδία - melōidía, "singing chanting" also tune, voice, or This has been practiced at least as far back as the Middle Ages. In the Christian church, the person giving these symbols held a staff to signify his role, and it seems that as music became more rhythmically involved, the staff was moved up and down to indicate the beat, acting as an early form of baton. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth For other uses of the word staff see Staff. A staff is a large thick Stick or stick-shaped object used to help with Walking Rhythm (from Greek ῥυθμός - rhythmos, "any measured flow or movement symmetry" is the variation of the length and accentuation of A baton is a stick that is used by conductors primarily to indicate the musical beat of a piece through horizontal and vertical movements
In the 17th century, other devices to indicate the passing of time came into use. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar Rolled up sheets of paper, smaller sticks and unadorned hands are all shown in pictures from this period. The large staff was responsible for the death of Jean-Baptiste Lully, who stabbed his foot with the staff while conducting a Te Deum for the king's recovery from illness. Jean-Baptiste de Lully ( Giovanni Battista di Lulli) (ʒɑ̃batist də lyˈli in French (November 28 1632 &ndash March 22 1687 was a French Composer of Italian The wound became gangrenous, and he died two months later, after refusing surgery to remove the infected toe. Please do not add warnings to this page about the pictures Wikipedia is not censored for taste and has a guideline preventing such warnings - WikipediaNo disclaimers in articles
In instrumental music, a member of the ensemble usually acted as the conductor. This was sometimes the principal violinist, who could use his bow as a baton, or a lutenist who would move the neck of his instrument in time with the beat. The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member In Music, a bow is moved across some part of a Musical instrument, causing Vibration which the instrument emits as Sound. Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck (either Fretted or unfretted and a deep round back or more specifically to an instrument from It was common to conduct from the harpsichord in pieces that had a basso continuo part. A harpsichord is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. Figured bass, or thoroughbass, is a kind of integer Musical notation used to indicate intervals, chords and Nonchord tones in relation In opera performances, there were sometimes two conductors - the keyboard player was in charge of the singers, and the principal violinist was in charge of the orchestra.
By the early 19th century, it became the norm to have a dedicated conductor, who did not also play an instrument during the performance. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The size of the usual orchestra expanded during this period, and the use of a baton became more common, as it was easier to see than bare hands or rolled-up paper. Among the earliest notable conductors were Louis Spohr, Carl Maria von Weber, Louis Antoine Jullien and Felix Mendelssohn, all of whom were also composers. Louis Spohr ( April 5, 1784 &ndash October 22, 1859) was a German Composer, Violinist and conductor. Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber ( 18 December 1786 in Eutin, Holstein, Germany - 5 June 1826 in London Louis Antoine Jullien ( April 23, 1812 - March 14, 1860) was a French conductor. Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born and generally known as Felix Mendelssohn (February 3 1809 &ndash November 4 1847 was a German Composer Mendelssohn is claimed to have been the first conductor to utilize a wooden baton to keep time, a practice still generally in use today. Amongst prominent conductors who did not or do not use a baton are Leopold Stokowski, Pierre Boulez, Dimitri Mitropoulos and Kurt Masur [1]. WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Leopold Stokowski (born Leopold Anthony Stokowski though on occasion WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Pierre Boulez (pjɛʁ buˈlɛz (b Dimitris Mitropoulos (Δημήτρης Μητρόπουλος ( &ndash November 2, 1960) known in the West as Dimitri Mitropoulos WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Kurt Masur (b Hans von Bülow is commonly considered the first professional musician whose principal career was as a conductor. WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Hans Guido Freiherr von Bülow (January 8 1830 &ndash February 12 1894
Hector Berlioz and Richard Wagner were also conductors, and they wrote two of the earliest essays dedicated to the subject. Berlioz is considered the first virtuoso conductor. Wagner was largely responsible for shaping the conductor's role as one who imposes his own view of a piece onto the performance rather than one who is simply responsible for ensuring entries are made at the right time and that there is a unified beat.
In the late 20th century, a New York composer Walter Thompson created a live composing sign language known as soundpainting to be used in the medium of structured improvisation. Walter Thompson may refer to Walter A Thompson (1903-1975 American film editor nominated twice for the Academy Award for Film Editing Walter Soundpainting is the live composing sign language created by New York composer Walter Thompson for musicians dancers actors poets and visual artists working in the medium At present the language includes over 750 gestures used as communication tool by the composer/conductor to indicate the type of improvisation desired of the performers. In addition, a system called conduction, developed by Lawrence D. "Butch" Morris, is another prominent movement in the field. Lawrence D "Butch" Morris (b Long Beach, California, February 10, 1947) is an American Jazz Cornetist The latter is considered more effective to dictate relationships and transformations, giving the improvisers more control over the content they contribute.
Technique
Conducting is a means of communicating artistic directions to performers during a performance. There are no absolute rules on how to conduct correctly, and a wide variety of different conducting styles exist. The primary responsibilities of the conductor are to set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble.
An understanding of the basic elements of musical expression (tempo, dynamics, articulation) and the ability to communicate them effectively to an ensemble is necessary in order to conduct. 2266-Tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl or TEMPO is the Chemical compound with the formula (CH23(CMe22NO In Music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a Sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece either stylistic In Music, articulation refers to the direction or performance technique which affects the transition or continuity on single note or between multiple notes or The ability to communicate nuances of phrasing and expression through gesture is also beneficial. Conducting gestures may be choreographed beforehand by the conductor while studying the score, or may be spontaneous. Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of Musical notation; like its analogs -- books pamphlets etc
A distinction is sometimes made between orchestral conducting and choral conducting. Stereotypically, orchestral conductors use a baton more often than choral conductors (though not always: this is up to the conductor's personal preference), and favor the use of beat patterns over gestural conducting, which concentrates more on musical expression and shape. A stereotype (from Greek: stereo + týpos = "solid impression" is a generalized perception of first impressions behaviors presumed by a group A baton is a stick that is used by conductors primarily to indicate the musical beat of a piece through horizontal and vertical movements
The grip of the baton varies from conductor to conductor. A baton is a stick that is used by conductors primarily to indicate the musical beat of a piece through horizontal and vertical movements Despite a wide variety of styles, a number of standard conventions have developed.
Beat and tempo
The beat of the music is typically indicated with the conductor's right hand, with or without a baton. A beat is the basic Time Unit of a piece of Music; for example each tick sounded by a Metronome would correspond to a beat A baton is a stick that is used by conductors primarily to indicate the musical beat of a piece through horizontal and vertical movements The hand traces a shape in the air in every bar (measure) depending on the time signature, indicating each beat with a change from downward to upward motion. In Musical notation, a bar or measure is a segment of time defined as a given number of beats of a given duration The time signature (also known as " meter signature" is a notational convention used in Western Musical notation to specify how many beats The images show the most common beat patterns, as seen from the conductor's point of view.
The downbeat indicates the first beat of the bar, and the upbeat indicates the last beat of the bar. In Music performance and Music theory, the downbeat is the first beat of a measure in Music, the impulse that occurs at the Upbeat (Ger Auftakt 1 An unaccented beat or beats that occur before the first beat of the following measure. The instant at which the beat occurs is called the ictus (plural: ictus or ictuses), and is usually indicated by a sudden (though not necessarily large) click of the wrist or change in baton direction. A baton is a stick that is used by conductors primarily to indicate the musical beat of a piece through horizontal and vertical movements In some instances, "ictus" is also used to refer to a horizontal plane in which all the ictuses are physically located, such as the top of a music stand where a baton is tapped at each ictus. A music stand is a device that holds Sheet music in a position that allows the performer to read it while performing The gesture leading up to the ictus is called the "preparation", and the continuous flow of steady beats is called the "takt".
If the tempo is slow or slowing, or if the time signature is compound, a conductor will sometimes indicate "subdivisions" of the beats. 2266-Tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl or TEMPO is the Chemical compound with the formula (CH23(CMe22NO The time signature (also known as " meter signature" is a notational convention used in Western Musical notation to specify how many beats In Music, compound meter, compound metre, or compound time ( chiefly British variation) is a Time signature or meter in The conductor can do this by adding a smaller movement in the same direction as the movement for the beat that it belongs to.
Changes to the tempo are indicated by changing the speed of the beat. To carry out and to control a rallentando, a conductor may introduce beat subdivisions. 2266-Tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl or TEMPO is the Chemical compound with the formula (CH23(CMe22NO
Some conductors use both hands to indicate the beat, with the left hand mirroring the right, though others view this as redundant and therefore to be avoided. This is also seen as improper practice by many. The second hand may be used for cueing the entrances of individual players or sections, and to aid indications of dynamics, phrasing, expression, and other elements.
Dynamics
Dynamics are indicated in various ways. In Music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a Sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece either stylistic The dynamic may be communicated by the size of the conducting movements, larger shapes representing louder sounds. Changes in dynamic may be signaled with the hand that is not being used to indicate the beat: an upward motion (usually palm-up) indicates a crescendo; a downward motion (usually palm-down) indicates a diminuendo. In Music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a Sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece either stylistic Changing the size of conducting movements may result in unintended tempo changes because larger movements require the beat to traverse more space in the same amount of time.
Dynamics can be fine-tuned using various gestures: showing one's palm to the performers or leaning away from them may demonstrate a decrease in volume. In order to adjust the overall balance of the various instruments or voices, these signals can be combined or directed towards a particular section or performer.
Cueing
The indication of entries, when a performer or section should begin playing (perhaps after a long period of silence), is called "cueing". A cue must forecast with certainty the exact moment of the coming ictus, so that all the players or singers affected by the cue can begin playing simultaneously. Cueing is achieved by engaging the players before their entry and executing a clear preparation, often directed towards the specific players. An inhalation, which may or may not be a semi-audible "sniff" from the conductor, is a common element in the cueing technique of many conductors. Mere eye contact or a look in the general direction of the players may be sufficient in many instances, as when more than one section of the ensemble enters at the same time. Larger musical events may warrant the use of a larger or more emphatic cue designed to encourage emotion and energy.
Other musical elements
Articulation may be indicated by the character of the ictus, ranging from short and sharp for staccato, to long and fluid for legato. In Musical notation, the Italian word staccato (literally detached, plural staccatos or staccati) indicates that notes In Musical notation the Italian word legato (literally meaning "tied together" indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly Many conductors change the tension of the hands: strained muscles and rigid movements may correspond to marcato, while relaxed hands and soft movements may correspond to legato or espressivo.
Phrasing may be indicated by wide overhead arcs or by a smooth hand motion either forwards or side-to-side. A held note is often indicated by a hand held flat with palm up. The end of a note, called a "cutoff" or "release", may be indicated by a circular motion, the closing of the palm, or the pinching of finger and thumb. A release is usually preceded by a preparation and concluded with a complete stillness.
Conductors aim to maintain eye contact with the ensemble as much as possible, encouraging eye contact in return and increasing the dialogue between players/singers and conductor. Facial expressions may also be important to demonstrate the character of the music or to encourage the players.
See also
References
- Norman Lebrecht, The Maestro Myth: Great Conductors in Pursuit of Power, 2nd Rev&Up edition, Citadel Press 2001
- Brock McElheran, "Conducting Technique"
- Frederik Prausnitz, "Score and Podium"
- Max Rudolf, "The Grammar Of Conducting"
- Larry G. Cheironomy (or Chironomy) is the use of Hand signals to direct Vocal music Performance. Curtis and David L. Kuehn, "A Guide To Successful Instrumental Conducting. "
- Michel Faul, "Louis Jullien, musique, spectacle et folie au XIXe siècle" (editions Atlantica, France 2006). Dedicated site : http://louisjullien.site.voila.fr
Notes
External links
- Introduction to Conducting
- What to Think About When You Conduct
- [1] Australian conductor Benjamin Northey on the experience of conducting. (Arts Hub Australia, May 29 2007)
- A Choral Technique
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic