The Conductor: Listen

+ ME, LISTEN ANALYZE
the
CONDUCTOR
PRACTICE PERFORM
Prepared by: Elizabeth Susan V. Suarez, BM, MM, PhD.

+
Conducting
is a
COMPLEX MATTER
The mastery of physical technique,

though important is still but a small
part of the TOTAL ART.
+
The CONDUCTOR
 To the average on-looker:

conductor functions as a TIME BEATER and
the competence and effectiveness of the
conductor is judged on the physical
appearance of gestures.
 Forthe amateur choral singer, these
characteristics are seen as a means of
communication evoking a certain emphatic
response that results in a satisfying choral
experience.
+
The CONDUCTOR
 Fora professional musician: who has

inspired performance,
TIME BEATING gestures may seem less
important than:
 the conductor’s ear,
 knowledge of the score,
 ability
to interpret the intentions of the
composer.
+
“One of the most

important elements
necessary for a healthy
experience for every
choral singer is the well
trained, competent
conductor.”
+
“ As the leader of a communicative-
educational experience, the choral
conductor must be trained as a
facilitator- one who is able to create
and control a special kind of
learning environment and evoke an
emphatic response from the
participants.”
+
The Conductor
Through the Ages
Early History:
The first indication of a conductor is on a Greek
tablet from 709 BC. The caption reads:
"The giver of Time beats with his stave up and
down in equal movements so that all might keep
together.”
In 95 AD Marcus Fabius Quintilianus writes that
musical leaders "indicate intervals of time by
stamping their feet, also their toes."
+
11th Century that show some

conductors at a stand with their right
hands free for
chironomy (an early method of
indicating pitch by hand position), and
a staff in their left hands that was
both a token of authority and an
instrument of discipline.
+
Bartolimeo Ramos de Pareia in
Musica Practica 1482 indicates
that the choir director

beats time with his foot,
hand, or finger. There are
several references to all
three types of conducting.
+
Early 15th and 16th Century
Many references to the conductor keeping
the tactus or beat using a roll of parchment
or paper. There are also stories of
conductors conducting with great staffs.
Perhaps the most famous is of Lully (1632-
1687) who was supposed to be quite the
tyrant. In the throws of either passion or anger
he impaled his own foot and died of gangrene.
He was the first recorded death by conducting.
+
Baroque
During the Baroque Period there were often
two leaders of the ensemble. CPE Bach
(1740-1788) in his treatise Versuch über die
vahre Art das Clavier zu spielen indicates
that the keyboard player performed the
conducting duties.
Monteverdi (1567-1643), on the other hand,
lead his orchestra from the position of
concertmaster. He would wave his bow as
a baton.
+
keyboard player
(KapelMeister) was
responsible for keeping all
the players together,
concertmaster (Maestro)
controlled the string players.
+
As the music became more

complicated and required
more interpretation, the
presence of a conductor
became more prominent.
+
Romantic
During the English premier of

Elijah where the reviews
commented that it was often
difficult to hear the orchestra
over the pounding of
Mendelssohn (1809-1847) and
concertmaster.
+
By the time of Beethoven (1770-

1827) nearly all music for large
groups required a conductor.
Itwas not uncommon for a
conductor to stamp his foot
during the concert to keep
tempo.
+
During the portion of history

when who would control the
tempo of the performers was
changing it was not uncommon
for the concertmaster to
indicate one tempo while the
conductor indicated another.
+
Modern/ Contemporary
The conductor in charge of every detail
of the performance and the sounds
blended into a unified texture that is
directed toward outside listeners.
it was necessary that the players'
musical autonomy and power of
independent action be abolished.
+
Modern/ Contemporary
The conductor is
the interpreter of
the music of the
composer.
+
Has to deal with everything that had
developed since the past century:
 Negation of the bar line
 Disintegration of metrical regularity
 Continuing changing time signatures
 Free rhythms based on speech patterns
 Various attempts to make rhythm look like
sound
+
Characteristics of Good Conductor
 Leadership
 Competent
 Articulate
 Well read
 Exposed to and interested in a variety of
nonmusical disciplines
 Stable psychological make up
+
Characteristics of Good Conductor
 Learnedin group dynamics/psychology of

working with people
 Observant of great conductors
 Possess dramatic abilities (communicate mood
and style of a musical work to assist the singers
vocally through emphatic facial expressions
and appropriate body gestures
 Intense commitment to people
+
REQUIREMENTS of a GOOD
CONDUCTOR
 Be a sound musician, schooled in traditional
disciplines
 Competent educator
 Has a highly developed sense of pacing, timing
and delivery needed for coherent and creative
rehearsal
 Master good rehearsal techniques
 Can communicate with with singers of any age
without condescension
+
CONDUCTOR
 Competent in the elements of basic musicianship
 Theory
 harmony
 sight singing,
 music history and literature
 demonstrate this knowledge in score preparation and

rehearsal
 Sensitive to musical style

+
CONDUCTOR
Responsive to demands to:
tempo
accuracyof rhythm, pitch and

dynamics
+
CONDUCTOR
“The conductor must have general

musicianship, a specific and detailed
knowledge of the composition of
conducting; he must posses not only the
ability to understand and feel many
different kinds of music but the power to
express each one so vividly, so
dynamically that he can lift the
performers to emotional states amounting
to exultation.”
+
Generations
 1912-1921- Depression Era
 1922-1927- World War II
 1928-1945- Post War Cohort
 1946-1954- Baby Boomers
 1955-1965- Generation Jones
 1966-1976- Generation X
 1977-1994- Millennial
 1995-2012- Gen Z
+
Traits of Millennials
 Expecttechnology to simply work-so you'd
better make sure that it does.
 Area social generation-and they socialize while

consuming (and deciding to consume) your
services.
 They collaborate and cooperate-with each other

have a positive, community-oriented ''we can
fix it together" mindset.
 Wanteveryone to get along, and they think

everyone should be able to.
+
Traits of Millennials
Lookfor adventure (and

whatever comes their way).
Theyare passionate about
values
+
How Do Millennials Learn? The
5 Rs
Research-based methods
 Prefera broad spectrum of learning
strategies.
 Theconcept of learner-style is more
pronounced in this generation.
 Theyprefer learning materials that are
delivered to cater to their visual, auditory
and even kinesthetic needs.
+
5 Rs
 Needto experience change in delivery formats to
maintain interest.
 Attention spans are shorter – they quickly move on

to other forms of learning.
 Ideal
learning environment involves less lecture
and more collaboration with peers. Group-based
projects that emulate the work environment
(authentic assessments) are ideal for these
learners.
+
How Do Millennia's Learn? The
5 Rs
Relevance
 Millennials
are aces at “googling”/ discovering
information. They do not value a piece of
information for its own sake, rather for its
relevance to their lives.
+
5 Rs
Relevance
 The goal for trainers here is to connect the
eLearning environment to the performance
context of these learners to convince them
of its relevance.
+
5 Rs
Rationale
 Baby boomers/ generation X-ers respond
well to an authoritarian teaching style.
They follow orders for the sake of
complying with commands.
 Millennialswere raised in a less
authoritative environment – where
decisions and actions were constantly
justified.
+
5 Rs
Rationale
 Flexibility
and recognizing the socio-emotional
rationale behind new ideas and processes are
their expectations.
 When trainers and instructors provide the
rationale behind policies and regulations in a
learning environment, these young learners
are more likely to respond positively.
+
5 Rs
Relaxed
 Think “laidback” when you conduct your
training sessions. They prefer a relaxed
learning environment, with minimum pressure,
more freedom to complete assignments and
also more freedom for personal expression
and creativity.
 eLearning course mentors need to create a
warm, empathetic, “no wrong answers”
collaborative environment.
+
5 Rs
Rapport
 Thrive on personal relationships. When being
raised, they had complete attention from their
parents.
 Used to older adults showing more interest in
their lives.
+
How Millennials Learn.
5 Rs
Rapport
 Prefer
and appreciate instructors showing
personal interest in their training and
development plans and achievement goals.
 Performbetter at work and in the classroom
when instructors connect with them on a
personal level.
+
The Conductor’s Stance

+
Contrasts
Music is made interesting through

contrasts:
Meter
Volume
Speed
+
Gestures (cues)
Meters
(preparations and releases)
Simple Meter
Compound Meter
Mixed Meter
+
Gestures (cues)
Volume
 Soft
 Loud
 Soft-Medium Loud (crescendo)
 Loud- Medium Loud- Soft
(diminuendo)
+
Gestures (cues)
Speed
 Allegro
 Adagio
 Moderato
 Ritardando
+
Gestures (cues)
Articulation
 Legato
 Staccato
 Marcato
+
Counting Rhythms
Coordination
Right Hand
Left Hand
Voice

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+ ME, LISTEN ANALYZE

Prepared by: Elizabeth Susan V. Suarez, BM, MM, PhD.

The mastery of physical technique,

 To the average on-looker:

 Fora professional musician: who has

“One of the most

11th Century that show some

that the choir director

As the music became more

During the English premier of

By the time of Beethoven (1770-

During the portion of history

 Learnedin group dynamics/psychology of

 music history and literature

 demonstrate this knowledge in score preparation and

 Sensitive to musical style

accuracyof rhythm, pitch and

“The conductor must have general

 1922-1927- World War II

 1928-1945- Post War Cohort

 1946-1954- Baby Boomers

 1955-1965- Generation Jones

 Area social generation-and they socialize while

 They collaborate and cooperate-with each other

 Wanteveryone to get along, and they think

Lookfor adventure (and

 Attention spans are shorter – they quickly move on

The Conductor’s Stance

Music is made interesting through

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