Klarinet Archive - Posting 000660.txt from 2005/03

From: "Kevin Fay" <kevinfay@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] conducting
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 23:41:30 -0500

Bill Hausmann posted:

<<<Every student conducting learns the same basic beat patterns. But it
seems that as the level of the players rises, the less the conductor is
compelled to beat time. Thus, when you watch professional orchestras you
won't see much of it at all, whereas watching, say, a junior high school
band, you will likely not see the conductor's right hand do anything
ELSE.>>>

I'm not so sure.

My own preference is for the conductor to use a baton, since it (IMHO) leads
to easier precision over where the beats are. OTOH, I've played with/under
batonless conductors who are *very* clear.

(For those of you in or around Seattle - seems like a lot of us - it's
Roupen Shakarian that comes to mind. Wonderful but stickless.)

I've had the opportunity to see a few recording sessions w/ studio musicians
in my time. My observation is that when no one is looking - i.e., when
there is no audience to impress - the studio conductor looks a lot like the
middle-school band director, making sure that the time is uniform whilst
dispensing with the "dancing" that Ed Lacy derides.

I'm a high-mediocre musician. I don't need a conductor to emote - I can do
that all by myself. There is some use to making musical matters consistent,
of course. When the conductor stops imparting information to me, though -
starts gyrating to the audience - I find that the usefulness to me as a
musician diminishes.

. . but if it pays the rent, so be it.

Tony's mechanical conductor is an interesting concept, perhaps a metronome
on steroids. I'd like one.

kjf

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