Tips for New and Aspiring Ensemble Conductors

When one first learns to conduct an ensemble, there is so very much to learn.  It’s much more than just waving a stick around.  Here are seven tips for new conductors:

1.     Know your technique cold.

Learn to cue, how and why.  Learn how to effectively and efficiently conduct fermatas, with and without caesura.  Learn how to conduct all meters, not just the simple ones.

2.     Score Study. A lot.

When you first approach a score, listen to a few recordings.  Then, put the recordings away and start making your own choices.  If you have the skill, play through the parts on a keyboard.  Figure out what will be difficult for you to conduct, and what will be difficult for the musicians.  Where will they want cues?  Where will they want help?  Are there errors in the part?  Do you understand the harmonic progressions?  What decisions will you make about tempo and style?

3.     Keep your scores in your head, not your head in the scores.

The number one thing you can do is to learn your scores.  Your eyes should be on your ensemble 90% of the time while conducting.  Too many conductors—especially new ones—use the score as a crutch.  Conduct without it a few times to ensure you are comfortable knowing the piece.  Your focus should be on what is happening in the ensemble and what you want to do musically while you are conducting, not on reading and trying to figure out what’s next.  To do this you need eye contact with the ensemble constantly while they are playing.

4.     Practice piano for 15 minutes every day for the rest of your life.

This advice was given to me by one of my professors during my undergrad and I wish I had started this practice then.  The skill to play reductions of scores from piano or to accompany and understand harmony using a keyboard is invaluable.  Transposition is another often-underdeveloped score in new conductors that keyboard work can help with.  Develop these skills early and hone it every day.

5.     Learn other instruments- at least the basics.

You don’t need to be able to perform each instrument with mastery, but try to get a sense of how each instrument operates.  What fingering issues do wind players have?  How might suggesting alternate fingerings help them overcome challenging passages?  Which notes are harder to tune on which instruments?  Will this passage require difficult shifting in your strings?  Learning the basics of each instrument will help you to help your ensemble.

6.     Listen to as many different types of music as possible.

Don’t stick to your genre.  There is a lot of music out there, and each style will give you more understanding of how music works and perhaps give you ideas of how to interpret music in your main genre(s).  In your principle genre, learn the repertory.  If you are a wind band director, know all the big wind band pieces.  Discover new pieces daily.  Attend concerts.

7.     Watch those who are great.

Some of the best things I have learned as a conductor came not from the classroom, but from watching how professional skilled conductors treated various passages.  Everyone has an individual style and approach to conducting.  Watch those who are great and who get great results.  Try to figure out why they use the type of gestures they do, and whether or not their approaches would be helpful or detrimental to your own conducting.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg- but it’s a good start.  Master these seven tips and you’ll be well on your way to leading with artistry as an ensemble conductor.  One final tip:  Never stop learning or honing your craft.

The Benefits of Community Bands to Adult Musicians

            There is little dispute that music is an important part of education for children.  However, music is just as important for adults.  One of the best ways an adult can be involved in music is to play with a local community band.  There are community band of all shapes, sizes, missions and values throughout the United States.  Why is playing in a community band so important for adults?  Here are just a few of the reasons:

            Music keeps your mind sharp.  It encourages active problem-solving and critical thinking skills.  Music reading works a lot like math, but in a more abstract way.  Performing music in an ensemble helps increase concentration improves reaction time to various stimuli- from the conductor’s baton, from printed music and from aural cues.

            Community bands are a great social outlet.  In any community band you will find a group of people of different backgrounds who gather sharing a common interest: the making of music.  I have made long-lasting friendships as a result of my participation on community band rehearsals.  Community band concerts are also a great social outlet for your friends and family, and provide a night of high-class artsy entertainment for the audience.

            Making music is a great stress reliever.  How often do you come home from work feeling tired or fatigued?  While a night out on the town may be fun, it can be more exhausting to our bodies than other choices.  Community band rehearsals are my weekly retreat from the mundane and I find myself more relaxed and energized at the end of each rehearsal than I would from any other after-work activity.

            Making music is a creative outlet.  Many of us do not have a job in which we can express ourselves artistically or creatively on a day-to-day basis.  Music allows us to make beautiful art with sound and community bands allow us to make this art with others.

            Community bands are a great place for a number of reasons.  Don’t be afraid if you haven’t played in years- members are typically helpful and many adult community bands have many in their ranks who hadn’t played since high school when they came back to band.  Consider looking up some local community bands today.  Some great resources include the Lesbian/Gay Band Association, which has member bands in nearly every major city and the Association of Concert Bands.