I was recently approached by a parent at a band event, who had apparently been keeping a keen eye on my conducting skills over the last few years. “I don’t usually like your conducting. You don’t keep the beat!” I’m not sure whether this was an attempt at musical banter or a serious critique, but it did inspire me to write a few words about the Purpose in various conducting styles, and how they can affect your ensemble.
A conductor’s job is about product. In writing this article, I couldn’t help but wonder if Gordon Ramsay’s food tastes delicious after all the yelling and screaming in the kitchen. I may not like his style – but does his product validate it?
A successful conductor is one who finds the style – the music – in everything that they conduct. Anyone can conduct the beat (whether they do it well or not is another matter entirely!), but your conducting success lies in taking the notes off the page. The famous Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan was criticised for not keeping the beat, but he was known for conducting not so much the music (though of course he does that) as the condition or process of making music. That means not just keeping arithmetic for the players, but conjuring up for them the imagery, passion and determination that transforms that note into music.
I don’t need to tell them where the beat is. They know where the beat is. My job is to interpret, create, direct and shape the sounds coming out of their horns. The product of a good performance is one that has been envisioned and inspired – not one that has been calculated by watching someone count to four.
There is, however, one small caveat with this explanation. The product that an audience experiences is a collective snapshot of everything the band has ever worked on. That means you may have conducted a particular bar in quavers during rehearsal, but by the time the gig arrived, your musicians knew it so well that you could practically do it in half time. Of course, this frees up your baton to indulge in style, which as we know, is the whole purpose of you being a musician in the first place.
But my kids are 8 years old and just learnt their first four notes – surely this stuff is only for professionals?
Nope. Ever noticed that the enrolment drop-off rate for beginning band students is massive? Could it be because they learn 5 notes in a band method book, and then get cajoled into playing those notes in a particular order for the rest of the school term ready for the term concert? Well, that’s not music. Music means finding the excitement in this music, whether it is the three notes in Au Clair de la Lune or the six notes in Surprise Symphony (hint: don’t forget the surprise!)
This month, I would like to encourage you to experiment beyond the beats in your score. As a little homework, check out this video of Bernstein conducting his own composition Candide. From whacky facial expressions to cheeky dance moves, he knows how to squeeze the music out of his orchestra. And as one of the greatest composers who ever lived – if he’s allowed, then so are you!
Whatever you do, enjoy your music.
GG
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