[Menvi-discuss] Conducting advice

Tue Sep 16 14:35:45 UTC 2014

Hi Kaiti,

Ok, I'm a vocalist, and my conducting class worked a little
differently, so I don't know how helpful I can be here.

If I understand this correctly, you can't follow the student
conductors.  Are you the only one on the clarinet part?  Do you have
the music in front of you when you guys have class?  I think verbal
cues are a great idea.  Also listening to a sense of the entire piece
so that you know where the other parts are supposed to come in.

When someone else is sconducting, you have to listen harder than you
maybe ever have.  You can tell in just 30 seconds if the conductor is
hesitant, taking a slow or irratic tempo, or if they are unclear.
That is, if you know the piece fairly well, you should with some
practicing get this vibe.  To be honest, if the rest of the class
won't do it perfectly, you not knowing exactly where to come in won't
hurt too much.  It's possible I don't understand your class situation
though.

Our class all sang, but I still remember struggling to follow the
student conductors.  The pieces were fairly easy though, and our class
was very small, so after a while, I knew who was conducting and could
also follow others in the class singing my part.

On 9/16/14, Kaiti Shelton <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> The thing is, we're not working to perform anything.  The examples we
> use are only worked on for one class, and only a few minutes at a
> time.  (we're given 6 or 7 to learn, and we have to choose 2 or 3 to
> prepare to conduct, and get to pick one of those for class).  The goal
> of the instructional band is not to grow as musicians, but just to be
> a body for the conductor to try to lead.  For example, our first day
> of playing was Thursday, and about half the class was able to conduct.
> We'll finish with the rest of the students conducting today, but then
> we'll move on to different musical examples.  Like I mentioned in my
> first post, I have no problem picking up on conducting gestures when
> in wind ensemble and we're continuously working on something, but I'm
> finding the limited amount of time we're spending on this difficult.
>
> We won't be doing score analysis until November or so.  These examples
> are 8 bars at most, and there isn't much to really analyze.  I do read
> through all the parts on the computer and listen to Lime play the midi
> of the file.  I do not, however, have braille for these examples since
> they're so short.
>
> On 9/16/14, Rick Coates <coatesncr at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hi Kaiti:
>>
>> I am glad you are having successes in conducting and are being introduced
>> to exciting band music.  I see this opportunity as educational for the
>> other members of your class as well as you.  From your statement, I can
>> assume that you are reading braille music for your instrument performance
>> and scores.  In previous discussions about conducting blind or low vision
>> students, I generally suggest that sighted conductors practice the use of
>> verbal commands and tapping the baton on the music stand or snapping
>> fingers.  Communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal, are essential
>> for performance successes.  Gradually, the use of these accommodations
>> can
>> be reduced or removed as you get closer to performances, but I encourage
>> it
>> for early rehearsals.  The verbal commands can describe the actions of
>> the
>> conductor for you, and the tapping can give the performer an idea of
>> tempos.  As far as going any extra steps, I would make sure you have an
>> understanding of score analysis.  We all develop our own method, but an
>> understanding of general basics would be very essential.  This can be
>> done
>> by listening to performance of music and determine who is playing what.
>> Practice facing the direction of the performers you would be cuing.  I
>> would also encourage you to develop skills involving recording or
>> duplication technologies so you can practice your score using midi or mp3
>> files you have created for yourself.  I hope this has been helpful.  Good
>> luck.
>>
>> Rick Coates - band director, Governor Morehead School for the Blind
>>
>> On Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 12:04 AM, Kaiti Shelton
>> <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com
>>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> This semester I am taking Fundamentals of Conducting for my
>>> undergraduate requirements.  I have a great professor, who is being
>>> very accommodating with me and has a history of being very open and
>>> willing to brainstorm as my director for Symphonic Wind Ensemble.
>>>
>>> I'm doing pretty well in the class, and am happy to say that my
>>> professor has told me that I'm actually conducting better than most
>>> people in the class and have really clear patterns, prep beats, and
>>> cut offs.  Once I get past the issue of conceptualizing what he
>>> demonstrates to the class visually, usually by placing my hand on top
>>> of his while he shows me or having him manipulate my arm or hand a
>>> certain way to teach a concept or correct an issue I'm having, I do
>>> pretty well.  However, we are running into issues with my
>>> participation in class as part of the instructional band.  We have a
>>> book of musical examples that everyone is supposed to learn so we can
>>> take turns conducting the class.  I have been given all the examples
>>> as xml files which I can learn from Lime without much difficulty.  The
>>> problem is that, although I am a good listener and do very well when
>>> playing in ensembles, it is difficult for me to follow what the
>>> student conductors are doing in class.  I miss out on things like
>>> whether or not a student fails to give a prep beat, picking up on
>>> expressive gestures, etc.  It is different in wind ensemble, because I
>>> can follow everyone else around me, but this group is a hodge podge of
>>> instrumentalists and vocalists on random instruments (one girl is
>>> playing a melodica), so the group is not very easy to follow.
>>>
>>> Pedigogically, the professor is not concerned with my participation in
>>> the class band, and sees that it really serves very little purpose for
>>> me since in a real ensemble I don't have these issues and can listen
>>> to the band/orchestra/choir as a whole.  However, he is trying to come
>>> up with ideas for how I might be able to otherwise contribute to the
>>> class.  I was thrilled today when he said he would like to find an
>>> opportunity for me to conduct either the choir I'm performing in this
>>> semester or my clarinet chamber group because he thinks I'm clear
>>> enough and can develop the skills to do it well, but he made that
>>> suggestion more out of a desire to give me the experience than to
>>> substitute for not playing in the class band.  We're still trying to
>>> find a way I can better contribute to the class experience, and a way
>>> for me to get something out of these frequent playing sessions since
>>> I'm not really learning much vicariously since I don't really know
>>> what the conductor is being corrected on, etc.
>>>
>>> I do plan to play some of the time, as I do like it, but it is
>>> difficult.  One of the times we know I am going to play is when one of
>>> the examples is the second movement of the Holst Second Suite in F.
>>> Since I am a clarinetist, taking the solo can be good for teaching
>>> student conductors to tune into a soloist's work.  I'm just looking
>>> for some other beneficial thing to do in the other classes.  Any ideas
>>> would be appreciated.
>>> --
>>> Kaiti
>>>
>>> Please visit www.menvi.org/donate.html  to make a voluntary contribution
>>> to MENVIs work.
>>> -
>>> ---------
>>>
>>> Thank you for subscribing to MENVI.  Should you wish to unsubscribe,
>>> change your delivery, or set any other options available to you, please
>>> view the list information page below.  Should you have any questions,
>>> please contact the owner of the list.
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Menvi-discuss mailing list
>>> Menvi-discuss at menvi.org
>>> http://menvi.org/mailman/listinfo/menvi-discuss_menvi.org
>>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Kaiti
>
> Please visit www.menvi.org/donate.html  to make a voluntary contribution to
> MENVIs work.
> -
> ---------
>
> Thank you for subscribing to MENVI.  Should you wish to unsubscribe, change
> your delivery, or set any other options available to you, please view the
> list information page below.  Should you have any questions, please contact
> the owner of the list.
> _______________________________________________
> Menvi-discuss mailing list
> Menvi-discuss at menvi.org
> http://menvi.org/mailman/listinfo/menvi-discuss_menvi.org
>

-- 
Julie McG
National Association of Guide dog Users board member,  National
Federation of the Blind performing arts division secretary,
Missouri Association of Guide dog Users President,
and Guiding Eyes for the Blind graduate 2008
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
life."
John 3:16