What Does a Music Conductor Do?

Music conductor refers to a person who stands in front of a band or choir with a baton and uses body language to instruct how to perform or sing when performing collective music performances such as various orchestras and choirs.

Music conductor

Commander holding right

The music conductor directs the entire band's music performance, making the performance of multiple voices into one

From the 17th to the 18th centuries, most musical works were performed in the form of a small ensemble. The activists in the orchestra are responsible for the organization, and even without conductors, the orchestra can perform very well. The commanding profession began to take shape in the 19th century. At that time, as the size of the music and the band continued to expand, it became very difficult for bands without conductors to perform. So the commanding profession came into being.

One of the earliest conductors in China was

One. Standing position

The body is upright, the feet are stable, the shoulders are relaxed, and the legs are slightly separated, giving a sense of stability and achieving a harmonious appearance.

two. action

The commanding actions should be moderate, not excessively exaggerated, minimizing unnecessary actions, and being accurate and refined. Usually the right hand controls the beat, the left hand prompts various expressions, and there is both division of labor and cooperation.

three. Strength treatment

According to the content of the work, the commander should deal with the strength of the work, and there must be a gravity downward, centrifugal outward action, that is, the repetitive, strong gesture gesture downwards, and the weak and gentle outward movement laws. Do not raise your arms too high. Basically, keep your arms down as far as possible. Use your forearms to drive your wrists. Use your elbow as a hub for up and down movements. The wrist and finger joints must be flexible and flexible. There are rigid and rigid. The central part to mastering the movement is the wrist. Generally, fast movements are commanded by the wrist. The faster the movement, the smaller the movement. The boom is mainly used for works that are slow, powerful, brilliant, and powerful. The forearm acts as a pivotal movement according to the change in the strength of the work.

four. Make sure you have a shot in your hand and a content in your heart

The movement lines of the conductor must have certain skills and be rich in music, but not too straightforward and straightforward, too routine and simple. On the basis of learning the schema, you must master certain commanding skills. The actions must be complementary to your inner world, and the feelings and actions must be unified.

Fives. Unique

The conductor should be good at mobilizing the enthusiasm of each chorus and tapping the greatest potential of the actors. It should be unique in the processing and performance of the work, so as to reflect the highest mood of musical performance.

six. Rhythmic

There are bright beats and dark beats for directing. The bright beats are beats that can be seen by the eyes, while the dark beats are "hidden" beats in the heart. This "hidden" beat depends on your feelings and the rhythm of your heart The "point" is in place, so that the choirs not only understand the intent of the shot, but also understand the point, rhythm and mood of your dark shot.

Seven. Command to have desk work

The conductor requires analytical ability in the work, such as the structure of the tune, the mode, the tonality, the changes and contrasts between the paragraphs, the content of the work, the rhythm, speed, strength, strength, speed, and slowness. . Don't "go over and over," so that the actors can no longer attract freshness to the work. This is the failure of your rehearsal.

Eight. Use subjective initiative based on clear shots

Simply put, the art of directing is the art of starting and preparing for shooting, because preparing for shooting gives the actor speed, strength, and emotion. The clear slap point is the soul of the conductor and the accurate embodiment of the time of the music. The tempo and graphics of a command can never be changed, but the subjective initiative of the commander and his huge potential are inexhaustible and inexhaustible. Regardless of the speed and the alternation of various complicated beats, as long as the commander can master the shooting point, the chorus team can achieve uniformity.

nine. Starting and closing

Start-up: The start-up is a preparatory action before the start of the conductor's music. No matter the work is passionate, lyrical and beautiful, or mighty and magnificent, or affectionate and exquisite, the moment when it makes a sound, it is the most able to capture and affect the emotions of the audience, and the force that causes these emotions is the best pursued by music art Effect, "A good start is half the battle.

The conductors have the following content on the starting action: the accurate speed, whether it is slow or fast, or the strong speed at medium speed, whether it is weak or strong, or not weak or not strong. Rich expression, whether it is beautiful lyric or strong.

The preparatory action for the starting shot is a virtual shot. This virtual shot is an illustration of the previous shot before the beginning of the music, and it is also a breathing mouth for the actors to start singing precisely, so that the actors unify inhale open mouth sing, that is, the process of preparation virtual shooting real shooting. In some multi-part singing, when its parts are entered in sequence, in addition to the preparatory action, other parts are prompted to enter. Like "Roar!" "Yellow River" It entered in the order of male high, female low, female high, male low ...

Take-up: It seems as if the talk is over and the story is over. So whether it is enthusiastic, fierce, quiet, soft or mysterious, what is waiting is that the commander will explain clearly with gestures and give the audience a perfect ending. On the other hand, if it is not accurate, clean, uncomfortable, or inappropriate, you will destroy the integrity of the music, and you may make the artistic performance of the work abandon, leaving regret and regret! Therefore, shooting is the key to the success and perfection of the performance.

ten. Right and left cooperation

Generally, the left hand is used to grasp the emotions, and the right hand is used to grasp the tempo. It is necessary to learn to save the function of each hand. For example, when commanding a single voice, tasks that can be completed with one hand do not use hands. The right hand accurately gives the beat, the left hand assists the right hand in starting, stopping and strengthening the expression of the music. It can help a certain part to extend without affecting the right hand's beat, and can help indicate the entry of each part.

In short, the coordination of the commander's hands should be balanced, coordinated, and perfect. But keep in mind that although the left hand is very important, the accurate shot of the right hand still occupies the main position, and the main function of the coordination of the two hands is still the right hand.