Does anyone else pretend to be a conductor and wave their arms around when listening to orchestra music?
>>61110549
That's called autism OP
no haha jk
Sometimes I pretend to be the drummer
>>61110549
I used to, when I was a kid.
It was fun.
Although I didn't know what the movements were for, and I still don't.
>>61110572
this desu
>>61110582
In that big of a group, it's best that there's one person keeping the tempo and that everyone can watch that person do it so that they stay together, and the pulse doesn't have to be played by an instrument. Also, the conductor can give certain players or sections cues.
>>61110572
this lmao
I do it to all genres sometimes when no one is looking cause it makes me feel unique
i tense my anus muscles to music
>>61110549
I took a conducting class and it's a pretty hard job. You need to really know music and have an amazing ear to tell when one of the 20 violins is fucking up.
>>61110918
Same but I just do it for fun sometimes
>>61110582
>>61110712
I've done a conducting paper.
Right hand keeps the tempo: down is the 1st beat, up is the second beat, left is the 3rd beat, right is the 4th beat. This is for your average 4/4 piece. 3/4 is just Up, Left, Right.
So while your right hand is going UP. DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT,
your right hand indicates dynamics: how loud or soft for the orchestra to play.
Palm down, lowering motion = play quieter
Palm up, raising motion = play louder.
The right hand also gives "cues": When a player is about to play, after having had some bars rest, the conductor helps cue them in, so even if they fuck up their counting, the conductor will still help them remember exactly where the piece is.
To cue someone, you raise your hand just before that player is about to play, and then lower it, pointing at them, on the exact beat they should play.
The whole motion of cueing is done in the players (or sections) direction, with eye contact between the conductor and the players (usually the section principle). The eye contact is a must for the conductor, but often players are busy reading their score and know exactly what they're doing, and dont have to look up.
So your average piece from the conductors perspective goes like this:
-Look meaningfully at the orchestra, communicating the kind of feel you want to go for, from pleased and relaxed for a major happy piece, to tense and angry looking for a furious dark piece. Make sure everyone is ready to play and watching you!
-Do an up beat for everyone, to start the piece. your upbeat and general communication with the orchestra before the start will determine the tempo to play at.
-Piece starts: Time signature: 4/4 Right hand is on Up, Down, left, right detail. Left hand: piece starts out quiet but quickly builds to very loud, so start with palm down, and slowly turn it over in a lowered position, then gradually raise it, shaking the hand if necessary weight is needed.
Cue in the trombones
>>61111004
Jesus this shit is hard
>>61111004
(Average piece continued)
Time signature change to 6/8: Left hand goes into Up, Down, motion on the 1st and 4th quavers of the bar. (1*23,4*56, etc.)
Dynamics change to very quiet in 3 bars: left hand bring it down with palm down, try to get everyone's attention and make them play quieter - easier said than done, when they've been happily blazing away at forte loud.
time signature to 2/4 for one bar
Cue in the flutes
Cue the Timpani
Loud dynamic, left hand raised
Time signature change: 4/4
Maximum Dynamic! Get angry and look like you're possesed!
Time signature change to 7/8: its a 3+4 bar, so do a 3/4 cycle (Up, Left, Right) with your right hand, then a 4/4 (Up, Down, Left, Right)
Cue the trombones again
Slow the tempo down, lower the dynamic, make everyone play as quietly as possible with your body language and hands, Really work at it! you can still hear them! this isn't pppp (Extremely soft)
Cue the Percussion
3 bars later Cue the french horns, then half a bar later cue the oboe.
Dynamics and tempo gradually increase, keep everyone together! Oh fuck violas are playing out of tune! nothing you can really do about that.
Time Signature change to 3/4
cue the harp.
You get the picture
>>61111086
most conductors also have the job of working through the music to be played with the orchestra and making it as good as it can be, which is by far the harder job tbqh
>>61111086
hard to do right.
Most conductors just wing it though, and do general motions.
Most of the conductors real work is in rehearsals, managing the rehearsal time, making sure the orchestra can actually play the pieces in the upcoming concert. Orchestral players walk out on the dot when 7pm rolls around (or 5pm or whenever the call ends) They wont stick around "after work" to perfect a piece, they're professionals, they turn up when asked to, play, and go home. Its the conductors job to manage this entity in a way that creates and excellent concert. the amount of rehearsal time will depend on the skill of the orchestra and the difficulty of the pieces.
The conductor also has to know the specific pieces inside out. I once heard a conductor stop a rehearsal, yell out "3rd Trombone! bar 69, what note are you playing?"
The trombonist replied "A"
"That should be A-flat" said the conductor. He could hear a single wrong note (only 1 semitone/fret off) among and orchestra of 100 people, and he knew exactly which instrument played it, and which exact note was wrong.
Then there's the question of interpretation: how do you want to approach a piece, the "sound-world" you want to go for, you can discuss your intentions with the orchestra and it should hopefully help.
Oh yeah and the conductor has to dominate the orchestra (many of whom are full of egos)
If you dont win the orchestras respect in the first 5 minutes of the first rehearsal, you're fucked. They may well treat you like shit and ignore your directions / play "blandly" and give no feedback about what might work better. They may take pity and try to do their best.
