how does an orchestral conductor make a difference?

Question

The music is already written down the orchestra play what’s written, so what difference does the conductor make apart from the tempo?

In: Other

Answer 1

> The music is already written down the orchestra play what’s written

There’s a lot of stuff that’s up to interpretation in musical notation. Tempo marking might just say “allegro” (aka fast) rather than an exact bpm. There’s a marking that just means hold the note, but not how long. There are markings that mean slow down or speed up, but not how much or at what rate. Etc.

Conductor keeps everyone on the same page.