If everyone has sheet music and all the timing information down, then what’s the composer’s role?
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Composer *and* conductor here!
A composer writes music, you’re thinking of a conductor. Whenever a large group of musicians play together, it’s best for them to have a leader to start them off, keep them playing together, and give them suggestions on when to play loud or soft or heavy or light or whatever. That’s the conductors job, just like the conductor of a train is the guy who makes the train stop and go.
The stick is called a baton, and helps make the wide variety of gestures easier for the ensemble to read. There are actually a lot of “rules” to advanced stick waving, with its own kind of language that both the players and conductor understand.
Usually the composer is sitting in the audience listening to the music, although they may be called to conduct their own pieces from time to time. Either that or they’re dead.
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