What are composers doing when they’re waving the stick?

Question

If everyone has sheet music and all the timing information down, then what’s the composer’s role?

In: 952

Answer 1

Depends on the composer, they may be trying to hit a piñata, kill a fly, playing baseball, or pointing at something. Composing music is not easy, they need a way to come up with ideas, the stick might help.

But if you mean conductor:

*The primary duties of the conductor are to interpret the score in a way that reflects the specific indications in that score, set the tempo, ensure correct entries by ensemble members, and “shape” the phrasing where appropriate*