If everyone has sheet music and all the timing information down, then what’s the composer’s role?
In: 952
In addition to the very good responses already here, there’s another element: it’s like asking “why do we have pilots in the cockpit when we have perfectly good computers to fly the plane.”
If shit goes bad the conductor can keep things on track such that the audience might not even notice.
Tbh conductors are often obsolete, but they offer their personal preferences/ideas to the ensemble and try to get everyone on the same page musically (interpreting styles, tempos, etc). Music is very nuanced and it’s helpful to have a “leader.”
One of my former colleagues from the Chicago Symphony told me a story about how the orchestra collectively ignored their guest conductor once, instead just cuing each other because the conductor’s vision was not clear.
In addition to the very good responses already here, there’s another element: it’s like asking “why do we have pilots in the cockpit when we have perfectly good computers to fly the plane.”
If shit goes bad the conductor can keep things on track such that the audience might not even notice.
No one has mentioned this yet: The stick is actually called a baton. Most batons are white because it’s easier for musicians to see them.
Sheet music has general timing information, but it’s not going to be absolute. And most people couldn’t look at something that says “play this at 132 beats per minute” and have an inherent, absolute idea of what that is and be able to do so perfectly.
The conductor thus uses the baton as a single point of focus for all of the musicians to play their tempo towards. Each wave is one beat, and it’s done in such a way that it will be consistent – the wave down is always the first beat of a measure for instance, and a 4/4 measure will go down, left, right, up for each of the four beats.
This also means that the conductor can control the tempo of the piece, if any part requires a slowdown or speedup, the conductor will convey the exact pace with the baton. Many pieces will have sustained notes that are held until the conductor cuts them off, which is conveyed by holding the baton steady, and then sweeping it horizontally for the cutoff. Other information can also be conveyed. Larger strokes can cue the musicians to play louder, and smaller strokes quieter. A flourish in the direction of a specific section or musician can function as a cue to resume playing after a longer rest. Etc.
For me, whilst the musicians all play their instruments, according to the music, the conductor is playing the musicians, according to their vision for the performance.
To conduct feels like every musician is connected to you with invisible bungee cord. As you conduct, you are pulling on those cords and subtly shifting not just the timing and dynamics, but the -style- of how the musicians play. The better the conductor, the more control of the bungee ropes they have.
The bungee ropes are made up of the respect the musicians have for their conductor. Pull too tightly and without a strong vision, and it loses its stretchiness and stops working.
No one has mentioned this yet: The stick is actually called a baton. Most batons are white because it’s easier for musicians to see them.
In addition to what most folks are saying, think about the conductor like a coach in sports. Why does a team have a coach if they don’t score any points? Well, it’s the coach’s role to decide what kind of plays the team makes, and likewise the conductor’s role to decide how the orchestra shapes the music.
To use a famous example from writing, think of the sentence “I owe her money?” Notice how it changes based on the emphasis: “I **owe** her money?” “I owe **her** money?” “I owe her **money**?” What’s the correct phrasing? Depends on the context, it’s not obvious in the text. Likewise, a lot of phrasing in music is not obvious in the written music, and the conductor has the final say in decisions if different musicians are trying to say the same thing with conflicting emphasis.
Most of the composers are decomposing.
It’s the orchestra conductor “waving the stick”. BTW, it’s called a baton.
Uh, what do you mean? They are rocking that mugle wand.
Latest Answers