Undergraduate Choral Conducting Blog

Well finally I walked out of a conducting episode and felt like everything I practiced went the way I wanted it to. I have decided not to take for granted the skill of great conductors anymore. When I watch myself in the tape, I see that I have grown in confidence and my pattern is stronger. I also see that I appear to try to conduct like a person whose arms are in a body cast. I never understood how much less control I had over the choir and my pattern when my arms were reaching out so far. Not only did I feel more in control, but I also didn't get as tired when I pulled my arms closer to my body. I am still working really hard on gaining left-hand independence and that is visible as well. I seem to pulse my left hand with the beat of my right hand when I am trying to use it independently, especially on crescendos. I wish every piece were as easy to conduct as Welcome, but I know that is very unrealistic. The most I can hope for is that my success on Welcome will eventually be brought to all other pieces. My task for this week is to continue working on independence and also to figure out a comfortable way to conduct so my right shoulder doesn't feel like rocks are moving around in it.

Posted by Stephanie Lundmark at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

This is way back, but again, I have not been able to view the video congruently. At the beginning, my prep is a little low. I think what I was working on last week with the plane of beats and putting all the beats on the same plane is definitely something I need to keep track of. Also, I think that from this video to now, I have improved on beat 2 and not coming around as far, so I don't have to do a faster beat 3. This is something the video once again has reinforced and I can see that is not how I want to communicate. Andrew did a great job of explaining how to communicate the fermatas. When I practiced I was able to perform three of the four ways fine, but then we all had a little trouble on the rolling stop. I think that the concepts and gestures we learned for fermatas have been helpful in other aspects of my conducting. I am gaining confidence as well as seeing my areas of improvement and areas that need more attention, like the beat plane, and my 2 pattern.

Posted by Brooke Lane at 05:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I know this is late, but I was finally able to view the video at school here. Watching my conducting pattern reinforced the ideas I was told verbally in class and reminded me of things I need to work on. There's something to be said about a natural setting where you are videotaped live. I have been working on my two pattern and also on the rhythm of cantate domino. Originally I was really just "feeling" the beat rather than setting the tempo and the beats. In 4 I was able to subdivide the beats and keep a steady tempo better than in two. I did see how I was hooking and stalling from beat 1 to 2. Seeing it helped me to realize what I need to do in conducting 2. Seeing it, I can tell immediately what is wrong and what I need to fix, but just performing without seeing myself, I can't always understand how to change.

Posted by Brooke Lane at 05:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I admit that I was not nearly as prepared for this session as I should have been. And it showed. I was sick and I think that's probably why my face was not very engaged - even though I really tried to make it so. Of course, being sick is not an excuse because the choir only responds to the energy I give them. If I had given them energy as if I wasn't sick then they wouldn't have known any different. I did try to raise my eyebrows, though, when giving entrance cues. The motion was effective because I think the choir was more in tune when it came in.

One major thing I could have done better was the key change near the end. I directed it as if it was insignificant and normal. No slowing down, no grander motion, no facial expressions to signify a change. I think the piece would have sounded much more interesting had I included these cues. The choir also would have felt more secure because I acknowledged the change in key and guided them through it.

I really appreciated Matt's comments about how my notes all sound the same, and shouldn't. There was very little variety or line in the way I was conducting. I think, at the time, I did not fully understand how to get such a sound out of the choir. I knew in my head how I wanted it to sound, but couldn't actually shape what I was hearing. Watching the video was very helpful because I was able to see how I was conducting and I realized that it was truly not effective in getting the sound I wanted. I saw a major difference in the way Matt was conducting (very effective) and the way I was conducting (not so effective). I will have to work on that for next time. And my facial expressions, as well! =)

Posted by Lisa Heupel at 01:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I walked away from friday feeling fairly confident with my conducting experiences. So much so, that I was dreading watching my tape, in fear that I might discover some horrible thing that would wreck the feeling of success! Amazingly, I watched the type and I was pleased with the results. I feel that this conducting episode has most effectively culminated everything that I have been working on. The first time through, I am always so tense and nervous. I have a million things running through my head before I give it a go. This week, I really thought about approaching it as I would being a singer performing. It suprisingly helped quite a bit. I was still nervous, but my tendencies in emotion when singing the piece, were the impulse for my conducting. I think it is a good way for me to envision my conducting.

Once we started running through it again, I noticed myself loosen up, and I feel like this happened even more. The more I stopped thinking and worrying and started feeling the music and enjoying the better it got. Amazing isn't it?

Posted by Kristin Olson at 12:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Watching the video this week was again helpful. After I had finished conducting on Friday, my main concern was having gotten lost in the beat pattern. The video changed my mind about that, though; it seems like the beat pattern was passable, but as a whole, it was UBER boring! My goal up to now has been trying to cement the basics, but I think it's time to up the ante. Thank you, classmates, for putting up with that deadly time-beating. For me, the next frontier is expression.

Like Tim, I'm rather introverted and need to work on opening up my face. Another special challenge was learning to get past the cheese factor of the repertoire. The piece wasn't my personal style, but I realize that public schools are no place to get snooty. We'll be working with constraints, and if "Welcome" is well-suited to the kids, I'll have to roll with it. It's tough, though. As a singer, choosing pieces I enjoy is what keeps me going more than anything. Any advice for conducting a piece that you don't click with?

Also, Prof. Mehaffey, you're doing great with the positivity! Keep it coming.

Posted by Hanna Dorn at 10:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This week went pretty well for me. I got a lot of helpful feedback about my beat pattern, which started out a little choppier than it should have. I recall getting a sound much closer to the one I wanted upon adopting a smoother pattern.

Another issue I've always had that was dealt with on Friday (and not for the first time) is that I tend to keep my elbows very close to my sides, which forces my arms to extend further laterally than they should. I don't make very good use of my upper arm joints which, apart from being poor form, makes my arms tire faster.

Upon watching the video, I noticed some other recurring problems. It didn't appear that I was walking around as much as I usually do, but I was swaying quite a bit, and I don't know exactly how forbidden that is. Was it distracting anyone? It wasn't brought up, but that might be because it took a back burner to more pressing issues. In any case, if you can think about it and maybe comment on it in the future, I would really appreciate it.

Another issue I noticed in the video was my eye contact; I was looking at the people ahead of me maybe 90% of the time. I know it's no excuse, but that fact that there were no staggered entrances (as in Cantate Domino) made it easier to put on my homogenizing glasses and stare straight ahead. I'll have to work on allowing my field of vision to expand and include everyone.

Posted by Allison Innerbichler at 06:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Again, I feel like this was another successful conducting experience. What I could see of my very pale arms in front of the white screen in the background seemed to be into the "shwing" of things. My first attempt was a bit too pointed for my liking, but was pleased to see I was able to fix it the next time around. The music for this seemed so simple, so I really only concentrated on getting the 6/8 feeling. However, there were still text stresses, dynamic levels, and articulations that could have been more clearly conducted. The last "love" was getting there, where I extended the linear space to reflect the line's movement, but I think I could have utilized this more in other spots in the music as well. I really need to work on including precise cut offs as well. Many times, the singers were left hanging while I ambiguously continued my pattern. Even though the score is simple, there is still plenty of music-making to be had. I need to get into the habit of conducting EVERYTHING with musical meaning, even if it's a short passage or exercise.

I noticed that I was able to play with the tempo, but after I stopped thinking about it, I resorted to my default. Something to keep in mind for next time.

Posted by Claire Klein at 05:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This conducting lab was such a sharp contrast from last weeks! I was extremely pleased and I felt very prepared which makes all the difference. I finally got the cue right for the accompanist which started me off on a strong foot. Thanks Andrew for the advice because while I play piano and know the accompaniment very well, I was not breathing with the accompanist which made everything go wrong. I was very pleased I got this right this week. Also, I was able to look happy which made the experience more enjoyable for me and the ensemble.

I really worked on the feeling of compound meter and getting that sense of "dance" and I think that worked well for me this week. My legs got a little too involved but again, that is something that I am continuing to work on. Finally, I was really surprised that I was able to subdivide the ending! That was something I didn't really practice but it just worked out. I think it worked because I didn't hesitate at all and actually sped up to get the ensemble to follow me. Thank you everyone for singing what you see because that makes all the difference!

Posted by Kate Kidwell at 04:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today was fun! I really looked forward to conducting today, which is a change from kind of dreading it. It felt like some things clicked and I was actually making music as opposed to "going through the motions" and trying to think too much about everything I was doing. I still feel like one of my biggest weaknesses is keeping my head out of the score and engaging the choir. I think Amy and Kate did a particularly good job of this. I kind of panic when I look away from the score. I don't know why, exactly. I know the piece, and as Matt said as long as you conduct in 4, you can conduct the piece.

Despite the panic, I felt much better about conducting when I was engaging with the choir. I could feel that connection when making eye contact. I caught myself a few times making the sour face and tried to change that. That is going to be a continual challenge for me. It seems like conducting is built for extroverts! Unfortunately, I'm an introvert.

Posted by Timothy Oesau at 07:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I really enjoy watching others in the class conduct. I also learn a lot from Matt and Andrew's conducting styles. I realize it's been almost 3 years since I have sung in a choir with a conductor. I've been singing in shows and small choirs since then. Because I have not sung in front of a choir director in a while, I feel free to find my own style. I am not influenced by one conductor right now but rather by everyone in the class. That said, I do still have gestures I feel are natural to me and gestures that are not natural. I have been trying to incorporate Andrew's cut-off where you use the left hand in a downward motion. This is such a clear, matter-of-fact gesture, but it is difficult for me to incorporate. I wanted to use a gesture similar to it last Friday to differentiate cues to the piano and cues to the choir. When actually cueing the choir, however, I found myself using my right hand for the choir and my head to cue the piano. I like how natural it felt to use my head, but I would like to expand my conducting style by exploring other people's suggestions and guestures.

Posted by Amy Trowbridge at 03:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Prof. Mehaffey's comments this week were really helpful. When conducting in two, I learned to do more of a chop to clarify the location of the pulse. It does feel perversely like a smack, but I saw how much clearer it was. In four, I need to practice more clearly delineating beats 2 and 3; I heard how the tempo rushed and lagged.

The triplet pick-up technique was neat! When I tried to repeat Prof. Mehaffey's rounded prep in class, I didn't quite process what was happening, but did it intuitively. It helped to be able to watch the video later and reinforce the technique by slowly deconstructing each step rather than just jumping in.

I noticed that I did Luckhardt's pet peeve, page turns with my eyes glued to the score. I'll work on training my eyes up during the turn.

Being a fledgling conductor makes me think of learning to drive. When you start driving, you realize suddenly that you don't actually know how to go anywhere because you've been sitting passively in the back. I'm fascinated by self-taught conductors like Robert Manno (Strings in the Mountains Festival) who are able to learn a great deal by observation. He sang in the Met chorus for years and evidently learned enough from the greats to run with. He must be a visual learner. At any rate, I have been enjoying a new awareness of conducting during choir and at concerts.

Posted by Hanna Dorn at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, no matter what I do, I cannot get last weeks conducting video to work. So, hopefully this one can sum up both weeks. I did much better this week than last week in keeping my conducting pattern. Although I took the musicality out of my had and arm waving, it seemed to go to my legs. I could not believe how different, and better I looked when I was grounded. It was something I had been told before, but I never realized it until I saw it first hand.
One thing I have yet to fix is my "little man" complex. For those of you who do not see me every week, this is complex is me holding my hands too high in order to look bigger. I looked so much more comfortable when I dropped my hands down a bit. It also helped keep my plane in place as Matt said it would. I will not lie. I looked like a punk kid getting by to get a grade before I temporarily fixed these things. It is unbelievable how much of a difference it made. I sat at my computer laughing to myself about how I looked. It is pretty goofy. I am glad that I finally made those connections. It feels better and looks better from the choir or onlookers point of view.
I feel like this song could use some percussion. In my head I can hear a drum section going, "1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2". I blame this thought on my angular beat pattern. Even in the slower section where we want a legato motion, I feel the micro beat. Getting away from that and using the egg really made me feel the macro beat. It was much easier to keep a fluid motion. (This percussion also had a little to do with keeping the beat in my legs)
This week something clicked. Whatever it was definitely helped. now if I could only figure out how to actually do something effective with my left hand...

Posted by Jonathan Edington at 04:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Wow - so much to reflect on. I felt pretty good about this session. I've watched the video three times now and I'm still getting a lot out of it. I think my primary take-away lesson from this experience was Matt's comments about not being "lazy" with my wrist. =) I used a very fluid motion in my beat pattern for the triplet section but it was difficult for the singers to follow. With my wrist constantly breaking it was difficult to tell where to place certain syllables. Plus, every time my wrist broke it interfered with the singers' breathing. Matt suggested using a simpler motion (less rotation around the wrist) and pretending I was sweeping my hand through a viscous liquid (adding weight to the motion). While I didn't master either one in class I definitely felt a difference between my initial movement and Matt's movement. I think Matt's way added more line and support to each passage, which was exactly what I was attempting to achieve.

On a side note, I really need to work on my facial expressions! While watching my video I kept wanting to see raised eyebrows at entrances and facial reflections of dynamics. But alas, there was nothing. I will work on that for next time. =)

Posted by Lisa Heupel at 04:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is truly amazing how many times and how much I can practice something and think I have it down and then as soon as I get in front of real people it all goes out the door. Going first for this episode may have been my downfall, but that is no excuse. I had such problems with the transition from slow to fast again. It really helped when we all got to stop and take turns working that section. I guess I thought that slowing down and just having eye contact with the group would be enough for them to see that we were going to move back to the original tempo. In reality, it is so important to be clear on the prep beat. I think I figured out that when I make the 4 pattern, instead of scooping from the bottom, I need to come over the top so I have the room to create a clear prep in the new tempo.

One thing I have learned through these conducting episode experiences is that it is very easy to practice things the way you think they will turn out, but until you get in front of real people and have to evoke real sound you won't know what will actually happen.

Posted by Stephanie Lundmark at 02:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Sorry that this post is a little late. I have been feeling under the weather.
I think that my experience Friday was a step in the right direction. Believe it or not, I felt much more confident about being up in front of the group. Little by little, I am gaining a sense that I deserve to be in that position. I feel like Im not experienced enough, or I am wasting people's time. I think I am starting to get over that. Andrew gave me the comment that I need to invest more in my gestures. I am aware that I was still in my shell. I feel like the basic ideas were there, but I was not putting 110% into them. Whithout the investment, they just look silly and no one seems to follow. My question to you is, what are some ways you can practice investing more into the gesture? I have been trying to practice things exaggerated, so that when I get in front of the group they will seem normal when I back off, but is this a good tactic? I feel like it is another one of those things that just takes time and more of a comfort level.

Posted by Kristin Olson at 05:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Arg! I just finished editing my video to demonstrate what was I going talk about when iMovie froze! It had transitional fade ins and everything! oh technology. I'm afraid you will have to just reference the entire uploaded video on mediamill.

Anyway, watching the video made me think Friday's lesson went better than what I first thought. I felt a bit underprepared and out of whack- disconnected from what I was doing. The video looked fairly decent, though. I was pleased to see that transitions between sections were effective, even when I started the first faster part in 4/4. The week before, I worked on a gesture to keep the singers going through the dreaded dotted half note in the middle of the phrase in "voices raise... " This week, I saw that I included this rather successfully in the reprise.

I noticed that I am susceptible to bending my knees (and tilting my head downward and to the left), especially at points where I want emphasis. IF I had been able to include my truncated video, you would have been able to see my series of pliets in the middle of "Cantate DO-mino." I think the motion works, but I'm afraid of it becoming an uncontrollable response or automated gesture. Any suggestions as to how to best monitor these type of tendencies?

In the piece, there was some miscommunication in tempo between myself, the choir, and the pianist. Although I noticed that we were "off," I was unable to identity whether we were rushing or slowing the tempo not was I able to locate the source. I knew from the beginning that I often "turn off my ears" when I conduct. This freightens me. What use is a conductor that can't listen? I want to be in the moment, in the flow of things, but can't seem to do this without shutting off my critical listening skills. Any suggestions?

Thanks. And thank you for playing the accompaniment, Tim!

Posted by Claire Klein at 03:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I felt really good about my conducting this week. I felt my pattern was pretty strong, and I was able to really concentrate on giving good entrances. I tried practicing using visualization as well as conducting in front of a mirror. I think it helped me a lot. It also came in handy because I could take a moment anywhere and go through the piece in my head when I couldn't be in front of the score. I like how each week we're thrown additional tasks to try on the fly. For me, this was working with an accompanist. I had been thinking so much about the choir, that I didn't pay attention to giving cues to a pianist.

I have to apologize to my fellow conductors who I accompanied. I am sure I made your task much more difficult. I am a terrible accompanist!

I felt that I got to a place this week where I could actually start thinking about dynamics, and trying to get a sound from the choir.

I did have a question about my left hand. As I said, I feel like I'm sometimes using my left hand at an inappropriate time just because I'm moving my left hand automatically - without intention. What did you all think while watching me? I don't know that what I was doing with my left hand really conveyed anything except at the cutoff at the end. Please feel free to be brutally honest. I have a think skin!

Posted by Timothy Oesau at 12:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I think this week went pretty well for me. I was comfortable with what I wanted out of the choir, and I feel like I received the responses I wanted, which I really appreciate. I think I'm probably still moving legs too much, at least in the faster sections, and I'll try to be better about that, but I feel like it probably won't be as big of an issue with slower or more serious pieces; I just like to move with the music and really get into it.

One thing that came up this week was that my beat pattern was uneven because I wasn't extending beat 2 as far in the horizontal plane as I was beat 3. I think this may have been because last time I received a comment about my beat pattern, it was because I was mirroring, and I crossed my hands at my vertical midpoint, so I somehow got it into my head that hands can NEVER cross that midpoint. I now realize that this is more of a rule for mirroring, so I will try to even out beats 2 and 3.

Another issue that came up was my decision to drop the beat completely at m. 47 and rather follow the syncopated vocal line, which created a problem with the accompaniment, as well as the choir. The choral issue was easily fixed by adding a little bump to the gesture as a prep. Admittedly, I wasn't thinking too much about the accompaniment. We solved that issue by bringing the beat pattern back in completely at that section. This worked fine, but it brought up a concern: I felt a little trapped in the beat pattern. I know it's not up to me to give them every rhythm, but at that particular point in the song, that wasn't my intention; I felt like that section should be a little freer, and the beat pattern seemed too dry to be appropriate there. Obviously, the needs of the accompanist (and choir) come before my personal "vision"; I guess I'm asking about how to judge appropriate times to drop the beat pattern, because I've heard it said (and I completely agree) that it's not always appropriate to stay in the beat pattern the entire time; I find it almost limiting.

Thanks for any comments!

Posted by Allison Innerbichler at 05:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Out of all of the conducting exercises, I was the least pleased with this week! I wasn't able to communicate with the accompanist, follow through with proper cut-offs, and really stay focused. I was thinking about the triplets and tempo changes so all dynamic shaping went out the window as well. I was VERY thrown off by Dr. Hamann's comment about having a proper prep so I felt that I was unable to truly focus on the rest of the conducting exercise. I think that was evident throughout! Does anyone have any advice on how to properly communicate with an accompanist? It is evident that after these last two weeks, I have no idea! (Which makes no sense because I play piano!)

While I was frustrated with most of my conducting this week, I was proud that I accomplished smooth transitions between the different tempos. That is something I focused on when practicing and I think that was able to shine through everything else! Thanks everyone!

Posted by Kate Kidwell at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yikes, this assignment was the hardest yet. I was relieved to read that at least of couple other members of the class felt it was challenging, but it made me realize just how unbalanced my teaching skills are. I feel quite comfortable talking in front of people and using my voice to lead, but the hands are a mess. I need to dig out my egg and spend a lot of time with the mirror.

The video was helpful, though, in that I discovered the root of a problem. I kept losing the downbeat after entrances. The video revealed that I was often motioning upwards on beat 3 for a breath to bring in the choir, so my hand would naturally follow through down on beat 4. I had discovered that in my practice and thought I corrected it by motioning outwards for a breath on 3 and then sweeping up on 4, but I didn't correct it as well as I thought. Even conducting in 2 tripped me up.

It was pretty frustrating, actually, because I practiced a great deal. I'm a passable pianist, a good dancer, and fairly athletic overall. Why am I so uncoordinated with conducting? It might just take a while to sink in, especially because I'm 27 and just now learning conducting basics. I'll practice harder for this week and hope my hands cooperate this time around.

Posted by Hanna Dorn at 12:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, I had come away from this session rather disappointed in myself. I'd practiced quite a bit but didn't feel like things had gone the way I wanted them to go. However, I just watched the tape and it went much better than I thought it did. I think I need to work on giving a smaller beat pattern overall because then my dynamic and articulation gestures will be much clearer and easier to pick up.

I also found that the piece felt better in two but was much, much harder to conduct that way. I kept wanting to linger at the bottom of the pattern around beat one because, as Andrew said, I could give more information there. It's scary to trust the choir to come in and cut off at the right times without my being in a position to show them where to do so.

Posted by Lisa Heupel at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I had no idea that I looked like what I look like when I conduct fast pieces. I started laughing because my gestures are so big and overdone. I need to keep my conducting window appropriate for my size and the size of the group I am conducting. In a way, I think I am giving my choir too much and not making them meet me halfway. My conducting style on this piece might be overwhelming to some singers. The "v" idea really helped because it gave my pattern more consistency and kept the window smaller. It's great to see what I actually conduct like because I don't conduct quite that way when it's just me and the mirror (instant feedback.) I do still want to keep some of my enthusiasm -- I just want to polish it and tone it down.

Posted by Amy Trowbridge at 04:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well tonight I finally got the media mill thing to work so I figured I would post about the Fermatas tonight as well. I had SO much trouble with the rolling stop. Even now, a week later, after I have had a chance to practice them even more I still have trouble. My mind tells me to do one thing and my hands end up doing another. I am sure this will get better with time but the video does not lie and just reinforces the fact that I had so much trouble with that type of fermata.

I think I did a decent job with the others. I got everyone to do what I wanted for every other fermata, especially the complete stop because that one is pretty hard to mess up!! I think the rolling stop is really the only one you have to think about a lot. I also think that I need to play around a bit more with using fermatas on different beats because doing the rolling stop at the fermata in the very last phrase would be a bit trickier than doing a complete stop like I did.

Posted by Stephanie Lundmark at 05:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Wow. Watching that video gave me a bit of confidence. No matter how hard I practice, whenever I get into the classroom and conduct I always feel like everything I practiced and learned went out the door. It is good to know that the things I practice actually improve and new things I need to work on surface. I think Cantate Domino went pretty well for the first time. I think I look lively, but need to be more engaged in what the song is actually about. The song is about joy and I did not look very joyful. The second time around with the cutoffs in the left hand was SO much better than the first. I am starting to think I might not be all that bad at this someday.

Posted by Stephanie Lundmark at 04:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

While this piece is pretty easy to perform, it defiantly presented some challenges for a young conductor. For things that I thought worked well for me, I knew the music very well. I feel that I acknowledged all important entrances for the voice parts and gave appropriate cues. I also feel that I lightened up my facial expressions a little more since the last time I conducted which is a good change. My leg movement seemed a little better so that I something I am still working one.

However, there were some things that I did not expect and want to happen. First off, I had an issue with communicating with the accompanist. Honestly, I didn't even think about having to talk to my accompanist so when I got up there, we were unable to communicate clearly. I will for sure have to fix that for next time. Also, I had some issues with conducting in 2. I constantly feel that I should be showing more so I added in unnecessary motions which only confused me and the ensemble. As Andrew mentioned, I need to get used to the smooth, effortless motion. It is just something I will have to get more used to. I have a question for Dr. Mehaffey and Andrew: Are there times where you can go between a four and two pattern if there is a part in the music that you need to show certain cut-offs? For example, I found mm.39-46 rather difficult to conduct in 2. I was hoping you would have some ideas to fix this. Thanks everyone!

Posted by Kate Kidwell at 04:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I think Friday went fairly well. I always get much more into the song when I'm actually leading a group and able to hear it than I do when I practice on my own. I think this is probably good and bad, because when I get into it I'm much more expressive, but I also move around a lot more, and am less grounded, which is probably pretty distracting to watch. Along with that, I received the coment that I was subdividing with my knees for a short time while I was conducting in two, which I will have to focus on correcting.

Another thing we discussed in my time was how to show softer dynamics or decrescendos without taking away the necessary intensity. I found I generally do this by physically backing away and drawing in my elbows, which demonstrates a collapsing of support that I should not be conveying to the choir, so I will have to rework my concept of softer dynamics to a certain extent.

One concern I have is that often times I'm too focused on what I'm doing to notice what the choir is doing; I'm not reacting as much as I could to what I'm hearing as much as I am going through my pre-programmed actions. I know it's necessary and helpful to know what you plan to do going in, but I feel like I need more flexibility than I seem to be able to demonstrate. I hope this gets better with experience, but I'm curious to know if there's any way to consciously correct this. I realize it would be hard to practice it without a choir at my beck and call, but if there were some sort of exercise, it would really help.

Thanks for any comments!

Posted by Allison Innerbichler at 03:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I thought today went quite well for me. I was glad that I was able to incorporate new things as the lesson went along. Other times, I've been so used to conducting like I've practiced, using the same gestures, patterns, tempos, etc, that it's been difficult to adapt. I was pleased to see that I added the the breath/cut off on pg. 3 not only after the comment was made, but for the rest of the exercise. (Sometimes more successfully than others, but it was there.) I was also encouraged by hearing the effectiveness of showing the text stress as well as the difference in texture between the English sections and the "Cantate Domino" sections. As I was practicing, I was pleasantly surprised at how I was able to "hear" these things even without first hearing a recording. While I was conducting the group, however, it was hard for me to decide whether or not the singers were actually giving me what I had in mind or if I was hearing what I wanted to.

Next time, I would like to be able to involve my left hand more independently. I did use it, but not to the extent that would be most beneficial. It would be influenced by the pattern in the right hand and wiggle in the midst of giving a different instruction. Many times I would start doing something with the left hand and never truly complete the action. As we worked on it, things became clearer, but I can go even further to show what I want.

Posted by Claire Klein at 02:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Today was an interesting experience. I felt like there was a huge leap from the fermatas to this assignment, and I was a little more than terrified to get up in front up everyone and give it a go. I practiced a ton,but yet I still have that feeling that I am not ready or prepared. I think that is just something that comes with becoming accustomed to getting in front of a group of people and becoming completely vunerable.

I felt that I did do a decent job, but there a lot of things I incorporated into my practicing that didn't happen when I got in front of the group. Im sure this happens with everyone, but it is so hard to really do what you were practicing in front of the group. I think we each need our own mini chorus that we can pull out of our pocket during practice to make us nervous, that way we know how will react and be able to prepare!

Posted by Kristin Olson at 07:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I should probably wait until I see the video, but I like getting my thoughts down pretty soon after the experience. I'm feeling pretty critical of myself right now. It's probably mostly my mood, but I'm feeling a bit frustrated. I get annoyed that I can't keep all of the aspects of conducting in my mind that I need to at the same time.

I find that I'm "in my head" too much of the time, concentrating on the pattern, or keeping my place in the score, or trying to remember an entrance. I thought that my classmates did a much better job of engaging the choir. I would love to have the piece internalized enough that I can concentrate on the musicality of the piece rather than the mechanics. Things feel forced for me now. In particular, I felt Amy and Kristen had very warm, welcoming faces. My "default" face is kind of sour (something I've been told before). It's more concentration than anything else, but it doesn't convey what I'd like from the choir. This aspect will be hard for me. I appreciated Dr. Mehaffey's advice that each person needs to find their own style. For me, it may be more in my entire body language rather than just the face.

Anyway, to try to cheer myself up a bit, I'll say that I felt like I grasped the 2 pattern pretty well after Dr. Mehaffey directed me. I will definitely try using the egg when practicing.

I also noticed I was fidgeting some. I will have to work on this. I've likely developed bad habits about this. I really like to externalize the beat in my body. When I'm playing shows, my feet are all over the place because I really respond strongly to rhythm. It's very hard for me to contain that energy in my conducting pattern, and give smaller cues. My tendency is to want to tap my foot, or sway, or somehow display the beat more with my body.

What can I say? I gots the rhythm in me!

Posted by Timothy Oesau at 07:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've been stalling on my blog entry because I've been trying to download the video, with no luck.

I learned Friday that conducting requires a different type of memorization than singing. I knew the piece well enough to sing it without looking, so I thought I could shove the stand aside and be able to conduct more freely. Man, was I ever wrong. What I was able to do in the isolation of a practice room did not hold up to the added distraction of real people! I'll be keeping my score close by from now on.

I had hoped to abandon the score to try out a more intuitive approach to conducting, but I'm not there yet. I would love to just be able to feel the music, do less thinking, and more enjoying. But I imagine that even the best conductors rarely get to do just ride along in the music- our brains should be furiously churning on even most basic pieces.

I'm not surprised that the rolling stop was easiest for me. I have to work on the L-R hand recoil movement of cutting off and breathing. As Prof. Mehaffey suggested, I can easily make my cut-offs larger, but the L-R cut-off/breathing gesture will take some practice.

Posted by Hanna Dorn at 01:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I thought this conducting experience went pretty well. I know the roll-stops were fairly difficult for everyone and I definitely wasn't exempt from this. But I think my second time through was a little clearer, having watched my video. I appreciated Andrew showing me that my left hand cutoff needed a clear stopping point. I noticed that it was a much clearer motion when there was a "floor" to stop the downward motion.

On a side note, one other thing I noticed was that I got a powerful sound from the group but no shaping or musicality. I had fairly clear entrances and cut offs but they resulted fairly abrupt sound. I know this was an exercise on fermatas but I would have liked to have communicated better phrasing overall. That's one of the hardest parts about conducting fermatas, not just getting out of them but doing so gracefully. =)

Posted by Lisa Heupel at 12:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I learned today that it is essential to simultaneously execute the plan in your head and listen to the group. I tend to focus on only one or the other and need to work on balancing the two. On Friday, for example, I learned that it is possible to worry about executing a plan so hard that you actually lose sight of where you are in the music. I know I could have had more success if I had worked harder to ingrain the excerpt into my head.

That said, I am glad I needed extra help with the 2 beat fermata because my mini-lesson was very helpful to me. I had thought about the motions of the fermata, but did not spend enough time breaking these motions into substeps that occur on specific parts of beats. Now that I am thinking about subdividing my conducting motion, fermatas become much more complex because their location within a measure changes my conducting motion to a greater extent. While I will explore subdividing my conducting patterns, I am always cautious of compromising musicality for exact precision. These two elements have an interesting relationship -- they aren't contradictory, but I don't think the two go hand in hand.

Posted by Amy Trowbridge at 04:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I was generally pleased with how things turned out for me on Friday, although I did forget to incorporate one of the categories - oops. Interesting how people did not notice this until I revealed my misunderstanding (I thought of the "rolling stop" and the "ignores" as the same thing.) It wasn't until after I sat down did I realize that, if my gesture of what I thought was "breezing though" a fermata worked for a "rolling stop" fermata, I should have just kept with that kind of gesture. If I remember correctly, I pointed forward with my left hand (to keep the sustain) and kept time in my right hand. If I did the same thing, but slowed down the last beat's motion, I think that would count as a "roller." I'm glad I practiced it the other way too. I would like to master the up, over, and down method of conducting the "rollers." The exercise Kristin did over her head seemed to help a lot - I'll have to try that out myself. I was pleased that I got the out of the fermata on beat 2 appropriately with a rebound in the opposite direction of beat three when I was ready to go on.

...and of course, I need to work on evening out my gesture to maintain a consistent tempo on ALL the beats.

Thanks for allowing me to do those few measures over and over and over and over. It really helped me out.

After watching my video (using the handy-dandy media mill site!), I would like to add a few things.

First, I fidget far too much when I am speaking and my hair looked really silly that day.

Secondly, to amend my previous statement, I now remember that I was confusing the "rolling stop" with the "release is the cut-off" option. I'm glad I have that all straightened out now. It's frustrating to see how close I was to doing it right, but still had a tendency to flip my hands over as I was moving space/time. It blows my mind how one little action can effect the group so much. I knew, even as I was watching it, what I wanted to happened, but I can see why it was confusing for the singers.

Posted by Claire Klein at 04:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Its amazing how adding layers onto any task creates so many new problems. Just when you think you figure one thing out, you have yet another to fix. With the fermata experience, I was so worried about the actually fermata part of it, that I really did not concentrate on the piece as a whole or on the other aspects of the conducting. It really showed when I was in front of the class. Its very easy to focus on one aspect and shut everything else out. Conducted is such a multifaceted activity, that this method of thinking can turn out deadly.

I think that maybe practicing simple 4 patterns any time/anywhere that I can may help to make it something thats more of an autopilot motion. I think trying to do something extremely new and putting it on top of something that you just learned, but are not really comfortable with really does not work. So for now, I will really make a goal to nail the four pattern, to the point where I am having nightmares about it....well maybe not THAT much, but you get the point!

Posted by Kristin Olson at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I thought this week's exercise went well for me. I was pretty confident going in, and I feel like i made some improvements from last week: I didn't mirror as much, but I felt like I used my left hand more appropriately, because it didn't feel like it was either in the way or useless (of course, it helped that I was conducting a homophonic line). One thing I need to work on is having a more grounded stance and not moving my feet as much.

I remember enjoying the fermata unit we had in basic conducting last semester; I guess I'm a lot better at holding sound than moving and shaping it, so for next week, as with the second Mendelssohn exercise, I will have to focus on being comfortable enough with the mechanics of my gestures to really put some expression into what I'm showing. I anticipate having more hand-independence issues, so I'll be focusing on that as I practice this week.

Posted by Allison Innerbichler at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I was very curious to see how today was going to actually go for me. I have felt pretty comfortable with fermatas in the past but I never realized that I was only comfortable with a few of them (stop completely, brief pause). This exercise was extremely helpful because it forced me to actually think about the fermatas and what I want them to accomplish! I was very pleased that I was able to accomplish the "roll-stop" fermata. I got the ensemble to do what I wanted them to do which was very encouraging. I think we all can agree that that has to be one of the hardest kinds of fermata so I will continue to work on it!

I felt that I knew the music very well which enabled me to make more eye contact with the ensemble. By having more eye contact, the conductor is able to connect to the ensemble and ensure that everyone is on the same page! It is great that you all perform what you see because it allows all of us conducting to hear how we are conducting. It is such great feedback!

For the future, I hope I can take what Dr. Mehaffey mentioned and not wait for the group to catch up to me. I really need to find that balance of being a little ahead of the ensemble but not waiting around. If anyone has any suggestions or feedback, it would be much appreciated! Thanks!

Posted by Kate Kidwell at 12:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today went better than I expected. The coordination between left and right hand is still tough for me, but as my right hand pattern becomes more ingrained, I am able to pay more attention to my left hand and my breathing. I feel that the changes I've made in my pattern have been pretty successful. I was able to keep my pattern in a fairly small space, and use more of the horizontal plane.

The rolling stop fermata was definitely the hardest for me, as it seemed to be for the class. Matt and Andrew had some great insights into what works and what doesn't. I didn't notice that I was tending to "curl around" with both hands, which leads the choir to interpret a cut-off. It's very interesting to me how conducting gestures are interpreted by the choir. My assumption before this class was that large gestures were needed. It's fascinating to see that very subtle moves can be more effective. If I'm conducting a large pattern, and gesticulating grandly with my left hand, there is nowhere for me to go if I want to emphasize a certain part of the score. Also, it becomes much harder to keep control when the pattern is large.

One other really good lesson I took from today is the idea of setting myself up for what comes after the fermata. I need to be in a position with my hands such that I can begin the next beat clearly. I thought the two-handed horizontal move when the fermata is on beats 1&2 of a 4 pattern worked well.

Overall, I was very impressed by my classmates. Again, it was reassuring to see that many of us struggled with the same issues - mostly the rolling stop, and coming back into the next beat.

Posted by Timothy Oesau at 07:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I am just now getting to publish my thoughts on last week's conducting. It's been a crazy week...Even though I didn't publish anything until nowI have been thinking about my conducting over the past week. when practicing, I continually notice how different in structure my arm is from my other classmates. I don't think I am unique. Everyone's arms are so unique and it affects our conducting styles. when I think of conducting, I imagine a long, fluid arms with a lot of extension. My arm is just not built that way. I think it is important for me to practice in front of a mirror so that I can get a better, more accurate visual image of my arm. Then I will be able to move it in a way that appears fluid rather than forced.

As Matt pointed out in class, I have been using too much flexion in my wrist. In my mind, this is how I create the long fluid arm I had been picturing. Practicing on the music stand -- hitting it each time I indicated a beat -- gave me the precision I needed to be a clear conductor. I need to remember that a conductor rarely wants a mushy sound. Even the legato needs to be precise. In conclusion, I think I will achieve precision best by always indicating a clear beat and by picturing, in my mind's eye, my specific arm conducting the beat.

Posted by Amy Trowbridge at 03:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After going back to read other peoples blogs, I realized my original post did not go through, so I will try to summarize it.

I think that Fridays conducting experience was overall a good one. I was not here for the first round of conducting, so I was really nervous because I did not know what to expect. The conducting seemed way less stressful once I got up there than I had made it to be. Once I was up there, I felt much more at ease. I feel like it is amazing that when we become uncomfortable, no matter under what circumstances, we revert to the same bad habits that we once had. Matt commented on the fact that I raise my shoulder and the joint and have a lot of tension. I did not even think about it. When I was a freshman in voice studio class, whenever I would sing my arm would "levitate" as if by some sort of magic. This "magic" was in fact, tension, which has come back after mastering one task and trying to learn another.

Matt also commented that I have a lot of movement in my wrists. I did not even think of how this could effect the overall quality of our sound. I just though I was being expressive. Generally, in music you can almost never go overboard. Its amazing that a simple gesture or body movement can effect a group sitting in front of you in such a dramatic way.

I feel like I have a better insight and direction in which to practice and critique my own conducting, now that I am getting practice with my peers.

Posted by Kristin Olson at 04:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A little late this week. I totally spaced after the amazing Packer win and Brett Favre milestone touchdown. Anyway...
I had a good time conducting this week. I didn't feel like it was too overwhelming or nerve-racking. As has been the story of my conducting career, I had two major flaws.
The first flaw was my extremely fluid (floppy) wrist. I don't know if I do it because of all of the fluid conductors I have worked with over the past or not, but this fluidity is deeply ingrained inside me. I would think it is safe to say that my musicality is portrayed a lot better than my beat pattern. Although this could be a good thing and provide very useful in the future, I need to learn how to show musicality without floppiness.
My second flaw was keeping my beat pattern too high. Through short deductive reasoning, we realized that I really paid attention in basic conducting. I have been keeping my beat pattern uncomfortably high, but it is where I was told to keep it in my basic conducting class. Needless to say when I tried conducting my patter a little lower, it felt great.
I need to work on these two things right away. After I get them down, I think conducting will be much easier for me.

Posted by Jonathan Edington at 11:04 PM |