Psalm 100
I felt ok about my conducting of Psalm 100. I think I have 2 problems that I really need to fix: making my beat pattern smaller and keeping track of the music. Let me explain...
Every time I conduct, I am very conscious of making my beat pattern smaller, but it never looks very small on video. I think the reason my beat pattern continues to be large is because that is what happens when I get in front of people. I have done a lot of theater, and it is very natural for me to perform. I am working on developing the ability to control when I perform and when I do not perform but simply lead. This is a tricky problem for me to solve, but I am also working on it in music therapy, so hopefully it will get ironed out soon.
Keeping track of the music is connected to my innate desire to perform. When I step in front of a choir, most of me wants to connect with singers and inspire them. The part that cares about musical accuracy is music smaller than the part that cares about the singers. I care about musical accuracy...it's just hard for that part of me to stay strong when I am leading a group of people. Again, this is something I am also working on in music therapy through accompanying, observing clients, etc.
On a positive note, I am glad that I am able to really focus on connecting with the singers. I don't want to lose this, I just want to gain more balance between connecting with singers and musical accuracy.
P.s. It's been a wonderful semester!