Advice to Conductors

At rehearsals recently, I had in mind the phrase from WWII, "Loose lips sink ships." In other words, I try to keep my opinions to myself unless. That being said, I appreciate when someone comes up to me and offers advice. Here then are some of thoughts addressed to conductors, in no particular order.

1. Schedule and run rehearsals like a professional orchestra. Time is valuable to everyone, even students and amateurs

1a. Provide the music at least a week in advance.

1b. Prepare the parts in advance: bowings, phrasings, correct errors in the parts, fix bad page turns etc [Carlos Kleiber would bring in his own parts. Guilini prepared his own parts. Robert Shaw made a point of giving the musicians of the Atlanta Symphony their parts, with markings, at least a week in advance.]

1c. Provide a schedule in advance and stick to it. Place a clock with a large display that you, and the musicians can refer to.

1d. Know the parts, after all this is what is performed, not your score. [Kleiber]

2. Record rehearsals and make the recordings available for reference.

2a. Have the musicians consult for themselves whether the balances are correct and if their solo is projecting sufficiently.

3. All music is chamber music.

4. Don't conduct through solos.

4a. When possible, don't conduct at all. See #3. 

5. When rehearsing a passage slowly, remember it it still music: dynamics, intonation and phrasing still count. Learn notes in the proper dynamic.

6. Rehearse intonation in the proper dynamic context (don't allow a section to tune a pp chord at a comfortable mf).

7. Entrances must always be together.
7a. Have sections inhale during the preparatory beat, in time, to prepare the attack. [I'm convinced this is the secret to the CSO's low brass entrances which are always impeccably balanced and together!]

8. Show what you want through your conducting.
8a. Never say, "I'll do a rit. here" Just conduct it. 

8b. To ensure your gestures convey the music you want, practice in front of a mirror. [Carlos did]

9. Learn the names of the musicians who are bringing the music in your score to life.

9a. Refer to people by first name (John) or by last (Mr Doe or Dr Smith) and always be respectful. You can help set the tone of the rehearsal, formal or informal, this way. 

10. Conduct from memory. Conducting from a score is not necessary bad, but doing it from memory enforces a certain level of preparation.

10a. Conduct rehearsals from memory. [Carlos did, as did Mitropoulos.]

10b. Conducting music outdoors, by memory, removes any concern of pages blowing away. 

11. Light music shouldn't be taken to seriously.
11a. Be spontaneous!
11b. If it's boring or inane, go faster, this usually helps.

12. Never miss an opportunity to rehearse a transition. [Dr. Thompson]

13. Never practice, always perform! [Bud Herseth]
13a. Run through the concert repertoire, without stopping, often.

14. Don't stop if you miss-conduct a bar, especially if the band is able to continue on without a hitch.

15. Questions about individual notes should be answered outside of rehearsal, by email, after the rehearsal or during a break.

16. Ask your musicians to practice on their own time, outside of rehearsal.

17. Music must sing!

18. Have brass players buzz on their mouthpieces without their instruments. This is great for intonation and sound quality. [Dr. Thompon is big advocate of buzzing.]

19. Have musicians sing their parts. [Dr T]

20. To fix rhythms clap upbeats, sing or play part [Dr. T]

21. Use attack points to clarify the relationships between entrances. [Dr. T]

22. When tuning a chord, let people know what the chord is so they can figure out where they are in it and how to adjust. [Dr. Robblee]

23. Don't manipulate or play games with people. Be honest and sincere.

24. Two wrongs don't make a right: don't ask a section to "rush" a passage that they tend to drag.

25. Ensembles, with a sufficient baseline of technique, are limited to playing only as well as their conductor imagines they can play.

26. Always deal with music!
26a. Don't address musical problems by discussing technique. Request sound, not technique! [Arnold Jacobs]

27. Doubled lines less, divisi more. 

28. Everyone should know if they have the melody, the harmonization of the melody or accompaniment.

29. Play Bach