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The Modern Conductor
... The basis of any conducting pattern is two movements: the horizontal line and the vertical line (Green, 1997 andPhillips, 1997). In addition to the basic horizontal and vertical movements, the beginning student conductor should also establish the optimal hand position which is palm facing down -also called closed-hand position (Demaree & Moses, 1995;Garretson, 1998;Green, 1997;Kaplan, 1985;McElheran, 1989;and Phillips 1997). ...
... The basis of any conducting pattern is two movements: the horizontal line and the vertical line (Green, 1997 andPhillips, 1997). In addition to the basic horizontal and vertical movements, the beginning student conductor should also establish the optimal hand position which is palm facing down -also called closed-hand position (Demaree & Moses, 1995;Garretson, 1998;Green, 1997;Kaplan, 1985;McElheran, 1989;and Phillips 1997). This hand position and its motion have been described as similar to that of a "yo-yo or dribbling a basket ball" (Willets, 1993). ...
... Each of these components and any constituents therein require time and deliberate practice to accomplish. Green (1997) reminds the student conductor that "our hands will learn whatever we teach them. As our skills mature, the time ultimately arrives when our musical thoughts appear in our gesture, but only if training has taken place." ...
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of differential feedback (external versus internal feedback) on closed-hand position of conductors while conducting. Closed-Hand conducting was operationally defined as palm facing down. Subjects (N = 126) were undergraduate and graduate music majors at a large southern comprehensive college of music who were divided into two groups: choral (n = 63) and instrumental (n = 63).
The subjects were further divided by random assignment into one of three conditions: the external condition (n = 21), the internal condition (n = 21), or the control condition (n = 21). The independent variables were an external feedback condition during which subjects were asked to balance a coin on top of their hand while conducting, and the internal feedback condition where subjects were instructed to stabilize their wrist and hand so that they face the ground while conducting. A pretest/posttest design was used to assess the effect of the independent variables on the duration of the conductor’s closed hand position while conducting.
A one-way ANOVA revealed that at pretest all groups were equal. Results of a two-way ANOVA revealed significant differences between pretest and posttest. There was no significant difference from pretest to posttest between choral and instrumental groups. In addition, results from pretest to posttest by treatment group (external, internal, and control) and by choral and instrumental groups suggested no significant difference. When pretest and posttest by treatment groups (external, internal, and control) were analyzed, there was a significant interaction. This interaction indicated that the amount of time spent in closed-hand conducting during pretest and posttest was contingent upon treatment group.
... There appears to be agreement that the preparatory gesture must happen in tempo (e.g. Ehmann, 1968; Garretson 1998; Green 1981), and should display the dynamics and mood of the piece (e.g. Ehmann, 1968; Green, 1981). ...
... Ehmann, 1968; Garretson 1998; Green 1981), and should display the dynamics and mood of the piece (e.g. Ehmann, 1968; Green, 1981). Many texts also suggest that the preparatory gesture should approximate the previous beat in the conducting pattern (e.g. ...
... Many texts also suggest that the preparatory gesture should approximate the previous beat in the conducting pattern (e.g. Ehmann, 1968; Garretson 1998; Green 1981). However, disagreement occurs with respect to the basic direction of the preparatory beat in choral conducting. ...
This study examined participants" head and shoulder movements during 2 breath inhalation moments as they sang a familiar melody while viewing a videotaped conductor under 5 conductor preparatory gesture conditions. Results indicated apparent differences in participant head and shoulder movement with varied preparatory gestures. Specifically, participant head movement significantly increased with conductor upward head movement and participant shoulder movement significantly increased with conductor upward shoulder movement. Participant shoulder movement also increased during a downward moving gesture as compared to an upward moving gesture. In addition, less experienced participants appeared to move their heads less, but their shoulders more than experienced participants across all gesture conditions. Finally, participant head and shoulder measurements also differed between the initial breath and the internal breath taken in the melody. These results were discussed in terms of conductor gestural behaviors in choral rehearsals, limitations of the study, and suggestions for further research.
... .technique is secondary and primary is to inflect the music. (University of Southern California, 2007) Though the teaching of conducting often focuses on the movement of the conductors themselves (Green and Gibson, 2004), research is emerging that relates that experience to measurable outcomes, including reactions to gesture among members of the ensemble, evaluators or adjudicators of the ensemble, and the audience. Given the prominent role a conductor plays in large ensemble traditions, it must be asked in what ways and to what degree do conductor gestures influence a musical performance or the perception of that performance by those involved? ...
... These items were similar to the bipolar scales used by Repp (1990) and Bergee (1995) in previous studies of music performance evaluation. These four elements were chosen based on two criteria: Firstly, they are all categories that frequently appear on ensemble adjudication forms in some way or have been used in research into ensemble evaluation (Bergee, 1995; Springer and Schlegel, 2016); and secondly, each are elements considered to be controllable by conductor gesture (Green and Gibson, 2004). Participants were also asked to characterize the line played by the flute and the line played by the tuba as either " primary " or " supporting " , or indicate that they were unsure. ...
Ensemble conductors are often described as embodying the music. Researchers have determined that expressive gestures affect viewers’ perceptions of conducted ensemble performances. This effect may be due, in part, to conductor gesture delineating and amplifying specific expressive aspects of music performances. The purpose of the present study was to determine if conductor gesture affected observers’ focus of attention to contrasting aspects of ensemble performances. Audio recordings of two different music excerpts featuring two-part counterpoint (an ostinato paired with a lyric melody, and long chord tones paired with rhythmic interjections) were paired with video of two conductors. Each conductor used gesture appropriate to one or the other musical element (e.g., connected and flowing or detached and crisp) for a total of sixteen videos. Musician participants evaluated 8 of the excerpts for Articulation, Rhythm, Style, and Phrasing using four 10-point differential scales anchored by descriptive terms (e.g., disconnected to connected, and angular to flowing.) Results indicated a relationship between gesture and listeners’ evaluations of musical content. Listeners appear to be sensitive to the manner in which a conductor’s gesture delineates musical lines, particularly as an indication of overall articulation and style. This effect was observed for the lyric melody and ostinato excerpt, but not for the chords and interjections excerpt. Therefore, this effect appears to be mitigated by the congruence of gesture to preconceptions of the importance of melodic over rhythmic material, of certain instrument timbres over others, and of length between onsets of active material. These results add to a body of literature that supports the importance of the visual component in the multimodal experience of music performance.
... While most of the work in music and movement has been applied to timing, some individuals have also examined other expressive attributes, specifically dynamics. While the literature in this area focuses on instrumental performers, it seems reasonable to assume possible relevance to conductors given the nature of these kinematic models (Green, 1997). Runeson (1985) suggests that human movement contains considerable information about intentions and actions. ...
... In an empirical investigation, when major and minor intervals were sung with facial expressions intended to convey positive or negative emotional messages, participants rated the intervals happier or sadder depending on the corresponding facial expression (Thompson, Graham, & Russo, 2005). One would expect that the quantity of information might be greater when looking at conductors leading ensembles, since the intention of conducting is to convey aspects of compositions visually (Green, 1997). ...
Undergraduate music and music education majors (N = 131) scored stimulus video recordings of conductors and ensembles with seven conductors directing an identical performance of a college wind band composition from the performer's (front) and audience's (back) perspectives. Participants provided written suggestions and a numeric rating for each conductor and ensemble stimuli. The comments were used to develop emergent themes and trends were found regarding positive and negative influences of the conductor and performance. Two aspects of the comments were of particular interest: (1) the most common comment for the ensemble regarded following the conductor (along with musical expression), which were predominantly positive even though the performance was identical for all conductors, and (2) expressivity was a focus for both the conductor and ensemble comments even though participants were rating quality. Results indicated that there was a significant (p < .0001) conductor impact on the conductor and ensemble performance evaluations, even though the performances were identical. The conductor scores were strongly related to the ratings of the ensemble performances. It was also found that conductors viewed from the front or back had a significant (p < .01) impact on participant evaluations of conductors but not ensembles.
... The goal of this research project is not to exploit the facial interaction (at this time) of the conductor with the orchestra, but rather to focus solely on the gestural interaction. In this section we briefly will revisit a few essentials of traditional conducting [21]. The main parameter conveyed through the hand motion is the beat of the music tempo. ...
... The ictus is at the deflection of the hand motion (change of direction from down to up = bouncing). InFig. 1, the standard figure for conducting a THREE beat is shown [21]. The initial motion is from the top downward. ...
This paper describes an approach for a system which analyses an orchestra conductor in real-time, with the purpose of using
the extracted information of time pace and expression for an automatic play of a computer-controlled instrument (synthesizer).
The system in its final stage will use non-intrusive computer vision methods to track the hands of the conductor. The main
challenge is to interpret the motion of the hand/baton/mouse as beats for the timeline. The current implementation uses mouse
motion to simulate the movement of the baton. It allows to “conduct” a pre-stored MIDI file of a classical orchestral music
work on a PC.
... Muchos directores creen que la manera de colocar a los cantantes así como la distribución de las voces tiene una gran influencia en la homogeneidad del sonido (Aspaas et al. 2004), aunque Lambson (1961) afirma que la diferencia entre las distribuciones de las cuerdas en un ensemble coral no es tan pronunciada como se piensa. Algunos libros de texto utilizados como herramienta de trabajo por parte de los directores de coro describen resultados sonoros que se obtienen en función de la distribución de las cuerdas (Green 1961), aunque Daugherty (2003) opina que las investigaciones realizadas hasta el momento no presentan una validación sólida que respalde las afir-maciones de dichos libros. Brandvik (1993) opina que hay tantas opiniones sobre el sonido coral como directores de coro. ...
Un debate activo en dirección coral es la posición idónea que deben adoptar las cuerdas del coro: soprano, alto, tenor y bajo (SATB). Grabamos un coro gospel con su director y sala de ensayo habituales, combinando 2 tipos de canto (vertical o contrapuntístico), 2 acompañamientos (a cappella o con instrumentos), y las 4 distribuciones más frecuentes en los coros gospel. Los propios coristas (N=33) han evaluado el sonido global coral mientras cantaban (percepción interna). Los coristas (N=24) y un grupo de músicos profesionales (N=14) evaluaron la grabación del coro del punto de escucha del director (percepción externa).
Los resultados muestran una preferencia significativa por la distribución coral clásica en todos los casos. Hay una alta concordancia en las respuestas. La presencia de instrumentos reduce la valoración. La preferencia está correlacionada con la homogeneidad (escucha externa) y con la homogeneidad y con la facilidad de oírse (escucha interna). La escucha interna provoca más diferencias de preferencia entre distribuciones. Los hombres son más sensibles a la distribución para la facilidad de cantar y de oír su voz, prefiriendo distribuciones donde las voces graves están detrás. Las mujeres no distinguen entre distribuciones para la facilidad de cantar y oírse.
... Um dos primeiros diretores a, ao invés disso, fazer uso da batuta foi Ludwig Spohr para quem a batuta triunfa como meio eficaz e preciso de condução (LAGO, 2008). Para Green (1987) a batuta moderna é "o resultado final de centenas de anos de experimentação na liderança de performances musicais em massa" e que ela "emergiu (especialmente para grupos instrumentais) como a forma mais eficiente de transmitir uma mensagem precisa para os instrumentistas" (GREEN, 1987, p. 5, tradução do autor). ...
This paper departs from the analysis by Max Weber of the rationalization of music which seems to culminate in what is known by musicians as temperament. It advances approaching the development of modern orchestral conducting technique and its main elements as manifestations of the rationalization process in these specific musical practices. To do so, three videos of different conductors interpreting the first movement of Beethoven’s symphony no. 5 were analyzed. The analysis consisted of comparison between the chosen gestures and the sound responses obtained by the conductors. I intend to show that all three elements went through the rationalization process but in different levels. The right hand has the highest level of rationalization while the left hand and the facial-corporal expression have respectively lower levels of rationalization.
... Effective conductors are described as genuine and inspiring leaders who know the musical score thoroughly and can convey its meaning to the musicians through exceptionally trained hands (Green, 1987). Such conductors guide musical interpretation, style, and precision using physical gestures and verbal instructions (Labuta, 2000). ...
This study examined the effects of the conductor's goal orientation (mastery vs. performance) and use of shared performance cues (basic vs. interpretive vs. expressive) on instrumentalists' self-efficacy, collective efficacy, attributions, and performance. Eighty-one college instrumentalists from two musical ensembles participated in the study. It was hypothesized that instrumentalists who undergo a mastery goal-oriented rehearsal and experience a conductor's use of expressive shared performance cues would report higher levels in all measures than those who undergo a performance goal-oriented rehearsal and are exposed to interpretive performance cues, which in turn surpass those who experience basic performance cues. Results indicated that participants in the mastery goal orientation condition reported higher levels of collective and self-efficacy beliefs and attributed the success or failure of the ensemble most frequently to the conductor's use of rehearsal strategies (i.e., baton technique, verbal directions regarding the music). In addition, the conductor's use of expressive shared performance cues had a significant impact on instrumentalists' collective efficacy, self-efficacy, performance, and attributions. Findings of this study may provide some guidance on how conductors can create effective rehearsal environments.
... If students can remain on-task, there is a greater likelihood that the teacher will be able to accomplish his or her musical goals in that rehearsal. Conducting pedagogues have also urged teachers to reduce the amount of time they spend talking, since students will not be very engaged (Erwin, 1982;Green, 1996;Hicks, 1975;Kreichbaum & Dillon, 1976;Vermel, 1977). Willard (1986) offered that effective conducting was a good alternative to teacher talk, since it solved problems quicker. ...
This study sought to examine the relative effectiveness of two forms of communication: verbal instructions and conducting gestures. High school choral students (N = 44) performed "Music Alone Shall Live" in a variety of ways (with and without word stress, and with varied articulations), while watching a video recording of a conductor and reading verbal instructions. Experienced choral teachers (N = 30) listened and rated the articulation and word stress of the students on a 7-point Likert-type scale. Results indicated that (a) experienced teachers perceived more staccato articulation and word stress when singers responded to verbal instructions (vs. conducting gestures) and (b) experienced teachers perceived more staccato and word stress in performances when verbal instructions and conducting gestures were congruent, compared with when these messages were incongruent.
... During this time at the University of Michigan, Elizabeth, who was a prolific author, began writing The Modern Conductor (Green, 1961), which became one of the most commonly used conducting texts, and is currently in its seventh edition (Green, 2003). In addition, Elizabeth aided Ivan Galamian in writing Principles of Violin Playing and Teaching, (Galamian, 1961) also published in 1961. ...
... We selected four music excerpts; two featuring high levels of dynamic contrast (e.g., piano/forte) and two featuring pronounced contrast of articulation (e.g., legato/staccato). These two musical parameters are uniquely specified in music notation and are associated with a specific and broadly understood vocabulary of conducting gestures (Green and Gibson, 2004; Jordan et al., 2011). Excerpts were extracted from four classical string quartets and rescored for a small chamber wind ensemble (Table 1). ...
Previous research has found that listener evaluations of ensemble performances vary depending on the expressivity of the conductor’s gestures, even when performances are otherwise identical. It was the purpose of the present study to test whether this effect of visual information was evident in the evaluation of specific aspects of ensemble performance: articulation and dynamics. We constructed a set of 32 music performances that combined auditory and visual information and were designed to feature a high degree of contrast along one of two target characteristics: articulation and dynamics. We paired each of four music excerpts recorded by a chamber ensemble in both a high- and low-contrast condition with video of four conductors demonstrating high- and low-contrast gesture specifically appropriate to either articulation or dynamics. Using one of two equivalent test forms, college music majors and non-majors (N = 285) viewed sixteen 30 s performances and evaluated the quality of the ensemble’s articulation, dynamics, technique, and tempo along with overall expressivity. Results showed significantly higher evaluations for performances featuring high rather than low conducting expressivity regardless of the ensemble’s performance quality. Evaluations for both articulation and dynamics were strongly and positively correlated with evaluations of overall ensemble expressivity.
... Conductor gesture, and the practice of conducting, has been the subject of extensive study by musicians and musicological theorists; this includes conducting manuals and textbooks (such as Green 1996, Rudolf 1994, among many others), and more abstract discussions of the function and purpose of conductors (such as Berlioz [1948] 1965). Typically, this work is focused on instructional and educational outcomes, and is of limited use in evaluating how conducting functions as a communicative practice. ...
This paper presents the results of a study of conductor
gesture and examines the effect of that gesture on
musician action within a tertiary music rehearsal and
pedagogical context. This study follows experimental
work on conductor gesture and attempts to complement
the results of experimental studies by using a corpus of
naturally-occurring video recorded data of conducting
classes. The aim is to determine whether the physical
actions (gestures) of conductors can be seen to be
systematically related to musician action (playing of
instruments) in such naturally occurring data. In addition,
we explore how quantitative analytical techniques, more
familiar to experimental approaches, can be used as the
basis for a framework for examining conductor gesture in
data collected using ethnographic research approaches.
This study concludes that conductor gesture has a
significant effect on musician action, and suggests some
salient features of conductor gesture.
... The conductor's role has changed over the centuries, from a simple time-beater to an interpreter and communicator of the emotional content of the music being played, but the modern conductor is still expected to provide temporal information to the ensemble, combining this with expressive information regarding their interpretation of the music. Previous work on conductors' gestures has mainly focused on expressive aspects of conducting, and a large proportion of this work is contained within popular conducting manuals, such as those byMcElheren (1966), Boult (1968),Green (1969), Green and Malko (1975), Rudolf (1980), Labuta (1982), Prausnitz (1983),Scherchen (1990), Demaree and Moses (1995), and Schuller (1997). Of these, the texts by Rudolf and Prausnitz offer perhaps the most detailed approach, with Prausnitz breaking gestures down into a number of distinct parts or phases. ...
This article reports an empirical investigation into the characteristics of conductors' temporal gestures and people's ability to synchronize with them. It describes a new approach to the investigation of the characteristics of conductors' gestures, the investigation of conductor-musician synchronization, and a first experiment to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach. As part of this approach, a new computer-based environment for manipulating and presenting conductors' gestures, and recording participants' responses, was developed. This involved the creation of several pieces of new software, all of which were developed under Microsoft® Windows® using Visual C++. Used in combination, these programs allowed: (1) the manipulation of the size and viewing angle of high-quality three-dimensional (3D) recordings of conductors' gestures; (2) the presentation of these gestures to participants in a controlled experimental setting; (3) the recording of participants' temporal responses to these gestures; (4) the calculation of various parameters of both the trajectory of the gestures (e.g. instantaneous speed, radius of curvature along the trajectory) and participants' responses (e.g. mean response point and associated standard deviation); and (5) the graphical display of relevant features of both the gestures and participants' responses in a clear visual form. In the experiment, participants tapped in time with simple conducting gestures while several factors that might be expected to affect synchronization accuracy were manipulated. These factors were (1) the radius of curvature with which the beat was defined; (2) the experience level of the conductor; and (3) the experience level of participants. Results indicated that only participants' previous experience affected their synchronization ability; no effects of conductors' previous experience, or radius of curvature with which the beat was defined were found. This first experiment successfully demonstrated the feasibility of the new approach for the investigation of conductors' gestures and conductor- musician synchronization, and this article concludes by suggesting a number of subsequent experiments that could be undertaken in this computer-based environment to investigate these topics further. Copyright
... This perception contract among musicians may allow nonverbal communication of very specific interpretive decisions. According to this view, the conductor's intuition and learned ability to communicate those stylistic-interpretive decisions through gesture is what ultimately determines conducting success (Graves, 1984;Grechesky, 1985;Green, 1961;Lewis, 1999;Mayne, 1992;Miller, 1988; The Effect of Gesture Strouse, 1987). In order to establish the existence of a perception contract between musicians and conductors, this study investigated differences between performances of musical excerpts (baseline-post w/conductor) through an experimental design using a Gestural Response Instrument -GRI (Karpicke, 1987) as the dependent measure. ...
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of non-verbal conducting gesture on musicians stylistic response and whether conducting gestures alone elicit consistent musical responses from musicians. Through an analysis that utilized a Gestural Response Instrument (GRI) it was determined that, even if the use of verbal and facialcues were eliminated, some experienced conductors successfully utilized non-verbal conducting gestures to communicate specific musical interpretations. It appeared that musicians responded in specific ways to the musical interpretation of conductors who had command of a variety of conducting gestures. The results illustrated the existence of a perceptual contract that facilitates the non-verbal communication expressed through gestural conducting. As demonstrated through this study, some experienced conductor slacked the gestural technique and vocabulary necessary to convey prescribed musical decisions while others were proficient in this area.
... Student conductors are typically taught to master a set of systematic skills, which usually focus on how to show precise beat patterns with their hands and control an orchestra efficiently. Although a few textbooks on conducting have been published, they focus almost exclusively on the visual depiction of beat patterns [46], [47]. For instance, when a conductor shows a triangle with his hand, this gesture means three beats. ...
A common framework for studying perception and performance in both human-technology interaction and music is presented. The framework represents the cognitive challenges faced by both musicians and human operators in technological systems. In the perceptual realm, both must infer distal or covert states from proximally available information (e.g., inferring the emotional meaning of a musical composition; inferring the functional meaning of interface displays). In the realm of action, both must select proximally available actions, or means, to achieve distal ends or goals (e.g., a conductor using hand movements to direct an orchestra, an operator using interface controls to tune an industrial process or respond to a fault). The framework represents these proximal-distal relations and enables quantitative measurement of the degree to which performers adapt to them. The framework is illustrated with a review of music and human-technology interaction research and our own study of the coordination between a professional conductor's hand movements and a concertmaster's bowing actions in the opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. In providing a common theoretical framework for both music and engineering, we hope to enhance prospects for research on group musical performance to inspire novel, robust design models for modern sociotechnical systems.
The purpose of the study was to investigate relationships of conductor background experience and music teaching style with conducting functions. Results served to validate a six-function Conducting Priorities Survey. A geographically and experientially diverse sample of conductors (N=108) completed the Conducting Priorities Survey (CPS) and background survey, and by further consent the Music Teaching Style Inventory (N=82). Strong CPS reliabilities supported content and construct validity. Significant relationships with background experience supported predictive validity: attention to musical, physical, and social tension increased with experience, ensemble collaboration increased by regional institution, precision was higher for males and instrumental than females and choral, and expressive conducting increased with ensemble level and males. Rational correlation, regression, and factor analysis results with music teaching style support convergent validity: assertive teaching with precise conducting; efficient teaching with precise, expressive, and motivating conducting; artistry-oriented teaching with expressive and technique-guiding conducting; motivating and collaborative teaching with musician-sensitive conducting; and deep-learning teaching with shared-influence conducting. The CPS and MTSI seemed to validly capture how music educators have and can be taught across their career lifespan to achieve pedagogical and curricular balance in teaching and conducting. The measures could prove to be useful tools for conductor self-assessment and growth.
The present study illustrates a role that the bodily gesture plays in the production of musical artistry. I especially focused on its expressive (i.e. rhetorical) function, which enables musicians to effectively realize and communicate their musical interpretations. From interviews with musicians ranging in level from student to professional, and from observations of conductor′s gestures videotaped in orchestra rehearsals, I report three cases showing how essential the sense of bodily movement contributes to finding the appropriate expression of music. In case 1, an interview with a pianist⁄conductor, Ryusuke Numajiri, I demonstrate examples of gesture embedded in music composition that constrains hand shape in the context of piano playing. According to Numajiri, such a habit very likely reflects each composer′s motor capacity or preference of finger patterning, which makes a pianist′s hands and fingers form “composer-specific” motion patterns. In case 2, through observations of videotaped data on expressive gestures shown by two conductors, Myong-Whun Chung and Tetsuro Ban, I compare features of their gestures when they conduct the same piece. Results showed that, at the same point of the piece, both conductors represented nuances of the sound with very similar gestures, suggesting that the character of the musical sound has an intrinsic tendency to arouse a specific (similar) type of bodily gesture. In case 3, I introduce examples of bodily movements executed by a conductor, Uriel Segal, which produced an intended musical atmosphere. My main finding was that he clearly demonstrated that conductor′s gestures, including beating motions all embody musical requirements that lead the orchestra in the proper direction. Further, I observed that his conducting also displayed a sense of being still, “how to stop moving the body” at some points in the music as well as a sense of being in motion at other times. Discussion of all the findings suggests that there is an intrinsic link between musical expression and bodily sense, which I believe offers insight into the origins of music and experience of musical artistry.
The present study describes the physical features and the musical effects of expressive gestures performed by a professional orchestra conductor including a preliminary analysis of interpersonal relationships between a conductor and an orchestral player. I videotaped sequences of orchestra rehearsals by Michiyoshi Inoue (Conductor) and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and used this data in the following analysis. In Analysis 1, I measured the timings and the degrees of synchronization between the physical directions of a conductor and the bowing actions of a concertmaster (a principal violinist regarded as a leader of orchestra) to show the emergent processes of mutual coordinated timing structures. Results show that the largest time differences between their actions were observed on the first day of rehearsals, but those time lags were gradually reduced as the rehearsals proceeded. The longest time lags on the first day may reflect that the conductor made strong efforts to convey his musical intentions to the orchestra rather than to control the precise and/or mechanical timings for their ensemble. In Analysis 2, I sought to investigate the musical and expressive aspects of conductor's gestures on the first day. Through the detailed comparisons with a classification table of the conventional conductor's gestures compiled by Braem & Bräm (2000), the outward appearances and the musical contents of the conductor's gestures on the first day were coded. The conductor and five of orchestral players were interviewed in order to check the conductor's musical intentions underlying his gestures and the players' interpretations or impressions that were conveyed by that conductor's gestures. Findings reveal that the conductor flexibly produced many gesture variations not only in the physical appearances but also in the musical contents, which were beyond the conventional patterns. In some cases the multiple musical directions were simultaneously embodied in a conductor's single gesture in a specific manner which represented the compositional structures. Discussion of these results suggests that the conductor's gestures can be considered as dynamic activities with flexibility and simultaneous multiplicity in meaning, and that these features in the real conductor's gestures must contribute to organizing interpersonally coordinated relationships with the orchestra.
The purpose of this study was to examine participants’ (college band and choral musicians, N = 143) perceptions of conductor clarity and expressivity after viewing band and choral directors conducting with or without a baton. One band and one choral conductor each prepared and conducted two excerpts of Guy Forbes’s O Nata Lux, a piece written in both choral and band idioms, with and without a baton. Participants viewed 10 excerpts (four choral, four band, and two distractors) and rated the conductors’ clarity and expressivity on 10-point Likert-type scales. There were significant main effects for participant ensemble emphasis (choral or band), baton use, and conductor type (choral or band), and a significant interaction between conductor type and baton use. The choral conductor was perceived to be clearer without a baton, whereas the band conductor was perceived to be clearer with a baton. The choral conductor was perceived to be more expressive with a baton, and the band conductor was perceived to be more expressive without a baton.
The art of conducting has a long and well-established history, as both a technical and expressive art form, using physical gesture to convey musical intent and expression. Conducting relies on visual communication to direct the individual instrumentalists of an ensemble as a single, coherent unit. The aim of this project is to capture and analyse the hand gestures of conducting in order to provide real-time, interactive multimodal feedback. The system encompasses a number of application contexts including gesture visualisation for conducting analysis, pedagogy and preservation. This chapter presents the design and development of the interface involving hardware sensors and software analysis modules, and discusses the application of visualisation for conducting. Visualisation software has been designed to produce a sculpture of the conductor’s gesture, to reflect the individual conductor’s style and technique. The chapter concludes with latest findings, future directions and the impact the research may have outside the realm of gesture communication application.
Operatic performance has a long and well-established history as a large-scale performance encompassing elements of music, theatre and design. Staging of such productions is an intricate process involving many parties both on the stage and behind the scenes. This paper discusses multimodal and multimedia technologies and techniques that can assist this practice. We look particularly at the conductor, as the controller of temporal progression, leading the various components as a cohesive unit. For this reason, a particular focus is upon the development of methods to communicate cues and information for lighting, visual stimuli and haptic feedback. Previous work that has informed the design of this system is also discussed. The paper concludes with the project’s current status and impact.
Polychoral compositions have been present since the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Oftentimes, the polychoral compositions performed today are compositions written during these early musical periods. In the latter half of the twentieth century, James Erwin Fritschel (b. 1929) wrote polychoral compositions that match the level of difficulty and excitement of the early polychoral compositions of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Fritschel’s compositions have been celebrated by leading choral programs throughout the world, yet there is a notable lack of academic analysis of his works. The purpose of this document is to serve as a resource for conductors regarding James Fritschel’s choral compositions and a guide for score study and rehearsal preparation of his polychoral compositions. Also included are modern digital versions of each polychoral composition and transcriptions of interviews with the composer.
Advisor: Peter A. Eklund
Abstract This work involves the design and implementation of a real-time Machine Vision-based Human Computer Interface (HCI) that analyzes and interprets a music conductor’s gestures to detect the musical \beat" that the conductor’s actions convey. This HCI system interfaces directly with the \Virtual Orchestra", an electronic MIDI sequenced \orchestra". Prior to the development of this HCI system, the real time control of tempo of the \Virtual Orchestra" could only be controlled by tapping a tempo on a MIDI controller device{a process that is foreign to most music conductors. The real-time beat information detected by this HCI system allows a conductor to conduct the \Virtual Orchestra" as if it were and together with a live orchestra. This system was developed using the Broadway, real-time color image capture board manufactured by Data Translation, Incorporated. The implementation involved the use of Microsoft Visual C++, Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC) for the Graphical User Inter- face (GUI), Video For Windows (VFW), MIDI note generation, and Intel assembly level code for algorithm optimization. Algorithms were developed for rapid RGB color thresh- olding, multiple contour extraction, fast contour based area and center of mass calculations, and gesture interpretation. Real time, live-video interpretation has been achieved and an
This study documents the musical career and teaching methodology of one of Ireland’s leading choral conductors, Ethna Barror (1915 - ) and explores the factors contributing to her success as a conductor, with particular reference to her choir, The Lindsay Singers. The study is informed by life history methodology, focusing on interviews with Barror which were conducted over an extended period of time. The research also includes interviews with some of Barror’s peers and choir members. This data is supported by documentary material relating to the Lindsay Singers performances, achievements and awards, and the repertoire they performed. The research is also informed by personal documents and correspondence provided by Barror. The study identifies Barror’s success in the field of choral conducting as a product of her musical abilities and her unique personality. It reveals how Barror’s methods and techniques evolved through her experience of conducting choirs, and as a result of her ongoing evaluation of her own performance and rehearsal activity. Barror herself points to factors which she considers have contributed to her success and these include: enthusiasm for her work, discipline, imagination, technique, musicality and flexibility in performance. She refers to rhythm, diction, blend, intonation and interpretation as some of the key elements contributing to the quality of her renowned choral sound. The comments of Barror’s peers and choir members highlight, not only her musical expertise and achievement, but also the personal and leadership qualities she brings to her work. The implications of the research outcomes for choral conductors and choral conductor education are explored, and suggestions made for further research.
Conducting is a complex art that involves, among other things, effective nonverbal communication. While this communication includes hand and arm gestures as well as eye contact and facial expression, it also encompasses nonverbal messages sent by the rest of a conductor's body, such as his/her physical appearance. Assumptions based on what conductors look like and how well they fit the stereotypical role they are portraying often affect opinions of their job performance. Thus, the nonverbal messages sent by a conductor's physical appearance could affect ensemble members' opinions of him or her as a conductor. Therefore, this study attempted to investigate whether perceptions of a conductor's body type were a factor when judging the conductor and ensemble performances. Furthermore, relationships between ensemble performance ratings and the conductor's visual appearance characteristics (eye contact, facial expression, and posture), evaluator confidence in the conductor, and overall conductor effectiveness were explored. Neither the conductor's body type nor the gender or college major of the evaluator affected ratings of the conductor and ensemble performances. However, performance ratings were affected when the conductors were viewed in a certain order. There were moderate to moderately strong relationships between the performance ratings and conductor posture, conductor facial expression, evaluator's confidence in the conductor, and overall conducting effectiveness. Eye contact, however, was not strongly related to performance ratings.
In the present study, we examined whether collective efficacy, group cohesion (task and social), and perceived motivational climate (task-involving and ego-involving orientations) in a music ensemble predict instrumentalists' perceived conductor support. Ninety-one (N = 91) skilled high school instrumentalists participated in the study. To assess the variables, participants responded to a number of surveys during rehearsals. It was hypothesized that instrumentalists' perceptions of collective efficacy, group cohesion, and a task-involving motivational climate cultivated by the conductor would predict conductor support. Results showed that, collectively, these variables accounted for 46% of the variance in instrumentalist perceptions of a supportive conductor. Findings of this study may provide guidance on how conductors can create learning environments that instill a strong sense of support for their instrumentalists.
Typescript. Thesis (Ph.D.)--George Mason University, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-112). Vita: leaf 136.
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