Conducting Final

Front 1

beat

Back 1

basic unit of time in music

Front 2

meter

Back 2

organization of beats into groups of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc.

Front 3

duple

Back 3

two beats per group with a strong-weak relationship; 2/4, 2/2, 2/8, etc.

Front 4

triple

Back 4

three beats per group with a stronger/weaker/weakest relationship; 3/4, 3/2, 3/8, etc.

Front 5

quadruple

Back 5

four beats per group with a strong/weaker/less strong/weakest relationship; 4/4, 4/2, 4/8, etc.

Front 6

pulse

Back 6

the division of a beat

Front 7

simple

Back 7

a division of two pulses per beat

Front 8

compound

Back 8

a division of three pulses per beat

Front 9

rhythm

Back 9

the combining and/or dividing of beats which result in various note values which are superimposed on the beat

Front 10

tempo

Back 10

the speed of the beats

Front 11

duple beat pattern

Back 11

Front 12

triple beat pattern

Back 12

Front 13

quadruple beat pattern

Back 13

Front 14

legato style

Back 14

no bouncing or jerking motion in the rebound of any beat; use even, flowing motion throughout the beat pattern--even with a clicked ictus

Front 15

marcato style

Back 15

crisply executed click and maintaining precision

Front 16

shoulders

Back 16

should be down, back and relaxed; imagine you have a heavy piece of luggage in each hand

Front 17

upper arm

Back 17

hanging free from the should so as to act merely as a connector between the shoulder and elbow

Front 18

elbow

Back 18

positioned several inches out and away from the body and a few inches in front of the body; if it moves from this position, it should follow--never lead--the finger tips; acts as a hing in two directions: up and down, and side-to-side; should always be free and relaxed

Front 19

forearm

Back 19

acts as a connector between the elbow and wrist; should only move in response to movement of those hinges; never pulls focus away from the lead of the finger tips

Front 20

wrist

Back 20

should always be a fluid hinge; ready to move when necessary but neither leading nor exhibiting floppy, or rigid tendencies

Front 21

hand position

Back 21

hand should be held palm down with the fingers slightly rounded and held together while the thumb is extended comfortably out to the side, also rounded as if molded around a large ball; wrist is slightly cocked

Front 22

fingertips

Back 22

the point of focus and should be pointed directly at the ensemble; do not allow them to droop downward or to be held up too much to expose the open palm or heel of the hand

Front 23

conducting field

Back 23

will generally cover the area from the chin down to the waist, and the left side of the body over to the outward reach of the finger tips on the right

Front 24

preparatory gesture

Back 24

clicked ictus and rebound immediately prior to the beginning of the music

Front 25

for the initial attack

Back 25

mentally establish an exact tempo before beginning; eye contact with the ensemble; no motion before initial beat; energized super click; smooth, even rebound; breathe through the preparatory rebound

Front 26

final release

Back 26

minimize motion after the ictus of the last note; slowly pull straight up and accelerate downward into the clicked release

Front 27

3 questions before beginning a piece

Back 27

Tempo--what is it? Style--marcato or legato, size? Confidence--am I prepared?

Front 28

breath - stop flick

Back 28

make a clear stop at the ictus; flick beginning with the fingertips in the natural direction of the rebound; implied by a check mark

Front 29

breath - linger

Back 29

prepare the beat before the breath; linger loooong, but do not stop; implied by a comma breath mark

Front 30

melding

Back 30

de-emphasize all movement after the last ictus that indicated movement; conduct a full-size rebound on the way out of a meld; implied as follows: 1_______p 3 (for example)

Front 31

super click

Back 31

implied by the use of an asterisk; preceded by a melded gesture; succeeding rebound should be controlled and smooth--avoid jumping out of the super click; use with syncopated pulses

Front 32

subdivision

Back 32

use only when it will clarify conducting (for instance, when a piece slows down significantly); solves the problem of imprecision; will bog down piece if overused; implied by railroad tracks over the staff; illustrating by the beat by keeping the pulse

Front 33

jogging

Back 33

a type of subdivision where beats are divided into 3 instead of two (i.e. 6/4)

Front 34

tenuto

Back 34

slight lengthening of the note

Front 35

fermata

Back 35

a held, sustained note, the length of which is determined by the conductor

Front 36

fermata not followed by a breath

Back 36

linger/hold the ictus of the sustained beat, and gently accelerate into the natural rebound of the following beat

Front 37

fermata followed by a breath--no ictus available for breath

Back 37

hold the ictus of the sustained beat, create an additional beat for the breath by retracing the rebound of the preceding beat with a slightly accelerated motion into the clicked ictus of the newly created beat

Front 38

fermata followed by a breath--ictus available for breath

Back 38

hold the ictus of the sustained beat; rebound in the natural direction of the beat using an accelerated motion into a strong clucked ictus on the following beat

Front 39

fermata in simple meter where following note is a fraction of the beat

Back 39

hold the ictus of the sustained beat; rebound in the natural direction of the beat using an accelerated motion into a strong clucked ictus on the following beat

Front 40

caesura

Back 40

grand pause; indicates a complete stop of sound before recommencing; release the fermata using the accelerating up-down motion used for a final release and then wait--don't move; use a regular prep to come back in

Front 41

Dynamic

Back 41

changing

Front 42

quantity

Back 42

loudness or softness; we perceive a louder sound as having more energy than a softer one; dynamic changes must be approached with subtlety and reserve

Front 43

quality

Back 43

intensity/color of the sound; we perceive a brighter sound as having more energy than one that is dark, round and rich; slight changes in tone/color can create increased energy, but overdoing them can betray musicality

Front 44

subito markings

Back 44

be ready with new dynamic gestures 1/2 beat early--right after the ictus of the previous beat

Front 45

crescendo

Back 45

gradual growth in sound, indicated by a movement outward and away from the body

Front 46

diminuendo

Back 46

gradual decrease in sound, indicated by movement toward the body; do not turn hand until it is close to the body; maintain open posture.

Front 47

cuing

Back 47

give the cue on the ictus of the beat previous to the vocalist's entrance; give eye contact, a deep singer's breath and

Front 48

text shaping

Back 48

prudent use of strong weak; reduce the size of the rebound; gently stroke the ictus of the weak beat; can be done by shortening both ictus and rebound, or simply by keeping the rebound low and small

Front 49

four elements of musical energy

Back 49

pitch, tempo, quantity, quality

Front 50

pitch

Back 50

we perceive higher pitches as having more energy than low ones; composers control this element

Front 51

tempo

Back 51

we perceive faster tempos as having more energy; composer will give guidelines, but this decision is ultimately up to the conductor; too much change in tempo can draw unwanted attention to the moment

Front 52

asymmetrical 5/4 measures

Back 52

conducted with the roll (grouping of 3)/snap (grouping of 2) technique