gyrmination

We started the rehearsal with a photocopy handout from a conducting tome in Japanese. Practicing conducting will improve our ability to communicate in an ensemble through cuing, and will involve our entire bodies in the action. The handout illustrates the movement of the conductor’s baton over the course of four beats:

Each stroke should be practiced with broad movements of the right arm, at first separately, then all together. The downbeat [1] starts high. The arm starts dropping slowly, accelerating as it comes to the antapex of the stroke. The beat occurs at the instant when the arm changes from moving downward at the greatest speed to rebounding upward at the opposite velocity. Moreover, the change is a “scooping” action, as illustrated in the diagram, rather than a strictly up and down action. The second beat [2] also starts high, and sweeps far to the left of the body. Again, the beat occurs at the antapex of the stroke. The third beat [3] starts at the far left of the body where the second beat ended, and sweeps to the far right of the body. The fourth beat [4] starts at the far right of the body, sweeps down and towards the center, then rebounds high setting up the next downbeat.

The body is naturally attuned to certain rhythms of movement; Dr. Koh says it is simply impossible to dance off-beat at a rock concert. We defeat this natural inclination when we stiffen up. Therefore, when conducting we must let gravity do all of the work, maintaining complete relaxation and breathing with each stroke. Gravity pulls the arm towards the floor on the downbeat; after the instant of the beat the arm springs upward like a roller coaster rushing up after a huge drop. It is important to note that the arm before the beat is almost still, floating in the clouds; as it comes closer to the beat it gradually accelerates, and finally just before the beat it speeds up incredibly. With such a quick transition as required to conduct clearly, we should still preserve the fluidity of the movement – otherwise we’re bound to get “whiplash” (or as it was said a “whipped neck”), just as we would if a roller coaster suddenly changed from careening downward to moving horizontally!

The preparation or cuing for each successive beat begins immediately after the instant of the current beat. This is the key to giving a successful upbeat cue before playing. Practice the fourth beat starting with the right hand to the far right of the body, marking clearly the antapex of the beat (this is essential; without the fourth beat the tempo cannot be set), sweeping up in preparation for the downbeat, then falling into the downbeat. After practice conducting these two beats, we can move to conducting while holding our instruments. The bow arm must remain relaxed to be carried by gravity in the same way as when not holding the bow. Just as when conducting, the right hand marks the fourth beat clearly, while the left hand brings the instrument up and causes the entire body to rise with an intake of breath. The bow should be placed on the string before playing the first note, but this should be done without disturbing the flow of the downbeat. In addition to the right arm coming down for the downbeat, the pulse of the left arm should cause the scroll of the instrument to make a small scooping movement. This is exactly the same “scooping” that allows us to cue the end of a long unison note at the conclusion of a piece.

Did you know? Last night your teenage daughter was at a singles disco at 1:30am. Your 16-year-old daughter was at the bar, and you didn’t know! I don’t know about you, I’m not comfortable with that!
Dr. Koh, when a player starts playing at the wrong part of the bow without realizing it. “Do you know what your bow arm is doing? You have to know! Otherwise you can’t correct it!”

This entry was posted on Friday, February 3rd, 2006 at 15:57 and is filed under Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.