Becoming a More Expressive Orchestra Conductor

Series Summary

Conducting an orchestra can be a daunting task, be it a string ensemble or an entire symphony. The job requires an extensive knowledge of music scoring as well as a natural gift to distinguish proper pitch and tone. And beyond the music basics, a conductor has to be an entertainer, involving their musicians as well as their audience in the piece they are conducting. The conductor is the focus of attention for the entire performance venue, so they must follow the proper etiquette and established rules and at the same time keep the crowd entertained and involved.

In this series of free conducting lessons, our expert conductor will give you an overview of the basic skills you need to become a conductor. Learn how to hold a conductor's baton and signal the orchestra with it. Brandon will demonstrate how to conduct several different tempos and time signatures. You will also learn several tips for interacting with the orchestra.

Video Transcript

"On behalf of Expert Village, I would like to show my example of expressive conducting. My name is Brandon Archer, and what I learned in college, I had a pretty strict professor. But he taught me that conducting expressively is not about you as a conductor. It's not about how dramatic you are or how much flair you have. He actually put it, conducting, compared conducting with a skill, like shoe making he would say. And to be an expressive conductor, he emphasized that you need clear conducting gestures. That the orchestra can clearly see what you are showing from the music. So in essence expressive conducting is not about the conductor, but it's about them using clear, concise gestures that actively show what the composer wanted the music to sound like."