Earlier this year, I performed in a variety show at work. Afterward, a man came up and introduced himself as the director of the venerable choral group which performs several concerts a year at holiday celebrations. He asked me if I’d be interested in playing rhythm guitar in the Memorial Day shows.
I told him I was flattered, and interested, but cautioned him that I don’t read music. He asked if chord charts would suffice, and I said yes.
We’ve had two rehearsals so far, and the most difficult thing for me has been following the conductor’s baton for the tempo. I’ve played in many bands, and am told I have a good sense of tempo (unlike a lot of musicians who perform mostly solo). But the idea of following something visual is foreign to me. I’m used to listening to other musicians, usually the drummer or other rhythm instrument.
The two shows are the week after next. Any advice is appreciated.
For decades I sang in symphony choruses in various cities. Following a conductor is second nature to me. I’ll pass along the “tip” I’ve heard a thousand times: WATCH THE CONDUCTOR.*
*aka “No unintentional solos”
Do you practice with a metronome? Following the conductor shouldn’t be any harder. He’s counting just like any other musician.
I was in school orchestra. I watched the conductor closely when he cued in our section to start. That was helpful after a rest for several measures.
I always had him in the corner of my eye as I read the sheet music. The conductor often signaled softer or louder for certain measures, especially for crescendos. I don’t remember ever watching the baton for the count.
There were at least nine of us in the 2nd violin section. We played as a unit and in sync. Maybe the first chair violin watched the conductor for the count? I doubt it. It would be far too distracting. We had to focus on the sheet music.
We had sections of 1st and 2nd violins, violas, cellos and two basses. At least thirty musicians. We brought in horns from the school band for a few special performances.
The conductor had his hands full cueing in each section as needed. He was balancing the sound. 1st violins and 2nd needed to be at about the same volume. We couldn’t drown out the small viola section.
AFAIK we never used microphones. The live mix was controlled by the conductor.
If he knows he’s conducting someone who’s not used to a conductor, it’s up to him to make the downbeat pretty freakin’ obvious. If it isn’t, you should tell him so, but perhaps more politely. I’ve seen a lot of choral conductors that conduct like they’re trying to fan steam away from their food, with these big, swoopy two-handed circular motions, and it’s impossible to tell where the downbeat is.
It occurs to me that he may be hoist on his own petard–he may be conducting a group of singers who are better singers than he is a conductor; he starts conducting and they all sing together and he thinks he’s doing an awesome job. I’ve seen that plenty of times, too…
I guess a more practical thing would be to just say you’re having trouble following his conducting at the next rehearsal, and ask him if he could conduct a few bars with him counting out the beat and everybody else singing along.
The problem isn’t playing a steady tempo, it’s following the conductor as he takes the group through tempo changes.
I forget which - but if there’s a part in the music where you have to pay particular attention to the conductor, people draw either eyeballs or glasses on the music to indicate “look up”.
Also, the more you memorize the music the better. You can pay better attention to the conductor and you run less of a risk of getting lost when you bring your eyes back to the music.
And when positioning your music stand try to keep the conductor as close to the music as possible so he or she is always in your field of view.
Maybe speak with someone in the chorus about it, see what they think, especially if they’ve been working with the conductor for a while.
I agree that it could also be the conductor’s technique. My university orchestra had a guest conductor come in to do Rite of Spring and she whipped out this baton that was the size of a drumstick. You could follow the changes from the cheap seats.
I had spoken in advance with the conductor, and told him that I’d never played in an orchestra, or followed a conductor. I’m only having problems with one of the songs, which has some tricky time signature changes, for which he’s thoughtfully suggested that he give me some cues.
I had already been trying to memorize the material as much as I could.
I like the suggestion to position the music stand so that I can see the conductor out of the corner of my eye. That should minimize the likelihood of losing my place.