Everyone has imitated a conductor, but few know what a conductor actually does. It is synonymous with organization and harmony, and has a mysterious atmosphere. Do those hand movements really have any meaning? How do musicians read signals? And what about the baton? Is it to scold you?
To answer all these questions and many others, small leaves Andre Bature, 39, who is associate conductor of Occam (USP School of Communication and Arts Chamber Orchestra) and recently conducted Marisa Monte on the Fonica tour, was invited along with the 55-member symphony orchestra.
“Conductors are the great ears of the orchestra, and our fundamental role is to listen to the performance,” says Bachur. “The conductor helps keep the musicians moving in the same direction, provides the tempo for the instrumentalists to play, balances the volume, and defines the story the ensemble tells.”
Although this may seem like an abstract explanation, the instructions given to the performers during a concert are very specific, which is why each conductor’s hands have a role to play. The main role of the right hand is to keep time. For example, if a song has a bar of four beats, the conductor moves it around and counts “1-2-3-4” to determine the tempo. That way no one plays too fast or too slow.
If the conductor counts continuously, as if drawing a picture, without lifting the pencil from the paper, this means that the instrumentalists play the notes without interruption. But if you “punch” this count, as if punching the air, the music will be heard with silence between the execution of the notes.
The left hand has other roles and is much freer than the right hand. This helps musicians know when to play certain parts during a song, whether an instrumentalist needs to play harder or softer, or whether a section should increase or decrease in intensity. A common gesture among conductors is the “okay” sign in America. But orchestras require precision, Bachur explains.
And is that baton, that cane used by conductors, really meant to scold? of course. “It facilitates and amplifies our movements, especially in large orchestras where the musicians are often far away from us,” he says. “This way they can clearly understand our guidelines.”
I often see conductors say, “The baton is like an extension of the arm,” but the baton is not a necessary item, and many conductors use only their hands to make gestures without holding an instrument.
When a conductor puts his finger in front of his mouth, is he telling the musicians to “shut up”? no! So…more or less, because he is saying that the volume of the instrument, or “piano” as the Italians say, needs to be lowered. If you want the instrumentalist to stop playing, close your left hand in a smooth or sudden gesture. It’s like what Joe Soares did on his TV show.
Another common gesture is the moment the instrument enters the music forcefully, prior to the attack. To do this, the conductor must be prepared to warn that such a part is coming. “The maestro’s head is a little crazy,” Bachar jokes, “because we’re dealing with the past, present and future at the same time.” “Our gestures have to predict direction, our ears have to pay attention to what’s happening right now, and our minds have to decipher all the information about what’s already happened.”
Does that mean that these skills can only be honed with great effort and immersion in classical music? Yes and no. Training to become a conductor actually requires a lot of study, said Bacher, who earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in conducting from USP. However, he claims to listen to popular music well, and in addition to playing the violin, piano, mandolin, and tenor guitar, he also plays the Bahian guitar well and performs at carnivals.
If, at the beginning of a concert, the conductor raises his arms to attract attention and “encourage the instrumentalists,” the performance ends with applause for the orchestra, and the conductor touches the tip of his baton several times with the palm of his other hand. The audience then stands up, applauds the show, and shouts “Bravo!”
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