FIVE GOLDEN

RULES FOR
CONDUCTORS
JONATHAN BRETT DECEMBER 3,
2015 INFORMATION, STUDY, TIPS 3 COMMENTS
These are the rules I came up with when I set myself the
challenge of distilling a few key guidelines for conductors and I
thought they would make a good starting point for this blog,
with which we hope to put out a mixture of fun and serious
things but mostly with underlying information about
conducting.

The popular view of the conductor of our times seems to favour

a high degree of (mostly unhelpful) physical activity combined
with passionate feelings about music which are expressed only
verbally, and, irrespective of the location, ideally in a foreign
accent. When added to an intrinsic capacity for big hair and a
dash of mystic promise, these qualities apparently comprise
something referred to as charisma but, although the
results may suffice to excite an audience pumped on media
hype, they do not actually fool anyone who understands that the
reality of effective conducting is somewhat different, least of all
those who actually have to make the sounds.

Maximising the value of the skills and motivation of these

people is crucial to achieving real success. Certainly charisma
plays its part but it must surely arise from the kind of personality
willing to first serve the music and then the musicians, plus the
inner confidence generated by genuine expertise rather
than the kind of ego which is comfortable about putting the
needs of both the music and the musicians subservient to inferior
musical and technical understanding on the part of the
conductor.

If we accept that then, if we aspire to get as close as possible to

some imaginary ideal, I think some further points to consider
are:

1. Inspiration
We must be ever mindful that our purpose is to inspire not
to explain, to request or to dictate.

It is unlikely that anyone would argue the importance of

inspiring others, variance of opinion tends to be in how to go
about it, most especially because so many people labour under
the misapprehension that the musicians are waiting only for
words of wisdom from the rostrum and that they have no issues
about playing to gestures which actually hinder rather than help.

The reality is that whilst a request might be complied with, a gift

given as a result of even the most delicate direct request is of
less value than one arising from a genuine desire to give, and
that even if the right result is achieved through a poor quality
gesture then this can arise only through an excessive demand on
the skills of the supplier(s). There may be no immediate audible
consequence but at some later point there will be a price to be
paid.
If we truly want to generate inspired music-making, it is
therefore crucial to avoid the temptation to abuse the inherent
power of the conductors position through unnecessary
verbal explanation or request, or poor quality gesture. To do so
is to play the short and easy game, but alas one with very limited
musical rewards. Perfectly personally rewarding if one is
content to play a solo game using real people as the pieces but,
alas, somewhat less satisfactory for the other protagonists or
for anyone else with a pair of ears.

The alternative is a long and difficult game, one which looks to

find a level of cooperation which obviates the need for boring
and unnecessary discussion but involves working with sound
through gesture. Doing this effectively means many problems
simply never arise and others vanish into thin air without
apparent effort on any part simply because engaging the hearts
and minds of the musicians changes the game beyond all
recognition.

Those who aspire to achieve this, however, must guard against

the ever-present and extremely powerful temptations of the
short game, one which so often shows itself as the better option
when in fact it is invariably just a mirage. It can be hard to
resist, but in case of weakening, always remember that unlike
some others, in this field of human activity there is at least some
justice: whilst the cheats can too-often be seen to prosper in the
material sense, they remain forever musically compromised.
2. Responsibility
We must assume responsibility for every problem and give
thanks for every solution.
Assuming responsibility means just that: we should always first
assume that we caused any problems ourselves, its the
musical equivalent of original sin. In the case of anything and
everything we might see as a problem the first question we
should ask ourselves is what did I do wrong which provoked
this?

In most cases it will be possible to identify something we could

have done differently but, even in the unlikely case that we were
truly entirely blameless, thinking this way informs our
awareness and hence colours our approach both to our
colleagues and to solutions.

Where things are working well, we should only be grateful and

never arrogant and never take anything for granted, but
constantly search for the answers which will lift the game
further. As with all things artistic, if we sense that we are getting
anywhere close to the imaginary goalposts, its time to move
them again.
3. Expertise
Good intentions are not enough, we must have the expertise
to serve the music and the musicians effectively

There is a common misconception that anyone can conduct, that

all that is needed is integrity, energy, charisma and great musical
ideas. This is not entirely true, because although I would prefer
to believe that genuine conducting talent has value, at the most
base level, gaining opportunities can be an issue merely
of finance. Unfortunately, conducting has somehow become or
remained a bastion of feudalism, one which allows people with
little or no idea what they are actually doing to rule over those
who do, but perhaps it was ever thus. Getting to conduct is one
thing though, how we manage this immense privilege is entirely
another, for I believe that, whatever the merits of the process of
acquiring it, a position of privilege brings duties as well as
benefits.

The principal duty must surely be to ensure that we do it

well and here the salient point is that, whilst some, perhaps, are
born with an intrinsic capacity to inspire musicians, no one
is born with the expertise required to manage collective sound
effectively. True, some may have more natural capacity than
others, but to be of any real use everyone, however lucky, rich
or exceptionally talented, is obliged to acquire substantial
knowledge and tangible skills.

To be more precise, if the musical output is not to be in some

way compromised then there is an inviolable need on the
conductors part for:

1. Sophisticated technique, which synthesizes

1. Mastery of the practice and application of a language of
advanced non-verbal communication, a system which
allows the conductor to receive, process and transmit a
wide range of musical information whilst involving
a minimum of conscious mental processing power on the
part of the musicians
2. Methodology of rehearsal and performance
2. A high level of musical knowledge and understanding
3. A good deal of practical experience
4. 4. Economy
5. We must remember that less is invariably more.
6. It is important never to confuse activity with effectiveness,
a mistake often made when making assessments of
managerial efficiency.
7. The need to be efficient applies to everything we do: the
task of pursuing the ideal is so challenging (as for every
musician) that, whether it be gesture, speech, score
preparation or the way we manage a rehearsal, we must
always ensure that we are not merely industrious but also
highly efficient.
8. Inexperienced conductors sometimes devote an enormous
amount of time to preparing scores but, if this activity fails
to address the right issues, the time is largely
wasted. Indeed, the knowledge acquired can even be
counter-productive because the desire to impart something
the conductor views as important often leads to an excess
of activity of every form verbal as well as physical with
results which, to the objective listener, are of little
value. Simply reducing the white noise of surplus activity
and focusing on the information the musicians really need
for the result to be achieved can have remarkable and
immediately audible results.
9. So, perhaps contrary to popular opinion, the ideal
conductor, if he or she could exist, would not be a
whirlwind of hairy activity needing a change of clothing
between every piece but, rather, would know precisely
what information needs to be conveyed and be capable of
doing this with optimal effect: that is, conveying both the
tangible information needed and the appropriate musical
energy without the necessity for undue physical exertion
reserving the whirlwind effect only for the moments
when it could be musically justified.
10. In other words, as with any complex task, true
virtuosity makes accomplishments which are difficult to
acquire appear easy and natural.
11. 5. Wisdom
12. We must be vigilant in our pursuit of these
disciplines.
13. Because it is so much more comfortable for us to
overlook them! If we accept that our purpose is to serve
music and musicians rather than ourselves, though, our
personal comfort cannot be a priority.