Course Objectives

Upon the successful completion of Music 337, the student will:

1.  remember always that the goal of the mature conductor is two-fold; to be musical, to be clear - furthermore to help their ensemble in any way they can to perform better - more musically - more expressively

2.  continue to develop basic conducting skills and a podium presence which will enable them to be more efficient conductors and teachers

3.  understand that successful conducting, really is successful rehearsing and that the ability to hear accurately and think on your feet is essential to successful teaching

4.  continue to develop an appreciation for conducting as an art, not the mindless "flopping about" of one's arms

5. understand that the art and craft of conducting is more head than hand  

6. develop a "vocabulary of gestures" which will enable the student to conduct a wide and varied repertoire of music - musically and maturally.

Specific goals will include:  

a. continued development of "baton technique" and a "vocabulary" of gestures
b. continued work on basic beat patterns [metrical and non-metrical]
c. development of melded gestures
d. development of weighted gestures
e. development of expressive gestures with right and left hands
f. continued development of an understanding of the musical line
g. continued study of: score order/instrumentation/transpositions/overtone series
h. study of graded literature for bands
i. development of appreciation for great instrumental ensembles of the day
j. development and refinement of rehearsal technique
k. reinforcement of knowledge of musical terms and their usage
l. refinement of the importance of primary and secondary beats
m. refinement of preparatory beats/releases and their importance

As students of conducting, we must remember that our primary role is to gain an understanding of the expressive import in a piece of music.  Through a study of conducting, we strive to refine gestures and other communicative devices which will bring this expressive nature of the music to our ensembles.  In music, we must strive to always be both student and teacher.