{"id":94162,"date":"2022-11-25T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-25T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?p=94162"},"modified":"2022-11-25T10:35:18","modified_gmt":"2022-11-25T10:35:18","slug":"what-does-the-conductor-of-an-orchestra-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/what-does-the-conductor-of-an-orchestra-do\/","title":{"rendered":"What does the conductor of an orchestra do?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Image Credit: Andrea Zanenga<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do orchestras need conductors? The musicians all seem to be capable of playing perfectly well by themselves.<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Watching an orchestra perform at a concert you might be forgiven for thinking, does a conductor actually do<\/em> anything? All the musicians have sheet music <\/a>in front of them, so what’s the point in someone standing at the front of the stage, back to the audience, waving a stick?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That orchestra conductor stick, incidentally, is called a baton. The baton is an extension of the arm so the conductor doesn\u2019t need to wave their arms around. Saying that, plenty of conductors don\u2019t use a baton at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what’s the point of having a conductor of classical music<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Conductors keep the beat<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The orchestral conductor is traditionally there to help the musicians stay in time to the pulse of the music. Back in the day \u2013 even from 700 BC \u2013 a conductor would bang a staff <\/a>on the ground to keep a group of musicians in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conductor also makes sure everyone starts at the same time at the very beginning. For example, in large orchestras, there\u2019s a fair distance between the far edges of the orchestra and a musician might struggle to hear their counterpart on the other side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Confidence-boosting conductors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A conductor also gives the musicians extra reassurance. The orchestral <\/a>score with every instrumental part sits in front of them, so they can guide the orchestra just in case the musicians forget any part of the piece, however small.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some players might have long stretches of rests in the middle of the piece where they don\u2019t play \u2013 the conductor helps them know when they come back in, in case anyone\u2019s got lost trying to keep count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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