The art of Conducting, Boxloads of Tips !!

Looking around on Facebook and other Social Media platforms and also judging by the enquiries on our website, it seems many people want to try their hand at conducting. Sometimes, it's difficult for choirs to recruit new Musical directors or conductors, and someone from the choir steps up to take the role, but what is involved, - clearly not just beating time, and is there a difference between the two roles.

Rehearsals versus concerts

Clearly, most of the work of a director is done in rehearsal, leaving the performance to adjust to the building and the difference it might make to choir layout, choir sound, speeds of pieces, and also sorting those things that have never gone wrong in rehearsal that have decided the pre-concert sing is the time to make themselves known!

The conductor is therefore a teacher, able to teach the notes, sort the problems and convey a vision to a group of how they want the piece to sound, this will require musical skill, humour, patience and a well-thought-out knowledge of the score.

Fail to prepare and prepare to fail

It cannot be underestimated how important this side of a conductor's life is, if it were just a matter of beating time, then there would be little reason to be even there. Most people can count!

Singing through everyone's lines - no matter what your voice sounds like! will alert you to problems that singers may face when they start on the piece, awkward speed changes, time signature changes or phrase starting notes can all be advised in advance because the conductor knows!

Choosing what to sing?

Sometimes, indeed in the case of conductors, the repertoire may be chosen for them by a committee and it is up to them to then ' make that happen' sometimes, ( in the case of a Musical Director) it will be your choice, should we theme concerts, should we find pieces that will stretch the choir, or rely on the old favourites, who knows best, I would argue that the conductor knows, maybe pieces are chosen because of the conductors likes, maybe the audience is foremost in the conductors mind

By now it will be clear that there is more to the art of conducting than waving hands, and there are wonderful courses run by the ABCD and 'Sing for pleasure', but what if there were a handy guide, - well there is, and if your choir is going on tour this summer, or you cant get to a course, maybe this little book will help!

Tim's much-awaited new book is now out!  This is a book for choir leaders (and for that matter is useful for singers as well) who may be starting out or need guidance and support on issues they find themselves facing. It packs 30 years of Tim's experience being in front of numerous choirs into handy short bursts of advice. Subjects cover vocal health, choosing and introducing new repertoire, choir seating, what a conductor should know about people, preparing a score, why you even need a conductor, rehearsal tips, 'cake-baking', suggestions for warm-ups and much more, all delivered in Tim's inimitable 'matter-of-fact' style.

'Getting the best from your Choir' is an absolute gold mine of hints, tips and tricks that any choral director would benefit from reading. The booklet is a distillation of over 30 years of experience with pearls of wisdom on every page. With a casual and humorous writing style, Tim Knight explains the technical prerequisites of good choral singing. Underpinning the whole booklet is the philosophy, "people first, singers second", which highlights the fact that good musicianship is about more than just an accurate reading of the score. If you're a choral director and you want to up your game, get yourself a copy of what is essentially a masterclass in music.’ - Edward Whelan, MD of Featherstone MVCI

TKM870 Getting the best from your choir

£6.95

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