Basic Conducting Techniques

by Joseph A. Labuta

This competency-based workbook provides sound and practical hands-on procedures for beginning and advanced conducting enthusiasts. It features a broad repertory of musical excerpts, and?since most are reduced to a four-part format?users can practice conducting skills and rehearsal techniques readily. The workbook promotes self-directed learning by challenging users to attempt conducting techniques as they arise in the music. The workbook details conducting techniques including the baton, beat patterns, fractional beat preparations, the fermata, asymmetrical and changing meters, tempo changes and accompanying. It also outlines score preparation and rehearsal technique and provides musical excerpts. For individuals interested in learning the finer points of musical conducting.

Genres: Music, Textbooks

391 pages, Spiral-bound

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Shawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The study of conducting is tricky. This textbook divides it into ~10 areas/chapters that are not very long or verbose. Most of the pages (75%) are either reference or appendix material, so there’s alot of flipping back & forth as one goes through the exercises that append every chapter. Sadly, I tackled this book on my own, independently, and had no band or choir to practice upon. Having access to peers, or fellow students, or small groups of instrumentalists is surely different from just imagining, or listening to recordings, or watching vids online. I had to do the latter. Nonetheless I derived some basic conducting techniques.

Some of the instructions were not entirely clear and could’ve been padded up with more explanation. Some of the exercises felt redundant. The layout of the book could’ve been better. I think that there should’ve been score samples for the exercises after each & every chapter. There’s a degree of DIY to the exercises, in that you will need to search for pieces to study on your own or will be pressed to solicit or gather together musicians who are kind enough to offer their energy to allow you, the reader/conductor-in-training, to practice conducting music with them. I’d also reckon that university professors will use a newer edition or another textbook that has links to software or has references to invaluable, open-source sites. I’ve a couple more conducting textbooks lined up before I take my (CSET) exam and I suspect that they’ll be a little better, or more colorful & neat. After I realized that I’d already downgraded my experience w/the book by having no instrumentalists or singers to practice upon, I, shamedly, started to hurry & skim through [the latter half]. Altogether, it’s solid and has the essentials. There are photos, diagrams of patterns, detailed analyses, quarter-note drills, transpositions and scores w/individual parts. All good, but kinda dry & uninspiring.