The Language of Conducting | Darko Butorac | TEDxUMontana
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- čas přidán 26. 03. 2015
- Does anyone really know what a conductor is doing when he waves his hands around at the orchestra? Darko conducts the TEDxUMontana audience and explains what great conducting is all about.
Darko Butorac is establishing himself as one of the world’s most exciting young conductors. He currently serves as the Music Director of both the Tallahassee and Missoula Symphony Orchestras in the United States, and is the Principal Conductor of the Fidenza Opera Festival in Italy. Recent notable concerts include collaborations with philharmonic orchestras in Germany, Poland and Estonia, and a debut at the Vienna Konzerthaus with the Slovenian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx
Some people are asking constantly why conductors are needed if music is just a set of instructions. Here's why:
In music, sometimes the tempo marking (how fast to play) can be set in stone. Quarter note = 120. 120 beats per minute.
Sometimes, however, it will say something more vague, like "Slightly manic". The conductor then either decides what that means or is the only one with the number on his score, so the musicians must watch.
Additionally, dynamics (volume) are EXTREMEMLY subjective! Watch this:
PP = pianissimo, very soft
P = piano, soft
MP = mezzo piano, medium soft
MF = mezzo forte, medium loud
F = forte, loud
F = fortissimo, very loud
Now, these markings are not for one musician. They are for the entire ensemble to balance among itself.
For woodwinds, the dynamic markings must be exaggerated greatly due to the fact they are naturally so quiet.
For brasswinds, the dynamics must be less dramatic.
The conductor is the one who will let the sections know which group is too loud or too soft, and will also remind his ensemble that the dynamic marking is there in the first place.
A third reason a conductor is necessary is because of subjective changes in feel.
Take the terms "accelerrando" (accelerate, written "accel.") and "ritardando" (slow down, written "rit."), for instance.
If you see "rit." or "accel." in your music, you absolutely MUST look at your conductor. He is the one deciding how dramatically you're slowing down or speeding up, and how slow or fast you're ending up.
Another reason is because of something called "free time". This means that beats essentially go out the window, and you must follow the conductor, as 4/4, 6/8, and every other time signature no longer exist. Free time in one suite my concert band in high school was playing simply says "trill, about 4 seconds per note". I had to watch to know when to stop trilling and play my next note.
Yet another reason is because of what we call rests and holds. A fermata is a symbol above a note or rest that indicates to hold it out until the conductor cuts it off. You must watch for this cutoff. A grand pause is a symbol between measures indicating to stop completely until cued to keep playing.
Obviously, without a conductor, all of these musical terms will end up causing chaos when they are meant to keep structure instead. Conductors are necessary, and without one, it is very hard to have a good ensemble.
(Unless it's jazz, in which case there's a whole new rulebook on what each word means.)
"Unless it's jazz" you got me there bud.
DEFGECD
@@lifeontheledgerlines8394 Is that... the Licc™?
@@avenp.5739 PROTIP: Make sure the lick and the people are in THE SAME KEY!
(Yes, it was the lick! I am so glad you got that. Not sure if you'll get the Adam Neely meme above though...)
@@lifeontheledgerlines8394 No offense but a lot of what he says is... extremely inaccurate.
I did get the meme though. Some of his videos are good. Others... ehhhhhhh.
@@avenp.5739 Yeah, you're allowed to have opinions. And he isn't an expert on some of the abstract concepts, so it makes sense that they're not perfect, but they're very well edited and he gets a lot of people excited about music and stuff, so it's cool.
Such an endearing guy. I was looking for a decent explanation of what exactly a conductor does, and he's the only one who explained it well!
Melanie Anne Ahern same! He's awesome
Same here. I've been looking for a concise explanation and he delivered.
i didnt understand one point please help
when the musicians already have the scores in front on them with the beats and all dynamics than why is there need for conductor ? as he has already composed the piece and musicians can play reading it
and what if they look at the conductor for beats and dynamics than how will they focus on the score in front of them and play correct notes ?
Same
@@@abhishek_1898_ playing the piece at that point would be like first stage of the 3 he mentioned, It would be like reading the Shakespeare text like a robot. Even at this point, you'd need also someone to coordinate it, but a conductor goes further.
One of the most beautiful and engaging Ted talks I’ve seen. Such a misunderstood art that has been summarised so wonderfully.
He put the end more beautifully than I could imagine.
It's great to have a conductor reveal what it's like to be a conductor. Bravo!
“Musical experience not required. All you have to do it clap together”. 😂
charming guy, cool stuff
Good on him !...good on Beethoven and Mozart...good on all of us who love great music !!
beautifully presented!
So so so exciting and interested delivery. A conductor among conductors. I learnt new things. I respect the oratory and gestures. Bravo. One Love from Nigeria.
Thank you
i've always had this at the back of my mind. This video was very enlightening, thank you.
Such a fantastic explanation. I have always wondered what’s a role of a conductor in Orchestra. Thank you so much.
Engaging speaker who made this explanation thoroughly enjoyable and extremely informational. Thank you for producing this video.
Many many thanks for so just words.
Following ❤
this is amazing thank for upload
beautiful message 👍
Outstanding explanation. Thank you.
Informative and soulful. Thank you.
Oh! But this is a great artist! Fabulous person too! I was delighted to watch this video!
Amazing presentation 😊
This giy is great. Very funny.
Excellent summation.
Very perfectly elaborate... Thanks🙂🇧🇩
This is spot on
Keep on to the stars, Darko!
Amazing talk!
Hoping to become a conductor!!
Same!
Enjoyed this upload. Just might improve my conducting over time.
GREAT GUY THANXXX
Well done.
He is reallly cool
Brilliant
the concept of statistical modeling in a peculiar way resembles conducting: you have a model (musical scores) that arranges variables (instruments) to rendition and to estimate (to coordinate & to perform) the patterns and variance of the data (the music). Researcher are like the conductor
Awesome guy! Made me laugh!
8o8inSquares same
awesome teaching
7:30 i fell the tuba ;=; we have feelings
Muy bien
Its funny because, techno djs (not EDM bs) basically have to know tracks inside and out (objective study) and then combine them and add effects giving them their personal interpretation, all the while maintaining an organic flow of the set.
Cool :)
i didnt understand one point please help
when the musicians already have the scores in front on them with the beats and all dynamics than why is there need for conductor ? as he has already composed the piece and musicians can play reading it
and what if they look at the conductor for beats and dynamics than how will they focus on the score in front of them and play correct notes ?
The musicians themselves only have their own parts and only the conductor can see everything that happens with the score. The thing with music is that it is not entirely consistent. Time signatures can shift out of 4/4 to 3/4 or there can be a ritardando at the end of a measure where the beat slows down. If there were no conductor, musicians would be slowing down at random times, but the conductor helps musicians to stay together. It might be difficult to understand if you've never been in an orchestra or band. Musicians master the ability of being able to read and know the notes in front of them while also being capable of looking to the conductor for their entrances or for tempo changes. In my school orchestra, the people who don't bother to watch the conductor are typically not in time with the rest of the group. Conductors can also help the sound of the orchestra balance out. If the cellos are being too loud, the conductor can motion for them to lower their dynamic level, but without a conductor, a certain section may be playing too loud and covering up a more important section and they might not know it. Sometimes, a conductor is needed for precision. For example, in the recording of film music, musicians can be forced to come in at very precise moments so that the sound can be matched to the picture. The conductor will be able to get all 50 (even 100) musicians to come in at the right cue. Did that help at all?
What Amanda Stevens said is right. Also, a score might say piano, forte or crescendo but the conductor must show how much the volume must change by, as everyone in the ensemble will have a slightly different interpretation.
@@amandastevens1117 That was a perfect response. Thank you.
School assignment 💀
Thumbs down? Really?
starmildmenthol Probably by someone who only watches TED videos with a more mathematical approach ("just the facts, ma'am") and didn't realize that you don't have time to get a degree's worth of knowledge in one CZcams video.
That bottom button though..
Darko jesi to ti
1:27 2:05
0:51 it was actually an Ab 🙃
So...a blind person's prospective, conducting is pointless...Right? An audio experience is nearly all about an orchestra...and that can only be enhanced by better performance of the musicians...in my opinion. If you want music and drama...go to a Broadway musical.
Santanu Dey but the orchestra's playing would not be the same without an conductor. The conductor is the one uniting the orchestra under one common vision, intrepretation, etc. If the blind person knew about what a conductor's role is then no the conductor wouldnt be pointless
and there your opinion is wrong, as it isn't an opinion, but an information. The best example is Christian Thielemann - although a snob in person, everyone hates him when he speaks, but when he conducts pieces by Wagner the Staatskapelle Dresden turns out to be the world's best orchestra. And the fact you didn't hear from it until now states, that it actually isn't. conducting matters.
You're completely wrong. Because even a blind man can conductor an orchestra. Its a feeling. I assure you, I conduct, and I can conduct a piece a know so well with my eyes closed. The orchestra knows through my hands what I feel and vice versa. In my opinion, if you want music and drama, go to an opera.
Lol this guy thinks musical does not need a conductor.
@Maikind K. Heya, I know this has been over, but as someone who's been blind and now has a visual impairment, I can say the conductor was VERY important.
Blind people can most certainly play in big ensembles, just as I did when I had no vision and just as I do now, with vision.
The conductor tells the rest of the ensemble what to do, and the blind person follows along with the feel of the musicians around him. Alternatively, he can have a trick agreed upon by his section ("nudge my arm if there's a rallentando", "nudge my stand for a crescendo", etc.). It works quite well, and I maintained first chair clarinet throughout both playing without any vision at all and playing with the vision I've gotten back.
Again, I know this is months late, and I'm not here to attack or start something or sound cocky, just to offer a little perspective from blind/visually impaired musicians.
Have an awesome day!
This guy is a big goof
I can see the orchestra needing someone to arrange, but once the piece is learned, I don't see the need.
You may not see the need, but as an orchestral player... we really need conductors. We can't judge what we're playing while we're doing it, or it'll detract from our playing, so the conductor points out our flaws and helps us through them. Also, gives us more specific instructions than what's on the page.
If you want me to give you even more reasons, deciding on an interpretation would be a nightmare without a conductor.
You say, "once a piece is learned," but remember that learning is an interpretation of what is presented or observed. Most humans eventually learn to walk, but some walk softly and gracefully, and others stomp and march. If you put a large group of them together and expect them to move in cadence, it's just not going to happen without guidance... yet they each know how to walk.
An orchestra is a community of performers, often the best in their craft, but although each of them bring immense talent, each performance is based on their understanding of the piece. The conductor can help bring this community of performers to the same place, at the same time (cadence) and have them all telling the same story (interpretation).
One final thought on conducting and leadership... imagine a courtroom, but without a Judge. Think about a Jury Trial. The Judge doesn't necessarily make the decision, but he guides the Jury in making theirs. Now imagine that that Jury was comprised of professional Lawyers... each having their own interpretation of their specific area of the law. I see the potential for never coming to a decision, arguing forever... some would want to make sure the smaller details emerge (woodwinds, flutes, clarinets, etc...), some would insist on listening to them first (percussion, bass, etc...) others would believe their thoughts and concerns are more important (first and second strings...) and so on and so forth. The Judge is there to assist them in their path to a decision, not necessarily make the decision for them.
I have no professional musical training, I'm just thinkin' out loud.
I am not a musician but why am I watching this?
Because music is universally important to everyone, and it does not take a musician to appreciate the craft.
Those no good first violins smh
Still...while the conductor is waving his stick most of the people in the orchestra are focused on their notes, not the conductor. Setting the tone for the piece can be done, and is done, on the rehearsals before the main concert. It should be perfectly feasible to set the tone, tempo and whatnot verbally during rehearsals, with no stick waving required. I also think the orchestra will do perfectly fine without the conductor at the concert itself. Fantastic speaker though!
Alright, here we go
By the time an ensemble is concert ready, they are NOT focused on just the notes in front of them. The focus is mostly on the conductor.
The stick waving is absolutely needed during rehearsals because 1. There are a lot of tempo changes that happen in classical music. If an ensemble has to gradually speed up during a piece, how can they rehearse this without the conductor giving the visual beats that keep them all together? 2. While verbal instruction is obviously necessary to rehearse music, it is really inefficient to use verbal communication exclusively. Conducting conveys musical ideas already. Also, how are the musicians supposed to remember to do anything that isn't written in the music if the director only talks about it? They can only write so much on the sheet music. Well, the answer is that they don't have to remember everything because they just have to watch a conductor that expresses the musical nuances through gesture.
A professional, well rehearsed ensemble CAN get by without the conductor most of the time since by then they will have gotten used to the tempo changes and have memorized most of the musical nuances. But the thing is, why not have the conductor there anyway? Without him they will get by fairly well, but with him the performance would go even better.
Informative answer, thanks!
Darko is sponsored by Michelin ;)
Love it! :)
Thats why orchestra musicians tend to be left leaning.
funny belly
This guy, whoever he is, just did an entire ripoff of Essa-Pekka Salonen's video "The Conductor" released in 2013 in the Philharmonia Orchestra's channel. He even used the same free-falling ball example as Salonen. Talk about a lack of original ideas. Just watch Salonen's or any of Bernstein lessons for children for a real insight on what conducting is all about. Plus, Bernstein and Salonen don't add any goofy, teeth-cringing humor to their lectures.
Dear Mr. Kelly, I can assure you I did not copy Mr. Salonen's remarks, as I have never seen the video you mention. I have presented version of this talk back to 2008. I am not surprised that the presentations would be similar, as all we are trying to do is explain a little of what happens on the podium to the general public. The tennis ball is not an uncommon analogy, I think I first learned about it in a masterclass in 1997 from Maestro Kirk Trevor. My humor, well I am afraid it is what it is.
Darko Butorac dont mind him. I for one, love your humour!
Thank you Darko for the presentation. The humor is light and helpful. Don't mind the haters, they just gonna hate
Maestro Butorac, forget that guy! He's incredibly rude. Thank you for your wonderful TedX Talk. I shared it with some coworkers who are attending the symphony for the first time. Made the experience more meaningful.
the free-falling ball is of Karajans origin.
I've always thought they were doing some sort of a dumb dance up there. Wtf. Don't professional musicians know how to read music without some guy standing in a pedestal having some sort of a seizure? I would think that would be distracting lol. If I were a drummer or something, I'd toss my sticks at him to get him to settle down to stop distracting me.
A conductor helps the group to follow each other. With a small group, a conductor isn't as needed, but with full symphony orchestras, a conductor is for the most part a requirement. Besides, the group has to rehearse right? If they don't have a person who leads the rehearsals how would they get things done?
See you’re a drummer - I would have thought you would understand exactly what a conductor is and not be such a snob about it.
You keep the beat to the music, and ensure that your band mates know where they are at within the song as well as keeping them in time. You prevent them from their own interpretation of the timing of the song and control the beat to ensure the song is played correctly.
This is EXACTLY what a conductor does, but to an exceptionally more intricate level than just knowing a few beats.
A conductor doesn’t just control the tempo, they also control the volume of the instruments both as a whole and within sections, and they control the emotion of the playing.
In addition to all of this, they correct anyone who isn’t playing correctly so they must have an EXCEPTIONAL ear.
They also know EXACTLY what each section is playing at every precise moment. A drummer knows what they are playing and the band follows, but a conductor knows what the WHOLE orchestra is playing - sheet by sheet, note by note, each instrument individually.
So a conductor is an exceptionally talented and prepared musician, they know music like the back of their hand.
So learn from this - you are a drummer, but just imagine being a conductor.
Thank you