After
two weeks of stifling summer heat you are waiting in the cool air-conditioned
symphony hall, the symphony and the conductor stiffly raises his baton, and
suddenly your heart drops. The strings players to his left are confused,
inflexible, and come in late. He stoops over his score, and from the audience
you can't even mark the beat. While the conductor is furiously waving his baton
you are wondering how you could have been cheated from this unfathomably great
opportunity to hear Beethoven's magnificent symphony.
In
order to understand the essential elements of movement it is important to
master the aspects of non-verbal communication. Similarly, there are more than
just the integrity one experiences in the rests between played notes. When the
conductor brings up her hands to conduct, she has a specific expectation of the
sound. Coupled with a prepared mind and a fluid body, Haithcock suggests one
will be able to conduct with freedom and simultaneous exchange with her
musicians, sensitive to her own imperfections as well as the well-being of the
ensemble in order to command with "enlightened and compelling musical
leadership" (10).
As
a musician, breathing is the most
important aspect. It is said that with one breath the entirety of a work has
already been composed. She breathes the entirety of the song before she performs;
"intention" (14) is the
most important part of warding off tension.
The most important exercise Haithcock introduces is the one involving the
action point. Efficiency and fluidity is important, but without an intention
one cannot be aware of the strength and effort of each movement, or establish
contour through an awareness of space.
With
the basics understood, Haithcock brings the entire body into play. Yoga, as a
practice, similarly involves the entirety of the body. For the conductor, with
each pose she engages every fiber and muscle of her body in order to fully
express that which comes from very entire frame.
"For every breath
you take... your body is shifting and balancing." With this quote by
Jerald Schwibert lays the perfect foundation to involve of the pelvis. All
shapes and sizes of dance illustrates that each individual movement comes from
this center. Be it sagittal, horizontal or vertical; for me personally, it is
important to think of your body as more than the sum of its parts. Without the
awareness of your pelvis, as in dance, it's difficult to find the so-called action
point: this is where your power emanates.
Finally
the Kinesphere is formally introduced, of which is so important to be aware.
Haithcock really harps on this idea of the EFT, or even flow of time. In
conducting, this is specifically the conductor’s own time: there is a push and
pull in each musical phrase that allows you to have creative control to
maximize expressiveness. Along with study and practice, the kinesphere doesn't
seem like such an over-idealist proposition. Instead, it gives one a framework
of three-hundred-and-sixty degrees of motion from which to express you!
John, I love the way that you took the readers on a journey of what it is like to experience what happens when the orchestra, or performers, when they cannot quite keep up with the conductors’ expectations, great intro! The fact that you used quotations in order to verify and solidify your opinions about the readings was also impressive. I also enjoyed the Yoga comparison, I often feel like we are incorporating Yoga in our stretches and exercises in class, and the videos. You touched on each of the main points from each chapter and gave a great summarization of what we have read, studied and performed so far.
ReplyDeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteAs Katrina has said, your writing style certainly makes for a more engaging read. In his own introduction, Haithcock mentions the importance of a separate, but relevant, activity to aid in our conducting. Yoga is the perfect activity. It has a myriad of uses, from its focus on identifying and relieving stress to creating a greater awareness of one's kinosphere. Through its various positions, it helps teach a person how to properly balance the body with a minimal amount of tension. There is also focuses on the importance of breathing in order to prep and relieve stress, something that appears to be an important factor for you. One of my outside activities that ties into conducting is equestrian. A horse is guided by tiny movements of the legs, feet, and sometimes the hands. Knowing exactly which movement and the right amount of pressure behind it to execute the right dressage move is crucial of any rider, and something we all strive to perfect through practice. Being too tight throughout your body can send signals of anxiety to your horse, causing them to react in an undesired way, much like a stiff or tense conductor will not yield the desired musical effect from his or her musicians.