Humanities

MUSI2020 Conducting

This module covers basic gestures used in duple, triple, compound, mixed and asymmetric metres; cueing of players and singers, and introducing expressive gestures for dynamics, phrasing etc.; basic approaches to rehearsal and score-marking technique.

Co-ordinator:  Robin Browning

Module Details

Title: Conducting
Code: MUSI2020
Year: 2
Semester: 1

CATS points: 15 ECTS points: 7.5
Level: Undergraduate

Pre-requisites and / or co-requisites

There is a quota of 20 places on this course. If pre-enrolment figures exceed this number, an entrance test of basic musical skills will be administered on Wednesday 16th June 2010.

To teach the technical skills involved in conducting, rehearsing and score marking. Students will acquire the skills and the confidence to prepare and rehearse a university, school or community ensemble.

This module introduces the basic techniques of conducting. It covers how to beat a variety of regular and aysmmetric metres, basic communicative gestures and simple appraoches to rehearsal techniques and score marking. The module is mainly aimed at instrumental students but is aspplicable to all conductors.

Study time allocation

Contact hours: 3
Private study hours: 9
Total study time: 12 hours

Teaching and learning methods

One three-hour session per week comprising lectures, demonstrations and practical sessions.

Resources and reading list

  • Max Rudolph: The Grammar of Conducting (Schirmer Books, 1993)
  • Christopher Adey: Orchestral Performance (Faber, 1998)
  • Nikolaus Harnoncourt: The Musical Dialogue, (Amadeus Press, 1989)
  • Jean Vermeil: Conversations with Boulez: Thoughts on Conducting (Amadeus Press 1996)
  • Nicholas Kenyon, Simon Rattle: From Birmingham to Berlin (Faber 2001)
  • Georg Solti: Solti on Solti (Chatto and Windus, 1997)
  • Myer Fredman: The Conductor’s Domain (Thames Publishing, 1999)

Assessment methods

  • Two practical conducting assessments, the first halfway through the course (20%), the second during the examination period (60%)
  • Assessment of score-marking, following submission of annotated score (20%)