Essentials in Conducting | Page 4

energetically and
intelligently, and especially let him learn to read three and four voices
on separate staffs (as in a vocal score) in order to prepare himself for
future reading of full scores. Let him study harmony, counterpoint,

form, and, if possible, composition and orchestration. Let him work
indefatigably at ear-training, and particularly at harmonic ear training,
so that notes and tones may become closely associated in his mind, the
printed page then giving him auditory rather than merely visual
imagery; in other words, let him school himself to make the printed
page convey to his mind the actual sounds of the music. Let him study
the history of music, not only as a record of the work of individual
composers, but as an account of what has transpired in the various
periods or epochs of musical art, so that he may become intelligent
concerning the ideals, the styles, and the forms of these various periods.
And finally, let him hear all the good music he possibly can, listening
to it from the threefold standpoint of sense, emotion, and intellect, and
noting particularly those matters connected with expression and
interpretation in these renditions. In as many cases as possible let him
study the scores of the compositions beforehand, comparing then his
own ideas of interpretation with those of the performer or conductor,
and formulating reasons for any differences of opinion that may
become manifest.
Let the young musician also form the habit of reading widely, not only
along all musical lines (history, biography, theory, esthetics, et cetera),
but upon a wide variety of topics, such as painting and the other arts,
history, literature, sociology, pedagogy, et cetera. As the result of such
study and such reading, a type of musical scholarship will be attained
which will give the conductor an authority in his interpretations and
criticisms that cannot possibly be achieved in any other way. Let us
hasten to admit at once that the acquiring of this sort of scholarship will
take a long time, and that it cannot all be done before beginning to
conduct. But in the course of several years of broad and intelligent
study a beginning at least can be made, and later on, as the result of
continuous growth while at work, a fine, solid, comprehensive
scholarship may finally eventuate.
CHAPTER II
PERSONAL TRAITS NECESSARY IN CONDUCTING

[Sidenote: IMPORTANCE OF PERSONALITY]
In the introductory chapter it was noted that the conductor must build
upon a foundation of musical scholarship if he is to be really successful;
that he must possess musical feeling; and that he must go through
extensive musical training, if he is to conduct with taste and authority.
But in addition to these purely musical requirements, experience and
observation have demonstrated that the would-be conductor must be
possessed of certain definitely established personal characteristics, and
that many a musician who has been amply able to pass muster from a
musical standpoint, has failed as a conductor because he lacked these
other traits.
It is not my purpose to give at this point an exhaustive list of qualities
that must form the personal equipment of the conductor. In general it
will be sufficient to state that he must possess in a fair degree those
personal traits that are advantageous in any profession. But of these
desirable qualities three or four seem to be so indispensable that it has
been thought best to devote a brief chapter to a discussion of them.
These qualities are:
1. A sense of humor. 2. A creative imagination. 3. A sense of
leadership combined with organizing ability.
[Sidenote: A SENSE OF HUMOR]
The first of these traits, a sense of humor, may perhaps upon first
thought seem a peculiar quality to include in a category of virtues for
the professional man of any type, and especially for the musician. But
upon reflection it will be admitted that the ability to see things in a
humorous light (which very frequently means merely seeing them in
true perspective) has helped many a man to avoid wasting nervous
energy upon insignificant occurrences, while the lack of this ability has
caused more trouble among all sorts of people (and particularly, it
seems to me, among musicians) than any other single thing.
[Sidenote: ILLUSTRATIONS OF HUMOR IN THE REHEARSAL]

Some player or singer is either over-arduous or a bit sleepy during the
first stages of rehearsing a new composition, and makes a wrong
entrance, perhaps during a pause just before the climacteric point. The
occurrence is really funny and the other performers are inclined to
smile or snicker, but our serious conductor quells the outbreak with a
scowl. The humorous leader, on the other hand, sees the occurrence as
the performers do, joins in the laugh that is raised at the expense of the
offender, and the