The specifics of teaching the techniques of conducting gesture in the "Choral conducting" classroom

The profession of conductor is one of the most important musical specialties in the world. The conductor plays the role of the head of the orchestra or choir, is responsible for the accuracy and expressiveness of the sound of the work, and serves as an intermediary between the author and the performer. The nature of the music and the performance interpretation depend on the correct work of the conductor. There is an educational side to the conductor's work. The choirmaster, engaged in teaching, solves a number of educational tasks. The article examines the specifics of teaching conducting gesture techniques in the classroom in the specialty "Choral conducting", highlights the main aspects and problems of conducting a choral group, and compares the work of a choral and symphonic conductor. The technique of managing a vocal group – an academic, folk or church choir - implies the ability to read scores in different keys, arrange them, and correctly distribute the parts depending on the characteristics of the voices. The choir director also works with the literary text of vocal compositions. It is impossible to do without general musical and theoretical knowledge in the field of solfeggio, harmony, and polyphony. The technique of staging the conducting apparatus and the schedule of the timing schemes practically do not differ among the heads of instrumental and vocal groups. This can be explained by the general nature, the psychology of collective music making. However, we must not forget about the specific features of choral conducting. This is the relative smoothness of gestures due to the different allocation of voices than in the orchestra, as well as the non-use of the conductor's baton. The second important difference between a choirmaster and a symphonic conductor is the need to analyze not only the musical, but also the verbal text of the score. The characteristic of the composer's work is added to the characteristic of the poet's work or the features of oral folk art, if the exact author of the text is unknown. In the work of a chorus conductor, vocal performance is of great importance, which is related to the possibilities of the voice. Choral conducting is more intimate than orchestral conducting. The most obvious synthesis of these arts, which almost completely eliminates all differences, can be noted in the management of both vocal and instrumental groups at once: in operas, cantatas, oratorios.

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