Performance and Conducting
Performance and Conducting tests conducting patterns and baton technique, score reading and transposition, rehearsal planning, and the fundamentals of vocal and instrumental performance. Items typically present a musical situation and ask for the correct gesture, transposition, or rehearsal decision.
Patterns and baton technique
- 2/4: down, up. 3/4: down, out, up. 4/4: down, left, right, up.
- 6/8 at a slow tempo uses six beats (down, left, left, right, right, up); at a fast tempo it collapses to two.
- The preparatory beat states tempo, dynamics, articulation, and breath before the entrance; the ictus marks the beat point; the rebound travels to the next beat.
- Keep time in the right hand and use the left for cues, dynamics, and expression; cut offs are circular or pinched gestures after the final beat.
Score reading
- Transpositions at sight: horn in F sounds a perfect fifth lower, B-flat trumpet and clarinet a major second lower, E-flat alto sax a major sixth lower, piccolo an octave higher, double bass an octave lower, tenor voice an octave lower in treble clef.
- C clefs: alto clef for viola, tenor clef for bassoon, cello, and tenor trombone.
- Full-score order: woodwinds, brass, percussion, harp or keyboard, voices, then strings (violin I, violin II, viola, cello, bass).
Rehearsal and performance fundamentals
- Rehearsal sequence: warm-up and tuning, targeted passage work, then a run-through; isolate a problem, slow it down, fix it, and restore context.
- Vocal: breath support, resonance, diction, tessitura, and section balance.
- Instrumental: bowings, articulations, embouchure, intonation tuned to the bass, blend, and seating.
- Error detection: listen for pitch, rhythm, blend, and articulation, and check the score before stopping.
Worked example
A 4/4 piece begins with an eighth-note pickup on beat 4. Reasoning: the conductor must prepare the beat before the entrance, so the preparatory gesture is beat 3, given in the character, dynamics, and tempo of the music with clear eye contact and an audible breath. Beat 4 is then the pickup itself, and the full pattern resumes with the downbeat of bar 1. Preparing beat 4 instead would leave the ensemble no time to breathe and would displace the tempo.
Traps that cost marks
- Conducting a slow 6/8 with a 3/4 pattern, or a fast 6/8 with six beats.
- Giving a preparatory beat at the wrong tempo or in the wrong character.
- Transposing in the wrong direction when reading a transposing part at the piano.
- Confusing alto clef (middle line C) with tenor clef (fourth line C).
- Stopping the ensemble without first diagnosing the error from the score.