How does a conductor decide what to do with their hands?

Many may wonder why some conductors wave their arms enthusiastically while others barely move. Interviews with conductors and orchestra musicians reveal that today’s conductors must increasingly consider their orchestra’s needs when choosing a conducting technique.

In order to perform an orchestral work, one or more musicians must play each part written by the composer. However, one part is usually missing in these scores: the conductor’s part, writes Valle-Rasmus Roots, a doctoral student and junior researcher at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater (EMTA).

One might conclude, then, that a conductor isn’t necessary. Given the skill level of today’s professional musicians, it is in fact possible to perform a large number of standard repertoire pieces without one. Nevertheless, orchestras still prefer to perform these works with a conductor, as they find the conductor’s help beneficial.

Navigating conducting patterns for technical precision and artistic vision

Conductors are expected to provide help in two areas. One is technical – ensemble playing, tempo, balance between groups. The other is artistic – shaping musical phrases, preparing climaxes. In the 19th and 20th centuries, one could easily distinguish between schools of conducting based on whether a conductor was primarily expected to focus on conducting the beat or on artistic interpretation. Today’s professional orchestra conductors, however, are expected to excel in both.

To conduct the beat as well as convey artistic ideas to the musicians, the conductor uses hand-based, or gestural, conducting. The fundamentals of gestural conducting technique are based on conducting patterns. The choice of conducting pattern will depend largely on the time signature, but not exclusively. For example, anything that can be conducted in four can also be conducted in two.

My research focuses on the question of how to choose a conducting pattern in a situation where the musicians’ technical needs call for one pattern, but the artistic objectives call for another.

It is important to note that while it is possible to conduct with two different patterns simultaneously, this isn’t something that musicians can follow, and thus is not considered among the possible solutions to this problem.

A conductor does not always have to conduct

I have come to the conclusion that when planning conducting patterns, it is important to consider the musicians’ own experience: younger musicians tend to respond better when the conductor cues every beat, while more experienced musicians achieve better results when the conductor does not cue every beat.

My research also confirmed that conducting isn’t always necessary either. Some problems are best solved through the musicians’ self-coordination, especially when the conductor does not attempt to solve them on the musicians’ behalf with energetic gestures. Therefore, a conductor may deliberately plan to “write” a few bars of rest into their part in the score.

The traditional process of preparing for rehearsals as a conductor can be summed up in one question: “What do I want from the orchestra?” Conductors today at least equally consider the question of what the orchestra wants from them. Conductors seeking the answer to this question may benefit from my research.

Constructive answers to this question result in more productive rehearsals and more successful concerts. This could lead to an explosive growth in the popularity of classical music, as well as the resulting general sense of well-being in society.

This article was first published as part of the “Science in 3 Minutes” competition organized by the Estonian Academy of Sciences.

Valle-Rasmus Roots is a cellist and conductor, as well as a doctoral student and junior researcher in orchestral conducting at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater (EMTA). Since fall 2024, he has also served as conductor of the Tallinn Music and Ballet School (MUBA) Symphony Orchestra.

If this hit the right note, don’t stop the music! Tune in to our next article for more stories that are guaranteed to strike a chord! Read more about how Opera text intelligibility requires the cooperation of eight key people!