038: Do we really need a conductor?

Here at Stand Partner HQ, we get this question a lot! And that should tell you something without even knowing the answer. Nobody asks what a pilot does, or if we really need one for our airplanes. But the conductor's role isn't nearly so obvious, to our audiences and even, at times, to us! Do we really need someone up front "driving the train"? Do a conductor's responsibilities begin and end with a downbeat and a final cutoff? Key points Akiko's forthcoming appearance on the Every Little Thing podcastAudience fixation on the conductor as the focal point of an orchestraThe job of the conductor during rehearsal and performanceGiving instruction vs. providing a "guiding current"Examples of time wasting, directionless rehearsalExamples of showing appreciation for the work of the players; giving credit where it's duePetty retaliation: talking in rehearsals and other signs of discontentSetting aside grudges for the concert and putting the music ahead of everything elseDo musicians always agree who's a great conductor?How to balance exerting control and letting go of itThe "dreaded hand": play quieter!Components of a perfect conductor; designing the Robo-conductor! Links Every Little Thing Podcast Gimlet Media Jeopardy Sean Connery Full Metal Jacket Andrew Manze Robocop Kurtwood Smith Transcript EPISODE 38 [EPISODE] [00:00:01] NC: Hi and welcome back to Stand Partners for Life. I’m Nathan Cole. [00:00:04] AT: I am Akiko Tarumoto. [00:00:18] NC: And today we are talking about conductors and not just because we see a conductor all the time at work, see many conductors. There’s actually a special reason, that’s because you are going to be a featured guest on another podcast. [00:00:33] AT: Yeah. [00:00:33] NC: I couldn’t be more proud. It’s like a spinoff of Stand Partners. It’s great. We got a call from the show Every Little Thing, which is a Gimlet Media show. They answer or try to answer questions that you can’t find out just by Googling. Their recent example was how to police sketch artists really. Can they really come up with a picture that’s so close to the person you’re thinking of and they went through it. It was really fascinating, and all the episodes come from listener questions. It’s actually a great idea for this show. [00:01:13] AT: It’s true. Should steal that. [00:01:16] NC: I know. I think I might. They actually play the call – If someone calls in and leaves a message, it’s very 90s. You have to leave a message on the machine. In this case, someone was calling up to say if, "I were ever the victim of a crime, I would be the worst witness. There was no way the police could ever pick up the person because I wouldn’t be able to describe to a sketch artist anybody’s face. I’m the worst and I really don’t believe the sketch artist could help me. Do they really work?" They actually found a sketch artist. So that was the expert on the call and they had this person describe his best friend, I believe it was. [00:01:58] AT: Aha. And it worked? [00:01:59] NC: And it worked. [00:02:00] AT: That’s just too much pressure. I can't produce on this level tomorrow. [00:02:04] NC: In this episode, they have someone asking about conductors and about all kinds of things that go on in orchestra rehearsals and concerts. So that is going to be you. Now, you do have to share the episode with a conductor in addition to the caller. [00:02:23] AT: Yes. Not in real-time, but yeah. [00:02:24] NC: Right. Since you might – I don’t know. You might feel like you couldn’t say everything you wanted to about a conductor. Who knows? We thought this might be – They might not give you all the airtime. You might – [00:02:37] AT: Did you say this conductor? Right. I mean, I hope that I won’t be carrying the entire episode. It would be funny if I described my ideal conductor and just synthesize this person to see if they’re really an effective leader.