Where to Start: Connecting Conducting With The Theory Behind It

How often do we take theory classes as a part of our complete musicianship training, and think to ourselves, "This is so abstract. I will never use this"? The key to making theory meaningful is to apply it to real life situations where the theory is understood in relation to other aspects of being musical. This blog will focus on how connecting theory and conducting will improve the musicality of the musician involved.

Theoretical analysis of a piece of music will inform a conductor’s ability.

Understanding the theory involved in a piece of music will help each conductor recognize the meaning of his or her movements.

A conductor's actual theoretical analysis will then make his or her conducting more clear.



Through the next several posts, I will look at the theory of several scores using formal analysis, harmonic analysis, phrase analysis, as well as marking the score for conducting. Feel free to add comments, or your own examples of how specific types of analysis have informed and improved your conducting.