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(SP ’17) MUS 318-0002: Intermediate Conducting

FINAL Exam: Written

This is an open book exam! Please feel free to use your text, notes and
assignments & any other information you would like!
Take as much time as you like! DO NOT omit any section of this exam.
DO NOT OMIT the bonus points!
YOU MAY DO THIS WITH A COLLEAGUE!

Name___Kayla Centaure_______________________________DUE DATE: MAY 6, 2017, at midnight

PART I: GENERAL KNOWLEDGE (17 points)

1. What are the four kinesthetic levels of conducting? (4 points)
Somatic, Kinesthetic, Technical, Informed

2. What are the four conducting planes? Include placement and color assignment. (4 points)
Head – blue
Upper chest – green
Lower chest – yellow
Belly button – orange
Hips – red
3. What is the Latin term for the location of the beat? (2 points)
Ictus

What is the term for the movement away from the plac
4. ement of a beat in a conducting pattern? (2 points)
Rebound

5. Explain how to use the conducting beat pattern hand to create and indicate word stress. (2
points)
You could be sharper or push more within the beat to show the wordstress in a
line.

6. When are examples of times to use a “vertical” style of conducting, and when are musical
examples of when to us a more “horizontal” style of conducting? (3 points)
I like to use horizontal methods when a piece is very fluid and legato and a more
horizontal style when I’m conducting something very rhythmic and fast.

PART II: THROUGHLINE REFLECTIONS: (10 points each = 20 points)

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In 3- 5 sentences, please summarize your learning in connection with each throughline.

Course Throughlines: Semester II Focus:

1. How do I demonstrate mastery of the aural images and sound concepts that continue
to inform my conducting?
I demonstrate my mastery of the aural images and sound concepts through my affect and
musical choices within the piece. This is through my expression, my phrasing choices,
how I conduct a pattern, entrance or cutoff, and many other decisions that can be very
subtle yet make a big difference when understanding how the music functions as a while.
This connection is not only true in premeditated decisions such as entrances and cutoffs
but also with textural and blending matters that happen within the choir in the moment
that the conductor either changes or brings out through gesture.

2. How do I continue to design a practice routine as a developing conductor that

integrates conducting technique, rehearsal guides, planning and implementation
(A.S.C.A.M.)?
I base my learning on transfers and careful thought. By using the ASCAM as a beginning
point for all pieces that I conduct, I then have a strong foundation that allows me to build
more and more of what I have learned in previous sections and create a new and helpful
method of learning and conducting music. This is especially true when I am beginning a
new piece and I use it to continue to build what I have learned from past experiences on
top of the new piece, and draw out new revelations to make the conducting map even
more complex and beautiful.

PART III: BATON TECHNIQUE (8 points)

Describe in 5 - 10 sentences you how to hold the baton, problem areas or habits and how to
solve them, use of batons, types of batons, etc.
Okay, so I really love my baton but it took me a while to decide on the one that I did because of
how awkward they all felt in my hand. It wasn’t until the second day that a peer saw what I was
doing and suggested another way of thinking about the baton and how I hold it in my hand as
more of a drum stick than a wand (like I had previously thought). By thinking of it this way It
helped me relax my grip and balance it better in my hand, ultimately leading me to pick the 16 ½
large teardrop baton that I did. From that point I didn’t have any other major issues other than
having two ictus when I was conducting with my wrist and not my hand.
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PART IV: CONDUCTING RECITS (10 points)

Describe in 5 - 8 sentences your learning in terms of conducting recitatives, including use of

recits in opera, types of recits,, end patterns, cuing a soloist, moving between recits and choral
movements and how to practice for conducting recitatives.

Recits are hard. It is amazing that something so simple as cueing a singer and an
accompanist/orchestra could be so difficult, but it is. I have learned a lot about gut instinct and
following the singer as best I can and simply being confident in myself and my ability to follow
what is thrown at me. I have noticed that recits (both from the Messiah and in my own rep)
follow a semi-pattern that allows for the conductor and soloist to coincide smoothly, even when
they have not practiced before. When I practice for conducting a recit I have found that making a
playlist of a bunch of different singers and conducting through them without hearing them first
really helps. I can watch the singer on the screen and pretend cue them in order to get that “real”
conducting experience.

PART VI: GOAL SETTING REVIEW (15 points)

Please go back and look at your very first homework assignment, your goal setting assignment.
Please copy your goals here, and then answer in 4 – 8 sentences how you feel you did in terms of
meeting and reaching the goals you had set for yourself this semester.

So far I believe my goals as a conductor for this semester are simply expanding upon

the four levels of good choral conducting as we have previously learned in basic conducting.

At the first level, I am still learning and expanding upon my alignment and how I use my body

to keep myself centered and solid in order to set myself up for success. My second goal is to

really improve upon my technical level in terms of using both of my hands to give cues and

gestures at the same time. I want to be able to feel the music more than I currently do and be

able to express what I want to my choir through motion. Lastly, I want to truly “be the music”

and embody the piece as best I can to support my choir and glorify the musical experience

with everyone I meet.

My goals on expanding on the four levels of choral conducting have really flourished this

semester. I am confident and consistent in my patterns and using my left hand to cue. I’ve gotten
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a lot better with my facial expressions and breathing for the choir. I have exploded with musical

understanding of lines and textural meaning and it is astonishing my progress from the beginning

of the semester to now. I hope to share my progress and music with everyone I have the pleasure

to make music with.

PART VIII: SELF-ASSESSMENT: (7 blocks x 3 = 21 points)

Please complete this portion of our assessment rubric as to where you are NOW and what
your next steps are as a conductor.

Criteria: Conducting Behaviors Grade (1-5) Where you are (descriptive) and your
Where are next steps
you now?
0. Behaviors of Musical
Acquisition: Conductor demonstrates I never even had this before this
increased dedication and focus on: class, so this is a 100% increase
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Listening, aural imagery, score study, in the behavior, but there’s
increased practice time and mastering always room for improvement.
longer pieces.

I. Basic Function Level:

Kinesthetic
Again, always room for
Conductor demonstrates appropriate improvement. I am slowly
kinesthetic functioning, including: 4 getting better at not reaching
Spine/lengthening, feet grounded/standing with my neck/torso and need to
position, still knees, lowered shoulder
continue to do so as I progress.
girdle, head/neck alignment, arms free and
unlocked.

II a. Somatic Level: Facial Affect &

Eye Contact
I am holding eye contact
Conductor demonstrates facial affect and throughout most portions of the
expression appropriate to the piece.
4 pieces, I only need to continue
Conductor demonstrates appropriate eye
contact, including: scanning the ensemble, to memorize and progress to not
checking vs. reading music, connecting to need to use my music at all.
the ensemble and making eye contact
while cueing

II b. Somatic Level: Breath 3 I tend to miss breaths if I am not

paying super close attention, I
Conductor performs and demonstrates an
accurate and stable opening breath and just need to practice until it
continued to breathe for and with the becomes second nature.
ensemble as appropriate for the piece or
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excerpt.

III a. Technical Level: Pattern and

Tempo

Conductor performs and demonstrates an I’m pretty accurate with my

accurate and stable conducting pattern
tempo, but I need to be more
appropriate for the piece or excerpt. 4
Conductor performs and demonstrates all consistent with my pattern
of the above criteria in a tempo appropriate (especially the rebound from 1)
to the piece or excerpt as discussed in
class. Refer to metronome marking
discussed in class if appropriate.

III b. Technical Level: Left Hand

Use, Cut-offs & Cues
I need a lot of improvement
Conductor performs and demonstrates
accurate, integrated and clear coordinated
here, if I’m not careful I still
use of the left hand when needed as end up slapping or slashing the
appropriate for the piece or excerpt. 3 air harshly with my left hand . I
Conductor performs and demonstrates also need to work on knowing
accurate and stable cut-offs when needed
what cutoff to use in what
as appropriate for the piece or excerpt.
Conductor performs and demonstrates situation.
accurate and stable cues when needed as
appropriate for the piece or excerpt.

IV. Informed Level: Artistry and

Interpretation I believe that I have a clear
interpretation of the music but I
Conductor demonstrates mastery of the
4 can always use more
material by showing musicality and nuance
in the gesture with clear and precise understanding and always have
shapings, rubato, and decisions that clarify another layer to add to the cake!
the aural image.

PART VII: EXTRA CREDIT:

Extra credit – 3 points each:

1. After this entire semester...what does it mean, to you, to “Be the Music”?
To me, “Be the Music” means to live life as though music is air and singing is
water. Things you need to survive, because in this semester music is the only
reason I survived and I am truly grateful for it and the peace it brings.

2. What is the musical term for a choral work that contains more than one language?
I’m not sure! I’ll have to look it up!

3. Do you wish there was another year of choral conducting class?

YES!