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Cover of What Conductors Actually Do
Reference Chart

What Conductors Actually Do

What a conductor's two hands and eyes are doing, tempo words and what they ask for, how a rehearsal runs, and what happens before anyone plays a note.

A4 · 1 page · 515 KB ⤢ View ⬇ Download PDF

What's inside

  • What the right hand, left hand and eyes are each doing while a conductor works
  • A table of tempo words — Largo through Presto, plus rubato and fermata — and what the conductor changes for each
  • How a rehearsal runs in five steps, from tuning to finishing with a run-through
  • What a conductor decides before anyone plays a note, and three habits that make a rehearsal work
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Looking for step-by-step lessons instead? Head to Music Theory. Want composing ideas? Try Composing.