Dear Colleagues,

Most of us will agree that real music making can't happen if the students don't watch us. But getting them to watch consistently is often an uphill battle.

In this Tip, I'll share a few ideas to help us - and them - win this important battle. Creating a culture of watching increases the young musicians' attention and involvement and can raise the quality of their music making dramatically. There's also another plus.

In our heart of hearts, many of us know that we're not really leading our ensembles. We may all be in the same room playing or singing the same music at the same time. But we're often frustrated that what we're conducting and what they're playing or singing doesn't have a lot to do with each other. Getting them to watch can go a long way to reducing - or eliminating - our frustration and increasing our own satisfaction.

WHY DON'T THEY WATCH?

It's important, first of all, to understand why they don't watch. I believe there are specific reasons that have to do with both them and us.

For the young musician's part, they don't look up from their music for two reasons: 1) They're afraid of making a mistake, and: 2) They're afraid of losing their place on the page.

1. An important preliminary is making sure the students position their chairs and stands so they can see the conductor simply by looking up. Another is to address their fear of making mistakes by inviting everyone to play a lot of wrong notes - now! - so they know it's ok to make a mistake (in the service of taking a risk) and that you won't be mad if they do. Students of all ages find this a lot of fun! I frequently tell ensembles I work with how delighted I am if they make a mistake because they looked up.
   
   
2. Warmups are the best time to begin teaching the skill of watching. Consider beginning your warmup with a scale - perhaps three beats to each scale degree - but don't conduct in time. Start slowly, speed up, slow down: condition your students to think that they're not sure what's coming next.
   
   
3. During the warmup, talk about your beat pattern and teach the pattern to your students; that way, you'll all be speaking the same language. Also, show them what your left hand gestures mean - crescendo, decrescendo, accent, fp, etc. Teach your student how to conduct them - during the warmup! By doing this, you'll be teaching them the language that is spoken in ensemble (as well as showing them there's a lot more to conducting than waving your arms around)!
   
   
4. Write out a piece using whole notes only; have the students memorize the next note so they can watch the conductor going into it. After starting the next note, tell them to glance quickly at the music to memorize the next note, then look up, etc. Make sure their eyes are on you as they move from note to note. The key concept here is: take a risk!
   
   
5. During rehearsals: stop suddenly; indicate dynamics that aren't on the page; give a strong upbeat but no downbeat; hold a note longer than its printed value…and wait until the students realize they're not with you. Create the sense that they don't know what's coming - unless they watch; this can create great results.
   
   
6. It can be very effective to ask students to turn their stands around so they can't see the music…and then play a phrase or two. They'll be amazed at how well they actually know the piece, and they can have a totally new experience by watching the conductor all the time. Then have them turn their stands back, and ask them to play the same passage again without reading the music.
   
   
7. Keep your head out of the score. You can't expect the students to watch you if, when they do look up, you're not looking at them. And make sure that your conducting is expressive and changes with the music so that, when they are watching, there's something to watch.