Reading the Conductor
Where the beat actually is, what the upbeat tells you, and the patterns in 2, 3 and 4 drawn as you see them from your seat: the mirror image of the diagrams in conducting books. A free card.
Print it and it lives in the front of your folder; save it to your phone and it is there at the rehearsal break. It is free, and there is nothing to sign up for.
Download the PDFWhat is on the card
The beat lives where the hand changes direction; watch the turn, not the travel. The upbeat’s size shows the dynamic and its speed sets the tempo, so you never guess the tempo from the first bar. The baton hand keeps time while the free hand shapes, cues and cuts off. Release together on the cut-off, not when you run out of note. What subdivision looks like when the tempo slows. And where to set the stand so the part and the beat can share your eyes.
Related
This card pairs with the free practice guide for your instrument — all twelve are on the Guides hub — and with the other reference cards on the Cards hub.
Reading the beat is a skill you can only rehearse against music that follows one. On MaestroMeet you play your part with the score scrolling in front of you and the rest of the orchestra around you, so what this card teaches has something real to land on. MaestroMeet is opening soon — join the waitlist to be among the first to play.
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