Tips for the Piano-Conductor
The task of piano-conducting is a complicated skill that is often neglected during most pianists’ formal training. If you want to be a music director in theatre (or a number of other arts fields), you’ll need to learn the basics of piano-conducting. Here are some tips.
The Head Nod
Here’s the problem. You’re sitting at the piano, sending out your part of the groove – and, well, basically – you’re busy. Both hands and sometimes both of your feet are working on your instrument, and you don’t have any appendages left over to cue the band. So what do you do? Nod your head.
A good head nod is harder than it sounds, though. Major complaints from sidemen in pits usually involve some variation of “the head nod doesn’t match the hands” – that is, the head nod brings the band in before or after the piano-conductor plays the beat with their own hands.
If you only take one piece of advice away from this article, let it be this: get your head and your hands together. Practice it and get it right. Video tape yourself to make sure it’s happening the way you intend it. Don’t let this basic part of the piano-conductor skill set be the complaint you get from your band.
A good head nod, as with any ictus, is usually more about the preparation, or “prep”, than the actual nod. The “prep” is the beat(s) leading up to the first beat that is played by the ensemble. A head nod, then, is not just a sudden drop of your head. A full head nod with prep has both a clear upward swing and a downward nod.
Three more things to keep in mind with the preps and nods:
- Don’t prep your prep – One common affliction among new piano-conductors is to give a slight prep, almost a tick, before their actual prep. This is misleading to the band, who will be confused as to which prep was the actual prep.It’s perfectly acceptable to give your band more than one prep, of course, but if you are going to do that, really do it. Tell your ensemble how many preps you are going to give and then give them very clear, in tempo, preps before the beat.
- Breath with your prep – Just a regular breathe will do the trick. Your horn and wind players will be breathing before they come in as well, so just breath with them. The band that breaths together comes in together.
- Make sure your prep is in tempo – Including your breath. Whatever tempo you give your prep in – that’s the tempo the band will enter with.
“Give your upbeat in tempo!! And give two beats when you can, its harder to feel a tempo out of one beat when the conductor’s hands are on their way back to the keyboard.” ~ Brendan Whiting
The backup plan
As a backup plan for the head nod – it’s also a good idea to sit your rhythm section where they can see your hands. That way, if you do give a bad cue, the rhythm section can still see when you hit the keys.
“I make a point of seating my drummer and bass player to the right and left of me (respectively), so they can both get a clear visual of my hands. If there’s a second keyboard, he/she is usually right behind the bass, with the rest of the band behind him/her…it’s the whole “keep the rhythm section together” idea that’s even more vital when there’s no stick to follow.” ~ Sarah Brett England
Adjusting the material
A lot of the repertoire that we work with as piano-conductors was written with the expectation of a standing conductor. For many shows there most likely was a standing conductor in the pit when it originally mounted.
When these shows are pared down for smaller pits with a piano-conductor, you sometimes have to make little adjustments to the show to accommodate the circumstances. And in this case “the circumstance” might be that you can’t even be seen because you are offstage, or because the only place to put the band was down in an underground storage closet (this was exactly the case for the Broadway production of Avenue Q!).
Consider this advice from music director Sarah Brett England:
“I can’t always be seen, so at times, I’ve had to make slight adjustments to the score to guide singers along the way, be it adding a pickup to establish a downbeat when there’s otherwise no set tempo prior to that, occasionally keeping a light beat in my left hand (or setting it in the drums) during a fermata, accenting downbeats in extended vamps under dialogue when the singer is having a hard time keeping track of the beat for their entrance, etc.”
Don’t be afraid to make little changes like these to your score. Quick fixes like this will make your productions run much smoother.
Management
As I’ve alluded to, piano-conducting most often accompanies a management position in the arts industry (such as music director). As such, I would be remiss if I didn’t say something about this part of the job.
Scheduling
Be sure to schedule reasonable amounts of time for band rehearsals, and to schedule regular breaks into that time. For example, if you have the option of scheduling your initial band rehearsals into either:
- Two 4-hour rehearsals in two consecutive days or
- One 8-hour rehearsal in one day
Always pick the former. Humans can only concentrate for so long (including you!), and you’ll find diminishing results if you hammer your band with a marathon rehearsal right off the bat. This is especially true for bands with horn players – you have to know how to pace your rehearsals so that your lead trumpet can still hit those high C’s at the end of the 1st act.
Rehearsals
The first few rehearsals are the best time for your musicians to get to know your conducting style. Help your band out by demonstrating how you show basic conducting gestures – for instance, what sign do you give to leave a vamp, how many preps should they normally expect, what does your “speed up” or “slow down” gesture look like. A quick overview of your movements will allow your musicians feel more comfortable and concentrate on the music.
Notice that this vibe is a lot different than you might expect from a standing conductor for a symphony orchestra or opera. The traditional relationship between a symphony and their conductor is a complex relationship of mysteries, posturing, affection, discipline, charisma and many other things. My personal advice is to leave that approach to the classical cats and lighten up if you want to be a piano-conductor in the commercial music world. As a piano conductor you are the leader, but also one of the players – and you are better off leading by example than by intimidation or posturing. Perform your part well and expect that your musicians will match your level of musicianship and professionalism.
Hire a Good Drummer
“A great working relationship with the rhythm section as a whole, especially the clearest and most consistent communication with its members, is crucial.” ~ Anne H. Tortora
The relationship between a piano-conductor and his drummer is an important one. The conductor is the one that everyone looks to – but the drummer is the one that everyone listens to.
Lucky for us, there is no shortage of extraordinary drummers in our industry. I’ve been lucky enough to work with a number of very talented drummers over the years. They all have a few things in common – they are very smart, they are very consistent, they accept the peculiar demands of a theatre gig and they are very good at both following a conductor and leading a groove. When you find a drummer like that, don’t lose their phone number.
“I find if you have OUTSTANDING chemistry with your drummer, many issues are avoided off the bat. In other words, you may have the finest drummer in the world, but if you don’t “feel” music the same instinctively, you’ll be constantly struggling with a lot of things. Interestingly enough, I’m not just talking about tempi. I think it’s a synergy thing.” ~ William Asher
Performing the Show
After the initial rehearsals are over, once you’ve been playing a show for a few days or weeks – the role of the piano-conductor changes. After an ensemble becomes familiar with a show they will come to know the show as well as you do.
Once this happens your job is to give the ensemble everything that they need, to trust them, and also: to stay out of their way. Assuming you have great singers and great musicians in your production, you can move into a dynamic that more closely resembles a chamber orchestra. A chamber orchestra is an (almost) conductor-less ensemble that breathes together, plays together and follows the leadership of it’s concert master (that’s you).
“I recently talked about [piano-conducting] with a pro who has been in the business for a long time and conducts shows from the keyboard at a major venue. He said that he loves working with musicians he knows well; after a week or two of playing a show, it becomes almost a chamber ensemble, where people just groove and breathe together, and it’s less about one person leading the pack.” ~ Markus Hauck
Certainly I don’t mean to say that you should dial it in. I only mean to advise against a common pitfall of piano-conducting: over conducting. For instance, if you come to a long vamp for just the drums and bass – should you start your conducting pattern and give the two musicians each beat? As long as the tempo remains constant and everything continues according to plan – no. Trust your players and let them play. When you give your performers more responsibility in sections like that, they will take ownership of those parts – and eventually the entire production. Personally, I find over and over again that musicians work better when their piano-conductor doesn’t micromanage.
Troubleshooting
Sure, the chamber ensemble idea sounds great – but what if it doesn’t work? What if your musicians or singers aren’t as good as you had hoped? What if you let the bass and drums handle that long vamp and they take off with the tempo and trainwreck the section?
Ok, this kind of thing happens. How you handle these situations will be the test of your leadership, and every situation will be different. Here are the 4 things I always try when I need to troubleshoot a difficult situation.
- Servant leadership – “Servant leadership” is the management style that I always try to use first. With this philosophy you approach your job responsibilities with this question: “What can I do to help my performers do the absolute best job that they can do?”If there’s a problem with someone’s playing – a trumpeter splatting every entrance, a singer that’s never prepared for rehearsal – I’ll often take them aside and privately ask them just that question. Approaching these situations in a helpful way, rather than an accusatory way, fosters effective conversations that can often solve problems.
- Ask for feedback – Don’t be afraid to ask your band for feedback. Sometimes piano-conductors feel like asking their musicians and singers for feedback shows weakness, but you shouldn’t be afraid of that. Ask your band if there are any parts of the show that they need more from you, or if there are any cues that are unclear, etc. You are all working together, after all, so if your clarinetist needs a bigger head nod for the entrance to their solo, let them have it. If you respect your performers enough to ask their opinion, they will often answer back with the same amount of respect.
- Make a change – Sometimes you just have to change something to get it to work. If your saxophonist can’t play the flute part, re-write the part for sax. If your alto can’t sing that high G, lower the key. If your chorus can’t see you and won’t cut off together, nominate someone on stage to act as the surrogate conductor and give a small head nod for the cutoff.Again, you should feel justified in making small (or medium) -sized changes to your show in order to show off your ensembles strengths and not their weaknesses. Sure, there is a sanctity in the material we work with, but your audience won’t care about it if your alto squeaks on that G.
- Fire somebody – It’s not fun, it’s always awkward, but sometimes the only thing to be done is to fire someone. If you’re thinking about making a personnel change like this, discuss it with your bosses before you actually fire anyone. If you can gather the united support of the production team, situations like this are easier (on you…).
Piano-conductors can be found on Broadway shows, small summerstocks and all the productions in between. It’s a complex position that is incredibly important throughout the arts industry.
Many thanks to the Theatre Music Director Yahoo Group for their help.
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About the author
helo sir,
this is tushar..
i am an aspiring musician with good experience but “less of training” n “theoritical knowledge” about music..
still want to become a “music director” as well as a “music composer”…
im 20 years old persuing ‘bachelor of computer appplications’ from a renounced institute in new delhi…
i have been singing n playing various instruments from almost 6 to 7 years now…while im playing drums from last 9 years..
i need assisitance on how to make my dream a sucess…
i will be thankful,
please reply.
thanku…
2/1/2010
Valuable information, thanks so much!
2/2/2010
@Vashti – thanks for reading!
@Tushar – Sounds like you’ve got the bug. You should take some lessons and see where it goes!
2/4/2010
great article. I’ve been music directing and piano-conducting for 20+ years. This article is a great re-enforcement of things I need to do. I’m working A Little Night Music now with a chamber orchestra and these points remind me of the things I probably would have overlooked in my first rehearsals with the musicians.
What other resources do you have for music directors? I find that my resources are in short supply and I am always wanting to learn more and share thoughts.
2/4/2010
Well written, as always! It has been confusing as ever trying to get discovered for a proper start in the commercial-music industry… :/ but articles like this one help to brighten and inspire my hopes day by day!
Regards,
-Eugene
2/5/2010
First of all, I love your website, because it’s so well written and it applies to my situation so much more than many other websites out there. So thank you for all your work, it’s awesome.
On this particular article, I started reading it being nervous about reading all things that I should do that I may not be doing, but it turns out that I do it all! So, great reinforcement! I did get to put a name on things I do that I didn’t know could be put in a category, such as the servant leadership.
So thank you, thank you, thank you!
2/27/2010
Thank you for above information. It is very useful for a young, up and coming music director. A question I’ve long had is if there is a separate “keyboard” or synthesizer book in addition to the Piano/Conductor- which should we use for performance.. That is to say, is piano/con simply a reduction of the parts or is it the actual piano part??
Thank-you,
Matthew
5/27/2010
Hi Matthew -
Great question. In my experience, it’s always best to use the piano/conductor score. If (when) the singers get off, you’ll need to be able to watch the vocal line in order to get everyone back on track. Also, if (when) you are missing instruments in the pit, you’ll need to grab those parts on the piano.
Thanks for reading!
5/28/2010
Thank you for writing all of this information about the world of theater and especially being a piano-conductor. I am only 15 now and my dream is to become a piano-conductor. I have been playing for 10 years now and i was wondering what can i be doing now to practice for this position?
Thank you,
Ben
8/7/2010
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