Conductor-speak

Finding your place

A fundamental job of the conductor during rehearsals is to make sure everyone knows where they're supposed to be singing from. You may hear phrases such as:

• “From the top” - start at the beginning of the piece or movement.

• “From letter C” - find the rehearsal letter C in your score and start there. Rehearsal marks may also be numbers.

• “From bar 42” - find that bar number in your score. If numbers are only printed every few bars, count forwards from the nearest one.

• “From the Allegro” = tart at the section marked Allegro. This is a tempo marking meaning “fast”, but the conductor is using it here to identify a place in the music.

• “Middle system, second bar” - a system is one complete line of music across the page, often containing several staves (e.g. soprano, alto, tenor, bass and piano accompaniment). Find the middle system on the page, then count to its second bar.

• "Upbeat to bar 42" or "upbeat to C" - start on the note just before those bars.

Starting and stopping together

• “Come in on the upbeat” - start before the next downbeat, at the point the conductor indicates.

• “Come off on the downbeat” - continue singing until the first beat of the next bar, then stop together as the conductor indicates.

• “Come off together” - finish a note at the same moment as everyone else. Watch for the conductor’s cut-off gesture, particularly after a long held note.

The downbeat is the first beat of a bar, usually shown by a downward movement of the conductor’s hand. An upbeat leads towards the next downbeat, often with an upward movement. The word can also describe notes at the very beginning of a piece that come

before its first complete bar.

Following the conductor

• “Watch me” or "heads up" or "eyes on me" or just "eyes" - look up for a cue, a change of speed or the end of a note. Find your place in the score first so you can return to it easily.

• “We’re dragging” or "we're rushing" - the music is getting slower or faster than intended. Watch the conductor’s beat to help keep the pace.

• “Mark that in” - write the instruction in your score so you’ll remember it next time.

The conductor’s movements show the beats of each bar. Before your part enters, they may look towards your section and give a preparatory movement, often with a breath. A clear closing or sweeping gesture may signal when to stop singing.

Shaping the music

• “Sing through the phrase" - Keep the musical line flowing towards its end, even if you need to take a breath.

• “Stagger your breathing” - breathe at different points from the singers around you so the choir’s sound continues without an obvious gap.

• “Blend with your section” - listen to the singers around you and aim for a shared sound.

• “Bring out that line” - make a particular tune or musical idea easier to hear. The conductor will usually indicate which voice part has it.

Tuning

The conductor may need to work on tuning i.e. ensuring that singers match each other's pitch and that of the the accompaniment.  If the tuning is off, a note may sound slightly too high (sharp) or too low (flat). Conductors tend to avoid the word flat, to avoid sounding overly critical, preferring euphemisms such as:

• we've lost a bit of pitch

• we need to work on a few tuning issues

• it's sagging a bit

• that's a little under the note

• try to find the centre of the note

• that sounded a little dark

• keep it lifted

Musical terms

Most conductors will avoid obscure terminology - and explain any that crop up in the score - but here are some common ones that can simplify communication with the choir.

Speed and timing

• Tempo - the speed of the music.

• Rit. (short for Ritardando) or Rall. (short for rallentando) - gradually slow down.

• A tempo - return to the previous speed.

• Fermata - hold a note or rest longer than its written value; watch the conductor for when to move on.

Dynamics (volume)

The following phrases indicate how quietly or loudly to sing. The conductor will often add or change dynamics in the score to achieve the effect they are aiming for (mark these changes in.)

• pianissimo (pp) - very quiet

• piano (p) - quiet

• mezzo-piano (mp) - moderately quiet

• mezzo-forte (mf)  - moderately loud

• forte (f) - loud

• fortissimo (ff) - very loud

Changes in dynamics

These indicate how the dynamics change during a piece:

• crescendo — gradually get louder

• diminuendo or decrescendo — gradually get quieter

• subito - suddenly. So subito piano means suddenly sing quietly (rather than gradually)

• hairpin - slang for a < or > mark that indicates a crescendo or diminuendo

How to sing the notes

• legato - sing smoothly, connecting the notes.

• staccato - sing the notes short and separate.

• accent - give a particular note extra emphasis.

• sforzando (sfz or sf) - a kind of accent with sudden, even greater, emphasis

• fortepiano (fp) - start the note loudly, and immediately become quiet while continuing to sing the note

  
  

Who sings

• unison — everyone concerned sings the same notes.

• divisi — a voice part splits into two or more lines.

• tutti — everyone sings together, usually after a passage for fewer voices.

• a cappella — sing without instrumental accompaniment.

• tacet — your part is silent for the indicated passage or movement.

What conductors say (vs. what they do)

• "Sing out and don’t worry about mistakes." They really do mean it: hearing you helps them spot what needs work. However that may not stop them pointing out the resulting mistakes!

• "Let’s do that once more." There is every chance you’ll do it several more times.

• "We'll run through the whole piece without stopping." Unless there's something I don't like, quite possibly before a note is sung.

• "One last thing." Until the next thing.

• "I'm not going to single out any particular voice part." The basses.

• "If we can get through this section without any mistakes we'll go home early." You can probably plan to leave at the usual time.

If there's any common conductor-speak missing here, please do let me know using the Contact form.