Conducting Review: Rodney Eichenberger

What They See Is What You Get: Linking the Visual, the Aural, and the Kinetic to Promote Artistic Choral Singing

Eichenberger, Rodney and Andre Thomas. What They See Is What You Get: Linking the Visual, the Aural, and the Kinetic to Promote Artistic Choral Singing. Chapel Hill, NC: Hinshaw, 1994.

The video begins with Mr. Andre Thomas directing the Florida State University Choir in the song "Keep You Lamps Trimmed and Burning;" once with one style of conducting and again with another, stressing the difference between the two only in the styles themselves (i.e., without verbal instruction). Eichenberger observes that there are two primary ways to communicate: with words and with gestures. Non-verbal language can be used to emphasize or substitute speech.

An experiment with five different conductors was performed, though with no conducting pattern; they led only in their demeanor. The results were as one would expect, the choirs' performances empathizing with each leader so as to affect their vocal production. This indicates that the entire body is the conducting gesture. When the conductors changed from one demeanor to another, the quality of choral sound followed. The same was true in the change of mouth position, which signaled to the choir how to produce the vocal sound.

Size of conducting pattern may make a difference, but choirs also respond predictably to ancillary conducting gestures. If use is made of gestures with common meaning, we can save rehearsal time. The size of a gesture will often supercede any verbal instructions given. A choir told to sing softly but directed with a large pattern will become confused. The two messages must be supportive.

Eichenberger and Thomas show with the same choir many of the same gestures he used on his other video. He later explains the four functions of rhythm: the downbeat, the away-from-the-downbeat, the off-beat, and the into-the-downbeat functions. Having the choir clapping their hands in ways that resemble these functions is audible, and transferring these ideas to the choral sound is equally perceivable. His goal is to mix the visual, aural, and kinetic. A deep downbeat will produce a deep choral sound. For a lighter tone, restrict the size of the downbeat.

Tension in the arm (specifically tension in the arm just behind the wrist) will translate to the tension of the tone. Also, the first beat often needs to have forward motion; use of "away" function may help the choir create this desired forward motion. The downbeat can work for us or against us, and the nature of the downbeat can produce some unexpected effects. Being vague in the conducting with the point of the beat (i.e., sweeping through the beat) can cause the choir to get a bit "loose" in the subdivisions, which will affect syllable placement and phrase endings.

Eichenberger asserts that vertical movement and lateral movement in the conducting produce different results in the choral sound; upward movements supply power in the choral sound, while overly lateral movements cause it to slide. Vertical movements in the conducting pattern will produce support; lateral movements may cause the pitch to sag. However, one gesture that is inappropriate at one time may be just the gesture necessary at another.

The positions of pattern and cueing (high position and low, belt-level position) make a big difference in choral sound, specifically with respect to support. Tone color is also affected, with brighter sounds produced with high conducting and fuller sounds with lower. Closeness to the body affects the sense of tone color, quality and dynamics of the sound. Inordinate leaning and head movement produce undesired effects. Eichenberger asserts that all movements have legitimacy in conducting, but they will all produce specific effects. As conductors, we must be careful to use only the motions with meanings we wish to convey. Drooping hands affect the tone, often causing detuned pitches and unnecessarily covered tones.

Going back to the concept of hand activity (circling the hands around the "power center" to encourage support, and special movements to symbolize forward and covered voice placement), Eichenberger demonstrates again how choirs' pitches and dynamic awareness in their singing are accentuated.