An introduction to the Saito Conducting Method
by Roland Yeung
The Saito Conducting Method is the basis of my conducting technique. My first conducting teacher was a visiting Japanese conductor Yoshinao Osawa. I was one of his three conducting students who had lessons over a period of two and half years. Maestro Osawa’s English was very good, but in depth discussion was not possible. I noticed he referred to a book written by Saito but it was in Japanese, which I could not decipher. The Method provided me with a technique that had superior clarity in conducting melodies, differentiating rhythms, articulations and phrase shapes. The method provided me with a structure to practice a range of gestures. The range of gestures gave me choices to illustrate my musicianship through my baton.
Recently I found Wayne Toews from Saskatoon in Canada. I have twice travelled to Canada for private lessons. They were invigorating and inspirational. I was able to refresh myself with the Method, conduct the Saito Studies under the critical eye of Maestro Toews and discuss the concepts in English!
Toews began to study the Saito Conducting method in 1974 at the Courtenay Youth Music Camp with Professor Morihiro Okabe and Maestro Kazuyoshi Akiyama. He continued his studies with Prof. Okabe at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in 1983. He prepared the English edition of the Saito Conducting Method text which was completed with the assistance of Fumihiko Torigai, Morihiro Okabe and Kazuyoshi Akiyama and published in Tokyo in 1988. More information about Maestro Toews can be found at http://www.conductorschool.com.
Wayne Toews, teacher of the Saito Conducting Method wrote.
”Hideo Saito, creator of the conducting method, was principal cellist in the NHK Symphony Orchestra when, in August 1936, Joseph Rosenstock arrived in Tokyo and began elevating the group to world-class status. He wondered why it was so much easier to perform well with conductors such as Rosenstock than with other, more famous conductors.
“Saito analysed conducting gestures and discovered that clarity and artistry in gestures is dependent upon the timing and placement of the slowest part of the motion, which he called the secondary point. Other conducting methods focus mainly on the beat point where the motion is the fastest (usually at the bottom of the gesture). By understanding how to control the secondary point, conductors allow the performers to anticipate when the beat will occur and to envision the ideal sound. Having the ability to predict gives performers the confidence to control timbre, tuning, articulation and ensemble blend. Of the dozens of methods used to teach conducting worldwide, these concepts remain unique to Saito’s method.
“The basis of technique in the Saito method is control of acceleration and deceleration in the conducting motion. The basic skill in the Saito conducting method is the arm drop. By allowing the arm to fall by the force of gravity alone, physical effort is reduced and even the loudest sounds can be shown with ease. The timing of the drop and control over the rate of acceleration make gestures precise and musically meaningful. Articulation, dynamics, and even timbre are influenced by the size of the arm drop in combination with the rates of acceleration and deceleration.
“Saito categorized gestures by the relation of the secondary point to the beat point. Those, such as a swinging motion, in which there is an acceleration leading to the beat point, are called into-point motions. Those bursting gestures, which decelerate to the following beat point, are called from-point motions. By combining the two motion types conductors can clearly show phrasing without interfering with the rhythmic flow of the music.”
Excerpts from La Scena Musicale – Vol. 13, No. 6 March 2008
