Conducting Technique IV: using Saito principles

by Roland Yeung

This article continues on from articles in previous issues of Interlude (see references below). It continues the developing of the Circles Technique and introduced the Saito conducting technique of Tataki. It was published in Interlude Volume 21, No.1 June 2016, page 25 to 26.

These articles focus on learning conducting movements and complements study of ensemble repertoire, psychology of rehearsal technique, analysis of works and so on. These early articles are teaching basic movements that apply for sections of music rather than special single moments. This article focuses on one technique, Heikin Undo and adds to Tataki introduced in the last article.

To learn new conducting gestures, the conductor needs to be aware of the different stages in achieving consistency and clarity. Consider these as stages.

1. Imagine how the gesture looks;
2. map out the geography of the gesture, slowly and with the minimum of tension, and analyse each component, stopping as often as needed;
3. slowly join the different movements together onto a flowing gestures that continuously loops;
4. choose an except of music you know well that matches the sound and conduct to it making small adjustments to match the landscape of the musical phrase;
5. drill this until you can call on this gesture at will, use video technology to review your progress.

Using The Saito Conducting Method

Learning each conducting gesture enables the conductor to find gestures that lead the sound designed by the composer.

Young conductors often just show the beat, tempo and sometimes a limited range of articulations. The Saito Conducting Method has a number of gestures, each with a name, that can be regarded as a catalogue of gestures. Perhaps conductors can tackle one at a time by learning the gesture, then changing from and into it.

A convention of conductors and conducting is to show the metre using standard beat patterns that are published in most conducting books. The Saito Conducting gestures are applied to each beat of each metre. It is in this context that this and future articles will apply the Saito gestures.

Heikin Undo Technique

This technique grows out of the Conducting Circles Technique. Detailed instructions were provided in the issue of Interlude Vol.17 No.2 October 2012.

Heikin Undo is characterized by a smooth movement that is at a constant speed. When applied to the standard beat patterns, most of the movements will move horizontally. Instead of a circle as in the Circles Technique 1, the Heikin Undo movement in a simple duple metre is best described as a flattish figure of eight rotated 90 degrees, much like an infinity sign

As the gesture is at a constant speed, there is no acceleration/deceleration to help predict the position of the beat point. The conductor needs to show the beat point in a more subtle way, but also relying on the players to hold the tempo steady. The conductor must have an excellent tempo, rock steady. As the hand moves through the beat point, it must be exactly when the internal metronome clicks the beat. In simple duple time graphic above (Figure 1.) the numbers 1 and 2 show where in the loop the beat points are located. In this case, the beat points are in the middle of the pattern, sharing the same position. This makes it easier for the conductor to achieve going through the beat point right on the clicker.

To give a clarity as to which part of the gesture is the upbeat for the 1^st beat, the upbeat usually goes a little higher. In this case, lifting the loop from the 2^nd beat point a little higher. Careful to not go too high as this will increase the distance traveled between beat points and may increase the speed of the baton so the baton can cover more distance in the same duration. The most important quality of this gesture is the constant or uniform speed of the baton when outlining the simple duple metre beat pattern.

Alignment and setup

The basic setup for conducting Heikin Uno is for practice. When conducting a musical work, the conductor will vary the shape, width, weight, speed, height according to the artistic characteristics of the music and the ensemble’s response to the conductor’s previous gestures. The basic set up is designed to ensure the physical gesture is focused on creating a clear communication, and is healthy for the body of the conductor.

The beat points for Heikin Undo, for the purposes of this exercise, is where the simple duple pattern line crosses over.

• The beat points should therefore be at the centre of the motion of the arm.
• The vertical alignment position is with the end of the shoulder ball joint for the arm.
• The horizontal alignment position for the beat point is at elbow height.
• This alignment ensures that the motion is natural, smooth and creates less pain. The freedom to move either side is the same. The freedom to move higher or lower is the same.
• The hand is in neutral position with the line of the thumb extending the line of the arm. The wrist hinge is still held with enough energy to hold the posture of the hand.
• The movement for this gesture is of the whole arm, that is from the shoulder. There is a little opening and closing of the elbow hinge but the motion is slight, smooth and feels neutral.
• Apply this to both left and right arms.
• This exercise should be practice with tempo one beat = 60 bpm. For extension once comfortable with maintaining the technique at the one tempo, lift up the tempo to around 90 and hold and as slow as 40 bpm and hold.
• Keep every beat the same dynamic and intensity level. For extension add emphasis to a particular beat being careful to keep the same tempo.

Keep the position of the beat points in line with the shoulder ball joint.

May I encourage conductors to work through this process thoroughly to achieve a symmetrical, consistent, reliable and predictable gesture? There are no shortcuts for developing muscle memory, relaxation of the muscle and added strength. Thoughtful repetition is the key.

Tataki Technique – Burst

The Tataki gesture was introduced in the previous article in Interlude Vol.19, No.1 February-March 2014 Conducting Technique III by Roland Yeung

Here is a summary description of the Tataki gesture from the article. The movement of the baton is similar to that of striking a drum head with a drum stick. However, the arm muscles have to create the same gesture without striking a drum head. The downward movement of the down-beat is made by falling using gravity. The instantaneous stop and rebound upwards is made by hand and arm muscles firstly breaking the fall of the heavy arm and using a very short explosive burst of energy, spring the baton, hand and arm upwards.

This very short upward explosive burst of energy is not a common movement in everyday life. I recommend that a long term program with very light weights (0.5, 1 or 2kg dumbbell) is commenced to avoid overuse injury. In the future, I will produce a video of this should conductors be unable to attend a conducting lesson or class.

Here are some steps in an attempt to describe the exercise in words.

1. Rest your arm, from elbow to finger tips, on a cushion or seat of a chair. Have the rest of your body upright, relaxed and balanced. If using a cushion, it could be placed on a table and you could be seating in a chair. If using the cushion of a chair, be on your knees on the floor.
2. Position the hand so the thumb is on the top, and your little finger on the bottom resting on the cushion. The fingers are curved all in a relaxed way, and the tip of the thumb is touching the top of the index/pointing finger between the first and second knuckles. The whole arm and hand should be relaxed and heavy.

A relaxed muscle is a fast muscle.

3. Make a short and light squeeze of the tip of the thumb and the index finger together. This is to create the sensation and focus of work at the tip of your fingers, not further up your arm. Repeat every few seconds, but in between each squeeze be sure to resume the state of total relaxation in the posture described above. Do not do this for long sessions, just for a couple of minutes. Find different ways to relax the arm suddenly. It takes a while to achieve this, so please be patient.
4. If you are comfortable to move to the next stage, only do so if you can achieve the relax state in between very short squeezes of the thumb and finger.
5. The next stage is to increase the strength of the squeeze and also activating other local muscles to lift the whole hand off the cushion just a few centimetres. If you have done some work with the dumbbell mentioned above this will be a clearer sensation. The strength you apply is greater, but the squeeze is still short. Turn off the muscles instantaneously, that is relax the muscle, and the hand should fall back to the cushion resuming the starting posture each time. Still wait 2 or more seconds between each squeeze. It is important to learn to relax the arm (and body) back to the stating state and posture after the short squeeze or burst.
6. The above exercise can be practiced in the car when stationary waiting at traffic lights with the right arm resting on the right leg.
7. When you have achieved success, make each squeeze stronger so they are a very short explosive burst of energy. You will find that other fingers will be involved. Work on this gradually until your muscle gain strength – it takes a while.
8. Perhaps you can instead of focusing on the thumb and index finger, focus on the bottom three fingers held tightly together. They can be the starting point of the very short explosive burst of energy. The result is similar but also a little different. Put this in the back of your mind to use at another time.

Note that this exercise is about developing the sensation and muscle strength to make an upward motion. At this stage the downward motion is made by gravity applied to a relaxed arm. This takes some thinking to get used to as your effort is in making the down beat gesture!

The burst prepares the next sound made at the next beat point

9. For another article, the exercise then moves to a standing conducting position conducting a range of standard beat patterns.

Summary

• The Conducting Circles Techniques I, II and III are to establish a fundamental technique to learn and sustain a gesture that shows flow, momentum and a sustained, legato and vibrant sound, beginning to develop independence of left and right hands.
• The Tataki technique is a conducting technique that is derived from the natural up and down motion that we observe in our daily lives.
• The Heikin Undo technique is characterized by a smooth movement that is at a constant speed, the opposite to Tataki.
• The setup, alignment and movement of your gesture will result in a clearer gesture and a healthier body.

If this material is helpful, look for other conducting materials on my website.

 

Please feel free to ask me questions or make comment.

Roland Yeung is a freelance conductor, adjudicator, tutor and clinician. He is music director of The Grainger Wind Symphony. Roland recently retired as the Director of Music at Carey Baptist Grammar School and was Artistic Director of the Melbourne School Bands and Strings Festival. He was awarded by his peers the life membership of the Association of Music Educators aMuse (Victoria), ABODA National and just recently been awarded life member of the Association of Directors of Music of Independent School ADMIS (Victoria). Roland has studied conducting with a number of international conducting teachers and courses.

e: roland@rolandyeung.net

w: rolandyeung.net

References

Interlude Vol.17 No.1 March 2012 Introduction to the Saito Conducting Technique by Roland Yeung

Interlude Vol.17 No.2 October 2012 Conducting Technique: using Saito principles by Roland Yeung

Interlude Vol.18 No.2 July 2013 Conducting Technique II: using Saito principles by Roland Yeung

Interlude Vol.19, No.1 February-March 2014 Conducting Technique III by Roland Yeung

Interlude Vol. 21, No.1 June 2016 Conducting Technique IV: using Saito principles by Roland Yeung

The Saito Conducting Method by Hideo Saito ed. W. Toews