There is a great post on Adventures of an Idaho Violist highlighting ways that conductors can alienate their musicians. Here are a few items from the list:

3) Singing an articulation (daaah) is always more effective than using a descriptive term (legato)

4) If a section leader has a question upon stopping, ignore them to give your own thoughts first. It really can’t be that important if you didn’t notice it.

5) Be sure to only address some members of the orchestra by name. Calling the principal trumpet by his first name, but the principal clarinet by ‘clarinet’ ensures that your hierarchy is well established in the minds of the entire orchestra.

6) When in doubt of your own rhythmic integrity, let everyone know that they need to be more on top of the beat.

Check out the complete list here. This blog is a new find for me, and I am having a lot of fun checking in for my daily dose of viola power!

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