Essentials in Conducting | Page 8

can be easily heard, even in a fairly large room,
and that carries with it the tone of authority. But it includes also a good
command of language so that one's ideas may be expressed clearly, and
one's commands given definitely. An important point to be noted in this
connection is that the conductor must be able to exercise rigid
self-control, so as not to become incoherent under stress of anger,
emergencies, or other excitement.
[Sidenote: THE THIRD ELEMENT IN LEADERSHIP]
The final element involved in leadership is a tremendous love of and
respect for the thing that is being done. Napoleon became a great
general because of his confidence in his own ability, and because of his
very great enthusiasm for his work. Lincoln became one of the greatest

statesmen of all times largely because of his earnestness, his
extraordinary love and respect for the common people, and his
unfaltering confidence in the justice of the cause for which the North
was contending. Pestalozzi could never have become one of the world's
most influential teachers if he had not felt that the thing he was trying
to do was a big thing, a vital thing in the life of his country, and if he
had not had a real love in his heart for his work among the ragged and
untrained urchins whom he gathered about him.
And for the same reason it is clear that no one can become a strong and
forceful conductor who does not have an overwhelming love of music
in his heart. We may go farther and say that no conductor can give a
really spirited reading of a musical composition if he does not feel
genuinely enthusiastic over the work being performed, and that one
reason for the sluggish response that musicians often make to the
conductor's baton is the mediocrity of the music which they are being
asked to perform. The conductor is not in sympathy with it (sometimes
without realizing this himself), and there is consequently no virility in
the playing or singing. The remedy for this state of affairs consists, first,
in allowing only those who have some taste in the selection of music to
conduct; and second, in inspiring all conductors to take much more
time and much greater pains in deciding upon the works to be rehearsed.
In directing a choir one may examine a dozen cantatas, or twenty-five
anthems, before one is found that is really distinctive. If one stops at
the second or third, and thinks that although not very good yet it is
possibly good enough, very probably the choir will be found to be
sluggish and unresponsive, filled with what Coward calls "inertia."[6]
But if one goes on looking over more and more selections until
something really distinctive is discovered, it is more than probable that
the chorus will respond with energy and enthusiasm.
[Footnote 6: Coward, Choral Technique and Interpretation, p. 73.]
We have heard many arguments in favor of teaching children only the
best music, and here is yet another, perhaps more potent than all the
rest. They must be taught only good music because you as a musician
will find it impossible to become enthusiastic over mediocre or poor

works; and if you do not yourself glow over the music that you are
directing, you will hardly succeed in arousing the children's interest, for
enthusiasm spreads by contagion, and there can be no spreading by
contact unless we have a point from which to start.
A sense of leadership consists, then, of a combination of
self-confidence and poise, clearness of speech and expression, and
enthusiasm for one's work; and if with these three there is mingled the
ability to think clearly and definitely, we have a combination that is
bound to produce distinctive results, no matter what the field of activity
may be. Let us repeat that the encouraging thing about the whole matter
is the fact that most of the things involved in leadership can be
acquired, at least to a certain degree, if persistent efforts are made for a
long enough time.
Before going on with the topic to be treated in the next chapter, let us
summarize the materials out of which our conductor is to be fashioned.
They are:
1. Innate musical ability. 2. A long period of broad and intelligent
music study. 3. An attractive and engaging personality. 4. A sense of
humor. 5. A creative imagination. 6. Conscious leadership and
organizing ability.
Some of these qualities are admittedly almost diametrically opposed to
one another, and it is probably because so few individuals combine
such apparently opposite traits that such a small number of musicians
succeed as conductors, and so few organizers and business men
succeed as musicians. But in spite of this difficulty, we must insist
again