I don't know about you and your family...
...but in our house, there's a constant "home church" battle for who gets to conduct the hymns each Sunday.
And the arguments don't stop even while we're all supposed to be singing.
"No! 4/4's like this!"
"It's not like THAT... it's like THIS!"
"Can't you guys just SING for crying out loud?"
"It's simple... Floor. Door. Window... NO! Don't touch the Sacrament!"
"... to guide us in these latter..."
"Stop! It's MY turn!"
"I give up! I'm going inactive."
It appears that home-church conductors are just as apt to fall victim to the pride cycle as Nephites.
Well, you know how conductor's can be...
All this drama made me think about the drama that can go on inside the heads of even a sensible adult's mind when confronted with a challenging hymn to conduct.
And why not take some time while you're safely AWAY from your regular every-Sunday large congregation to work on a few simple techniques?
Now, this is gonna hurt a little...
...but, I promise...
...it's really gonna help you in the end.
"Hurt? What are you talking about?"
I'm talking about a regular, daily practice I want you to get in the habit of, at least for the next little while.
It's ALMOST as bad as hearing a recording of your own voice. I really hate that myself...
Maybe it's even MORE painful.
What I'm referring to is...
...practicing a few simple techniques in the mirror.
Yes!
You need to see yourself practicing so you can see what's working and what's not.
And here's your tip for today...
Stand in front of your mirror and practice using your conducting arm (leftie or rightie, doesn't really matter) as a pendulum.
And here's the trick.
Think of a GIANT pendulum.
50 feet high.
With a massive bolder at the base.
In your imagination, visualize how the arm swings all the way out to one side.
It slows as it reaches the extreme to the right.
It speeds up as gravity pulls it back the other direction through an invisible "center" point and swings to the extreme left.
And BACK... and FORTH... and BACK... and FORTH... and FEEL... the WEIGHT... of EACH... and EV... ry SWING... from LEFT... to RIGHT...
This is GREAT practice that even the MOST experienced conductors benefit from.
This is probably THE most important fundamental you can work on.
Sure, there are LOTS of other techniques.
And I'll send some more helpful guides.
But I recommend doing a bit of this pendulum practice each morning in the mirror.
Maybe just after you've finished showering and getting ready for the day.
Take a minute.
Close the door.
Nobody's looking.
And RIGHT... and LEFT... and FEEL... the WEIGHT... of GRA... vi TY... that PULLS... your BOUL... der RIGHT... and LEFT... a GAIN...
I wish I had some tips to help the arguing stop.
I'll keep praying about that one, or my house might spontaneously combust.
Anyway, I hope you have a great day!
Doug
P.S. Haha! Am I the only one whose head is swinging from SIDE... to SIDE... still?
Question for you...
Would it help if we had a few classes in conducting the hymns?
Our new hymn arranging classes on Zoom are SO fun!
We could easily put together a conducting class too.
Would that be of any interest to you?
If you don't mind, hit reply and let me know.
Thanks!
And NOW... I'll TRY... to STOP... my SWING... ing HEAD... from SIDE... to SIDE...