This blog charters my journey as I break into music conducting. Each article will look at different aspects of my journey; sometimes providing resources should others want to develop their musicality. The aim is also to make sense as to why this journey is happening now and to pinpoint its conception.

Why Conducting?

9 February 2016

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So why get into a really weird and specialised art form about which few people understand? I have set my sights high in committing to the journey of music conducting, I know, but it feels right.  Whilst I was preparing my application to the Arts Council, I was asked to write how the conducting was related to my past work, which is in primarily film-making. I wrote about how I used to conduct to music when I was little (when no one was looking!) using my head pointer. Plus, explained how I...

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The Physicality of Conducting

7 March 2016

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Whilst at the Royal Academy of Music, I have learnt many things. Whilst watching a conducting student practicing and being taught by Sian Edwards (RA Head of Conducting), you’ll often see the other conducting students moving their hands and or batons in the air internalising the instruction and music. At first, I was hesitant to join with the worry of looking crazy when moving my head.  However, I soon overcame this nonsense paving the way for some real analysis and learning. Almost...

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The Learning Process

18 April 2016

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Transitioning from a visual-centric way of thinking to the audio equivalent has been an interesting journey. It has entailed a change in the priority of what senses I use and ultimately how I think. With film, theatre, and dance, one can visualise their intentions before making them a reality.  But with sound, it's different - somehow more ethereal and generating the ideas forces you to explore the deepest crevices of one's mind. Well, it does for me anyway!  Ear training has...

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New Score, New Head-Baton, and Ready to Make Some Noise!

3 May 2016

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This is my last blog article before the conducting development week at The Royal Academy of Music and things are hotting up. The score is ready and we now have a brand new version of the head baton. It has been interesting preparing the parts for the four instruments all be it challenging at times when my computer decided to freeze before saving the work I'd done! One of the many tasks I completed this weekend was to tidy up the layout for each of the parts, minimising the clutter of...

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