gesture RESOURCES

Nobility and dignity, self abasement and servility, prudence and understanding, insolence and vulgarity, are reflected in the face and in the attitudes of the body, whether still or in motion. Socrates


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Charles Gambetta: laban movement analysis for conductors

Article | 2008

This extensive, scholarly article in the Online Journal of the College Orchestra Directors Association unpacks the connection between Laban Movement Analysis and conducting gesture. Gambetta explores body, effort, space and shape, along with the eight Laban efforts, before connecting them to “inner attitudes” and specific musical considerations including tempo, dynamic, articulation, character, precision, and phrasing.

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James jordan: development of expressive conducting technique

Presentation Summary | 2015

Jordan, one of the foremost authors on expressive movement and gesture in conducting, offers a summary of the principles that guide his approach to teaching conducting technique: building an “interior”, body mapping, acquiring a movement vocabulary using Laban efforts, conducting harmonic rhythm, and understanding the “physics'“ of melody through the study of chant. A similar handout from a different session of Jordan’s can be found here.

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Wayne Toews: The saito conducting Method

Website | 2006

This website offers a variety of valuable PDF and animated resources on Hideo Saito’s well-known conducting method. Saito was a 20th-century Japanese cellist and conductor whose detailed study of conductors’ gestures led to a philosophy emphasizing the importance of the timing and placement of the slowest part of a conductor’s motion.

Daniel J. Wakin: The Maestro's Mojo

Article | 2012

This compelling New York Times article draws on interviews with seven established conductors and breaks down their approaches to movement by body part: right hand, left hand, face, back, lungs, and brain.


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