changes? Do you accompany this arm tension with a fisted hand posture? Do you slump forward and round your back in order to show a subito piano? Do you find that your shoulders feel tight in order to maintain a conducting plane at your chest or above? When standing in front of your choir, do


you engage your back muscles in order to lift your sternum to the ceiling? Do you sink into your hips, causing your shoulders to slump forward in order to remain upright? Would your “posture” allow you to sing efficiently? Do you find that you are sore or need a


massage after a few hours of conducting? Put simply, is there anything you model as a conductor that you would not want your singers to directly imitate? In a series of three articles in 1983, Leon


Thurman, founder of the VoiceCare Network, proposed that teacher-conductors have often put the cart before the horse in the rehearsal room and concert hall. I propose that using tension to convey musical ideas may inadvertently evoke unwanted vocal tension and less desirable voicing habits from our choristers. While in search of our musical and expressive goals (the cart), we may forget that human beings’ efficient use of their voices (the horse) is the very factor that will allow us to reach these goals. Further, these results may have an impact on our rehearsal efficiency. We can likely train our students to respond to our verbal instructions regarding efficient singing rather than our nonverbal instructions. As Iacoboni stated, “…if the choir is not composed by beginners, we can assume that a fair amount of training may override these automatic tendencies to mirror” (M. Iacoboni, personal email, October 15, 2008). In other words, we can teach our students to ignore our gestures that might evoke vocal tension. I would propose that our rehearsal time might be better spent examining text, developing sight singing skills, or learning new repertoire. While this recent research has all involved


singers, I would posit that these results can inform instrumental conductors, classroom teachers, and anyone who works with human beings. It is also important to recognize that one group of studies does not establish “Truth.” It is my hope that researchers will continue to investigate various conducting techniques in order to better understand the conductor/ensemble relationship. In doing so, we can find more time-efficient ways to encourage the most rewarding music making in our rehearsals and performances.


ala breve


References


Berger, S. M., & Hadley, S. W. (1975). Some effects of a model’s performance on an observer’s electromyographic activity. American Journal of Psychology, 88, 263-276.


Chartrand, T. L., & Bargh, J. A. (1999). The chameleon effect: The perception- behavior link and social interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 893-910.


Daugherty, J. F., & Brunkan, M. C. (2013b). Monkey See, monkey do? The effect of nonverbal conductor lip rounding on visual and acoustic measures of singers’ lip postures.


Journal of Research in Music Education, 60, 345 – 362.


Dimberg, U., Thunberg, M., & Elmehed, K. (2000). Unconscious facial reactions to emotional facial expressions. Psychological Science, 11, 86-89.


Fuelberth, R. J. V. (2003). The effect of left hand conducting gesture on inappropriate vocal tension in individual singers. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 157, 62-70.


Gehrkens, K. (1918). Essentials in conducting. New York: Oliver Ditson Company.


Holden, R. (2003). The technique of conducting. In J. A. Bowen (Ed.), The cambridge companion to conducting (pp. 3-16). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University.


Iacoboni, M. (2008). Mirroring people. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.


Jordan, J. M. (1996). Evoking sound. Chicago, IL: GIA.


Price, H. E., & Chang, E. C. (2005). Conductor and ensemble performance expressivity and state festival ratings. Journal of Research in Music Education, 53, 66-77.


LaFrance, M. (1979). Nonverbal synchrony and rapport: Analysis by the cross-


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Jeremy N. Manternachis Assistant Professor of Vocal Music at the University of Iowa


lag panel technique. Social Psychology Quarterly, 42, 66-70.


LaFrance, M., & Broadbent, M. (1976). Group rapport: Posture sharing as a nonverbal indicator. Group and Organization Studies, 1, 328-333.


Manternach, J. N. (2012a). The effect of nonverbal conductor lip rounding and eyebrow lifting on singers’ lip and eyebrow postures: A motion capture study. International Journal of Research in Choral Singing, 4(1), 36- 46.


Manternach, J. N. (2012b). The effect of varied conductor preparatory gestures on singer upper body movement. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 22, 20–34. 157, 62-70.


Manternach, J. N. (in press). Effects of varied conductor prep movements on singer muscle engagement and voicing behaviors.


Thurman, L. (1983a). Putting horses before carts: Voices and choral music. Choral Journal, 23(6), 5-9.


Thurman, L. (1983b). Putting horses before carts: A brief on vocal athletics. Choral Journal, 23(7), 15-21.


Thurman, L. (1983c). Putting horses before carts: When choral singing hurts voices. Choral Journal, 23(7), 23-28.


1 There is skepticism regarding the


importance of mirror neurons in human beings. For one example, see The Myth of Mirror Neurons by Gregory Hickock.


2 For more information about the


VoiceCare Network and their outstanding summer workshops, visit www.voicecarenetwork.org/.


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