Sometime or other, every Scouter is called upon to conduct a sing song. And that's easy. you just say, "One, two, three sing!", right? Well, unless the song is three beats to a bar and starts off on beat one, you may find yourself trying to lead chaos. And, if it fits all these requirements, you still need to beat time to keep the singers together.
Most of us aren't musicians, professional or amateur, but everyone can learn some elementary conducting. It's worth a little effort, even though you're not aiming to become a professional conductor (after all, your Beavers, Cubs, or Scouts aren't professional singers). Once you develop some basic techniques, you'll find you are more comfortable leading that sing song, and the singers will feel better, too.
The first thing to do is become familiar with songs that are two, three, and four beats to a bar. Children's records and tapes are a good place to start. Beat one is always the strongest beat. Listen to a variety of songs until you recognize the three basic beat patterns: two beats (Alouette); three beats (My Bonnie); four beats (She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain).
Now you're ready to learn how to conduct the three beat patterns. Use your right hand. Visualize an imaginary horizontal line across your chest. This is the "floor" where all of the beats strike bottom. Then visualize a vertical line running down the centre of your body to meet the horizontal line.
Beat one, the strongest beat, is always a downbeat. Look at the patterns illustrated and practise them in front of a mirror to your favourite songs. Think about the vertical line and keep the patterns centred in front of you. Think about the imaginary floor where each beat strikes. Keep your hand relaxed. Some conductors like to make an "eye" with thumb and forefinger, while others keep those digits up and slightly curl the other fingers.
Try not to overdo the pattern. If you wave your arms wide and wild, that's likely how your singers will sing. What you want to work for is control so that you can vary the size and the flow of your movements.
With a very large group, where singers depend more on watching the conductor than listening to each other to stay together, you will want your pattern to be larger than normal. You can also signal volume with the beat pattern by making it small for quiet parts and larger for louder spots.
The way you beat your pattern also communicates the "feel" of a song. For a quiet flowing song such as Kum Bah Yah, you'll likely keep it small, smooth and flowing. Rollicking tunes such as I've Been Working on the Railroad call for a larger, energetic pattern.
When you are comfortable conducting the beat patterns in front of a mirror, watch yourself for other things. It can be distracting to the singers if you walk around as you conduct or tap your feet or look up as if seeking divine guidance instead of looking at them. How relaxed do you look? Practise communicating with your eyes, face, and hands. Smile if it's smiling kind of music. Song-leading really involves your whole body.
Your left hand isn't idle during all of this. While the right hand beats the pattern, the left hand might be indicating volume changes. You can raise it to indicate an increase in volume and lower it to show a decrease. In a round or part song, you can use it to cue in the next section of singers.
When you're ready to start a song, raise both hands in front of you to let the singers know your intentions. Think of what beat the song begins on and start with that beat, first giving a cue beat (the beat before) or a little flick of your wrist and hand to lead into it.
Home on the Range, a three-beat song, starts on beat three, for example. The best way to begin is right on beat three after a little flick of your wrist (kind of a short form of beat two), but you may feel more comfortable beating the second beat as a cue. Perhaps you've seen a conductor beat a full one and two to cue the singers to start on three, but why wear yourself out? It's always easier if, instead of in the middle, the song starts right on beat one, like the two-beat song Waltzing Matilda. Raise your hands so that everyone knows you are ready to start, sing or hum a starting note, give a little flick of the wrist to mimic an imaginary previous beat two, and go to it. Let all the world in every corner sing!
Have you ever been in a situation where the assembly is called to sing O Canada, there's no musical cue to start them, and everyone begins on a different note? Sure you have.
It's expecting miracles to think everyone at a sing song will automatically pluck the same starting note out of the air. One of the leader's jobs is to choose a starting note that will keep the song comfortably in the range of the majority and to sound it before they sing. You're laughing if you have a piano or guitar. If not, a pitch pipe is a great little portable tool. You can use it to find the note you want to sing or hum as a starter. If you are shy, you can just play the note for the singers.
Often when male Scouters sing with young children, there's a tendency to choose a note too low for them. For the most part, you are basses or tenors while young Beavers or Cubs are sopranos or altos who find it very difficult to sing in your range. Nobody enjoys doing things they find difficult.
One way to get around this is to ask a female Scouter or one of the youngsters to start the song. Here again, a pitch pipe comes in handy. Every time they sing a new song, use the pipe to determine the group's comfortable starting note for that song. Write it beside the song in your song book for future reference. Then, whenever they are going to sing it, you can simply blow the note on your pitch pipe to cue them.
It's worth a visit to your music store.
Scouter Bruce Lauer is Hawkeye with the 7th Nepean A Beavers and organist and choirmaster at Northwestern United Church, Ottawa, Ont.
Last edited: February 22, 2004
The NetWoods Virtual Campsite, Steve Tobin, Campmaster