How to give a cue: preparation and release for orchestra and singers

Conducting Pills How to give a cue: preparation and release for orchestra and singers By Gianmaria Griglio

Conducting Pills What's a cue? A conductor’s cue is nothing but a signal, a preparation for a musical event. It’s how we, as conductors, help the players. The cue consists of two parts: preparation and release

Conducting Pills Preparing a cue [1/2] The preparation of the cue takes place one beat before the entrance: you look at the player, point your baton towards the player or the section and click with your wrist. Eye contact is crucial.

Conducting Pills Preparing a cue [2/2] The cue will determine the volume , the intensity, and the length of what is about to be played: all of this information goes into a single cue. Breathing with the players or singers is particularly important

Conducting Pills Delivering a cue After you prepare your cue you need to deliver it, following up on the intensity, dynamics, and everything else you promised in your preparatory pulse Deliver what you promised

Conducting Pills Off-beat cues What if the player needs to come in on the 2nd eighth note of a bar? In this case, the preparation is not on the beat before but directly on the beat of the event. BUT...

Conducting Pills Off-beat cues If you are starting the piece with an offbeat cue – for instance, the beginning of Beethoven’s fifth symphony – you will need to give a pulse-less preparation on the bar before and then pulse on the downbeat.