You're Such a Good Conductor. You Remembered All Your Tempos.

A Broadway actor once said to me after a show: "You're such a good conductor. I love your tempos." I said: "Thank you. You're such a good actor. You remembered all your lines."

In theater, your professional life depends on tempo above almost everything else. The late night text from the director. The dance captain who swears it was faster — even when you played to click. "I could feel it in my leg." This is the world theater conductors live in.

Concert. Classical. Academic. "TEMPO? Dahling, that is the least of my concerns. Oh, ha ha! I have a staff and assistants for that menial task." "It's almost as if you might want MEEEEEE to act as a... what do they call it... a ME-TRO-NOME?!?! OH NO!"

Honestly, that sounds nice some days. It's fun when someone does your job for you. There are days when I have had to sweat over a few BPM — when I would love to just blame my band when it goes wrong.

Someone has to hold the burden of tempo. Always. In every kind of music. Could be Drums and Bass. Could be Violin 1 and Flute 1. Sometimes it's you, Maestro/a.

So who takes the burden? It changes depending on context. But the conductor is the leader. So...you start. Since all mistakes are your fault anyway. That's the gig. That's what keeps you from being a complete asshole.

Being the leader doesn't mean micromanaging every beat. It means taking the burden when the music needs it — and knowing when to let the band carry it. Sometimes leadership means being in service. Sometimes it means being a lowly f*cking metronome for four bars so everyone knows where it is.

Looks easy. It is not easy. Most people — even experienced conductors — cannot show a clean steady tempo for more than a few bars under pressure. I know this from 20 years of playing and teaching.

So before we talk about how tempo is beneath us — can you actually do it? In my experience — probably not. Don't take my word for it. Ask any working player.

The debate continues. Tempo isn't everything. But you'd better have it.