So if your in the back rows of
the ensemble, the conductor just can't be heard.
If you pay attention to how the ensembles reacting when you speak, you'll see clues.
If your in a community ensemble, and
as older members, you'll literally see this sometimes.
And you can tell, they're having trouble hearing you.
For all ensembles you might find that the symptoms
are that half the group doesn't know where you're starting.
Or that you see people talking, talking to each other
quietly trying to figure out well, what did he just say?
Where are we going to start.
Or it will just be explicit they'll just say, where are we starting?
If this happens to you a lot, then it's
very likely that you need to talk more loudly.
It doesn't mean yelling.
It just means to project.
This is something that you can practice and
you can get constant feedback from the ensemble.
Just ask, are you able to hear me now?
Don't be shy about that because it's going to pay dividends in the long run.
The second most common problem, and something that I am guilty of and
I'm constantly working to fix, is the idea of talking too quickly, or mumbling.
And this is the same sort of issue, that if you do that, people
are not going to hear what you're saying, and you'll have to say it again.
And so you might as well just work on slowing
down just a bit, and enunciating a little bit more clearly.