MAC 3-1: Reading Post

Chapter Five (Leading From Any Chair) tells of how the author changed his own philosophy about leadership from that of the sole conductor of the orchestra to the facilitator of others passions and expressions. To be a true leader, as he states, you must be able to admit when you are wrong and show those you are leading that you are wrong. As the conductor of a chorus, I would have to say that one of the first things you are taught is that the singers are to express the meaning of the song and that you, under no circumstances, get in the way of the singer and the audience.

Chapter Six (Rule Number 6) tells a few stories, but the two that stood out to me most were the first two. Number one tells the story of where Rule Number 6 comes from. Two Prime Ministers are interrupted three times and each time, the interrupter was greeted with “REMEMBER RULE NUMBER 6”. Rule Number 6 is very simple…DON’T TAKE YOURSELF TOO GODDAMN SERIOUSLY!” The second is that of how to relieve tension in a band rehearsal, simply talk about falling cows. As a conductor of a chorus, I would have to agree. If my humor was not involved in rehearsals, I know we would not have as many members.

Chapter Seven (The Way Things Are) discusses two ways of looking at situations. You can either look at a bad situation as “this is what was planned and then this happened and this is how I feel about it” or you can look at it as “this is what was planned and then this happened, but I will do something else and not let the change bother me.” To quote a friend of mine: CHANGE IS INEVITABLE, EXCEPT FROM A VENDING MACHINE.

Chapter Eight (Giving Way To Passion) discusses ways to change accomplishments that others would find ordinary into truly magical and amazing feats. The example given about Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata is absolutely true. In order to truly appreciate the music, the player must draw the audience in by not only mastering the triplet feeling, but also the beauty and texture of the melody line above it all.