What do conducters in symphonies do?

Question:all i ever see is them waving thier wand up and down

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: all i ever see is them waving thier wand up and down

Okay, so they're waving their "wand" (its actually called a baton, but hey) in a special pattern. Trained musicians know what the patterns are, and they follow the pattern to know how fast they orchestra is going, and to follow the beats so that the orchestra is completely together. Musicians can also use this to get back on if they get lost, and to count while resting.

Conductors also will signify through their "waving" how loud, soft, smooth, choppy, whatever they wish the orchestra to play.

They keep the beat so the musicians don't get off tempo, cue musicians when they need to start playing again, let the musicians know when they need to play louder or softer, give the cue when to start playing so the musicians start together, and cue them to stop playing so they end at the right time.

all you see them doing during a concert is waving up and down but did you see them during practice. conductors direct the musicians to express the piece into how he wants to present to the audience, the mood and everything else. they do that during rehersals so you didnt see it and think that why do conductors earn so much money by waving their hands

Keep time for the orchestra as a whole and direct different sections when to play softer/louder... plus a lot more.

The conductor stands in front and acts important. This is called "leadership." The symphony is a highly refined product of western culture. In this culture, the common people (orchestra players) are not allowed to act on their own; they need to have a leader, hence the conductor. Notice that jazz groups generally do not need a conductor: each player forges his or her own part by interacting with the other players. This is why jazz make no sense to anyone except jazz musicians. Rock groups also do not need a leader. Rock players are usually drunk or stoned and perform mostly by muscle memory. Country and bluegrass groups also perform without conductors. Their intent is to create annoying noise, and no leader is necessary to achieve that purpose.

This question is somewhat like asking "what does a pianist do? All I ever see is them moving their fingers on the keyboard."

In much the same manner that a pianist plays the piano by moving his fingers, the conductor "plays" the orchestra by waving his wand. Each musician in the orchestra can play his own music, but the conductor brings together all of those different musicians to create a single unified expression of the composer's art.