Lawrence Johnson - Field Conducting Open 2008 Esperanza

[Mattsans145]

Totally true also ur hands are not facing band there more fist and punching and stomping then directing no showing off too much 4/5 ur still good

[laluenke]

@Mattsans145 thank you for your comments! i agree with you to a certain point. i couldve cleaned up my hands a lot lol. my opinion though, is that moves should be functional with the music and performance. not just functional on a basic level. thats why i chose to do a lot of that stuff. the moves were designed to accentuate the music and performance i wanted out of the band members. but thats just my opinion. im glad you still enjoyed it!

[Mattsans145]

@laluenke and now I cansay 5/5 You have know the real importance of directing and tje functionality of it. A+++++ Awsome great directing. Hope to see some more possably in the near future. :)

[laluenke]

@Mattsans145 oh haha. well, thank you. id have taken 4/5. thats still pretty good :-D haha. im really glad you enjoyed it! feel free to use any moves youd like (or anyone else who would like to.) its really fun performing and being creative. hope to see you as well if youre ever on the west coast!

[nobuendo]

1:50 on

Holy Name Cadets 2009???

[laluenke]

@nobuendo no sir. i think it IS cadets, but not the 2009 version, i performed this before that year. i cant, however, remember what year it is from.

[SecretsofManna]

Heyyyy that's my band room O.o

[DaMastaMynd]

This is positively excellent. I think my favorite part is your ability to give cues and dynamics with equal proficiency with either hand. I was trained to always give them with the left hand, but I feel like that sort of ambidexterity can help a lot more than hurt.

Also, very good showmanship and presence. I'll be using this as a model for my drum major audition for the Mighty Sound of Maryland in the winter :P

[Digital8Derok]

wow.......thats all wow amazing

[Moonmatt2]

Your so boss! This is the kind of conducting I hope to model after. If I send in some vids will you help me out and critic??

[girdog1]

Damn Lawrence, first.

Really really impressive.

I hope you can stay our instructor until I graduate next year. I think we really need someone like you.

[xmitchellestx]

I really like how you communicate with you face. It is definitely a huge help with communicating to the performers.

Just my personal opinion : All the flashy things might confuse me if I were marching, and it would be possible to get a little lost at times.

As a drum major I Think it is all really cool. It's been said before, your contrast between your BIGS and your smalls could be more, but you know that =)

Awesome man, i also loved it when the Cadets did WSS too. Loved it =D

[Xx4zNb01xX]

Hey Lawrence, hope to compete with you again in Field Open in the upcoming season again! When I watch this performance it still continues to amaze me, seriously!

[bharmony]

Hi My name is Brandon and I'm the Head Drum Major for the University at Buffalo's "Thunder of the East" Marching Band. I must say that you've done an excellent job conducting. I do agree with the persons comments previous. (You do want to make sure you show more contrast between the softer parts. I do enjoy the leg lift! I use that sometimes too. It brings more definition to the particular section you want to emphasize. That section was very MAJESTIC and needed that sort of showmanship!

[laluenke]

haha, yeah i did start out a bit big. i knew it too. but i didnt want to suddenly change it. i think that wouldve been worse. my window is typically pretty big anyways, when im not conducting all quickly.

thank you for the comments! im glad you enjoyed it. do you have any vids i can check out??

[lx3g01]

You have a huge window.

In the beginning, try conducting smaller so there's more contrast towards the louder parts.

I love how confident you are in all your moves, it shows that you've got great left hand independence and that you've practiced.

[FSUfanOFtheBAND]

Ok all the smiling is freaking me out. I thought drum majors are sappose to look tough and all that jazz on like fast tempo songs.

[laluenke]

they can be that. its a matter of opinion and the song itself. i choose to communicate with my band via facials and express what i want from them/if they did it right.

[lx3g01]

I agree wholeheartedly!

I LOVE facial expressions lol i freak my band out in the scary parts sometimes :P

[peaceloveandmusiic]

I used to think that, but I've changed my outlook in the past year or two. The best thing a drum major can do on the field is smile if it's going well. Obviously you're not going to put on a fake smile if the band is playing terribly and crashing into each other at a performance. Smiling and connecting with the band that way makes the members feel more confident. Just don't overdo it and scare them, like someone previously said. (:

[tubaking4801]

You do too much. I can't even see your pattern. You're conducting like its a dance routine. What you do you do well(minus the leg-lift(completly pointless)). But there's far too much never let your "tricks" become your pattern. It's confusing and very unnecessary.

[CuppyProductions]

I really like your style of conducting it is very cool looking, I'm not quite understanding the whole leg lifting thing but you look good with what you're doing. We learned not to conduct so high up due to fatigue happening and the only reason we conduct with the shoulder is for visual because we only have one Drum major (me) at my school, a rather small band. Idk, but I am guessing you are from a bigger school granted you are in CA.