Composer vs Conductor: Difference and Comparison

Composers and conductors can both be related to music. They find it hard to get one another; at worst, both can be open warfare and disdain. Therefore, the more popular a conductor becomes, the more he wishes to limit his associations to one type of composer.

Key Takeaways

1. A composer is a musician who creates and writes music, while a conductor is a musician who leads and directs a group of performers during a musical performance.
2. Composers work independently, while conductors collaborate with performers to interpret and bring the composer’s work to life.
3. While composers are responsible for creating and arranging the music, conductors are responsible for setting the performance’s tempo, dynamics, and mood and coordinating the performers’ efforts.

Composer vs Conductor

A composer arranges and writes music for bands, films, television or orchestra. A conductor leads the musical batch during recordings or performances. Conductors are responsible for interpreting the composer’s score and bringing the music to life through the musicians’ performance.

A music composer is a person who expresses their work in the form of a written musical score utilizing musical notation. He directs the music and arranges lyric count for anything that needs a soundtrack.

The count must be technically suitable for flawless musicians, instrumental ensembles, or choruses performances.

On the other hand, a conductor is a person who directs a chorus, an orchestra, a ballet, an Opera Company, or any different musical batch in a performance. At the most basic level, a conductor stresses the melodious pulse to make all the performers follow the same musical rhythm.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Composer	Conductor
Definition	Write and arrange musical compositions in various styles.	Select musical pieces to perform in concerts and places
Training	No specific training is required.	Need professional guidance.
Working Environment	They might work in studios, their place, or an office.	Spend most of their time travelling for performances.
Working genres	All genres.	All genres, excluding rock.
Connection with lyricists	May works with lyricists when composing lyrics for a song.	He has nothing to do with a lyricist. Works entirely on instrumental pieces.

What is Composer?

A composer makes original music by creating notes into concertos, musical accompaniments for TV shows and movies, and songs. Professional composers have a history of performing as a player in an orchestra, a singer in a choir, or a performer on an instrument.

They might rearrange existing music compositions into new ones for various instrument collections. A composer is specialized in many styles like rock, jazz, or classical.

Many composers work with playwrights or lyricists to make musical compositions, while few turn trainers into educational institutions.

Composers merging with others might own standard work schedules, while the self-workers set their working hours. You don’t need to have any prior education for composing music.

A composer can search for a job by recording their composition and showing them to singers, bands, production companies, agents, etc.

All composers need is music talent, continuity for submitting music compositions, discipline to sharpen their skills, and interacting skills as a performer.

Many composers also work as freelancers. The workflow for such composers is pretty unpredictable. They might focus on learning about various music styles and work on musical instrument(s).

During busy hours they might work for hours and weeks with undivided attention to meet the agents’ deadlines.

What is Conductor?

Conductors are considered to be a bit eccentric extroverts. He uses prominent instruments to unite a group’s sense of beat, feel, and tempo. Also, conductors are bound by various protocols to that of a choir.

The demands and expectations from a conductor diversify with the performers’ abilities they direct.

They lead the group in the centre and front in full display, moving their hands around in a rhythm to direct the performers. Their gestures convey energy, emotions, and dynamics to the group and the audience they’re performing for.

A music conductor possesses several skills. He owns an ear to hear the overall music of the band. He also reads and analyzes orchestra and quickly comprehends music from the music sheet.

In technical terms, a conductor has a clear pattern of beats that can modify to provide clear upbeats. For a 3-beat design, a conductor moves its baton or hand in a triangle motion, while for a 4-beat pattern, the movement is a bit more complex.

A successful conductor brings out the best music from the performers and encourages and guides them through any dynamic change smoothly.

Main Differences Between Composer and Conductor

1.  A composer is someone who writes original pieces of music, while a conductor is someone who directs the music piece created by the composer.
2. A composer can work as a freelancer or work for a music company. As a conductor, they solely work as performers under music companies or agents.
3. No prior educational qualification is needed to be a composer. As for a conductor, proper training is required.
4. A composer can compose music for all genres- from classical to rock. At the same time, a conductor works on the classical music genre and primarily excludes the rock genre from its list.
5. A composer meets with musical groups, orchestras, and people interested in commissioning their musical pieces. On the other hand, a conductor attends meetings with fundraisers and potential donors.

References

1. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ipnrAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=conductors+and+composers&ots=Zu881FDS6H&sig=GK9-Y2ZUfxbmlOnuZnsJhQSvKPQ
2. https://www.jstor.org/stable/765701