Some conductor's batons I made this year. I got started when a girl asked me if I could make a graduation present for her boyfriend, graduating as a band director. How much? No charge if you come, pick out the wood and try your hand at turning. This way you have a personal connection and can tell him you helped make it. She liked that.
I didn't get a photo of the first one, holly shaft with a cocobolo handle with orange, red, and black. I made some more after that:
From left to right they are
- Kingwood handle, holly shaft
- Dogwood, one piece
- Cocobolo handle, green holly shaft
- Argentine Lignum vitae handle, dogwood shaft
The one on the right is a sturdy "tapping baton" made to withstand tapping out time on the music stand, with a drumstick end. Good for working with kids!
I did some research first on length, handle size and diameter, weight, and balance and looked at a lot of pictures. Most had cylindrical rods glued into the handle. I didn't see any with the shaft tapered to meet the curve of the handle so I decided to make mine like that.
I turned a few several years ago. After the first one, I asked a conductor, and found out that there was a lot more to them than just the shape. In addition to the parmeters you mention, They need to be light weight, so you can easily put too much weight in the handle. I wonder if the shape of the transition between handle and shaft is also important, maybe to make it easier to find the balance point? I didn't show him any like yours and didn't ask him.
Something else that is important is the color of the shaft: white for a dark concert hall; black for outdoors in the sunlight. (The orchestra needs to be able to see it.)
Depending on the conductor, don't put too much effort into the tapping baton. I've seen at least one conductor lose his temper and shatter the staff.
One of the guys in our club is a music teacher/woodturner, and he makes and uses them. For him, it is also super critical to have the balance point be right where the ball is, since you don't hold them "very hard"
Look at making a string rest if you plan to make more.
Yea I made several only to find out that conductors are really really picky about what they like. They accepted mine of course but they sit on a shelf. Everything everyone said above is accurate. They have a definite preference for balance, length, and color.
I appreciate the ideas and advice for me but it simply doesn't matter.
Mine are made for fun, for art, and for the turning experience. They are not for sale and I have no intention of making any for sale unless someone begs.
If you want to make your own and sell them you might consider more research than asking one conductor.
I discovered there probably are as many preferred styles, dimensions and balance points as there are professional conductors. Some have very specific requirements so the best thing is to custom make each one after interviewing the conductor and if possible, examine his existing a baton he likes.
The baton maker I learned the most from would fly to Europe or wherever to meet with the conductor. His reputation was wide. I suspect his batons were not cheap!
Much depends on what the conductor is used to, so for the beginner you can make a variety and let them pick. That's what the commercial suppliers do. Most people will simply go to a web site or supplier and buy a one off the rack for $35, fiberglass shaft painted white.
For the experienced, the conducting style makes a huge difference. Some want a stiff shaft and some want flex. Some want the balance point an exact distance from the end or at the junction or further away. Some want very light weight and some want mass. Handle shape is an important preference. Some want short, delicate "finger" batons; one story is of a guy who would only use a huge staff!
And I am well aware of the reasons for specific shaft color - I spent many years on the orchastra side of the baton in a variety of lighting conditions. The background of the venue is an important variable.
The important thing to remember is for the pro, one size definately does not fit all. For the inexperienced, anything may do but you probably won't get rich selling them.
Oh, the conductor who violently smashes batons regularly will learn to specify a fiberglass or other industructable shaft or keep spares! There is at least one company that sells "tapping" batons are like the one I showed, perhaps to middle school band directors.
> Everything everyone said above is accurate. They have
> a definite preference for balance, length, and color.
I agree. That's one reason I made these for fun rather than for use.
Turning the long, thin shaft from light weight wood was more challenging than other thin shafts, perhaps because the lack of inertia from rotating mass.
One in particular gave me fits. Even my sharpest "mild" skew caused horrible vibration and that was with my best left hand steady rest technique. I found joy using one of my small cabinet scrapers for smoothing.
I never intended to make any for sale either. After I talked to our local orchestra conductor, I realized the ones I could make might be good for some purpose, but probbly not for conducting. In one of their fund raising events, a public classical music radio station in our area was giving batons to doners at some "level" higher than a coffee mug, so the donors could "conduct" along with the music on the radio. I just hope no one tried it while driving.
I've made several for two different professional conductors. Both like the balance point right at the end of the grip so that if you let go entirely, it will continue to sit on your finger. They both like the very thin, flexible ones, 14 and 15 inches total length. Getting the balance point right is the most difficult part for me; the taper on the shaft is much like turning any other long finial - advancing it through the headstock to a chuck works well.
The most interesting one incorporated a cork grip for rehearsing opera - an all day affair. It came very close to weighing nothing at all!
