Getting promoted to principal is exciting and slightly terrifying. Suddenly the players behind you are watching your bow for entrances, your shoulders for breaths, and your face for tempo. I remember my first rehearsal as a section principal and how completely unprepared I was for the responsibility of being read instead of just reading. Here is what I wish I’d known on day one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Section players follow the principal’s bow more than the conductor’s baton. Your upbow lift before an entrance is the signal that brings the section in. Practice exaggerating that lift just slightly until it feels natural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lift should be timed to the beat before the entrance, not the beat of the entrance itself. That gives the section a moment to breathe with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The best principals I have played behind move their whole upper body with the music. A subtle forward lean before a forte entrance, a small shoulder rise before a pianissimo passage, an inhale before a phrase begins. Your section reads all of it whether you know it or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You are now a visual leader. Stand and sit accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your part is also the master copy. Bowings, fingerings on tricky shifts, dynamic clarifications, division markings. Mark them clearly enough that any section player could read your part and understand exactly what’s happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Use a specific colored pencil for bowings versus dynamics so people know what is structural versus interpretive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Quick glances over your shoulder before tricky entrances are powerful. They tell your section you’re with them and ready. But staring makes people nervous. The principal who turns around and locks eyes for too long rattles a section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A quick glance, a small nod, then back to the music. That is the rhythm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of leadership happens in the break, not during the rehearsal. Talk to your section about questions before they become issues. Ask the back stand if they can see your bow. Ask the second stand if your bowings make sense. Treat your section like collaborators because they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A great principal makes the section feel safer, not watched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Join 31,000+ string players leveling up their orchestral career.<\/p>\nGet the Free Guide<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Ethan Kim is the founder of Orchestra Kingdom<\/a>, helping string players win auditions and move up in their sections. Follow him on Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, and YouTube<\/a> for daily tips.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" New principals often struggle with cueing. Here’s how to lead a section visually so everyone enters together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-section-leadership"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=317"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":347,"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317\/revisions\/347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}