Who's at the Helm?

I love watching rowers in action. I had considered going out for crew in college, until I learned that practices were at 5:00am. At that hour, splashing up and down the Hudson River was not my idea of a good time.

What keeps the rowers in sync is the coxswain, belting out commands and steering the boat too (I think!?).

Tonight, our little ship of musicians had string sectionals without our coxswain at the helm, i.e., NO conductor. This was a rather refreshing change of pace. For me, I found I had to listen much more carefully to my fellow players for tempo, timing and blend. Our initial attempts sounded a bit scattered, but we quickly got in sync and had a very productive workout.