system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: The conductor in classical music

I don't get the point of him standing there guiding the music with his *item that you can tell me the real name of* when the majority of the band is reading sheet music the whole time. How does it help the band?
gpt
Sheet music doesn't keep track of the beat. When the orchestra is large, the back row might be out of sync with the front row and everyone might have an interpretation of how the music should be played. To avoid anyone being out of sync everyone look at one person's direction instead. (In very large theaters there might even be a second person copying exactly what the conductor is doing, he is not in the orchestra pit but on the balcony so the back row can see him). Also many music pieces involve different sections playing at different times, the conductor will remind the orchestra who should be playing by gesturing towards that section.