Dear Colleagues,

Keeping in mind that the most beautiful, expressive gestures have no effect if the young musicians aren't watching - here's a checklist of some gesture fundamentals.

1. Conduct high enough for everyone to see, and keep your music stand low enough so it doesn't get in the way.
   
   
2. If you use a baton, deliver your gesture at its tip, not with your hand (with the baton coming along for the ride). Check this is by sticking the baton's tip into a soft eraser and conducting; the difference will immediately become apparent.
   
   
3. There should only be one focal point in your beat; make sure that your arm, forearm, and wrist are not all moving separately, and that no stray fingers are sticking out.
   
   
4. Do not "mirror" conduct (conduct a pattern with both arms at the same time). While it may sometimes be needed to pull together playing that has become ragged, most directors mirror conduct because they have not developed arm independence. Students who do look up will stop looking if they see this kind of gesture. What's more, expressive gestures made by directors who routinely mirror conduct can hardly be distinguished from the general waving about, and will rarely generate a response.
   
   
5. The size of your beat should express the dynamic you're conducting - larger for louder, smaller for softer. When the music is soft, conduct higher.
   
   
6. Make sure that the architecture of your pattern is crystal clear; vertical beats up and down, horizontal beats side to side. Remember that musicians simply cannot play or sing musically if they don't know where the beat is.
   
   
7. Indicate ONE clearly, especially at changes of tempo, meter, and mood, and in complex rhythmic passages. Musicians just love a clear ONE.
   
   

   Friendly Reminder: Be sure to teach your students the skill of watching, and insist that they do. Otherwise, skip this Tip.

   
   
8. Accelerate into the beat and decelerate out of it, but don't push your arm; it should feel like a pendulum.
   
   
9. Be aware that musicians play and sing off the speed of your arm; that's what shows them where the beats are and gives them the tempo - not hitting the ictus of every beat. You can prove this to yourself by swinging your arm around (with pulse) like a windmill - the students will have no trouble following you even though there's no standard beat pattern!
   
   
10. Think of the preparatory beat as being even more important than the beat that follows. Make sure it expresses the tempo, the dynamic, and the mood you want.
    
    
11. Do not hesitate between the preparatory beat and the beat itself. The speed of the preparatory beat tells musicians when to play on the next beat; pausing throws them off. Hesitating after the preparatory beat often comes from the fear that no one will play at the ictus; in fact, they rarely do - there is usually some delay. But this is as it should be because it allows the director to get ahead of the music.
    
    
12. Beat ahead of the music. I say again: beat ahead of the music. If you do (and if the musicians are watching), the students will see what you want in enough time to do it. Beating ahead also helps ensembles maintain tempo and play with a fuller sound.
    
    
13. Distinguish between beat and pulse; prioritize the pulse rather than the absolute number of beats in a measure and don't give more beats than are needed. For example, in a measure of half-notes, 2 should be more a preparation for 3 (and 4 a preparation for 1) than distinct beats in and of themselves.
    
    
14. This final item is the most important one in this Tip.
    
    

    Conduct the music, not the beat pattern.