Basic Music Theory: How to Read, Write, and Understand Written Music

Interlude: Conducting

Eye contact is a double-edged sword. It won’t matter how fiercely the

conductor looks at the musicians, or how flamboyantly his or her arms

wave if the musicians don’t look up from their music. Ever wonder why

choirs memorize their music?

Conducting Patterns

The right arm gives each beat in each measure. Each meter has a different

pattern for the right arm. The first one you’ll learn is the most common

pattern, the one for 4/4 time.

Each diagram that you see is given from the conductor’s point of view.

You’ll get the right movement if you simply trace the pattern in the air.

With all patterns, beat one is always given straight down. Your arm is out

in front of you and travels from the level of your head down to the level

of your chest.

Be sure to make each beat obvious. Do this by giving a small sharp

bounce with the hand on each beat.

It takes a little practice to make each pattern look natural, so keep at it.

You can learn a lot by watching other conductors, and you might notice

that the more accomplished the conductor, the more difficult it will be to

determine exactly which pattern he or she is using. Call it creative

license.

Example 27.1 The conducting pattern for 4/4 time.

beat 2 beat 1 beat 4 beat 3

starting point ending point