The Conductor

	In lieu of an instrument, the conductor has a baton. It's smaller than a piccolo but more powerful than a tuba!

Depending on the music, the conductor will have a regular pattern for the beat, most commonly a 2-, 3-, or 4-beat pattern.
Of course, there are other gestures for cuing entrances, changing dynamics, shaping the sound, etc.
These diagrams are for teaching conducting, and so they are from the conductor's perspective, not that of the orchestra.

~ FURTHER READING ~

The 1974 Nebraska Music Educators Association's convention and clinic was held in Scottsbluff
(at the opposite end of the state from the population centers of Omaha and Lincoln).
Per tradition, the weekend culminated with a concert by the All-State Chorus, Band, and Orchestra.
These consisted of the best high school musicians in the state (or at least the best ones who auditioned).
Ed Down traveled all the way from Lawrence, Kansas to record the perfomances.
(That was also a tradition back then!)   This is the album from the Orchestra's portion.

The conductor was Clarence "Cy" Drichta from the St. Louis area. Here is his bio sketch from the album notes.
I liked the way he, a violinist, referred to the violin section as "the fiddles."

Thanks to training by Vernon Forbes from the University Of Nebraska faculty,
and as a result of him listening to the [anonymouly labeled] audition tapes,
I was privileged to be one of only six trombonists selected from the state.

Here is the way conductor Drichta autographed my copy of the album.

The coordinator of orchestra activities signed it also.

When I got to college, at first I majored in music education.
The guy my sister was dating was majoring in engineering.
I asked him, "So, you are studying to be an engineer?"
To his "Yes," I replied, "I'm studying to be a conductor.
Maybe we'll end up working on the same train!"