Compared with the long-standing traditions of instrumental teaching the teaching of conducting is in its infancy. However, musicians in ever-increasing numbers are realising that a conducting technique can be learned. I'm not talking of course about the mere business of 'beating time' and the various patterns, although these will necessarily be a part of it. An effective conducting technique should enable you to convey your musical intentions to the players by gesture, not by making a speech. By this means the conductor should be able to affect every aspect of the music - overall sound, dynamics, texture and rubato.

I can't stress enough that this technique is applicable to all orchestras - amateur, professional, youth and school ensembles. Indeed, it is the school and youth orchestras which really need the help and inspiration that a good conductor can bring. We all know that a professional orchestra is capable of playing well despite the conductor and the following week they're likely to have someone else anyway. School, youth and amateur orchestras are stuck with their conductors, good or bad, week in week out - and often for years.

There is a widespread misconception that if someone plays an instrument well it automatically qualifies them to conduct. If this principle were applied in reverse the results would be all too apparent; a player with a rudimentary technique is unlikely to volunteer to play the Brahms Concerto. An orchestra will always 'bale out' an inadequate conductor because they want to play well, but how much better that they should play because of rather than despite what we do.

I don't propose to embark upon a verbal description of conducting technique (I always found those conducting text books with descriptions and diagrams rather confusing) but there are some principles which can be outlined:

1. The physical action does not start with the arms, it starts with the breath. The arms and hands basically make visible what is going on in the breathing.
2. The baton, like the bow, is an instrument and needs to be used to communicate the music. There is a big difference between conducting holding a baton and conducting using one.
3. The left hand is not for 'cueing' or for duplicating the right, but should reinforce what is being shown with the baton. It does not have to move to do this.
4. As with an instrumental technique the basis is economy of movement.

There is obviously much more to it than this but it's fair to say that given normal coordination, it is by far the easiest musical skill to assimilate. More and more enlightened local authorities are running day courses for their instrumental teachers and ensemble conductors. Those who come to the conductors' courses at Canford Summer School of Music (these are open to any musician at whatever level) find themselves possessed of a workable technique at the end of two weeks. Our responsibility as conductors, no matter how humble the setting, is awe-inspiring: we have it within our hands to help or to hinder, to inspire or to bore our players. If the players are young we have the capacity to turn them on or off music for the rest of their lives. In conducting, as in everything else, talent cannot be taught - but technique can, and for those of us who realise we are not Furtwangler or Toscanini a little technique won't go amiss. Our players will be eternally grateful.

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• Case Study 1 - David Beaman, Professional Orchestral Player

• Case Study 2 - Amanda Rupp, Professional Teacher

• Case Study 3 - Paul Jenkins, Scientist and Musician, Leicester.

After a number of years without having a lesson I wanted an expert's critical opinion of my conducting. Denise Ham immediately seized upon the good points and gave invaluable advice on what improvements could be worked on.

Denise came highly recommended to me and I too would strongly advise those who are truly serious about increasing their conducting skills to seek her tuition.

David Beaman, Professional Orchestral Player

As a music teacher, at a secondary school with thriving extra curricular activities, conducting forms an integral part of my role.

My conducting lessons with Denise have been invaluable. From a technical perspective, learning to connect my breathing to my conducting has given me greater freedom of movement and has increased my confidence.  This, in turn, has had a significant effect in practice.  In particular, I have noticed an improvement in the responsiveness of the orchestra and in the quality and type of sound produced.

I feel that the development of formal conducting techniques is as relevant to teachers wanting to establish a basic foundation for use at schools, as it is to professional conductors wanting to perfect their skills.

Amanda Rupp, Professional Teacher

"I find Denise Ham to be marvellously analytical in her approach to teaching."

My Background

In my school days I took music to Ordinary level standard, I also played bass in the National Youth Orchestra of Wales and Glamorgan Youth Orchestras. Some 15 years ago I changed to playing cello to play quartets and the sonata repertoire.  I had always been interested in the full score of the music I played in orchestras, but it took a long time before I had the confidence to conduct.  In 2002 I took two 10 week conducting courses in Leicester with Mr Andrew Constantine a pupil of Ilya Musin and now assistant conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra USA.  At the end of these courses in April 2003 I became musical director of the Leicester Co-operative Male Voice Choir.  In June 2004 I started The Knighton Chamber Orchestra and we gave our first concert at the end of June (2004).

The Canford Conducting Course

I was keen that the players and singers that I conduct should recognise that I have learned conducting from expert teachers and so I attended the Canford Conducting course.  Denise Ham taught the group on the course.  During the week I also took two private half hour lessons with Denise.

Lesson 1 with Denise Ham, 30 minutes.

This lesson concentrated on taking up an appropriate position when raising the baton to conduct.  Denise observed that I tend to push my right arm too far away which adversely affects the line of communication to the players and its integration with the eyes.  I also tend to have my arm too high.  These points were accurately diagnosed and by the end of the lesson I felt comfortable with the correct position of my arm.  We also covered the hold of the baton.

The overall message of the lesson was the importance of using the baton correctly to communicate the music to the players.

Lesson 2, 30 minutes.

In the second lesson Denise made a list of 'Personal Watch Points' to help me progress.

We also covered some key points from the first movement of Mozart Symphony Number 29

The conclusion to this lesson was that the stance and smooth controlled movement of the right arm is vital to the transmission of one message to the players.

Lesson Three, One Hour

Since the end of the Canford course I had been practising conducing for about 30 minutes each day, following the two DVD's produced by Denise.  Also I started to video my rehearsals with the male voice choir.  In this lesson, Denise diagnosed that I tend to flick the beat which leads to a reverse in its natural momentum. Instead of having a smooth pendulum-like movement of the arm I flick the arm, arrive at the end of the swing too early and have to wait for the next beat.  This leads to rhythmical instability in all my conducting.  This was a tough lesson to learn that even after a lot of work I was still missing such a fundamental point.  However, Denise devised a series of exercises, which I have done every day since the lesson and I believe that I am establishing a natural momentum in all the beating patterns. This has produced far better rhythmical stability in my conducting. The importance of a balanced stance was also stressed and the idea of conducting with the whole body.

Further work was done on each movement of Mozart Symphony Number 29 and some comments were also made on the first movement of Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola.

The major objective is to remove the uncontrolled "flick" from my conducting.  It was interesting to observe a range of student conductors on a course of the Association of British Choral Directors in Exeter University; there were several cases of the "flick" which lead to unstable rhythm in all cases.

I find Denise Ham to be marvellously analytical in her approach to teaching.  The key problems are quickly diagnosed and effective remedies are devised to solve the particular problems of individual students.

Paul Jenkins, Scientist and Musician, Leicester.