Usage
The baton is usually held in the right hand though some left-handed conductors hold it in the left (young left-handed conductors are sometimes encouraged to learn right-handed). The usual way of holding the baton is between the thumb and the first two fingers with the grip in against the palm of the hand.
(Some conductors like Pierre Boulez, Leopold Stokowski and Dimitri Mitropoulos, however, choose not to hold a baton, preferring to conduct only with their hands. This method is common with smaller groups and choral conductors.)
Conductors view their gestures as the primary means to communicate musical ideas, whether or not they choose to use batons. Leonard Bernstein is quoted as saying 'if one uses a baton, the baton itself must be a living thing, charged with a kind of electricity, which makes it an instrument of meaning in its tiniest movement. If the conductor does not use a baton, his hands must do the job with equal clarity. But baton or no baton, his gestures must be first and always meaningful in terms of the music'.
The first batons were in a narrow cone shape and had an engraving of three rings at the bottom of the cone. This indicated where you would put your hand. These batons were made out of wood.
Read more about this topic: Baton (conducting)
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