e it is generally the weakest part of the
measure.

3. In three- and four-beat measures, the beats are so
planned that there is never any danger of the hands
colliding in conducting vigorous movements that call for the
use of the free hand as well as the one holding the baton.

4. In compound measures the secondary accent is marked by a
beat almost as strong as that given the primary accent.

[Sidenote: NUMBER OF BEATS DETERMINED BY TEMPO]

The fact that a composition is in 4-4 measure does not necessarily
mean that every measure is to be directed by being given four actual
beats, and one of the things that the conductor must learn is when to
give more beats and when fewer.

If the tempo is very rapid, the 4-4 measure will probably be given
only two beats, but in an _adagio_ movement, as, _e.g._, the first
part of the _Messiah_ overture, it may be necessary to beat eight for
each measure in order to insure rhythmic continuity. There are many
examples of triple measure in which the movement is so rapid as to
make it impracticable to beat three in a measure, and the conductor is
therefore content merely to give a down-beat at the beginning of each
measure; waltzes are commonly conducted by giving a down-beat for the
first measure, an up-beat for the second, _et cetera_; a six-part
measure in rapid tempo receives but two beats; while 9-8 and 12-8 are
ordinarily given but three and four beats respectively.

It is not only annoying but absolutely fatiguing to see a conductor go
through all manner of contortions in trying to give a separate beat to
each pulse of the measure in rapid tempos; and the effect upon the
performers is even worse than upon the audience, for a stronger
rhythmic reaction will always be stimulated if the rhythm is felt in
larger units rather than in smaller ones. But on the other hand, the
tempo is sometimes so very slow that no sense of continuity can be
aroused by giving only one beat for each pulse; hence, as already
noted, it is often best to give _double_ the number of beats indicated
by the measure sign. In general, these two ideas may be summarized in
the following rule: _As the tempo becomes more rapid, decrease the
number of beats; but as it becomes slower, increase the number, at the
same time elaborating the beat so as to express more tangibly the idea
of a steady forward movement._

By carefully studying the second series of figures given on pages 2