When conductors in academic institutions are required to teach a course or private lessons in conducting, they most often resort to their own training and recycle the ideas and methods of their own teachers. Over time it is typical for them to try new approaches and techniques, to discover and implement new resources and literature, and to develop their own personal conducting pedagogy.

Through an examination of conducting texts as well as current conducting course syllabi from various American universities and colleges, some conclusions about current conducting pedagogical practices can be drawn. After consideration of the material and a summary of current practice, this paper presents several sample syllabi and a description of the process for teaching a basic conducting class. These materials serve as a model for the approach that could be taken by the readers in the development of their own personal conducting pedagogy.