Simple meter patterns are basic fundamentals in conducting technique. Legibility and clarity are key issues in beating the time patterns with each beat having a special place in the various patterns. Before working basic patterns, there are two essential techniques in developing a repertoire of gestures that are prime importance. These two gestures are the execution of preparatory beats, ending the sound, and the cut-off beat, ending the sound. These movements function in similar ways in that they both do a number of the same things. They both address the actual sound, one at the beginning, the other at the end.