The first basic technique Gann taught students was to watch anniversary dates with past market tops and bottoms for a change in trend. When it came to shorter term analysis of time, Gann devised a system of counting off time in solar degrees of a year from past market tops and bottoms. He counted divisions of the year in eighths and thirds. When clusters of time counts from past tops and bottoms highlighted a future date, that date was significant for a reversal of trend.