Concert Band

This 35 page music theory book is perfect for beginning band, orchestra or choir in middle school. Students will learn treble, bass, and viola clef lines and spaces as well as note reading skills, and an understanding of basic rhythms and time signatures, 4/4, 3/4 and 2/4. Unit assessment and teacher key is included.

This book can be used for anyone who is learning the basics of music reading. However, I wrote this for the specific purpose of getting all of my beginning 6th grade students on the same page before starting Concert Band or Orchestra. I teach both middle school band and orchestra, and my sixth grade beginners are always in different places. The purpose of this 35 page book is to have a crash course in general music theory and music reading before we start playing instruments out of the method books.

I wrote this book to accommodate beginning band, orchestra or choir students, and every musical concept can be explored in treble, bass or viola clef. This makes for a great foundational resource that gives common ground to any middle school music student, no matter which music class they are in. I also wrote this to be simple, basic and easy to understand. This book is not meant to be a course to master music theory. Rather, it is “learning before the learning”, so all students are off to a great start in middle school music.

The goal for this resource is to give every one of your music students the knowledge of the staff, clefs, notes and rhythms that they will see when starting their method books or concert music in beginning band, orchestra or choir. Be sure to print this book out for all of your students so they can follow along, as most pages have exercises as well as lessons and information. They can always refer back to this book as a resource throughout the year. Give students the unit test at the end to truly assess their understanding.

This product comes with 15 method books for every instrument in a beginning concert band. Included are 24 beginning songs with a guided curriculum showing students everything from the first notes and rhythms they should learn in the first quarter of concert band. There are also four cumulative “play tests” included at the end of each of the four units. This is about 8 weeks or one quarter (one week per student page) of beginning concert band curriculum.

In these books, students will learn five different notes, as well as the basic rhythms in a 4/4 time signature. Also, a fingering chart is provided each time a new note is introduced. The book is complete with terms, symbols, definitions and illustrations. The conductor’s book includes full arrangements of every piece as well as helpful guidelines to show what students see in their books.

Also, every piece in the book has a corresponding YouTube video with a play-along track on the Early Ensembles YouTube channel! Just scan the QR code to listen/play along.

Here is a full breakdown of every concept covered in these books:

• Five notes – concert Bb, C, D, Eb and F
• Whole notes, half notes, quarter notes (eighth notes for percussion)
• Whole rests, half rests, quarter rests
• Multiple measure rests
• Breath marks
• Repeats
• Slurs
• 4/4/common time
• Definition of scale, melody and accompaniment
• Common beginning percussion terms – Right and Left, buzz roll, percussion instrumentation, mallet finger chart included

Here is a list of all the books included in this product:

• Conductor/teacher’s Book
• Flute
• Oboe
• Clarinet
• Bass Clarinet
• Alto Sax
• Tenor Sax
• Bari Sax
• Bassoon
• Trumpet
• French Horn
• Baritone/Euphonium
• Trombone
• Tuba
• Percussion

This product includes full music method books for Quarter 2 of beginning Concert Band. Included are a full 16 exercises and songs for beginning band, as well as four full pieces for a beginning winter band concert. This product assumes students know everything from the Quarter 1 Early Ensembles Band Curriculum (available on my store). See below for a full breakdown of all products included in this quarter two bundle:

16 Songs and Exercises for Beginning Band Quarter 2:

This product comes with 15 method books for every instrument in a beginning concert band. Included are 16 beginning songs and exercises with a guided curriculum showing students everything from the first notes and rhythms they should learn in the first quarter of concert band. There are also two cumulative “play tests” included at the end of each of the four units. This is about 4 weeks of curriculum for beginning band quarter 2. This product assumes students know everything from Quarter 1 of the Early Ensembles Method Books (available on my store).

In these books, students will review five different notes, as well as the basic rhythms in a 4/4 time signature. Two new notes are also introduced as an extension from quarter 1 (concert A and concert G). Also, a fingering chart is provided each time a new note is introduced. The book is complete with terms, symbols, definitions and illustrations. The conductor’s book includes full arrangements of every piece as well as helpful guidelines to show what students see in their books.

Also, every piece in the book has a corresponding YouTube video with a play-along track on the Early Ensembles YouTube channel! Just scan the QR code to listen/play along.

Here is a full breakdown of every concept covered in these books:

• Seven notes – concert Bb, C, D, Eb and F – A and G are new
• Whole notes, half notes, quarter notes (eighth notes for percussion)
• Whole rests, half rests, quarter rests
• Multiple measure rests
• Breath marks
• Repeats
• Slurs
• 4/4/common time
• Definition of a Round and Dynamics
• Piano, Mezzo Piano, Mezzo Forte and Forte
• Common beginning percussion terms – Right and Left, buzz roll, percussion instrumentation, mallet finger chart included

Here is a list of all the books included in this product:

• Conductor/teacher’s Book
• Flute
• Oboe
• Clarinet
• Bass Clarinet
• Alto Sax
• Tenor Sax
• Bari Sax
• Bassoon
• Trumpet
• French Horn
• Baritone/Euphonium
• Trombone
• Tuba
• Percussion

Full Beginning Band Winter Concert (4 Beginning Band Pieces):

This “four piece – full concert bundle” includes a beginning, first year band concert arrangement of Ode to Jingle Bells (a mash-up of Ode to Joy and Jingle Bells), Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel, and Rockin’ Holiday Jam! (an original composition). These sheet music arrangements are all full concert band compositions for all beginning brass, woodwind and percussion students, and are written for the beginning concert band student’s first concert performance.

These arrangements are in concert Bb Major, and use one octave of the Bb Major scale. This music is written and arranged to only include techniques for the first year concert band student. Included in this product are:

Ode to Jingle Bells full arrangement

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas full arrangement

Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel full arrangement

Rockin’ Holiday Jam! full arrangement

The conductor scores

Flute parts

Oboe parts

Clarinet in Bb parts

Bass Clarinet in Bb parts

Alto Sax parts

Tenor Sax parts

Bari Sax parts

Bassoon parts

Trumpet in Bb parts

Horn in F parts

Baritone/Euphonium parts

Trombone parts

Tuba parts

Snare Drum parts

Tenor Drum parts

Triangle parts

Bass Drum parts

Shaker parts

Hi Hat parts

Woodblock parts

Glockenspiel parts

Xylophone/Mallets parts

QR code to scan and listen to play-along tracks

Terminologies, symbols and lessons are included on the sheet music

These are four pieces from the Early Ensembles Beginning Concert Band Curriculum. 

This is everything you need to teach a full semester of beginning, year one concert band. This bundle comes with easy-to-use products for giving a pre-post test, teaching basic beginning music theory knowledge, 50+ scaffolded songs and exercises with a guided curriculum (student books for all instruments, and conductor’s score), four full concert pieces for the students’ first performance, and play-along audio tracks for every piece of music in the curriculum.

Everything in this curriculum is easy for students to understand, and no new concepts are introduced without explanation of every musical term, symbol and concept. I am so incredibly excited to be able to offer this full semester bundle for beginning concert band! Read below for a full breakdown of all the exciting products included in this full semester mega bundle!

Quarter 1 Method Books

Quarter 2 Method Books

Full Winter Holiday Concert of 4 Pieces

I Can Read Music! Book and Assessment

Pre/Post Test for Year 1, Beginning Concert Band