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Beginning Band and Strings

We create a complete curriculum series for beginning band and string students. Our curriculum includes: method books, theory supplements, rhythm drills, sight-reading exercises, and chorale studies. We also have several other supplemental products such as sheet music, reference sheets, duets, song sheets, and other worksheets aimed for the first and second-year musician.

Our Method Series

The Quarter Note Companion is a comprehensive instrumental music curriculum for first-year students. Our curriculum differs from the traditional method books because it solves the main problem with ensemble education: instrumental music students are rarely required to do higher-level thinking. The guiding research behind the curriculum is Bloom’s Taxonomy, which is an educational theory that divides educational tasks into six different levels based on complexity. A lower-level task requires less mastery of a subject, whereas a higher-level task requires complete mastery. The six levels are (from lowest to highest): Remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create. 

Instrumental music teachers spend most of their time teaching “apply” and “remember” tasks and the top three tasks are rarely taught. By not asking students to analyze, evaluate, and create, we are not requiring students to do any higher-level thinking. This creates students that are merely capable of applying remembered fingerings and notation symbols. The Quarter Note Companion Method Book series reinforces all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy and specifically targets analyzing, evaluating, and creating tasks.

The Quarter Note Companion is a comprehensive instrumental music curriculum for first-year students. Our curriculum differs from the traditional method books because it solves the main problem with ensemble education: instrumental music students are rarely required to do higher-level thinking. The guiding research behind the curriculum is Bloom’s Taxonomy, which is an educational theory that divides educational tasks into six different levels based on complexity. A lower-level task requires less mastery of a subject, whereas a higher-level task requires complete mastery. The six levels are (from lowest to highest): Remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create. 

Instrumental music teachers spend most of their time teaching “apply” and “remember” tasks and the top three tasks are rarely taught. By not asking students to analyze, evaluate, and create, we are not requiring students to do any higher-level thinking. This creates students that are merely capable of applying remembered fingerings and notation symbols. The Quarter Note Companion Method Book series reinforces all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy and specifically targets analyzing, evaluating, and creating tasks.

Our method is divided into five books to create a well-rounded musician.

  1. Method Book: teaches unison etudes designed at targeting new notes, symbols, and concepts
  2. Theory Supplement: reinforces what is being taught on the instrument in a written format
  3. Rhythm Drills: solely focuses on rhythms
  4. Sight-Reading: develops stronger instant note identification skills
  5. Chorale Studies: teaches balance, blend, part-importance, and intonation

About Us

Our goal is that each student leaves the classroom happier than when they arrived. We strive to create kid-friendly resources and a team-first, non-competitive environment, in which ensemble success is the ultimate goal.

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