A companion book to everyone's instrumental tutor.
A new book by Ros McMillan

This book is designed for beginning instrumentalists, current students and advanced players who would like to improvise and compose. A Score of Ideas can by used as a companion book to supplement instrumental tutor and band books. It will assist music teachers to help their students experience creative activities.

20 ideas to explore
Investigate concepts based on the fundamental elements of music:

• rhythm
• expression
• tempo
• dynamics
• pitch
• duration
• tone
• form
• phrasing
• articulation

20 performance activities to do

Each idea includes a practical performance activity, designed to help students experience the creative idea being explored.

Imagination, free play, creativity and self-expression – these forms of knowing are how we learn to experience and understand music in an intimate and personally satisfying way, to make sense of what we learn, and to acquire the types of understandings that provide the foundation for a lifelong joy for playing and participating in music.  A Score of Ideas encapsulates the very essence of what good music teaching practice is all about. I can think of no better music educator internationally to present these ideas than Ros McMillan, whose wonderfully ingenious suggestions are evident on every page of this important companion.

Gary McPherson
Ormond Professor and Head, School of Music The University of Melbourne

Download PDF printable brochure.

A great value repertoire collection including 23 original Australian band compositions for levels 1½ - 3.

• Styles include rock, blues, contemporary, rag, swing, hoe down, march and more.
• Full score includes all parts, program notes, fingering charts and performance instructions.
• Duration of pieces range from 1½ - 4 minutes with more than 1 hour of music.
• Additional band exercises, warm-ups and scales.
• Can be used as a repertoire book or as a continuation from Band Class 2.
• Handy quick reference fingering charts.
• Extra instrument parts for larger groups including 1st and 2nd books for flute, clarinet, alto sax, trumpet and trombone.
• Perfect for concerts.

Download the brochure.

Works by Australian composers:

Katy Abbott, Katy Addis, Martha Baartz, John Barrett, Taran Carter, Barry Cockcroft, Brendan Collins, Lachlan Davidson, Andrew Hackwill, Paul Marshall, Matthew Orlovich, John Peterson, Adam Pinto, Paul Witney

Separate books for:

Woodwinds: flute 1, flute 2, oboe, clarinet 1, clarinet 2, bass clarinet, bassoon, alto saxophone 1, alto saxophone 2, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone

Brass: trumpet 1, trumpet 2, French horn, trombone 1, trombone 2, euphonium, Eb/Bb tuba

Percussion: snare drum/bass drum, timpani, auxiliary percussion, mallet percussion

Others: piano, bass guitar, full score

Pricing:
Instrument books $19.95 (23 pieces on 48 pages)
Full score $49.95 (370 pages)

Download Free Recording
Conducted by Rob McWilliams
Rob McWilliams, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Music
Director of Bands & Instrumental Music Education
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Download the album (zip file 21 MP3 tracks - 52MB)

Sit back and listen to all tracks:

1. Sixenowt Andrew Hackwill
2. Queensland Jamn Lachlan Davidson
3. Piranha Paul Marshall
4. Red, Yellow and Blue Lachlan Davidson
5. Reminiscences Lachlan Davidson
6. Swingin’ Katy Addis
7. June Day Katy Abbott
8. Backyard Swing Lachlan Davidson
9. The Purple Penguin Martha Baartz
10. Circus Rondo Brendan Collins
11. Processional Katy Addis
12. Cha Cha Boom John Barrett
13. Tango Paul Witney
14. Flying Flynn Brendan Collins
15. The Wail Taran Carter
16. A Lane In Wales Lachlan Davidson
17. Eat My Shorts Dance John Barrett
18. On Crests of Waves John Peterson
19. Prelude Adam Pinto
20. Blow Down Barry Cockcroft
21. Big Cats Matthew Orlovich
22. Arrival of the Baby Elephant Matthew Orlovich
23. Hippopotamusic Matthew Orlovich

My Favourite Tutor Books for woodwind and brass.

With up to 180 of your favourite tunes,
this new series of books will help you learn your instrument,
develop solid technique and understand music theory.

Everything you need is in the music.
For more information, please select from the topics on the left.

Written by pianist/arranger Graeme Vendy, these piano accompaniments have been written to give a contemporary feel to the traditional tunes used in My Favourite Tutor Books.

Key Features

• introduction for every tune serves as a musical count-in.
• no page turns
• spiral bound to sit flat on the piano
• chord symbols included
• contemporary feel
• every tune has accompaniment
• 2CD play-along also available

Play-along 2CD
Digitally recorded from a Steinway D piano, these play-along CDs are for students to play with at home or for teachers who do not have access to a piano during lessons. Each tune has a musical introduction, so no count-ins are needed. There are 2 CDs for each tutor book and every single tune has an accompaniment. Students can quickly learn correct pitch, precise rhythm and harmonic awareness. CDs match exactly My Favourite Tutor Book piano accompaniment books.

Written by pianist/arranger Graeme Vendy, these piano accompaniments have been written to give a contemporary feel to the traditional tunes used in My Favourite Tutor Books.

Transposed to Match

Many of the tunes in My Favourite Tutor Books are tranposed to match the same tunes in the other books. A special fast find index at the start of each book enables you to quickly find which tunes match and where they are in the other books. This feature is especially useful where the teacher has mixed instruments in the same lesson. Teachers can use these books to comfortably teach the woodwind instruments together in the same lesson.

Similarliy, nearly all tunes for trumpet, trombone, euphonium & tuba match in transposition. French Horn matches more than half of the time. For teachers working in small groups or even small ensembles, these books provide and excellent way to teach and still have all students playing together at the the same time and in the same key!Many tunes also match between brass and woodwind. The fast find index is also useful for students who wish to play tunes with their friends on different instruments. They can quickly scan down the column of their friend's instrument and find all matches.

Special sections in all the books have been matched to provide groups of tunes that can be played together. The anthems, the christmas carols and the swing section match transposition in all of the books.

Australian Music

A key feature of My Favourite Tutor Books is the large number of Australian tunes found within the book. As Australian musicians, being familiar with the heritage of our musical culture is a valuable facet of our education. Some of the familiar tunes that can be found include: Advance Australia Fair, Walzting Matilda, Botany Bay, Bound for South Australia and the Wild Colonial Boy. Many other folk tunes from Australia and abroad are included.

Technical Work

Technical work is vital to the development of every musician. In My Favourite Tutor Books, all technical work is listed in the convenient reference section. This allows the teacher to introduce a scale at any time that is most appropriate for each individual student.

For convenience, the scales match popular exam requirements, offering a chance for the teacher to quietly prepare the student for future exams. Included are major and minor scales, major and minor apreggios, melodic minor scales and chromatic scales.

The tunes have been progessively ordered to ensure that thorough technical development takes place while playing the tunes. All you need is in the music! There is such a wide range of fun tunes, the technical development is subtly integrated into the book. There are extra fun, well known tunes for the difficult areas, such as the clarinet 'break'.

Fingering Charts

Two options are given for fingerings in My Favourite Tutor Books. Each time a new note is introduced, the fingering as well as the notation is given. Also included is a one or two page reference chart that includes all the fingerings, including optional chromatic fingerings.

Each fingering has been specially designed from musical characters giving a stylish look while remaining easy to read.

*alternative 4th valve for Eb & BBb tubas also included.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is different about My Favourite Tutor Books?

• Many of the tunes are transposed to match the other books in the series.
• A large number of Australian tunes have been included.
• The scales included at the back of the book match popular Australian exams.
• Great value - up to 80 pages, with up to 178 tunes.
• Larger font size at the start helps students with their reading early on.
• Piano accompaniment and play-along CDs for all tunes in the book.

2. Why are tunes transposed to match?

For students that share lessons, particularly with instruments in different keys, these books are ideal to allow the students to all play together. While not all the tunes match (read below), a good proportion match between each instrument. This is especially important for teaching in mixed group lessons. This is also especially usefull for concerts where two instruments would like to play together but are in different keys. A fast-find index at the start of each book makes it easy to find tunes that match transposition.

3. Are all the tunes transposed to match in all the book?

No. Some of the tunes are transposed to match some of the tunes in other books. If all the tunes were transposed to match, it would create learning compromises.

4. Do the books match AMEB exam requirements?

The books were not written specifically for the AMEB exams, however, they do contain many features that make them ideal for students preparing for AMEB exams. The books are divided into 3 sections that correspond approximately with the first 3 exam grades. You will find that the range and the concepts introduced can be closely linked with the exam requirements. All of the Italian words that are used in the tutorbooks are also found in the list pieeces. The scalesfound in the glossary also cover the requirements and can be introduced at the teachers discretion. Overall the books provide an excellent way to prepare students for exams without the student really being aware of it.

5. Is there a piano book?

The accompaniments are now available. They include a all the tunes from the tutor books. The book includes chords symbols and fully notated piano parts. Written in a more contemporary style by pianist and arranger Graeme Vendy, the piano part greatly enhances the traditional tunes used in My Favourite Tutor Books. There are also CD play-alongrecordings of all the piano parts for each tutor book.

6. Why are there no explanations about setting up the instrument, embochure and music theory?

My Favourite Tutor Books are designed to taught by a teacher. Each teacher wants to explain things in their own way and each student needs to hear things in a way that they can understand. The books have been purposely designed to be uncluttered to mimimise confusion for new students. This also allows teachers to teach in their own way.

7. Are the books progressive?

Absolutley. Each tune has been specially selected to be both entertaining for the student but to also allow progessive learning.

8. Why are low notes introduced early on?

An emphasis is placed on learning some low notes first. If a student has a good foundation on their instrument it allows for faster development later on. This is particularly true in terms of embouchure development.

9. Is the flute book the same as the oboe book?

While many of the tunes do match transposition, each book is unique. These two instruments cannot be taught in the same way so the tunes have been specially selected to provide the most progessive order for learning each instrument.

10. Why are there little pictures in the corner of each page?

If you flick rapidly through the pages, the images form a short animation. Just for fun...

11. Why are the play-along CDs available separately?

Rather than add cost to the tutor book, the CDs are available separately because many teachers and students do not use them. Rather than ask these people to pay extra for something they will not use, teachers and students who want to make use of this excellent resource can purchase them separately. My Favourite Tutor Books and CDs are still excellent value and competitively priced.

Up to 178 tunes on 80 pages

My favourite Tutor Books contain up to 178 easily recognisable tunes. There are folk tunes, anthems, carols, nursery rhymes, marches, children's songs and famous classical themes that most students recognise as soon as the tune is heard. Playing tunes that are already known to the ear greatly enhances the speed in which a student can learn the concepts of the music.

• 1812 Overture
• Ach du Lieber Augustin
• Advance Australia Fair
• Air from Water Music
• All Through the Night
• Alouette
• Amazing Grace
• Au Clair de la Lune
• Auld Lang Syne
• Aura Lee
• Away in a Manger
• Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
• Battle Hymn of the Republic
• Believe Me, if all Those Endearing Young Charms
• Big Ben
• Bill Bailey
• Billy Boy
• Bingo
• Blow the Man Down
• Botany Bay
• Bound for South Australia
• Brahms' Lullaby
• Camptown Races
• Caprice 24
• Chanukah, Oh Chanukah
• Clementine
• Click Go the Shears
• Cockles and Mussels
• Daisy Bell
• Deck the Halls
• Did You Ever See a Lassie?
• Ding Dong Merrily on High
• Down by the Station
• Drink to Me Only
• Early One Morning
• English Country Gardens
• Entry of the Gladiators
• Fiddle-de-dee
• Fr≤re Jacques
• Froggy Went a-Courtin'
• Fur Elise
• Go Tell it on the Mountain
• God Defend New Zealand
• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
• God Save the Queen
• Good King Wenceslas
• Greensleeves
• Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
• HaTikvah
• Hava Nagila
• He's Got the Whole World in His Hands
• Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush
• Hevenu Shalom
• Hey Diddle Diddle
• Hey, Ho, Nobody's Home
• Home on the Range
• Hot Cross Buns
• Humpty Dumpty
• Hush Little Baby
• I've Been Workin' on the Railroad
• If You're Happy and You Know it
• Incy Wincy Spider
• Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
• Jingle Bells
• John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
• Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho
• Kumbaya
• La Cucaracha
• La Marseillaises
• Lightly Row
• Loch Lomond
• London Bridge
• Londonderry Air
• Looby Loo
• Marines' Hymn
• Mary Had a Little Lamb
• Michael Finnegan
• Minuet
• Moreton Bay
• Morning Has Broken
• My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean
• My Grandfather's Clock
• My Hat, it Has Three Corners
• O Come, All Ye Faithful
• Ode to Joy
• Oh Christmas Tree
• Oh Susanna
• Oh Where, Oh Where
• Oh, Dear! What Can the Matter Be?
• Old King Cole
• Old McDonald Had a Farm
• On Top of Old Smokey
• Once in Royal David's City
• Oriental Dance
• Paw-Paw Patch
• Polly Wolly Doodle
• Pop Goes the Weasel
• Reveille
• Ring Around the Rosey
• Rock-a-bye Baby
• Row, Row, Row Your Boat
• Sailing, Sailing
• Santa Lucia
• Scarborough Fair
• Shaker Song
• She'll be Coming 'Round the Mountain
• Shoo, Fly
• Shortnin' Bread
• Skip to My Lou
• Star Spangled Banner
• Surprise Symphony Theme
• Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
• Ten Little Indians
• The Ash Grove
• The Bear Went Over the Mountain
• The Bridal Chorus
• The British Grenadiers
• The Caissons go Rolling Along
• The Can-Can
• The Entertainer
• The Farmer in the Dell
• The First Noel
• The Grand Old Duke of York
• The Gypsy Rover
• The Hokey-Cokey
• The Kerry Dance
• The Little Skunk
• The Quartermaster's Store
• The Skye Boat Song
• The Teddy Bears' Picnic
• The Wild Colonial Boy
• There Were Ten in a Bed
• There's a Hole in My Bucket
• This Old Man
• Three Blind Mice
• Tom Dooley
• Trumpet Tune
• Trumpet Voluntary
• Turkey in the Straw
• Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
• Vive l'Amour
• Waltzing Matlida
• We Three Kings
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas
• What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor?
• When Johnny Comes Marching Home
• When the Saints Go Marching In
• While Shepherds Watched
• William Tell Overture
• With My Swag all on My Shoulder
• Yankee Doodle
• Ye Banks and Braes

The Australian Band Method.

Band Class 1, 2 & 3 is a 3-year band method written by Australian Sam Seabrook and is specifically designed for Australian classroom band programs. Through the innovative use of harmony, all instruments begin in a comfortable range (see the chart to the left). This alleviates the long-standing problem of the flutes, oboes and horns falling behind. Each page begins with unison exercises that extend into simple harmony using the comfortable keys of Bb and later Eb concert.

The music is made up a mixture of well-known folk tunes and classical themes complimented with original compositions by Sam Seabrook. Technical exercises in unison prepare each new concept before new tunes in harmony are introduced.

Download Play-along Tracks
Download free mp3 play-along tracks with 3 different speeds.
Click zip file to download all available tracks.
All MP3 tracks have been encoded at 256kbps for high quality play back.
Slow (112MB) | Med (90MB) | Fast (77MB)

Free Samples
Download 26 tunes from the first 4 pages for a free trial.
Please print out and try Band Class with your existing ensemble. You will quickly see how it works and how it is tailored specifically for Australian schools music programs. Please contact Reed Music if you would like a sample part book of your choice posting to you.
Download PDF score & parts tunes 1-26 (8mb)

The use of harmony not only allows the instruments to play in a comfortable range but also creates an authentic band sound right from the beginning. The progression of exercises and tunes develops well-rounded musicians capable of accurate intonation, precise rhythm and harmonic awareness.

The free play-along tracks recorded at 3 speeds can accompany all 123 tunes and exercises in the book. Students can practise at home with a motivating accompaniment developing clear pulse, musical phrasing and breathing capacity. Students can choose which speed suits them at their level of development.

The books are competitively priced and printed locally in Australia. These books are already used by 1000’s of students across Australia and New Zealand.

Band Class is suitable for primary and secondary band programs. It complies with the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) and includes clear assessment guidelines for the teacher and student. Written to the standards of ‘A Guide for Developers of Learning Programs’, a curriculum outline for instrumental programs developed by the Department of Education, Queensland and the Ministry of Education, Victoria.

The books contain clear set up guidelines complete with pictures of labeled instruments, posture guide and a brief history of each instrument. The comprehensive percussion parts include standard rudiments and techniques. Clear self-assessment guidelines allow students responsibility for their own learning. 32 popular tunes can be performed with piano offering an enrichment exercise for students. There are further extension exercises including composition and improvisation tasks. All theory follows standard music terminology used in Australia (eg. crotchets & quavers).

Each student books contains: 44 unison exercises - 43 original compositions - 32 arrangements of popular tunes (variety of styles) - extension exercises ‘for your instrument only’ - 5 christmas carols - 2 full page concert band works - duets page - rhythm exercises - scales page - full glossary.

The score contains the full content of the student books with all fingerings and theory. There are also tips and instrument specific guidelines for each tune, extension exercises including suggestions for further development of techniques and concepts.