Why Sound Innovations?

The Sound Innovations authors bring years of extensive teaching, conducting, and composing experience. They include Robert Sheldon, Peter Boonshaft, Bob Phillips, Dave Black, Chris Bernotas, Kirk Moss, Stephen Benham, Matt Turner, Bill Purse, Aaron Stang, and Jason Yeary.

SI Online: Access streaming video MasterClasses and audio accompaniments for SI Strings, SI Band, and Sound Percussion. Adjust the pacing any time during the semester to address the unique needs within your classroom utilizing the free additional materials online. Adjust the focus of your teaching and address the differentiation of abilities in your classroom with adding more music history, theory, technique, rhythm, scales, composition, improvisation, assessment pages, and more. Explore the wealth of additional repertoire available online, including duets and small ensembles.

Sound Percussion for Individual or Group Instruction, a complete and comprehensive resource for teaching intermediate to advanced percussion students. Each book can be used independently to focus on a particular instrument or in any combination with each other as a full percussion ensemble.

Provide opportunities for deliberate practice with almost every level available in MakeMusic Cloud (SmartMusic), and Concert Band Book 1 and String Orchestra Book 1 are completely free!

No matter what level of Sound Innovations you’re using in your classroom, all Sound Innovations books allow you to create better understanding with solid pedagogy, and a clean and uncluttered page layout.

The most comprehensive method available, you can teach beginners through college with the same approach. Now with six levels available each for concert band and string orchestra, three for guitar, and one for percussion.

Each new note is introduced with a diagram of the fingering, eliminating the need to reference a separate page. New notes include an introductory exercise followed by reinforcement exercises.

Recorded accompaniments are included for every line of music in each book. The recordings are performed by professional musicians, and each contains an example and play-along accompaniment track in a variety of musical styles, encouraging home practice.

Many performance opportunities are provided, including solos, duets, trios, and full-ensemble arrangements. Students can play along with a friend or the professional musician on the included accompaniment tracks. This serves as an outstanding introduction to ensemble playing.

Foster more effective practice with MasterClass videos that are integrated throughout the entire the method, not retrofitted to it. MasterClasses allow the student to emulate the teacher’s tone, technique, and musicianship.

Notes and concepts are introduced in an uncomplicated and logical order with many opportunities for the student to implement and practice them. Every exercise includes a brief statement identifying what the student should learn.

Built-in strategies isolate new skills and encourage student participation. Many exercises ask the student to name and sing notes, as well as count and clap them before they play.

Content is organized in levels to provide benchmarks and intermediate goals.

Each correlated string orchestra and concert band performance music piece contains an educational pack that includes an emphasis on expressive playing, historical information, exercises to help with specific technical issues, notes on the composition, and more.

Most Sound Innovations books are available on eBooks for iPads®, Chromebooks^TM, PCs, and Macs®, allowing for use in 1:1 classrooms.