HXmusic

Teachers keep coming back to Ryan Fraley's Charting the Course method books, especially the Bass Clef Book 1, B-Flat Book 1, and Piano Book 1, all at grades 2 to 2.5. The Charting the Course Christmas Collection rounds out the series with seasonal arrangements in B-Flat and E-Flat. For jazz ensembles, Monika Herzig's Plenty of Nothing and Jamie Roth's El Ritmo del Malecón and Spherical offer engaging material across multiple grades.

Jazz ensemble scores from May 2026 include El Ritmo del Malecón and Plenty of Nothing, both available in conductor score and downloadable parts versions, as well as Gus Kahn's Dream a Little Dream of Me in FLEX Jazz Ensemble format.

Ryan Fraley built his reputation on the Charting the Course method series, which covers eight different instrument families with consistent pedagogical sequencing from grade 2 to 2.5. His approach integrates concert band and jazz idioms while maintaining accessibility for younger ensembles.

Monika Herzig came to the United States from Germany in 1988 on a one-way ticket and went on to earn her doctorate in Music Education with a minor in Jazz Studies from Indiana University, where she now teaches. Her jazz ensemble arrangements like Plenty of Nothing bring sophisticated harmonic language and chamber-like intimacy to ensemble settings without sacrificing playability.