A Rhythm a Week for Band: Trombone/Baritone/Bassoon Book

This book cuts through the vague rhythm instruction that plagues many band programs by isolating exactly 52 rhythmic patterns that students actually struggle with. Witt's approach of presenting these patterns in unison across major and minor scales lets your low brass section drill the specific problems they need to solve without pretending every rhythm issue is the same. The weekly structure means your students have a sustainable, repeatable tool they'll actually use all year.

Focused and direct. Each rhythm unit gets straight to work without philosophical preamble or padding. There's a clarity to this approach that students respect because the book acknowledges their real difficulties rather than asking them to work through generic exercises.

Trombone, baritone, and bassoon players at the high school and middle school level who need targeted, systematic work on the rhythms that consistently trip them up in concert band music. Directors building stronger reading skills across their low brass section will find this an essential, straightforward resource that doesn't require elaborate supplementary materials or class time management.

• Assign one rhythm unit per week as a standing warm-up for trombone, baritone, and bassoon players. Consistency matters more than speed; accurate execution of the pattern across different keys builds automaticity.
• Use the major and minor scale contexts to reinforce intonation alongside rhythm. Playing the same rhythmic pattern in different tonalities sharpens both precision and ear training simultaneously.
• Have students practice rhythm units in small groups before full section rehearsal. Peer accountability and checking builds confidence and catches tuning issues early.

Keep this in your low brass players' folders as a standing weekly assignment separate from repertoire study. Use it during the opening weeks of the season to diagnose and address the specific rhythmic gaps that will otherwise slow down your ensemble's progress on concert music, or rotate through units throughout the year as a consistent skills-building routine.

• Reading isolated rhythmic patterns accurately in multiple keys
• Executing complex rhythms (syncopation, mixed meters, subdivision changes) with consistency
• Translating rhythmic patterns from major and minor scale contexts to real music
• Building automaticity with high-frequency rhythm problems without constant re-learning
• Ensemble cohesion among low brass voices in rhythmic unison