Accent on Achievement, Book 1: Combined Percussion---S.D., B.D., Access. & Mallet Percussion Book & Online Audio/Software

Accent on Achievement cuts through the noise of competing methods by delivering what matters most: clear pedagogy, genuine musical interest, and material that works in real rehearsals. The full-color design and substantial collection of classics and world music keep percussion students invested from day one, rather than isolating them with exercises. The comprehensive review cycle built into Books 1 and 2 means you spend less time reteaching and more time making music together.

Opening this book reveals full-color pages packed with recognizable melodies and world music arrangements that feel like real band repertoire, not exercises. Percussion students discover they're not just keeping time; they're playing chorale harmony on mallets, driving the rhythm section with coordinated snare and bass drum work, and interpreting musical colors through the full range of percussion colors available to them.

This book serves beginning percussion students in grades five through eight who need a method that treats all four percussion voices as equal musicians, not afterthoughts. Directors building a band program from the ground up will find the comprehensive scope and review cycle invaluable for keeping percussionists engaged and progressing at the same pace as their wind counterparts.

• Balance mallet control across all four percussion voices during full band arrangements by having students practice hand independence exercises before rehearsal.
• Use the online audio tracks to establish secure rhythmic foundations before combining snare drum, bass drum, accessories, and mallets in the same exercise.
• Rotate percussion voices regularly in the rhythm and rest exercises so students develop facility on multiple instruments within a single rehearsal cycle.
• Lock the mallets-to-bass-drum ratio in block chord passages by isolating those two parts until they sit as a unified harmonic anchor for the band.

Use Accent on Achievement Book 1 as your foundational curriculum for the first year or eighteen months of band, progressing through the review cycle systematically while layering in the 11 full band arrangements to reinforce what students have learned. The balanced attention to all four percussion specialties means you can develop percussionists who think melodically and rhythmically, setting them up for success when they advance to Book 2 and eventually the more technical demands of Book 3.

• Reading snare drum parts with standard sticking patterns and dynamic control
• Bass drum execution coordinated with snare drum and band rhythm
• Mallet percussion fundamentals including basic mallet grip and malleability across multiple instruments
• Accessory percussion techniques (cymbals, triangle, woodblock) in ensemble contexts
• Sight-reading rhythmic notation across multiple percussion instruments in the same exercise
• Understanding harmonic function when playing mallet percussion as melodic voices within the band
• Ensemble balance and listening skills unique to percussion sectional work