Band Today, Part 2: Baritone (T.C.) Book

Ployhar understands what intermediate baritone players actually need: material that builds on foundational skills without overwhelming them. Band Today, Part 2 respects the player's growing musicianship while introducing the technical and ensemble challenges that prepare students to become section leaders and reliable ensemble members.

Purposeful and grounded. The material builds logically, introducing new concepts at a pace that feels achievable without sacrificing musicality. Playing through these exercises and pieces, you feel yourself becoming more confident in the baritone's role as a vital bridge between the trumpet section and the tuba.

Baritone players in intermediate concert bands who have completed a foundational method and are ready to deepen their musicianship, technical control, and ensemble awareness. This book serves students who need structured, goal-oriented material to bridge the gap between beginner and advanced repertoire.

• Balance your tone with the tuba section. Your job is to anchor the low end harmonically, not to dominate it; listen carefully to what's underneath you and adjust your dynamics accordingly.
• Work the valve combinations slowly before playing at tempo. Baritone requires precision in finger coordination, especially in the passages that jump between valve combinations.
• Practice the rhythmic figures as written before adding expression. Once the rhythm sits solidly in your hands, musical phrasing flows naturally.
• Pay attention to the bass clef transposition concepts presented in this book; locking in the relationship between treble clef reading and baritone fingering will accelerate your progress through later method materials.

Use this as your primary method book during the fall semester to establish strong fundamentals before tackling more demanding concert repertoire. It also serves well as a reference resource throughout the year when you need to isolate specific technical challenges or refresh the band's collective approach to rhythm, intonation, and ensemble balance.

• Reading and playing in treble clef on baritone with confidence
• Valve coordination for leaps and intervallic passages
• Rhythmic precision in mixed meters and syncopated figures
• Dynamic control and tone shaping appropriate to ensemble context
• Intonation awareness across the baritone's range
• Understanding baritone's role in harmonic balance within the brass section