Belwin 21st Century Band Method, Level 3: Percussion Book

Bullock and Maiello designed Level 3 specifically for students ready to move beyond foundational concepts. The curriculum scaffolds logically from simpler levels while introducing jazz and rock idioms that keep percussion players engaged with contemporary styles alongside classical and folk literature.

This book captures the energy of rock and jazz alongside the sophistication of classical and world music traditions. Rhythmic challenges feel purposeful rather than arbitrary, grounded in real musical contexts where syncopation and mixed meters serve the arrangement rather than exist as technical drills.

Percussion students in their third year of band study who have completed Levels 1 and 2. These advancing players are ready for key signature depth, metric complexity, and stylistic variety that prepares them for both ensemble performance and solo opportunities.

• Approach the swing rhythms in jazz-style pieces by listening closely to recordings of established swing drummers; the coordination between hand and foot will solidify faster with a solid audio reference.
• When navigating mixed meter sections, practice each meter separately before combining them, tapping the subdivision on one hand while keeping pulse on the other.
• Use the full band selections after Units 2, 4, 6, and 8 as checkpoints to assess ensemble cohesion; these performances reveal how well rhythmic accuracy transfers from written exercises to musical context.
• Study the syncopated rhythms by extracting them from their measures and practicing them as isolated patterns before integrating them back into longer phrases.

Position Level 3 as the capstone of your three-year band method curriculum, running it through your third-year students over an entire academic year. The eight units with built-in performance selections after Units 2, 4, 6, and 8 align naturally with concert pacing, and the commissioned pieces by Strommen and Story provide high-quality closer material for your end-of-year performance.

• Reading major and minor key signatures with facility across all eight units
• Playing swing rhythms and jazz-style articulations
• Executing syncopated rhythmic patterns with precision
• Reading and performing mixed meters (such as 3/4 and 4/4 in the same piece)
• Navigating key changes within pieces
• Interpreting rock-style grooves and feels
• Performing solo passages with band accompaniment
• Sight-reading increasingly sophisticated percussion parts