John Kinyon's Basic Training Course, Book 2: Cornet Book

Kinyon's sequencing and voice leading in Book 2 respect what beginners have already absorbed while pushing them forward without overwhelming. The method works equally well for cornet soloists, same-instrument classes, and mixed bands, giving you genuine flexibility in how you structure your program rather than forcing you into one teaching model.

Kinyon's Book 2 builds on fundamentals with growing confidence; the exercises and short pieces feel achievable but not trivial, allowing students to experience real progress. The writing balances technique development with moments of actual musicality, so players begin to understand that method books are not separate from real music making.

Beginning cornet players in their second year of study, whether working privately with an instructor, in a pull-out cornet section, or as part of a full concert band. The book serves both students who are moving through a structured curriculum and those who benefit from targeted, focused material on a single instrument.

• Balance tone production between your cornet and any accompanying instruments by listening carefully during rehearsal; adjust your dynamic level to sit within the ensemble rather than dominating.
• Work through unfamiliar rhythmic patterns with a metronome before combining them with fingering challenges, isolating the two skills so neither one distracts from the other.
• Pay attention to the phrasing suggestions marked in the book; they reveal where Kinyon expects you to breathe and shape musical ideas, not just play through exercises mechanically.

Use this as your core method text during the first two years of cornet instruction in a beginning band program, or as the foundational solo study book for a cornet section running parallel to your main band curriculum. The material works well when paired with ensemble rehearsals, since students will encounter similar melodic and rhythmic concepts in band literature at the same time.

• Sustained tone production and breath control
• Reading notation in the cornet's range
• Valve coordination and intonation awareness
• Rhythmic accuracy and counting
• Phrasing and musical expression
• Technical patterns and scale-based exercises