Measures of Success Percussion Book 2, part of FJH Music's Measures of Success series, features even more tips and techniques to ignite musical curiosity, to unite conceptual knowledge with performance skills, to foster understanding of the many ways that people share and interact with music, and to assess each student's continued musical growth.

Comprehensive musicianship
While there are differing opinions on starting systems, directors agree that the music itself is the most important component of a method. Every exercise in Measures of Success has been sequenced to promote optimal development through great musical content. Creative titles stimulate the imagination, musicianship challenges promote expressive playing, and special attention is paid to important concepts such as phrasing. In addition, students will enjoy full band arrangements and original compositions by renowned composers Brian Balmages and Robert Sheldon. Directors will quickly discover that this performance-based method also introduces students to critical listening, composing, conducting, music history, and other elements that bring about a deeper understanding of music.

Establishing Short and Long Term Goals
Measures of Success is divided into six chapters (Opus 1 through 6). Each "Opus" is followed by a full-page assessment. Students are able to attain achievable benchmarks throughout the method, which keeps them motivated, excited, and playing their instruments.

History and Cross-Curriculum Presented Together
Music history is presented simultaneously with art, literature, and world history, giving students a broad picture of social and artistic events of a certain time period. Composer pictures, artists, paintings, authors, literary works, world history, and fun facts are presented throughout the method. This strongly supports the National Standards and encourages cross-disciplinary study in music education. Best of all, it is contained in the text so directors do not need to do additional research.

Encore! - Assesment Built In To Each Student Book
Following each Opus is a full page "Encore!" designed to assess skills and knowledge addressed in the Opus. This gives directors clear tools for accountability and helps measure student progress.

Critical Listening-Musical examples are provided on the CDs and students are asked to critique performances, identify musical elements including time signature, tempo, articulation, and more. Each critical listening exercise is correlated with material the student has just learned.

Playing By Ear-Easy tunes are introduced on the CDs and students are encouraged to learn them on their own. They can then play along with an accompaniment that is provided.

Composing/Arranging-Progressive lessons move from simple composition into arranging, and students are eventually introduced to improvisation in an easy and fun way.

Theory and Terminology-Written exercises reinforce a multitude of concepts. To establish a solid foundation, students are often required to look through previous chapters in addition to the current Opus.

Performance-Musical exercises are designed to showcase what students have learned in each Opus. They are ideal for performance assessment and are also appropriate for home concerts.

Starting Systems
Sounds Before Symbols
Many directors advocate the practice of playing before seeing notation, a critical component of getting students to connect the instrument with their ear. Book 1 accommodates this growing philosophy with the inclusion of an optional starting page that gets students playing before jumping into the challenges of notation. In no time, students are playing familiar tunes and even composing, all before encountering formal music notation.

Focus On Sequencing, Pacing, and Reinforcement
The expertise of band director Timothy Loest and Professor of Music Education Deborah A. Sheldon provides the framework of the method. New concepts and notes are carefully paced, with special attention to the first several notes learned. Students are playing familiar tunes quickly but are not overwhelmed with too much, too soon. The sequence of instruction allows student musicians time to focus on tone production, rhythm, and pulse. New material is introduced systematically and then reinforced throughout the book. Measures of Success is effective in a wide variety of settings including:
¢ Group / full band instruction
¢ Private or homogeneous instruction
¢ Students with complex or special learning needs

Long Tones vs. Pulse And Rhythm
Many directors are divided on whether to start students with long tones to develop a good sound or use quarter notes to teach musical pulse and rhythm. Measures of Success alternates between long tones and quarter note exercises for the first three notes, giving directors more control over a starting system.

Performance
Play-along CDs: A New Level Of Accompaniment
All exercises are played twice by professional musicians-first with the student line, then the accompaniment alone. Accompaniments include live musicians, incredible orchestrations, and a wide variety of styles including concert band, full orchestra, rock, Latin, jazz, funk, country, electronic, and world music. Classical pieces are presented with accompaniments that put them in their original context. Percussion-specific CDs let percussionists hear a characteristic sound of every instrument while the winds are moved into the background.

Measures Of Success And SmartMusic
The combination of SmartMusic and Measures of Success gives you the ultimate in flexibility and assessment using every accompaniment track.
¢ Adjust tempo so students can practice at any tempo while still enjoying the original accompaniment or band arrangement
¢ Get immediate feedback on note and rhythm accuracy- correctly played notes appear in green while red notes indicate an incorrect pitch or rhythm
¢ Use a built-in metronome with any accompaniment
¢ Submit SmartMusic's grade, assessment screenshot, and recording to a teacher with the click of a button

Each percussion book comes with a wealth of additional performance opportunities to help encourage the development of the complete percussionist. These are perfect for percussion class and solo/ensemble festivals!