Note: This product is the Flute Book for Etudes for Band.

Etudes for Band is a collection of unison etudes for full band. Many of these etudes were written for various auditions. Others were intended as exercises for my trumpet students.  Some etudes were composed for the woodwind section and transcribed for brass and mallets… and vice versa.

Here are some intended uses for these materials…

• Sight-reading material. Though many of the rhythms and keys presented are much harder than what middle school students would see in sight-reading competitions, they would help them develop into stronger readers and perhaps prepare them for the rigors of Texas UIL Grade 3 and 4 literature. These would also be perfect for high school students.
• Since that was the intended use of many of these etudes, this collection would be perfect for mid-year or end of the year auditions.
• Private lessons. This is a wonderful resource for private lesson teachers.  Working on etudes like these in lessons will help the students become better readers and expose them to all-region level material year-round.
• Musicianship. For the most part, these pieces are not just a solid page of 16^th notes.  There are melodies and phrases that will help the students to become more expressive performers.

A few notes about Etudes for Band:

• These etudes are progressive. There may be some disagreement about the order, but for the most part the first is easiest and the last most difficult.
• The tempo markings are just suggestions. I hesitated to place them at times but felt that some guidance would be appropriate.
• When transcribing unison etudes for the full band, the oboe, tenor sax and horn parts are a challenge. I did my best when making decisions about when to change octaves on these parts, but it was usually an unsatisfying result! For that reason, I have included “alternate” parts that are in a different key than the full band.  This places those three parts in ranges at which they do not need to be dropped or raised an octave. The horn, oboe and tenor sax parts were always placed in the same key so that they could listen to each other.
• The keys presented include the major keys of F, Bb, Eb, Ab and Db along with the keys of Bb, C and D minor.
• Would you like an etude in a different key?  Just email me and I will provide any reasonable requests at no cost. martyenelson@gmail.com   

Instrumentation:

Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Bari Saxophone, Trumpet, French Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba & Mallets

Note: These etudes are available as separate instrument books.