Essential Elements Book 1 explained for band and orchestra parents

Updated 2026-11-14

Essential Elements is a beginner book used in school band and orchestra classes. Hal Leonard publishes it. There is a version for band and a version for strings. This page explains what is in Book 1 and how a parent can help.

What Essential Elements is

Essential Elements is a method for teaching a whole class at once. Every student has the book for their own instrument. All the books follow the same numbered exercises, so a room of mixed instruments can play exercise 14 together.

	Essential Elements for Band	Essential Elements for Strings
Authors	Tim Lautzenheiser, John Higgins, and others	Robert Gillespie, Pamela Tellejohn Hayes, and Michael Allen
Instruments	Flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, percussion, and more	Violin, viola, cello, and double bass
Levels	Books 1, 2, and 3	Books 1, 2, and 3

Hal Leonard lists the violin book for strings Book 1 at $14.99 US. We checked the price in November 2026.

What is in the strings book

Plucking first. The first tunes are plucked. The teacher’s manual says to leave the bow in its case until the child can shape the bow hand on a pencil.

Two strings to start. The first notes are on the D and A strings. The first scale is D major.

One rhythm at a time. Students learn quarter notes first. Then come eighth notes, half notes, dotted half notes, and whole notes.

New notes in steps. Later pages add the fourth finger, the key of G major, the key of C major, and the low second finger. Violins add notes on the E string.

Bow skills. Short notes, called staccato, and hooked bowing arrive later in the book.

Skill Builders. Shaded boxes mix the new rhythms, notes, and bowings into one exercise.

Pieces to play together. The book has 11 rounds, duets, and orchestra arrangements. Tunes include “Ode to Joy,” “Frère Jacques,” “Lightly Row,” the Can-Can, and the theme from the William Tell Overture.

A solo at the end. Each instrument closes with a solo. For violin it is a minuet by Bach.

What is in the band book

Long tones first. The first exercises are long, unmeasured notes. They build a steady sound. Quarter notes come next, to teach the beat.

Tunes by exercise 14. The publisher says students play well-known melodies by the fourteenth exercise.

Rhythm Raps. Each new rhythm is clapped first. Then it is played on easy notes. Then it shows up in a tune.

A first concert. Two pages hold a ready-made concert. Students can play it after they know seven notes. The publisher says research shows that students who play a concert for parents in the first eight weeks are more likely to stay in band.

Band pieces and solos. Book 1 has 12 pieces for full band and two solos with piano. The first solo is the theme from Dvořák’s New World Symphony.

Daily warm-ups and scales. The warm-ups include a Bach chorale. The scale pages cover the four major keys taught in Book 1.

Short notes on theory and history. Colored boxes explain a term or a composer. They appear in 36 places.

The free online tools

Every Essential Elements book comes with access to a website called Essential Elements Interactive. The code is inside the book. The site runs in a browser, so there is nothing to install.

Tool	What it does
Demonstrations	A professional plays each exercise on your child’s instrument
Play-along tracks	A backing band, in more than one style
Tempo control	Slows a track down for practice
Recorder	Records your child, to send to the teacher
Tuner, metronome, and fingering chart	The basic practice tools
Videos	More than 400 short lessons from teachers
Bonus songs	Extra tunes, with more than 50 pop arrangements

The site is worth setting up. A child who plays along with the track hears the right notes and the right speed.

New and old editions

Hal Leonard updated the books in 2025. The new strings edition added videos, pop songs online, and three new songs. The publisher says the new books work beside the older ones in the same class. Ask the teacher before you buy a used copy, and ask the seller whether the online code still works.

What a child needs beside the book

The strings teacher’s manual lists these supplies.

Rosin
A shoulder rest for violin and viola
A rock stop for cello and bass, to keep the end pin from sliding
A folding music stand
A pencil
A soft cloth
A spare set of strings

Band students need supplies for their own instrument, such as reeds or valve oil. The band teacher sends a list.

How a parent can help

Set up the website in week one. Enter the code with your child and bookmark the page.
Ask for the exercise number. “Which numbers are you on this week?” is a question a child can answer.
Ten minutes, most days. Short and often beats one long session before class.
Play along with the track. It makes a single line sound like music.
Clap the Rhythm Rap first. Clapping sorts out the rhythm before the fingers get involved.
Go to the first concert. It matters to a beginner.

A weekly practice chart helps a child keep track. For a view of the first year, read school band and orchestra: a parent’s guide to year one.

How it differs from private lesson books

Essential Elements is built for a class. It moves at the pace of the group, and every instrument learns the same tune. A private teacher can go faster or slower and can pick music for one child. Some private teachers use Essential Elements for reading practice beside other books. Read violin method books compared for parents.