Praxis Percussion Press

Note reading workbooks, written for percussionists.

Praxis Percussion Press makes the workbooks a percussion teacher copies for a class. Each one teaches a beginning player to read the staff and ties every note to the instrument they play: the bars for mallets, the drums for timpani.

  • Coming soon · not on sale yet
  • One-time purchase, no account
  • Your name printed on every page
  • Copy for your own students, every year

Two books. Level 1, both clefs.

Eight units in each: the staff, space notes, line notes, the whole staff, ledger notes, flats, sharps, and a Level 1 check. They are the first books in Praxis Percussion Pathways.

Note Reading, Level 1 · Treble Clef for Mallet Percussion

For bells, xylophone, marimba and vibraphone. 81 pages.

Cover of Note Reading, Level 1, Treble Clef for Mallet Percussion. Sample Learn page: the treble space notes F A C E on the staff and on a drawing of the mallet keyboard. Sample practice page: note words, then Find It on the Bars, where students write each note's number on the bar that plays it.
  • Name It, Place It and Note Words in every unit
  • Find It on the Bars, and Two Names, One Bar for flats and sharps
  • A one-minute speed row and a Read and Play line
  • A check in every unit, a second form for retakes, and answer keys

Coming soon

Note Reading, Level 1 · Bass Clef for Timpani

For timpani, down to low D. 81 pages.

Cover of Note Reading, Level 1, Bass Clef for Timpani. Sample Learn page: the bass space notes A C E G on the staff, and the four timpani with the drums that play each note. Sample practice page: note words, then Which Drum, where students write each note's number on every drum that can be tuned to it.
  • Name It, Place It and Note Words in every unit
  • Which Drum, and Two Names, One Pitch for flats and sharps
  • A one-minute speed row and a Tune and Play line
  • A check in every unit, a second form for retakes, and answer keys

Coming soon

When the books go on sale.

The books are written and in review. They are not on sale yet, and this page will say so until they are.

  1. A one-time purchase. You will buy each book once, through Stripe. Card details go to Stripe; Praxis Percussion never sees them. Buying a book creates no account.
  2. A copy with your name on it. The name and school you give are printed in the footer of every page, answer keys included.
  3. Copy it for your students. Print any student page for your own classes, every year you teach.

Questions about the books, or about buying for several teachers: email taylor@backwerdrimshot.com.

What a workbook can and cannot tell you.

It checks reading

Every check names each position its unit teaches and passes at 80%. A written answer shows a student can read the note.

You judge playing

A written check is not a played note. Tone, timing, grip and pulse are yours to hear, and the Read and Play and Tune and Play pages end in your initials, not a score.

Free practice alongside

Each unit names the free Staff Spot levels that drill the same notes with different questions. Staff Spot is part of Backwerd Rhythm Shop: free, no account.