ANBOC 2026

Dr Jim Coyle, author of The First Notes and The First Year: How to Write Music for Children to Perform (Routledge – available from 13^th October 2026), present a seminar for composers, arrangers and band directors on how to get the best from beginner musicians in concert bands by writing well for them.
 
Jim is an advocate of the ‘first notes first’ approach rather that the ‘B flat first approach’  adopted by many popular elementary band methods. He will explain the reasons for his position. He will also explain the value of poly-technicality. This idea, which encourages composers and arrangers to include parts of differing levels of technical difficulty in the same piece, seems counter-intuitive to many at first. However, it has very valuable practical applications in places with low student numbers in band programs (such as Australia).
 
Jim Coyle is a composer, conductor and teacher, and is a Lecturer in Music Education at Sydney Conservatorium of Music.