Since 1986, Yamaha's Sounds of Summer program has moved kids off their couches and out into the summer sunshine to work at becoming better percussionists. The nationwide program of camps continues to grow bigger every year. "It's a time-tested, totally unique program," says John Wittmann of Yamaha, who is the Sounds of Summer camp national administrator. "In terms of content and relevance, nobody else has anything at all like Sounds of Summer. This year was our strongest ever."

Nearly 1,800 young percussionists attended 30 camps from coast to coast. The camps started in June and went through August. Participants got to work hands-on, in an atmosphere of concentrated fun, with Yamaha artists who are experts in the field of marching percussion. "These guys are like the rock stars of the marching percussion world," says Wittmann.

Yamaha has been working each year to improve the program. Part of that philosophy of growth involved rethinking the Sounds of Summer instruction to increase its relevance to players at different stages of development. The new instrumental book, Marching Percussion Essentials, reflects the idea of including everything needed to help turn marching percussion students at all levels into better, more confident individual and team players.

Dennis DeLucia, a Yamaha educational consultant and marching percussion clinician, was one of the artists responsible for revamping the book. He says the new book approaches marching percussion instruction from a totally different perspective, and is actually quite a bit longer than previous books have been.

"The first 19 pages are aimed at essential percussion education using the marching percussion setup as a vehicle for teaching percussion," says DeLucia. "The idea is that those pages will form the basis of an ongoing standardized curriculum, and will probably not have to be changed for several years. Other marching specialists can then contribute percussion solos or cadences to update the book annually."

The hope is that a beginner who might only be able to play through four or five pages by the end of the camp will then take the book home, work on it throughout the school year, and be able to play most of it by next year's Sounds of Summer camp. "It's a phenomenal program," adds DeLucia, "and the fact that many camps are held at colleges also gives middle and high school students the opportunity to see firsthand how a great facility functions."

Of course, with Sounds of Summer it's not just the students who benefit. With 30 camps - and more added every year - there is terrific marketing potential in sponsoring a camp. For Yamaha's marching percussion artists, Sounds of Summer provides a venue to keep them teaching during the slow months when their regular students may be on vacation. And the school band directors get to profit from the artists' combined years of experience.

The program examines each camp individually, and strives to get the right instructor to the right camp. "Picture a band director in a small town, who has little knowledge about teaching marching percussion techniques," says Wittmann. "He hears about this camp, where his students can be taught by the biggest names in marching-and they're all on our team." With Sounds of Summer, everyone seems to win.