The First Notes and The First Year is a guide for composers and arrangers who wish to write for beginner and early-stage musicians. For each instrument, there are detailed guidelines on the optimal way to write for beginners and to write for continuers, that is to say musicians who have been playing their instrument for approximately one year. There are chapters dedicated to all the orchestral and band instruments, as well as voices, keyboards and guitars.

Each of the popular instruments receives a chapter in two halves: the first dedicated to beginners on that instrument, the second dedicated to continuers. There are also lengthier chapters about the sorts of ensembles typically found in school and community settings:- wind bands, string ensembles, choirs and orchestras.

The First Notes and The First Year, therefore, will be a useful textbook for less experienced composers with ambitions to create music in the educational sphere. Additionally, it will serve as a reference work for composers of greater experience who may be creating music for younger musicians as an occasional part of their output.