The Art of Teaching Music

“This book will turn heads . . . quite likely deepen the thoughts of working musicians who teach . . . [and] open wide the conversation on teaching.” ―Patricia Campbell, University of Washington

The Art of Teaching Music takes up important aspects of the art of music teaching ranging from organization to serving as conductor to dealing with the disconnect between the ideal of university teaching and the reality in the classroom. Writing for both established teachers and instructors on the rise, Estelle R. Jorgensen opens a conversation about the life and work of the music teacher. The author regards music teaching as interrelated with the rest of lived life, and her themes encompass pedagogical skills as well as matters of character, disposition, value, personality, and musicality. She reflects on musicianship and practical aspects of teaching while drawing on a broad base of theory, research, and personal experience. Although grounded in the practical realities of music teaching, Jorgensen urges music teachers to think and act artfully, imaginatively, hopefully, and courageously toward creating a better world.

“The beauty of this book lies in its embrace and discourse of the ways in which people become music educators, develop their craft over the course of their lives, and influence those around them.” ―Greg A. Handel, Northwestern State University of Louisiana, Natchitoches

“Few books about teaching manage to fill the reader with the sense of things being possible, but Jorgensen eloquently achieves this in prose that is clean, clear, concise and coherent.” ―Michael Quinn, Music Teacher