The Art of Teaching Music [Paperback]

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.

. . . foremost a book about wisdom: a direct albeit thoughtful attempt to capture the profession for those who, by virtue of time or the nature of their work, may not have a full sense of the music education field. Jorgensen presents us Music Education.This book will turn heads and quite likely deepen the thoughts of working musicians who teach. I do not doubt that it will, as Jorgensen declares, open wide the conversation on teaching that is waiting to happen.The particular strength of the volume is its usefulness across all levels of music education. Jorgensen offers not only artistic fundamentals unique to those involved in music but also material that will cause readers to reflect on personal characteristics. Detailed notes and references add to the book's value as a study tool. . . . Recommended.November 2008The 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.March 1, 2009Few books about teaching manlÃÝ