Teaching for Musical Understanding

PREFACE Teaching music is both exciting and challenging. Whether you are a music teacher or learning to become one, you have probably chosen this path because of the powerful role music has played in your own life. You are probably quite eager to share what you know and understand about music with others. As you travel along the path of your own professional development toward this goal, it is important to understand that what you choose to teach and the ways in which you choose to teach it will make all the difference in your success with your students. Your capacity to be an effective music teacher is directly related to the extent of your own understanding of music and of the ways in which people learn music. If you are a student, your personal understanding of music will be nurtured through other experiences in your professional education. However, learning to teach music will help you consider music from a slightly different point of view, which will also enhance your personal understanding of music. The main goal of a music methods course is to help a prospective teacher learn about the ways in which people come to understand music and to provide strategies for and ways of thinking about instruction that will empower that individual to be the best possible music teacher. Your experience with this book will serve as a starting point for this process. Once you become a music teacher, your students ' capacity for developing musical understanding is directly influenced by your own understanding of teaching processes and of music. Teaching for Musical Understanding is designed to promote your personal professional growth as a music teacher by providing opportunities for you to develop your own understanding of the ways in which people learn and the ways in which people learn music, in particular.