Becoming a Real Musician

Nobody is born a musician. Rather, people become musical. They do so through the right experiences as children, and with the right kind of support from the adults in their lives. Most teachers and parents believe that music can be a powerful a gift to kids. Ideally it becomes a lifelong gift, rather than merely a pastime of childhood to be reminisced about later. Unfortunately, not all music educational experiences produce a lasting musicianship. This book shares how learning experiences can be made more relevant, practical, and real world for young people studying music. With such experiences, kids can be on their way to becoming real musicians, defined as people whose musical skills allow them to leading musically active lives, whether music making is their profession or a personally-fulfilling part of their leisure time.

An entirely new approach to music education, this book offers a guide to helping music become an authentic and meaningful force throughout our lives.

Robert H. Woody is Professor at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, where he teachers courses in music education and music psychology. He is an author of the book Psychology for Musicians: Understanding and Acquiring the Skills and a regular blogger on the Psychology Today website.