Summer Reading Recommendations
When I was teaching, I used to spend my summer reading all of the books that I put on hold due to my graduate studies and teaching responsibilities. My books were a mix of music education books as well as fun and engaging fiction. On this first day of summer, I thought it would be a good idea to give you 5 books that I highly recommend reading this summer. They will all give you great teaching ideas and strategies for incorporating technology and creativity into your music instruction. Here they are in no particular order…
Using Technology with Elementary Music Approaches - by Amy M. Burns
If you teach elementary music, this is a MUST HAVE for your professional library. Amy is a FORCE in music education. I have had the great pleasure of knowing Amy for the past 20 years and in my opinion, there is no one who knows how to incorporate technology into an elementary music curriculum better than Amy.
This book literally covers ALL aspects and philosophies of elementary music teaching, from Kodaly to Orff Schulwerk, from Feierabend to Project-Based Learning. Amy is a master of illustrating HOW to integrate technology into all of these approaches. She even brought in a group of amazing elementary music educators to share how they use technology to teach young students. Whether you are an experienced music educator or just starting out in your career, this publication is essential reading.
Dr. Clint Randles is an Associate Professor of Music Education in the Center for Music Education Research, School of Music, at the University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA. I have been an admirer of Clint’s for quite some time. He is an advocate for music teachers exploring their creativity - as both composer and producers of music. I am very much in the same mindset - but Clint has a MUCH more eloquent writing voice on the subject that I do.
In his latest book, To Create, Clint provides readers with a roadmap for incorporating creative music making as a part of every day life. Clint believes (as do I) that being creative is being human, and by exploring that creative side of ourselves, we can lead happier and more fulfilling lives. By telling his own personal stories and the impact that music making has had on his own life, Clint inspires readers to make time for creative music making - something admittedly easier said than done. I urge you to read this book to reignite that creative flame that is inside every music teacher.
Steve Giddings is an amazing music educator from Prince Edward Island up in Canada that I had the privilege of interviewing on my podcast a few months ago. He teaches elementary music and incorporates both music technology AND popular music into his curriculum. He runs a fabulous website called Steves Music Room that has lots of great resources for music teachers, and his blog is an excellent resource to any music teacher.
In his latest book, Technology for Unleashing Creativity, Steve has put together an impressive collection of tips, tools and lesson plans for helping teachers and their students create music using a wide variety of free and low-cost tools. As the subtitle suggests, this is a very practical resource that speaks in jargon-free language, and acknowledges the real world challenges of teaching music in a post-Covid world. Steve is a master music educator, and this book is a terrific resource.
This book, written by Jen Rafferty, should be REQUIRED reading for every pre-service music educator. Jen is a former music teacher and now runs a wonderful PD organization called The Empowered Educator. I have been following Jen for the past few years and I am super impressed with her approach to teaching music and supporting and inspiring music educators.
In A Place in the Staff, Rafferty Lays out pretty much everything that they don’t teach you in your undergraduate music education program as well as focusing on music teaching as a long career and the steps that you should take to make sure that it is a rewarding one. Lots of how-to advice is in there, including dealing with parents, colleagues, administrators, staff, and even recommended equipment for your music classroom. Remembering why you went into teaching, taking time for self care, and inspiring teachers to become their best selves is what you can expect reading this short but engaging book.
No summer reading list for music educators would be complete without The Music Lesson written by the amazing Victor Wooten. Victor is one of the world’s most talented bass players. He has played with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones for many years, and also plays in the Wooten Brothers Band - with his incredible brothers. The Wootens are a musically talented family, and I have had the pleasure of hearing them play many many times over the years - most recently at the Grand Rally for Music Education at NAMM 2023.
This is one of the very few books that I have actually re-read. It is PERFECT summer reading. It inspires you. Victor is a MASTER storyteller and music philosopher. I LOVE his ideas about playing and improvising music. In The Music Lesson, Wooten doesn’t provide technical skill building information, but instead in an almost parable like way, he channels everything about music through a narrator who provides mythical like insights into why we make music, what music means, and why music is important. This book recharges my batteries - especially when I get into the mindset of “remind me why I went into music education again”. I highly recommend this book to anyone who cares about music.