Intelligent Music Teaching: Essays on the Core Principles of Effective Instruction
Reading Robert Duke's newly published collection of essays is like witnessing a lecture by this influential music educator: energetic, thought-provoking, incisive and down-to-earth.... [T]eachers will benefit immediately from his applications to the studio and classroom of the "expansive, rich body of data that illuminates the processes of knowledge acquisition and skill development." Duke's educational beliefs and prejudices are well-supported throughout the collection. He believes a music lesson can, andshould, be as carefully planned as a military maneuver with goals clearly identified, strategy precisely outlined and tactics minutely executed. He then proceeds to describe those goals, strategies and tactics in as distinct and disciplined a manner as he would expect of any teacher under his guidance. As the supervisor of a piano class program for many years, I found myself nodding my head in agreement throughout the book. His essays on "Sequencing Instruction" and "Transfer" alone make this book essential reading for my graduate assistants and pedagogy classes. But to enjoy the essays like individual dishes on a buffet obscures what I believe is the book's fundamentalritornello: remember that what you're teaching is not necessarily what the student is learning.... At times Duke's reach exceeds his grasp, but there is so much complex and vital information that he clearly does grasp, that musician-teachers of every type will find this book a "must-read." --American Music Teacher MagazineWe often hear the statement, "Teaching is an art," and I agree that it is, but often the statement is a cop-out for one's inability to identify the components of artful teaching that make for effective learning. If you want to know what those components are and begin to improve your teaching effectiveness and your students progress immediately, thenIntelligent Music Teaching...is the place to begin.... Bob Duke has identified the components of effective music teaching in a way that is understandable, thought-provoking, research-based and useful in a variety of music teaching settings. --American Suzuki Journal