Merlin B. Thompson invites music studio teachers to link their teaching with notions of humanity and presents a timely vision of bringing student-centered teaching to life in the applied music studio. Filled with a myriad of practical tips and strategies, inspirational ideas, and real-life stories, More than Music Lessons demonstrates how music teachers may thoughtfully build on and exercise what's already there with students. This means teachers appreciate their students' sense of self, their personal and world views, their culture, and their spiritual individuality: teachers share rather than direct their students' musical journeys. Parents, Practicing, Projects, and Character provide the student-centered framework. Having compassion for parents and the dynamics of students' family home life is vital. Practicing fulfills our basic needs for autonomy, fluency, relatedness, purpose, and reflection. Non-performance projects bring fresh energy to students' musical journey and amplify their musical persona. Character-an interweaving of authenticity, calling, soul, life force imprinted from birth-adds depth and integrity to musical explorations. The book features A myriad of practical and inspirational tips for vocal and instrumental teachers Real-life experiences with students and parents Ongoing reflective explorations Frequently Asked Questions Research from the fields of self-determination theory, humanistic psychology, and project-based learning

Award-winning music educator Merlin B. Thompson invites today's teachers to link their teaching with notions of humanity and create success by building on what students naturally bring to their own musical journey. Filled with over fifty practical and inspirational teaching tips, More than Music Lessons is a must-read for every genre of music studio teacher: vocal/instrumental, academic, traditional, individual/group, Suzuki, exam-based, and online. A four-part framework gets right to the heart of the matter: -Parents - understanding the complexity of parental involvement and students' home life -Practicing - an adventure in autonomy, fluency, purpose, relatedness, reflection, and listening -Projects - amplifying students' musical persona with non-performance projects. -Character - engaging students' inborn authentic character to ensure meaningful musical participation Grounded in research yet enriched with real-life experiences and frequently asked questions, More than Music Lessons offers a comprehensive view of student-centered teaching, where teachers share rather than direct students' musical explorations. This book provides resources for teachers who work with diverse student demographics and sheds light on how teachers may thoughtfully incorporate students' sense of self, personal and world views, culture, individuality, and spirituality as anchors for their unfolding and unique musical journeys. More than Music Lessons will help studio teachers support and inspire their students for a lifetime of genuine and joyful music making.

How can piano teachers successfully foster student participation and growth from the outset? How can teachers prepare and sustain their influential work with beginner student musicians? This book presents answers to these questions by making important connections with current music education research, masters of the performance world, music philosophers, and the author's 30-year career as a piano pedagogy instructor in Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. It investigates the multilayered role piano teachers play right from the very beginning - the formative first four to five years during which teachers empower students to explore and expand their own emerging musical foundations. This book offers a humane, emancipatory, and generous approach to teaching by grappling with some of the most fundamental issues behind and consequences of studio music teaching. More experiential than abstract and cerebral, it demonstrates how teaching beginner piano students involves an attentiveness to musical concerns like our connection to music, learning to play by ear and by reading, caring for music, the importance of tone and technique, and helping students develop fluency through their accumulated repertoire. Teaching beginner students also draws on personal aspects like independence and authenticity, the moral and ethical dignity associated with democratic relationships, and meaningful conversations with parents. Further, another layer of teaching beginners acknowledges both sides of the coin in terms of growth and rest, teaching what is and what might be, as well as supporting and challenging student development. In this view, how teachers fuel authentic student musicians from the beginning is intimately connected to the knowledge, beliefs, and values that permeate their thoughts and actions in everyday life. Fundamentals of Piano Pedagogy stands out as a much-needed instructional resource with immense personal, practical, social, philosophical, educational, and cultural relevance for today's studio music teachers. Its humanistic and holistic approach invites teachers to consider not only who they are and what music means to them, but also what they have yet to imagine about themselves, about music, their students, and life.