Summer is a great time to rest, recharge, and work on professional development. This is often when we as music educators attend conferences and workshops, participate in training and certification programs, take summer classes at a local university, and catch up on all the reading we intended to do during the year.

If you've been listening for a while, you know I've shared several book and reading-related episodes in the past:

I talked about Daniel Pink's book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us back in Ep. 003, I shared insights from Keith Sawyer's book, Zig Zag: The Surprising Path to Greater Creativity in Ep. 009, and I unpacked Carol Dweck's book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success in Ep. 049.

I also shared a summer reading list for music teachers in Ep. 031 with a few novels and non-music or teaching books, if you're looking for other suggestions.

Today, I'm sharing a curated list of 11 pedagogy-related books for music teachers. Some explore the research on how the brain works, others outline the tenets of effective practicing; some touch on meditation and wellness practices in music teaching and performance, others teach foundational pedagogy principles. Some I've read, and some are on my reading list, but all offer a fresh perspective on the teaching and learning process that I hope will inspire and inform your teaching practice in the year to come.

For show notes + a full transcript, click here.

Resources Mentioned

*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Ep. 003 - The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Ep. 009 - Book review: Zig Zag: The Surprising Path to Greater Creativity

Ep. 049 - What Every Music Teacher Should Know About Mindsets: Insights from Carol Dweck's Book

Ep. 031 - A Summer Reading List for Music Teachers

The Musician's Toolbox: Thoughts on Teaching and Learning Music (Diane and Nick Petrella)

How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens (Benedict Carey)

Ep. 038 - The Secrets of Interleaved Practice

The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music from the Heart (Madeline Bruser)

The Inner Game of Music (Barry Green & W. Timothy Gallwey)

The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Self (William Westney)

Ep. 060 - How Do We Approach Mistakes in Music Teaching & Learning?

Join the Musician & Co. Book Club (it’s free!)

The Musician's Way: A Guide to Practice, Performance, and Wellness (Gerald Klickstein)

Teaching Music with Purpose (Peter Loel Boonshaft)

The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music (Victor L. Wooten)

The Practice of Practice: How to Boost Your Music Skills (Jonathan Harnum)

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