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 lead musically active lives, whether music making is their profession or a personally-fulfilling part of their leisure time.

Robert H. Woody is professor at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, where he teaches courses in music education and music psychology. He is the author of Becoming a Real Musician: Inspiration and Guidance for Teachers and Parents of Musical Kid and Psychology for Musicians: Understanding and Acquiring the Skills, Second Edition.

Preface Chapter 1: Realness in Music Chapter 2: The Nature of Music Chapter 3: Motivation for Music Chapter 4: Creativity in Music Chapter 5: Improvisation of Music Chapter 6: Expressivity in Music Chapter 7: Performance of Music Chapter 8: The Humanness of Music About the Author