SKU: GI.G-9691
A Guide for General
Music Teachers.
Composed by Jill Reese.
Music Learning Theory
(MLT). Music Education.
296 pages. GIA
Publications #9691.
Published by GIA
Publications (GI.G-9691).
ISBN
9781622774029.
Edwi
n E. Gordon is widely
regarded as one of the
most influential figures
in the field of music
education, and his
groundbreaking Music
Learning Theory (MLT)
remains one of the most
significant and effective
approaches to teaching
music skills and content
to students. Navigating
Music Learning
Theory, by author and
educator Jill Reese, is
an accessible and
practical guide for
general music teachers
interested in
incorporating the
innovative concepts and
ideas of Music Learning
Theory in their own
instruction. The book is
divided into three parts.
In the first part, Reese
provides an overview of
the core pedagogical
principles of Music
Learning Theory,
including a breakdown of
its foundational Skill
Learning Sequence. The
second and third parts
take a detailed look at
Learning Sequence
Activities (the tonal and
rhythm patterns used to
teach skills and content)
and Classroom Activities
(applying skills and
content to songs, chants,
and recordings). Central
to this resource are over
one hundred pages of
scripted lesson plans
designed to guide
teachers in presenting
tonal patterns, rhythm
patterns, songs, and
chants with efficient and
pedagogically sound
language. The scripted
materials are
intentionally flexible,
allowing teachers to use
them as written or to
modify them for their
unique teaching context.
In keeping with Edwin
Gordon’s ideas,
Reese emphasizes the
importance of balancing
class instruction with
individualized
instruction and provides
a number of tools and
opportunities for
assessment and tracking
toward individual
differences between
students. Regardless of a
teacher’s
experience or familiarity
with Edwin
Gordon’s
ideas, Navigating
Music Learning
Theory is certain to
help any teacher design
and implement a robust
music curriculum with
engaging lessons that
will maximize the musical
potential of each
student. Dr. Jill
Reese is Associate
Professor of Music
Education at The State
University of New York at
Fredonia. She is also on
the teaching faculty for
the Gordon Institute for
Music Learning (GIML).
She holds degrees in
Music Education from
Temple University (PhD),
University of Michigan
(MM), and Michigan State
University (BM).
Student's Guide to Music Theory
