Book Reviews – Pianodao

Instrumental Music Education

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

‘Instrumental Music Education’, newly published by Bloomsbury Academic, is a compendium of well-researched articles written by a team of 27 authors, all associated with the music department at the University of York, compiled and edited by Elizabeth Haddon.

For those interested in academic insight into instrumental teaching trends, this is a wide-ranging and thought-provoking book sporting 19 chapters, each a distinct article covering an area of special interest.

An endorsement of the book from Professor Stephanie Pitts, University of Sheffield explains that:

“This collection offers insights on topics as varied as dealing with transfers from one instrumental teacher to another, overcoming barriers to practice, and understanding cross-cultural differences in teaching philosophies. There is inspiration here for new and established teachers, as well as for music education researchers seeking an up to date overview of research-informed pedagogy.”

Instrumental Music Education is available as a FREE ebook here, with open access funded by the University of York. This gives you the chance to explore it for yourself without further commitment, while of course guaranteeing that the publication wins five stars for ‘value for money’.

Bloomsbury have also produced physical hardback and paperback editions. My review is based on the handsomely presented hardback (whose excellent aesthetics I think justify the price) but I will focus attention on the content, common to all versions, and recommend readers sample the ebook in the first instance.

Women and the Piano

The Pianodao Bookshelf

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

When I reviewed Susan Tomes’ book The Piano: A History in 100 Pieces, I concluded that it,

“… is quite simply an essential purchase for any piano enthusiast, offering as it does a veritable feast of salient information and insight into the instrument and music which we love so much.”

Those who enjoyed that book will undoubtedly be eager to read it’s sequel, and are in for a treat. Tomes’ latest book, Women and the Piano: A History in 50 Lives, is another compelling read…

Paul Harris • How to Sight Read

The Pianodao Bookshelf

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

Leading music educator Paul Harris’ Improve Your Teaching! series of slim, affordable handbooks has grown into a formidable and essential resource for instrumental teachers, notable previous titles including Teaching Beginners, Simultaneous Learning, The Virtuoso Teacher and Unconditional Teaching.

For the latest title in the series, Harris revisits the topic of sight-reading, with which his name has been rather indelibly linked over the years thanks to his bestselling series of Improve Your Sight-Reading! student books. Subtitled, “The art and science behind developing sight-reading technique”, the book offers itself as:

“A companion to the Improve your sight-reading! series revealing sight-reading as a technique that can be both taught and learnt by all who wish to develop it.”

To find out more, read on…

The Symphony: From Mannheim to Mahler

The Pianodao Bookshelf

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

With impeccable timing at the start of a new academic year, Faber Music have just released The Symphony: From Mannheim to Mahler, an accessible new guide written by Christopher Tarrant and Natalie Wild, which hopes (and in my view deserves) to become a standard text for A’ level and undergraduate students.

While not a piano book, this publication certainly merits the attention of any advancing pianist or teacher with an interest in the core classical tradition; as the dominant instrumental form from the mid-eighteenth century onwards, the symphony’s parallel development and symbiotic relationship with the sonata undoubtedly make an understanding of the former helpful for a full appreciation of the latter.

With that in mind, let’s take a look…

More Than Music Lessons

The Pianodao Bookshelf

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

Merlin B. Thompson (shown above) is a forward-thinking music educator with over forty years teaching experience in private studio, conservatory and university settings. His career has taken him around the world, and podcast enthusiasts may know of his excellent series, The Music Educator’s Crucible.

Subtitled “A Studio Teacher’s Guide to Parents, Practicing, Projects and Character”, Thompson’s book More than Music Lessons was published a few months ago by Rowman & Littlefield, and is one of those books which could prove to be a game-changer for any instrumental teacher who takes time to absorb and apply the author’s key messages.

According to the author’s introduction,

“More than Music Lessons shifts the focus away from established music curricula to something of equal importance: the personal and interpersonal dynamics of students’ own musical life. This book demonstrates what can happen when music teachers take an interest in and have an ongoing appreciation for their students’ home life, sense of self, musical interests, personal and world views, culture and spiritual individuality.”

The book has a four-part framework with sections on Parents, Practising, Projects and Character. In this review, I will touch on the content and give a general overview of the publication itself, hopefully enticing teachers to take a closer look for themselves…