What is appropriate readiness for instrumental music instruction?

How can we prepare children for maximum success on their instrument?

And why are dropout rates so high?

In this challenging book, renowned music educator Edwin E. Gordon states that many students drop out of beginning instrumental music for one simple reason: they do not have the necessary musical readiness to learn what beginning instrumental educators are attempting to teach.

With Essential Preparation for Beginning Instrumental Music Instruction, Dr. Gordon arms teachers with the tools to prepare students for success when they begin an instrument.

Dr. Gordon argues that teachers must help students build appropriate musical vocabularies as readiness, much like a child learns a vocabulary of words before learning to read and write.

In this book, Dr. Gordon outlines how to build a Listening Vocabulary, a Singing and Chanting Vocabulary, an Improvisation Vocabulary, a Reading Vocabulary, and a Writing Vocabulary. This thought-provoking and practical book provides tools for building all of these vocabularies in young musicians, setting the stage for unprecedented success in beginning instrumental music.

Edwin E. Gordon is widely known as a researcher, teacher, author, editor, and lecturer. He and his work have been portrayed nationally on the NBC Today Show, in the New York Times, and in USA Today. Through extensive research, Professor Gordon has made major contributions in the study of music aptitudes, audiation, Music Learning Theory, tonal and rhythm patterns, and music development in infants and very young children.