Allison Wilkinson has quickly become one of the most sought-after clinicians on the subjects of brain science and music psychology. Drawing from her own teaching and extensive research, she presents a groundbreaking new approach to music education in Making Musicians.

Based on the essential premise that all humans are musicians, this book presents educators with a clear and useful guide to Emotionally Intelligent Music Instruction (EIMI), a method that makes music learning a positive experience for all students.

The book is divided into five distinct sections:

1. What Makes a Musician
2. Music and the Brain
3. The Structures of Learning
4. Applied Music Psychology to Music Education
5. Bringing Others on Board

Each section helps teachers better understand the connections between music, the brain, and psychology, and gives teachers practical suggestions for applying these concepts in their own instruction.

Making Musicians concludes with an EIMI case study of teacher Charlee Eaves. “EIMI gave me the gift of knowing how to care for my students and reminded me of what the true priority is. Joy is the priority, not correctness or shame. It has been life changing.”

Research, experience, empathy, and joy make this book a must-have for every music educator seeking to truly connect with and instill a love for music in students.

Allison Wilkinson is the CEO and founder of the I Am School of Music and the Making Musicians Training Program. A veteran teacher with more than 15,000 hours of direct teaching and many more in research, Allison teaches the tools of applied music psychology to music educators around the world, from Australia to Zimbabwe and everywhere in between.