The core of education is evaded when arbitrarily established credit hours are counted to determine if a student has attained sufficient musicianship to graduate. It is as foolish as counting pages in a term paper or book to assess its merit. ---Edwin E. Gordon, from the Preface

In this engaging and heartfelt book, Dr. Edwin E. Gordon calls for a comprehensive revitalization of music education programs at colleges and universities in the U.S. and around the world.

Drawing from a lifetime of experience training our future music teachers, Dr. Gordon believes passionately that we need to significantly modify how we teach undergraduates if we truly hope to keep the school music education profession vital and relevant.

Covering topics as diverse as student teaching, course content, early childhood music, instrumental music, measurement and evaluation, student teaching, music literacy, rating scales, and more, this book is sure to engage anyone passionate about the discipline of music education.

States Dr. Gordon: "My hope is there will be attentive readers who will grant validity to more than a few stated premises and join in the effort bit by bit to effect positive changes."

Edwin E. Gordon is widely known as a researcher, teacher, author, editor, and lecturer. He and his work have been protrayed 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.