Are you interested in music education?
If so, you may consider adding Discovering Music from the Inside Out: An Autobiography by Edwin E. Gordon to your reading list.
In this review, I’ll briefly share why I love this book, a few key quotes, and some fun and interesting facts.
In this autobiography, Dr. Gordon (1927-2015) shares his journey as a musician, music educator, and researcher. Through these experiences and influences, he began to question how music is conventionally taught, ultimately leading him to become the “founding father” of Music Learning Theory (MLT).
If you’re looking to learn more about Music Learning Theory, then this book should be one of the first books you grab. Hearing Dr. Gordon talk about his own experiences and thought-process that brought him to research more deeply how we learn music is a lovely soft primer into what can often feel like the “daunting” world of MLT.
That being said, I strongly believe that you don’t have to be interested in MLT or even necessarily enjoy autobiographies for this book to be a really good choice.
Anyone who is simply a curious music educator will find his journey inspiring, thought-provoking, and even relatable.
I found it to be quite a delightful read and loved that it was an easily-consumable 130 pages.
Key quote:
Teaching is from the outside in whereas learning is from the inside out. (Page 102)