Improve Your Teaching!: Book

Harris writes as someone who has actually stood in front of students and knows where teaching breaks down. This handbook moves beyond theory into the specific moments that define effective instruction, particularly how Simultaneous Learning helps students build genuine musical understanding rather than isolated technical skills. Directors will recognize themselves in these pages and find themselves returning to it year after year as their teaching evolves.

This handbook speaks directly to instrumental and vocal teachers who want a coherent philosophy underlying their daily work. Whether you teach private lessons, coach ensembles, or both, Harris provides actionable strategies that address the real friction points in music education without oversimplifying them.

• Reference the lesson preparation section when designing your first few weeks of group instruction; Harris outlines how to structure time so students develop listening and analytical habits from day one.
• Use the memory and aural work strategies to strengthen your ensemble's ability to internalize sound before they rely on notation.
• Apply the sight-reading framework progressively throughout the year rather than isolating it as a separate skill.
• Explore the improvisation and composition guidance to integrate creative musicmaking into your regular rehearsals without derailing technical progress.

Use this as a reference during your planning periods and professional development time, returning to specific chapters as you redesign units or troubleshoot recurring teaching challenges. The Simultaneous Learning framework works best when integrated gradually into your existing curriculum rather than implemented all at once.

• Making connections between musicianship elements (technique, aural perception, notation reading, creativity)
• Memorization techniques grounded in musical understanding
• Aural discrimination and ear training integration
• Effective practice habits and self-directed learning
• Improvisation and composition as tools for deepening understanding
• Sight-reading fluency
• Group learning and collaborative musicmaking