It never ceases to amaze me that music education continues to seek justification when there are plenty of people in the world who would absolutely love to learn music and partake in its study. The problem lies in the delivery of our message and materials – things that seemingly have not changed since the invention of the printing press.

For example, where does a successful, hip young adult go to study music? He wants to learn musical concepts, the ‘inside baseball’ stuff regardless of his chosen instrument. His choices are limited to academia (which takes itself and its music way too seriously and probably does not meet his needs by genre) or lessons in a music shop where novice musicians (who are usually even greener teachers) attempt to ‘educate’ him by rote with no regard to the sequence of concepts.

But this same young adult is as important to our future as a university student if not more. He is our best resource, our strongest consumer and sharpest customer – he can become our strongest advocate as well. But teaching him classical music (or any music for that matter) with outdated method books and the same tired traditions will only lead to his frustration and demise. He will never get close to the ‘participation’ that Lee Eisaman speaks of or that ‘self-satisfied’ feeling of ‘getting what one expects and being intrigued when one doesn’t’. We will have lost a chance to make him an active participant in the full spectrum of musical possibilities and will have been our own fault.