Ashley Danyew

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031 - A Summer Reading List for Music Educators

Ashley Danyew

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031 - A Summer Reading List for Music Educators Ashley Danyew

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A Summer Reading List for Music Educators

Happy summer!

If you listen closely today, you'll probably hear some birds singing in the background — one of my favorite things about this time of year! Another thing I love about summer is picking out a new book (or three) to read.

I love having a book with me when I travel, but also the everyday times like sitting by the lake on a hot summer day, relaxing on the porch with a glass of sweet tea, or curled up in the sunroom on a quiet Sunday afternoon.

During the year, I like to read a mix of books from different categories. Maybe you’ve seen my book lists through the years — I tend to post one at the beginning of each year with a list of books I plan to read: Business, Spiritual & Lifestyle, Fiction, Personal/Intellectual, and Nonfiction/Memoir.

In the summer, I like to have at least one book that's an easy, light-hearted read — easy to pick up and put down, read outside or on a plane or in the car. I also like to choose a lifestyle-related book that will challenge me in some way or help me assess the rhythms and routines I've developed so far this year. And finally, I find summer is a great time to catch up on my development as a musician and educator, so I like having one book that I can learn from in that way.

If you're looking for a few books to add to your summer reading list, you're in the right place. Today, I'm sharing a few of my favorite summer reads (plus a couple I’m planning to read myself).

The first book on this summer reading list is Reading People by Anne Bogel.

Reading People (Anne Bogel)

I love personality assessments (I'm an INTJ, Enneagram #1, by the way). I love figuring out what type I am, how closely the description matches my perception of myself, and what it all means for life, work, and connecting with others.

If you can relate, I think you’ll love this book! It's a quick, easy read, one you can carry with you this summer and read in small doses.

The book is organized by personality framework (some I'd never heard of, which was fun and enlightening). Anne offers a summary of each one, how they relate to each other, and how we can use them to learn more about ourselves and the people around us. I learned a few new things about myself, but I also gained some insight into the people around me — family members and students — and how they perceive, judge, and respond to things.

So that's Reading People.

Next on the list is a book I read last summer and loved — Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. This one is definitely on my re-read list (and that's saying something since I'm not a big re-reader).

Digital Minimalism (Cal Newport)

Digital Minimalism was one of my favorites of all the books I read last year. Author Cal Newport provides some fascinating insight into the world of digital and social technology, shares several inspiring stories, and outlines some practical steps for using these technologies with intention.

I found myself reading several sections and sometimes entire chapters out loud to Steve. Just the idea of thinking about how we use technology -- for work, how we use it for social interaction and connection, and how that has evolved over the past decade? Two decades? And how much a part of our lives it is now and how different that is from the late 20th century.

The concept of having high-quality leisure time really resonated with us in that particular season and that's been something that we've carried with us into this year. We've both found ourselves spending less time on social media since reading this book and making sure that the time we do engage with digital and social technologies we're using with intention.

It's on the more serious side of things, but it's a great read for summer when the pace of life is usually a little slower.

Okay, the next book I recommend is geared toward piano teachers, but I think any music teacher will love and appreciate it. It's called Note by Note: A Celebration of the Piano Lesson by Tricia Tunstall.

Note By Note: A Celebration of the Piano Lesson (Tricia Tunstall)

This is a beautiful memoir. Tricia, a pianist and teacher, shares stories from her studio, glimpses into lessons with various students over the years, and valuable insight into the music teaching and learning process, both what she observed her students learning and what she herself learned as a musician and teacher.

It's an uplifting read and I think you'll be encouraged by her thoughtful perspective on what it means to be a music teacher.

Next is a novel — The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

The Help (Kathryn Stockett)

This, of course, is not a new book, but one I hadn't read until earlier this year. Given the current events in our world and the conversations we're having around racial injustice, equity, and inclusion, I found this to be a timely read.

If you're not familiar with the story, it's set in a small Southern town in the 1960s. A young white woman and a group of Black maids work together to write a tell-all book about being "the help," sharing stories that put their lives in danger.

The book was written in 2009 and made into a movie in 2011.

Next on the list is a book that's perfect for porch-sitting, lake-sitting, traveling, or whatever else you have planned this summer: Bella Tuscany by Frances Mayes.

Bella Tuscany (Frances Mayes)

Like all of Frances Mayes’ books, I am drawn to her lyrical writing style.

This book is a poetic recollection of spring and summer in Tuscany, from farmer’s markets to road trips along winding roads, gardening and trying new recipes, discovering new cities and villages, and developing new daily rhythms.

And it is delightful. Frances Mayes writes in such a vivid way that you can see the golden light, the olive trees casting shadows on the stone veranda, the gardens coming to life, the crowded street on Market Day.

It's almost like being there. Almost.

The next book on the list is another memoir, this one by Shonda Rhimes called The Year of Yes.

The Year of Yes (Shonda Rhimes)

This is a fun (and funny, like laugh-out-loud at times, funny) book about Shonda’s life and work, specifically, the year she decided to say “yes” to everything.

If you’re a fan of any of Shonda’s shows (Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, Private Practice, etc.), you’ll enjoy her writing style and behind-the-scenes insight into her inspiration and creative process.

Next on the list are a few books that are actually on my to-read list this summer. So I can't vouch for them yet, but I have curated this selection.

First is The Time of Our Singing by Richard Powers.

The Time of Our Singing (Richard Powers)

Written by a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, this story is about three musical, mixed-race children growing up during the Civil Rights era and struggling to navigate the social and musical worlds that threaten to divide them.

This one is a denser read, but from what I’ve heard, the prose is beautiful and it brings to light some of the racial inequalities that are present in the field of classical music still today.

The second is Mindset by Carol Dweck. This one is definitely a heady, research-y book, but one that's been on my to-read list for a while.

Mindset (Carol Dweck)

In this book, educational researcher and psychologist Carol Dweck explores the psychology behind how we achieve success. If you're not familiar with her research, she outlines two mindsets that determine how we see ourselves as learners: the fixed mindset, basically the idea that our abilities are fixed, and the growth mindset, the idea that our abilities can be developed with effort and time.

This book came recommended by one of my grad school professors years ago, but I've yet to pick it up and read it. Of course, I've read some of Carol Dweck's research articles for other projects, but I'm intrigued to learn more in this book.

The third is A Piano Teacher's Legacy by Richard Chronister.

A Piano Teacher’s Legacy (Richard Chronister)

You may remember me talking about this book in Episode 022 - On Being a Lifelong Learner. It's true. I started this book last summer and never finished it. Not because I didn't like it — actually, the opposite. I'm finding it so rich and full of valuable insight that I need to read it slowly to really take it all in.

Richard Chronister was a piano pedagogue and teacher of teachers. He started the first university degree program in piano pedagogy, co-founded the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (by the way — will I see any of you at the virtual conference this summer? I'd love to meet you there!), and served as founder and editor of Keyboard Companion magazine.

But at the same time he was doing all of this, he asked deep, reflective questions about the teaching process and how he could continue to improve throughout his career. Things like:

  • How can I teach my students to become independent learners?

  • What can I apply to my teaching from discoveries of the past and of my own time?

  • How can I become an acute observer of what my students are doing? And of what I am doing as a teacher?

I’ve learned so much already about my own teaching practice from the articles, essays, lectures, and addresses in this book and I'm looking forward to digging back into it over the summer when I have a little more time to read and reflect.

Happy reading!

So, there you go. Nine books to consider for your summer reading list. Let me know if you decide to read any of these — I'd love to hear your thoughts. Happy reading!

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