This 2009 book is the first book on teaching artistry by a major publisher. It is used across the country and world as the introductory book to the field. Although it emphasizes music in the title, it is written for teaching artists in all disciplines. Available at online booksellers, through Oxford University Press, and through Amazon:Purchase Now
Endorsements
Leaders in the arts and arts education swear by and trust in this “Bible”:
“This is the most anticipated book in the performing arts world—by artists who want to teach as well as they play, by concert presenters and educators dying to engage artists who know how to communicate, and by audiences, young and old alike, ready to be transformed by artists who have the desire to teach, communicate, encourage, advocate, inspire, mentor… or, put more simply, to change lives. As a concert presenter eager to engage artists who know how to communicate effectively with their audience, I’m pleased—no, make that ecstatic—the ‘Bible’ is finally here… and THE master teacher artist wrote it!”
“As ever, Eric combines his unique insights into the arts and education, his profound commitment to improving the teaching of the arts in this country, his intellect, his humor—and, in this case, his wonderful writing—to produce a book that stands a very good chance of, yes, becoming a bible for many in music education.”
“Teaching artists have been too long overlooked and taken for granted as the crucial players they are in the American arts and arts education ecosystem. I know that the state arts agencies, most of whom already know and rely on Eric Booth, and all of whom rely on teaching artists to fulfill their mission of expanding arts engagement, welcome this foundation building book. This is a book the field has needed, from an author we trust. Study these pages well.”
“Eric Booth’s important new book elegantly presents the essential elements of how teaching artists can change the world for the better through their art. This book is a must read for anyone who cares about the important role that the arts play in our society.”
“The surge of interest in teaching artistry, along with the realization of its urgent need, has affected many of us deeply, and certainly myself as a performing and composing musician. Having had the good fortune to be energized and inspired by Eric Booth several times in and around Lincoln Center, I now welcome this elegant and informative distillation of his ideas and experiences in The Music Teaching Artist’s Bible. Like a bible, it is a compilation of helpful hints to be carried around with one as one goes through the important work of one's life. However, Mr. Booth’s work does not present itself as The Given Word, but rather an opening and a welcoming to our calling. I can easily imagine ‘converting’ some of my more self-involved colleagues to a wider and vastly more vibrant and exciting artistic life by using the ideas in this book. We look forward to a time when all artists are, at least in part, teaching artists.”
“Bless Eric Booth for showing us how to better do our job—bringing the sacred joy of music-making to everyone. And bless this book for showing us musicians, who actually ‘play’ music for a ‘living,’ how we can bring our audiences more deeply inside the music in practical, fun and satisfying ways.”
“Like Gray’s Anatomy of the Human Body for doctors, Eric Booth’s Music Teaching Artist's Bible is the foundational resource for not just music teaching artists but those of any art form. Eric brings years of hard-earned learning and experience as a teaching artist working across multiples sectors, together with condensed observation, potent insights, and immediately accessible, practical skills and drops it on your doorstep. I see dog-eared copies on every great teacher's bookshelf only moments from printing.”
“The Music Teaching Artist's Bible fills a gap in the arts learning field, providing the first foundation book for the burgeoning field of teaching artists. Both the arts and education need more and better teaching artists, and teaching artists need this book. Eric Booth is the nation’s leading authority on the subject, and his writing is as lively as a teaching artist’s workshop.”
“This book is a must-read for any musician who wants to be a Teaching Artist, or who is curious about how to be more effective in this growing field. Eric Booth, with decades of experience as a teaching artist himself and as a pioneer in teaching artist professional development, is the only person who could have written this pivotal work. It belongs in every musician’s, every conservatory’s, every teaching artist’s library.”
“This is a timely and very useful book. The role of the Teaching Artist is growing in the musical world. Booth’s book shows how to do it well and affirms the importance of this burgeoning profession.”
“In The Music Teaching Artist’s Bible Eric Booth has given us a humane, inspirational, and practical handbook for artists who teach; more importantly, his insights provide a pathway to revitalized, fully-engaged, 21st-century musicianship.”
“This is an engaging provocative, and practical book: engaging in its style, provocative in its ideas, practical in its guidance to teachers, whatever their art form or discipline. Just what those of us who have experienced the teaching artistry of Eric Booth expect and admire. He’s taught us all.”
“Even for those who don’t set out to be a teacher, the fact is that every artist is, in fact, a teacher. So go ahead and embrace your Inner Teacher and read this practical, yet oh-so-inspirational book. There is no question that the ideas Eric Booth has to share will make you a more effective teacher and a better artist!”