An entirely new approach to music education, this book offers a guide to helping music become an authentic and meaningful force throughout our lives.

Daniel J. Levitin, author, "This Is Your Brain on Music"

With one foot in research and the other in practice, author Robert Woody enriches our understanding of how musical identity emerges in young people, and how it can be supported by parents, teachers, and other facilitating adults. His descriptions of relevant research in psychology and education, and the reflections he shares of many years of working with young musicians, offer a valuable and articulate argument on the making of real musicians from musical kids.

Patricia Shehan Campbell, Music, Education, and Diversity: Bridging Cultures and Communities

Whether you are a parent or a music educator, Woody’s sociological perspective on how to become a real musician will challenge your thinking as it has challenged mine. This book strongly affirms the idea that children are not born musicians, but become musical through appropriate musical experiences that are supported and valued by the adults in their lives. This notion could change the world’s perspective on how music functions in the lives of people.

Glenn E. Niermann, past president, National Association for Music Education; Glenn Korff Chair of Music, Professor of Music Education and Associate Director, University of Nebraska-Lincoln