Suzanne Burton has assembled a collection of innovative experts who provide classroom-tested strategies that are responsive to and that affirm middle school students’ musical identities, abilities, and interests. If you are looking for a resource for creating inclusive classroom environments to meet the needs of all students, this is it! You’ll find research-based pedagogy to help you maximize each student’s individual potential and to support them as they continue their journey for personally meaningful music making in a variety of contexts and across the lifespan.

Jill Reese, PhD, Associate Professor, SUNY Fredonia

Burton has amassed an impressive list of authors, all of whom strike a beautiful balance between theory and practice while exploring rich, diverse opportunities available to music educators in the general music classroom. This text is necessary reading for anyone who wishes to inspire a sense of independence, collaboration, and lifelong appreciation of music in and outside of the classroom.

Nicholas Ryan McBride, PhD, Assistant Professor of Music Education, The College of New Jersey

Suzanne Burton has recruited outstanding, experienced middle school general music pedagogues to offer practical and inspirational advice. Each and every chapter could form the basis of a new creative take on the (sometimes neglected) middle school general music curriculum. Readers will garner expert wisdom on middle school music topics as varied as songwriting, ukulele, the use of technology, and standards-based assessment.

Ann Marie Stanley, PhD, Aloysia L. Barineau Associate Professor and Head of Music Education, Louisiana State University