Broad Landscape of School Jazz Education

Abstract

Previous research has shown what school jazz educators spend their time teaching, but not how they teach those things or why. Certain instructional strategies are correlated with high student achievement in jazz, but it is not known whether school jazz teachers are utilizing them or what those strategies look like when they do. Teaching School Jazz: Perspectives, Principles, and Strategies introduces the reader to two expert, yet very different, school jazz educators, whose case studies are inserted in chapters throughout the book. Bruce considers himself an experienced music teacher who happens to also teach jazz, rather than a professional jazz musician. Emily, on the other hand, considers herself both an experienced music teacher and a professional jazz musician. This chapter describes differing thoughts about and approaches to teaching school jazz to help paint a picture of what school jazz looks like.