The National Standards for Music Education

Abstract

The opportunity for individualized instruction in the college studio allows the studio teacher to be a strong influence on the development of music students. The private studio can be an arena for standards implementation, bringing all aspects of a comprehensive music education to fruition. The college studio teacher is often the only teacher who has individual, one-on-one experience with students throughout their undergraduate careers, and the convictions and teaching style of this studio professor could influence a novice music educator. College music studios, therefore, offer a look at the extent to which and how students are given opportunities to make these connections and to develop thinking about the importance of a comprehensive approach to their own musical development. If the goal of studio teaching is to develop musicianship and to foster lifelong pursuit of musical knowledge and understanding, then instructors might benefit from a standards-based teaching philosophy. Such a philosophy has the potential to revolutionize how future students view a complete music education. In this article, the author examines options for integrating each of the National Standards for Music Education into the private lesson studio.