24 • The Art of Teaching Music

� e value of reverence lies not only in the momentary feeling it engen-

ders. Some religions rely on moments of conversion and translation in

which an individual enters a di� erent state of consciousness or being.40

Doubtless, these experiences are transformative and life- changing events.

Still, the long- term practice of reverence engenders humility and meek-

ness, qualities sometimes rare in today’s highly competitive musical world

yet precious wherever they are found. Some of the greatest musicians and

teachers I know are humble because they have made a practice of studying

music that they regard as exemplary, they are enormously respectful of the

tradition in which they work, and they make it a habit to join with other

musicians whose expertise inspires them to do the best they can. Such hu-

mility in the midst of their expertise is inspiring maybe because it seems so

paradoxical; it gives them authority and prompts the reverence of their

students. I think, for example, of some of the musician- teachers with whom

I have had the privilege to work who might be pleased but not content with

a par tic u lar per for mance and immediately dive, full of zest, joy, and hope,

into some other challenge. Such teachers are not known to try to impress

others with who they are or how much they know. Instead, their devotion

to the pursuit of musical erudition and artistic brilliance, and their love of

life and the good things it o� ers, seem akin to those pertaining to a sacred

vocation. And it is not surprising that they are revered by their students as

they also command their deep respect and awe.

Lives well lived, stories well told, music well created, and instruction

well given are inspiring; they are so well done that they prompt those who

hear, see, and feel them to wish that they might emulate these things. Inspi-

ration is a profound educational value because it gives the learner a deep

desire to imitate the teacher and act in certain ways. Donald Arnstine sug-

gests that a principal aim of education should be to cause students to be

disposed to act in par tic u lar ways.41 Teachers can accomplish this vari-

ously. Inspiration moves from impulse and desire to action. In Dewey’s

view, teachers ought to start with students’ impulses as the beginning

points for their subsequent growth.42 Such impulses do not only occur

naturally but can also be created by teachers through inspiration, as teach-

ers create the circumstances in which students conceive desires to think,

do, and be something bigger, grander, higher than what they might other-

wise have contemplated. � e moments when students are inspired by the

ideas and practices before them, and know desires and impulses to emulate

what they have seen, heard, and felt, are pure gold. O� en, these moments

constitute breakthroughs and turning points in the experience of members

of the learning community. And if seized upon by teachers and students,