Now I Love Music Practice: A Motivational Book for Music Pupils.

Now I Love Music Practice: A Motivational Book For Music Pupils, by Ron Ottley. Eileen Margaret Publishing, 2009. www.teachyourfingers.com; 93 pp. $12.95 (includes shipping).

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Now I Love Music Practice is written for any music student needing encouragement in practice. It is designed both in its appearance and content to appeal to students ages 10 years and older. The book represents the collective wisdom and experience of the author, whose intent is to encourage a life-long love of music.

Organized into 33 short chapters, the book is personably written and directed to the student. Chapters include such inviting titles as "Trek to the South Pole" and "The Bar, The Birds and the Beasts." I recognized some of my own habits in "Music Practice Has a Tipping Point'--the tendency to procrastinate until a task becomes insurmountable. Other chapters recall and apply Aesop's Fables. Encouraging quotes and aphorisms are generously sprinkled throughout the text. Additionally, the author uses personal stories and analogies with the main goal of motivating students to practice, assume personal responsibility and persevere in music.

The content is not a step-by-step approach to practice techniques, but a philosophical guide to encourage student accountability. It represents a motivational, rather than a procedural approach to practice. While a philosophical approach may not work for every student, the book is a great resource for any teacher looking for motivational ideas to present to students.

With its easy-to-read format, personal style and encouraging tone, this book would be useful as studio waiting-room reading or the individual reinforcement needed for a discouraged student--Reviewed by Stephen Allen, Brigham Young University-Idaho