In this chapter Duke is addressing what the key objectives to teach are, and how to articulate

those objectives. Duke next points out the concepts of declarative, or “what,” knowledge as

opposed to procedural, or “how,” knowledge, and how declarative knowledge is far easier to

explain/tell someone about as it is more focused on memorizing and reciting.

Found a quote that I LOVE in regards to playing/performing “x”: “Although these are legitimate

goals in one sense, they are quite limited in another, and in a very subtle way they focus the

attention of both the teacher and the student away from the issue of performance quality, and

toward the goal of getting through the music.” This comfort in the mediocre completion may be

one of the most prevalent issues that I experience both by myself and in ensemble music.

Anyways, Duke segues into the importance of performance quality, and how musicians need to

focus on being able to explain what a “quality” performance consists of, and maybe even

reconsider what we consider to be “knowing” any given piece. Duke contends that we, as

musicians/music educators also should be aiming to practice habits of successful musicians,

and aim for ourselves/students to do so consistently, regardless of whichever piece we may be

playing/rehearsing at any given moment. Duke now looks at specialization in teacher education,

and claims that broad skills are generally more important than content - the skills are the “how”,

and the content is the “what”, once again bringing us around to the ideas of declarative and

procedural knowledge. Next Duke transitions to musicianship skills that should be built up in any

musician, but also being careful to note that some notions such as “playing position” may

slightly vary from person to person, and that there often is not a one-size-fits-all approach to

ideas like that. Duke rounds out this essay by listing behaviors/habits of “most good musicians”

that he believes can be practiced at all levels of musicianship. Some of the broad-level

behaviors include: social behavior in music settings, psychomotor skills (rhythm, intonation,

etc.), musical literacy, musical creativity, (varied, in-depth) knowledge of subject matter, and a

general appreciation for music.