“Teaching by Example: Non-Conceptual Instruction in the Theory Classroom.” In The Norton Guide to Teaching Music Theory, eds. Rachel Lumsden and Jeffrey Swinkin. New York: W. W. Norton, 2017 (forthcoming).
The theory teacher can exemplify theoretical concepts in the very act of teaching them by uncovering and emphasizing their experiential bases—the social, physical, and emotional experiences for which theoretical notions are, in my view, metaphorical. The teacher should exemplify such concepts in order to instill them in students more deeply and intuitively.