Dr. Richard Grunow is Professor Emeritus of Music Education in the Department of Music Teaching and Learning at the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester. Among his numerous publications and contributions (see Appendix A for a comprehensive list), Dr. Grunow is perhaps best known as principal author of Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series, which was originally published in 1987 and is now in its third edition.
About the author
Brittany Valente
Brittany Valente is a graduate of SUNY Fredonia where she received both her Bachelor's (2018) and Master's Degree (2022) in Music Education, as well as the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence (2018). Brittany obtained certifications from the Gordon Institute of Music Learning (Instrumental, Level I) and Orff Schulwerk Association (Level I) that inspires her everyday teaching and professional growth. She is currently working as K-4 General Music, Band, and Chorus teacher in the Churchville-Chili Central School District outside of Rochester, NY.
I met with Dr. Grunow on a wet day in January 2023 at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Although he retired in 2016, Dr. Grunow was having a lively conversation with colleagues outside of the music education offices as if he had never left. He introduced me to Dr. Alden Snell and then to Dr. Christopher Azzara, who generously offered us his office for the interview. I had not met Dr. Grunow previously; however, we quickly connected over our experiences as instrumental music teachers. In this interview, I asked Dr. Grunow to reflect on his journey as a practitioner and scholar of Music Learning Theory (MLT). Without surprise, this interview provoked tremendous discussion, laughter, and even some musical interludes, which you will get to hear firsthand via the audio clips included throughout the article.
We began with a discussion about Dr. Grunow’s background, and he shared:
I grew up in Southwestern Wisconsin on a farm that had been in the family for over 100 years. My father was a farmer; he was also the Town Supervisor for 27 years. My mother was a teacher at the local high school in Mineral Point, where she taught civics, social problems, and remedial reading. She was my teacher for two years. I went to grade school in a one-room schoolhouse, and I had the same teacher for all eight grades. Other than holiday events, the only music instruction we had was from the radio—once a week, as I recall—sponsored by the Extension Division of the University of Wisconsin. The teacher, Edgar B. Gordon, was an early leader in radio music education. I believe the program was called “Music on the Air” or maybe “Let’s Sing.” He taught songs and used those songs to teach music reading. He was also an early leader in the Music Educators National Conference (MENC), now the National Association for Music Education (NAfME).Like many parents, my parents wanted my older siblings (sister and brother) and me to have experiences they weren’t afforded. Among many other activities, we each learned to play the piano and a band instrument. The band in Mineral Point had a long and storied history. Obviously, it had an important musical influence on me, but it also provided a strong social connection with other students.
My undergraduate degree, a B.S. in Secondary Education, was from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. The music department was not large, probably 50 majors at most. Because the department was small, I had many opportunities to participate in music making, e.g., in band, orchestra, choir, madrigal singers, marching band, stage band, piano accompanying, and more. It was also the first time I had private trumpet lessons. During the summers following my junior and senior years, I worked in the music library at the National Music Camp (now called Interlochen Arts Camp) in northern Michigan—a life changing experience! I heard great performances, studied trumpet, and played in numerous ensembles with terrific musicians. I am still in touch with friends I met at the camp. It was also a connection to the University of Michigan, where I later went for graduate school.
I did my student teaching at Beloit Memorial High School in Beloit, Wisconsin in Fall 1966. It was a large and well-established program, and I had a wonderful co-operating teacher. I was offered a job there at the end of my student teaching. I taught instrumental music at Beloit Memorial High School (grades 10-12) for two years and at Aldrich High School (grades 9-10) for five years. I began “summers only” graduate study at the University of Michigan in 1972. After three summers, I went full-time in Fall 1974 to complete an M.M. in Music Education. In Spring 1975, I was admitted to the doctoral program. I was also on faculty in the Music Education Department during 1977-78 when my advisor, James Froseth, was on leave. I began teaching at Eastman in 1979.
I then asked Dr. Grunow to talk about his introduction to Music Learning Theory:
When returning to Michigan to complete my master’s degree in Fall 1974, I was given the opportunity to teach in the newly established Instrumental Laboratory School. I would also be taking classes with James Froseth, who had studied with Edwin Gordon at the University of Iowa. Froseth was the author of The Individualized Instructor (1977), a beginning instrumental methods book. The series was strongly influenced by Gordon’s research in the 1960s. Piloting the Individualized Instructor was Thomas Dvorak (an instrumental music teacher in Wisconsin), who had studied with Froseth when he was teaching at the University of Wisconsin. Dvorak had just been hired to head up the new Instrumental Laboratory School at Michigan. He encouraged me to take a course with Gordon at the University of Wisconsin in Summer 1974 to prepare me to teach in the new Instrumental Laboratory School.
Having left the University of Iowa in 1972, Gordon was then teaching at the University of Buffalo. I had already read his Prentice Hall publication, The Psychology of Music Teaching (1971). With several “successful” years of instrumental music teaching behind me, I read the book from cover to cover, learning about music aptitude, music achievement, and the importance of tonality (tonic and dominant patterns) and meter (meter beats and tempo beats). Interesting, I thought, but what does that have to do with me? I have a concert coming up, and we must get the notes down…
The week-long course with Gordon was an eye-opener! During that seminar, he and his colleagues introduced concepts about teaching music that—if not in direct opposition to my previous seven years of teaching—were certainly an attractive addition. Above all, it just made sense! The sequential nature of instruction and the importance of singing and moving were fundamental. It was also my first exposure to solfège and rhythm syllables. I was highly motivated because I knew I would soon be teaching in the Instrumental Laboratory School at Michigan where I would be tasked with putting these concepts into practice.
I taught beginners (for the first time) in the Instrumental Laboratory School at Michigan. Much to my surprise, it was incredibly stimulating. I was previously under the impression that you could do more musical things with older students. My experience in the Instrumental Laboratory School proved otherwise. I have since devoted my life’s work to the teaching of beginning instrumental music. What we were doing at the time was far from MLT as we know it today. To be fair, the breadth and depth of MLT didn’t really come to fruition until Gordon was further along in his tenure at the University of Buffalo (1972-79).
In the summer of 1978, MENC sponsored the Ann Arbor Symposium on Applications of Psychology to the Teaching and Learning of Music at the University of Michigan. Gordon, still at the University of Buffalo, was one of the presenters. I heard his lecture, and I had some interaction with him that summer and again during the summer of 1979 at the second symposium. At that time, I had just accepted an offer to teach in the Music Education Department at the Eastman School of Music. Gordon was also leaving the University of Buffalo to teach at Temple University in Philadelphia.
In the summer of 1980, I was teaching an instrumental workshop—based on much of what I had experienced at Michigan—at the University of Southern Maine. During one of the classes, a participant (who had studied with Gordon) suggested I had “skipped Partial Synthesis.” Considering what I now understand, I certainly did skip Partial Synthesis. Having just attended one of Gordon’s Sugar Loaf seminars in Philadelphia, the participant suggested that I go to the next one in 1981, and I did. Gordon’s lectures were both intense and stimulating, but there were no practical applications of MLT as it existed at the time. In the mid-1980s, I began working with Gordon on Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series (henceforth JRI). Gordon and others had also begun work on a general music series.
When asked about the influence of MLT on his career, Dr. Grunow shared:
MLT has certainly influenced my teaching at Eastman and in presentations that I have made throughout the United States and abroad. I am not certain of this, but I may be the only person to have taught all four core graduate courses in the Music Education Department (now the Department of Music Teaching and Learning) at Eastman: History and Philosophy, Curriculum, Measurement and Evaluation, and Research. History and Philosophy was probably the first core course that I taught, early in my tenure at Eastman. If I had known more about MLT at the time, I am certain it would have had an even greater influence on my course content. An understanding of how children learn music sheds much light on how music should be taught and how it has been taught throughout history in the United States. It also provides clarity to various philosophical approaches. I taught the Curriculum class soon after I attended another seminar with Gordon at Sugar Loaf. The topic of the seminar was “Curriculum Based on Music Learning Theory,” also the topic of my first Curriculum class at Eastman. Chris Azzara was in that class, probably his first summer of graduate study at Eastman in 1985. That was the beginning of a now 38-year collaboration.
In the late 1980s, I began teaching Measurement and Evaluation. The course was in the curriculum at Eastman, but no one had taught it since 1975, when Paul Lehman left Eastman to teach at the University of Michigan. I was probably as passionate about teaching that class as I was about teaching Elementary Instrumental Methods. I included a section on MLT in the syllabus, and Gordon’s chapter on Measurement and Evaluation in Learning Sequences in Music (1980/2012) was “required reading.” A similar course was also approved as an undergraduate offering. The Assessment of Knowledge and Skills portion of the class is now included in the Teacher’s Guide for Recorder in the 3rd Edition of JRI (2020).
If it hadn’t been for MLT, I probably would have gone into administration, or into another profession. I could not have continued teaching music without the influence of MLT. The senses of tonality, meter, and style that are so pervasive in MLT are absent in most beginning instrumental instruction. I was department chair for six years at Eastman and an additional semester when the chair at the time was on leave. I think I have some aptitude for administration, but little desire. I took a couple courses in administration during my graduate study at Michigan. The classes just did not resonate with me; I wanted to teach music! MLT gave me something important to teach, and my own musicianship was improving in the process.
I couldn’t stop teaching because I was also motivated, motivated because I was learning something that was new to me. Sometimes we forget, or need to be reminded, that learning is by far the best motivator—not just for students, but for teachers as well.
I’ll give you an example: For years I taught tonal patterns and rhythm patterns starting immediately with tonal syllables (DO MI DO) and rhythm syllables (DU De DU De DU De DU De). I think it was at one of the Sugar Loaf Seminars back in the ‘80s that Gordon that I was introduced to teaching patterns first with a neutral syllable (“bum” for tonal and “bah” for rhythm). Previously, I was trying to teach two things at once—it was not efficient. I could hardly wait to get back into the classroom at Eastman that fall to teach what I had learned—teaching patterns first with neutral syllables and then with tonal and rhythm syllables. The change was astounding and immediate—for me and for the students. I could cite many other examples of Teaching Procedures I was learning: teaching mode/evaluation mode, improvisation, reading, writing… many more. It was highly motivating!
I next asked “What do you consider to be your contribution to MLT teaching?” and he laughed and responded immediately:
Obviously, Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series. It’s what has been my most significant contribution. But it’s not just me. It’s also Edwin Gordon, Chris Azzara, Michael Martin, and many others who have played important roles contributing to MLT and JRI. Dina Alexander—now Professor of Music Education at Roberts Wesleyan University in Rochester—was probably the first teacher to use JRI when she taught in an elementary school in Greece, NY. She had the musicianship skills and tenacity to embrace change. Her students demonstrated amazing musicianship skills. If I look back, I think I probably influenced a lot of students. If you have students who demonstrate musicianship skills and are open to change, you might influence them. They might also influence you. That is a healthy relationship.I also know it’s hard to sell—–and I don’t mean that monetarily—–it’s hard to sell an instrumental series to a profession that has for years, decades, probably near to a century, been devoted to starting students with whole notes that lack a context. By that, I mean lack a sense of tonality, meter, and style. Teachers typically associate fingerings with note names and counting with rhythms. Some of the songs students play are often unrecognizable because of the unmusical tempos and uncharacteristic rhythms. The students are not understanding the tonality, meter, and style of the songs they are playing. Sadly, most will drop out at the end of the first or second year of instruction— in large part, because they are not learning—learning to be independent music makers.
A basic problem we face today is an instrumental music curriculum driven largely by the concert. Developing independent musicianship skills gets put on the bench because instrumental music teachers do whatever necessary to put on that first concert—and many thereafter—where students demonstrate their ability to “read music.” It’s just hard to change a profession so steeped in tradition. I am pleased to see that many of the tenets we espouse in JRI are beginning to seep into other beginning methodologies, e.g., singing, movement, playing bass lines and harmony parts, and improvisation. I hope my biggest influence will be evident after I’m gone.
Dr. Grunow’s take on the key challenges related to teaching Music Learning Theory:
Despite the commonsense nature of MLT and JRI, many instrumental music teachers are resistant. If you’ve been teaching whole notes to beginners for 20 years and somebody comes along and says, “Well, you know, you really should be singing songs in many tonalities and meters, and the songs should be sung and played at musical tempos with characteristic rhythm, and you should also be accompanying them with piano, guitar, etc.…” A typical response might be, “Wait, you mean I have to re-tool?”
There are a lot of instrumental music teachers who consider themselves “pianistically challenged.” But in all honesty, if you can play a Tonic function and a Dominant function in major—in duple and triple—you can accompany hundreds and thousands of songs. If you can play Tonic and Dominant in minor, you have just doubled your repertoire. You can also use guitar, ukulele, or auto harp. Providing a harmonic background for students when learning songs—singing and playing—is incredibly important.
Making change even more difficult today is the reality that many students are not familiar with the songs included in most beginning instrumental method books— “Go Tell Aunt Rhody,” “Hot Cross Buns,” “Pierrot,” “London Bridge,” etc. —folk songs that are “public domain” and thus not subject to copywrite laws. If students are not familiar with those songs, the tenets of MLT suggest that we should also teach songs and genres that are familiar to them. Those songs might be rock, pop, country, spirituals, jazz, blues, hip-hop, classical melodies, and folk and holiday songs from many cultures, etc. We must strive to attract the very best musicians to the profession, those who are able to address many musical genres in addition to folk songs that may or may not be familiar to the students.
We must also find ways to ensure that students develop independent musicianship skills that extend beyond the instrumental classroom. We want our students to see themselves as intelligent listeners and music makers in many settings, not just in a band or orchestra. Unfortunately, the average instrumental music setting in the United States is not designed to build musicianship skills that students need to sustain lifelong musical engagement. Instead, most students stop playing their instruments once they reach adulthood, with a few returning to music making when they’re old enough to join a senior band or orchestra.
Summary
I did not know much about Dr. Grunow prior to our meeting. Aside from using the Teacher’s Guide (2001) in my band room each day, he was just another musician who could write a convincing lesson book. However, I left this conversation feeling incredibly grateful and empowered by Dr. Grunow’s insights, which validated my teaching experiences and the challenges I have faced so far in teaching MLT. The influence of Music Learning Theory through Edwin Gordon, James Froseth, and the Eastman community changed the course of Dr. Grunow’s life as a musician and teacher. In return, Dr. Grunow’s contributions—including but not limited to his nearly four decades of work on Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series—have influenced the lives and careers of many of the most prolific music educators in the field today.Conclusions
Change is an ever-present element of education. My conversation with Dr. Grunow highlights some of the challenges this change can present for MLT practitioners. Dr. Grunow also notes the frequent reluctance of non-MLT teachers to “re-tool” after a career of teaching music a certain way. However, in order to meet the evolving needs of students—and to keep up with policy changes (e.g., No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top) and public and academic discourses (e.g., diversity, equity, and inclusion; social-emotional learning)—teachers must be willing to adapt, and to always continue learning. As Dr. Grunow mentioned, learning new things can be highly motivating, not just for students, but for teachers, too. Whether it be practicing your major/minor, tonic/dominant chords, trying out new applications of tonal and rhythm patterns with students, introducing more variety into your ensemble repertoire, or guiding students to apply their musical skills outside the instrumental classroom, these small changes in combination with Music Learning Theory can evoke meaningful experiences for your students, your community, and yourself as a music educator.
References
Barresi, A. L. (1987). Edgar B. Gordon: A pioneer in media music education. Journal of Research in Music Education, 35(4), 259–274. https://doi.org/10.2307/3345078
Froseth, J.O. (1977). The individualized instructor: Preliminary book. GIA Publications.
Gordon, E.E. (2012). Learning sequences in music: A contemporary music learning theory. GIA Publications. (Original work published 1980).
Gordon, E.E. (1971). The psychology of music teaching. Prentice Hall.
Grunow, R.F. & Gordon, E.E. (1987). Jump right in: The instrumental series - Teacher’s guide for recorder (1st ed.). GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Azzara, C.D., & Gordon, E.E. (2020). Jump right in: The instrumental series - Teacher’s guide for recorder (3rd ed.). GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F.& Gordon, E.E. (2001). Jump right in: The instrumental series - Teacher’s guide for winds and percussion. GIA Publications.
Wochner, J. (2023, August 22). Edwin E. Gordon archive research guide. University of South Carolina. https://guides.library.sc.edu/c.php?g=1095063&p=8349565#s-lg-box-26733017
APPENDIX A:
A Comprehensive List of Publications by Dr. Richard Grunow and Colleagues
SOLO PUBLICATIONS (1980- )
Grunow, R.F. (1980). An investigation of the relative effectiveness of four modes of score preparation on visual-aural discrimination skills development. [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Michigan].
Grunow, R.F. (1989). Instrumental executive skills. New Ways, 5(3).
Grunow, R.F. (1989). Tonal learning sequence. In Walters D.L. & Taggart C.C. (Eds), Readings in music learning theory. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F. (1991). Music Learning Theory in collegiate music education [Newsletter]. The College Music Society.
Grunow, R.F. (1991). A new dimension in beginning instrumental instruction [Newsletter]. Gordon Institute for Music Learning, 4(1).
Grunow, R.F. (1992). The evolution of rhythm syllables in Gordon’s Music Learning Theory. The Quarterly, 3(4).
Grunow, R.F. (1992). The evolution of syllables in Gordon’s Music Learning Theory. Visions of Research in Music Education, 3(4).
Grunow, R.F. (1994). Jump right in: The instrumental series - Update [Newsletter]. Gordon Institute for Music Learning, 7(1).
Grunow, R.F. (1998). Instrumental readiness revisited. The GIML Audea, 4(1).
Grunow, R.F. (1999). Making connections between early childhood music and beginning instrumental music. Journal of Music- and Movement-Based Learning, 5(4).
Grunow, R.F. (1999). Recruiting beginning instrumentalists with musical objectives. Kodály Envoy, Organization of American Kodály Educators, 25(2).
Grunow, R.F. (2000). Methodology for group instruction in the teaching of instrumental music. Basics of Edwin E. Gordon’s Music Learning Theory in Bydgosczc, Poland.
Grunow, R.F. (2000). Research methodology in music education. Basics of Edwin E. Gordon’s Music Learning Theory in Bydgosczc, Poland.
Grunow, R.F. (2002). Dina Alexander: Pioneer in the use of Music Learning Theory in beginning instrumental music instruction. The GIML Audea, 8(11).
Grunow, R.F. (2003). Announcing the revision of Jump right in: The instrumental series - For strings. The GIML Audea, 9(1).
Grunow, R.F. (2004). Music Learning Theory: The road less traveled. The Michigan GIML, 7(2).
Grunow, R.F. (2005). Music Learning Theory: A catalyst for change in beginning instrumental music instruction. In Runfola, M. & Taggart, C. (Eds.), The development of practical application of Music Learning Theory. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F. (2009). Beginning instrumental music instruction based on Music Learning Theory. In the 7th Annual International Music Education Conference’s Publication, The World of Child’s Music: The Digest of Articles about Music Education of Children.
Grunow, R.F. (2009). Jump right in: The instrumental series - From the inside out and beyond. The GIML Audea, 14(1).
Grunow, R.F. (2015). Beginning instrumental instruction with the end in mind. In Lanham, M.D. (Ed.), Engaging musical practices: a sourcebook for instrumental music. Rowman & Littlefield Education.
Grunow, R.F. (2017). “Che cosa significa leggere la musica?” (What does it mean to read music?). Audiation: La Rivista, 4.
Grunow, R.F. (2019). Keynote address: 7th International Conference on Music Learning Theory. The GIML Audea, 22(1).
JUMP RIGHT IN: THE INSTRUMENTAL SERIES (1987- )
Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series with E. Gordon
Grunow, R.F. & Gordon, E.E. (1987). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series- Teacher’s Guide for Recorder. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F. & Gordon, E.E. (1987). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series- Student Book One/Home-study Cassette for Recorder. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F. & Gordon, E.E. (1988). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series- Ensemble Book One for Recorder. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F. & Gordon, E.E. (1989). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series- Teacher’s Guide for Winds and Percussion. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F. & Gordon, E.E. (1989-90). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series- Student Book One/Home-study Cassette for Winds and Percussion. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F. & Gordon, E.E. (1990). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series- Ensemble Book One for Winds and Percussion. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F. & Gordon, E.E. (1993). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series- Teacher’s Guide for Strings. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F. & Gordon, E.E. (1993). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series- Student Book One/Home-study Cassette for Strings. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F. & Gordon, E.E. (1994). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series- Ensemble Book One for Strings. GIA Publications.
Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series with E. Gordon and C. Azzara
Grunow, R.F., Gordon, E.E. & Azzara, C.D. (1989, -90, -96). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series - Solo Book One-Cassettes/CDs for Winds, Strings, and Percussion. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Gordon, E.E. & Azzara, C.D. (1993). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series - Solo Book Two-Cassettes/CDs for Winds, Strings, and Percussion. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Gordon, E.E. & Azzara, C.D. (1996). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series - Solo Book Three-Cassettes/CDs for Winds, Strings, and Percussion. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Gordon, E.E. & Azzara, C.D. (1994). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series - Solo Book One-Writing. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Gordon, E.E. & Azzara, C.D. (1995). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series - Solo Book Two-Writing. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Gordon, E.E. & Azzara, C.D. (1998). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series - Recorder Book One/CD, Second Edition. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Gordon, E.E. & Azzara, C.D. (1999). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series - Recorder Book Two/CD, Second Edition. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Gordon, E.E. & Azzara, C.D. (1999). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series - Teachers Guide for Recorder, Second Edition. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Gordon, E.E., & Azzara, C.D. with Donna Lewis (2000). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series – Composition Book One. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F. & Gordon, E.E. & Azzara, C.D. (2000). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series-Student Book One/CDs for Winds and Percussion. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F. & Gordon, E.E., & Azzara, C.D. (2001). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series - Student Book Two/CDs for Winds and Percussion. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F. & Gordon, E.E. & Azzara, C.D. (2001). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series - Teacher’s Guide for Winds and Percussion, Second Edition. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Gordon, E.E., & C.D. Azzara. (2003) Solo Book 1-A from Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series – for Winds and Percussion/CDs. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Gordon, E.E., & C.D. Azzara. (2003). Solo Book 1-B from Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series – for Winds and Percussion/CDs. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Azzara, C.D., & Gordon, E.E. (2020). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series—Recorder Book/Online Audio Files, Third Edition. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Azzara, C.D., & Gordon, E.E., (2021). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series - Teacher’s Guide for Recorder, Third Edition. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Azzara, C.D., & Gordon, E.E. (2021). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series - Tonal Flashcards for Recorder. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Azzara, C.D., & Gordon, E.E. (In Progress). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series - Teacher’s Guide, Student Books for Winds, and Percussion/Online Audio Files, Third Edition. GIA Publications.
Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series with E. Gordon, C. Azzara, & M. Martin
Grunow, R.F., Gordon, E.E., Azzara, C.D., & Martin, M.E. (2002). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series - Teacher’s Guide for Strings, Second Edition. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Gordon, E.E., Azzara, C.D., & Martin, M.E. (2002). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series - Student Book One for Strings, Second Edition. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Gordon, E.E., Azzara, C.D., & Martin, M.E. (2002). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series - Student Book Two for Strings, Second Edition. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Gordon, E.E., Azzara, C.D., & Martin, M.E. (2005). Solo Book 1-A from Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series – for Strings. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Gordon, E.E., Azzara, C.D., & Martin, M.E. (2005). Solo Book 1-B from Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series – for Strings. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F., Azzara, C.D., Gordon, E.E., & Martin, M.E. (2015). Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series – Rhythm Pattern Flash Cards (Mobile App). GIA Publications.
OTHER COLLABORATIVE WORK (1979-2019)
Score Reading Programs with J. Froseth and M. Fargo
Froseth, J.O. & Grunow, R.F. (1979). MLR instrumental score reading program: Home-study cassettes/CDs. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F. & Froseth, J.O. (1983). MLR instrumental score reading test: Cassette/CDs. GIA Publications.
Grunow, R.F. & Fargo, M.H. (1985). The choral score reading program: Home-study cassettes/CDs. GIA Publications.
Creativity in Improvisation with C. Azzara and E. Gordon
Azzara, C.D., Grunow, R.F. & Gordon, E.E. (1997). Creativity in improvisation: Book 1/CDs. GIA Publications.
Azzara, C.D., Grunow, R.F. & Gordon, E.E. (1997). Creativity in improvisation: Book 2/CDs. GIA Publications.
Azzara, C.D., Grunow, R.F. & Gordon, E.E. (1998). Creativity in improvisation: Getting started. GIA Publications.
Developing Musicianship through Improvisation with C. Azzara
Azzara, C.D. & Grunow, R.F. (2006). Developing musicianship through improvisation: Book 1/CDs. GIA Publications.
Azzara, C.D. & Grunow, R.F. (2010). Developing musicianship through improvisation: Book 2/CDs. GIA Publications.
Azzara, C.D. & Grunow, R.F. (2010). Developing musicianship through improvisation: Book 3/CDs. GIA Publications.
Azzara, C.D. & Grunow, R.F. (2011). Developing musicianship through improvisation: Book 1/CDs for Strings. GIA Publications.
Azzara, C.D. & Grunow, R.F. (2014). Developing musicianship through improvisation (Mobile App). GIA Publications.
Azzara, C.D. & Grunow, R.F. (2019). Developing musicianship through improvisation: Book 1-B/CDs. GIA Publications.