The Sayre Series™

The Sayre Series™ is a collection of musicianship workbooks for cultivating strong basic musicianship in early-to-intermediate-level music students (of all ages). The genesis of the work wasn’t quite intentional, but it wasn’t accidental either; it was something in between.

I created materials for cultivating well-rounded basic musicianship with my students for decades, mostly because I had a hard time finding effective existing materials. Colleagues routinely asked for copies of the things that I made; consequently, I gradually organized, reworked, and expanded my teaching materials into two large-scale formal works: The Sayre Series™ and The American Musicianship Suite™. The Sayre Series™ provides teachers and students with an array of valuable musicianship materials for use in tandem with, and as companion to, the great variety of excellent existing instrumental methods. The Sayre Series™ is designed with four objectives:

Facilitate substantive general music education

Unify study of applied instrumental lessons, ear-training, and music theory

Bridge pedagogic disconnect among various musical instruments, teachers, and curricula

Support collaboration between and among students, teachers, private lessons, group lessons, classrooms, and ensembles

The Sayre Series™ Educational Philosophy

The Sayre Series™ is constructed using three fundamental principles:

Integrated presentation of the materials of music

Organic growth of awareness and skill methodically cultivated over time

Active, synergistic engagement and reinforcement through multiple, varied stimuli

The Sayre Series™ Mission Statement

The Sayre Series™ mission is to strengthen general public education, to elevate musical pedagogy, and to facilitate and support cultural enrichment for all.