More than anyone else, students have shaped this book. In over twenty years of teaching music appreciation, I have learned as much from my students as I learned from my own teachers. The ways in which students respond to music, the questions asked, the elements that pique interest, and the many musical experiences that help to develop a lifelong appreciation—all of these came into play in the writing of this book.

One key goal I had in mind was to keep this book streamlined. Although it is comprehensive in teaching the fundamentals and the history of music, it is shorter than many music appreciation texts. I have attempted to clearly convey key concepts within an appealing narrative, asking myself as I wrote, "What do students really need to know?" My hope is that the resulting book will be flexible for a variety of teaching approaches and highly readable for students. I wanted to support this approach with pedagogy that stimulates student interest, reinforcing listening skill development within the fascinating historical context of Western music. Experience Music! has an abundance of features to engage students. And so another question I asked was "How do students really learn?"

With these questions playing in my head, Experience Music! developed into a student-centered music appreciation text that I hope will give students an appreciation of music that endures for a lifetime.

Although Experience Music! is a first edition, it is not a completely new book. The foundations of this text are based on Robert Hickok's Exploring Music, a book that was highly regarded and widely used through five editions. I taught from that book for several years and always liked its warm, appealing tone and balanced coverage. I was very happy to be given the opportunity to propose ideas for a new version of the text that would build on the enduring strengths of Bob's text but also approach today's students in new ways.