David J. Potter

David Potter is the Associate Professor and Coordinator of Music Education at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, where he serves as founder, director, and teacher of early childhood classes at the University of Wisconsin-Superior Community Music School, and teaches university courses focusing on elementary/secondary general music, ear training, songwriting, and education. Before coming to UW-Superior, Potter supervised student teachers and taught courses in Elementary Methods and Materials in Music and Songwriting at Michigan State University, where he earned his Ph.D. in music education. He also received his B.M. in music education from the Eastman School of Music, and an M.M. in music education from the Crane School of Music.

As a UWS faculty member, Potter received the Community Engagement Award and Rising Star Award, and prior to teaching at UWS, he received the David J. Teachout Award from the Society for Music Teacher Education. He has taught elementary and early childhood music in New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Michigan, and Wisconsin. While teaching in Tennessee, he received the Tennessee Music Education Association Outstanding Young Music Educator Award, was named Teacher of the Year, and served as a co-writer of the Tennessee state standards for music education.

Potter’s research interests include improvisation, creativity, assessment, evaluation, and policy in music education. His book, Learning to Improvise: Readiness and Harmonic Audiation (co-authored with Cynthia Crump Taggart, Professor Emeritus of Michigan State University), provides hundreds of detailed teaching plans, recordings, songs, strategies, and extensions to develop improvisation readiness and skills across the lifespan. Additionally, Potter’s work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed music education journals. He has served as president of the Wisconsin Society for Music Teacher Education, on the editorial board for Arts Education Policy Review, and as an active member of the Gordon Institute for Music Learning. He is also an active clinician and presenter.