Jason "Sage" Sagebiel

Jason Sagebiel is an American music educator, composer, and founder of Sage Music, a music education organization that applies principles of cognitive science and neuroplasticity to the teaching of music. His work sits at the intersection of musical artistry, learning science, and neurological recovery, and has been recognized by leading cultural institutions, academic publishers, and national media.

Jason’s story, ideas, and work have been featured by The New Yorker, NPR / WNYC, and Fora.tv, and published by Oxford University Press and Indiana University Press. He has been invited to present and perform alongside Pulitzer Prize–winning composers and is a former faculty member at the City University of New York (CUNY).

In recognition of his leadership as a veteran entrepreneur and arts educator, Jason was named Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Jason Sagebiel’s work in music education grew out of lived experience rather than theory alone.

A former U.S. Marine Scout-Sniper and Iraq War veteran, Jason sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) during his military service. The injury profoundly disrupted his ability to perform music — an ability that had previously been central to his identity as a composer and musician.

Rather than abandon music, Jason spent years rebuilding his musicianship from the ground up. In the process, he began studying cognitive science, neuroplasticity, motor learning, and the psychology of learning, seeking to understand how the brain actually learns complex physical skills like music.

This work did not begin as a commercial project. It began as a necessity.

Over time, this research and experimentation became the foundation of a new approach to music education.

Jason’s research ultimately led to the development of the Arpeggio® Music Learning System, a structured pedagogy designed to align music instruction with how the brain forms, retains, and develops complex skills.

The system emphasizes:

The Arpeggio® system is now the pedagogical foundation of Sage Music and has been used by students of all ages — from beginners to advanced musicians — to learn more efficiently and with greater confidence.

Rather than being a shortcut, the system is designed to reduce wasted effort, helping students understand what they are doing, how to do it, and how to learn it fastest.

Jason’s work as a composer, performer, and thinker has earned recognition from some of the most respected figures in American music.

He was featured in the Elebash Presents: Concerts & Conversations series at the CUNY Graduate Center — a prestigious program that has historically included Pulitzer Prize–winning composers and performers. Jason was the only musician in the series at the time who had not yet received a Pulitzer Prize, appearing alongside figures such as John Corigliano, William Bolcom, Ursula Oppens, and Joan Morris.

During the conversation portion of the concert, Pulitzer Prize–winning critic Alex Ross (The New Yorker) offered the following response to Jason’s work:

Jason Sagebiel’s work has been examined by journalists and critics exploring the relationship between music, war, trauma, learning, and recovery.

His work and story have been featured on The Rest Is Noise, the blog of Pulitzer Prize–winning critic Alex Ross, and discussed publicly by Ross during the Elebash Presents: Concerts & Conversations series at the CUNY Graduate Center.

Additional coverage includes appearances on NPR / WNYC’s Soundcheck & New Sounds, WFUV, KUHF's The Front Row, as well as features in the Houston Chronicle and Washington Times, where his work was examined in the context of music, military experience, and recovery.

Selected media and public scholarship include:

These appearances focused not on promotion, but on contributing lived experience and insight to broader cultural and scientific conversations.

Jason Sagebiel served as Assistant Professor of Music at the City University of New York (CUNY), for 16 years where he designed courses in Teaching Music and Musicianship, and contributed to academic discourse on music, performance, and learning.

His work and experience have been documented in peer-reviewed and academic publications, including:

These publications situate Jason’s work within broader scholarly discussions on music, cognition, and human resilience.

Jason Sagebiel continues to teach, research, write, and develop music education methods and tools that bridge science, artistry, and human experience. His ongoing work focuses on improving how musicians learn, how teachers teach, and how music can remain accessible even in the face of injury or adversity.

His work continues to inform curriculum design, teacher training, and student learning at Sage Music through ongoing writing, speaking, learning application development, and pedagogical improvement.