One role of music education research is to "enhance knowledge regarding the teaching and learning of music," however, despite the fact that music education research is published several times each year in multiple journals, a communication gap between music researchers and music teachers continues to exist. Three suggested reasons teachers have little involvement in research are: (1) they lack training in research techniques; (2) many regard research as an "ivory tower activity, one best appreciated by a small group of "elitist academics"; and (3) research jargon and technical terms can be off-putting to those who are not familiar with them. The present study explored practicing music teachers in Texas and their access to music education research, their impressions regarding research, and ways they believe it could help them more. Four hundred Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) members were selected at random from the TMEA website to participate in an online survey requesting basic demographic information: level taught, area taught, number of years teaching, the highest degree they had attained, and whether the respondent was enrolled in a graduate program. Respondents were asked how much time they spent per month reading research journals and whether they perceived that their reading informed their teaching. Next, respondents indicated the methods by which they typically sought to improve their teaching (e.g., workshops, journals, courses). Space was provided for respondents to write how they believed music education research could better serve them. Research indicated teachers surveyed in this study do not seem to believe research journals are meeting their objectives. Workshops often give teachers ready-made lessons and strategies they can implement immediately. Teachers search the internet for instant access to resources for their teaching. Teachers read books and magazines that they find interesting or that include topics in which they want to improve. [Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Texas Music Educators Association (San Antonio, TX, Feb 2011).]