The music classroom is the perfect setting for investigative and imaginative inquiry--for teaching students how to talk about music. Because dialogue that is done well is too dynamic to be captured in a one-dimensional model, the ideas and frameworks in this article are merely intended to serve as springboards for eliciting richer discussions in the music classroom. Although this article will investigate dialogue and language systematically, it urges readers to keep in mind the improvisatory nature of good music teaching, particularly when teachers talk with students about music and musical experience. This article argues that when teachers ask thought-provoking questions about music, students can build language and thinking skills to help them talk about the music they encounter throughout their lives. (Contains 5 notes.)