in any branch of learning in which he may have an intellectual
curiosity, or further courses in a field in which he has already taken
one course.
We are concerned here with those students pursuing the B.A.
degree who are not music majors, but who wish to take a course in
music while at college. A good many students take such a course, which
is usually regarded as a very important part of the work of the music
department of the college, and in some institutions is required. There
are various ways in which such a course is handled. In some colleges
it is planned especially for the general student, and is in the nature of
an introduction to music, in which various musical forms and media
such as the opera, oratorio, symphony, etc., are illustrated through the
hearing of a number of appropriate examples, with explanatory com-
ments by the instructor. A certain amount of elementary musical
theory may be taken up, at least enough to establish a few basic con-
cepts of tonality and harmony. Such a course may be described as
training in the appreciation of music. Often this is only a semester
course. In other colleges the course taken by the general student is
one which is also taken by music majors, and its nature is that of the
history and literature of music-a term that is frequently used as a
descriptive title in college catalogues, and which indicates in itself
something of the general difference in approach to the subject. In some
colleges the mingling of major and general students is carried on as a
measure of economy, whereas in others the mixture is a matter of edu-
cational policy, as it is felt that the general student who majors in lite-
rature, philosophy, art, etc. can contribute something that music
majors lack. This is revealed in class discussions, where a literature
student, for example, can often grasp the broader significance of a
work such as an opera better than a music major.
It should be understood that there are various individual differences
in the way each course is handled, and that not every course would
fall clearly into the category of being either an appreciation course or
a course in the history and literature of music. I shall return to a fuller
discussion of the nature and methods of the second of these two
courses shortly, but should like to digress for a moment to describe
briefly other opportunities for musical activity that are available to the
general student in most American colleges and universities. These may
be listed under four categories:
- Other cowJeJ in nntsic. The choice of such courses would depend upon
the student’s ability to pursue them; they may be in theory (harmony,
counterpoint, composition, orchestration, etc.), or history (advanced