modes in the added voices, etc. Analogies of this piece with expressions
of Gothic art in other media will be dealt with. Each work taken up
is considered both as representative of the period from which it
emerged, and as an individual work of art with its own particular
expressive features.
In most American colleges such courses usually meet for an hour’s
lecture three times a week throughout the school term of nine months.
The class meeting is usually supplemented with further meetings in
which small groups of students listen to works discussed in the class,
and to other works of the same period.
The use of audio-visual aids is widespread in the United States.
Apart from the phonograph, slides of various kinds are frequently
used. These include scores of the music which is being heard, pictures
of famous churches, opera houses, etc., for which the music was com-
posed, autographed scores of the music and other documents; any-
thing, in short, which is related in a meaningful way to the circum-
stances in which the music was written, and which thus aids in its
comprehension. The use of printed scores and books of musical exam-
ples for more detailed analysis of music has been coming more and
more into use in these courses.
In the students’ work outside the class, readings are assigned in
various books dealing with the history of music, and in reference works
on the subject. Sometimes the teacher requires the use of a standard
history which students follow throughout the course, in addition to
reading in other works, and students sometimes write papers on cer-
tain aspects of the music they study.
In the examination given during this course, various types of ques-
tions are asked to reveal the students’ factual knowledge, abstract think-
ing, aesthetic judgement, understanding of the relationships of music
with other arts, recognition of music actually studied or of style in
music heard for the first time.
In closing, it is perhaps unnecessary to repeat that there are many
differences in the various colleges and universities as to the manner in
which details of the various materials and methods are handled, but
I believe that the foregoing account may be regarded as representative
of the best American practice. Regardless of these differences, our aims
are fairly consistent. We try to make intelligent listeners of our stu-
dents, to create in them a background of ideas, knowledge, and atti-
tudes that will enrich and make more significant their further contact
with whatever music they hear. They will have had a certain exercise in
aesthetic judgment, they will have learned certain principles of musical
singke
(singke)
#1