Teaching Music Appreciation: First Day of Class Tips

When I first started teaching Music Appreciation, I struggled with engaging students in some of the earlier classes related to basic concepts and early music. However, by changing the tone of the very first class, I have been able to set a tone for the course that inspires students to allow themselves to be moved by the music as well as challenging them to think critically about the pieces being studied. Here are some tips for how to approach the first class of a Music Appreciation course: Create space for students to share their personal involvement and interest in music. I begin the class by having a brief open discussion to determine a bit about the student’s prior musical experience and their interest in particular genres. I then share a bit about my involvement with music so they know why I am qualified to teach the course and to help them understand my passion for the subject. Share a favorite piece. Some feel it is important to teach courses related to the creative arts with no bias toward personal favorites, however I feel the first class is a great time to share a piece that particularly resonates with me as a way to inspire the class to personally identify with particular composers. I often play Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, first discussing the history of fanfares, and then commenting on how Copland composed this piece for everyone rather than royalty, elevating our “common” experiences to a level that in the past had been reserved for members of nobility.
Begin a discussion related to “talented listening”. In Aaron Copland’s treatise Music and Imagination, he states “listening is a talent, and like any other talent or gift, we possess it in varying degrees. I have found among music-lovers a marked tendency to underestimate and mistrust this talent, rather than to overestimate it… I should say that there are two principal requisites for talented listening: first, the ability to open oneself up to musical experience; and secondly, the ability to evaluate critically that experience…Listening implies an inborn talent of some degree, which, again like any other talent, can be trained and developed.” After sharing this quote, begin a discussion related to what it means to “open oneself up to musical experience” and to “evaluate critically.” Challenge students’ critical thinking skills by asking them to define music. Rather than diving directly into some of the basic concepts held in early chapters of most music appreciation texts, first give students a few minute to come up with their own definition of music, and then lead a class discussion to determine shared concepts students noted and to establish a class definition of music. Then further challenge students by playing pieces that might challenge their definition, such as pieces without a melody of changing pitches,such as Steve Reich’s Clapping Music, and John Cage’s silent and controversial work 4’33”.

By utilizing these tips you will provide an opportunity for students to share their experience with music, express your personal passion, inspire students to develop their inborn talent for listening, and challenge students to think critically about the nature of music. Students leave the first class session better understanding the way you would like them to approach listening, and empowered to better express their opinion and analyze the works and concepts that will be discussed in the rest of the course.


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