[Audio Empire]

On Wed, 29 Aug 2012 16:41:14 -0700, Gary Eickmeier wrote
(in article ):

All right - interesting way of looking at it, both of you. I just assumed
that being taught performing automatically gives you an appreciation of what
goes into it, and the music you are playing. My daughter is being taught
right now by the first chair cello player of the Imperial Symphony
Orchestra. They don't go on field trips to the concerts, but I must ask him
if he teaches music appreciation as part of the course.

Well, you are correct of course, learning to play and playing an instrument,
does indeed, teach an appreciation of music. However playing an instrument
requires a level of commitment beyond what most teens are willing take on.
Music appreciation is wholly passive - all they have to do is listen. When it
was offered, lots of kids took it. Most just took it because it was an easy
credit, but when they emerged from the course, they had been exposed to great
music that otherwise they might never have heard.

Trying to think of examples from other fields of study. We study English
writing, and isn't an appreciation of English literature part of that? We
study art, and isn't art appreciation part of that? Similar for photography,
filmmaking, cooking, other languages? Just asking.

Sure, but literature classes merely READ the literature and, of course,
discuss it. It doesn't require that the student write literature. An art
appreciation course merely exposes the students to the different schools of
art through the ages, it doesn't require that they be able to draw or paint.
Etc.

Audio_Empire