The Status And Problems Of Music Appreciation In The Negro High Schools Of Texas With Remedial Measures

Author

Dillard Warner, Prairie View University

Date of Award

5-1947

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Degree Discipline

Music

Abstract

MUSIC APPRECIATION: HISTORIC CONSIDERATION

Implications of Appreciation

The study of music appreciation originated from the effort to prepare American audiences at symphony concerts to listen more intelligently to pure (instrumental) music. The aim was to help the people to better understand and therefore enjoy what they heard. The means employed at first were the analytic programs instituted by the Boston Symphony and Thomas Orchestras. Soon after the introduction of these analytical notes in the program, a man with vision adapted the idea to the general study of music appreciation by- music students not only for better preparation for listening but for the cultivation of powers of interpretation. To spread a desire for study and afford the proper preparation for teachers, W. S. B. MATTHEWS wrote and published an outline under the title "HOW TO UNDERSTAND MUSIC" in which was set forth the nature of the study and also well defined and systematized courses for teachers of appreciation. Naturally there followed a number of similar books differing only in details of material to be used and in order of presentation. His study was largely technical and suited only for adult minds. The opening years of the present century witnessed an epochal advance if not revolutionary in conception and development of music appreciation.

The perfection of electric recording machines, combination radio phonographs and this invention coincided with the spread of music education and art education for children and people of all ages. And so, we see that music appreciation as conceived when treated as a separate subject originated in America. Naturally, we ponder over the fact that most all of our music literature is transported from foreign lands. Hence, it seems as if music appreciation should have originated at least in Europe. But I think this is easily explained if we consider that Europeans are born and nurtured in the cradle where music and the arts have developed through many centuries. The people are steeped in the tradition of many centuries of culture which is as much a part of them as the air they breathe.

Committee Chair/Advisor

R. von Charlton

Committee Member

LaClede Smith-Davis

Committee Member

Emma Louise Davis

Committee Member

Mrssers Aaron Alexander

Committee Member

Joseph H.M. Davis

Publisher

Prairie View University

Rights

Date of Digitization

1/6/2022

Contributing Institution

John B Coleman Library

City of Publication

Prairie View

MIME Type

Application/PDF

Recommended Citation

Warner, D. (1947). The Status And Problems Of Music Appreciation In The Negro High Schools Of Texas With Remedial Measures. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.pvamu.edu/pvamu-theses/927