Encouraging Empirical Research: Findings from the Music Appreciation Classroom

he inaugural issue of the Journal of Music History Pedagogy contained one of the first attempts at a comprehensive bibliography of scholarly writings pertaining to the field; however, one group of works was noticeably absent from this list—those involving empirical research.1 Employed more often in the sciences than the humanities, empirical research seeks to gain knowledge through observation or experimentation and usually involves the collection and interpretation of quantitative or qualitative data. Although not a common methodology for most historical musicologists, empirical techniques are often employed by systematic musicologists who study such fields as music cognition, music therapy, and music psychology. Journals such as Pscyhomusicology and Music Perception frequently contain studies based on empirical research, and the Empirical Musicology Review, a quarterly online journal introduced in 2006, is exclusively devoted to empiri-cal research in music.2 Empirical research also plays a significant role in music pedagogy.3 I