Effects of Historical and Analytical Teaching Approaches on Music Appreciation

In this study, I investigated effects of historical and analytical information on subjects' responses to music listening experiences. Forty-five undergraduate nonmusic majors were randomly assigned to three groups that received different types of information prior to listen-ing to four compositions. Subjects in one group read analytical information describing the music's structure. Subjects in another group read historical background information describing circumstances under which the composers wrote their music. Subjects in the third group acted as a control and read no information prior to listening. Using 7-point Likert-type scales, subjects rated five aspects of their responses to each piece, which together were intended to measure the overall value that they placed on the piece. Analysis of the groups' scores for each of the four compositions revealed one significant difference, in favor of the group that received historical information. Other qualitative responses also indicated a pref-erence for the historical method of teaching