Teaching Music to the Non-Major

Abstract

Students pursuing college degrees in fields other than music must often take a music or arts course. Teaching these non-majors has been a traditional responsibility of college and university music departments. While experts agree that a single, widely accepted approach to teaching the non-major is unavailable, many experts concur that developing perceptive listening skills is a primary goal. Furthermore, they also agree that the study of music for the non-major is important for reasons of personal development, for societal development, and for the preservation of music. These experts take different approaches to the content and methodology for instruction and offer differing recommendations for improving the education of non-majors. This article will review literature regarding the methodology and curriculum for teaching music to college students pursuing degrees other than music and provide recommendations for areas of future research.