The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-03-16
Sign of New Trend
 In College Music


 In College Music
 1T INTEREST in musical art is in- 4 creasing so rapidly and IS be- coming such an important factor in education that the time is not far dis tant when every college in this coun- try will have it's department or school of music. A dozen or more institu- tions of higher learning have such departments. Twenty-Five years ago only two or three included the study of music in their collegiate schemes.
 At first the musical activities were confined for the most part to piano playing, singing, theory and compo- sition, but now there is new trend, that of systematic education in the appreciation of music.
 Musical America well stresses the importance of the recent inaugura-
 
 ton of the department of music at Princeton university through the munificence of H. c. Prick. The bene- factors initial step in connection with music at Princeton was in donating - . S6O, ,0OO organ. Then followed his gift of $75O,000 for establishing and maintaining a musical branch of the university. An accomplished musician < has been placed in charge, but more attention will be given to lecture re- citals than to teaching technic Tn singing or playing. Those of the stu dent body who have any Fear for music" will be put through a course of instruction in listening to the { < works of great composers and be taught to analyze chords.
 Appreciation will be of first con- sideration. The average concertgoer without musical training can enjoy X symphonies, concerts, sonatas and the like if he or she really loves music, but the enjoyment would be all the greater if the listener knew something of the composers mode of revealing < himself-of developing his themes and working out his counterpoint. It is this sort of culture that will be undertaken at Princeton.
 eve would not for a moment wish to see the various universities that offer practical musical training eliml- nate any portion of that training" {" says Musical America. "There are many colleges, however, which find it either undesirable of physically i'm possible to go deeply into the field of practical music, yet there is no col lege which is not able to make it's undergraduates musical appreciators. This is comparatively simple oppor- tunity for service that many of our \ universities have too long neglected.
 "The coordination of local intensive training in appreciation with musical influences brought from without is oxemnlified by Columbia university's recent decision to give grand opera during it's summer session in conjunc- % ton with it's department of choral { music. It is not possible for colleges sin remote places to have the co-opera- tion of the Metropolitan Opera com pany,s but almost every college is xv;sited by musical attractions of a ,1SorAy or less pretentious nature. Are fho visits of these artists made the $ rncet of fn cultural way by the col * Ixre authorities? In many cases they \ are not. Such universities are to be blamed for neglecting to prepare theil students for these musical perform ances so. that they will extract from them the utmost of esthetic stimulus.
 The University of Alabama is tt add to the institution a musical de rertmsnt- It may start off in very E . I'.4 u,odest wsy, but there is no reason whv t should not soon expand. But