Evening star., 1943-03-07
Music
Notes
New Book Tells How
To Listen to Music
With Understanding
By Alice Eversman

The average listener at concert
oftentimes finds himself In q maze
Of strange reactions to new COM
positions or to an artist whose ability
he has difnculty In Judging Many
books have been written on music
appreciation, but few have taken
the trouble to tell the music lover
just how to listen to it. Howard d.
Mckinney and w. r. Anderson have
provided q guide to laymen and
musician alike for the process of
hearing music intelligently and have
covered, in complete fashion, the
question Of what to look for In q
composition or its performance in
their work, "The Challenge of Lis
tening," published last month by
the Rutgers University Press of New
Brunswick, N. J.
Mckinney, professor of music at
Rutgers, and Anderson, lecturer at
Morley College, London, have evi-
IDENTIFY great sympathy with people
who have no clear idea of what to
seek from composer or interpreter
and have approached their task in
this vein. Avoiding the confusion
Of using too technical language, they
have arranged their subject matter
in a systematic way with plenty Of
detail to elucify it. BY the time one
has concluded its some 800 pages
there can be no question that,
although the angles of observation
are many, they need not be over
whelming to the interested seeker
after knowledge.
In one Of the very first para
graphs, the matter of what the pub
lie can find in music is put right
up to the individual when the au-
thors say: 1.-The very presence of
SO much music, the fact that we
can get it so freely whenever we
want 1t. may-and often does-act
as deterrent from our putting
any effort into listening to it. 1t
goes without saying that unless we
do make an effort We get nothing
Neither music nor any OF the great
artistic experiences-will mean any,
thing to the individual unless he
is able to learn how to make them
part of himself with an active
rather than merely q passive state
of mind"
Having put challenge at the
very beginning, the neophyte is then
taken through a well-organized
plan. He is shown how music
Originates in one individual, is
transmitted by another and is re-
ceived by third" This triology
is the basis of the authors thesis.
The listener is first quieted by an
explanation of how varied may be
his reactions to music with full
credit given the Importance Of the
physical, mental or emotional re-
f1exes he may have. ~
From that point on, the demands
q listener may make on composer
and interpreter are emphasized, a
chapter being devoted to each after
thorough drilling in "Style and
how to recognize It," The first
chapters conclude with q sugges-
tioff for q rating sheet" by which
the reader can put himself through
an examination and later sections
have added lists Of music applicable
to the matter discussed e.tts aa7
After considering The Orches-
trail Kingdom" and "The Conduc-
tor" the authors analyze the basic
art Of virtuosi Of every type and 60
on to speak of chamber music, the
organ, singers and singing, choirs
and even criticism. Each of these
subjects and the technical and ar
tistic aims. belonging to them, is
covered exhaustively and in clear
and concise manner 50 that, at the
end, the reader not only knows
precisely what to look for in at
tending a concert but has prac-
tically completed q conservatory
course in general musical educa-
ton.