D. Stephen Heersin wrote: >Classical music is not as readily accessible to the general population as >is popular music, and that some training, self-taught or not, is almost >always a prerequisite to its fullest enjoyment. This is one of those statements that, I think, is true in one sense and not true in another. Take the latter first. The approach to "music appreciation" that was traditionally so common was absolutely deadly: "First you take a course or two in music theory, history, etc., and after you pass you get a certificate which entitles you to listen properly to classical music." (I exaggerate, of course, but not much.) No wonder so many people eventually decided that any kind of music you needed some kind of academic degree to be able to listen to was not worth the effort. The sense in which it is true that "some training" is needed to enjoy CM is that most people are not used to listening to this kind of music, and need some orientation to what is going on. But I think it is important for people newly approaching this music to enjoy it first, whether "incompletely" or not, and then look for a deeper understanding out of their own curiosity, rather than being pushed to listen to it "because it's good for them" and getting the idea that they have to go through an academic process before they are worthy to be considered listeners. The current "play Mozart to your baby to make it a genius" trend sets my teeth on edge because it only reinforces the notion that it is music that only geniuses can like. Jon Johanning // [log in to unmask]