The Educated Listener: A New Approach to Music Appreciation

The Educated Listener: A New Approach to Music Appreciation gives professors the freedom to customize the material based on what is most relevant to their courses and allows students to engage deeply with classical music from the Middle Ages right up to the present day. Students will become conversant with music terminology, enabling them to talk intelligently about music with colleagues, family members, and friends. Well organized and comprehensive in scope, students will absorb and internalize this knowledge and use it to enrich their lives. 

Section One of the text serves as a prelude, educating readers about music vocabulary, the instruments and ensembles of classical music, and the concert-going experience. Subsequent sections discuss the history of music from the Middle Ages to the present. 

Each time period features one chapter on forms, styles, and performance and compositional techniques; one chapter on various music genres; and one chapter on composers of that time period. Professors are free to select the topics most important for their students, and then pair the written material with musical selections from the vast amount of online options, thus creating their own playlists. 

Now featuring updated composer biographies, an expanded bibliography, and added images, The Educated Listener is an ideal textbook for courses in music appreciation or music history.

Jaren S. Hinckley is the professor of clarinet at Brigham Young University and has performed with orchestras, chamber ensembles, and as a soloist at music festivals, conservatories, and conventions in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He earned his D.M. from the Florida State University and his M.M. from Indiana University. As a performer and composer, he has developed a deep love for music history and literature. Dr. Hinckley has taught introduction to music and music history courses for over twenty years at BYU and other schools. Most importantly, he loves music and wants to share that love of music with the entire world.

Jaren S. Hinckley is the professor of clarinet at Brigham Young University and has performed with orchestras, chamber ensembles, and as a soloist at music festivals, conservatories, and conventions in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He earned his D.M. from the Florida State University and his M.M. from Indiana University. As a performer and composer, he has developed a deep love for music history and literature. Dr. Hinckley has taught introduction to music and music history courses for over twenty years at BYU and other schools. Most importantly, he loves music and wants to share that love of music with the entire world.