Listen to This (2nd Edition)

Listen to the music. Hear the elements. Expand your playlist.

The first edition of Listen to This struck a chord with professors and students with its powerful message of listen to the music, hear the elements, and expand your playlist! Professors at over 160 institutions across the country selected Listen to This for their music appreciation students. And 70% decided to offer MyMusicLab to their students as the source for streaming audio and an interactive learning environment to improve their students’ listening skills.  

Listen to This was created for today’s students. It will expand your students’ playlist with its listening-oriented approach and the integration of the musical elements.  For the professor, it provides a customizable, modular format that gives you the flexibility to design your ideal music appreciation course. Listen to This also encourages students to explore history, culture, and musical styles through active listening, not just through passive reading. By concentrating on the elements of music, students develop the ability to connect earlier music with their own music. Praised by students and instructors alike for its engaging writing style, stunning design, and flexible format, this text will instill a life-long appreciation and understanding of music in your students by expanding their playlist today!

What are instructors saying about Listen to This and MyMusicLab?

“The focus is on the music! The musical elements and historical understanding are

an out growth of the music, rather than the music becoming examples of the elements

and history.” - Janet Barnard, Clovis Community College

“Students expect rich web support for their textbooks, and MyMusicLab is exquisite

support, especially the guided listening feature.”- Dominic A. Aquila, Schoolcraft College

And what do the students think?

“I liked the needle-drop activities the most. They would help you to hear and better

understandthe different elements of music.” - Nick McCormick, Business Management Major, Wayne State College

“I liked the listening guides the most. They were very helpful and easy to understand.”- Caleigh Cronan, Spanish Major, Harding University

“Quizzing myself with the listening activities helped my grades immensely. I'm not a music person, but MyMusicLab helped me to earn an A.” - Student, University of North Texas 

“I loved the listening guides the best because they had examples, and explanation, so that you could understand and follow what you were listening to better, in terms of the musical vocabulary.” - Student, University of Massachusetts, Boston

“I liked that I could use it online, wherever I am, and I could listen to my listening assignments at the same time I had the eBook there.” - Student, Brigham Young University

“MyMusicLab was an interactive way of learning and helped me immensely, since I am a visual learner.  The materials helped me study better for tests and ultimately helped me succeed in the class.  I got an A+ in the class thanks to MyMusicLab!” - Student, Modesto Junior College

MARK EVAN BONDS is the Boshamer Distinguished Professor of Music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he has taught since 1992. He received his B.A. from Duke University and earned his Ph.D. at Harvard. He has written several books and numerous essays on music, including Music as Thought: Listening to the Symphony in the Age of Beethoven and A History of Music Western Culture, now in its third edition.  Listen to This reflects his experience and dedication to teaching music appreciation to undergraduates for almost 20 years.