An investigation of college-level music appreciation courses in Taiwan

In general, the purpose of music appreciation classes is to introduce different styles of music, and the main goals are to develop the non-music-major student's listening skills, aesthetic sensitivity, musical responsiveness, and understanding of music concepts.; However, it is difficult to cover the broad range of musical subjects generally outlined in such a short period of time; therefore, the purpose of my study is twofold: (1) to provide a description of the content of music appreciation curricula and the teaching methods employed throughout Taiwan, so that teachers in Taiwan and elsewhere can gain a perspective on the diversity of content and the types of instructional strategies being offered there, and (2) to utilize the information gathered to develop suggestions for teaching music appreciation courses in Taiwan.; Descriptive statistics were used for the quantitative part of the study. The instructors chosen to participate in the research were full-time or part-time faculty members teaching music appreciation or equivalent courses in Taiwan at the college level. This study included investigations of the teachers' backgrounds and music preferences, of course content of music appreciation classes from different universities and colleges, of resources and teaching tools being used in music appreciation courses, and of teaching/learning strategies employed in such courses.; This research may lead to improvements in the course design for music educators teaching college level music appreciation courses in Taiwan. It may help to reveal what course content structure and organization are presently offered and what types of music are being selected for and taught in the music appreciation classroom in Taiwan. It may also serve to open a dialogue about the effectiveness of various teaching strategies, selected repertoires, specific technology, and methods of assessing students. It may also suggest ways to assess pedagogical innovations.