oEw Alriigan Balu Seventy-Fifth Year EnIrrD AND MANAGED EY STUDENTS OF THE UNrvFRSrTY OF MICIG:AN uNrER AUTHox TY OF BOARD IN CONTROL. OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS MEANS OF COMMUNICATION. . . The Force of Public Music Education Where Opinions Are Pree, 420 MAYNARD ST., ANN ARBO . Micx. Truth Will Preval News PyoNE: 764-0552 Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. TUESDAY, 9 MARCH 1965 NIGHT EDITOR; ROBERT HIPPLER The Language Requirement: Is It Worth It? HE MOST ONEROUS distribution re- quirement is that which forces the student to take four semesters of a for- eign language. The usual justifications for it are that language instruction: -Is useful for the increasing number of students traveling abroad; -Aids in understanding English; -Is required for most master's and doctoral degrees; and -Brings students into contact with another culture. The only trouble with these j ustifica- tions is that compulsive language in- struction is not worth its cost, A stu- dent may have to take up to 13 per cent of the hours required for graduation in a field which is totally uninteresting to him. This percentage is even higher if the student does extremely poorly in a course and has to repeat it. This in turn makes some of the students who are least interested in a foreign language spend the most time studying it on an introductory level. WHAT DO THE STUDENTS get in re- turn? The value of a foreign language as a means of communication is virtually nil to a vast majority of those taking it. Out of all the students taking a lan- guage, how many will be traveling abroad as a student or soon enough after grad- uating so that they will still recall the language they studied? How many of these will have mastered the language well enough to make it useful to them? And how many of those would not take a foreign language if the requirement were abolished? As an aid to understanding the gram- matical structure of English, foreign lan- guage instruction is only repeating what should have been learned in high school. For the student who failed to learn Eng- lish grammar well, further English train- ing in college would be more meaningful than taking a foreign language. A READING KNOWLEDGE of one or two foreign languages is required for most graduate degrees, however the abil- ity to read a language is considered to be one of the easiest aspects to learn. A graduate student does not have to cope with the most difficult parts of language learning-the abilities to write and speak a language. Furthermore, the fact that a reading knowledge of a foreign language is re- quired for a graduate degree is no rea- son that it has to be taken at the under- graduate level. Many students do not go to graduate school. Even if it were felt that undergraduate preparation were necessary, there is still no reason for re- quiring four semesters of instruction. The present graduate reading courses in a foreign language require only two semes- ters to complete and at the same time meet only three times a week. The intro- ductory courses require four sessions. THE CULTURAL CONTACT involved in taking a foreign language is again questionable. While a student is now spending his first eight hours in a foreign language memorizing sentences, grammar and sim- ilar aspects of the new language, he could be in courses dealing with anything from Greek drama to Chinese literature. Cer- tainly a student comes into contact with a culture more through foreign language courses in translation than through mem- orizing sentences. In the second semester of a foreign language there is admittedly more con- tact with literature, but still little ef- fort can be devoted to appreciation of the literature or culture as a whole be- cause so much attention must be paid to vocabulary and understanding. Con- sequently any quantitative cultural ex- posure through language instruction is highly improbable. THE PURPOSE of the language require- ment might be better served if the re- quirement were modified to give students a choice between taking a course in for- eign literature in translation and taking the introductory language courses. Then students who did not do well in foreign languages could obtain the most impor- tant benefits of studying them without spending four unprofitable semesters de- veloping an intense dislike for the lan- guage itself, the distribution requirement, or both. -BARBARA SEYFRIED By JOHN A. FLOWER MUSIC CHANGES with society, Music also reflects transfor- mations that have already taken place in society during preceding generations. Such changes in mu- sic are manifest in its changing forms and evolving functions with- in the human community. To get at this, music must first be identified as communication and as an art of experience. It is self-contained to the extent that you must do it to understand it. In other words, you need to perform it, compose it, or recreate it in the listening experience to realize it. You cannot read about music, or listen to talk about mu- sic and thereby comprehend it. It must be experienced of and for itself. Interestingly enough, this is not a literal process to the extent that the understanding of language as we use it in the conduct of our daily lives is literal. It is possible for a person who is unsophisticat- ed in the theory and the apparatus of making music, to grasp the reality of Beethoven's "Eroica" better than a person trained in harmony and form. It is of^course also possible for a man who did not graduate from high school to understand the substance of the Beatitudes better than anotier man who has his PhD. This prob- ably happens less often with ex- pressions of language than ith expressions of music, but I v;ou:d be hard pressed to prove it. I mdte the point merely for the :m)rpose of indicating that musical expri-s- sion involves the human mechar- ism in a different way than dis- cursive language, and that, here- eby, music expresses different ca- tegories of human realities. I HASTEN to add that in the teaching process "talking tbout" and "writing about" help irn- measurably in understanding '. e purely musical process. If 4his were not so, my efforts writing this would be futile. But the thrust behind all of our teaching eiforis in music is to reach the reality of musical sound itself in such a way that this sound maytii- noble and uplift. This reasoning placed music at the capstone of the medieval quadrivium, where it existed not only in theory, but in the realization of this theory into its sounding reality through performance. The fact goes unquestioned t:it music is one of the most direct and universal methods of Human communication. One of my favor- ite quotations comes from Alfred North Whitehead's book Science and the Modern World wherein hc says, "The science of ptire mathematics, in its modern de- velopments, may claim to be the most or ginal creation of the hu- man spirit. Another claimant for this position is music." It is un- derstandable that this statement should have come from a philos- opher and mathematician. Any person who has concerned him- self with esthetics, and who is somewhat conversant both with music and with mathematical ideas, understands the affinity of pure music and pure mathematics. * * * COLLEGE CAMPUSES exem- plify this. Academic communities tend to spawn amateur chamber music groups who fiddle and tootle away with an enthusiasm and skill that indicates more than mere dilettantism. Frequently these am- ateur chamber music groups are liberally sprinkled with professors trained in the discipline of math- ematics. I remember an evening at the home of a philosophy pro- fessor when no less than four Brandenburg Concertos and a cavier concerto of Bach were per- formed, one right after the other, and not a professional musician in sight. I was a superfluous con- ductor. Chamber music such as this, composed and realized i, per- f rmance with exquisite care and c:vility. represents a h'gh order, in a sense the essence, of 6ophis- t catcd musical expressivity. But chamber music is not the only - ehicle of performance available for the expression of music any more than an eighteenth century essp~y tructure represents the only form available for literary expression, or an oil portrait for painting. Music has a wonderful way of reflecting the social mlieu from which it springs. Not long ago -man, at .east Western man, tended to be closer to nature and to the elements than he is now. He dug ditches rather than operated a digger. He marcficd in battalion from camp to battle rather than rode in trucks or airplanes,tand he Loted cotton bales rather than operated a hydraulic lift. Music, with its rhythmic impetus and melodi: up- lift served a clearly personal func- tion as an aid and comfort to a workman or soldier as he went through the ordeal of his day. This category of aid and comfort is less needed now. An automated petroleum plant needs no work song to increase its efficiency. and a computer can itself be pro~gram- med to compose music rather than being in need of a marching song to help it along its way. Music reshapes and adapts its function to the sociological circumstances in which it finds itself. IN THIS COUNTRY the uses of music are many. Four mus cal spheres are particularly apparent: 1) art music as abstraction, i e. music for its own sake; 2) folk music related to social groupings; 3) commercial music: 4) music education in the public schools. One asks what separates art music from folk music? My answer would be the theoretical apparatus which undergirds art music. The complexities of fugal style, the sonata or serial technique are not part of folk music. If a piece of folk music through intricacies of ....ART OF EXPERIENCE musical impulse be given an a:- tistic vehicle amenable to ,*tIes and conventions. These rules and conventions, referred to as style, are what makes the sounds of Bach's music different from Cho- pin, and Schonberg diverge from Wagner. Professional musicians concern themselves greatly with this distinctions in style, whh enhance the art of performance. FOLK MUSIC evolves in less tractable circumstances. It is di- rect musical expression, far less concerned with theory and with niceties of style. For this reason its appeal is indeed broader. It entertains, but its function is far more than entertainment. Its mes- sage in text covers ranges in human experience from social pro- test to lullabies, and in instru- ments from African drums to Scottish bagpipes. ASSOCIATE DEAN JOHN A. FLOWER of the music school has taught at the Uni- versity since 1949. He is the author of the textbook "Keyboard Harmony," and is edi- tor of the University School of Music News- letter. Flower won the University's Dis- tinguished Service Award in 1955, and from 1957 until 1963 was the executive secretary of the National Association of Schools of Music Commission on Curricula. performance becomes stylistically complex, then it probably ceases to be folk music and moves over into the realm of art music. It would be unusual, for example, for a civil rights protest group to break into the opening chorus of Bach's "Magnificat," but "We Shall Overcome" comes out na- turally. Both folk music and art music serve entertainment functions, but they serve them in different ways. Art music throughout history has been an expression of groupings within society possessed of sophis- tication and civility. Sufficient time existed for its cultivation. Whether this was leisuretime or time contracted for by duke or bishop is beside the point. The social framework existed witnin. which the artistic effort could be expended. Under such circum- stances it is natural that the There can be much overlap in function between folk and art music. Both have enriched the other. Art music constantly bor- rows from folk sources and per- formers of folk music often learn from the practitioners of art mu- sic. Folk music and art music both, thus, are examples of musical ex- perience related directly to iden- tifiable segments of society. Commercial music in America can be similarly identified, but with an important stipulation, namely, theidollar sign as an ever- present reality. No musician in his right mind will be critical of the dollar bill and its potential help- fulness. Even Mozart said that nothing inspired him like a com- mission. The point here is its over- riding influence. Commercial mu- sicians and composers, working in the sphere of influence of 'lisk jockeys, TV, films, juke boxes, even church anthem publishers, cannot separate themselves from what the public will buy. The "will it sell" point of view permeates. the entire field of commercial mu- sic and prostitutes some of it. In those parts of the field which are dependent upon teen agers for support, the vagaries of this seg- ment of the consuming public pre- clude any consistency which might lead to serious art. ON THE other hand, much of great significance continues to happen in commercial music. Broadway show music is clearly an art form. Much film and TV music is superbly crafted art. Ra- dio stations are showing a serious concern for musical art. The fine arts department of radio station WJR presided over by the gifted and articulate Karl Haas is an example. Many commercial musicians are becoming increasingly concerned with artistic disciplines and not a few composers and performers of serious music are trying their hands at commercial music. In the recent past some composers work- ed in both realms under different names, which in itself represented a commentary upon the separa- tions of our musical culture. This could not have occurred to Mozart or Beethoven, both of whom wrote "hit" tunes in their day, as did Verdi and Puccini. This practice continues today, but there are emerging musicians who proudly affix their names to music in both realms, to say nothing of the Metropolitan Opera stars who keep turning up on variety shows. Many of the stylistic conven- tions of contemporary music which have encountered audience resis- tance in the concert hal are used in the supporting music of films and are accepted by film audiences without question. Close your eyes sometime during a crime show, a documentary, or a psychological drama and listen to the music. Ac- ceptance of evolving style comes about in strange ways. OF ALL the fields of music in this country it seems to me that the public school system of music education remains, by all odds, potentially the most fruitful. In the cultural diversity of America, music education in the public schools represents one of the cul- turally cohesive forces that sets up for individuals a lasting poten- tial for self fulfillment. As a na- tion we will need these personal involvements more urgently as our leisure time continues to grow. Allusions to this are already being made in reference to the Great Society. The vast accomplishments of American public school education are self evident. During the past decade however, we have tended to look at the negative rather than the positive side of our accomp- lishments. The value of high school band programs has been minimized, for example, because of an ostensible lack of worth- while literature. Band literature now is unusually extensive. But breadthbof literaturezor not, these school band organizations across the country exert a powerful de- terrent to delinquency problems currently of so much national con- cern. The totality of music education in the public schools goes far beyond bands, increasingly effec- tive as they are and should be. Vocal ensembles, orchestras, small- er instrumental groupings in ele- mentary and high schools are now legion. These groups are increas- ingly a part of regularized curricu- lum and in combination serve as an increasingly effective means of introducing American students to breadth and variety in musical literature. Foundations have rec- ognized this and are providing support for various programs. w g MUSIC EDUCATION reaches far beyond the large urban school systems and in one form or an- other is a part of practically every school system in America. Herein exists the most potent musical force in this country. NEXT WEEK: Arnold M. Kuethe 4 f M I V 4 4 I The University and State Politics I THE UNIVERSITY'S high administra- tors are a group of extremely com- petent men. Yet even the most compe- tent men must occasionally become crea- tures of habit. Unfortunately, the University's admin- istration has gotten into one particular habit which threatens the foundations of the institution. This is the habit of as- suming a naturally non-competitive atti- tude whenever the University comes in- to conflict with other -state agencies, be 4t the Legislature or the State Board of Education. Take, for example, University President Harlan Hatcher's statement to the board of education at its Flint hearing last Wednesday. The statement, despite its logic and clarity, is far from anything resembling an aggressive declaration of the University's position on the Flint question. ANOTHER EXAMPLE is the Universi-. ty's traditional tail-between-the-legs policy toward the Legislature regarding the out-of-state student question. When University Executive Vice-President Mar- vin L. Niehuss confirmed that the ratio would decline again this fall, he could only report that he and other adminis- trators were "becoming concerned" about the matter, and that another decline would begin to worry him. Certainly no one could say that there is not two sides to both these exemplary issues, or that University officers should not recognize this fact. But at the same H. NEIL BERKSON. Editor KENNETH WINTER EDWARD HERSTEIN Managing Editor Editorial Director ANN GWIRTZMAN Personnei liire'tor BILL BULLARD ..... Sports Editor MCHAEL. SATTTNGER Associate Managing Editor time, those officers must realize that their statements and actions are not being re- garded by a public that is as objective as the University is trying to be. When the University takes a stand on its budget or on out-of-state students or on any other major educational issue, that stand should be defended with some degree of determination. It is nice to know that our policy-makers harbor healthy degrees of objectivity, but they must realize that their public is not an entirely objective one, and their stands should be strengthened accordingly. THE BASIC DEFENSE of the policy of objective University policy statements is some sort of nostalgic reference to the opinion that if the University is to retain its position as a leader in national edu- cation, it should not lower itself to the bourgoise factional struggles that occu- py the other state colleges. This opin- ion, calling up images of robed profes- sors instructing their students beneath a tree, is frighteningly unrealistic. How vague references to the decorum due a national University can possibly defend an administration policy which can put this college at a disadvantage to all others in the state is difficult to see. It is all well and good to analyze the past accomplishments and present ratings of the University and say that an institu- tion of this caliber should not stoop to the use of "influence." Yet if this influence is not brought to bear, and brought to bear soon, upon the controversies in which the University finds itself, we will soon find ourselves with greater budget cuts, ar- bitrary restrictions on University policy and an out-of-state student ratio of 10 per cent. Is this the position of national leadership desired for the University? T-E ADMTNTTRATION. notably the RFa . y . LITTLE SYMPHONY: Chicago Ensemble Offers Entertaining Evening THE CHICAGO Little Symphony presented a sparkling program of chamber works at Rackham Auditorium Sunday night. The bulk of the evening's entertainment consisted of compositions in the traditional contemporary vein. Following a charming Sinfonia by J. C. Bach, the ensemble, led by Thor Johnson, presented works by Klebe, Bloch, Honegger, Vaughan Williams, Fukushima and Inghelbrecht. It was refreshing to hear gems from the minor conservative composers of the century. The unprecedented emphasis on novelty in vogue today, along with the emphasis on historical importance, has consigned many composers and works to complete oblivion. Not every minor composer need perish to make way for the giants of any age. SOME OF Sunday night's offerings were outright anachronisms. Hearing Honegger's "Concerto da camera," one can hardly believe it was written in 1949. Similarly, Bloch's "Meditation and Processional" for viola (orchestrated by Trusi) scarcely seems to be a work of the composer's last years. Both works are highly melodic and somewhat amorphous. Francis Bundra, who performed the Bloch work, was a trifle effusive in his approach. Gary Sigurdson was the elegant flutist and Don Jaeger the accomplished English horn soloist in the Honegger concerto. Jaeger also caught the spirit of the Bach sinfonia slow movement beautifully. The anonymous writer of the Music Society's program notes tagged Giseher Klebe with a mission "to weld elements of both Schoenberg and Webern to classical concepts of form." Aside from the fact that Schoenberg and Webern had concepts of form that were intensely classic, Klebe's music hardly fits the description. The "Divertissments" performed Sunday also included the tedious device of ending almost each movement at an unexpected point. "THE LARK ASCENDING" by Vaughn Williams is a sweet vignette. Violin soloists could easily include it in their repretoire, since it is technical, not terribly demanding, and requires a small and compact orchestral accompaniment. Oscar Chausow, the Little k #v EIE BA LL 'TO E YE5W A LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Population Planning Support I To the Editor: SHOULD like to commend The Daily for its recent coverage of the University's efforts in regard to the field of family and popu- lation planning (Feb. 21 and 25?. The feature story by Miss Linder was most informative and well ....++ ..,. + ,o~n"+ ofa x.. munity. Continued interest on the part of The Daily will certainly be helpful. -Dean Myron E. Wegman School of Public Health Faculty Series Swamped To the Editor: CONGRATULATIONS to the Plant Department! It must have taken intelligence to allow the Diag to become "the Swamp." But if that took intelligence, it 1N i I