Technology as a tool for attaining music cognition

Technology is primed to cause a paradigm shift in educational methodologies. This is especially true in the discipline of music appreciation. Educators facing the problem of relating verbal explications to music, with its ephemeral quality, had to rely on methods that prevented many learners from attaining full cognition of the listening component of this subject. Because of the availability of technology, methods can be developed that endows the learner with tools that can help bridge effectively the gap between what is being explained and what is being heard. One such tool is a hypermedia program, The Anatomy of Music. This program is used for a self-paced, computer based, Internet mediated course at Northeastern University in Boston. This tool is interactive and permits the learner to develop listening skills by experimentation and practice. It makes is possible to relate discussions about the music with the music itself and to do so within the context of the whole composition.