ABSTRACT
Deliberate encounters with music of other cultures necessitates that listeners confront their own assumptions about the nature of musical participation. Attentive Listening, the first stage in the World Music Pedagogy process, encompasses a set of direct experiences with recorded music, whereby band and orchestra teachers can begin to lead their students towards a fuller understanding of the music they hear and of the people and cultures from which the music comes. Brief, focused listening experiences are paired with a sequence of questions, appropriate for the particular recording being presented, whereby students are invited to engage their musical imaginations. Through repeated listenings, students can become more aware of selected facets of the music, including instrumentation, tonality, performance practice, geographic and cultural origin, and the particular purpose or function of the music being heard. Students can also develop an awareness of how understanding other musical practices can inform and enrich their own musicianship.
