Music 190: Required Texts
- David Willoughby, The World of Music, 4th edition, which is
sold along with two CDs in the WIU Bookstore
This is the second time I have used this book. I chose it because it gives sustained attention to folk and popular music of the U.S. and world music, along with European classical music, with an emphasis throughout on 20th century music. Most other textbooks limit themselves to European classical music, sometimes with a brief look at popular or world music.
The reasoning behind this expanded scope is explained in the preface, pp. viii, which I would like you to read. A sample:
The choice of repertoire for music study is comprehensive and presented, as much as possible, without bias. Such an approach communicates the importance of cultural backgrounds that are not Western European. It also acknowledges the musical validity of using music other than Western European classical music in the curriculum.
My own playing and listening spans a wide variety of styles, and I know from teaching here that WIU students are able to like a wide variety, too (including classical music, which is for everyone, not just for specialists!). If I were to write a textbook, it would be much like this one. - Diana Hacker, A Pocket Style Manual, 2nd edition, also
available in the WIU Bookstore
This handbook has been adopted across campus for use in English courses and in any course that includes writing. It does an excellent job of explaining common writing problems. We're going to work our way through it systematically, with a few questions on each week's quiz on two points from this book.
This file was last modified on 16 May 2000.
