I Hear American Singing

Advisor:

Robert W. Fry
Senior Lecturer in Music History and literature
Blair School of Music, Vanderbilt University

This Mayfield Living Learning Communily has been established togain a thorough understanding of the complex development of Americanmusical slyles. As musicians trained in the Western classical tradition. werecognize that Earth’s musical slyles are inconceivably diverse. Yet we arealso aware of the Significance that truly American genres hove in our dailylives. The infiuential Hungarian educator Zoitan Kodaly stated. “To understandother people. we must first understand olKseives. And nothing will accomplishthis better than a thorough knowledge of one’s native folk songs.”Connecting wtth the sounds of America is an essential element in OlK personalmusical development.