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Occasionally criticism becomes an unpleasant task. Such is the case when speaking of Harvard's Music Department. Although it is not so rich as some other departments, although it is not so rich as some other departments, although it is not so big, not so staffed with "names," the Music Department, year after year, has displayed competence, energy, and imagination unsurpassed anywhere in the College. It has frequently sponsored unusual events of national interest. The Faure Festival two years ago, and last year's Symposium on Music Criticism exemplify this extra-curricular activity. And within its curriculum, the department offers both a first-rate selection of courses and a first-rate faculty.

So much for the orchids. The fact is that the Music Department has its Achilles heel, and it is a somewhat naked one at that. Entrance to Music A--the basic course in theory--is blocked by so many prerequisites that it is virtually impossible for most non-concentrators to take the course. The prerequisites require students to pass a test involving sense of pitch and rhythm, and to display pianistic ability, both in playing easy pieces and in sight-reading. Although the degree of proficiency required is small, it is nonetheless prohibitive to the beginner. Furthermore, music theory is the only field in the College from which the non-concentrating amateur is virtually excluded.

The problem is not a simple one. The nature of a course in harmony is such that if catered to absolute beginners, it would lose a great deal of its value for concentrators. The ideal solution would appear to be the institution of a General Education course in music including the basic elements of harmony. In the absence of such a course, however, the Music Department should consider relaxing its requirements. Lack of previous proficiency should never bar a student from any field in a liberal arts college.