Was thinking about a video where the presenter was lamenting that nobody knew how to harmonize anymore. Context was that he was outside in a large park where he noted not a single person had an acoustic guitar like he would have encountered in years past. Also worthy of note, he was a musician, producer, music teacher, former music professor, etc. and not just a park enjoyer.

In reaction, I wondered where he thought the average, not-musically-inclined student would have learned to do so. I enjoy music quite a bit, but I’ve never learned to harmonize. I’ve never sung with a random person in a public place. I don’t know how to play more than a few rudimentary notes on instruments. In undergrad, I remember being amazed that a classmate knew how to sing harmony with the melody of popular songs—I certainly didn’t. The curriculum for students has changed quite a bit since you had a choice between language, art or music.