The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the educational status of music listeners is reflected in the content of their written discourse about a serial composition to which they listen in a non-directed situation. The problem was stated as follows: what difference in the content of written discourse will accrue when participants with four levels of educational status encounter an opportunity for listening to music that presents them with: access to a Compact Disk recording of a serial composition; a description of a hypothetical occasion structured to elicit their thinking about the composition; a computer on which to compose their discourse and through which unrestricted access is provided to the musical recording and the hypothetical occasion. The participants were four freshmen non-music majors and four freshmen, senior and graduate music majors. A HyperCard stack was constructed, piloted, and implemented on a Macintosh SE/30 computer connected to an AppleCD SC Compact Disk Drive. In the Stack participants were asked: (1) after one listening, to rate the music on four variables (preference, performance, complexity, and understanding); (2) to write a response to the music and a hypothetical scenario; (3) to again rate the music on the same four variables; and (4) to comment on the Exercise, the scenario, and provide suggestions for educational implications of the Exercise. The four groups did vary considerably with respect to musical experience, attitudes, and interests. Time taken in the Stack, the interactivity that took place and the number of words written increased from non-music majors to graduates. The discussion of the music was in general non specific. Seniors and graduates were, however, somewhat more elaborate and specific in their discussion of style, musical elements, compositional devices used, and expressive import. A general congruence was found between participants' rating of the music and their written responses; participants did rate the music differently after having written a response to it. Participants liked the Exercise and thought it easy to use and self-explanatory. They found it to be thought provoking and suggested that an exercise of this kind would be of value in music education. U of I Only ETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permission