Tradition has it that the best way to familiarize oneself with a musical work is to attend a live performance. Teachers urge promising students to frequent concert halls, clubs, or stadia. Musicologists typically adopt the perspective of an ideal concert-goer when arbitrating matters of interpretation or evaluation. In this article, the author argues that the traditional doctrine is wrong. Often, maybe even usually, one can learn at least as much about music via a recording as one can by watching it live. Even when a work is intended for live performance, the best way to hear it may still be to listen to a recording. If this is right, music educators ought to exploit electronic technology vigorously and enthusiastically to provide access to sundry performance traditions. The author proceeds by refining some arguments for much the same conclusion offered by Ted Gracyk in his "Listening to Music: Performances and Recordings" and exploring their implications for those who teach and write about music. (Contains 6 notes.)