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Music.

SOME OF THE BENEFITS RECEIVED FROM THE STUDY OF IT.

By Bos Mon.

Music, as a mental study, is very much neglected in this country. Our children are taught everything, and those who attend high schools and Universities receive thorough training in nearly every branch of art; but music, if it is learnt at all, receives very scant attention. Of course, there are those who study it for a profession, and spend many years with the best masters in earnest and diligent work, but the majority are satisfied with a superficial knowledge of this wonderful art. We have all met the pupil who must be able to " show off" from the very beginning, and the fond friends and mothers who, if they do not see immediate results, discourage the child's interest in earnest and conscientious practice. This is the age of hurry, and students expect to learn in a few months what takes a great artist years of hard work, and if they cannot do that, give up their music altogether. j Teachers are to blame, too, for too often do they allow pupils to attempt that which is beyond them for the sake of gaining praise, and never think that they are harming themselves and their pupils too. Does the study of music really afford mental discipline? The earnest musician, when he thinks of the works of the great masters, which require such concentration and thought to perform them even tolerably well, will at once say " Yes." Ask the same question of scientific and literary men, and j;hey will say " Surely not, Music may be a pleasant accomplishment to pass the time away and for social gatherings, but for intellectual and mental discipline you must turn to science and letters." But these are only shortsighted notions from those who are not musical, and they are due partly to ignorance and partly to the fact that many who are studying and even teaching music are not musicians. We have all met players and singers who are seldom guilty of using their brains.

"That, then, are the various activities that make music a mental study ? One of the first requirements for a good student in any branch of work is a habit of concentration, ■ and without the concentration of the mind upon the work you are doing you cannot accomplish great result, although the muscles may be so well trained by constant practice that you can perform your work mechanically and your thoughts be far away. Give a student a difficult piece to learn and to memorise; if the mind and power are not brought to bear upon his work he may learn the piece, but his performance of it will be very mechanical, and likely as not he will soon forget it. It is concentration of mind that makes the great artist in any line. Listen to a great singer or pianiste performing, and see the effect of concentration. They may be performing only a simple thing, but they are so wrapped up in their work that they will bring out of that piece beauties which you have never seen before, and their whole soul seems to be in their performance. How different from the work of a student who practises for hours with mind wandering from one thing to another, and never stops to think and find out the hidden beauties in his music, and whose performance is little better than that of a musical box.

Thoroughness in what you are doing is a great essential to practice. Every detail must be studied carefully and thoughtfully, and unless he has patience enough to work like this, the student cannot attain his ends. Thoroughness implies bther qualities, It means, for example, getting to the bottom of the Bubject in hand. The chief quality in scientific work is thoroughness of foundation, of observation, and of investigation. So it is with the true music student: he must learn to investigate and to look into every detail of his • work, and he must not stop until he has a clear understanding of it. There can be no hesitation carelessness, or inaccuracy in a public performance. Music study also ne* cessitates a quickness of perception. In reading music at sight what a lot is to be taken in in one comprehensive glance—notes, fingering, expression, phrasing, and soon. Y.et the musi-

cian's perceptive qualities become so well trained with constant practice that he can read a complicated score as easily as an amateur can read a finger exercise. Again, the music student will find out that patience, diligence, and perseverance are essential to his work. The student who does not love his art is always trying to shirk his practice to indulge in his favourite amusement; but it is only by constant, faithful practice week after week, month after month—yes, year after ; year, that great results can be obtained* When we go to a concert and hear a great artist perform, we come away impressed by the performance, and say, "Oh, if I could only sing like that?" We never think of the year's of hard work and drudgery that the singer or player has gone through before he rose to success-—working day after day at the same task, while others enjoyed themselves and shirked their practice, and even denying himself the luxuries of life so as to give his time to his beloved art. Yet students want to get to the top of the tree with only a few years, even months, of study, and if

fame does not come to them at once they get discouraged, and give up their study altogether. They think that if they have a big voice and certain amount of execution on an instrument, and have passed a musical examination, | that that is all that is wanted. Ask a famous artist what constitutes a singer ; or a player, and he will tell you that ! voice and execution are not the only requisites. He will tell you that one needs brains as well; and perseverance and patience to study hard, StudeDts 1 do not euter deeply enough into the music life to get the good out of it. They are too content with a superficial knowledge of art. A superficial mind has no business to study music, because its possessor cannot enter deeply enough into the study of it. The earnest student who does his work faithfully and diligently will find out, even if h9 does not win great fame, that the hours spent in concentrated, earnest practice will repay him by increasing his strength of character and intellectual force, which he has gained through the serious study of a divine art.

Let the student, then, give up all idea of becoming anything great by superficial and spasmodic efforts. Seek the truth, the noblest and best, in your work, and try and take an example from the great artists who, by their patience, diligence, and persever* ance, have won for themselves lasting fame, and who, although they are at the top of the tree, still go on studying and learning something new every day. What is education for, say, in any branch of art ? Is 1 it to cram the mind full of knowledge, or is it to form the character and mental and intellectual abilities of a student ? We cannot remember everything that we learn. The object of bur investigation is to seek the truth in what we are doing, and by truth we mean all that is good, helpful, and endearing, that goes to make true manhood and womanhood. Is such to be found in the material for music study ? Yes, and anyone who cannot say that out of the earnest study of music and its various demands upon the mind, body, and character can come a noble man or woman has no call for it. What the student derives from his work mast be capable of a broad and useful application. The study of music is not for the time being: it is for all time, and the powers that make a good student never wane, but grow in strength with years. Hence, the student must bear in mind that what he is doing now may not be seen till later in life, but it ia going into his life and helping to make the foundations of a and vigorous manhood.—" Otago Witness."

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AHCOG19041027.2.20

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 445, 27 October 1904, Page 5

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,398

Music. Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 445, 27 October 1904, Page 5

Music. Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 445, 27 October 1904, Page 5

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