THE TEACHING OF SINGING IN AMERICA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 4 March 1908, Page 86

THE TEACHING OF SINGING IN AMERICA.

la the Teachers' Times there has been runt. ing a series of articles written by a teacher who was one of a band sent over to report on American school methods, and two of tho articles deal with singing. To me they were interesting, so I am passing them on to my readers: — The Americans seem to have fully realised Ihe necessity of surrounding young children with an atmosphere of joyousness; they remember that studies are a means to an end, the end being the unfolding and revealing of powers and 3. Blow Four O'clock. capacities, and unless the children eiittr into their studies with ze6t and spirit not much permanent good can be done. On the contrary, much harm may be effected by insisting on the dull and dreary performance of distasteful exercises, however sound the performance may be from a technical point of view. The teacher seemed as a rule to be not only fully conscious of her function in the development of the child, but she sometimes showed most marvellous and sympathetic insight into the mysteries of child nature. One of the most striking instances of this was j the method employed by Miss Alya »*. lientj ley, of Washington, in teaching singing to young children. Throitgh the magic of her talented personality, and fired by a rare enthusiasm for good music, many wearisome, exercises became some of the most fascinating parts of the school work. Breath Control. Tho children must form the habit of breathing naturally and freely; by means of continuous and conscientious work the children will learn to do this unconsciously. In all this work advantage is taken of the power of imitation so strong in young children. 1. Puffing Sound. i The teacher tells a very short story of 1 a railway train starting off on a journey, ! and saying ppuff—f — ff — ff — f. The sound of puff — f — f — f is repeated two or three times by the teacher until each child realises exactly what he is to do. and is eager to do it. Then the class is allowed to imitate, and after two or three times the children will naturally get a deep breath < n*J let it out slowly. They must be encouraged after each effort to do better. The engine wants to let off steam. What does it say? Sh . The teacher breathes in and lets breath go slowly to sh . They pretend, to go for a walk in a field. (Class mark time while teacher or child describes the flowers, etc., to be seen.) i They stop, bend, and pretend to pick a '■ dandelion clock. They take a deep breath, I hold up finger, and blow. This may be repeated several times, after which the children will much enjoy pretending to walk home. 3. Bees Swarming. On the way they pass a garden, and they hear a sound like this : What is it? z — z — z — z. Some bees are swarming. Begin with a very gentle " z," gradually get louder, now gradually and gently let the sound die away. 4. The Wind. Another day the class has had a talk about the wind. Some days it whistles. ', Let a child imitate the whistle. The teacher may next make the same sound, ■ and when each child has heard and pictured the sound the class will imitate. Some days the wind says "oo — oo." The teacher makes a musical sound, and when olas© is ready they will repeat. Thi-> sound is much enjoyed. 5. The Sawmill. The children take a deep breath and then breathe out, making the sound cf the sawmill " dzh." This may be combined with a sawing exercise. 6. Electric Street Car. The top teeth arc placed on the bottom lip, and the teacher says " vvv," making the sound gradually die away to imitate the car going away in the distance. Tone Control. The singing of young children, as we all know, is apt to be characterised by jerky ami uneven tones. The remedy for this is to i?et the breath and the tone to flow along gently. Let them move their hands gently along the desk, and this movement will help them to get a sustained tone. 1. Violins. The children will be much delighted to hear a tuno on the violin. One shouid be chosen with plenty of sustained tone' Get class to notice how evenly and gently the bow is drawn over the violin— never in a rough, jerky way. This can be made most interesting to children, and some really beautiful sustained tones obtained. 2. Bells. The children arc n.uch interested m bolls. They may be told to listen to thf various bells— church bell, school u.jll, 010. The teacher calls their attention to ih<i big church bell that can be heard such a long way off. She protends to pull a rope, and at the same time sings "ding-dong," "ding dong," otc. .... With some pains a very good imitation of a far-off bell may be obtained. A gong may next be talked about. The children come out and strike it, and note its faint, clear ring gently die away; it is not a bit like a church b?ll. The children may pretend to hold a bell in left hand while they strike with the right, and then describe gradually widening circles to keep the impression of the sound as it gradually dies away. At the same time they sing " ring." I believe that all theso exercises suggested by Miss Bentley, although at first they may appear to be mere nonsense, are very scientifically and carefully uianned. Ihe practise of the sounds f, v, s, feh, dzh, and other consonantal sounds tends to make the tongue and lips supple ; the ! 00, as in one of the wind sounds, js a good exorcise for the best method of opening the mouth and consequently the throat; the humming sound, of the violin brings ih° tone forward, and th» practice of the nnsil sounds on the words dinar, dong, cling, clang, and ring has the effect of enriching the tones of the voice and cultivating nasal resonance. Miss Bentley made a special point of getting the nasal resonance in such words as "king." '"sing," etc., exhorting children to " always get those nice humming sounds."