Music in Schools

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1052, 16 August 1930, Page 11 (Supplement)

Music in Schools

Music and the Child

VALUE OF CLASS INSTRUCTION

Joy in Music-Making

(Written for THE SUN by E. DOUGLAS TAYLER, Supervisor of Musical Education.)

IN the present day more music-making takes place than has been the ease at any period in the world’s history, largely on account oE the mechanical means of production. It is a commonplace to hear those who have the future of 'music at heart deplore this prevalence of mechanical music as an evil thing, saying that people will get too lazy to make it for themselves, and that generations of children will grow up to whom musical performance is a lost art. In view of this it may be well to take a little survey of the situation as regards the child and his music-making.

Music is an integral part of human life, not a mere adornment. There is a stage in the age-long development of living creatures where the life of the feelings begins to unfold: and it ; s here that we begin to find them making sounds of one sort and another. Cries, grunts and so forth are the first expressions of feeling: laughing and weeping are common among us now as natural noises made spontaneously to express our feelings; and every shade of feeling appears in the tones of the voice when we speak, so long as we do not make definite or habitual efforts to hide or repress our feelings. When for any reason the expression of our feelings is delayed, they find their outlet in some changed form as a rule. An extreme but common case might show us repressed love, auger or sorrow resulting in some physical or nervous illness. Art in general is the expression ot man’s controlled, delayed or repressed feelings, in visible or audible shape. Music results from man’s need for controlled self-expression, which leads him to create in the world of emotions. Love, especially love In absence or some form of separation from the beloved, has given rise to enormous quantities of music, as a survey of the world’s song literature will show at once.

Now it is quite obvious- that man’s development is really a long training in self-control. Every bit of control that he gets over himself and his powers results in some kind of art. and our civilisation is a huge artwork arising out of man’s self-control and self-direction. Music has its place in this as naturally and inevitably as the building of houses and the making of clothes, the establishment of things like navigation and commerce, the growth of a language and so forth. We simply must have it, and here it is and here it means to stay—not a luxury, but a necessity. If our utilitarian friends jockeyed music out of education tomorrow, it would crop up everywhere else in some other form, even if the forcible repression of it resulted in an epidemic of nervous diseases. One could as soon abolish music as one could destroy human speech and return to grunts and gestures as a mode of communication. MUSICAL INDIGESTION

But even if the above be granted, what of the danger of mechanical music? Is it not possible that we shall become a world of listeners and leave all music-making to the specialists? The answer is an unhesitating “no,” and a survey of the movements now afoot corroborates this. What has happened and is happening is as follows. For years past people have been starved as listeners. The good old days of folk-music passed from the western world in general, and a

time of specialisation ensued when music was regarded as a subject of academic character. The child’s music consisted of going to a teacher and drumming out scales, exercises and sonatinas in solitary confinement. He heard little except what he made for himself, and which in consequence he frequently made‘under protest. Thus ensued a state of musical emaciation. like making a person work without feeding him. What wonder that when the gramophone and radio placed quantities of beautiful sound before him, the “man-in-the-street” left his impoverished efforts gladly, and (metaphorically) sat down and had a good “tuck-in” at the fare so lavishly provided ? But one cannot eat for ever. Satisfaction ensues—possibly even a postprandial nap: in some cases indigestion and surfeit. What is the cure? A new period of activity; activity, moreover, greatly stimulated by the good food-supply lately taken. Like giants refreshed, the human race goes forward again to make its own music: this time, happily, with no likelihood

of ever being starved again as listen ers. Some are still snoring, some groaning and grumbling with musical indigestion, but the majority “keen as mustard.” TEAM SPIRIT Look for the evidences of this. All over Europe and America musical education in schools is taking new forms and children are being equipped with greater skill and a wider knowledge of the art. instrumental class-

teaching has enrolled hundreds of thousands of children. Non-competi-tive musical festivals are on the increase, junior choirs and orchestras springing up everywhere and combining in remarkable performances. America’s great “Music Week” movement, and now our own. are other evidences. The western world is speaking with no uncertain voice concerning its intentions to mako amateur music on a huge scale. I£ a locality here and there still slumbers, it will soon awaken. That this has not been clearly seen by all our musicians is due chiefly to two changes that have clouded the view. The first is the decline of private teaching—a decline due to several oauses, which hang together. In many homes, money which might have been expended on fees for music lessons has gone to the purchase of gramophone or radio. Along with it has come something of a revolt against the feeling of solitary-music-making-under-criticism engendered'-by tho private lesson, and which has killed in so many young people the true joy of social musical performance: both parent and child being glad to escape from the effort and the imperfect noises, and to listen instead to the

performances of properly equipped artists. EVILS OF COMPETITION At tho same time —and this is immensely important—there lias been taking place a shifting of the centre of gravity of musical instruction into the schools, its proper place. The work of the private teacher has declined: the work of the music teacher in the schools has enormously increased, and offers an ever-widening field. Here a new character is given to music by reason of the teamspirit pervading class-work: and when we can remove from It entirely the evils attendant upon examination and competition, and go whole-heartedly for co-operation and social enjoyment, a new era of joy in music-making will be fully established. The attitude of parents toward their children’s music must be changed: they must get rid of the hideous idea that Tommy or Susie is not being properly taught unless he or she can come home periodically

with a certificate or prize: and learn to recognise that their children will be infinitely more happy if they can sing or play at sight in a choir or orchestra. Tho arguments in favour of competition are plausible: its evils are insidious and subtle: its hoof is cloven, when it stalks in the world of art; even though it is tho beneficent parent of sport, whose very essence is competition.

There are some who would divert the angels from their hymns of praise to the Creator, in order to make them compete with one another in singing to improve their technique. Their gain in skill would be at the expense of their spiritual uplift. I would see all competition festivals changed into co-operative—a change which must surely come, the sooner the better.

The other cloud upon the musicians’ horizon has been the discharge of theatre musicians consequent upon the “Talkies.” Of this, one. can only say that all new inventions mean readjustments and temporary hardships. Some of these musicians return to the ranks of amateurs, where their services are of great value: some seek work in the schools, teaching instruments and organising orchestras: many who were parttimers probably do their other work better through having fewer late nights: in some cases the dispersal of a few small orchestras has led to the formation of a full orchestra with symphonic possibilities, and thereby to the performance of great works which would have been otherwise unheard locally. CREATING MUSIC HATERS Good ultimately comes out of evil when the readjustment has taken place, and meantime the gospel of music goes on bringing its tidings of great joy to the masses. Someoue recently pointed out in the Press that in view of the number of musicians out of work it was surely folly to maintain Professors of Music in Universities and elsewhere. Has music then no value for us except as a means of livelihood? Like all spiritual blessings, it cannot be valued in terms of money: for if it could, we could buy life itself at a price. I feel there are yet changes to come in the child’s musical training. Do we ever think what it means to a small boy or girl to be set to “learn the piano?’’ He has to tackle all at once the control of his fingers, of which the fourth and fifth require special training: the manipulation of a complicated machine: symbols for the pitch of sounds: symbols for the duration of sounds: eye-training, eartraining, development of rhythmic sense, sense of touch independently of the eye, and sense of touch in conjunction with the eye. Is not this enough to make the boldest adult quail? Yet Tommy, aged 70r9, is expected to love practising: and if he doesn’t, then we say he hates “music," and he soon begins really to hate it by association. I would see every child begin with eurhythmies, by which joyous means he would develop a living sense of time and rhythm and an acquaintance with its notation. Pitch he should get through sight-singing and eartraining. A primitive percussion instrument in a toy band should lead on to experiment with a zylophone or some easy instrument capable of playing tunes, and when he came to the piano, more than half the difficulties would be already out of the road. A piano class instead of solitary lessons would take him past

the first few milestones, and after that he would be sturdily independent to choose his own musical pathway. Happily many advanced piano teachers are forming rhythm classes and rhythm bands for their pupils, and eurhythmies is gradually finding its way into our schools by way of infant rooms. It remains yet to get a united clear vision of the future and to pull all together in the right direction. But it is coming.