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Visits to Schools.—Personal visits to schools were continued during the first half of the year, districts visited being Middlemarch, Cromwell, Alexandra, Omakau, Ranfurly, Hunterville, Rata, Palmerston North, Clive, Havelock North, Otane, Norsewood, Ormondville, Napier, Gisborne, Tolaga Bay, and Christchurch. In many of these places teachers met for demonstrations and addresses, and general interest in music was aroused whenever possible by means of lectures to various societies, organ recitals, &e. Children's Musical Festival. —One of the most notable features of musical progress in 1929 has been the Christchurch Children's Musical Festival, organized by Mr. T. Vernon Griffiths, of the Training College. With the aid of private teachers, music classes were held on Saturday mornings, and 677 children were trained, for a highly successful three days' non-competitive festival held in October. The scheme is to be continued in 1930, and the classes extended in scope. This splendid effort in the direction of co-operation as distinct from competition should do much to promote the right spirit in the children's music-making, and is worthy of all support. Instrumental Music-classes. —There is likely to be a rapid development of instrumental classteaching for children in the Dominion such as has already become well established in Britain and America. This is chiefly the work of private music-teachers who obtain permission to establish classes in the schools, but outside school hours. Excellent methods of class-teaching for piano and violin are now available, and the movement is wholly good so long as competent teachers can be found. Although this will not take the form of a departmental activity, it should receive the same encouragement as is being accorded by the educational authorities of other countries. Anglo-American Music Conference. —In August I attended the first Anglo-American Music Conference in Lausanne. Delegates from all parts of the British Empire and the United States met for a week to discuss musical education. The development of instrumental work in the American schools, culminating in the remarkable achievements of the National High School Orchestra, was an interesting point emphasized. Discussions on elementary-school music seemed to show that the official " Scheme " lately issued to our New Zealand schools will bring us well into line with other countries when it is effectively carried out. In every other country, however, there would seem to be much more organized supervision of school music than we have here. It is manifestly impossible for one Supervisor to pay a sufficient number of personal visits to the schools of New Zealand to ensure the proper carrying-out of any scheme however good. Valuable lectures were given at the Conference on different musical topics such as choir-training, the use of classical songs in schools, &c. Visit to England. —From August to December I was in England, and took the opportunity of visiting the Goldsmiths' College, London, for the training of school-teachers, and also many schools, both primary and secondary, in the London district. Here I observed remarkable work done with a large class of infants : beautiful eurhythmies by senior girls ; a first-rate boys' orchestra, the wonderful musical organization of the Mary Datchelor Girls' School (secondary), where every girl takes music, and a special advanced course is also provided ; a performance of Mozart's opera, " the Magic Flute." by secondary schoolboys; and other interesting work. I met and discussed school music with Sir Arthur Somervell, late Musical Adviser to the Board of Education ; Sir Hugh Allen, Director of the Royal College of Music ; Dr. Percy Buck, Musical Adviser to the London County Council; Mr. Alec Robertson, of the Educational Branch of His Master's Voice Gramophone Company ; Major Bavin, Mr. Kirkham Jones, and other authorities. I visited two schools for mental defectives, where the curative value of music, and especially of eurhythmies, was abundantly made evident. Concerts for school-children are now an important feature in some districts in Britain. These are given by highclass orchestras and instrumental combinations ; explanatory talks are given, in some cases at the schools before the children hear the music. This development is also spreading. Conference of Training-College Music Lecturers. —A conference of training-college Music Lecturers, the first of its kind, is projected for 19-30, to take place in Wellington. In conclusion, it may be said that there has been a very real, if slow, progress towards better conditions in music in New Zealand schools, which could be greatly accelerated by the appointment of local supervisors. Otherwise, it is a matter of waiting until the reorganized work now in operation in the training colleges permeates the school life of the Dominion, which must, of course, come in the long-run, but cannot be expected before its time. I have, &c., E. Douglas Tayler, Supervisor of Musical Education. The Director of Education, Wellington.

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