MUSICAL INSTRUCTION.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 101, 29 April 1913, Page 9

MUSICAL INSTRUCTION.

. ABILITY OF DOMINION TEACHERS. ' A CRITICAL JUDGE. ' 7 (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) CHRISTCHURCH, this day. , Herr Carl Saver, musical judge at the 'competition?, to-day made some very interesting observations upon the r.0.->i-•tion of musical teachers in this country. I There were, he .said, in every town a 'great many teachers, some of whom had achieved a certain amount of success on the platform. Some people thought that persons who could themselves perform could teach, but the pro{csiion itself observed the difference be- j tween ability to perform and ability to instruct. It was a vital point to know 1 what qualifications a teacher had. Unfortunately, in the Southern Hemisphere so-called degrees counted for n jrr?at deal. He had found a great many men nnd women with almocrt the whole alphabet after their names, but they could not necessarily teach. These degrees were obtained for a certain amount of proficiency shown at certain times in certain pieces. That was all that could be said about degrees given by the Royal Academy of Music, the Associated Board of Examines, etc., out'"-here. These examiners knew nothing about tbe musical development of candidates at all; they had no coneepli6n as to what study they had gone through- t andidates were not required to have any primary instruction at all. and. because of this, he had found girls •Tho had their certificates framed on their wails unable to play ''God Save the. "King." Any person musically inclined, with sufficient work, could obtain these certificates, but that did not guarantee their being able to teach. To do that required thorough grounding. Now was the time, therefore, for one of the. Universities of Xew Zealand to establish a chair of music, where study could be taken up systematically and logically, where, for instance, could Miss Moore, champion, now pursue her studies in New Zealand? There should be a University at which she could develop her talents. There were able lecturers' in New Zealand, such as Dr. Bradshaw, but what was needed was practical instruction under private tuition. As it was, pupils rose to a certain level, but could get no further. A capable musician required at least seven years' tuition. A prodigy was a matter of only three or four years. But. while this attainment was raved over in early years, a higher standard was demanded later. This could not be given as things were. He asked himself what was the good of these examinations by foreign or English bodies in New Zealand? He did not mind if he offended anybody, and from what he could see, he would strongly urge one of the Universities—he hoped it would be in Christehurch —to establish a chair of music- He hoped the Competitions Committee would inaugurate some scheme which would have a chair of music as its aim.'