MUSICAL BUNGLERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 71, 23 March 1923, Page 11

MUSICAL BUNGLERS.

BLIGHTED YOUNG CAREERS REGISTRATION" OF TEACHERS. SOME PROFESSIONAL OPINIONS. "Certificated teacher of music" is a lure hv which many an unsuspecting embryo musician has been trapped in the mitf-icial parlours of incompetence. and many a prospective brilliant career has been wclilied, and shackled down to mediocrity by hopelessly wrong methods nf instruction. Auckland, in common with other centres of the Dominion, lias its sorry tale of blighted musical hopes—talented yc.ung people ulu.se gif* has been strangled by bungling Teachers, anil average pupils sent out to perpettiate wrong ideas of playing and singing, ami twisted notions of the appreciation of music. Such was the consensus of opinion of several teachers of repute who were interviewed by a "Star" representative to-day. One man. who has had a long and successful career as hotli teacher and performer, quoted heart breaking instances that had come under his notice of musical careers which might have been successful above the average having been blighted by finger strains and vocal strains caused by incompetent teaching when the pupils were young. ROYAL ROAD TO FAILURE. And he also gave instances of incompetent pupil*, on the strength of lowgrade passes in theoretical examinations, either English or American, and a pretence of playing ability that would eliame any reputable instructor, setting up the magic sign "certificated teacher' , and cheerfully accepting money for putting unfortunate town and country children on the royal road to failure in music. "The musicians, and the mass of the teachers, of the community will gladly welcome any movement which will put. a stop to that sort of thing." he said. "It is generally recognised that while the theoretical examinations have their uses, and do an immense amount of good in the proper understanding of music, they are subject to abuses, reflected in the direction indicated, and I think we would all be clad to sec some form of resistration of teachers instituted to gradually work out the abuses. Of course, all good players are not good teachers: but they at least know right from wrong methods." XOT A XEYV PROPOSAL.

Another professor of music who was upproacued had grave doubts about the success of the registration of music teachers, lie admitted it had recently been favourably considered in Britain, and. he thought, in Australia also, but it smacked too much, to his mind, of the close corporation idea. And tin , difliculty of the proposal presented itself to him as almost insuperable. Years ago it had been mooted in Xew Zealand, when it \v;ia proposed that an institute of musicians be sit up for the Dominion, but when Parliament proposed that such scheme must be connected with the University its advocates dropped it. Those who were against it truui the beginning based their objection* on t!io ground that every teacher practising at the moment, whether competent or not. would be certain to be registered by Parliament at the initiation of the scheme to avoid hardship, and that would be simply making the profession »afe for the incompetents of the moment. NOT ALWAYS A QUACK. Another thing against it was the known fact that the examination system meant so little in the workaday practice of music, as of law and medicine. So many brilliant honours men in music, law and medicine examinations did so little in actual practice, being mere scholars: and so many of our most notable and successful teachers had upv.t taken a degree. And there was the close corporation idea connected with registration. "It is so hard to say who is a quack." he remarked. "Look at the case of Sir Herbert Barker, whose knighthood for brilliant manipulative surgery was protested against by the 8.M.A.: he never took a medical degree. He mijiht have been called a quack." The principle to be aimed at was ensuring that every teacher of music should have had a proper course ' of training, and he felt sure that the best safeguard in that direction would : be the establishment of a conserve- j tnrinm of music in the Dominion. It! would tend to do nwny with the misplaced confidence in mere scholastic degrees, educate both people generally and promising young pupils in particular, and keep the profession free from j such restrictions a? had been indicated. Meantime people generally might >'C educated to care in the selection of teachers for their children.

UP TO MUSICIANS. Other men interested in thfi aubjnet felt that the matter was one that might, be taken up by the Society of Musicians. It was pointed out that the point had been settled in England by the Teachers' Registration Act, which provides by statute for the formal registration of all teachers, whether of music or anything else, after due consideration of their qualificatiocs by the Council. An act of this nature takes a long time to become fully effective: and since it does not prohibit teaching by those who cannot claim registration, it inflicts no hardship upon any. Of course, its aim is to eliminate the unqualified teacher, whose training has been inadequate, and this it will eventually effect, but only by slow degrees. In musical education it will also weed out the private examining body, since the diplomas awarded by these institutions are not recognised by the Teachers' Registration Council.