MUSIC IN THE SCHOOLS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 142, 18 June 1929, Page 19

MUSIC IN THE SCHOOLS.

[STRIKING PROGRESS MADE, I j LISTENING AND PEBFOHMWG. I ! FESTIVAL AT CHRISTCHUECH. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) WELLIXGTO:., Sunday. "The wliole attitude- of the country j toward musical and cultural education ,-renerailv is uridersroiiiiz a change. e | are beginning to see that most of our i attention has hitherto been directed toward keeping ourselves alive and not nearly enough toward those things that make life worth living." This is the conclusion of Mr. E. Douglas Taylor, Director of Music in Schools, who is about to leave Xew Zealand to represent the Education Department at the first Anglo-American music conference at Lausanne. "In each teachers' training college," Mr. Taylor said, "we have, now a higiiiyqualified whole-time lecturer in music in place of the part-time instruction previously given. In Auckland and Christchurch, where this was first done, the i results have already been felt far and | wide. At Wellington and Dunedin there j has scarcely been time for this to take place. At each college, too. a number of students are specialising in school music, while at Auckland some of these are working regularly in outside schools j under the supervision of the lecturer." i Another important step had been the j issuing of an official handbook of musij instruction, entitled "A Scheme of : School Music Related to Human Life." i compiled by Mr. Taylor. A copy of this | had been sent to each school and the j revised syllabus required that it should • be put into operation as far as local eirj rnni'tances permitted. The scheme was | very comprehensive. j "School music nowadays." said Mr. j Taylor, "is much wider than the mere j teaching of song?. The child has to be ! encouraged to invent his own music, and I already' this is beine done in a larg- | number of schools. The development of i the child's feeling for time and -iiythm should be accomplished through the in- ; terpretation in bodily action of the j movement felt in the music. I would j like to see every boy and girl in the Dominion enrolled in etirhrtbmt'! classes. Its elements are applicable to the smallest children, while its advanced forms will engage the interest and tax the newer* of the cleverest among us. It '« on° of the create*!: art* of present and "'uture time. It had been found possible.*" j he added, to introduce a certain amount of | eijrhvthmie teaching into the training and schools a.ireadv, in addition Ito rhythmical movement. * Mouth Organs and Orchestras. ] Ear training formed the basis of rr.usi- ] ral training. The whole of music was I apprehended through the ear. and "learnI ing to listen" was the means whereby all I the greatest treasures of music became J available. The performer, too. could only 9 perfect his art through listening to him* I self. All this could be made intensely interesting to the ch'ld. from the "listening games" of the infant room to the critical analysis of orchestral tone*" and musical form? by the advanced student. Progress was being made in the formation of school bands and orchestras from percussion bands, in infant rooms, through mouth organ and flute bands up to such combinations as the Albany Street school brass band in Dunedin and the excellent orchestra from the Hawera schools. In high schools and technical schools, where many of the boys' voices were breaking., the orchestra was especially valuable in maintaining musical activity and interest. Perhaps the most remarkable thing of all had been a movement recently inaugurated in Christchurcb. through the enterprise of Mr. T. Vernon Griffiths, the Training College lecturer in music. Mr. Griffiths had conceived the idea of working for a big children's festival to be held at the end of the year. With the assistance of private teachers he had established a series of special classes for children on Saturdays. As a, result about SftO children were studying the piano, violin, clarinet, 'cello, b-nss instruments, folk dancing, musical appreciation, orchestral playing and choral work. The festival would be non-competitive. This was the spirit in which music should be approached, said Mr. Taylor, and he would like to see all the present competition festivals converted into cooperative festivals. "I am aware many will claim that the strong help the weak in competition, by setting a higher standard and spurring them to greater efforts. This may be in some cases, but. as the world is learning in every branch of activity that cooperation is better than competition, so we shall learn it in art also."