BLIND MUSICIANS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 70, 23 March 1935, Page 6

BLIND MUSICIANS.

EASY TO TEACH. A MEANS OF EXPRESSION. VARIETY OF INSTRUMENTS. Whenever one visits the New Zealand Institute for the Blind in Parnell there is sure to be music being played somewhere. It may be a man playing a jolly ragtime on his mouth organ, it may be one of the several excellent orchestras practising some new piece, or it may even be ""the .Scot who recently joined the institute taking himself back to the Highlands by the skirl of his bagpipes. " But whatever the instrument, there is always music and laughter aniong the inmates. Music is the greatest form of expression that a blind person can have. When he begins to play he forgets the materialism around him and lifts himself up to a world of dreams and beauty. His inner personality finds an outlet in the melodies he plays with a sincerity often lacking in players who are not blind. % Practically all school pupils at the institute are given training in pianoforte, singing, or in any other branch of music they may choose. They arc first put under the charge of Miss Lilian Martin, herself totally blind, who has gained high distinctions in music, and later under Miss A. Law.

In 1027 a military band was formed from among the younger men of the workshops and the schoolboys under the late Mr. George Cater, and then Lieutenant G. W. Bowes, the present conductor. The. band is well known to sportsmen and patrons of other outdoor functions.

It has already made two successful tours of the Dominion, each yielding a net profit of about £900. This money is being used to cover the costs .of musical training and equipment. Another tour is being arranged for next spring. " Pleasure to Teach Them." A dance band was formed in 1929 which is becoming more popular each year at public functions and over the radio. The success of this band may be judged from the fact that it filled no fewer than 127 engagements last year. Another popular branch of the institute's musical activities is the girls' string orchestra, under the leadership of Mr. and Mrs. S. Jackson. From the youngest member, little Laurel Mutimer, aged 7, io the older girls, there is a keenness to do their best that is refreshing to see. "It is a pleasure to teach them," said Mr. Jackson. "They never complain of the tedious practices through which all learners must go, and they make much more rapid progress than most children with their sight. Already they can play over 30 pieces, most of them difficult classical works. Mrs. Jackson and I always enjoy the lesson hours on Saturday morning and Wednesday evening." . '

The organ, which is a throe manual instrument presented by the latri Sir Henry Brett, is another feature of the institute's mlisiciil life. Instruction is given to those of special ability by Mr. Maughan Barnett and the Rev. E. C'hitty, who has been blind all his life. Other branches of music included, in the curriculum are a glee party, a male choir, a school choir and a group of vocalists. Value of Tours. "Musical combinations among the blind give them the same opportunity for the spirit of team work that football and cricket'give those with sight," said Sir Clutha Mackenzie, director of the institute, to-day. "The training has other valuable results besides the actual learning to play an instrument. It enables blind people to take a normal position in the life of "the community, and in many cases leads to permanent employment in an orchestra. The public appearances of the bands and the tours to southern cities nave proved most successful and liave made many friends for the blind.

"These trips are eagerly looked forward to by the young members of the band," continued Sir Clutha. "They act as an incentive to them to keep the standard of their playing up to the highest possible level and enable them to" make friends all over New Zealand. It is also a very practical way of showing people in the south what is being done at the institute to. make young people better able to take their places with the rest of their fellow-citizens."