MUSIC BEFORE MARKS

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23808, 30 November 1942, Page 6

MUSIC BEFORE MARKS

EXAMINER’S ADDRESS TO TEACHERS The attitude of parents and students to examinations in music was discussed by Mr Colin Taylor, examiner to the Royal Schools of Music, London, in an address at Hegg’s Hall of Music to the music teachers of Christchurch and suburbs. Among the salient subjects covered in his talk were examinations, keyboard and pedal technique, memory playing, ear tests, "nerves,” and other matters of importance. He particularly emphasised the need for reading at sight. Cramming for examinations was a subject against which he spoke emphatically, pointing out the attendant dangers of cramped musical vision and a general maiming of promising talent. It appeared to him, he said, that the aim of too many students was merely to gain certificates instead of an overpowering desire to equip themselves musically. "This, of course,” he added, “is in the main due to a wrong approach of the subject—-a false orientation.” Parents so frequently did a great disservice to their children by insisting on incessant and automatic taking of examinations, often against the better judgment of the chosen teacher, he said. Examinations were not to be considered a be-all and end-all of musical education. They were only a supplement and guide. Again, examinations should not be presented as a goal, but merely as milestones on the road to excellence. If an examination did not allow time during the year for the study of plenty of other music, and if an examination imposed the least strain or anxiety on either student or teacher, it was a clear indication that a grade too high was being attempted. A students’ unswerving aim had to be "music before marks.”