MUSIC WITHOUT TEARS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 138, 5 March 1908, Page 3

MUSIC WITHOUT TEARS.

I havo often (writes M.'E. Marshall in the "Queen'.') been struck with the.-fact that, although tho majority; of .children who when jrqung enjoy ,marching]; dancing, , and little :hymns: and - rhymes, ' as. ithyy geit-'. older,' becoirie less; enthusiastic; and- even look .upon their practising .hour-as;the,part 6f the day; most to bo dreaded. . .'i

' Is .this - altogether', tho'children's fault?-It is truo that:'there, are/some iri whom it- seems, impossible: to: aWiik'en; enthusiasm .in ; any sub-', ject ;bufc most 'cliildrcn catinot bo plased urider thW .category; -Tt, is also,',truo;'that -many are naturally lazy aiid do not like ;tho -'trouble, of - learning; ; ; but. if the .-music • lessons : .were! mado'attractive from,..thqi beginning I-t-hink; that even the lazy and uiienthusiastic would moro often;w.ish-to-learn.

Tho next'quKtion'is,-.thpn/ : in .what way can tho lessoiis be made more attractive? In the first -iplaco;': : nono -but■£ goodi'co.mpositicns should be play'cd..-Do hot think, because only a child, is listening, ftbat-.anjvcommo.h. music will bo good ; enough . for; him. Play lively, music by.Ull'-j-means,; with.ithe. rhythm wellmarked; (Mendelssohn's /".Wedding , March,!-', .Gounod's'-Marchvfr'oin:,','Faiist, l ' arid .Bizet's "Carmen", fare ' splendid; examples), • butbo, always ; careful, .to 's'elcfet. good narmoniesif. you fail iri respect, you are probably deadening any sense of music he may li'aVo iri' him.' ' '

Secondly, when he begins to learn (which ho will probably be only, too anxious to do, if he has already beon mado familiar with a certain amount of good him at once start -with thfe. good old-'masters, • Baclr; Beethoven,;etc. .-' ■

. I can hear some of 'my'readers exclaim, "What a ridiculous: idea-:to. expect a child of four or five years;of ago, to learn'Baoh'andBeothovon." It really is.not' at all ridiculous. Of course rl do -not for 0110. moment suggest that'oveiCa- musical prodigy would be able;'to,, play'.a Bach Fuguo .or a Becthov.en Sondta' at that early age; but I do say that it is .qiiite' as easy (and a thousand tiriies more a child to take a small part- iii a-groat work as t-o play five-fingered exercises, and the rest of the usual routine.

I had Tunoral 'March several times !to. my littlordaugh'ter. • When she was threc years old she asked me'to teuch her tO;plajj,!ancl it >struck:me how easily sho could manage the two lowest notes with her, two little forefingers. As. sho was able to march in' timo, there wns .no reason why sho should Sot make' her hands movo :in' tinip,- .first tho left' hand, then the right. Acting on this idea,,l simply had to show her which two notes she should strike, and I filled in'all tho rest of the cords: The result . was a -great' dolight to her,' especially when she* was ablo to . get: a big ...crescendo:.l may here remark that it is very important that: expression should be encouraged from' the' beginning.