STRUMMING THE PIANO.

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 September 1934, Page 9

STRUMMING THE PIANO.

“LET CHILDREN DO IT.” Dr Percy Buck, King Edward Professor of Music at the University of London, speaking recently at the Oxford Course in Music Teaching, expressed the view that if children enjoyed strumming on the piano they should be allowed to do it. “If you can get a child to sit down at the piano and improvise a tune, be has learned much more musicianship (han if he knew that Bach had 22 children,” he said. “Therp is a. tiny girl I could bring here, if she were not too small to be taken from her mother, who, if I suggested an idea to her, could sit down and play a- perfect, little tune illustrating it. “If I said the word ‘snowflake to her she would play a dainty fragment on the top notes and if I said ‘elephants’ she woyld rumble about ■in the base—and her father is a workman of Woolwich Arsenal. “A considerable- percentage of boys can compose tunes after very little tuition, but very few girls can,” he continued. “That is because boys are more inquisitive than girls. The same impulse that makes them take a clockwork engine to pieces makes them find out for themselves why a tune sounds nice, and that is how they start to make tunes up for themselves.”, ' '

factory life for girls. WOMAN DOCTOR’S VIEWS. The advantages and disadvantages of factory life for women and girls are set out in a review by Dr Sibyl iiorner, one of the Home Office medical inspectors of factories, in the annual report of the Chief Inspector, published recently, in London. Some of Dr Horner’s dicta, such as that factory women age quickly, and soon lose their physical attraction, may not commend themselves to some of those of whom she speaks. Dealing with the benefits and detractions of work in factories she puts under the former head: — A higher standard of living. Improved standard of personal hygiene. Reduced health risks, and ‘ Regular meals. On the other hand there is an “adverse side to indust I'ial life toi women, as is evident to any observer who has the opportunity of studying women at work.” Among these she notes: They age quickly, physical attraction is early attained and- quickly lost, and They have fewer opportunities for recreations and relaxations than men workers. “These facts.” Dr Horner says, "are not confined to factory workers; so it is with every group of women workers. The reason is, 1 think, that women’s work often begins where it nominally ends. The house and dependents make their claims on the women worker. Her work is never done.” According to latest available statistics, 1,535,58fi women and girls are employed in factories, of whom 1,391.483 are over 18. Of every 100 persons employed 35.fi arc females. The largest number of these workers —357,638 —are in the textile industries. Female workers exceed the males in textile, pottery, and clothing manufacture.

Pointing out that, women and girls am much employed in repetition processes, and in operating lighter machines. Dr Horner expresses her view on “the riddle which has provoked so much interest in scientific minds, namely, why is it that women alone of the industrial groups can bring themselves to the daily performance of 'monotonous work without losing what one may call, for want of a, better name, their ‘interest in life ? “They do it,” she suggests, “by a nice balance between attention and detachment, which is, in effect, a prescription for the prevention of boredom.

“Boys are not so good at maintaining this nicety of balance, and why I should they be when their outlook and j interests are so different, from tho--.’ II of women, or even of girls of Hie ''same age?"