THE TONIC SOL FA SYSTEM.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 222, 19 September 1871, Page 4

THE TONIC SOL FA SYSTEM.

The following is' the substance of a lecture on this i method,. of a learning to read vocal r music,, delivered by'Mr. U j. T. Smith, of Stoke, in the Wesleyan Church, Richmond. As the system is growing into favor in Nelson and neighborhood;; and has been carefully studied and taught by Mr. Smith, we give it to-day, supposing it may prove interesting to eome of our roders : — Mußic.began^with the first man who uttered a musical sound on this earth. There are in the human: breast certain natural longings — desires — appetites on whatever you may call them, which it is the mission to satisfy— music ministers to a deep, pure, and satisfying pleasure. Music is not a mere luxury, singing is a necessity. God has given the faculty of the voice not to be trained out of- proportion nor to be suffered to die away like a neglected limb — not to be misused or prostituted to improper purposes, but to be used for, the pleasure and benefit of man and the worship of God. „Music.has many functions, it can give courage to the soldier and the martyr ; it can lighten care and drive away sorrow. * Singing," says Henry Ward Beecher, "is that natural method by which thoughts are reduced to feelings more easily, more surely, and more universally than by any other, you can in no way express feelings so well as by singing. Therefore in all ages, all countries, all sorts of feelings — patriotism — love— rvarious kinds of sentiment have .taken the form of poetry^ for singing and ' chanting purposes^ ' Singing is a provision of Almighty God by which the mass of mankind can convert thoughts into feelings and intellectual propositions into emotions." Munc may be compared ;to a succession of waves which tremble in the air — l)ut it loses its great mission unless the magic of its ripplings surge into the soul; here to comfort, strengthen, and delight the real man. Singing at sight was much neglected ' in the eighteenth century, and but little improvement has been made for the last 70 years, except by one society to be noticed presently In the 17th century a man was not considered a perfect gentleman unless he could sing his part in the social glee. Now few, very few indeed, can sing at sight a plain psalm tune. This neglect of song, is strikingly manifested in PUBLIC "WOKSHIP. I believe a large majority of our population are a church-going and church-loving people. The public worship of God might be made fifty times more attractive and a hundred fold more successful and profitable if the service of song was deligently cultivated by the individual members of the congregations, : The blessed.'gift of song, if cultivated, may become a .grand and delightful means of grace. Enter a city or country church during divine service and what do we see and hear ? In front of the organ or harmonium in a high place we see a few boisterous- singers leading off with a tune often unsuitable to the congregation, who have little time for crotchets and quavers. On looking at the congregation we see gentlemanly boys by the half-dozen not opening their mouths— quiet ladies who look as though they dare not sing, here and there a gentleman trying to sing sometimes biie part and sometimes another part — now bass, then tenor, then the air, whitot the more vulgar are staring at their neighbors or else at the choir. This' is truthful as a picture (though perhaps a little exagerated) that may be witnessed in any of our congregations on the Sabbath day. It appears to ; me that most, if not all our congregations praise God by deputy. In that portion of the service in which the congregation have an opportunity of expressing in the best mode their penitential desires and feelings of gratitude, they • leave it for a few, called a choir, to perform this service. The choir may be right in its place, but the congregation is under as strong an obligation to render in a. becoming manner the service of song as the minister is to preach the sermon. If music speaks straight to our hearts and spirits, sooths and stirs us up, puts, noble feelings into us, if, it is one of God's best gifts to man, if singing speaks at once to the heart, then surely some time and attention, should be devoted to the cultivation of Psalmody. There is an old, saying and a true one " A thing worth doing at all is worth doing well." This will apply to congregational singing; to do it well it should not be done merely by the minister, the. elders, or the choir. Shall we offer to God that which costs us nothing ? Surely not. The offscourings- of ourlips for God's service should not be. Then there is something due to our fellow, -worshippers;-, we may spoil their worship by our want of preparation. In all our congregations there are individuals with gifts and acquirements, but -their help is small indeed, compared with what it might be, for want of preparation and understanding; they will not learn the correct bass or tenor, and they cannot sing the treble. A .proper .respect to the laws of nature which ordains "the part we. can siag', viz , bass, tenor, alto, or treble, would prevent much discord and add to the comfort and success of the service of song, 1 - ; ;.\. '.'. "/; 7 ,'•■. . :■; ."■ ".' : "■'• There should be sincerity in song; sincerity should come .- before science — mere scientific singing is not worship, though it may be a good imitation— sincere song is worship, thougli it may Inoti be : scientific.. ;. Elihu ; Burritt says, the instrumentalities of peace and love, surely there can be no sweeter, softer, more effective ; voice than that of peace-breathing musici" "Martin Luther, says, "I pronounce openly that after theology there is nothing that c^">fDe'; ! conipared with music, thisj only like theblbgy, ; can give peaceful' minds and gladsome hearts." \vWhen we 1 remember that music is no mere ornament, that the time is coming when the carpenter will no longer needhis chisel and plane; the ( blacksmith .wiH not his anvil and hammer; - the fariner will leave his plough and l^rowj^the woodmat^wijl lay down his axe— but We arVtold^that the, ".gr^frt multitude.out'qf j all nations," kindreds, peoples, 'and tongues,' ' while bending before the eternal Throne, will Sing *'— ■wben we remembtT; ihat -Me implements and QCcapfl^Sdn^tolwh'lohweißave devoted so much time here will be thrown aside, but that the glorious jeryice of ?spng;Will be pasting as eternity, Biirely we should be" adimJitea with a desire to place-tbe song of the sanctuary in the mouth of all, not so muph^ l{ siugjng r as general praise. ' J And if singing has been neglected by churcfi-heard-**©xcept by the Hffifmonic Society*— aßoc^Bty 'ti^g^j^e^^itog^' ; I say, yw. • Hoir

shall 'we< go about' i^ First, by" adopting", £ simple irnettixl. and. notation H and secondly, by teaching' music in schools. The short tine that most people can spare for musical instruction is not ■;, sufficient, to enable them" to; master ;the. difficulties of -what is commonly called ihe old. notation. The established musical notation was' invented for a system <>f temporal" instruments, but for singing it presents many -and great difficulties. Amateur : siglit-singers ; from the old notation are practically unknown. • , Hullah's system, with its minor thirds and pluperfect fourths, its diminished sevenths and imperfect fifths; is so complex that not one boy in a hundred could get beyond the Key of C. Therefore, we should turn our attention to the TONIC SOL PA. The Tonic Sol Fa was invented by Miss Glover, of Norwich, the daughter of a clergyman of the Church of England. Miss Glover taught a large school in Norwich, and has given considerable ' attention .to musical science and education. She had carefully examined the common notation, and finding it unscientific in principal and difficult to teach, she invented the Tonic Sol Fa, and taught it successfully in her own school. The Eev. John Curwen, a Dissenting Minister, and a lover of children, was trying to teach 200 of them' to sing by ear, when he heard of Miss Glover's system ; he paid a visit to her school, saw.. the method, heard the children sing, was convinced after careful txamination, of, its simplicity and truthfulness. After two or threeyears' practice, Mr. Curwen, made several improvements,, such as using small letters instead of capitals— using those accent marks more likely to be found in the printer's case; measuring time more distinctly, but: strictly adhering to- the principles adopted by Miss Glover. ■ Mr. Curwen uses to represent the seven notes of the musical scale the syllables Doh, Ray, Me, Fah, Soh, Lah, Te. Key relationship is adopted as the guiding idea in Tonic Sol Fa, so that Doh represents the key in every instance, Me the third, and Soh the fifth, &c. EXTENT OP THE METHOD. Has Mr. Curwen's method of teaching to sing succeeded ? I will endeavor to show you that it has succeeded beyond the expectations of its most enthusiastic supporters. Mr. Curwen commenced to teach the method about the year 1 841 to a single child. In 1870 the names and addresses of above 3000 teachers were known to Mr. Curwen, 8431 elementary certificates had been granted to pupils, 1560 intermediate certificates granted, 119 certificates of memberships or advanced cs/tificates. Over 20,000 pages of music are printed in Tonic Sol Fa. A bi-monthly periodical called the Tonic Sol Fa Reporter is issued from the agency containing 32 pages of music and letterpress, being articles on musical science, reports of concerts, &c. The principal church music-books of England, Scotland, Ireland, aud Wales are printed in the Tonic Sol Fa notation. The Rev. Mr. Mercer's tune-book, Rev. Sir Henry Baker's tune-book, late Dean Alford's tune-book, tune-books of the Christian Knowledge Society, of the Established Church of Scotland, Free Church, the United Presbyterians, Rev. T. Binney, Rev. H. Alton, the Wesleyans, and the Calvanistic Methodists of Wales. The Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, alive to the advantages of Tonic Sol Fa, has numerous classes io connection with his congregation, and a tunebook printed in the Tonic Sol Fa notation. - Missionaries of both the Church Missionary Society and of the London Missionary Society have been trained in Tonic Sol Fa before sent out to their stations. The system is taught in India, Ceylon, Madagascar, Africa, South America, and in the ' Government schools of New South Wales. The Crystal Palace concerts, Band of ITope unions, Reformatories and Unions use the Tonic Sol Fa at their great concerts. . There is a Tonic Sol Fa College— classes for theory in music— elementary composition and harmony analysis. Tonic' Sol Fa is translated into the Welsh language, and there is an edition for the blind. There are in Great Britain 14,000 schools, and 38 colleges open to Sol Fa teaching, the. Govern-, ment having recognised its wide-spread influence, have accorded to -it equal privileges ; with the " old notation." ;".-.'• TESTIMONIES TO THE METHOD. The Times says, " It is the only national and popular system of teaching vocal music worthy of the name/' The Illustrated London News says, "It has given a new aspect to the art of music in this country. It would now be superfluous for us to speak of the advantages of the Tonic Sol Fa system; or the vast extent of its use in musical education throughout the British dominions, and our colonial empire." : .. From the Choir, " The only body making any systematic effort in musical education is that directed by Mr. Curwen." At the Crystal Palace concert an anthem composed for the occasion by G. A. Macfarren, Esq., and not seen before by the singers, was sung by 4,500 certificated Tonic Solfaists, at first sight. The Daily Telegraph says: "The" system exists and is flourishing." In the Society of Arts examination in the Theory of Music, for 1870, examiner, John Hullah, Esq., out of 68 pupils who received certificates 46 were Solfaists, and ttie-first prize was won by a Tonic Solfaist. In the competition of candidates for honors in elementary composition for 1870, G. A. Macfarren Esq., examiner. 32 obtained certificates, 31 of them being Tonic Solfaists. A, missionary writes, I 'wish you could; hear the Baddagama school children sing on Mr. Curwen's system, I think they would even surpass your Ciimberlpmdjgirls, j . ,-, -. ,%' f : '[ - The lUustrdted l £bndoh News safs, Tonic Sol Fa has brought the study, of .music down to the very smallest capacity*— offering a i notation i founded on the letters" & -the It is" scientific in its principles .and complete in: its details; it is easy, avoiding technicalities and speaking mostly in plain English. , It 'is cheap as well meuyjjindjt^ue.'/' v ' r - ;■; ■ ( . \ i: „ /' * The- Committee' of 1 of Education in England have allowed teachers of subsidised, schools to draw their fees for teaching singing in" either notation.,- r -,. .%.-,,■ f t t ■ ,•. / - Tonic SoJ^Fa' the Government of New South Wiles ? and incorporated with their ; new system of Government Schools, during the vißi£.of Prince, Alfred .to, the, colony a. chorus _qf 10;oo6 cMldreb^arigihVNational-Antbem'in such a way that the Prince (who by the way was a cultivated musician and (tobrposeflfsaid; he had not before heard such spirit; ianaUDweotness* in execution, and on his second visit the Prince n -wide-spread, and that the testimonies ipeak itrongly in. lt» favor.

f 1 '■ THE METHOD OF ~TKJLCH.mSf^ Firsthang up the modulator, the modulator is a pictorial representation of the alphabet of tune, the pcale ot nature is htre sketched out In teaching music three things are to "be observed,- — tune,, time, and force. Tune is taught first, time .second, and force third. In teaching, •• let the easy come, before the difficult." . . . " Teach the elemental before the compound." "Let each .step arise out of that which goes before and lead up to that which comes after." " Call in the understanding at every step " "Be careful to teach the thing before the sign, and when the thing is taught be sure to attach a distinct sign to it " Acting oh the foregoing principles, we commence to teach tune by pointing on the modulator. I have already stated that key relationship is the guiding idea in the Tonic Sol Fa. Be careful to question the pupils on the mental effects of the tones, for it is by this teaching of mental effect that Tonic Sol Fa is made to a great extent so successful. The following, from a friend of the .method,, will illustrate my meaning. " There are seven members to this family. The first and most important , member is the father, whom, we call Doh. He. has the entire control of the family, and is noted for being of a firm dispo- " sition— strong, arid self-reliant. . The one who most resembles his father is the eldest son Soh, there is a close sympathy between these two, Soh has a brighter and more joyous- disposition, but lacks the firmness of his father Doh. Next in importance to these two is the eldest daughter Me. She is a. very quiet and uuobtrusive young lady, :but very necessary to the comfort of the family. Thesa three form the family prop, all the others being dependent upon them. When heard singing together, they form the most delightful harmony. The next member is the mother Lah Her disposition is generally plaintive and sorrowful, but sometimes when she gets into a lively mood, she is gay in the extreme. Occasionally (in the minor mode) she attempts to usurp the authority of her husband, and though she cannot do this, she succeeds in imparting a tinge of her own sorrow or gaity to the rest of the, family. Soh has a younger brother named Fah. This young geiitleman has neither the joyousness of Soh nor the calTness of Me. He. inherits something of his father's firmness -with a great deal of. his mother's sorrow; in fact he is the misanthrope of the family. He shuns his brother Soh but likes to go to his sister Me for sympathy. Me has a younger sister named Ray. '1 his young lady's chief characteristic is indecision; having a thoroughly dependant nature, she. has great difficulty in making up her mind whether to lean upon Me or Doh. There is one more member in this interesting family,, and that is the baby Te. Like a great many other babies he has a shrill piercing voice, and he makes good use of it, for he is continually crying to go to his father Doh. Strange as it may seem, he seldom shows any desire to go to his mother Lah, perhaps it is this unnatural conduct of the young urchin which is the cause of that good lady's sorrow." You may learn from this that there is something abcut each tone that distinguishes it from all the rest in the same key. The boy sai Ihe could tell the notes by a kind "o'feelin' ZiAe,»'« that is mental effect. Everybody sings by mental effect, biit, unless it is perceived, the pupil does not gtt command of key relationship. In singing at sight we must have a distinct idea of every sound in the key — they are distinct as so many colors. Doh is always the key, it is o'f diff rent pitch in different tunes — that is, Doh • may be a high sound or it may be a low sound, but, when once )/iven,it picks out for itself from the mass, just those six which btrlong to it. Thus you see, when the pupil has mastered the seven notes iu key, he has acquired the ability to sing in any key, and one key comes just as easy as another to him; three flats is just as easy as one sharp, and four sharps as easy as O. I will sing Doh, you imitate the pattern. Now sing Doh, that is the key — now listen — Soh, try that — now Doh Soh; listen again — Doh Soh Me; try that ; now observe the effect, of" the tones on the mind. Listen again — Doh Soh Lah, which was the mournful tone? the Lah. The mental effects of the tones in key are so impressed on the mind that when the tonic or key is heard, the others in the same key can be produced instanter; they always bear the same' relationship to the key aud produce the same •mental effect, though the key be high or low. A rough illustration, not accurate, 'tis true, may be taken from the finger-board of the harmonium, if you could shift the finger-board so as to place the key C on the key note, then you mi,rrht play almost any tuue by simply learning the key of C on the finger-board, using the black keys as grace notes or accidentals. The minor mode as set forth by old notationists is even more difficult than the major mode. They represent O major and C minor as one and the same, whilst in truth one is Doh and the other Lah. In the Tonic Sol Fa the minor so called is just as simple as the major, indeed, the pupil might be singing the " minor'', jnode andnot know it by that name unless he was told; he would feel that the tune was very mournful, because the "Lah" predominated throughout the tune. I will-point a minor on the modulator. Most notations are taught step-wise and by intervals — the leading feature being a fixed key or, what is usually .termed absolute pitch, that is, measuring the intervals from one fixed sound for 'every, key. instead of from the key of the tune. To teach on the, system of absolute pitch is to ignore family relationship, and would be something like calling one's children "by their respective heights, 3 feet, 4J feet, 5f feet, and if there was one tall fellpw, call him 6 feet, instead of ' calling them son, daughter, &c. ' The Solfaist teaches first the cord of the tonic "Poh, Me,' Soh ; And when those are ; well established in -the ear, then the two other tones which- , bear, the closest cordal relation to the key tone ; Fah: and Lahj : f| • ";, ■ '\\ 'In 1 going from one'tone to the next you go from the tone to its, discord,, which results in bad intonation; In going from' the tonic to its third or fifth, we go f to its., concord, and the sense of concord is a great help evtn in! elementary pupils. --' -The plan of calculating-interval from the keytone was adopted many centuries before the doctrines" of "equSlTeinperament prevailed. The tonic principle of naming the, notes and of teaching the syllable^ was in operation in the eleventh century/and the system of retaining the moveable >**&>> * or* '^Fdh'' for the M key was continued through the Elizabethan period. The fixing of ;« 'the'iifjr 1 br/ab'solute 1 pitch: is' of modern invention. The advantagesin Reaching Tonic Sol Fa may be^umgjarifled|t|iuajs":-|-Teaching from the keyreiationship and by mental effects of tones in key l . teaching -by, pattern on the modulator — the i teacWr j: tiot T aniiiijf i lirith %li tolls4>ut A gtving them the pattern and requesting them to slag it; Uling ft simple notation that bears constant

reference to a picture that has been impressed on the mind, namely, the modulator. The plan of measuring time more distinctly to the eye by means of the accent marks placed At equal distances "along the page has been recognised by many teachers as, one of the first advantages of the new notation. It gives a distinct pictorial notion of time. Transition is more clearly and distinctly taught than by any other method. Transition is a change of key — the composer knowing the mental effects of tones in key, designs- to ' give effect to certain passages in the composition, and to accomplish this he introduces notes not found in the original key, or, in other words, changes the key — this is called Transition. Pew of those who sing from " the old notation appear to know why a sharp is introduced here, and a flat there, and a natural in another place— it is transition. In Tonic Sol Fa it is simple and easy. Next in importance to a simple and correct notation and method of teaching 5s the Certificates. There are three certificates, the elementary, the intermediate, and the advanced. The teaching is carried on with a view of reaching the requirements. I will only mention the requirements of the Advanced Certificate to show that the teaching is thorough, and that a high standard may be attained in musical science and art, and also to show that it is the easiest and most direct way of mastering the difficulties of the old notation. TEACHING IN SCEOOtS. To eradicate an evil, we are told, is to commence at the root; and to deal with the musical deficiences of the people we must begin with the children. And to accomplish this on a large scale it must be taught in public schools. And why should it not be taught in public schools 2 It is quite as important as some branches of education that are now taught. In my opinion music would exert a beneficial influence on the children attending schools. A few of the advantages may be enumerated here. It tends to promote physical health, a judicious use of the vocal organs tends to strengthen the lungs and chest. A physician said that "if there was more singing there would be less consumption." It is a civilising agent. Where the population is scattered and cannot be brought together oftni, the social feeling is necessarily weak; if children were taught to sing they would come together more frequently in after life, and music would exercise a wonderful influence on the roughness ot their manners. It helps the memory. If you wish to teach a child a life lesson write it in verse and set it to music. Music is a substantial part of education; it exercises the eye, the ear, the memory, and the voice. Singinar, as a pleasure, moves the soul, and because of this it is philanthropic, patriotic, and worthy of our earnest endeavors to extend its -influence as a moral agent in our schools, homes, and congregations. There is but one way to create a love for mudc in the people, and that is to teach them, while boys and girls at school, to sing by note. There is a great difference in teaching a child to sing by ear and teaching him to sing by sight. Teach a child a piece by ear and he is able to appreciate that piece only, but teach him music, and you give him a blessing for life, a very well-spring from which he can draw and sing his grief to rest. Can this be done 1 It can, and in the short time allotted to elementary education. Some people are so matter-of-fact, that because music will not patch a boot, or saw a plank, they would exclude it from . schools altogether. Is not this a mistake ? Will not the lad who sings while he patches, and sings something healthful, work all the better? I think so; and his song will keep Ms thoughts from wandering into bad ways. Children will sing something, the musical faculty is a part of their nature, and unless they are supplied with good music, many of them, perhaps, will go to the alehouse and sing songs of ribaldry and obscenity. Mr. Hickson says "that Germany has been changed from one of the most drunken to one of the most sober nations in Europe by the influence of music in common schools" I would ur^e the adoption of the Tonic Sol Fa system in public schools, because it is simple, and easily understood by the child. I have read of a child seven years old, and her father, both taking the elementary certificate at the same time. The teaching of Tonic Sol Fa is easy, both for the teacher and the children. Persons can learn from the Tonic Sol Fa that cannot learn music from the old notation. Tonic Sol Fa music is cheap, costing only about a third of the price of the same music in the old notation. Music of an inferior character is not printed in the Tonic Sol Fa notation, nothing that any reasonable parent could object to; but, on the other hand, the best oratorios, the best glees, anthems, and songs, are in the Tonic Sol Fa notation. A beautiful edition of songs and tunes expressly adapted to educational purposes is printed in this notation. Singing in schools would not only give musical pleasure and training, but it would serve a great educational purpose, and be made a mighty moral agent for developing and elevating the feelings and sentiments of children. : ; : .