CHILDREN AND RHYTHM

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIII, Issue 30, 5 February 1919, Page 3

CHILDREN AND RHYTHM

I DR TROTTER’S SYSTEM. I The singing of songs is taught in I most if not all schools, but class, music I seldom in New Zealand schools, alI though too much stress cannot be laid | upon the value of training the ear in time and tone. In this connection it is very interesting, says' the' Dominion, ! to talk to Miss C'.ere/L.A.8., L.U.A.M. (who has jusfc returned from England 1 ), and who had the pleasure and privilege of seeing a good deal of Dr Trotter’s system of rhythmic method of teaching. Indeed, she studied it under him for some rime. By it children when quite young can distinguish any note that is sounded, and not only any single note, but they can pick out the dominant note in a chord. -They learn to express themselves in music, and i: is ah' such a natural, drawing out of, the natural rhythm that is in them that they love 1 it. It follows that what may be re- , garbled as the drudgery of music ceases to .exist. Dr Yorke Trotter, M.A., ( Mus. Doc. (Oxon),, obtains the most , wonderful results, and aJI from c ass ' work. The fact is that by having 'the j children grouped in classes a great deal of this timidity and self-consciousness so ' often formed in little ones is quite oyer- | come. They become an inspiration to ] each other; 'the whole thing is as fasci- | nating as a game, and more wonderful ] than a fairy story. From the very out- j set the children are composers : They T have a phrase in music sung or played j to them, and they reply in a phrase of I music. Children who have been study- ( ing for some time will, when given an • entirely new piece of music, go out of J the room for a little while and concen- : j trate on it, quite without any instru- j ment, or any help whatever; they wi 1 j then hand back the score and play the 1 music entirely from memory, even, 1 when requested, transposing it to such * perfection has both eye, ear, and touch I been brought. Dr 'Trotter is surely the ] Froebel of the musical world. Of j course, as in everything else, some chil- | dren are much quicker than others, but I the beautiful thing is that ah children j prove to have music in them. These I children are in no sense of the word J infant prodigies, but just everyday lit-, I tie boys and girls. Dr Trot-er every ( 1 year gives forty scholarships to chil- j 1 dren of the London country schools, j | The children attend classii held in i A school hours, and the training in music ( I is quite recognised as a pari of the 1 school course. Miss Glere visited a grea;' j many schools, and each one had either | Dr Trotter’s system or else some system I of musical education—real 'y education. 1 in the sense of drawing out what is in | the children. In the course of the training any movements may be made use of, but are in no way essential, and the system must not be confused with the , Dalcroze system of eurhythmies, which consists in physical movements to music. Surely the day cannot be far distant when musical education will take its proper place in the curriculum of every 1 school, when the meaning of beautiful 1 music will be understood!, not only by a few, but by the masses.