MEMORY IN MUSIC

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LVI, 16 August 1924, Page 9

MEMORY IN MUSIC

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How to crenrp in the heart of the child* a desire, for good music? That is

* ;i question engaging tlie nitration pi tnanv folk at present. Arrangements are in hand for holding a music memory contest/ for children on the linos of a successful Canadian experiment, says the Auckland Herald. Bv nature, the normal child i.s musical.' The baby croons to itself when it is happy. When babyhood is left, sophistication comes, and the toy trumpet. and drum arc sought as aids in expression. Later there is learning to sum am.) to play on an instrument. At tins inter stage judicious guidance is essential. There arc two ingredients needing combination in a profitable result —the child and the music. As there are many different natures among children. so (here are many different forms of music. Unless the desint for music •flint- is good i.s encouraged m the child, in most eases the so-called “popular type of music tends to have undue attraction. This is disastrous to musical education, for it means that the, child does not learn to appreciate the fact that there is a meaning in music, and will fail to prefer classical or operatic music to jazz or rag-time.

The lighter type of music has a function. It is as inevitable in music as in literature. But one cannot' live on one class of. either music or literature, nor. without losing the sense of proportion, prefer the poorer to the belter. That, is die crux of the whole matter-—the sens of proportion. The question is bow that sense is to be cultivated in tinchild.

The method (hat. is finding most fax our yt. the present, lime, is the “muse memory contest." Canada is taking a very definite had, and the results are amazing. Children of tender years arc found to possess hitherto unsuspected talent, which, carefully nurtured, i.s cap able of useful application. Apart from such individual cases, however, the gen-, eral tone of musical appreciation among the younger members of the community is raised in a marked degree. A ’wise selection of the musical items to be stud ied for each memory contest is carefully made, and in this way the. sense, of proportion is developed. A wide appreciation of music is also created. The attainment of this at- an early age has a dual effect. First, it destroys the common tendency to look Upon the fripperies of music as the only desirable, accomplishment. Second, it eliminates ■entirely that snobbery which cannot sge value in anything written by oilier than the recognised master-hand. The “music memory contest" has an ideal training ground in the homo with its piano (“player" or othewise) or gramophone. The method to be used is simple. Select a list of thirty, forty, eleven a hundred items. Have half a dozen or so of the items played. and see who can recognise the most, giving 1 name of selection and of composer.

There is, of course, "'a wide scope. From the home circle growts the small local contest, wherein some little trophy is given to die winner; and from that grows die school, inter-school, inter-

.suburban, and-' finally the central or community-wide music memory contest. This last produces hundreds of contestants, and the, families .and friends oi all those, become interested. The competitors at the central contest are usually the winners in a series, of smaller cornpet itions. Several thousands of children have competed in some preliminary contests. Every one of these has studied to some purpose die selected compositions, and has gained some appreciation ot the music. Most of these represent, a whole family interested. Briefly, that means time thousands of people are brought I pit o contact with good music. Many' of these would -probably never realise, otherwise just what such vnnsid may mean to them. The music .memory contest. has, therefore, a very wide . inII uene<‘