MUSIC IN SCHOOLS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18942, 13 February 1925, Page 14

MUSIC IN SCHOOLS.

ORCHESTRAL TUITION. [from our own correspondent.] SYDNEY. Feb. 5. A correspondent's letter in one of the Sydney papers deploring tho absence of music for the public, and in the streets of Sydney—few, by the way, will agree with him on the latter point—brings to mind an important aspect of instruction in music in the public schools,' which has been raised in a series of articles recently in one of the leading Sydney journals. The writer,of the articles, basing his contention largely on the American example, makes a strong plea for the inclusion in the activities of lire Australian schools, of provision for orchestral tuition, and ior the training of the youngsters, not only in singing, but in orchestral work, in order to give tiiem a better understanding and appreciation of tho music they are indulging in, and of the best in musical art. . The idea is a commendable one. Take the average man, or the average woman. The old familiar melodies, such as Tosti's "Good Bye," or the modern jazz music, directly appeal to them. But a classical concert is as unwelcome to them as an income tax form. A; symphony by Beethoven, for example, will bore them figuratively to tears, largely because, in their early musical training" at school, if they had any training at all, a symphony and its inner beauty have never been explained to thern. The appeal behind the articles is to so broaden the school music as to foster in tho young minds an enthusiasm for musical art, and to popularise what at present, except to music-lovers, appears abstruse and complex music without meaning and impossible to follow intelligently. It is highly probable, following this awakening of interest in the subject, that- the proposal to open the field of orchestral music to the children of public schools of the State will bo seriously considered.