MUSIC IN SCHOOLS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11295, 22 August 1922, Page 5

MUSIC IN SCHOOLS

NEGLECT IN DOMINION CAN SLUM CHILDREN “SING OUR HEADS OFF?” ARE SCHOLARS “TONE DEAF?” At the conference of choral societies yesterday Mr Owen, of Christchurch, brought up the subject of music in schools. The position of music in schools was very bad, he said. The children of the slums of London or Manchester could “sing the heads off our children.” Only half an hour a week was allotted to music in the schools, while no care was taken in tho selection of songs. A great injustice was being done to children in the neglect of music, said Mr Owen. They got no opportunity for hearing or learning the great music of the world. “If we could get hold of our students in our training colleges,” ho said, “much could he done for the children. One master in a country school had declared that. 50 per cent, of the children in his school were tone deaf, which was an appalling state of things.” In Christchurch, he said, they had recently appointed a fine teacher for the technical school there. He thought that the question of music in schools Bhould not be left .to pupil teachers. In Christchurch they felt. that little could he done unless special grading maTks were given for music. With regard to city schools it would be quite possible that a highly-qualified teacher could be secured to teach music in schools. The gramophone wag going to be a great adjunct in the teaching of musical appreciation. They hoped eadh school in time would own a gramophone and they hoped in time to have a library of records and that these could be passed round. Children would soon become familiar with works of the great composers in this way. They would take a great delight in recognising these works. Mr Owen stated that in that city they were doing some good propaganda work by giving tickets to the school children for a very small fee. They had also arranged open-air concerts which were of ‘great value to the children of the community. Last year they had repeated the “Messiah” in t’he open air and had attracted some 800 people who would never otherwise have heard the music owing to inability to pay.