MUSICAL EDUCATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 3959, 28 January 1930, Page 7

MUSICAL EDUCATION.

TEACHING IN CLASSES. FESTIVALS ON NON-COMPETITIVE BASTS. WELLINGTON. January 23. “ The predominating feature of all our musical education up to the last ten years has been the training of children to perform, and we have neglected the listening side of music almost entirely,” said Mr E. Douglas Tayler, supervisor of music in schools, who returned to his duties in Wellington today after a visit to Great Britain and the Continent, which included attending the Anglo-American Musical Conference.

“ In the last ten years there has been a great change, largely due to the development of the gramophone and radio, and now we are making up for lost time by listening tremendously. Later on we shall strike the balance. Musical appreciation in England,” said Mr Tayler,” has increased in the last ten years. Instrumental teaching in classes is being developed rapidly, and in many of the schools there are fine orchesti as of juvenile instrumentalists.” The striking value of music as an aid to giving self-control to sub-normal children has been proved to Mr Tayler. When he visited one of the largest schools for mental defectives in London, where the children were only a grade above asylum level, the results had been very much above the average where music was less used. Amongst these children were those without full control of their limbs. First, they were rained to respond to the beating of a drum, and later on to rhythmic piano music, and the control of muscle achieved by them gave results which allowed the teacher to gradually introduce control of mind. This combination of music and eurythmics had resulted in 87 per cent, of the children being made nmployable and 25 per cent, were er.abbd to continue their education at normal schools. None of the simi.tir schools where less attention to iniis’c was paid could approach these results. The question of the competitive element in music was discussed at the Anglo-American Conference. Some of the musical festivals in England were now being run on a non-competitive basis, with the object of eliminating money prizes and concentrating on combined work. The Wellington Amateur Arts and Literary Association, which started a year ago with 15 members, had increased its membership out of all proportion to its commencement. “ I want to see associations of that kind grow up all over the country to form a big federation,” said Mr Tayler, “ which could undertake the serious work without which the associations would languish. Quite a lot <f artistic work is being done by the W.E.A. and the Y.W.C.A. and women's institutes, but two of these interests women only, and the W.E.A. deals chiefly in lectures. Such a federation as suggested above might have a teacher who could travel periodically, and annual festivals on a non-competitive basis would increase the interest and pleasure of membership. In America, it was stated at the conference, working people subscribed no less than 100,000,000 dollars annually for the support of music and musical foundations. Radio was performing an invaluable service in creating a wider appreciation of good music. The new orchestra organised by the British Broadcasting Corporation was one of the very finest he had ever heard. At the Davis Theatre in Croydon, which was said to be the latest in picture theatres in England, interlude music was supplied by an orchestra with marvellous lighting effects, while the progress of the film was carried out either by orchestral music or by its own musical accompaniments and effects. From this it appeared as though the picture theatres of the future would have both orchestras and “ talkie ” music. As an example of what could be done in the way of music in schools, Mr Tayler saw the

boys at Edmonton School perform Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute”— a tremendously difficult work for council school boys, none of whom had any special training.