MUSIC EXAMINATIONS

Taranaki Daily News, 28 September 1929, Page 27 (Supplement)

MUSIC EXAMINATIONS

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS? THE COST AND THE RESULTS. (Contributed.) Some interesting figures may be •rathered from a little booklet that was issued in 1928 by the Associated Board of the Royal Academy and the Royal College of Mu<e after the results of the New Zealand examinations had been tabulated. The printed matter contained in the booklet is simply lists of the names of hundreds of young New Zealanders (followed by the names of hundreds of their respective teachers), who had been successful in passing the various examinations set by the board. .Some idea of the strength of the hold of the examination system on the musical life of this country can be •fanged front the figure given. In 1928 entries received by the Associated Board numbered 3424. Of that number 150 candidates did not face the examiner, 491 failed, and 2780 weie success! ill. The money .spent on those entries was approximately £3830. The Associated Board is not the only musical body to send its examiners to New Zealand, and it is safe to assume that Trinity College has larger entries and reaps at least as rich, if not a richer harvest from this country. At the present time there are in New Zealand five men sent from London conducting the 1929 examinations for those twp bodies. It appears that at, least £7060 was spent last year by students and parents, largely for the satisfaction of being told whether the teachers knew their business or not. Is the musical benefit derived from examinations commensurate with the expenditure in one year of £7660 in entrance fees? Of course a certain portion of that sum remains in New Zealand. The Associated Board' each year divides £75 among four of the most successful candidates. Six medals are also presented annually. Interesting information concerning those much coveted letters, L.A.8., is contained in a list of names of successful candidates for the last 28 years. In 1900 there were only two persons to qualify, and they were both awarded the Teacher’s Certificate. The following year four more teachers gained their L.A.8., but it was not till 1906 that this country. boasted a performer holding that qualification, and in that year four certificates were ■ a’warded to pianists, and one-to a violinist. By 1928 there were 658 licentiates of the Associated Board, made up of 211 teachers, and the remainder, including 309 pianists, 107 vocalist, 20 violinists, _ and 11 organists, are certified as being “solo performers of concert standard.” Last year there were 175 aspirants to the dignity of licentiateship. Of that number 18 defaulted, and 106 failed to satisfy the examiner that they were likely to prove efficient teachers, or that their attainments were sueh as to justify their becoming public performers with the hall-mark of the approval of the Associated Board casting a glamour over their names. The entries for this degree cost £936 12s 6d ; and as only 51 certificates were awarded the average cost per certificate was £lB 17s 3d. Vt 7 ithout arguing as to whether value is given for the money, or as to what proportion of it stays in this country, it would be interesting to "know if a wiser way of spending the sum of £7660 could not. be devised. If it were placed in the hands of some musical organisation to be spent for the advancement of music in New Zealand, could not some scheme be devised whereby better results could be obtained? 01 course that would mean that teachers would have to use their own initiative more, and plan courses of study to suit their own needs, and would have to find other ways and means of maintaining their pupils’ interest in their work without the incentive of examinations. It is a question whether the expenditure of this large amount is of any real benefit to the cause of music.