MU S IC.

MUSIC AND THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

EDUCATION is unhappily at the moment a subject so sugges- tive of inflamed and fruitless controversy that it is pleasant to call attention to a branch in which the work of that department has been steadily progressing towards the achieve- ment of harmony in a literal as well as metaphorical sense. Here, as elsewhere, the key of the situation is the training of the teachers. It would be unreasonable to expect from them a high standard of taste and efficiency unless they had them- selves enjoyed facilities, not merely for acquiring the mastery a the technical knowledge requisite for teaching, but for becoming familiar with the best music during the most impressionable years of their life. Those who have had the opportunity of recent years of hearing the annual musical competitions between selected primary schools cannot have failed to note the discrepancy between the mechanical dexterity and " slickness " of the performances on the one hand, and the quality of the music and of the voices on the other. shrillness rather than sweetness, precision rather than sympathy, have been the dominant features of these other- wise wonderfully well organised and even impressive demon- strations. The Board of Education, then, realising that improvement could only be attained by broadening the musical culture and outlook of the teachers, have introduced changes at the Training Colleges which can hardly fail to react on the education of their pupils in the elementary schools. Formerly, the training used to consist of a certain amount of choral music—often of an inferior quality—while individual students were examined in one notation (generally the Sol-fa, as being the easier), and, in addition, they sang one song whether they could sing or not,—an arrangement which disregarded the fact that a small percentage in all strata of society are practically tone deaf, even though they may be good listeners. The songs themselves, like the choral music, were frequently of a low standard, and the Staff notation had come to be non- compulsory, and, we believe, was kept alive entirely by the voluntary efforts of. certain music teachers.

Let us see, then, how the Board of Education have endeavoured to remedy these shortcomings. To begin with, they insist upon both notations being learned, and on the use of the Sol-fa system as leading to, and subordinate to, the Staff. There is no desire to depreciate the immense value of the former in its proper place. "The value of the root principles of this method," we read in the last Memorandum issued by the Board, "viz., the Moveable Doh' and teaching the mental effect' of each note of the scale in relation to the keynote, can hardly be exaggerated. The system of teaching time is also excellent." But "power to read in Staff-,Iotation should be kept in view all the time, every step in the Tonic Sol-fa being followed by the corresponding step on the Staff. The Tonic Sol-fa alone, unrelated, until an advanced age,, to the Staff, tends to induce laziness in learning the universal notation ; and no pupil can be considered a good reader until the syllable Lah can be used instead of the Sol-fa syllables, in both notations." Next, as regards the choice of songs, the first-year students are obliged to learn a minimum of twelve classical songs in unison, but often learn as many as fifty, besides many traditional British songs. Here it may be noted in passing that two volumes of classical songs approved by the Board, and edited by Mr. Norman O'Neill, under the title of "A Golden Treasury of Song," have recently been published by Messrs. Boosey, price 2s. 6d. net each. Workmanlike English translations have been pro- vided, and it is hardly too much to say that by this means the best-known songs of the great composers—Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann—have been introduced to a class to which the whole of this branch of musical literature was formerly a sealed book. Similarly, as regards choral music, which is studied by the second-year students, a determined effort has been made to raise the standard, and in many cases the performance has grown into a high-class choral and orchestral concert. The next step on the part of the Board of Education, in time as well as in logical sequence, was the endeavour to introduce the Staff notation into all schools and the valuable list of Suggestions published in the Blue- book of 1905. The Inspector of Music, besides giving hints as to the proper cultivation of children's voices, emphasised the need of setting a higher standard of music than that which had hitherto prevailed in our elementary schools, and to that end insisted on the desirability of teaching traditional British songs. A list of such songs as were suitable for the older children was given in the Blue-book, including fifty English, fifty Irish, and thirty-five (each) Welsh and Scotch songs, as well as

some thirty rounds and catches. The suggestion, we are glad to note, was promptly acted upon, and a complete edition of

all the songs in the list, with simple accompaniments arranged by Sir Charles Stanford, has been published by Messrs. Boosey, price 3s. net. The definition of traditional song as given by the Board of Education is worth quoting:—"' Traditional Song' is a term used to cover the whole range of National and Folk-Song, Carols and Ballads, whether made by peasants and crystallised by musicians, or made by musicians and crystallised by peasants, or wholly peasants' work, or wholly musicians' work, anonymous or otherwise ; all those which have obtained wide national acceptance, and have stood the test of surviving three or more generations." The judicious latitude of this definition, in accordance with which the list was framed, did not escape the strictures of purists, and the Board of Educa- tion were actually condemned for including, inter alia, "Toni Bowling" and " Dulce Domum," on the ground that the first

belonged to the category of art song, and that in general the mere fact of being able to trace the authorship of a song destroyed its folk value. Personally, we are extremely glad that the Board of Education refused to be governed by archaeological considerations in making their selection, and it is satisfactory to learn that the Folk Song Society has cordially recognised the services rendered by the Board to the cause which the Society was founded to promote.

The Board of Education, however, are clearly not disposed to rest content with what they have already done in the way of improving the training of teachers and endeavoring to establish a sound standard in the elementary schools.

An important Memorandum has recently been issued on "Music in Secondary Schools," which deals courageously

with the whole question of the place of music in the general scheme of education, and, though only con- sisting of suggestions and admitting that the methods advocated can only be gradually adopted, is well worth the attentive study of the masters and mistresses of public, preparatory, and day schools throughout the country. The line of argument which runs throughout the Memorandum may be briefly summarised as follows. The educational, civilising, and disciplinary value of music, as influencing the character, developing imagination, and promoting corporate life, being unquestioned, it is essential that sound instruction in music should be given in school hours. With the general remarks on the educational value of music we have little fault to find beyond deprecating the insertion of a few sentences calculated to perplex or exasperate Philistines and utilitarians, —e.g. : "The primary appeal of the rhythmic arts is through the senses to the subconscious mind, and their educational office is to develop imaginative power. Imagination harmonises

the facts, relations, and processes which are dealt with in the intellectual training of the conscious mind." For the purpose in hand, and in view of the audience addressed, philosophical generalities, expressed in philosophical terminology, are out of place. Apart from this, and the obscurity of one or two passages—e.g., the last paragraph of Section 5 and the second paragraph of Section 20—the Memorandum is remarkable for its good sense and helpfulness. In reply to the usual objection that there is not enough time, it is contended that if the subject is properly treated in early years, the time allowance for all but individual work may safely be

decreased from twelve or thirteen onwards. This early training should aim not merely at teaching children how to sing and read music, but how to listen—

"not by verbal explanations, but by a method which slowly forms

a standard. In this matter experience is more valuable than precept. From the artistic point of view it is pernicious to tell a child whose artistic sense is being developed, that any particu- lar work of art is greater or better than any other. The endeavour should be so to habituate them to what is good, of however simple a kind, that they gradually become aware of relative values for themselves ; thus giving them a mass of concrete experience to which in later years they can refer in matters literary and artistic."

That is excellently said, and the difficulties that beset Musical education in boys' preparatory scheols are acutely analysed. §peaking broadly, the teaching even at expensive prepara- tory schools is most inadequate. The result is that boys who come from musical homes forget all they know; and though first-rate musicians are now commonly employed to direct 'musical studies at public schools, the time for laying a good foundation has gone by, while the few enthusiasts are penalised by having both to take lessons and to practise in playtime. The general remarks conclude by recommending (1) the stan- dardising of musical nomenclature and method in all large schools; (2) the inclusion of class-teaching—i.e., breathing exercises, voice production, class-singing, sight-singing, ear- training, and the hearing of good music—in the ordinary curriculum of every school, individual teaching being left to individual preference. The suggestions which follow as regards class-teaching are in the main of a thoroughly practical kind. As traditional songs—the value of which as a natural founda- tion for musical culture is generally admitted—are now largely used in elementary schools, it is contended that their use in 'secondary schools would tend to form a minimum common basis of national music in all classes. The Memorandum strongly recommends the use of Swedish breathing exercises; but in regard to voice production—that battleground of specialists and faddists—where standardising is as yet a

*counsel of perfection, wisely confines its suggestions to negative precepts, such as recommending the weeding out of non-singers, the avoidance of the use of the lower or chest register by children, and impressing upon teachers that children can sing quietly more easily in the right than in the wrong way. Stress is very properly laid on the ease with which Bight-singing can be begun at an early age, and the dispropor- tionate difficulty which arises from its postponement. The value of the Sol-fa system is freely admitted, but its ancillary character is insisted on, and Borne useful hints are added as to the danger of using the voice when it is breaking or changing. Again, "most musicians have never had occasion to study the limitations of the immature, and have written for mature voices." The danger can best be minimised by the choice of compositions of a delicate or quiet character; and where young girls are concerned, the aim of the singing class should be, "not fine performances, so much as a steady advance in 'musical culture, practice and perfecting of sight-reading and ear-training, and sweetness of voice production. This last is a sure test as to whether the voices are being legitimately used." The Memorandum insists on the value of music as a social and unifying agent at both boys' and girls' schools, and points out that, excepting prayers, it is practically the only work in which the whole school can join on equal terms In [Boysi Boarding Schools, where a sound foundation has been laid, almost any standard of excellence can be reached, according to circumstances. This is testified to by the varying practice of the great Public Schools, in some of which the great

choral masterpieces are occasionally performed It is always possible to adopt some system of House or School singing 'on winter evenings such as obtains at Harrow. At many schools informal weekly recitals, given by the musical staff, have led boys to a lifelong appreciation of music."

There are many other detailed suggestions in the Memo- randum, but we have already outrun our space, and must content ourselves by strongly urging on all who are practi- cally interested in musical education to study this very interesting and valuable document. It may not necessarily have the result of inducing the preparatory schools to set their house, speaking musically, in order, or of leading to the establishment of some external means of testing the value of the music taught at public schools. But both results would undoubtedly flow from the logical application of the principles which govern the recommendations of the Memorandum.

C. L. G.