THE CATHOLIC EDUCATION SERIES MUSIC FIRST YEAR JUSTINE WARD AND ELIZABETH W. PERKINS THE CATHOLIC EDUCATION PRESS WASHINGTON, D. C.

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1 THE CATHOLIC EDUCATION SERIES MUSIC FIRST YEAR By JUSTINE WARD AND ELIZABETH W. PERKINS THE CATHOLIC EDUCATION PRESS WASHINGTON, D. C.

2 COPYRIGHT, 90, BY CATHOLIC EDUCATION PRESS WASHINGTON, D. C. NATIONAL CAPITAL PRESS, INC. PRINTERS WASHINGTON, D. C.

3 PREFACE In the preparaton of ths volume the am has been to apply to the teachng of musc the prncples and methods whch have been emboded n the Catholc Educaton Seres of Prmary Text Books. The needs of younger pupls have been kept n vew and the course of nstructon has been arranged so as to meet the requrements of the developng mnd and to parallel, at each stage, the knowledge that s ganed through tho, study of other subjects. Muscal tranng, however, s not merely to be consdered wth the rest of the currculum. Sngng s a mode of expresson and ts functon, n accordance wth well-known psychologcal laws, s not merely to exercse the vocal organs or to afford the pleasure arsng from tone and rhythm, but also and chefly to strengthen the growth of thought, feelng and volton. Lke speech and movement, song can be used for the manfestaton of deas that belong to the most vared departments of knowledge, and can thus serve the purposes of the teacher n any and every grade. The value of musc for the educatve process s especally evdent n the teachng of relgon. There are few forms of worshp n whch sngng does not appear as an mportant element; and even where lturgcal practce has been reduced to a mnmum, the hymn or some smlar composton has been qute generally retaned. Spontaneously, relgous belef seeks utterance and n turn t s deepened by gettng approprate expresson. The organc actvtes are thus made the alles of fath and pety, and musc, so often employed to arouse sensuous emoton, becomes a stmulus to purer thought and hgher aspraton. From the earlest Chrstan tmes, the Church has shown her apprecaton of the power of musc as a factor n the sprtual lfe. "The Church," says Pope Pus X n hs Motu propro on the subject, "has always recognzed and honored progress n the arts, admttng to the servce of relgon everythng good and beautful dscovered by genus n the course of ages always, however, wth due regard to the lturgcal laws." Now, among these arts musc has nvarably held a hgh, f not the foremost, place. Whle pantng, sculpture and archtecture, as products of genus, could appeal to a comparatvely small number, the song, composed and set to musc by the great artsts, could be and actually was taken up by the people as the most fttng utterance of ther feelng. How true ths was n the old law s readly seen from the Book of Psalms whch not only supples the nspraton but also nctes the Israeltes to the proper muscal expresson psallte sapenter. The Church of the New Dspensaton has carred on to a hgher plane, wth a deeper meanng, the song-mpulse of the Old. Both n the psalmody of the monastery and n the prescrbed offces of the Cathedral Chor, the Canoncal regulatons have gven the preference to regular ecclesastcal chants over the prvate rectaton of the brevary hours; and the Dvne Offce tself has been constantly enrched by the wrters of antphons, sequences and hymns. But t s partcularly n the most solemn of the lturgcal actons, n the Holy Sacrfce of the Mass, that the Church has shown her zeal for muscal expresson,

4 PREFACE and her prudence as well. Although genus has been attracted by the depth and varety of the themes whch the Mass suggests, and, actng on the suggeston, has produced marvels n the way of tonal effects, the Church has nvarably set a bound to the purely artstc effect where t tended to obscure or to elmnate the devotonal content. She has not forbdden the composer to exercse hs talent n producng brllant settngs for the sacred theme; she has not condemned the \Forks of a Mozart or a Beethoven. But she has nssted that all ecclesastcal musc should be ecclesastcal, n other words, that t should be a just and adequate expresson of the relgous thought whch t undertakes to nterpret. So far as musc s n keepng, not alone wth the word and phrases of the lturgcal texts, but rather wth ther content and meanng, the Church gves her wllng approval. But when the revelry of tone and the rchness of muscal color begns to domnate, t s evdently tme to look somewhat more closely nto the effect that s apt to be produced on the mnd of the hearer. The Church does not hold that the mere sngng of hymns can lead a soul to salvaton; but she does mantan that when a hymn s sung, there shall be a certan adaptaton of sound to meanng and ths, after all, s the planest dctate of common sense and of psychology. Experence shows that where the pupl s traned to a mere formalsm n musc the result s the same as when words are made to take the place of content. Unless thought and feelng be frst developed and unted wth a vew to expresson, not much can be ganed through the medum of song. The sngng may be correct enough n tself, but t wll have no educatve value, f t be not an approprate expresson of the thought. Whle ths book s prmarly concerned wth fundamentals, the ultmate am s to develop n the pupl a power of apprecatng muscal expresson n any of ts manfold forms. Culture mples the ablty to dscrmnate between what s smply a pleasng melody and what adequately expresses an dea or a feelng. As n every other doman of art, so n musc, we need defnte standards; and t s only by tranng the young pupl n correct muscal expresson that we can hope to create those standards whch eventually wll serve to elmnate what s spurous n so-called muscal productons. The Church has thus an mportant part to play not only n securng the proper expresson of her own lturgcal deas, but also n purfyng and elevatng the whole functon of musc as a socal factor. The nfluence of song must pass out from sanctuary and Chancel to home and socal crcles. If there are corruptng and degradng elements n any sphere where musc s nfluental, the remedy must be suppled by the purer, more elevatng nfluences whch the ecclesastcal chant s able to exert. It s not, then, so much a matter of choce between one artstc form and another as between one moral agency that strves for aesthetc betterment and many others that would pervert musc to moral run. The stuaton s thus qute clear. Musc s a natural expresson of what the mnd of the chld has assmlated. If we gve, n muscal form, the approprate outlook to Catholc thought and belef, we thereby carry forward the work of educaton, and, at the same tme, we further the deals whch the Church set before us. It has cost no lttle care to make a begnnng, n ths book, of the more complete scheme whch the authors hope to accomplsh. That even ths much should have

5 PREFACE been accomplshed, s due n large measure to the zealous cooperaton of those who have at heart the progress n rght drectons of the scence and art of musc. In partcular the authors desre to acknowledge the constant assstance whch they have receved from Reverend J. B. Young, S. J., whose thorough acquantance wth muscal theory and whose long practcal experence n ths feld enttles hm to be regarded as a leader n any movement drected to the mprovement of muscal educaton. Father Young has generously placed at our dsposal the materal whch he has already copyrghted and whch he has tested by actual use n the servce of the Church. We trust that ths truly Catholc dea may be, n some measure, realzed by the expresson whch the authors have endeavored to gve them n ths work. The Catholc Unversty of Amerca, May, 9. EDWARD A. PACE, THOMAS E. SHIELDS.

6 CONTENTS PAGE Preface Introducton PART ONE Chapter. Frst Steps n Tone and Rhythm Chapter. Study of Chapter. Study of 9 Chapter. Study of 6 Chapter. Study of Chapter 6. T`¾e Major Scale as a whole 9 Chapter. The Scale n Fragments suggestng the Tonc Chord, Study of the Interval -... Chapter 8. Study of 6- and -8 6 Chapter 9. Study of n relaton to ; of n relaton to 8 Chapter 0. Study of n relaton to and Chapter. Study of 6 n relaton to Chapter. Compass Exercse, Form 6 'Chapter. Study of notes ï 9 Chapter. Study of notes 6 and of n relaton to 8 6 Chapter. Compass Exercse Form 6 Chapter 6. The Tonc Chord 6 Chapter. The Tonc Chord 6 Chapter 8. Compass Exercse Form 0 PART TWO Chapter 9. The Tonc Chord, second nverson Chapter 0. The Tonc Chord, second nverson 80 Chapter. The Tonc Chord, second nverson 8 Chapter. The Tonc Chord, frst nverson 86 Chapter. Preparaton of Compass Exercses, Form 89 Chapter. The Tonc Chord, freer use of ntervals 9 Chapter. The Tonc Chord, freer use of ntervals 9 Chapter 6. The Tonc Chord, free use of ntervals 98 Chapter. The Tonc Chord and the Compass Exercse, Form 0 Chapter 8. The Domnant Chord 0 Chapter 9. The Domnant Chord 06 Chapter 0. The Domnant Chord,frstnverson. The Domnant n relaton to the Tonc Chord 09 Chapter. The Domnant Chord, frst nverson. Preparaton of the Sub-domnant Chapter. The Domnant Chord, second nverson Chapter. The Domnant, second nverson; the Domnant n relaton to the Tonc Chord Chapter. The Domnant Chord, freer use of nversons Chapter. The Domnant n relaton to the Tonc Chord Chapter 6. The Domnant n relaton to the Tonc Chord 8 SONGS PAGE PAGE. It s Love. Mozart, adapted 0,. Lttle Robn. Folk Song 9,. A Welcome to Jesus, 6 8. A Story. S. W. Cole 98,. Jesus'Love. Old Boheman Carol, 9. The Mother's Prayer. Folk Song. 0, adapted, 8 0. Chrstmas Carol. Ffteenth Cen-. The Father's Love. Beethoven...6, 0 tury,, 8, 6'. Dearest Lord We Thank You. Folk. Lullaby. Haydn, 8 Song, adapted,. Hymn for Frst Communon 0, 0 6. Come to Me. Humperdnck, adapted,

7 CONTENTS. Two Gregoran Responses. Melody on Fve Notes. Melody on Fve Notes. French Folk Song, fragment.... French Folk Song, fragment 6. French Folk Song. French Folk Song 8. French Folk Song 9. French Folk Song... SOLFAS PAGE PAGE French Folk Song German Folk Song Song, Brahms Knderled, Brahms Old French Melody French Folk Song French Folk Song French Folk Song Old French Melody 8. The Lord's Prayer. The Angelcal Salutaton,. The Creed. The Confteor PRAYERS CHAPTER PAGE 8 96 No.. Chapter. Noo No.. Chapter 9. Noo VOCAL EXERCISES PAGE 6 8 No.. Chapter 9. Noo 8 No.. Chapter. Noo No.. Chapter 9. Noo No. 6. Chapter 0. Noo 80 No.. Chapter. Noo 8 No. 8. Chapter 0. Noo, no and na 09 No. 9. Chapter. Noo, no, na, nay and nee No. 0. Chapter. Noo, no, na, nay and nee

8 INTRODUCTION The deal of Our Holy Father, Pope Pus X, for Church musc whch requres that the whole congregaton should take part n sngng the lturgcal servces, can be realzed n ths country only through the prmary teacher. Before ths great reform can become a realty, a whole generaton of Catholcs must be taught to sng as naturally as to speak or to read. Experence has proven ths to be possble. When the study of vocal musc s; begun at the same tme and graded wth the same care as ordnary readng the chldren learn to read musc at sght and to sng t correctly qute as easly as they learn to read the prnted page. When chldren come from unmuscal surroundngs, as s so often the case n ths country, musc s a new form of expresson whch wll nterest and delght them qute apart from the words, but untl they are ntated nto t the teacher must proceed slowly. When the subject s presented n accordance wth ther capacty and when suffcent patence and ngenuty are used, t has been demonstrated that even those who at frst appear to be tone-deaf can be traned wth the other chldren to sng correctly. The work here outlned s dvded nto two parts correspondng to the two terms of the school year. The frst part s concerned chefly wth the placng of the chld's voce and the tranng of hs ear; n the second part the tranng s extended to the eye and the chld s famlarzed wth the elements of muscal notaton. Materal for approxmately a week's work, allowng a perod of twenty mnutes a day, s contaned n each chapter. The am n the preparaton of ths course has been so to smplfy and llustrate the matter that t may be taught by the regular grade teacher. To obtan the best results, however, a musc teacher should take charge of the class twce a week. She should conduct the work on ntonaton and the vocal exercses. On the ntervenng days the grade teacher should revew the lessons taught by the musc teacher and take entre charge of the rhythmc exercses and the staff work. At frst the teacher's man object must be to nterest all the chldren; and, as t were, trck them nto sngng. The amount of tme to be spent on a sngle chapter cannot be arbtrarly fxed. It wll depend on the ablty of the varous classes. To proceed slowly and to do the work thoroughly at the begnnng s of such mportance that t may be necessary wth some classes to spend even double the tme allotted for the frst chapters. Ths delay, however, need not prevent the class from completng the course wthn the year, for, once the fundamental prncples are soldly grasped, progress wll be rapd and towards the end of the term the work can be covered more quckly, thus makng up the lost tme. When plannng her work for the musc class at the begnnng of the year, t s suggested that the teacher consult Teachers Manual of Prmary Methods.* The theory of repetton whereby the new lesson s gven frst to the qucker chldren, so that the slow ones may hear t many tmes before t comes to ther turn, may be appled very successfully to the chldren who apparently have no ear for musc. All that Dr. Shelds says n the Manual about expresson and rhythm s equally helpful. Shelds, Teachers Manual of Prmary Methods, Washngton, 9, page.

9 8 MUSIC FIRST YEAR A pano, or, better stll, a small portable organ wll be found almost ndspensable, not n order to accompany the voces, but to gve the proper ptch before startng and to verfy the ntervals as the work progresses. Should t be mpossble to have such an nstrument, the teacher may use a tunng fork, but no matter how carefully ths s done t wll gve less satsfactory results because t s often necessary to play a phrase or a seres of notes on the nstrument to secure absolute accuracy of ptch. Even among fnshed muscans, few would dare to trust mplctly to ther own ear. It s also advsable to accustom the chldren's ears to standard ptch. No matter how slowly t may be necessary to proceed, a good tone producton and accuracy of ptch must be nssted upon. The habt of usng ther voces n the rght way should become natural to the chldren from the very start, before bad habts are formed. Ths s easy to accomplsh. Through lack of care at frst, t s also very easy permanently to prevent ths result. A good tone may be obtaned by nsstng that the chldren sng softly at all tmes and by gvng great attenton to the vocal exercses. In the early stages of sngng so much depends on mtaton that the teacher should make specal effort to produce a muscal tone herself, placng her voce forward and hgh. If she wll practse the syllable "Noo," sngng t softly and slowly on the tones between A above the second lne of the staff to E flat on the fourth space t wll nfallbly help her to a good tone producton. The mportance of sngng softly n the vocal exercses, the ntonatonal exercses, and n sngng the songs ndeed, whenever the chld's voce s used at all, cannot be overemphaszed. Any lapse wll undo the work accomplshed by the vocal exercses towards placng the voces and wll run the delcate vocal chords themselves. To correct bad habts already formed s extremely dffcult; to prevent ther formaton requres nothng more than attenton to detals on the part of the teacher. Vocal exercses, Intonaton, Rhythm, and later Staff readng are treated as dstnct subjects. When the elements are separated n ths manner, the dffcultes are mnmzed, and the chld's attenton s held by varety n the work. Only after each element has been mastered separately s t safe to combne them. * To mantan the chldren's nterest durng the early stages of the work, when t s essental that the drllng be slow and thorough, the teacher wll fnd t helpful to vary n many ways the exercses here outlned and to add such new ones as may seem sutable. The order of the lessons and the gradng must under no crcumstances be altered. Long years of experence have demonstrated the value of ths sequence. From a psychologcal pont of vew, the followng stages may be dscerned n the mental process nvolved n learnng musc: In the frst stage the chldren learn largely by mtaton. In the second stage the chldren analyze what they have done n the frst stage and reason out new combnatons from the context. * A seres of model lessons llustratng the proper method of presentng these elementary muscal deas to lttle chldren wll be found emboded n Chapters to, nclusve. These are ntended as a help to the teacher n plannng her tme, but they should not be followed rgdly.

10 INTRODUCTION 9 In the thrd stage the newly acqured knowledge s assmlated and the new modes of actvty are rendered automatc. To do ths thoroughly nvolves panstakng drll and much repetton. Ths phase of the work s, however, essental to the chld's progress. If the relatons of each note had to be reasoned out afresh every tme a combnaton of notes occurred the chld would soon become exhausted. The most frequently used combnatons should, therefore, be memorzed and ther use should be rendered automatc n much the same way as our use of the letters of a word becomes automatc n readng. The exercses have been arranged so as to develop these three phases n ther proper sequence. In case her class s not dong well, the teacher wll usually fnd that the chldren need more drll on the thrd phase of the work or else that the materal has not been presented n a way to keep the chldren's nterest alve. In ths study above all others the nterest wll be keen and alert throughout the lesson f the materal s well presented. In vocal musc t s much smpler to use numbers nstead of notes for the tones of the scale. Ths use of numbers has always been customary for harmonc purposes, but only recently has the custom, as appled to vocal work, ganed ground among muscans. Ths system assumes that the representaton of three consecutve octaves ncludes the range of any voce. The scale representng the medum range of the voce s expressed by the numbers 6, the octave hgher by the numbers 6, the octave below the medum range by the numbers 6. The upper octave s represented by dots above the numbers and the lower octave by dots below them. The tones of the scale have names as well as numbers: 6 Do Ré M Fa Sol La T. These name? are the same whatever the ptch may be at whch the scale begns. Do s always the tonc.or frst note of the scale, Ré s always the second, etc. The sounds are remembered n ther successon by numbers, but they are sung on syllables whch have the advantage of clear full vowels. The chldren wll, therefore, thnk the number and sng the syllable. The songs, whle n harmony wth the work, are not used n any sense as exercses, or even to llustrate any specal dffculty to be overcome. They are well wthn the capacty of the chldren and are to be used rather for the sake of expresson and varety than for any ntrnsc techncal value. Only the frst song s to be learned partally by rote. The remanng songs are to be read by the chldren accordng to the method ndcated n ths manual. Drawlng or sldng from one note to another must under no crcumstances be permtted. Each note should be cleanly attacked and must be mantaned pure and clear untl the moment when the next note s to be sung. Chldren who have heard bad sngng wll be nclned to drag ther voces. Ths s a serous fault, whch, f once tolerated, wll be eradcated wth great dffculty, f at all. Moreover, t s extremely contagous. A chld who perssts n ths fault must be prevented from takng part n the sngng, as one such chld may easly vtate the whole class.

11 0 MUSIC FIRST YEAR In sngng both the songs and the exercses, the teacher should be severe n ths matter and should nsst on a clean-cut attack of each note. The accompanment to a song must not be used untl the song has been masteredwthout t accordng to the method gven. The songs n Catholc Educaton Seres, Frst Book, are prnted n the key n whch they are to be sung. When these songs are studed by the chldren n numerals, only the relatve ptch s apparent. The absolute ptch s gven n ths manual for the teacher's nformaton by prntng the true ptch of the tonc note at the head of each song when the song s prnted n numbers. The teacher wll therefore sng as Do the sound of the note prnted at the head of the song. In later lessons where the staff s used nstead of the numerals, the songs should be shown to the chldren, not n the key n whch they are to be sung, but n the poston on the staff whch they have studed, whch corresponds to the key of E. Nevertheless, n sngng, they wll use the proper ptch. Each of the two Parts of ths course contans the work desgned for one half of the frst school year and s dvded nto eghteen chapters. Each chapter contans the work assgned for approxmately one week. The course has been arranged on the supposton that a daly perod of twenty mnutes wll be allotted to the musc lesson. The exercses should be studed lne by lne horzontally from left to rght. Where two exercses are found sde by sde on a page wth an arrow over each of them and a thrd arrow extendng over both, the exercse on the left s to be sung frst, then that on the rght, and fnally the two exercses are to be sung n combnaton by sngng the frst lne of each, then the second, etc. Ths arrangement s llustrated by the followng dagram:. Sng (a) lne by lne, left to rght, as ndcated by short arrow.. Sng (b) n the same manner.. Sng (c) that s, frst lne of (a) and frst lne of (ò) combned, as ndcated by the long arrow. Then sng second lne of (a) and second lne of (b) n the same manner. Proceed wth the other lnes n the same way. No effort should be spared to render the study of musc nterestng to the chldren. The work, however, must be well planned and must not be allowed to degenerate nto mere dverson. The method of mtaton s used only the frst tme an dea s presented. At the repetton n the subsequent lesson the class should sng drectly from the sgns made by the teacher. The assmlaton throughout s based on memory through assocaton and s not secured by mere drll.

12 INTRODUCTION Rote songs do not form part of the course as they are consdered most undesrable by the authors. They are not merely a dead memory load, but are fatal to all lvng growth and muscal ntatve n the chld. It wll be notced, therefore, that only one song has been prnted on the chart wthout numbers and even ths must be taught only partly by rote and partly by appeal to the ntellgence of the pupls. Comparatvely few songs are ncluded n the work of the Frst Year. In many systems of prmary musc t s usual to embody each new dffculty n a "song", a plan whch s open to a number of objectons, chef among whch s the poor qualty of musc to whch the chldren become accustomed, melodes made to order to llustrate a pont, half way between a song and an exercse. We prefer frankly to make use of an exercse where one s needed, and allow the songs, even f they be few n number, to possess a real value as musc. Furthermore, to overload the frst year's work wth songs, even good ones, would be to devote an undue amount of tme to mere dverson, and would result n defeatng the purpose of ths course of study, whch s, durng the frst four grades, to brng the chldren to a pont where they can read at sght all musc of ordnary dffculty, and sng t ntellgently wth well traned voces. Thus by the tme they reach the ffth grade they wll be avalable for servce n the chor. There s another reason for usng few songs n the Frst Year's work. The chldren's voces are only beng placed gradually so as to enable them to pronounce the varous vowel sounds correctly when sngng. Should they be allowed constantly to sng words durng ths preparatory perod t would negatve the work of the vocal exercses. It s more mportant to lay a sold foundaton durng the frst year, than to acqure accomplshments. Later, when the chldren are techncally equpped they may sng an unlmted number of songs, and sng them well. The seventeen "Solfas" ncluded n the work of the Frst Year should meet every need that may be felt for more songs provded they are used wth taste and ngenuty; the lnes sung antphonally or by solo voces versus ensemble; vsualzng and memorzng a lne at a tme; sngng them on "noo," etc., etc. The majorty of these Solfas are not exercses n any sense, but are, n realty, Songs wthout Words, each one a lttle classc of ts knd. The chldren thus learn to sng good musc wthout the correspondng dsadvantage of a premature use of words, and the ten songs wth seventeen Solfas gve them a repertore of twenty-seven melodes, whch s qute suffcent for a chld of sx years. The attempt throughout, has been to make the course melodous and attractve, as far as s consstent wth sound prncples. It would be unwse to seek to teach melody before the chldren have learned to produce sngle tones correctly. As regards Rhythm, t s necessary to produce a sense of the mathematcal evenness of muscal tme, and to attan ths a somewhat constraned gesture s used. Ths gesture wll brng about n due tme, a defnte and even beat, and we know of no other method that wll do so among a large group of chldren untraned to musc. Chldren do not, as s often supposed, possess an nstnctve sense of rhythm. It s qute as usual to fnd chldren who are ''rhythm-deaf" as chldren who are "tone deaf." A sense of rhythm must be bult up by methods whch at frst sght mght appear somewhat rgd. Later, when the chldren have acqured a

13 MUSIC FIRST YEAR sense of the undevatng qualty of muscal tme, t s easy to make the rhythm somewhat moreflexble,and to use freer gestures; ndeed ths s necessary, especally when the Gregoran melodes are reached. But what must be avoded at all costs s that ndefnteness and general slackness whch characterzes most school musc and whch has brought t nto dsrepute among muscans. Whle the greatest flexblty must be allowed the ndvdual teacher n plannng the lessons, the book should not be twsted so as to follow the lnes of other systems prevously n use whch are based on dfferent prncples. In usng ths Manual, the authors feel sure that the teachers wll fnd endless ways of mprovng upon t, but t would be a mstake to substtute another method whle (usng only such parts of the Manual as do not dffer too radcally from prevous custom. Sant Francs de Sales gves advce whch the musc teacher may well take to heart: "It s necessary, n order to travel well, for us to attend to that part of the journey whch s mmedately before us; to get over the frst day's ground and not amuse ourselves wth desrng to accomplsh the last day's journey when our busness s to make an end of the frst."

14 PART ONE

15 CHAPTER ONE The teacher's effort durng the frst week should be twofold: Frst, to gve the chldren suffcent confdence to make themselves heard at all, and secondly, to get to know her class ndvdually and collectvely, pckng out (a) the chldren who are able to mtate a gven tone correctly; (b) those who can recognze dfferences of ptch but cannot always reproduce the desred tone correctly, and (c) those who apparently hear no dstnctons, and who contnue to sng a deep bass sound, whatever may have been the tone gven by the teacher. Ths groupng accordng to capacty wll take tme; ndeed there wll be a constant process of readjustment along these lnes throughout the entre year. A good begnnng should be made, however, durng the frst week, and the sngers should be grouped accordng to capacty n the estmaton of the teacher even though she may not wsh to base any dvson n the class room on these dstnctons at so early a stage. The chldren's nterest must be aroused from the frst moment. Here the personalty of the teacher s an mportant factor; she wll fnd that a brght and encouragng manner s almost essental to success. She should be able to gve the chldren confdence n her leadershp and n ther own capacty to sng, whle herself dscoverng the ablty of her class to mtate correctly sngle muscal tones. For a week or more the progress wll be almost mperceptble. Ths should not occason any surprse or dscouragement, as n these early stages the mportant thng s not the amount of knowledge acqured but the way n whch certan fundamental muscal conceptons are assmlated and rendered functonal n the mnds of the chldren. All the ngenuty of the teacher wll be requred to present the study of musc n these early stages wth flexblty and varety. The suggestons whch follow for arrangng the frst few lessons are not made wth a desre to te the teachers down to ths exact plan, but are offered smply as an llustraton of one way n whch the materal may be handled and the varous elements combned. Whether ths partcular outlne s or s not followed, the teacher s urged to plan her lessons carefully n advance both as to matter and manner of presentaton, so that n each lesson there may be constant varety and change of emphass wthout any break n the contnuty. In ths way only can the nterest of the chldren be aroused and kept up. FIRST DAY. The teacher enters the room sngng very galy: "Good mornng, dear chldren," on a sngle tone (about A flat). The chldren wll try to answer on the same tone.. Teacher: "Lsten to ths lovely tone and then you may try to sng t also." (Sngs "Noo " very softly on A flat. See Vocal Exercse ).* The chldren mtate. The result wll be a babel of sound composed of almost as many dfferent tones as there are chldren. The teacher should appear very much pleased wth * The consonant N and the vowel sound oo pronounced as n the word noon s used to brng the voce forward and hgh n the head. The tone should be sung softly, hardly above a whsper, yet t should have a rngng sound. Each tone should be sung frst by the teacher, then by the chldren. The teacher should not sng wth the chldren.

16 6 MUSIC FIRST YEAR the chldren's effort and gve the tone once more, sayng: "Lsten." Her own atttude should be one of lstenng. She should not gaze too fxedly at the lttle ones whle they are sngng as t frghtens them, but should always lsten wth great nterest to ther tone, as ths atttude encourages them to make efforts. The chldren should stand durng the Vocal Exercse (whch should be taken on two or three tones only); then the teacher wll turn rapdly to somethng else. Vocal Exercse Repeat secton g, then ƒ, e, d, c, b y and a. Rhythm. Teacher: "St down" (as though announcng a great treat). (a) The chldren st very erect, at attenton, wth both hands rased toward the shoulders, palms out. (b) Teacher beats tme wth great vgor and gayety, sayng "down-up, downup." (ç) Chldren beat tme wth teacher, strkng ther desks on "down" and rasng ther hands to orgnal poston at "up." The movement should be brsk, defnte, and from the elbow only so as to nsure coverng an even dstance, but there should be nothng rgd or constraned n the gesture. (The beatng of tme by the chldren s always prefaced by the teacher sayng wth great energy: "down-up, ready- start," to set the pace, whle the chldren st erect wth rased hands.). After three or four mnutes, teacher wll say: "Now, chldren, we wll hear the beautful 'noos' agan." Chldren stand. Teacher sngs "noo" on A fat. Chldren mtate. Teacher artculates the consonant "N " but wthout sngng. Chldren mtate. Teacher pronounces "Oo," as n the word noon, exaggeratng the forward moton of the lps. Chldren mtate. Teacher pronounces "N-n-oo," takng plenty of tme for the forrratcn of the sound " n." Chldren mtate. Teacher ntones "N-n-oo " on A flat. Chldren mtate. Teacher explans very brefly that the voce s lke smoke soarng up a chmney, or uses any other llustraton that wll help to create a mental mage of the lght qualty and hgh placng of the tone. She wll then sng "Noo" agan nsstng that the chldren sng very softly Chldren mtate.

17 CHAPTER ONE Should the class be farly apt, repeat the exercse on A and B fat. Should the majorty, on the other hand, be monotones, the teacher wll do well temporarly to lower the tone so that'the chldren may hear themselves sngng a tone common to all. It wll hardly ever be necessary to lower t further than F. When the chldren have once sung on a common ptch, the ptch may gradually be rased (mperceptbly to the class) at each repetton of the exercse and n many nstances the monotones wll sng the hgher tone wth the others. Ths devce should not be used often, however, as the beneft to the monotones wll not make up for the njury to the rest of the class caused by sngng at a low ptch. Ths second approach to the Vocal Exercse should not take more than three or four mnutes.. Chldren st down. Teacher sngs: " " (A flat B flat) whle rasng her rght hand, arm extended horzontally, to suggest the rsng of the tone. Chldren mtate. After two or three attempts, teacher explans that the tones have names as well as numbers, just as the varous chldren n a famly. She then names "one and two " "Do and Re " rasng the lttle fnger of her rght hand to represent "Do" and the second fnger to represent "Re." Chldren name the tones from teacher's fngers several tmes,, Teacher dctates very slowly the followng exercse on her fngers. The chldren wll merely name the notes n response to her fngers, but make no attempt to sng them. Intonaton Exercse If the class should be very apt, teacher may proceed to let class sng by mtaton one or two of these phrases. She wll use her extended arm to gude them n the rsng and fallng of the tones. She wll sng the numbers, then repeat usng the names of the tones. 6. Chldren stand. Teacher wll recte any smple prayer that the chldren already know on a sngle muscal tone (A flat or A) the teacher ntonng t very softly, phrase by phrase, and stoppng after each phrase to lsten whle the pupls mtate. Ths wll be enough materal for the frst lesson. The chldren should have been keenly nterested and happy throughout. SECOND DAY Follow the same general plan as the frst day. The progress wll not be great but the chldren wll know what to expect and wll sng wth more confdence.. Chldren stand. Begn the vocal exercses wth the exaggerated artculaton of the sound "N," then "oo," then "N-oo." Then ntone the "Noo" on A flat, A and B flat, very softly, chldren mtatng each tone n turn. Dvde the class nto halves. Rght half sngs " Noo " on A flat, then left half repeats, and so on. The half whch s not sngng should lsten attentvely, teacher askng them to notce whether the voces are soft and lght lke smoke. To learn to lsten ntellgently to each other and to themselves s an mportant part of the tranng.

18 8 MUSIC FIRST YEAR. Recte prayer on a sngle tone, phrase by phrase, followng the teacher (about A). Insst upon a clear artculaton of the words, correct pronuncaton and a soft lght tone. The teacher's own example n these respects wll do more than any attempt to draw attenton to defects, as the chldren wll mtate exactly what they hear.. Chldren st down. Repeat the rhythmc beatng of tme as on the prevous day, but wth greater vgor and unanmty.. Sng the phrases of Intonaton Exercse, usng frst the numbers, then the names. Dctate the phrases by mtaton, usng the extended arm to gve a sense of the rsng and fallng of the tones.. Teacher sngs: wth arm extended, rasng t evenly and defntely to suggest the defnte rsng of the tone. Chldren attempt to sng those tones, whle teacher contnues to gude them wth her arm. Teacher tells the names of the tone "" rasng her thrd fnger: "m." She dctates the followng exercse on her fngers, chldren namng the notes wthout sngng them: Intonaton Exercse 6. Ear Test. Teacher sngs the tones: " " usng the syllable "Noo," and asks the chldren to tell her the names of the tones. Any chld who knows may rase hs hand. When the chldren answer t s best to get them n the habt of sngng the tones wth ther names, not merely namng them. If the class shows apttude teacher may gve ear tests as above, on such ntervals as " " and "." Durng these early stages the teacher wll do well to rase and lower her arm when sngng the ear tests, usng the eye as an ad to the ear n detectng the rsng and fallng of the tones. Later such a help wll be unnecessary.. Rhythm: Marchng n place. Chldren stand erect and at attenton whle teacher says: "rght left, ready start," startng wth her own left foot n order to gude the chldren who are to use ther rght, and beatng tme vgorously wth her hands. It wll be necessary to nsst that all should start wth the same foot, and keep strct tme, frst usng the sole of the foot, then the tps of the toes. Teacher meanwhle contnues to beat tme and say n a very jolly tone: "rght- left, rght left." 8. Once more "the beautful noos" on A flat, A, B flat and B, very softly and sweetly. THIRD DAY Follow the same general plan as on the Second Day. The teacher should by ths tme begn to recognze the more nosy among the monotones. Untl these chldren can sng n tune, they must not be allowed to sng wth the others, because the sounds whch they are makng prevent the other chldren (as well as the monotones themselves), from formng a correct mental concepton of a pure tone. They must be temporarly slenced yet wthout n any way dscouragng them. Very often ther nablty to mtate ptch s smply lack of attenton or of coordnaton

19 CHAPTER ONE 9 between the ear and the voce. Those who appear to be monotones n the earlylessons do not necessarly contnue as such: often they turn out to be among the best sngers n the class; but they wll not advance ether by dscouragng them, or by allowng them to contnue to sng on a monotone. They must frst lsten ntellgently, because the nose they themselves make prevents ther hearng the true tone. Another dsadvantage of allowng them to contnue s that the chldren who sng correctly wll try to sng loud n an effort to hold ther tone aganst the nose of the monotones. As soon, therefore, as some confdence s establshed n the class, the teacher should move among the chldren n a frendly and encouragng way, and as rapdly as she establshes the dentty of the monotones whsper to each one to put ther mouths n the poston for sngng "noo " but not to utter a sound. Every once n a whle she should gve these chldren a chance to sng wth the others n revew work, etc. They can jon n all the rhythmc work; they may even be selected to beat tme whle the others sng; to skp about the room to the sngng of the others; or to carry out any lttle tasks that the teacher's own ngenuty wll suggest to keep them occuped and nterested. But they must not be allowed to sng wth the others untl such tme as they can sng n tune. Durng the frst few days, of course, no such separaton can be made, but gradually toward the end of the frst week, the teacher should begn to know her monotones, and by a patent sftng process should have succeeded n slencng the more nosy among them. At the same tme she should be selectng a group of partcularly apt pupls as leaders, so that by hearng ths group sng frst, the slower ones may have the advantage of lstenng to the tones several tmes before they are themselves called upon to sng them. Ths plan has the further advantage of lettng the chldren hear a really pure tone sung by chldren of ther own age and n a chldsh tmbre of voce.. Chldren stand. Vocal Exercse, very brghtly and galy, on A flat, A, B flat and B, wth prelmnary artculaton of the sound: N-oo. Sub-dvde the class by halves or by ndvdual rows. The teacher should sng each tone as beautfully as possble and very softly as a model, nsstng that the chldren lsten and try to make ther own tone as beautful as hers. She should nsst that the chldren sng very softly n response. Ths s not always easy to accomplsh. Sometmes t s necessary to tell the chldren to "whsper" the tone, as, to ther mnd, anythng sung out loud must be shouted. Frst lne sngs "Noo" on A flat. Second lne repeats, and thus throughout the class. (Ths dvson of the class nto ndvdual lnes s valuable for two reasons: t enables the teacher to dscover where the monotones are stuated. It trans the chldren to lsten ntellgently to each other. It can only be done occasonally, however, as t takes so much tme.) All together sng " Noò " on A. Rght half sngs " Noo " on B flat.- Left half repeats. All together sng "Noo" on B.. Chldren st down. They name the tones from the teacher's fngers.. Chldren stand. Repeat marchng game of prevous day.. Teacher sngs " " wth arm extended horzontally, rasng t wth an

20 0 MUSIC FIRST YEAR even, stepwse moton, wth the rsng of the tones. Chldren mtate, teacher leadng them wth her arm, lstenng to ther efforts and encouragng them. Teacher repeats, usng the names of the tones. Chldren mtate. Teacher sngs " " n the same way. Should the class take to ths easly, teacher may add the other phrases of Intonaton Exercse. After several attempts, turn rapdly to somethng else.. Chldren stand. Sng prayer on sngle tone. (A.) 6. Chldren st down. Teacher: "Who can guess the names of the tones I am gong to sng?" She sngs: " " usng the syllable "noo." Chldren who know wll rase ther hands and sng: "do re." Teacher may try,, or, provded the class shows apttude. It must be remembered that the object of the ear tests s not to puzzle, but to gve confdence. They should be as obvous as possble durng the early stages. Later the chldren wll become profcent n hearng ntervals but the way to arrve at ths result s to nspre them wth confdence n ther own power to hear accurately and never to leave a blur n ther mnds.. If tme allows, let chldren march around the room to musc. If no nstrument s avalable teacher may beat tme and sng: " do re m m [ m re [ do do," etc. Chldren wll march on the soles of ther feet, then on the tps of ther toes, keepng strct tme. FOURTH DAY. Vocal Exercse on A, B flat, B, C and C sharp (f possble) subdvdng the class nto groups, or even selectng a group of leaders to sng each tone after teacher and before class. Rhythmc Exercse A. Chldren st down.. One lne of Rhythmc Exercse A should be wrtten on the board. The chldren wll read the numbers slowly. They wll then beat tme vgorously wth both hands whle readng aloud the numbers. Repeat usng the names of tones. Ths wll be enough for the frst attempt.. Chldren stand up. Sng Noo on A, then sng prayer on sngle tone (A).. Chldren st down. They wll sng several phrases of Intonaton Exercses and by mtaton, then from numbers placed on board.. Fnger drll on phrases of Intonaton Exercses and. Begn wth a very smple phrase ( or ) on fngers askng chldren to sng t from teacher's fngers. If no one can do t turn very rapdly to mtaton, teacher sngng the phrase whle gudng wth her arm, and askng chldren to mtate. 6. Ear Test. The followng lttle phrases should be sung by teacher on syllable Noo. Chldren wll sng them wth the correct names. "," "," "," "."