dard to be aimed at, so that no person may have a
right to call himself musical, or enter the profession,
without documentary evidence that some amount of
attainment lias been readied. This is of course so
far good, but is it not working in the wrong direction?
Let us take the case of the individual. There is
not much use in driving, or trying to drive, technical
information into the head, or mechanical execution
into the fingers of an individual, unless he show
some sign of appreciation of the end to be gained.
If the love of the art is there, all is right, but if
not, one should endeavour to foster the love; or if
this prove too difficult a task, there is another
resource, and that is, to convince the student of the
desirability and importance of what he is to be
taught. If this is true with the individual, so it is
with the public. To attempt to cram the masses
with technical education before there is any foundation to work on is surely a mistake. If there is no
responsive desire on the part of the public, not even
a proper estimation of the serious nature of the art
aimed at, all the examinations, all the standards,
all the documents so much talked of and so much
rushed after, will not further the cause of music in the smallest degree. Examinations may be, and
are a good paying speculation, but if we look at
the matter a little more closely, it will be seen that
this is about the only good result we can ascribe to
them.
Let us take the objects which musical examinations aim at, and inquire for a little as to whether they achieve, or seem likely to achieve, any of the ends for which they have been promoted. It is obviously in every way desirable that those who are employed as teachers of the young should be able to show some guarantee of efficiency, and that this guarantee should be reliable. If it is not thoroughly reliable, it is worse than useless to its owner, misleading to an employer, and an imposition upon the public. Without referring to those qualifications which any one undertaking the duties of a teacher ought to possess, we require, firstly, that the music governess be thoroughly familiar with the elements of the art she means to teach the first principles of; secondly, that she be possessed of the natural gifts of ear for time and tune; and thirdly, that she must be appreciative.
With regard to the elements. What does a knowledge of the elements imply? Surely more than a mere absorbing of so many facts. A familiarity with the groundwork of our musical notation is required. A student—say a young lady—may study with the utmost care a book on the elements, and be able to answer any question therein contained, owing to the fact of its having been crammed into the head within a short space of time, and therefore fresh in the memory. But the same individual, although glib enough with an answer for everything, would perhaps astonish you by playing tied notes, knowing perfectly well all the time the meaning of a slur over two similar notes: or she would possibly fail to give the due value to a dotted minim in the face of the fact that she knew it was equal to three crochets ! In other words, that young lady's knowledge of the elements might be practically useless. It is no use saying that sight-reading should be a test for this, because many very slow sight-readers are most correct. The local examiner asks a few questions, and if these are satisfactorily answered, he is in duty bound to pass his candidate for the elements.
Secondly, we referred to the ear for time and tune. Regarding this, most are inclined to agree that, although a good ear is largely a natural gift, a great deal may be done by cultivation. A better system of training beginners to feel time instead of to count it, and a persistent attempt to impress on the learner the difference to the sense of hearing between a correct and incorrect harmony is sure to have its effect. Also, a good ear implies moi-e than an appreciation of pitch. It implies a perception of difference in quality and quantity in tone: legato, staccato, portamento, piano, pianissimo, fortissimo, must all have a distinct meaning to the correct ear. Can the local examiner see to this in the space of five minutes?
Regarding the last qualification— appreciation of music—the examiner should have a chance, for it is easy to judge whether a candidate plays or sings in a manner showing sympathy with the composer's intention, or simply with so much correct or incorrect manipulation of the keys; but, does he use his judgment.? Certainly not. Because he knows that were lie to make the appreciation of music a a test, none, or next to none, would pass, and the great local examination scheme would soon prove a huge financial mistake.
Why is this all-important matter so much neglected? If musical training does not succeed in kindling some desire on the part of the student to inquire into and discover what composers have written—some desire to work for love of the art—then either the training is one-sided and wrong, or the individual is hopelessly destitute of musical feeling, and therefore quite incapable of instructing others.
The appreciation of music—be it only the simplest air in an instruction book—can be encouraged from the very beginning, and it is the teacher's business to see to this with the same care which
