Chapter XVII: Part IV: æsthetics

ART.

By DOROTHEA BEALE.

This part is one of great and perhaps increasing importance owing to the development of musical education and of art and technical schools.

[Music.]

The power of music over the emotional life has ever been felt; in many ways it is opposed to thought, if we regard it from the standpoint of the listener, who yields himself up to its influence; on the other hand, the performer, and still more the composer, can bring to bear on the subject high intellectual gifts, and it may have a great educational value. It is of the utmost importance, that in this as in all æsthetics, a taste be cultivated for all that is true and pure and lovely; not for low and false and sensuous music such as Browning has described in the “Toccata of Galuppi,” but for the thoughtful, the devotional, as given in the two companion poems, “Hughes of Saxe Gotha” and “Abt Vogler”; and the learner should feel that she is studying to express right feelings, as Mme. Schumann and Jenny Lind insisted, not to show off her execution and make a display. It is greatly to be regretted that the general education is often stopped in order to specialise in music and art, before the mental equilibrium is fully established; if, besides this, there is an uprooting from one’s home and country, at the most impressionable and excitable period of life, much danger is incurred.

Music is not only a powerful means of expression and of promoting sympathy, it also draws people together for healthy recreation; especially valuable for this purpose are orchestral and choral classes. The power of the artist in music is far better understood than it was fifty years ago. I remember Dr. Kinkel, the German poet, saying to me about the year 1860, “the English will become a musical people, they are learning”. We owe much to Mr. Hullah for this, and to the Tonic-Sol-fa system. I subjoin a paper by a most able teacher of the piano, one on the violin, two papers on singing and one on voice production and elocution.

[Art historical.]

We are beginning now to study art in connection with the history and literature of different periods and countries. In another section I have touched on art in connection with history. We all know how great has been in all ages the power of art in expressing and forming religious ideas; we cannot but see that Fra Angelico and Dante interpret one another. There is not space here to dwell on the subject; the writings of Ruskin and Browning and the works of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood have helped this generation to feel all that art may be in our life. The educative power of great paintings has been practically recognised by those who have gathered together great pictures in East London--the Art for Schools Association recognises its importance; by visits to galleries, by good reproductions, and occasional lectures, children should if possible have their eyes opened to see what are the higher teachings which painters and sculptors and architects have expressed in their works; those who have heard Miss Harrison’s lectures know how the statues, vases, friezes, etc., of old times help us to make these live again for us; especially valuable is what those of our own time have given us, for these utter what is most intrinsic in our life. England is richer for such pictures as “The Light of the World”.

Mr. Thring used to insist much on schools being as beautiful as possible, and that painted windows and all the surroundings should help in the great work of education, the fulfilling of the human nature with the sense of the spiritual underlying realities; it should be the earnest endeavour of all educators to make, as Herbart has done, æsthetics in its widest sense, a help in ethics, and to consecrate and enrich the experiences and the teachings which come to us through sense.

[Drawing.]

Drawing as a mode of expression is a really necessary subject; it is a form of writing; and modelling is another form of effective expression. In their higher aspects these arts are ennobling, cultivating the taste and leading up to the ideal. “Once,” writes Dr. Harris, “trained to recognise the beautiful and graceful, the pupil has acquired a quality of mind useful in every occupation and every station.”

[Painting.]

There is an admirable paper by Mr. Cooke, “The A B C of Drawing,” in the volume of Reports just issued from the Education Office. All who have heard Mr. Cooke lecture, must recognise that he has a real genius for teaching. In schools we have to do chiefly with cultivating the power of seeing things as they are, and expressing what we see. The copying with the pencil of the Greek sculptures has been of much educational value, but enough importance has not been attached to modelling. I add an excellent paper on the subject.

[Other technical arts.]

Technical schools are so much the fashion of the day, that I may perhaps add something more on the subject of manual training. All students of Pestalozzi and Fröbel knew the great educational value of manual work, but the general public, though they knew that mind acted on muscle, did not realise the fact that muscle reacted on mind; when this was recognised, many educational thinkers saw the importance of giving to hand arts a more prominent place in school work. A great reaction set in against mere book learning, and as I venture to think an exaggerated and indiscriminating value was by some attached to manual work. The enthusiasm of Herr Salomon brought to the front the use of Sloyd. Political circumstances and the need of competing with foreign countries have contributed to give a great impulse to education in art, and to develop and improve the training which had never been altogether neglected in girls’ schools.

I subjoin papers on various hand arts, including one on Sloyd.

At a meeting held at Washington in 1889, the matter was brought before the department of Superintendence, and a volume was issued from the Bureau of Education which contains a very full account of the proceedings; it includes an admirable paper of about twenty pages by Dr. Harris, Chief Commissioner of Education, from which I make some extracts. The matter is considered in reference to “Educational Value”. He begins by defining what is the main purpose of school teaching, criticising the definitions which point to false or ill-comprehended or crude ideals, which turn our thoughts to the means rather than the ends of education, and which lead the educator away from the essential idea of education by fixing attention on the “puny individual” rather than on the “higher self” embodied in institutions; the ideal man, whom we can see only as a member of the great human family.

Education he defines as “the great preparation of the individual to help his fellow-men, and to receive in turn and appropriate their help”. Whilst conceding that manual training is educative, he shows why it is much inferior to the usual subjects of school instruction.

“Man elevates himself above the brute creation by his ability to withdraw his attention from the external world of the senses and give attention to energies, forces, producing causes, principles. He can look from the particular to the general; without losing the particular he grasps together the whole realm of the particular in the general--in mastering the cause of anything he grasps together and comprehends an indefinite series of effects.

“A false psychology tells us that we derive all our knowledge from sense-perception, but we do not by the senses learn the idea of causal process. By this idea all the data of sense are transformed radically. They are given us in sense-perception as independent realities. In thinking them by the aid of causality, we make all these matters of sense-perception into phenomena--or effects and manifestations of underlying causes which are not visible or tangible.”

Dr. Harris shows how school studies are calculated to give general principles, right ideals, and to exercise the powers in elaborating the data of sense. “That the ordinary branches of instruction in school relate to this function of elaboration of data into plans of action far more than they relate to the mere reception of sense-impressions or to the exercise of the motor nerves, is obvious. It is not desirable that children shall be taught that rough hand labour is in itself as honourable as the elaborative toil of thought, which gives rational direction to the hand. The general who plans the battle, and directs the movement of his troops so that they secure victory, is of course the executive man in a far higher sense than the private soldier who mechanically obeys what he is ordered to do. The general may use his motor nerves only in issuing the words of command, while the private soldier may exert to the utmost every muscle in his body--yet the real executive is the general.” And he concludes that only in so far as manual training is calculated to develop the higher faculties, ought it to be regarded as a valuable branch of school education. The pupils’ minds must not however be fixed on the acquisition of manual dexterity, so that they think more of the “execution” than the musical thought--more of mere copying than of interpreting nature or the artist’s ideal.

PIANOFORTE TEACHING.

By DOMENICO BARNETT, of the Leipzig Conservatorium.

Like every branch of school education, the teaching of the pianoforte requires consideration from two simultaneous points of view. Two all-important questions have to be answered with clearness and decision. What is, or what ought to be, the definite aim of the teacher? And what is the most efficacious process for achieving this aim?

As to the aim and purpose, we may happily dismiss, once and for all, the old and imbecile notion of the piano as a conventional “accomplishment”; in more accurate language an instrument of unintelligent and repulsive mechanical drudgery, calculated to eradicate from the pupil whatever modicum of _music_ Nature might have bestowed on her. The cultivation of the piano for the sake of vain display is not yet obsolete. But though this unacknowledged object must inevitably continue to actuate many pupils and many parents, the teacher, so far from indulging it, should set his face sternly against it. It is true that it is his business to develop his pupils’ performing powers to the utmost of their varying capacities. But this practical and visible result is but subordinate and auxiliary to one which is infinitely higher. Not every pupil, however musically gifted, has it in her to become a fine executant, any more than fine execution implies, of itself, much beyond mere manual dexterity. But what the properly qualified teacher can do for _all_ is to educate--that is to say to _draw out_--all that Nature has put into them: to show them what music means: to quicken and develop their musical feeling, be it much or little, by rendering it intelligent: to give their taste a foundation of right principle: to cultivate the ear and the brain as well as the hand: to put them in the right road for pursuing and perhaps specialising their studies after their school course is over: in short, to make them musicians, so far as musicians can be made.

The study of the pianoforte, then, is an indispensable means to a very large and serious end. There is no occasion to dwell upon the peculiar suitability of the piano as the basis of musical study. As to that, there are not, and cannot be, two opinions, even if universal experience had not settled the matter. Nor is it needful to dwell upon the qualifications to be required in a teacher. Every one knows the requisite qualifications of all teachers of all subjects. But it so happens that the teacher of the pianoforte, in any school where much is--as it ought to be--expected, has to contend with a peculiarly formidable list of preliminary difficulties, and to dispose of these before he can proceed to build upon a properly prepared ground. With these two topics, the preparatory and constructive portions of his duty to his pupils, to himself, and to his art, I will proceed to deal in as few words as the nature of so large a subject allows. And first, as to the commonest of all his obstacles, which is--

_Previous Home Teaching_ (so-called).--Music, even more than with most other branches of education, should begin with careful, intelligent and systematic instruction at home. Yet how seldom does the teacher find this to be the case! A truly appalling ignorance of the merest rudiments is constantly found in girls of all ages on first coming to school, after six or seven years of “lessons from a master” or “from a lady”. In exceedingly few instances has any attempt been made to awaken a love of music, much less to lay a foundation for its serious study. Parents, one must presume, have not yet outgrown the delusion that anybody is good enough to start a child’s musical education; whereas it is precisely during the period preceding school life that instruction generally produces the most lasting results for good or for evil; and it is usually for evil. It may be that a certain--or uncertain--amount of mechanical fluency has been acquired, but to the total exclusion of all else; and this leads to a further grave difficulty for both teacher and pupil--

_Insufficient Time._--There would be amply adequate time for musical progress at school if the ordinary pupil had not so much to unlearn. As things are, the inevitable strain upon a girl imposed by other studies renders the comparatively short time allotted to music a period of weariness of mind. The pupil, naturally enough, rebels against the severity of a proper course of study; and it is long before the most patient teacher can get his impatient pupil well in hand. He is thus sorely tempted to make a--

_Compromise with Conscience._--This is not stating the matter a whit too strongly. Handicapped by wrong preliminary training and its consequences, the teacher, in order to render some result visible to parents and school authorities, often sacrifices substantial education to superficial display. How absolutely wrong this is, requires--it is to be hoped--no argument. But, inexcusable as it is on every principle of educational ethics, it is bound to be of constant occurrence wherever the school authorities fail to understand a music master’s duty, and to support him in doing it fearlessly and honestly, without respect to the ignorant impatience of parents or pupils who have not laid to heart the maxim of _sat cito si sat bene_.

In proceeding to the positive work of teaching, as distinguished from the preliminary task of _un-_teaching, it will be the simplest course to dismiss these only too formidable obstacles as non-existent or overcome, and to consider at what a teacher should aim who enjoys all the advantages that he can reasonably expect. Under the most disadvantageous conditions he can at any rate aim as high as circumstances allow. Let us suppose, then, that he has the inestimable advantage of a pupil who is a complete beginner, with everything to learn and nothing to unlearn. At the very outset--

_A Feeling for Well-marked Rhythm_ should receive cultivation. This is perhaps most easily acquired where a kindergarten has been available, by marching round to strongly-marked tunes or even to the beat of a drum. This feeling--more or less instinctive with most, and seldom beyond acquisition by any--should, as soon as possible, be reduced to form and order by--

_A Knowledge of Time System and the Key-board_: that is to say, a thorough acquaintance with the notes on the key-board, so that they may be readily recognised by their shape, together with their equivalent rests and other signs belonging to the time system. All this should become instinctively familiar; and is followed in natural sequence by--

_A Knowledge of the Scale System._--The beginner should be able to locate the several scales on the instrument and to understand their formation. But time ought not to be wasted by insisting too much upon scale practice, until the pupil’s hands are sufficiently strong. It will be quite sufficient, at this period of a course, to gain a thorough knowledge of the notes and fingering of the various scales and chords, great care being taken at the same time to cultivate a good position of hand and a proper use of the fingers themselves, by way of foundation for a good and sound technique. In the case of older and more advanced pupils who have been neglected in this direction, it should be constantly impressed upon their minds that this process is but a means to an end; that adequate interpretation of music is impossible without this mechanical exercise of the fingers, which must be trained to follow and express the most delicate _nuance_ of their owner’s intention. On the other hand, such pupils--especially those gifted with a natural dexterity--should be warned that manual skill has nothing, as such, to do with _music_: that brilliant execution and the triumph over difficulties are neither more useful nor more admirable than dancing among eggs unless they are subordinate to the real sense and meaning of a composition. Having fairly mastered the notes, time and scale systems, the pupil is now in a position to be introduced to--

_A Methodical Selection of Exercises and Pieces Presenting Varied Rhythmical Difficulty_, beginning with the simplest, and gradually advancing to those of increased complexity. As the pupil advances, easy duets, dances, marches, etc., sometimes if possible accompanied by another instrument, may be given with advantage, insistence being laid upon a _proper habit_ of _counting_ time. This should not be done in a drawling, undecided manner, but with a clear, sharp and decided utterance. It ought not to be--but is--necessary to add that the production of a fine broad tone and proper touch should receive attention from the outset; and meanwhile, even from the earliest moment of her studies--

_No Bad Music should be given to a Pupil for any Purpose, or under any Circumstances._--No doubt where a very bad state of taste exists, it is a matter of necessity to start from a comparatively low level of merit; because in respect of music, at any rate, a pupil should never be given what she cannot possibly understand. Dr. Arnold, it is true, used to say that if you only taught a boy what he could understand, you would teach him very little. But large margins must be allowed to large maxims, and had Dr. Arnold taught music, where the first and foremost thing is taste, instead of language, where the first and foremost thing is memory, he would have modified if not reversed his dictum. Yet though the pupil’s taste and intelligence may be at a low point, and require very simple fare, there is happily no lack of good music adapted to every degree of intelligence, and even of appetite; and under its influence it is surprising how soon any taste for the positively bad will imperceptibly pass away. Of course, the teacher will have to observe much thoughtful care in his selection of music in each individual case of this kind, always remembering two things--to give his pupil the best that she can comprehend, but never to surpass her comprehension. To read Shakspere in a kindergarten would not be worse waste of poetry and brains.

But it is not enough merely to avoid bad music--that can always be done. There is good music which may be as unsuitable to certain temperaments as it is suitable to others: and the teacher should be something of a psychologist in order to exercise his judgment prudently. Chopin’s would be _bad_ music if given in large doses to a girl of sentimental and romantic temperament, though she would probably excel in it. She needs something of a more robust and less emotional character. Bach’s music, on the other hand, is always right for all and cannot be too much employed. For studies, Mr. Franklin Taylor’s judiciously selected _Progressive Exercises_ may be safely and strongly recommended, as enabling the teacher to find, without trouble, instances, from the best composers, of every kind of difficulty.

_The Musical Ear_ simultaneously demands attention. Some pupils have a natural gift for discerning, without reference to the instrument, the exact pitch of a musical sound. This is by no means a necessary indication of great musical ability; but it is unquestionably a very great advantage. Fortunately, it can to a considerable extent be cultivated in many cases where it does not exist naturally: and for this purpose there is nothing so efficacious as--

_The Elementary Singing Class_, which should be a portion of the curriculum of every school, and should be compulsory for every student of music. Properly conducted, this class cannot be valued too highly. In it, rudimentary theory is taught in a systematic and practical manner. Very few girls are able to think musically. To the best informed among them a major third consists of so many semitones, and can be found in so many scales; but when seen upon paper, the notes convey no idea of their proper sound. Here then, the pupil will be taught to recognise and sing all intervals and chords, and even to write them down from dictation. As practical instruction in time and rhythm forms an important portion of the lesson, the evil effects of the defective sustaining power of the pianoforte can be in a measure remedied. Franz Wüllner’s system is excellent.

Thus the mechanical portion of the pianoforte teacher’s work may be very beneficially supplemented and extended, by being placed in fresh lights under different conditions. The use and meaning of any study are never so manifest as when it is seen to be applicable in several directions.

Here concludes what may be regarded as the first period of instruction. Given sufficient time for practice, fair average ability and no physical defects to contend against, good results may reasonably be looked for. As the pieces selected for study assume a more important character, the pupil should be made to perceive how they are constructed; how one portion grows out of another; and by what artistic process a composition has obtained its symmetry and balance.

_The Study of Harmony_ should now be begun. In addition to the study of part-writing and perhaps counterpoint, standard compositions should be carefully analysed. This gives a power of comprehension and appreciation quite apart from any capacity for interpretation, and probably better worth acquiring. Many persons combine considerable musical talent with a physical inability to achieve excellence as performers. Such of these who have persevered to this point will have learned to find an intellectual and sympathetic delight in the works of the great masters, and an artistic pleasure in the performance of their more gifted interpreters.

More successful executants may now proceed (when it is considered desirable) to the _more serious study of scales and finger exercises_, the teacher watching carefully for any signs of physical weakness. Willing but weak hands are too often injured by overwork, and the adoption of some means for strengthening them, suitable to each individual case, should be made an essential part of their training. Indeed the teacher would do well to make a careful study of the peculiarities of hands, very great difference of treatment being required in different cases. Some hands are so unfit for pianoforte playing as to make it a question whether it is worth while, for any reason, to continue the attempt. To return to scales and finger exercises--it will not be going too far to say that they cannot be practised too assiduously at this point. As a stimulus it may be found advisable to allow the pupil to avail herself of the numerous musical examinations so much in vogue at the present time. The plan adopted by Mr. Oscar Beringer in his _Technical Studies_ is admirable, and strongly recommended. _Musical memory_ should be assiduously cultivated. No piece of music can be said to be learned until it has been committed to memory. Any tendency of the process to impoverish the power of sight-reading can be adequately guarded against by the daily reading of new music.

_A Regularly Organised System of Sight-reading Classes._--No school should be without such classes, and they should be for that matter supplemented by a few minutes each day to be occupied in playing through a new piece from beginning to end, without stop or interruption, however wild the blunders may be. These will soon become fewer and fewer. During the hours of solid practice, however, blunders are quite another matter, and those unable to help themselves in this respect require--

_The Attentive Superintendence of Practice._--The time allowed for practice should be arranged to suit the requirements of the pupil, and need never be excessive or interfere with the general course of study. With care and thought, much good work may be done in a short time. A large proportion of pupils of all ages are unable to perceive their own faults, and the time for practice may thus become a means of forming and confirming fresh bad habits as fast as the old ones have been eradicated. Moreover, since the time allotted in schools to practice must needs be short, every moment of it should be utilised; and very clear explanations should therefore be given to those who superintend it of what is required as well as to the pupils themselves--explanations which should be punctiliously followed. There are also many cases in which the instruction of the promising or fairly well-trained young pupil may be almost entirely undertaken by a competent assistant teacher, but subject to the careful supervision of the master, who should be responsible for her proper progress.

Before closing these remarks, which have not been easy to render systematic or consecutive, it would be inexcusable in these days to omit all mention of--

_Examinations._--This is too large a subject to be dwelt upon in relation to music alone. But it must needs be said that here again the temperament of pupils must be considered. In some cases good work is helped by examinations of one kind or another; in others it is hindered. On this subject we all have our own views. However, if they can be met easily and in the regular course of study, without forcing or cramming, or interrupting solid work, let them be undergone by all means. Otherwise their use becomes abuse, and frequently tends to entirely false ideas of the proficiency of those who pass them. An apparently low point may be substantially preferable to an apparently high one.

But no matter what point is reached, let it be _thoroughly_ reached, even though the time occupied in attaining thoroughness be apparently deducted from what is required for further progress. The deduction is but seeming--not in reality. School work is neither the end, nor the whole, nor the largest, nor the most important portion of education. Far better for a girl is it to leave school able to play fairly well at sight, and to execute a moderately difficult or even easy piece faultlessly, than with the _prestige_ of a brilliant performer which will crumble to pieces for want of a foundation as soon as she is left to her own resources. Another grand mistake, in the same connection, is made by parents who send children abroad for the continuation or completion of their musical education before, by having been properly and systematically grounded, they are able to reap the slightest benefit from foreign training. But, almost before all things, I would insist upon a good general education for all who show marked musical ability, and are thus justified in making music their special and paramount subject of study. Music is so absorbing a pursuit that it tends to narrowness by its own nature; and all that inclines to extend the outlook and enlarge the mind during the impressionable period of life, is even more important to the musician than to those who are engaged in pursuits of a less exclusive order. The really cultivated musician is a prize product of education; but the _mere_ musician, who may be the mere executant, and nothing else, is the last sort of being that one would wish any school to evolve.

To conclude, there is perhaps no royal road to the successful study of anything; there is certainly none to the pianoforte. I have not attempted so vain a task as to try to make one. What I have undertaken is to point out the crags that must be faced with a stout heart, and the best and safest path--which is not necessarily the shortest--to the vast stores of intellectual pleasure and profit awaiting the aspirant long before the whole journey’s end.

THE VIOLIN.

By LEWIS HANN.

The teaching of the violin in our schools has of late years attained a high grade of efficiency. The progress of musical education generally has been remarkable, but most especially so in the study of the violin, and perhaps no branch of the art demands so much of the teacher. It is not enough for him to be a good and brilliant performer; the real gifts which constitute the successful teacher are great patience, self-control, tact, discretion and a good knowledge of character. It is not judicious to lay down hard and fast laws, and pursue a certain beaten track in teaching, for no two pupils are constituted alike, and it is often desirable, according to the disposition of the pupil, to take a somewhat circuitous route to attain the desired goal. With really talented pupils, of course, no trouble whatever is experienced--it is the bringing into life hidden or dormant abilities in the less gifted which proves the art, science and experience of the teacher.

The establishment of a string orchestral or an _ensemble_ class, even in a humble way, is of great advantage to violin students. Not only are the practices a source of pleasure and delight to the pupils, but they help greatly to improve them in the practice of sight-reading; and in the study of _ensemble_ music they learn to give more serious attention to the marks of expression and to observe the _nuances_. Also by taking part themselves in the performance of important compositions they learn to appreciate these properly when they hear them rendered by great performers. It is well for the pupils to attend high-class concerts as frequently as possible; the earnest, observant student will derive great benefit and learn much that is invaluable from hearing good works performed by sound artists.

CLASS-SINGING.

By FLORENCE MOSLEY, Pupil of Shakespeare.

[Class-singing.]

Class-singing is good for all; it educates not the voice only, but ear, eye and memory. Classes of young children should not be composed of less than fifteen or twenty; if the voice of a pupil is too audible to herself and her neighbour, she becomes self-conscious and shy; in a fairly large class the pupil merely swells a general body of sound. In a class of thirty the teacher should be able easily to detect a defaulter; she should not however correct by name, as this tends to produce nervousness; she should indicate the direction from which the faulty sound proceeds. A few voices should not be allowed to predominate over the others, and care should be taken to prevent any over-exertion of voice.

Position is very important; the pupils should stand upright, with heels together and hands loosely clasped in front. Good order must be maintained, and thorough attention exacted.

The classes for young children should not exceed half an hour in length, but for elder pupils forty-five minutes to an hour is desirable.

[Notation.]

In each lesson a few test questions on notation should be given, and in order to avoid the answers proceeding only from a few of the more musical or quicker pupils, all answers should be written.

[Ear tests.]

Ear tests are best taught by taking the middle C as a starting-point, the pupils being required to give the name of every note struck within the octave, and also of the interval so formed; when they are thoroughly familiar with all the sounds contained in that octave, the process should be repeated with another note as the tonic. Having written the ear tests, they should proceed to sing them, the conductor striking a note upon the piano and requiring the class to pitch any interval he mentions either above or below that note, without assistance from the instrument. By this means the pupils become familiar with the relation of one note to another, and so find no difficulty in reading.

[Dictation.]

Musical dictation is another important means of training the ear; the melody of a simple well-known tune--if possible within the compass of an octave--should be played over; the key and starting-note being given to the class, they should be required to write down the notes of the melody from memory. At first it will be found necessary to play the tune over several times, until the class becomes used to the exercise. To more advanced classes more elaborate melodies can be given, and the harmonies filled in.

[Rhythm.]

This is best taught by making each member of the class beat time, while the conductor plays tunes of various measures on the instrument used for accompanying the class. This enables the pupils to realise the strong and weak beats.

Another way is to dictate the notes of a melody to the class, making the pupils fill in the bar lines and time signature.

[Reading at sight.]

The pupils should first read unaccompanied single notes from the blackboard, followed by easy exercises in unison, and then exercises in two or three parts; the more advanced classes should read some oratorio music and standard works.

[Voice production.]

Purity rather than volume of sound should be insisted upon; the former can be satisfactorily obtained only by a series of diaphragm breathing exercises, which will result in the throat being left free and open. The first vocal exercises should consist of simple vowel sounds, sung on every note from the middle C to the fourth space in the treble clef. These should be followed by tuned consonants, “koo” being most useful for bringing the tone forward. Sustained notes should then be practised, also major, minor and chromatic scales.

[Singing in parts.]

On receiving the part-song the pupils should be called upon to give the key, time and form of the composition. The simplest method of teaching young children to hold their several parts is to give them simple canons and rounds. In a two-part song the whole class should first learn the seconds and then the firsts; when thoroughly conversant with both parts, the class should be divided, the pupils being called upon to sing either firsts or seconds at any time. When the notes have been learnt the words should be committed to memory and the part-song sung without copies of the music; we thus train the memory, enable the pupils to stand in good position and to give full attention to the conductor’s beat. Elder classes may be taught to sing in three or four parts, but much care is needed in the selection of part-songs, as it is difficult to get compositions with a small enough compass to avoid straining either in the upper or lower registers of young and untrained voices. I need hardly add how much choral singing helps to promote a feeling of sympathy, a right kind of emulation, and a fuller appreciation of beautiful compositions than can be gained by solo singing or passive listening.

SINGING. TONIC SOL-FA.

By RHODA ROONEY, Certif. Fröbel Society, Cl. 1.

The Tonic Sol-fa system is one which gives every advantage for producing good and accurate sight-singing, and this without the aid of a piano or any other instrument. The pupils can test the notes as they proceed by referring to the Doh from which they start, and which is regarded as the governing note of the scale or piece.

The Doh is not necessarily middle C on the piano, but is the tonic of any major scale, all the notes of which have a certain association with each other and with the governing Doh. This relationship of sounds can be felt by the pupils as they listen attentively to the first easy patterns sung by the teacher for their imitation, thereby discovering what is understood by the “_mental effect_ of sound”. Sufficient practice of sounds with “the modulator” gives familiarity with the notes of the scale, change of key, or pitch in any relation, and it will be found that it becomes almost impossible for the class to sing out of tune. The Tonic Sol-fa _hand-signs_ practised with the modulator are a very considerable help, whether the class is composed of little children or adults.

_Time_ is indicated by lines and dots. A perpendicular line is placed before a strong beat or pulse, and a colon before a weak pulse. A single dot divides the beat in half, and a comma is used to show the division of a quarter beat. A horizontal line shows a tied note, or its equivalent, and a rest is represented by a blank.

Three-pulse measure--Doh is E.

[Music]

The great advantage of the Tonic Sol-fa system over any other is the definite and graduated ear-training which the pupils must derive from it, rendering the singing true and accurate, however poor the voices may be.

It is also of great use in developing the voice and training the ear of those who are older, and have for some reason neglected all musical and vocal culture.

Books recommended--Curwen’s _Tonic Sol-fa Courses_ and _The School Music Teacher_, by Evans and McNaught. Publishers, Curwen & Sons.

ELOCUTION.

By ROSE SEATON.

The speaking voice is often left to what we are pleased to call “Nature”; but a natural voice and a fine speaker are like the language of the race, the product of cultivation.

Weak and toneless voices are frequently the result of faulty production. We may divide the vocal apparatus into three parts: (1) Lungs; (2) Larynx; (3) Mouth. Consider the functions of each separately, and afterwards their relations to one another.

Great care is needed to develop the lungs, that they may store the requisite quantity of air and supply the waste of it constantly and silently; breath control is of primary importance.

In reading aloud, teaching, lecturing, the air in the lungs should be felt as an active force. All speech is uttered on the outgoing current of breath. The vocal chords in the “voice box” or larynx close when sound is made, and toneless or woolly voices show that the chords are slack and the breath is passing through without being used for sound, as when the bow of a violin passes over loosened strings. Note that the larynx should never be tightened by the band or collar of the dress.

The three principal resonators for sound are: the bones of the chest, the head bones, and the roof of the mouth.

Right position is very important. Both in standing and sitting the muscles should support the body so that the lungs may expand easily. To inhale and hold a deep breath is a silent and useful practice. It strengthens the walls of the thorax, develops the lungs, steadies the action of the heart, and consequently the voice.

The habit of bending the body over a desk or book, of sitting with the spine curved outward and the chest collapsed, of standing with the weight upon one foot, especially upon the heel, should be avoided. It is not enough to speak, but to speak well.

All articulations are made in the mouth, and the sound must reach the point where the letter is formed; the place of the letter in the mouth must be understood, and the quality of it.

The alphabet is best divided into four groups: (1) Vowels; (2) Explosive consonants; (3) Vibrative consonants; (4) Toneless letters.

Every word in English is complete in itself, and no letter must be omitted or joined to another. The omission or slurring of the small words constantly mars the sense; stress is not required, but distinct utterance. A small voice, if the articulation is distinct, will travel far, while a loud, ungoverned organ creates confusion of sound and cannot be understood; nor should the speaker maintain a fixed pitch, but allow the voice to pass through many gradations of sound, and endeavour to express the language naturally and musically.

DRAWING, PAINTING, ETC.

By PAULINE M. RANDERSON,

National Silver and Bronze Medallist (Painting); Art Master’s
Certificates, I., II. and III., Science and Art Department;
Teacher-Artist’s Certificate, Royal Drawing Society; Drawing Teacher
to the Princesses Marie and Victoria of Edinburgh, 1884; Art
Mistress, Cheltenham Ladies’ College.

[Natural drawing of children.]

[Brushwork.]

[Simple designs.]

[Line drawing.]

Mr. Ruskin says, “Accuracy and rapidity of perception ... are especially what masters and schools can teach”. Also, that “All qualities of execution are influenced by, and in a great degree dependent on, a far higher power than mere execution--knowledge of the truth”. With Fröbel’s teaching, and these thoughts in mind, we observe the first attempts of children at drawing. They draw from memory, and their drawings exhibit their knowledge of the things drawn. In the first lessons we do not interfere with their own natural method, but we help them to further investigation by encouraging them to look again at the object, asking them questions about it, and drawing with them. We give exercises for the hand, wrist and arm, by running the pencil round cardboard shapes of simple geometric or ornamental forms; also by repeating straight and curved lines on squared paper. We foster their love of colour and train their inventive powers, by using the brush. If we take a brush and fill it with colour, we can (without any effort of drawing) produce two simple units or elements. If the point only touches the paper, we have a dot; if the side, we have a form determined by the size and shape of the brush. We use these elements on a network of squares (of sufficient size), and find them capable of producing the simplest possible designs. By adding short lines, both straight and curved, drawn with the point of the brush, we increase our power and variety. With the same elements we can approximately imitate some very easy natural forms, but as “it does not train the child to great accuracy,” we are very careful to choose such flowers, leaves, insects, etc., as these simple means can most nearly represent. We continue our practice in drawing lines on squares for two reasons, _viz._, it is an easy method (greatly used by designers) of drawing patterns, in which every variety of straight and curved lines may be used and placed in all conceivable positions, hence great facility of line drawing may be acquired, the influence of which will be felt in the writing exercises, and new combinations may be made by the children themselves; also, many simple drawings of objects may be done, with the advantage of being true in their proportions, before any actual training has been given in that particular. We do not allow the use of india-rubber in this practice.

[Brushwork proper.]

Our next use of the brush is for real drawing; the matter for our designs being no longer mere accidental forms, but such as require actual drawing like those on Greek vases. The flexibility of the brush, and natural movement of the wrist, render it easy to produce these forms which are varied in shape and thickness by pressure. The network of squares may be abandoned in favour of filling spaces (such as the cardboard shapes previously mentioned) with ornamental arrangements.

[Proportions obtained with the ruler.]

We come at length to study proportions by the aid of the ruler. Straight lines of various lengths are ruled; these are divided into simple proportions. Exercises are given in judging the relative lengths of lines drawn on the blackboard, etc. Squares and oblongs are constructed. Simple flat objects with straight edges are used as models; they are measured and drawn with the aid of the ruler. The drawings are always of correct proportions though the size may be varied, the measurements being reduced to ¹⁄₂, ¹⁄₄, ¹⁄₃, etc. The relation of this work to arithmetic is apparent.

[Proportional measurements with the pencil.]

We give much time to teaching the use of the pencil for measuring proportions thus: one eye is closed, the pencil is held up between the eye and the object, at arm’s length away; the thumb indicates on the pencil the apparent length of the part to be measured, which (by moving the hand still kept at the same distance) can be compared with the whole until its true relationship is ascertained.

[Memory drawing.]

[Object drawing.]

[Construction.]

We give exercises in drawing from memory all along the course, the subjects being chiefly animal forms so interesting to children. We now pass on to drawing from flat objects having some curved as well as straight edges. Let us suppose we have chosen a Japanese hand-screen, which we hang on the blackboard parallel to the class. The size of the drawings is first determined. The proportions are thought out and indicated. The model is handed round the class, attention being called to its construction. When replaced in its original position, the curved edges are compared with straight lines to ascertain their true nature.

A drawing is then made on the blackboard, the class following step by step. When complete the drawings may be tinted with flat washes of colour. The pattern may be drawn with the brush or a new one invented.

[Foreshortening.]

[Appearances.]

Mr. Taylor reminds us that “it required all the ages to the fifteenth century of our era to master the laws of foreshortening”. To introduce these “laws” we use straight-edged flat objects, such as a map or picture on the wall. We sit, not now facing the model as before, but so that one edge may be described as being nearer to us, another farther from us, and two receding. We have to deal with appearances rather than realities. The edges we know to be horizontal, no longer appear so; we compare them with the pencil held horizontally until we realise the angle they make with it. The width has apparently grown much less and must be compared with the front edge. The farther edge, which we know to be the same length as the nearer one, now looks shorter. Thus we think out the apparent changes and make our drawing accordingly. In the same way we draw the top of a table, and when able to do so correctly we place flat objects with curved edges on the wall or table, or diagrams with curved lines on them, and by comparing the curves with straight lines we realise their apparent forms.

[Class and individual teaching.]

In consequence of the children having each a different view of the model, it is more satisfactory to take a very small class, giving each one as much personal attention as possible until they get accustomed to the work.

It is well to have some work of a more popular nature to alternate with these lessons in foreshortening. For instance, the brush may be used for painting easy leaves, flowers, etc., direct from nature, or for flat tinting of ornamental forms drawn from copies or the cast.

[Plane geometry.]

Exercises in drawing from written descriptions, involving knowledge of simple geometric terms and figures, should also be given.

[Model drawing.]

[Perspective.]

[Individual tastes.]

We proceed to model drawing proper, working in the same way as in the lessons on foreshortened planes; obtaining as accurately as possible the angles at which lines appear to recede; measuring the widths of receding planes and comparing distant lines with near ones. We have to deal with perspective, “the science of appearances,” and we do this in the most _practical_ way. We realise that it is only too possible to teach this subject in a wrong manner, by putting _rules_ in the place of accurate observation. We therefore evolve our perspective sketch from the model and find it a great help to intelligent drawing. We frequently draw our models from memory. Alternating with these lessons we frequently take a course of elementary shading. We encourage the child in its own natural preferences and mode of expression, having an excellent opportunity for doing so in the work done at home during the week, and especially during the vacation.

[Suggestive drawing.]

[Growth.]

We seek to modify the rather stiff and rigid kind of drawing hitherto necessarily done, knowing that higher art demands a suggestive treatment. We use such natural forms as fruit, flowers, foliage, of which we draw such lines as seem best to interpret them. We study very carefully their growth or development. We use also casts of animals, human features, etc.

[Shading.]

We endeavour to make our shading course a good foundation for painting. We give exercises in flat tinting and graduating to obtain power over the material (chalk, charcoal, pencil or otherwise) and to ascertain its possibilities. We draw from objects having flat planes such as a cube, placed so as to receive a strong contrast of light and shade; from cylindrical or other rounded objects, in which we study specially the shaded side with its reflected light, and the position of the high light. We work from groups of objects of various colours, trying to obtain their relative tones, textures, etc.

[Sacrifice.]

[Mystery.]

We try to arouse interest in the light itself, showing (by working with the class) how we must sacrifice minor details to emphasise its play on the group; also in the mystery of shade, wherein reflected lights must often be subdued and details lost. Pupils have to draw also from memory.

The figure or painting may follow.

No originality is claimed for the methods and course advocated. They are founded on the desire to be educationally useful, interesting to the pupil, and a good ground on which to build artistic work in painting and designing for wood carving, china painting, needlework, etc.

BRUSH DRAWING.

By MARY FARBROTHER, Cert. Fröbel Society.

All children take pleasure in drawing. Who has not seen a baby make unintelligible strokes on a piece of paper, at the same time exclaiming, “See, a chicken!” “a train!” “a gee-gee!” But the pleasure caused by such productions is not to be compared with the delight with which a child of three or four years old will handle a brush, dip it in the paint, and then produce a coloured impression on the paper. The happy laughter of the baby as he sees his flower or leaf appear will not soon be forgotten by those who have put this magic wand into tiny hands. And the interest derived from brush drawing does not pass away. Each year the child will be able to obtain truer representations of the objects he attempts to reproduce, and every fresh effort will give pleasure anew to the child and the teacher.

Brush drawing may be regarded from an educational standpoint. Many useful papers have been printed showing its educational value, and the help it gives in developing the artistic sense, powers of observation, etc.

With very little children it seems best to keep to the simplest exercise for some time, and to let them represent any leaves, flowers or insects, which can be made with the flat impression of the brush; they will soon learn to hold the brush perpendicularly, and thus obtain thin lines for stems and branches, and the finer parts of other objects. Later on they will be able to represent the forms of various animals, as well as an infinite variety of flowers and leaves.

It is most essential that the class should have the real object to observe and copy, and whenever possible a specimen should be given to each child, for, as Ruskin says, “The sight is more important than the drawing”; and an earnest seeking after truth and accuracy must leave its impression on the character.

PAINTING.

By ARTHUR RICHARDSON, Pupil of Bougereau, Paris.

Let beginners have real objects to draw from, or any plaster casts of ornaments which can be made sufficiently interesting. An H.B. pencil is the best to use at first, which may be changed for a B. or B.B. as more shading is required, until the pupil is ready for the more vigorous qualities of charcoal. Use the charcoal in stick on a rather rough paper, with bread for correction and picking out lights; in fact, use the bread as if it were a white paint. It is better to substitute charcoal for chalk and stump as it is quicker in execution. For complete representation, oil colour gives the fullest range of light and shade possible.

Pupils should not spend time in elaborating and finishing, from which little knowledge is gained; it is better spent in mastering new difficulties than in making tidy an old drawing.

Let it be clearly grasped before beginning what sort of a drawing is going to be made, and how the result is to be reached. One can generally explain better by working on the pupil’s own drawing, but one must encourage unaided effort. Each new study should present fresh difficulties: one must insist on precision, especially in the drawing and placing of shadows and bright lights. Learners should try to get every touch right at first, and never knowingly paint or shade an incorrect tone.

Perspective should be taught from real objects; a few simple rules are sufficient: rules must be used to assist the eye in getting directions right, not to take the place of looking to see how lines actually do go. Though geometric models give all necessary problems in drawing (till we come to study from the human figure), yet they are less interesting than other things.

Let the first study for complete shading or painting be something that has an evident brightest light and a fairly dark bit of shadow. A big jug partly glazed is a capital subject. If the darkest and lightest spots are got right first, the intermediate tones will come easily. So long as colour is made harmonious, treat it as of secondary importance to correct tone. Choose colours partly for tonic possibilities, say red, blue and yellow, two of each, one dark and one light, rather bright than otherwise. Groups of objects, or still life, are perhaps the most interesting subjects till the pupil is ready to draw from life. Drapery, a curtain or long cloak, thrown over the back of a chair makes a good study.

A knowledge of the proportions of the skeleton is most useful when drawing from life; more especially if only a draped model can be given.

A certain amount of drawing from the antique is necessary before beginning from the human figure, which is the best and highest study both for drawing, tone and colour.

FRESCO.

By EADIE REID, Pupil of Sir W. B. Richmond, R.A., K.C.B.

The value of drawing for decorative purposes has been neglected in the past. An effort is being made to remedy this by the teaching of the principles of ornament and the laws of decorative art-form. The study of Greek Ceramic art shows the important part that the brush plays in the formation of conventional form. It is therefore essential before dealing with the theories of design or composition that a thorough mastery over the brush be acquired. The shapes which the pressure of the brush gives us, will enable us with ease to trace the evolution of pattern from the primitive zig-zag or dot and line to the subtly graceful scrolls and meanders of later times.

Before proceeding to more advanced problems in design we must confine our attention to the filling of spaces, such as squares, oblongs and circles, with these simple brush marks suggesting buds, leaves, flowers, etc. For this purpose we can find no better models than the Greek vase and the skilful brush renderings of Japanese art. When the student has succeeded in arriving at something like an original composition, we must be careful to insist upon the value of sound, well understood growth running through the whole scheme, while simplicity of line and originality of thought should be encouraged. The application of the principles of design ought to be demonstrated by cartoons showing the ornament designs of different races and ages. It would be advisable to work these before the student, showing every line of their construction, stage by stage, until we have a clear workmanlike drawing upon a fairly large scale.

When the pupils can express themselves with freedom, an actual piece of work should be taken in hand, such as panels for a cabinet or piano, the designing of surface decoration, wall-papers, hangings; the use of the stencil and frieze painting. Ladies can very well produce such friezes on the walls of their houses; some in Cheltenham have been most satisfactorily conceived and executed in _tempera_, while others are designing panels and frieze decorations with a view to their execution _in situ_.

CHINA PAINTING.

By MINNA CRAWLEY, Silver Medallist.

Any one possessing some knowledge of drawing or painting may acquire the technique of china painting without either much difficulty or expenditure of time.

China painting possesses many features of interest which make it both a useful and attractive study for young people. It is one of the very oldest forms of art--a fact interesting of itself. The revivals in majolica, faience, and many other kinds of ware of late years, show how widespread the appreciation of the factile art has become; and with the desire for good form and substance has come that of the most suitable decoration of it.

Much may be gained in the knowledge of design by the adaptation of decoration to different styles, so as to suit the form to be ornamented. This develops also originality and manual dexterity, and tests patience; no work in this branch can be completed without the process of “firing,” which assuredly “tries every man’s work”; for while it brings to perfection the colours, and gives the necessary strength and gloss, it also fixes and brings into strong relief every error--and warns against future mistakes.

Vases, flower-pots, tiles for fire-places, dessert services, tea-sets and many useful household articles can be ornamented; and thus taste cultivated and the home beautified.

ART NEEDLEWORK.

By MINNA CRAWLEY.

The artistic faculty latent in so many women who perhaps have never studied drawing or painting, has in this accomplishment been developed quickly and more easily than in the higher class of art.

Art needlework cultivates the taste for design, colouring and general effect; and is also interesting as an ancient revival.

The old historical tapestries, both English and foreign, have been freshly studied of late, as well as the ecclesiastical work of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; some of this beautiful work has been equalled if not excelled in some of our modern schools of needlework. There can be no doubt that needlework, from “high art” embroidery down to the plain sewing and making of garments, is excellent for girls, and it is to be hoped that the use of the needle will never be given up in our schools or homes. Both art and plain needlework are now being successfully carried on, even with the very limited time that can be devoted to them, by the pupils of the Cheltenham Ladies’ College.

WOOD-CARVING, ETC.

By M. S. LYNDON SMITH, Honours Certificate, Class I., School of Wood-carving, South Kensington.

Wood-carving and kindred handicrafts, which can be used for forming and beautifying the common objects in daily use, have much educational value; they help to develop the æsthetic faculties, and give habits of neatness and accuracy and dexterity, and although children at school cannot be turned into finished artists, an incentive may be given at school; and we may discover in seemingly dull children faculties which, without manual instruction, would remain dormant.

Incidental teaching may be given to elder children in the history of ornamental design, its uses, purposes and meaning; also its inseparable connection with architecture explained, so that they may be the better able to understand the beauties of our own cathedrals, and compare these intelligently with the work of other countries and times. For those who can never attain to great proficiency, an intelligent interest may be awakened in the work of those to whom we owe the renaissance of handicraft, which is so characteristic a factor of our own century.

MODELLING.

By EVANGELINE STIRLING, National Gold Medallist for Modelling, Nääs Certificate for Sloyd.

No better definition of modelling can be given than this: “As carving is the art of cutting down, so modelling is the art of building up”.

Modelling develops the power of observation, for to imitate we must observe closely, and only by close observation can we learn to appreciate the beautiful which is enshrined in those grand specimens of ancient Greek sculpture which have come down to us, and to which the untrained eye is blind. The sense of touch is quickened to a remarkable degree, for the subtle modelling of a surface necessitates not only its close observation by the eye, but its perception by the hand. Also the hand becomes cunning in dealing with the material, and the power of construction is brought out. It is a sure foundation for drawing and technical education, and instances are not wanting of its utility in the higher branches of learning. Any plastic material may be the medium, but clay is mostly used.

[Tools.]

The first and chief tools are the hands and fingers, but one or two others, the shapes of which will be suggested by the necessities of the work, may be added later on. A modelling board or slate, a straight-edged piece of wood and a sponge are required.

[Teaching (class and individual).]

Beginning in the kindergarten, modelling should continue without a break through the ordinary term of school life. In the elementary stage class teaching is of the greatest value, but no such class should contain more than eighteen pupils. The advanced stage will require most individual teaching.

[Elementary.]

Studies should be chosen from a carefully graduated course, the elementary stage beginning (after the kindergarten) with natural objects such as simple fruits, some of which the pupils may have already made, but which must now be modelled on a larger scale and with more intelligence and accuracy. They should then pass on to more difficult fruits, vegetables, leaves (taken singly and then on the branch), then objects such as a worn slipper, etc., etc.

[Lesson to class.]

Each child should be provided with a duplicate of the object, sufficient plastic material, a suitably shaped board and a sponge. Equipped in like manner let the teacher build up a model in view of the class, giving the reason for each step as she proceeds. The first ten or fifteen minutes of a lesson following the completion of a work, should be devoted to the modelling of a small memory sketch of the last object executed.

[Advanced stage.]

In the advanced stage the objects of study should be chiefly casts and natural foliage, flowers, simple drapery, casts of simple ornament of bold design, but not too geometric: animals’ heads, or the enlarged human features as Michael Angelo’s “David,” masks of antique heads, hands, feet and whole heads.

[Note.]

Casts must always be of the best and those most approved for art training. Natural objects must be such as lend themselves to artistic representation. As a rule, the models should be executed in the round, and only at the end of the course should bas-relief modelling (where foreshortening must be resorted to) be allowed, for this is the most difficult of all plastic work.

Should there be any marked artistic talent it will have shown itself before the end of the course, when the pupil may be allowed to specialise.

SLOYD.

By EVANGELINE STIRLING.

Sloyd, as taught at Nääs in Sweden, its headquarters, is the most perfect educational system of handwork in wood which has yet been produced. It is suitable for girls as well as boys of the ages of ten and eleven and upwards.

Each child is required to make a series of useful articles called models, in which round work and the square work of the carpenter are duly alternated; and each model introduces, with the nicest regard to the graduation of difficulties, some new tool or fresh exercise with a tool. It is used as a means of developing physical power and of forming character and habit, rather than of attaining utilitarian ends. The tools are mostly those ordinarily used by a carpenter, with three or four extra ones, _viz._, the knife, the axe, the draw-knife and the spoon-iron. Specially shaped carpenters’ benches, adapted to the size of work done, are also used.