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Show America as a Nation Not Inclined to Sing When John Ersklnc spoke of "this silence" in address to the music In-dustilcs In-dustilcs convention, he was referring to the human oice lifted In song. Iu America we do not sing. We dance, play the piano and the drums and the ukulele and we listen appreciatively to good music nnd Jazz. We are a musical mu-sical nation, with plenty of talent In composition and much enthusiasm, but no voice except for screaming. Perhaps It Is because Americans have a good natural ear for music that they do not sing. They cannot endure the squawks uttered by their own mouths. In France, Germany or Italy, and among the negroes of the South, It Is the usual thing to hear men and women singing at their work. Soft voices and old folk tunes are the natural nat-ural accompaniment of certain kinds of outdoor labor. Pressing grapes or picking cotton i are occupations congenial to music. But try to run a riveting machine or a steam drill while humming a tune. Or perch on the high framework of a skyscraper under construction and trill an aria. When so much noise of mechanical me-chanical origin Is to be heard It Is probably Just as well that the human voice makes a small contribution to the cause of silence. New York Times. |
