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Show Promo's Musical Advantages. j Those not directly interested in schools are not as a rule informed with regard to the musical advantages enjoyed en-joyed by eveiy pupil in attendance at our district schools. The older members mem-bers of the community who can remember re-member their own Bchool days, when to hum a tune, or draw a picture was almost the greatest breach of discipline discip-line of which a child could be guilty, will no doubt read with interest of how the "world do move," in this direction, direc-tion, . A year and a half ago the territorial teachers' convention adopted Masin's system. It is the staff method, and tne chief recommendation over outers, was that it was so nicely graded. Educators Edu-cators claim that music has a harmonizing harmon-izing offect, is refining, and stimulates all the finer emotions, is a nerve tonic, and one of the beet aids to mental discipline dis-cipline that an intelligent teacher can employ; and these reasons should be sufficient to recommend its adoption as a regular part of the curriculum. Frof. Giles is employed to impart musical inetructione to the children just as any other teacher is employed, and pursues his labors in much the same manner going from the known to the unknown. Music is no longer a great unapproachable mystery requiring years of drudgery and an abnormal de yelopment to acquire it. It is perhaps the most universal of talents. It is as rare to find a pupil who cannot learn to sing and read music as it is to find one who cannot learn to read print, and much more rare than it is to find persons who do not master English orthography readily. It is a rare treat to see the little fel lows who have grown weary of prolonged pro-longed study and Eilence brighten up and break into smiles when tht professor pro-fessor appears and,violin in hand.gives the signal that permits them to lift their voices in soul-inspir ng harmonies They learn so rapidly, are so grateful and cheerful and obedient that it suggests sug-gests that music might be a means, intelligently employed, to smooth the troubled waters of home life. The first and second gradeB learn only little songs. Notes are first presented pre-sented to the third grade in connection con-nection with a song already learned. The old method that gave notes before sound was about as intelligent a method of presenting the subject, as it would be to try to teach a baby to read before it had learned to articulate words in connection with ideas. There are four books that cover the school course up to the eighth grade. After that those who Cave special talent should have individual instruction. It is a remarkable but significant fact that nearly every 'eminent musician musi-cian the world has ever known, has been surrounded in early youth with the very spirit of music, and its language lan-guage was as much a part of his individuality indi-viduality as his mother tongue. Certainly Cer-tainly if there are any musical prodigies prodi-gies among our children the right course is being taken to develop them, and since some knowledge of a science is necessary to its appreciation, just think what magnificent audiences the reet of the community will make. In the B. Y. academy the same teacher cives the Eame number of lessons les-sons and pursues the same general course, with this exception, that more attention is paid to devotional music. Congregational singing is made a special object as mau; here attending expect to do missionary work, and even the few who think music unnec essary in the public schools, heartily concur in the idea that it is necessary when an attempt is being made to lift tbe thoughts to God and waken the conscience. ALany original songs haye been eet to music by Frof. (iiJes for the use of the academy students, and they have become so popular that it has been found desirable to publish them in the .Normal paper published by the academy. The twenty weeks' course given at the academy fur Sun day schcol normals has a special course in music, and of the sixty pupils pu-pils who were enrolled last semester, I all but three could read music at sight with tolerable accuracy at the end of the term. When it is remembered that many of these pupils have come from distant countries, have had no previous tnrning, it speaks well for both teacher and pupils. Perhaps Dispatch readers all know that singers from Frovo have taken prizes at Salt Lake city contests for smoothness and purity of tone, when their rivals for honors had been trained by both Stephens and Danes of musical fame. Frof Giles echoes the opinion of Schuman that for cultivation of the I voice nothing excels choral and congregational congre-gational sinking. He has a juvenile choir in training of a hundred voiceB, f rom whose ranks our tabernacle choir will be recruited ere long. About the third week in this month there is to be a musical contest among the children, the leading feature of which will be the song "After the Ball," sung by six little fellows under seven years of age. To have them trained so that they can face an audi ence and sing at all, is perhaps the most wonderful part of it. One serious fault can still be found with this feature of entertainment and education; nearly all the music, even when written especially for juvenile choirs, is suitable only for matured voices. |