When one of the senses is weakened or lost, the
others become strong through the requirements made on them. This shows
how much may be gained in music study by throwing responsibility on
those faculties it is desirable to develop.
There are numerous promising schemes for class work in operation in our
own country, some of them offering excellent advantages to the student.
From the music study in our public schools valuable results ought to
come in time. Thus far, unfortunately, it is too often conducted by
teachers who are themselves without trained musical ability and who
permit their pupils to shout rather than sing music of an inferior order
to the accompaniment of a piano wretchedly out of tune.
The much beloved Phillips Brooks once said: "A school song in the heart
of a child will do as much for his character as a fact in his memory, or
a principle in his intellect." Unquestionably a love for good music,
inspired during the formative period, is calculated to open unlimited
possibilities, and ours could readily be molded into a musical nation if
a firm foundation for musical knowledge and appreciation were laid in
our schools.
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