The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1872-11-22
EDUCATIONAL.
coSDUcrED BIZ PROF. s. s. sABuock
- Music.
NUMBER II

ton comes with great force. But
II he is mere novice, his sugges-
ton fails of its Importance, for
those who seek to cultivate the
poetry Of the art, before they are
masters Of its mechanism, are like
the bird that would fly before he
was Hedged. 4ed.asa
The man who reaches the high
or flights of his art by and through
its mechanism is alone the true
artist. Those who would attain
to the poetry of song, while muir
dering the rules of the art, by
which alone it can be properly at
tanned, are no true friends Of the
art. And in view of this fact, 1
wish to Vindieate the teachers that
may be so charged with attending
mainly to manipulation at the ex-
pense of higher training. am
inclined to think that this mode
OF instruction prevails, where it
does prevail, not so much from
any ineficiency on the part of
teachers knowing and feeling
what is the main end Of their
teachings, but from the necessity
of the case, the generality of mu-
sic students not having yet arriy-
ed at that point where attention
to mechanism can be dispensed
with. It is only when the stu
dent has the minutie of his art at
his fingers ends, SO to speak, 30
that he no longer requires to pay
any particular attention or
thought to them, that he is pre-
pared to enter upon those entranc-
ing fields of poetry, that lie, in
every art, beyond that which is
merely mechanical. Let mo IL
lustrate this in other branches of
human attainment. When You
receive from your physician a pre-
scription clearly indicating that
he has not mastered the technic-
alities of his profession. do you
not lose your confidence in him?
When you, if q School-board, re-
ceive an application for your
school from teacher who mis-
spells, perhaps, one halfthe words
in his letter, do you engage him9
No, sir. Just SO in music. We
are expected to master the tech
nicalities (of tune and time, es-
pecially) before We give any ma
terial attention to higher matters,
lest we be like the boy that was
engaged for q match foot-race be-
fore he had learned to walk.
This is the reason why the best
soloists are frequently the most
miserable choralists. They have
been accustomed to follow their
own unruly cOnceits and caprices,
supposing they are about reach
ing the very summit of Parnassns,
while in fact they are unforbidden
tranpling under their feet the
very elements of all beauty and
symmetry in their performance
sacrificing tune, time, articulation,
enunciation, phrasing, expression,
and all else, to their wanton IL
eence, and thus have utterly inca
pacitated themselves, to sing or
play in conjunction with others;
and this is the vitiation of their
choral performances, as every one
who has managed choral masses
can testify. This is so much the
case that we can with difficulty in
any town where your correspond
ent's sentiment is abused, fnd &
dozen singers who can sing even
the Doxolgy with any degree of
precision in rhythm. pitch, and
dynamics.
| It is clear that / have no quar-
rel with yeur correspondent, or
his sentiment. ] only wish to
guard pupils against the abaae of
art, consequent upon a misappre-
hension of his meaning, and Thus
falling into the opposite extreme
error. God first made the body,
and afterwards breathed into its
nostrils the breath of life, and we
should first provide ourselves with
good substantial body of music
al knowledge aud ability, and
then talk about putting soul into il
Then, say, stick TO your notes,
until By your notes, and throagh
your notes, you can ascend to
something higher than notes, bat
which the notes themselves are
the only true means OF attaining
and realizing. And I say further,
let parents "who are frequently
called upon to pay large sums,
etc." see that they engage such
teachers as viii not delude their
Children into the phantasy above
referred to, but tie them down 70
their manipulations and Solfeggi
until they have mastered them
and who are then able to lead
them along the howery paths OF
truly spiritual musical influences,
until they arrive safely within the
4 portals of the temple-the poetry
: Of art TAvALAH.
To profess any one intelliRible
art or accomplishment, and in this
one TO have obtained an aeknowl.
edged or reputed pre-eminsnce, il
| A far better r1assnnrf into Dr;v;lAr,