The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-09-02
WINCHESTER NORMAL.
Dr.. Louis Won Meyerhon' 8
Opening Address,
.rH 1890.


benefit for the honor OF winchester Nor
NAL for Your musical education which shall
contribute in the end to your happiness in
life, forming part OF your success in social in
lcrcourse, adding to your position in society
in order 10 begin such work and carry it sue
ressfully to end, have TO ask you to be 80
kind as to listen 10 what have to say now.
will BE- brief.
Before all, would suggest that there ar,
not two music teachers quite alike. Judge me
not by other Professors, because YOU would be
sure 10 make iouscomparisons by which YOU
would lose time and profit nothing. Judge me,
II you must judge me, by my work. present,
also, the fact to your liberal consideration
that am u German by birth. Some OF YOU
Will not immediately graspmy pronunciation,
bat All m. former pupils could easily under
stand mu after few lessons. BE also so kind
As H. consider that no man OF decided talent is
Tree from peculiariti,s. My pcculiarities will
do you no harm, and will occasionally ex-
cuse you when my idiomatic phrases should
provoke your smile or lrown. One of NV pc-
cnliarilicS, Of which happen to be aware is,
that am liic-mirror which reflects the num-
Der OF my pupils r,citations 100 being the
highest finds me in delightful mood; and as
the numbers decrease the smiles grow beauti-
fully less. The difference betweena good and
bad pupil is: The good one makes music, and
the bad one makes you sick.
! will give you clear definition OF "Mu-
Sic You may think at first thought that
YOU do not need foreigner Tor the definition
OF English words; yet am confident you will
find no satisfactory definition Of that word in
any English dictionary or Encyclopedia OF
Music, including even all existing dictiona-
rites or encyclopedias in all existing languages;
At least this conviction is the fruit of philolog-
ical researches. Listen, first, to my contro-
vcrsy: Music il not simply Il succession Of
sounds, not any more than speech is simply
succession OF words. Music is not a success.
ion Of sounds 50 moduatcd III to please the
ear, because the music OF some nations is an
unpleasant thing TO our ears, yet it is hc,
music. Even some OF our modern classical
music is anything but pleasant, vet is the
climax OF the conception Of intellectual gran
deur OF musical nations of the present gen, ra-
ton. Music l. not melody; melody is mciu-
dy, and music is music. Music il not simply
harmony, because there are dissonanccs, dis
cords in all musical compositions without
which no music could be done that would not
prove intolcrably HOMOGENEOUS Discords dis
solve into concords. Music is not the science
of harmonical sounds, which treats of the prin-
ciples Of harmony, or the properties, depend
encies, and relations Of sounds to each other
because that is the field Of acoustics, the
science OF sounds, teaching their nature, phe-
and laws. BY this time have con
trovcrtcd every existing definition Of Music"
and therefore also of Musician"
Why do the Professors OF music teach III
wrong, incompetent, inefficient definitions OF
music? Because they are Professors. What
is the difference between Doctor of music
and Il Professor of music? A Professor OF
music is IL person who publicly processes TO
know music; a Doctor of music is person
who knows what he Processes.
We come to the point What Is music? 1t
is complex thing. There is material sub
stance in music, as well as intellectual and
spiritual charm. Let W. first look upon the
material, ont of which genius makes mighty
mastcr-works by power OF intellect and spirit
The material consists OF one or more success
ions OF sounds, alternating with part-siIcnces
or sllences OF all parts. 1t consists, further,
OF motion and repoSc, contrasts climaXes Of
soft or loud sounds, cimaxcs and rclaXations
Citations and depressions, expansions of sounds
and contractions. But all this is already
meant by contrasts. Summing up the dctini-
tion Of the material portion in music it con,
stat. Of Sounds and siences, motion and re.
pose, contrasts and climaxce. That is all tn,
material You will perceive that the mate.
service; not 30 in Vocal Music because this
depends on a gift from abovc--a fine voice
which cannot be taught or acquired, but must
be Unborn; yet, the material can BIT improved
by q Physiologist But it is mistake ic
think that fine singer can therefore be a good
4inging-tcachcr because he has fine singing
voice. 1t takes irst-class Physiological to
maicSa tirSt-clasa singing teacher. 1t ma tiers
little if he can sing, so long as he can master
some musical instrument in order to illustrate
musical effects by examples.
Respecting the intellectual value in music,
| would say that ii can be defined with one
word |, is the "iorm' that we give to the
material by power Of our faculties. This in
cludcs the technical and theoretical portions
The tendency OF music i'll orr day is toward
intellectually. There il something of bug
bear in the awful dimensions To which tech
nquc has grown. il il the musician who
knows the most not the musician who feels
the most that gets nowadays thoughtful
While all the intellectual prog
re-s in music was made by the cold nations Of
the North, all the records of the efficacy Of
music in moving them came from the yolup-
Of the South.
Respecting the spiritual charm in music, /
can marshal my definition also into one word
ol great and deep meaning. 1t requires "ge
MUS, creative genius at that. 1t Is only the
OF music who has a rightiul claim
To that word, and only the original composer
Al that. Originality in music consists in Civ
ing the material n new form, out of which a
spirit speaks to our inmost soul by power of
sound. The material in music il sensational;
the intellectual can be mastered bv talent the
spiritual i- a sealed book to all but the initia-
ted. Only genius understands gcniu. fully.
The mental process which takrs place in the
mind Of composer, while creating Il compo-
sition and writing it down, lisa grand effort to
stretch out "god-likc' to arrest a lightning of
thought in order to embody it. II has been
stated that Blind Tom" has an original com
position OF his own. The initiated know very
we'll how TO take that joke ! have heard
him play il, and can assure YOU that no must
elan should for moment doubt the anthem
ITCHY OF the cac"phonou- mclangc. Blind
Tom is not a musician in the proper meaning
Of the word, but he is "hlack monograph"
the only one OF it, kind, joke on the musical
profession.
have been repeatedly asked by what book
Or method teach. ! will give you my hon
est conviction about the art OF teaching music.
l.