Omaha daily bee., 1914-12-27

II new year. mat WOuiu We !
" see were We able to turn the
page and scan the musical /
ISSlEf71 score that is soon to come to |
SR@S Omaha9 Would We be do
lighted at tho themes and their Develop |
ment; pleased with the harmonies or
would we shuddor at the discord2 win |
we have a Beethovenic or a Brahmsic |
year. full OF moat and content; Debus- |
sic, year. full of beautiful impressions, |
but nothing boldly definite, or a Schoen- !
berg year, which, though 1t may mark |
an advance In our musical lines, will get
upon everybodys nerves, and not be the |
least bit harmonious? II is probably the |
best for all concerned that the climaxes, !
unresolved seventies, and altered chords |
OF the future remain as they are until |
the voices approach them logically |
through the sequences of time.
great many things could happen this
year that would do much for the better
ment of musical conditions. The mighty
artistic wind OF brilliant virtuoH may
repd the mountains around us. the local
musical sea may be upheaved, and the
figurative earth be shaken by visits from
grand opera companies, but, after all, It
is in the still small voice Of local les
sons that the greatest advancement of
the art of music is to be found. II is
along these lines that a great deal OF work
might be done.
We should look about us and sec II
our teachers and pupils are holding their
own by the side of contemporaneous
workers in other places and IL not. why
not Much interest has already been
manifested in the accrediting of music
in the high school course. In this way
pupils who are studying music outside
may have II count as a regular major
study toward graduation, providing, of
course, they are able TO pass the speci-
| fled examinations from time TO time as
required, plan of this sort is- being
successfully carried out IN the more en-
lightened and progressive cities around
us. and would certainly be a step in the
right direction in Omaha What differ
ence should It make to the city what ono
studies, providing IL is an art or science
which ia worth while from an educational
standpoint, IL one chooses to devote their
time to it, and Is able to pay for It, and
IL one also can show after a sufficiently
interval that something has been learned7
The courses at the present time are for
the most part elective, anyway. We are
told that we go to school more for the
development of the habits OF thinking
and concentration than we do to learn
specific facts. From practical expert
ence in the life of the writer the study
of music has caused her more intensive
concentration, more mental, physical and
! spiritual gymnastics than anything she
met in her high school course, which,
by the way, was one which included,
among other things, such mild subjects
as Greek. Latin, mathematics and litera-
ture. Not an optative in Homers
"Iliad" nor gerund or gerundive In
Cicero or Virgil caused her as much
mental anguish as the technio of the
piano. not an K, y, nor @. E. D. as
much mental work as a Bach three-part
Invention, nor sine. cosine, of logarithm.
of trigonometry as much absolute alb
sorption as a struggle with harmony and
counterpart And all this apart from
| refining influence. The refining influence
of music is obvious, and refining influ-
ences oFany sort are most heartily to be
recommended to all young people of high
school age and younger.
| If this is true in one case It Is prob
ably true in many others. It will be q
boon to many young Omaha students,
! especially the talented ones who wish to
attend high school and study music at
the same time, If the year brings credit
for music into the course.
state Music Teachers association of
Kansas has recently adopted plan
| for the Standardization OF music teach
ers. hoping thereby to successfully ad-
vance the art of music. Whether II
will or not remains to be seen. It seems
no more than reasonable to demand of
those who profess to teach music that
they should know certain underlying
fundamentals that never vary and
strange as it may seem, there are lot
OF music teachers who do not.
The trouble is that there is nothing to
prevent person who has taken ten les
sons TO start in and teach. providing they
have the nerve to DO 1t. II they can
make their pupils show results that
would be all right, but 1t stands to rea-
son that this is practically impossible A
great many who have had more than ten
lessons do not even do .
A scheme OF registration for new teach
ers making it necessary for them to state
where and how long their preparation
has been, with the names of the teachers
and two or more reliable persons who
know them presented for reference, seems