The Washington times., 1917-12-27
STORIES TO MUSIC
TRAIN CHILDREN
IN APPRECIATION

The question very often arises as
to how soon one should begin train
ing the appreciation Of music in a
child. One might as well ask how
soon one should learn to talk, to
hear or to see. 1t should begin as
soon as he wants to listen to music,
as soon as he can listen to music.
And in the vast majority Of cases,
that means from the very time he
can consciously express his desires.
Whether that expression comes In a
pleasant or unpleasant form Is
matter peculiar to the Individual
child, but that there Is a desire on the
part Of a child to hear music, whether
II is in the from OF lullabies. folk
songs, or Just any mingling OF
sounds which are pleasing to his ear,
is undeniable. The problem is to
turn this desire into channels which
are worth while.
One way. the success of which has
been proved by virtue of the fact that
the man who related II Is now a we'll
known musician. was the one of psy-
Geological association.
Keys Express Character.
In speaking of this method, which
d6 hON a. NOh5AACAN1 .
but merely a means OF joyful enter
tainment, he said:
"You say the method Is one OF
psychological association. Ny mother
knew little or nothing about that, but
II is due to her training that con-
slider I owe my love and apprecia-
tion OF music. She was fond Of music
herself. She was also fond OF telling
me the stories of adventure and
heroism that form a part Of every
persons childhood. Whether or not
she consciously thought out her plan,
I don't know, but she had a unique
way OF sitting down at the piano,
with me at her side and telling me
the stories with the Accompaniment
! of music that she herself improvised.
1t really wasn't music in the full
sense of the term; there were no long
snatches OF melody that one usually
associates with the word music, but
she would make those keys speak to
me Just as her voice did.
Story Of the Three Bears.
'T remember distinctly the story OF
the Three Bears. Even now can
hear the different ways she had OF
designating their characters on the
keyboard can hear the high
a., pitched tremulo Of the tiny Baby
Bear. can hear the lower fuller
notes OF the Mother Bear and 1 can
hear the deep gruff tones at the bass
end OF the keyboard of the fierce
Father Bear. remember quite
clearly the stealthy entrance of Gold
ilocks and the crashes of the chair
! that she broke and the hardness Of
| the one bed and the softness OF the
other. can still hear the whole
vivid story from the moment the
bears left the house to the time
Goldilocks jumped through the win
dow and ran and ran and ran. The
music told II to me all as my mother
would go on telling me the story
In words while she figured the keys.
Delayed Appreciation.
at wasn't until 1 grew up that
began to appreciate what those music
stories had meant to the develop
ment of my musical appreciation.
That I had enjoyed them as a child
| Is beyond question, but that they
were a part Of my musical education
I did not know at the time. So Of
ten people say that sounds on the
piano mean nothing to them; that
| they are just a sequence CT pleasant
| or unpleasant chords. To me that Is
almost incomprehensible. Sounds
and emphasis had always meant
| something to me. could at times
| guess the name of a story. by my
mother just playing something
on the plano that would describe to
me the trait OF the principal charac-
ter. And II isn't hard. Anybody
who has any knowledge OF the in
strument can sit down and tell a
story to a child in this manner. 1t
may not be Ia finished style at first,
| but that will come in time. What is