The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1920-07-16

Jhl6leS' L CdH very ulSllnCIly IelleHl-
Der my father playing with us and
trotting us to the rhythm of Ride a
trot horse" ITO Boston, to Boston, to
buy a penny bun," and Little
bow-bow to the mill"
No child, thoroughly imbued with
these rhymes, will have any trouble in
rhythms, with their varied subdivis-
ions and accents. How much more
delightful to have all this rhythmic in
sinct grow up unconsciously from
happy playtime than to have it left
until a child is old enough to be con-
scious of his lack in this respect and
has to go through ~exacting and tire
some drills to overcome it.
Happy the child whose lot is cast
in a Joyous musical atmosphere! Their
is thus implanted in his inner being
a something which will help him to go
through many trials with a brave
heart and an unconquerable hope and
faith that this is after all a good
world.
We constantly hear mothers say,
mo, my children have no talent for
music and l shall not bother to have
them learn anything about it."
If 1 could feel that l had in all my
life made a few mothers, a few teach
ORG understand tbo difarapoa hatuyaon
music as a performance and music as
a life element, and thereby Fed for
a few children this power which more
than any other stirs the vital forces
by which we live, l should feel that
my share of LIES troubles were a
small price to pay.
A like misrepresentation in the do
Ynain of art would Danish from home
and school the beautiful pictures and
art forms which awakens a low Of all
that wonderful world of beauty re-
vealed to the seeing eye and the ap-
preciative mind because, perforce, so
very, very few children have any tai
ent for drawing, painting or modelling.
One of the first steps in rousing a
feeling for music is to lead a child to
listen. How much stress is laid in our
scheme of education Upon teaching n
child to observe, to see; how little up
on teaching him to hear. The eye
is made dominant in all things and we
lose much enjoyment which a trained
sense Of hearing might bring us. God
made the birds beautiful, but He also
gave them songs, so tender, so thrill
ing that the very breath stops that we
may listen, as we sit at twilight near
the home of wood thrush or song spar
row.
To the open ear is not the gentle,
silvery murmur Of the brook as it calls
through the forest as keen a delight
as is its crystal simmer in a setting
OF green, when we have followed it's
call and found its home?
Let us not forget that the morning
stars sang together, and that He who
created them meant His children to
hear their music in the melodies and
harmonies of all His great creation.
The child brought up in the city
hasn't the beautiful sounds of nature
from which to set his first lessons in
ner can make use of what they have.
Even the scissors grinder and rag
man help us out here. One Of my lit
tie pupils, the daughter of musical
parents, gained her first idea of imi-
tating sounds correctly from a rag
mans call. AS we were having our
lesson one day we heard this song
come, l was going to say float in at
the window, but the ragman's tones
are rather strenuous to be called
floseeng tones: Rags, rags, rags; any
old rags or bott's." The tune can be
written thus. Do 81 la sol so sol do
10, but no words can describe the
! quality of the tones. At nee | initial
ed the theme and little Frances, to
my great surprise, initiated me exact
ly, whereas before this she had hard
ly been able to get single note
correctly. His tune was unique and it
appealed to her.
Lead the children to listen in every
way you can think OF. Tap on differ
ent substances, wood, glass, silver.
You may find a lampshade that gives
forth a definite musical pitch. Play
tunes on tumblers, tuning them to mu-
zical pitches by varying the quantity
Of water in them and striking lightly
with silver knife or spoon. This de-
vice l found most useful in arousing
interest in music in a boy who seemed
to have no musical instinct whatever.
A writer says: THE greater part of
ehildren's time is spent in elaborate
representation and m~ake-believe, and