The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1920-12-29
MUSIC BY MACHINERY

The newest way we know of
teaching music is to do it with the
Victrola At the teachers institute
held in Pocatello in October there
was an exhibition put on by the man
ufacturers of the Victrola showing
a new way to teach music with the
instrument Special records were
made to be used in the school room
beginning with the little folks in the
primary department, teaching them
the rudiments of music and how it
is made. The writer did not get to
give enough attention to the demon
strations to tell anything about it
and we are indebted to Miss Lillian
Ravendal, who was attending the in
stitute and who got little time for
the demonstration but not as much
as she wanted to get because some
of her work and study took her to-
other rooms when the demonstra-
lions in music teaching were in pro-
gress. Some of the first things
taught by the Victrola course include
the classification Of the instruments.
sion instruments such as the tri-
angle, drum and other things that
make music by striking something.
Then there are sthe string instru-
ments that make music by the vibrat-
ing of the strings. The wind in
struments give out music by blowing
the breath into them. All the diff
ferent classes of instruments are
demonstrated by the Victrola as we'll
as by charts and pictures. They
may, if they wish, bring in the real
instruments and demonstrate them
too. In this way, the children are
taught right at the start and taught
rather thoroly a lot of things about
music which they might not learn
in a lifetime in the old hit and miss
way. The pieces of music played by
the records in the early part of the
work of teaching the little lots,
teaches them rythm, and the move
ments of the body correspond to the
rythm of the music. In this way
they learn to study and interpret the
message of the music. For instance,
there is the light and gay music, the
sad and solemn and their attention
is centered on those different feat
ures of the music so that they shall
early learn Interpretation. In this
way they learn to suit their actions
and their train of thought to the
music as it comes from the instru-
ment. They grow UP in the study of
these things and it is taught them
all the way along thru the grades,
covering an infinite variety of work
in the course of their education.
One Of the difficulties about teach
ing music in the school is that not
all teachers understand music we'll
enough to teach it and 1T is only in
the consolidated schools that music
teachers can be employed so the
great mass of the pupils in the
country schools have little opportun-
ity to learn music. The course of
study prepared by the Victrola people
is made with a view to teaching it
either in town schools or the country
schools and the courses are varied to
suit the conditions.
If such a course of study were put
on in the Blackfoot schools there
would need to be Victrola for each
floor of the building. For instance,
in the Irving school It would take
two Victrolas, two in the Central
school building and two in the high
school building. These can be used
in the different rooms at different
times during the day, wheeling the
instrument from one room to an
other and when 1t was desirable to
have music in the hall for march
Ing or for drills in the han it could
be wheeled into the hall, SO that one
instrument would do service for
several rooms. The study Of music
which was at first confined to the