Evening star., 1937-06-13
MUSIC STUDENTS
WRITE THEIR OWN
Children Then Play Compo.
sltlons on Instruments
They Make Themselves.
BY the Associated Press.

They Make Themselves.
BY the Associated Press
W1NNETKA Ill.-Students Of the
School OF Musical Arts and Crafts
write their own music and play 1t on
instruments of their own making.
They have made in their own school
shop everything from wooden flutes,
drums, xylophones, marimbas and
chimes to brass flutes, recorders, vio-
Inns and cellos, and even a pipe organ
built as group project
The children range in age from 6
years up. Their work is part Of a
general education in music prescribed
by the schools director, David Dush-
kin, who regards his institution as
something of psychological labora-
tory, where the childs social and men,
tai problems can be studied in much
the same manner as physician
studies the case history OF a patient.
Study Case History" =
Doctors" said Director Dushkin,
make point Of taking down the his
tory Of case before they make dag
nosis and recommend treatment. Why
isn't it just as important for music
teachers to study their cases before
recommending courses?"
Dushkin, formerly music teacher
in Chicago and North Shore schools,
said he held the theory that general
music development is far more i'm
portant than proficiency upon any
given instrument, and that he re-
garded the work shop as supple
mentary activity.
For some children, however, tho
shop has been more than supple
mentary." he said. 1T was in intro.
duction to music which very probably
could not have been accomplished any
other way. Every year We have a
number Of children who have been
previously antagonized to music,
through some unfortunate experience,
and they must be disarmed by par
ticipating in a correlating activity
which is congenial to them.
Enjoy Shop Work.
Nearly all children love shop
work, so the transition by means OF
it is practically always successful.
The Joy Of building something re-
lakes them Immediately, and they
have soon become interested in the
purpose Of the thing they are max
ing.
Some of the older children, having
built their permanent instruments,
still want to go on in some sort OF
shop work. They are put together
on group project, which at present
is the building Of a pipe organ.
Every child in the school has the
experience Of group playing from the
beginning. It doesn't matter what
his instrument is, or whether he reads
notes, he can participate from the
first in ensemble playing. The value
Of group activity in music We feel to
be so important that it is the core
of our school. For one thing, 1t al
lows the beginner TO Immediately par
ticipate without emphasizing his own
self consciousness and short -comings,
as is likely to happen in the first
private lessons.
Each of our orchestras is made up
| Of a widely varying degree Of musi-
| cal talent and accomplihment-tro
| children who have studied four years.
to beginners. The only reason for
putting them together is similarity
Of age and taste. This doesn't mean
that the advanced students are held
back by the beginners; It simply
means that the parts are so arranged
that each player has one suita BILE
to his present abilities. Neither one
is conscious that he is more or less
important to the group.
Place Made for Pianists.
"One important feature Of the group
work is the place made for pianists.
Ordinarily not more than one or two
pianists can be accommodated in an
orchestra; in ours the number is un-
limited. We have devised sets Of
small reed organs, six to table, and
worked by an electric motor. Each
organ has a range of three octaves;
not practical for solo work. but ex-
cellent for the simple orchestral parts.
Tn this way beginning pianists can
play with the group after few les
sons and contribute very harmon
ious tone quality to the orchestra
more harmonious and less cumber-
some than the same number Of pianos.
occasionally the different groups
play for each other. Also, at each
rehearsal the various members play
for each other. This eliminates the
usually painful student recital
often the solo that is offered turns
out to be an original composition.
Nearly every student tries his hand at
| composition at some time or other, and
We urge them to do so, especially the
younger ones, for they have generally
not lost the freshness of inventive
ness so quickly dtnmed in the older
ones by contact with the stereotyped
harmonies and melodic patterns of our
present popular music
Dushkin said he started his school
| in 1929 because he was dissatisfied
with the generally accepted theories of
teaching music, and explained that
he believed the difficulty OF under
standing and mastering music was un-
derestimated.