The Music Library
The hospital music library may vary from a few recordings to a composite collection of all forms of musical literature available. General hospitals which treat all diseases and age groups will require the most extensive and catholic varieties of all kinds of music. Specialty hospitals can operate on a library tailored to their individual needs. A hospital for the aged will not require too much of contemporary popular music. For purposes of inclusiveness, the ideal will be discussed in the hope that some hospitals will be able to afford it and that others will be able to select those items which become possible for them.
Recordings. The choice of recordings will be determined by the usual hospital population. In building up the record library the music aide should submit check lists to every patient in the hospital on any one day. The list should include ten specific titles in each of six categories: symphony, opera, operetta, folk-songs, old-time favorites, and the currently popular songs. These should be carefully tabulated and should be used to form the nucleus of the permanent collection. A space should be left for patients to write in other pieces than those named. Records should be purchased in the order of their numerically recorded popularity. A collection should begin with one record per hospital bed. This method of starting a library is very tedious but well worth the effort, because only by determining the musical tastes of patients can you give the majority the music they want. The musical tastes of the patients will not vary significantly after a complete turn-over in patient census, since most hospitals derive their patient population from the same geographic area, and the tabulation of musical desires arrived at in this manner will correspond satisfactorily with the tastes of the same age group in the community. If the budget will not permit an original collection of this size, it might be reduced to half of that recommended, but that is a minimum.
The collection should be built up at a rate of approximately one record for every ten new patient admissions. The choice of additional records should be on a request basis, but the proportion of the six categories as originally determined should remain relatively constant to keep the collection balanced.
Whenever there is a choice of two or more recordings of the same piece, the discs to choose are those which are played softly or sweetly so that they are adaptable for the additional purpose of mealtime or restful music.
In the library of recordings there should be included albums of records for special occasions and holidays. Patients look forward to hearing Irish songs on St. Patrick’s Day and appropriate songs on other holidays. To accompany religious services the albums prepared by Bibletone are valuable. A glance through any standard record catalogue will readily permit the music aide to assemble a suitable collection.
The following is a list of records suggested for Easter Sunday and St. Patrick’s Day.
| Easter Recordings: | |
| I Want a Bunny for Easter | Decca 18654 A |
| Easter Sunday With You | Decca 18591 B |
| Easter Parade | Decca 18425 B |
| Easter Sunday on the Prairie | Decca 18654 B |
| Chorale for Easter Cantata | Victor 15631 B |
| Requiem, by Gabriel Faure | Victor 18301, 2, 3, and 4 |
| St. Patrick’s Day: | |
| Molly Brannigan | Columbia 35496 |
| That’s How I Spell Ireland | Columbia 35496 |
| Come Back to Erin | Victor 27770 B |
| Mother Machree | Victor 27772 A |
| Eileen | Columbia 36585 |
| A Little Bit of Heaven | Sonora 1069 B |
| You’re Irish and You’re Beautiful | Sonora 1068 A |
| Irish Lullaby | Decca 18621 A |
| Same Old Shellalagh | Columbia 354986 |
| Macushla | Victor 27770 A |
| I’ll Take You Home Again Kathleen | Sonora 1067 B |
| Little Town in Old County Down | Sonora 1070 B |
All recordings should be kept in their albums or jackets. Because jackets have a way of getting lost or torn, there should be a stock of unused jackets on hand. Each jacket should be labelled according to its contents. In addition a cross-index catalogue file should be maintained by the music aide for all records in the hospital collection. Three cards should be filled out for each face of each record: one card for composer, one for title, and one for performer. This seems like a lot of work but is worth the effort because it is only in this manner that a program can be rapidly assembled from the record library. Any filing system will suffice, but if the collection is large, an elaborate system will be found worth the effort. Cards of three different colors may be used to separate classical, popular and miscellaneous. Tabs may be placed on those cards which list music for occasions. Tabs in one corner may refer to meal-time music and tabs in another holiday music, etc.
It is well to have the entire record collection in one room, and shelves for holding records should be built of very heavy lumber because recordings when closely packed are very heavy. It is best to add records to shelves with continuous accession numbers in each category and to rely on the file for alphabetic listing. If there are duplicates, they can form the nucleus for a second or lending library. Broken, cracked, or defective discs should be placed in a separate section of the shelves for replacement when budget permits and popularity demands.
Instantaneous Recordings. A few hospitals will have the good fortune to acquire a record-cutter for hospital recording of radio music. When this is possible, the record collection can be augmented most satisfactorily. The music aide should study all radio programs to determine the hours during which the best performances of desired music are played. By listening to several carefully selected programs each week he will soon discover which programs use music employed in a manner most desirable for hospital reproduction. The orchestrations of Kostelanetz and Lombardo are especially suitable for easy listening in the field of popular music. The broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera Association include passages not commercially recorded or at least not recorded with the most popular singers. There are many other radio features which are worth recording for the hospital record library.
It is relatively easy to operate a record-cutter, but there are many minor details which must be known for maximum efficiency. An excellent book for beginners is that published by the Audak Company of New York, How to Make Good Recordings.
Sheet Music. A library of sheet music will once more depend upon the local needs. It may include orchestral, instrumental, vocal, and band music. In the hospital for the chronically ill, a large number of varieties will be needed. Inasmuch as the simplest group performance will be vocal, music for group singing should head the list. The music should include old-time favorites, hymns, spirituals and any other items which the aide can determine from the intellectual and musical qualifications and desires of the patients. This type of music can be purchased individually and increased according to the interest shown.
If there is a patient band, the musical scores should include a few marches which may be used at the beginning and end of its concerts. The perennial favorites most desirable for community singing should constitute a major portion of the orchestral literature. The readily available medleys of Victor Herbert melodies and similar stand-bys can complete the initial group.
Sheet music should be catalogued and filed in cabinets. A simple system of shelving consists of grouping music according to use: one shelf for group playing, one for solo and beginners instrumental books, and another for vocal selections. The numbers most commonly and currently used by the band can be placed in folders according to the accepted usage among bands, and if there are daily rehearsals they can remain on the band stands at all times.
The library should also contain books, printed forms, or mimeographed collections of songs for distribution to patients during community singing.
Books About Music. The average hospital library will have relatively few books about musical appreciation or history. This will depend first on the budget and second on the demand. The addition of a music aide to a hospital staff will usually increase the demand. The music aide should be consulted concerning the books he thinks will appeal to patients. Books on music should also be available to help the music aide in preparing commentaries on the music he plays for the patients.
The following are some books suggested for inclusion in the hospital patient library:
- Copland, Aaron—What to Listen for in Music, 1939.
- Goss, Madeline—Unfinished Symphony, 1941.
- Elson, Arthur—Music Club Programs From All Nations.
- Erskine, John—What Is Music, 1944.
- Ewen, David—Tales From The Vienna Woods, 1944.
- Ewen, David—Gershwin’s Life, 1944.
- Ewen, David—Men of Popular Music, 1944.
- Gronowicz, Antoni—Chopin, 1943.
- O’Connell, Charles—Victor Book of Opera, 1936.
- Taylor, Deems—Of Men and Music, 1945.
- Taylor, Deems—The Well Tempered Listener, 1944.
- Siegmeister, Elie—Music Lover’s Handbook, 1943.
- Spaeth, Sigmund—At Home With Music, 1945.
For young patients there are the new series of colorfully illustrated lives of composers from Bach to Gershwin by Waldo Mayo, as well as a great number of old and good titles.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
DIRECTION
The introduction of music into the hospital will depend not so much upon its proven value as an aid to medical practice as upon the interest of someone on the staff who loves music or recognizes its importance in the mental hygiene of the patients. There are many reasons for the absence of music in some hospitals which may seem difficult for the musician to comprehend. The acceptance of a music program in a hospital calls for increased budget and space. These are two items which constantly beset the hospital director and they are sometimes matters of improbable solution. For the chronic type of hospital the problem must be solved. Other drawbacks are found in the contemplated interference of medical and nursing procedures. Hospitals are traditionally havens of quiet and the uninformed hospital director or his staff may envisage a conversion to a three-ringed circus of sound. The progress of music in hospitals will depend largely upon the ingenuity and intelligence of existing organizations and the examples they can set for prospective hospitals.
The musical program of a hospital need not necessarily be conducted by a musician, but a trained person is most desirable. There are people with an intense love for music and so comprehensive a grasp of its many fields that they might be capable of conducting a hospital program although unable to play an instrument. At some institutions music has been guided by volunteers with great satisfaction to staff and patients, but this is an age of specialization and a paid, trained musician will usually be worth the salary in efficiency, dependability, and control.