A Methodical Selection of Exercises and Pieces Presenting Varied Rhythmical Difficulty, beginning with the simplest, and gradually advancing to those of increased complexity. As the pupil advances, easy duets, dances, marches, etc., sometimes if possible accompanied by another instrument, may be given with advantage, insistence being laid upon a proper habit of counting time. This should not be done in a drawling, undecided manner, but with a clear, sharp and decided utterance. It ought not to be—but is—necessary to add that the production of a fine broad tone and proper touch should receive attention from the outset; and meanwhile, even from the earliest moment of her studies—
No Bad Music should be given to a Pupil for any Purpose, or under any Circumstances.—No doubt where a very bad state of taste exists, it is a matter of necessity to start from a comparatively low level of merit; because in respect of music, at any rate, a pupil should never be given what she cannot possibly understand. Dr. Arnold, it is true, used to say that if you only taught a boy what he could understand, you would teach him very little. But large margins must be allowed to large maxims, and had Dr. Arnold taught music, where the first and foremost thing is taste, instead of language, where the first and foremost thing is memory, he would have modified if not reversed his dictum. Yet though the pupil’s taste and intelligence may be at a low point, and require very simple fare, there is happily no lack of good music adapted to every degree of intelligence, and even of appetite; and under its influence it is surprising how soon any taste for the positively bad will imperceptibly pass away. Of course, the teacher will have to observe much thoughtful care in his selection of music in each individual case of this kind, always remembering two things—to give his pupil the best that she can comprehend, but never to surpass her comprehension. To read Shakspere in a kindergarten would not be worse waste of poetry and brains.
But it is not enough merely to avoid bad music—that can always be done. There is good music which may be as unsuitable to certain temperaments as it is suitable to others: and the teacher should be something of a psychologist in order to exercise his judgment prudently. Chopin’s would be bad music if given in large doses to a girl of sentimental and romantic temperament, though she would probably excel in it. She needs something of a more robust and less emotional character. Bach’s music, on the other hand, is always right for all and cannot be too much employed. For studies, Mr. Franklin Taylor’s judiciously selected Progressive Exercises may be safely and strongly recommended, as enabling the teacher to find, without trouble, instances, from the best composers, of every kind of difficulty.
The Musical Ear simultaneously demands attention. Some pupils have a natural gift for discerning, without reference to the instrument, the exact pitch of a musical sound. This is by no means a necessary indication of great musical ability; but it is unquestionably a very great advantage. Fortunately, it can to a considerable extent be cultivated in many cases where it does not exist naturally: and for this purpose there is nothing so efficacious as—
The Elementary Singing Class, which should be a portion of the curriculum of every school, and should be compulsory for every student of music. Properly conducted, this class cannot be valued too highly. In it, rudimentary theory is taught in a systematic and practical manner. Very few girls are able to think musically. To the best informed among them a major third consists of so many semitones, and can be found in so many scales; but when seen upon paper, the notes convey no idea of their proper sound. Here then, the pupil will be taught to recognise and sing all intervals and chords, and even to write them down from dictation. As practical instruction in time and rhythm forms an important portion of the lesson, the evil effects of the defective sustaining power of the pianoforte can be in a measure remedied. Franz Wüllner’s system is excellent.
Thus the mechanical portion of the pianoforte teacher’s work may be very beneficially supplemented and extended, by being placed in fresh lights under different conditions. The use and meaning of any study are never so manifest as when it is seen to be applicable in several directions.
Here concludes what may be regarded as the first period of instruction. Given sufficient time for practice, fair average ability and no physical defects to contend against, good results may reasonably be looked for. As the pieces selected for study assume a more important character, the pupil should be made to perceive how they are constructed; how one portion grows out of another; and by what artistic process a composition has obtained its symmetry and balance.
The Study of Harmony should now be begun. In addition to the study of part-writing and perhaps counterpoint, standard compositions should be carefully analysed. This gives a power of comprehension and appreciation quite apart from any capacity for interpretation, and probably better worth acquiring. Many persons combine considerable musical talent with a physical inability to achieve excellence as performers. Such of these who have persevered to this point will have learned to find an intellectual and sympathetic delight in the works of the great masters, and an artistic pleasure in the performance of their more gifted interpreters.
More successful executants may now proceed (when it is considered desirable) to the more serious study of scales and finger exercises, the teacher watching carefully for any signs of physical weakness. Willing but weak hands are too often injured by overwork, and the adoption of some means for strengthening them, suitable to each individual case, should be made an essential part of their training. Indeed the teacher would do well to make a careful study of the peculiarities of hands, very great difference of treatment being required in different cases. Some hands are so unfit for pianoforte playing as to make it a question whether it is worth while, for any reason, to continue the attempt. To return to scales and finger exercises—it will not be going too far to say that they cannot be practised too assiduously at this point. As a stimulus it may be found advisable to allow the pupil to avail herself of the numerous musical examinations so much in vogue at the present time. The plan adopted by Mr. Oscar Beringer in his Technical Studies is admirable, and strongly recommended. Musical memory should be assiduously cultivated. No piece of music can be said to be learned until it has been committed to memory. Any tendency of the process to impoverish the power of sight-reading can be adequately guarded against by the daily reading of new music.
A Regularly Organised System of Sight-reading Classes.—No school should be without such classes, and they should be for that matter supplemented by a few minutes each day to be occupied in playing through a new piece from beginning to end, without stop or interruption, however wild the blunders may be. These will soon become fewer and fewer. During the hours of solid practice, however, blunders are quite another matter, and those unable to help themselves in this respect require—