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.