PUBLICE SCHOOL OLVA DICTATION WORK. Espa Children should be taught to listen with understanding. cially is this necessary in teaching them music. Generally they are very enthusiastic about a new song, and they will tell you with great animation that "It was so pretty," but there it ends. They heard it as a whole. No thought as to whether it was "high or low," "loud or soft," "fast or slow." What a field for work! Eager little learners as they are need only a word or two and they are the closest observers. The teacher sings "do" high and then "do" low. They may not be able to tell you in words the difference, but they are sure there is a difference. Lead them to think "high" "low" and instantly they will follow you correctly and tell you every time whether the last tone was higher or lower than the one before it. Then try them with "loud" and "soft" in the same way; and then "long and short," and you have laid the foundation for dictation work. Now might come the singing of two or three tones asking the children how many and if any tone was repeated or were they all different? Gradually as his knowledge increases he will be able to tell you the syllables representing the tones you sing or to sing them himself or to write them on his slate. Having accomplished this much. daily practice along on this line will soon enable him to hear with the understanding whole phrases; not only the melody and rhythm, but the expression and quality of the music. Listening to music is an art not less than performing music, and an art that greatly necessitates training. The surest test is the reproducing on paper or slate music as d tated in tone by the teacher. Have the pupils arrange the signature for a given key teacher will sing a few measures, keeping the mind of the one thought "Rhythm." Let them write the from what they have heard. Care should be taken not to dictate too conditions allow pupils to write while measure or measures. Insist upon th TO the '. If the um will of course claim he attes ans can be sung in imagination and the harmony and to realize the ap tart at the same time with the the messor, ht sight reading demands a wa ZERINAJ wess of one's self with an entire forgetfumes. c. OpSuch is the need of concentration of thougr o tones the idea intended by the compor If the hearer has been by dictation wor: taugr i - gently he will be able to enjoy al teattht wer of the composer, and to place them in ne memory ou may have them always. Cmind training, think of the hours of patient prac to menta' force required to obtain such excellent the different grades. We ask: "What is the object of rote singing?' In the first place we wish to cultivate the ear, voice and musical taste of the child. We wish to cultivate a love for all that is good in music, and create a desire for the best. Music, if properly taught, should be a recreation and pleasure to the pupils, and at the same time should interest them so that they would want to learn more of it and make it a part of their lives. What good will it do a child who has been taught to read the notes and write the scales but who looks upon music as he does upon his arithmetic, and finds no pleasure in it at home, or cannot carry any songs from the school when he leaves. There is more good accomplished in the school by giving good wholesome songs and by creating a desire to know the best music than by teaching the pupils to read the notes and not giving him something to remember. When we have taught him to sing and appreciate good songs, it will create a desire to be able to read and learn these songs for himself, and we will find no difficulty when we want him to sing by note. We find that by giving the little first year children songs to sing before scale work that it teaches them how to manage their voices sooner than anything else. They can sing a song more readily than they can sing the scale when they first come to school. Many of the pupils whom we call monotones are those pupils who do not know that they can use their voices to produce those different tones, but who can be taught in a short time how to do so. Of course the majority of these pupils cannot be helped in this way. The thought conveyed in the words of a song will help to create in him a musical perception and help him to make the music express the words. So many kindergarten songs are written in which the music is not at all fitted to the words. The songs of this kind should be avoided, as they are not helpful or pleasing. We must follow out two principles in our teaching of rote-songs. First, the pitch and compass of the voice, and second, the selection of the proper songs, as to grading, pitch and the thought conveyed in the words. A mistake which the teachers make so often is that of giving too many songs. The children love the old songs and sometimes like to sing them from year to year, and the teacher can always keep them new. If the songs are well taught and are sung with expression, and in proper time and tune, they will not grow old. As soon as the children sing them in a lifeless manner, they should be dropped immediately. The teacher should always aim to select her songs appropriate to the time of year. There are so many pretty fall and spring songs, besides unnumbered Christmas, Thanksgiving and winter songs that a teacher need find no difficulty in their selection. Another thing is to have the songs corelate as nearly as possible with the other studies. In the reading lesson they will perhaps be studying corn. In the drawing they will be drawing it, and in the music they should be singing about it. The same way with the flowers. There are perhaps more pretty flower songs than anything else. If the teacher finds that the song is too low for the pupil to sing with ease, she can easily change the pitch. Be very careful of the songs in that respect. In selecting rote-songs for the first grade children, try to have songs about which you can tell a story. It will enable them to remember the words, and adds a new interest to the song. The idea of story telling in connection with the songs is one that teachers are adopting more and more. The teachers all over find it not only in having the pupils remember the words, but it makes the song remain new longer, and as we said before it makes it more interesting. The youngest as well as the oldest should be taught the patriotic songs. One of the prettiest sights is to see the little first grade children rise and sing the first verse of America. Sometimes when it is nearly impossible to get the older boys to sing and take any interest in the music, if the teacher will have them all sing some patriotic songs they will waken instantly, and then when something else is presented they will forget that they did not want to sing before. The following is a list of some of the many kindergarten books which have a large number of good songs. So many of these books have perhaps five or six out of twenty-five or thirty or, more songs which are not at all suited to the children's voices: Song Stories for the Kindergarten. Mildred and Patty Hill. Musical Gems. Eugene Field and Caro Senour. Kindergarten Songs. Mrs. Jessie L. Gaynor. Songs and Song Stories for the Kindergarten. Mrs. E. A. Thomas and Mrs. F. S. Brewster. Kindergarten Songs. Mrs. Hailman. Children's Songs. Wm. L. Tomlins. As we have said before, the pupils who have just entered school at about five years of age, should be taught entirely by rote for some little time. Of course it depends upon the pupils themselves, and the teacher should use her own judgment as to when she should begin other work. From two or three months should be spent in teaching rote songs, and with a little vocal drill. The scale should then be taught by rote, and the note work begun. In the vocal drills and scales the teacher should begin with the upper tones and work down. In this way the pupils will use the head tone, and will be singing correctly. A majority of the pupils who come to school know the syllables of the scale. This is espe cially so in the larger towns and cities. If asked where they learned them they will say that their brother or sister or cousin taught them, and many do not know where they learned them. We do not discontinue rote singing until the last year in school, but after the third year there is very little time spent upon it. Up to that time about one-half of the time is devoted to rote singing. If we wish to teach a number of songs for some special occasion they can be taught by rote in the upper grades. Often if the pupils are to have some exercises they will want six or seven songs and it saves much time to give them by rote. At Christmas time we give the songs for the pupils' pleasure and recreation, and they will enjoy the songs more if taught quickly by rote than as if they stopped to learn the notes and then the words. At the end of the third or fourth month, according to the teacher's judgment, we begin the chart work with the first grade pupils. In every way possible we must make the chart work interesting to them. In the lower grades there are many devices which can be employed in connection with it. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. BY MRS. EMMA THOMAS. Question. Would you be particular about classifying the voices before you take up part singing in the upper grades? Answer. Before much part singing is taken up I should certainly be particular about classifying the voices. I would take plenty of time and be as careful as possible. Have your pupils sit erect and by having them sing and your walking up and down the aisles I think you will readily find the pupils who can best sing the second part. I should be very particular to learn each part of my song thoroughly so that you will have time to listen to each of the parts so that if there is one little mistake you will be able to detect it at once. My teachers very often reverse the parts in the lower grades; they have one side sing the second part one time and the other side sing the second part another time. This makes them strong pupils. I would let each part sing alone very often. Question. I have just started music this term in a school where music was very poorly taught last year, so the superintendent and teachers inform me, and I judge from the pupils' recitations. I feel that I should praise the pupils perhaps more than I do and sometimes I feel that I am not giving them the praise they deserve. What would you advise me to do; be very careful of my praise or not? Answer. As far as possible I should certainly praise all that |