International Conference on the Role and Place of Music in the Education of Youth and Adults; Music in education; 1955

Music educatiofi in the curricuhm

It is really fascinating to know that the child feels music so con-
cretely that when strolling home after school, having learnt a new song,
he can recreate and enjoy the song by hearing it with the inner ear.
Very thoroughly and carefully we first give the children a broad
experience of pitch in general, as it is represented in sounds around
them, then we lead them to observe short phrases in songs familiar to
them, and after that we present a sort of picture of a whole familiar
melody, as in this little Swedish folk song:
I
I
:! ;,.

I*I)

! /I

;//

//I

I, I, I, I/

I///

! I/-

I/:;/

;:I/!

I, I, //

//I

I.

/ij /!/

11;

/ji !;I

It' //I j//

j .____. ~ ______._.__...__. 1 .____ j .._._.___.._..__ 1 / ......-. LAN% .....! ___..!

I .__.-. I .___. : ___.___________. I ___.; 1 1 ___________________-AN ,'I ; _____! 1

;:: Ijjj

,j/

or: LUN-/ .__ / LUN- ___ j ~ i

Ijj :,I

VAG :.---;

'I SI ':

!I/ ~ j- :

j IiA I ---__________. +I HAR! ____________......_.....-. ATT I

@A _______.._________._____ PA GA

Then names for the tone material are needed, and we use the syllables do,
re, mi. In order to give natural and pleasant opportunities for practising
the connexion of pitch with syllables we make the children play such
songs on simple melodic instruments after having learnt the syllables
by heart as a verse. Later on these simple pictures of the melodies are
translated into ordinary notation. Thus we use the instruments for mak-
ing music, not for technical exercises in music reading. The instruments
used, one for each child, are metallophones and small sized tambi.
Now we must remember that, at the beginning, the children's power
of thinking music, works only on melodies they know well. Their expe-
riences are founded on their own song repertory. This song repertory
is also used as the first study material for those children who take up
voluntary instrumental music, and such co-ordination between elemen-
tary school music and specialized instrumental music is very important.
We have a lot of variations when training children to observe the
relation between audible music and written music. Sometimes the
teacher writes and sometimes the children, but there is a rule: no me-
chanical writing! The children must hear the music when writing-
hear it around them or inside them.