In close relation with musical performance, characteristic extracts from
the life and work of the great masters give pupils a living picture of
the origin and development of musical culture.
[Translated from tbe German JSCHOOL MUSIC EDUCATION
IN YUGOSLAVIA
bY
Tmda REICH-GRBEC, Professor of Music, ZagrebIt might be interesting to start by describing what form music edu-
cation takes in my country, the place it occupies in relation to edu-
cation as a whole, and the results it produces.
At the early childhood stage, music education can be given only to
those children who attend infant schools, where various methods-
simple songs, musical or rhythmic games, etc.-are used for the pur-
pose of developing their sense of rhythm, ear and musical memory.
Few children will receive any music education in the family circle,
since their parents will as a rule have been educated in primary schools
where music occupied a very minor place in the curriculum, with the
result that they are not versed in this art. Before the war, the music
academies, both State and private, were accessible only to those able
to afford the relatively high fees.
Children who have received no preliminary musical training in the
infant schools therefore enter the primary schools without any know-
ledge of music at all. In the first form of the primary school, they
receive elementary voice training at the same time as instruction in
grammar and arithmetic. They begin with uncomplicated lessons con-
sisting of eurhythmics, musical games and dances, and the learning of
simple songs by heart. The teacher, sometimes using an instrument
such as the violin, piano or accordeon, will sing a song appropriate