the study of which begins at the second stage. During this period
pupils continue with their general training for three years, by means
of compulsory lessons two hours a week, and they also study an
instrument.
Finally, at the third stage, great importance is attached to the making
of music by the children themselves.
The instrumental lessons continue; in addition they may join groups
to study harmony and the history of music.
The VMS, which has developed considerably during the 22 years
of its existence, has succeeded in stimulating an interest in music in
sections of society previously closed to this branch of study. It has
nearly 4,000 pupils in Amsterdam; similar associations have been estab-
lished at The Hague, Rotterdam, Haarlem and other towns in the
&Tetherlands.
The prime objective of the VrVIS is to give instruction in the playing
of instruments. General training has to be done in class. The work at
the first stage is undertaken by the primary school and at the second
by the secondary school. Therefore teachers will have to be trained
and the Institut Gehrels arranges courses for musicians and teachers,
at the end of which a diploma may be obtained.
All this is fairly expensive and the pupils pay only a very small part
of the expenses of the VMS. Fortunately, the Netherlands authorities
grant financial assistance, which facilitates the work.
It is not possible for us to give here a detailed programme
of the musical training provided in these schools. I shall simply
draw your attention to the twelve principles which characterize this
method :
- Singing is the starting point and the centre of all musical activity
for the child. Therefore use is made of singing games and folk
songs of unquestionable value. - We should take as a starting point: the mentality of the child and
his desires, not music itself. - We should begin not by theory but by practice, as Pestalozzi
asserts. - Music forms a whole in itself.
- The principle of reversibility: not only should the child learn to
read musical signs, but he should be capable of using them to
express himself freely. - Improvisation is the element which should dominate all music
teaching, and an important place should be assigned to it in edu-
cation.