Ahic in educationspecial purpose of letting them hear not only the classical works but
also modern and very ancient music. Usually the children themselves
are active at these concerts, for instance through singing, and we often
ask young composers to write music for these special occasions.
This is the old principle of Gebraz/ch.rmmX, music for home and
school. What I want to emphasize is that we must continue in the same
way and try to increase this collaboration between the educator and
the composer. Composers are often criticized for their lack of interest
in this field, but how are they to know the exact needs of, for instance,
music in schools? Therefore the educators must not only take the ini-
tiative but also give concrete information about the kind of music
wanted and set about providing occasions for special music.
We have now talked about the composer, the performer and the edu-
cator as if they were three different persons. But there is no strong line
of demarcation. Wehave seenhow thecomposer works inthe educational
field. But in the same way the educator can achieve good work as a
composer or performer, even if he can seldom do this on a high artistic
level. The educator often has a need for music specially suited to different
situations occurring in teaching: he may need melodies carefully graded
for sight reading, for part singing, for his instrumental work and so on.
But here we have a new problem. We have remnants of the genius
worship of the romantic era. The educator has perhaps both the incli-
nation and the chance to do good work in a limited sphere as a com-
poser or performer. But he feels himself hampered because he is afraid
the professional composer will look down upon his compositions. We
know that the three functions are difficult to combine on a high level,
but the educator is thankful for the contribution made by the composer
and performer and, in the same way, the composer and the performer
must understand the educator’s work. When the educator composes
or performs, he does it because it is a stimulation to his work and meets
his need for special music. We want children to create spontaneously.
It must be just as natural to the educator to create music for educational
purpose. Much will be of limited value, but certainly much good music
will be created. Here the organists provide an example: they write
music for their divine services in a natural manner without pretending
to be great composers. It is a part of their job.
The Swedish schoolteacher has undertaken sufficient studies in har-
mony and counterpoint to enable him to follow this example, but his
relations with the composer and the performer can often become a
problem for him. Many teachers start their music studies with a view
to a career as composer or performer; when they turn to the educatio-