Music in educationthrough its network of stations spread over all parts of our far-flung
country the entire music material of the country, classical, folk and
tribal. The radio has no doubt on its programme actual music lessons;
but through its daily concerts, and periodical special expositions of
specific aspects, talks, etc., it has recently enlarged to an appreciable
extent the bounds of music knowledge among the people.
Before taking leave of music institutions and educational agencies
I should refer to the only Teachers’ College of Music that we are con-
ducting in the Madras Music Academy in which, besides a course of
practical instruction in a representative set of compositions and me-
lodies, instructions axe provided in theory and musical pedagogy, and
a model school is also available as a training ground.
The accomplished amateur is today a substantial part of our music.
Whether going to school or not, our girls must have at home their
musical training. You have mentioned among the subjects pre-school
training; pre-school or out of school training for our youngsters is the
main and most conspicuous and effective part of our music education.
This teaching is in the hands of a very large body of music teachers
who may be described as the middle class of the musicians’ world. In
my city of Madras alone, which is now the main headquarters of South
Indian music, there are at least five hundred such music teachers, who
give regular home tuitions. Though in company with the girls the boys
of the house too may pick up the art, it is the girls who learn and have
to learn music. Music is a necessary accomplishment for them and on
the threshold of their marriage, the would-be bridegroom will be par-
ticularly anxious to know if the proposed girl is well up in music. In
some families one finds quite an assemblage of talents, vocalists, vio-
linists and vim-players; sometimes a son, like my own eldest, plays
the drum too.
The cultivation of music appreciation is included as part of the
musical training in the college course syllabus, but at that level, it is
mostly of an elementary kind. Music appreciation in India, both in
old texts and tradition, has its own indigenous terms and significant
phrases but these are more or less confined to certain fundamental
aspects. In the recent past, many of the rare forms of melody were
not widely known by their names. Comparatively speaking, the know-
ledge of music has now very widely and rapidly spread among the
listeners. A body like our Music Academy has done some sustained
service in this direction by its open conferences and discussions and
annotated programmes of the concerts. I have already touched upon
the intense attachment of our cultured public to music; in fact, it is