isa-normaladvance-1909-00010

Description:	10THE NORMAL ADVANCEthis end. The words of these school songsshould be good poetry and should adorn suchsubjects as Love of Country, Home Loving,etc.Singing imparts to the speaking and readingvoice a smoother and sweeter quality of tone.This is very important, for a sweet, smooth,and well modulated voice imparts to the possessors conversation in society, at home, orin the sick room, a rare and desirable charm.David S. White says, In the future the cultureof the singing and speaking voice, and of theear, will be the means of moral culture, andmusic will be considered the most importantsubject taught in the public schools. We canfeel the soothing and persuasive power of thesmooth and well-trained voice. This is a veryimportant factor to the teacher, for a teacherwith a pleasant voice, expressing high moralquality, will cultivate the moral character ofher pupils, by the mere tones of her voice.Mental culture comes chiefly through the eye moral culture through the ear and voice sothe best means of moral culture is singing.Music is very important to a young man wholeaves home and goes into a strange community.If he can sing well he at once gains an entranceinto the higher grade of society, and may thusbe saved from degrading influences. It has beendiscovered by scientists that the mind makesits best effort when delighted and enthusiasticin its work. This is the fundamental idea ofthe kindergarten method. All musicians andsingers know that the delight of singing spursone on to the keenest and acutest perceptionand thinking. A school room full of fatiguedchildren can be effectually refreshed by thesinging of a hearty song, so that they returnto their studies with a new zest and interest.Even at the end of the school day, when everyother exercise is wearisome, children will express intense delight in singing.Singing is of great value as a means of enlarging the chest and developing the lungs,thus preventing consumption and other lungdiseases. The singing in school is indirectlya great help to congregational singing inchurches and to the music of Sunday schools.Music is incentive to religious feeling.Every state in the union should place thestudy of music on the same plane as the otherelementary branches, i. e., make its introduction and maintenance compulsory upon everyschool board throughout the State. It is truethat children, through music study in school,can learn to use their voices correctly, thustraining the entire vocal apparatus for reading and speech, as well as for song.The teacher should aid the pupils in understanding the subject and to guide them in thenecessary drill or practice. Before the teacheris capable of doing this he must know something about music himself.The first step in giving a musical educationto the pupils in the public schools is to makemusic one of the school studies the second, torequire all the pupils to study and sing music the third, to require the regular teachers toteach music, and hold them as responsible forthe progress of pupils in this branch as in anyother. A good superintendent of music whopossesses a requisite musical knowledge andability and the right appreciation of the usesof music, who shall have had a good generaleducation, should be employed to map out thework to be done by the teachers, and to showthem how to do it. It is often remarked thatwe havent time to teach music in the schools,but the teachers universally testify that fifteenor twenty minutes daily given to singing themusic lesson is not so much time lost, becausethe pupils will do more and better work fromthe life and enthusiasm awakened in them bythe singing. Note and sight reading singingshould be taught in the schools, sight readingespecially, because if the person can sing bysight reading he may be able to work out a newpiece of music by himself. The young peoplewill spend their leisure hours at social singingor attending rehearsals. The churches will demand better singers for the choir, and will paya larger fee for such service.
Source:	http://indstate.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/isuarchive/id/34040
Collection:	Indiana State University Archives

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