Chamber Music in American Schools (Classic Reprint) PDF Download

Author: Charles W. Hughes
Publisher: Forgotten Books
ISBN: 9781396355868
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
Excerpt from Chamber Music in American Schools This is a study of chamber music, of the instruments used in playing it, of its social implications and of the part it can play in elementary and secondary schools. Since a fair test of a school sub jett may be made by noting the changes it is capable of producing in an individual, we may start by stating what a school child may reasonably be expected to gain from playing chamber music. In the following pages a large number of possible instrumental com himations are studied together with the music suitable to them. If we expose a child to music of this kind for a number of years, what will he have gained? Obviously we have given him another outlet, another way of expressing himself. Most schools provide many such channels. Among such outlets are creative writing, drawing and painting, engaging in crafts and the like. 'in a few schools children are taught to make music in small groups. In many schools they play and sing together in large groups, in chorus, orchestra, and band. The contribution which these larger groups make to individual development differs markedly from that made by participation in smaller groups. In the large chorus, each individual sings, but his voice blends with those of his fellows. He is not an isolated in dividual, but a participant in a group expression. The virtues of good chorus singers lie very largely in this willingness to merge themselves with the singing group, in the surrender of their musical will to that of the conductor. In the same way a good orchestral player accepts the conductor's conception of tempo, of shading. Of phrasing and, if he is a really effective player, forgets himself in the effort to realize the ideal of performance which the conductor is striving for. Such effort carries with it a feeling of identification with the group, of a common end which is its own reward. Expression in chamber music, however, is not a matter of masses but of individuals, and the kind of cooperation which it demands is of a freer more individual kind. Each instrument of the group has something to say in turn. While a good performance demands that each player subordinate himself at the right time.it also calls upon him to take the lead when his part has something of importance. In short, we may say that the emphasis in chamber music is rather on initiative and on individual intelligence while the larger groups depend to a greater extent on group cooperation. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.