An Outline of the System of Education at New Lanark

urn:iso:std:iso:639:ed-3:eng

69-70

text excerpt

     All the children above five or six years of age are taught singing, sometimes by the ear, sometimes by the notes. They begin by learning the names and sounds of the notes, and by singing the gamut; then proceed to strike the distances, and finally acquire such a knowledge of the elements of the science of music, as they may easily reduce to practice. The musical notes and signs, as well as a variety of musical exercises, are represented on a large scale, on a rolled canvass.... A small selection of simple airs is made, for the school, every three months. The words to these are printed on sheets, one of which is given to each child. Spirited songs, in the bravura style, are found to be much more adapted to children under ten years of age, than more slow and pathetic airs; into the spirit of which they seldom seem to enter, while the former are uniformly their favourite songs, particularly any lively national airs with merry words. Almost all the children show more or less taste for music; although of course this appears in one child spontaneously, while in another it requires considerable cultivation.

     The vocal performers in the evening school are sometimes joined by the instrumental band, belonging to the village. This recurs in general once a week.

excerpt from 'An Outline of the System of Education at New Lanark' pp. 69-70 (221 words)

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1675343649865