s a week.

4. _Concerts, Music Clubs, &c._

It is a good plan to arrange for a short recital to be given every term,
at which not only the more advanced pupils will play, but children at
all stages of development. It is wise to insist on all music being
played by heart, as in this way an invaluable training will be given
from the very first.

In the case of a prize-giving or large school function it is of course
necessary to show only the best work.

A music club is a great stimulus to the musical life of a school. A good
plan is to arrange a series of short lectures on such subjects as the
origins of harmony, acoustics, the chief difference between music of
different schools and periods, &c., and to follow these by accounts of
the lives and works of the great composers. Children are delighted to
come to such meetings, especially if their aid be asked in illustrating
the lectures by playing specimens of the music referred to.

In the organization of musical work in a school it is of the utmost
importance that there should be a central musical authority, responsible
for bringing all those engaged in the teaching into touch with each
other. If this be done, not only will overlapping of work in the various
classes and lessons be avoided, but a driving force of musical
comradeship will be initiated which will produce a genuine musical
atmosphere.

CHAPTER III

THE TEACHING OF VOICE PRODUCTION AND SONGS

It is perhaps more rare to find a successful teacher of songs than of
any other subject in the school curriculum. There are many reasons for
this. In many cases a visiting teacher takes the work, who finds it
difficult to learn the names of all the children in one lesson a week,
and who therefore starts at a disadvantage. Then the size of the class
for songs is always larger than that of classes in other subjects, and
there is therefore more inducement to inattention on the part of the
children.

Nothing is more pitiful than to see a young, inexperienced mistress
grappling with a large class of healthy, restless children, who know
from experience that the weekly song lesson may be turned to good
account for their own little games!

There is, of course, the born teacher, who sends an electric shock
through the room directly she enters it, and who, without asking for it,
secures instant silence and eager attention. Such people are rare, and
it must be our task now to give a few practical suggestions to t