Wl i THE ETUDE APRIL, 1920 Single Copies 25 Gents VOL. XXXVIII , No. 4 Glad Music SOM E people are natural born scoffers. They turn up their impudent noses just for the pleasure of trying to make their judgment seem superior to all others in their hearing. They are among the most hated people in the world. Just a little while ago it was their custom to scoff at the "glad books" and "glad propaganda" which did so much to bring cheer and sweeten life during the maniac years of the war. Now people realize that the glad books, which taught us to hunt for the bright side of things, the good side of man, even though we had to hunt with a telescope, were books which were a part of the universal nobility that is in every man's soul. Why not lay the same stress upon glad music? Should not every one of us every day hear a little glad music—music sparkling with prismatic melodies and fascinating rhythms? Too few of us realize the need for gladness, mirth and hap-piness every day. The late Charles Farrar Browne (Artemus Ward) was once summoned to Washington to a cabinet meeting when Lincoln was President (Sept. 22, 1862). When he ar-rived Lincoln stopped the proceedings to introduce "Artemus Ward," and then read an entire chapter from one of Ward's books to the cabinet. The men were amazed that Lincoln, with the weight of the civil war on his shoulders, should interrupt an important meeting to read a humorist's funny remarks. When Lincoln, laughing heartily at the chapter, looked up and saw his cabinet all sitting around solemn faced, he said: "Gen-tlemen, why don't you laugh? With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die-—and you need this medicine as much as I do." Glad music is soul medicine for all of us. If we still have the Devil's mortgage, WORRY , the best way to get rid of it is by means of glad music, glad books, glad friends and glad thoughts. Try it. The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing THA T certain firms have employed the term "standardiza-tion" as a means of securing business cannot be objected to in any way. However, when a firm puts out a series of books at a rate that makes ordinary profiteering seem like kindly philanthropy, and then attempts to have various legislative bodies, clubs, etc., pass regulations making that set of books the one and only set prescribed for use in the Public Schools, we have something that the ordinary American should not only condemn, but also endeavor to tear out root and branch. Pos-sibly one of the worst of all scandals in American Public School history was the corruption of school boards in various States and cities some years ago, so that the books of one publisher were made compulsory for the use of the children, while the works issued by other publishers were debarred, except in the cases of a few minor works inserted to divert suspicion. As long as we revere the proud words "a free country" we must fight to keep everything in any way connected with education uncontaminated by proprietary means and methods. If we open the way for "standardization for revenue only" then— not only in music but in all things—our State will be in danger. If the "wolf in sheep's clothing" comes into your district and attempts to "put over" any system of studies sold at an exorbitant price under the guise of "standardization" tear off the hide of innocence and reveal the real animal—the enemy of the best in American musical education and of that liberty which is the foundation of American ideals and aspiration! A Wonderful Musical Conference THE Music Supervisors' Conference, held in Philadelphia during the week of March 22d, was the second important conference or music convention held in the city of "Brotherly Love" during the present season. The Music Supervisors' Con-ference was much greater in size than that of the Music Teachers' National Association. The conference has, we un-derstand, some three thousand members, the principal interest being that of music in the public schools. The body of men and women which came to Philadelphia represented the most enterprising teachers of their class in the country. The largest hotel in the city, the Bellevue-Stratford, was the scene of the opening reception tendered to the confer-ence by the music clubs of the'city. Many leading public men of the city and leading musicians, as well as choral societies, took part. All the available seats at the Metropolitan Opera House were bought out months before for the delegates, in order that they might see the New York Company at one per-formance. A great banquet was tendered to the entire con-ference by the Victor Talking Machine Company, and Mr. Edward Bok purchased and presented to the members some six or seven hundred seats for the Philadelphia Orchestra con-cert. These were merely a few of the high-lights during a very busy week devoted to incessant meetings and conferences upon music in its many phases. This splendid body, under the leadership of its able presi-dent, Hollis F. Dann, Professor of Music at Cornell Univer-sity, made the finest kind of impression in the "City of Brotherly Love." Its work is one of the greatest possible significance. What part in the education of the coming American citi-zen is more important than that unifying spirit which comes from good music sung in the school, which will make him a good citizen as nothing else can? Prompt Payments for Lessons IN most businesses it has been the custom for years to allow a discount for immediate cash payments. Business men cannot afford the waste of time and capital consequent upon delayed payments. The two great business difficulties of music teachers in America are the matters of missed lessons and prompt collec-tions. We therefore recommend that our teacher friends estab-lish the system, now employed by hundreds of teachers, of charging in advance for a term of ten or twenty lessons. This might or might not be encouraged by making a small cash dis-count for prompt payments, say within ten days. A very fine way to bring about prompt payment?, and, at the same time, to combat the missed lesson evil, is by means of a record book resembling the ordinary banking stub-check book adapted to this special purpose. With such a book (hun-dreds are now using them, year in and year out) the teacher enters upon his stub the name, date of the beginning of the term and the ending of the term and the date of payment. He then fills out the pupil's record, inserting the dates of the lessons, name, address, etc. This is removed from the stub-book and given to the pupil, who in turn brings it to each lesson for twenty lessons. As the lessons are taken they are punched in the margin of the card. On the back of the card is to be found information about the percentage of excellence 221
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