LEARNING T0 READ MUSICAL NOTATION. 511 
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And now we come to consider the question, “In what grades should 
children commence to learn to read musical notation ?” I wish to say 
here that children can learn to read music, and not see any notes or 
other signs used by musicians. I will imagine that I have taught my class 
to sing three musical sounds. I have taught them to distinguish between 
a musical sound and a noise, and now I need some signs to represent 
musical souls, and I take what is nearest to me. The desk represents 
“one,” the book two,” and the chair ‘¢ three.” - I have taught them 
that the names of the tones are taken from the names of numbers, one, 
two, three ; and I say, You may sing as I point, and the lesson is, One, 
one, two, two, three, three, two, two, three, three, two, two, one, one, 
one, one. Any other signs near us will do as well at this time. 
Now we will go back to the class, the first week in September ; I found 
she teacher very much discouraged. She had enjoyed the singing of the 
previous class, but to her mind the outlook was gloomy for the class before 
us. Isang a tone many times with the syllable ‘“la,” at a convenient 
pitch for the children to sing. At first they paid but little attention. I 
raried my lesson by singing other syllables, all to the same pitch, and 
also intoning familiar words. I saw that I was gaining ground ; nearly 
every child in the room was looking at me, and I asked them to sing 
“la” with me. Only a few sang, but I kept at work on this line for fif- 
een minutes, and gave up the fight for a week. I was tired, but not 
discouraged. 
The next week I commenced where we left off, and at the close of the 
lesson a majority of the children could sing a lesson with two tones and 
2ight measures. I followed up the work from week to week until the 
zlass could sing some good songs by rote—for I believe in teaching some 
songs. by rote in the first (lowest) grade—could sing the scale quite well, 
and could sing many exercises from the blackboard, in good time, with- 
out the teacher pointing. Now my point is, by commencing from the 
first lesson to teach notation I awakened more thought and interest and 
secured closer attention than I could have done by trying to teach them 
songs by rote, or trying to teach them the entire scale before anything else 
vas done. If this is true of children with but little talent, how much 
pleasure and profit will come to those with more talent! My experience 
‘ells me that notation can be and should be commenced very early with 
she youngest children. Unless notation is commenced in the first and 
second grades, many children will never learn to read music. 
Often at this early age some children have developed such a distinctive 
salent for music that it has shaped and colored their whole lives. How 
much time would I take for notation from a lesson of fifteen minutes 
long ? Perhaps three or four minutes, and it may be possible that the 
whole lesson can profitably be given up to the teaching of notation, and 
he next lesson given up to the teaching of songs by rote. Special teachers