The Decline and Revival of Music Education in New South Wales Schools from 1920 to 1956
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australiaa n societ s y fo r mumsic education e The decline and revival of music i ncorporated education in New South Wales schools, 1920-1956 Marilyn Chaseling School of Education, Southern Cross University, NSW. Email: [email protected] William E. Boyd School of Science, Environment & Engineering, Southern Cross University, NSW. Email: [email protected] Abstract This paper overviews the decline and revival of music education in New South Wales schools from 1920 to 1956. Commencing with a focus on vocal music during the period up to 1932, a time of decline in music teaching, the paper examines initiatives introduced in 1933 to address shortcomings in music education, and the subsequent changes in curriculum and teaching during the 1930s. Evidence of a variable revival lies in the school choral music movement of 1939 to 1956, and in how music education diversified beyond its vocal heritage from the late 1930s and early 1940s, with new emphasis on music appreciation, percussion, flutes, and recorders. By the mid 1950s, involvement in, and quality of, school instrumental music was continuously improving. Key words: school choral music, school choirs, Theodore Tearne, Herbert Treharne, Barbara Mettan, Victor McMahon, flute bands, percussion bands, inspectors of schools Australian Journal of Music Education 2014:2,46-61 Introduction children could be assembled, at short notice, to form choirs to perform at celebratory or This paper explores music in New South Wales commemorative events:4 a choir of over 5,000 (NSW) state primary schooling from 1920 to children performed in 1897 for the Jubilee 1956, through the lens of music teaching and Celebrations of Queen Victoria, and the hand- 1 practice, building on the research of Dugdale picked choir of three thousand sang at the Public 2 and of Stevens into music in NSW state primary School’s Patriotic Display in 1900;5 a colossal choir schools prior to 1920. Music and singing were of ten thousand public school children performed synonymous in the school curriculum from the at the inauguration of the Commonwealth of 3 beginning of public education in 1848 until 1920. Australia,6 and a choir of similar size performed While music was only a small component of what during the visit of the Prince of Wales visit to was taught in schools, it was valued for its extra- Sydney in 1920.7 These choirs sang complex musical benefits, as a moral, disciplinary and musical pieces. If those in, for example, 1919 who aesthetic force, and for its ability to help mould reported on NSW schooling had been asked to children’s character as future adults in society. talk about music, they would have described Around the turn of the century, NSW state a typical scenario where classroom teachers schools were musical places. Thousands of took responsibility for teaching music, and 46 2014, No. 2 Music education in NSW schools, 1920-1956 where overall a good quality of vocal music was Tearne’s 1920 report identified two problem produced. The developmental learning sequence areas. First, while many teachers were willing would have described infants’ classrooms where to teach a vocal music program, many lacked a children were taught singing ‘by ear’; as children correct ear and confidence in their own ability. grew older and progressed to higher classes, vocal Tearne recommended that headmasters place music was taught using the Tonic Sol-fa method, such classes with a confident teacher, with the and in upper primary classrooms, children were weaker teacher assisting. Secondly, sight-reading taught to read vocal music from staff notation. was weak: Tearne recommended the focus of the They might also have talked about choral singing one weekly music lesson on sight-reading, to be being important in commemorative or celebratory enforced by the headmaster.13 The handwritten events, noted that church choirs and amateur annotations, bracketing of sections, and choral societies comprised men and women who underlining of key words by senior Department had learnt vocal music at school. They would not staff on Tearne’s 1920 report indicate the concern have mentioned instrumental music in schools, these deficiencies caused. Chief Inspector Hugh as this was not in the syllabi of the time, and was McLelland gave Tearne two directives: first, that 8 only occasionally present. in subsequent reports Tearne should name all Despite this healthy situation, after 1920 teachers who claimed an inability to teach music music remained this way in only some NSW with a comment on the reason; and secondly, schools, other schools not meeting the minimal that Tearne should focus on sight-singing in his 9 requirements for an adequate music course. This school visits.14 paper draws on the annual reports of District Further evidence of teachers struggling with Inspectors, Superintendents, Supervisors of Music teaching music is found in a 1922 letter to the 10 and their assistants to examine this apparent Teachers’ Federation journal from a disgruntled decline of music after 1920, and its subsequent teacher: teachers needed more assistance than revival. an annual visit from the Superintendent of Music (since one person had to visit every NSW Vocal music in school, 1920 to 1956 classroom each school year, most rural schools The period of decline – 1920 to 1932 rarely saw the Superintendent15); and many In his 1920 Annual Report on music,11 Theodore teachers found the songs in The School Magazine Tearne noted improvements in the tone of too difficult to read. Teacher G. Sharp asked: children’s singing and in their better use of the is it not possible for our new director [Herbert head voice, matters of paramount importance Treharne] to blaze a new track – and direct? In the past we’ve had enough farce and make-believe, to him throughout his period as Superintendent. as well as our fill of misdirected or undirected The main findings of his 1919 and 1920 Annual criticism. If we’ve a specialist in the service Reports echoed his 1918 report: there had been surely we should have the benefit of his special improvements in voice production, but sight- knowledge. Seeing one for 10 or 15 minutes reading was still weak. In 1918 he proposed a per year, reading the aforesaid criticisms and practical ‘remedy’ to improve sight-reading – scanning our mark are almost our only memories lesson plans detailing what should be taught for of these folk. At the rear of the school magazine is a page devoted to music. I mean filled with songs both half-hour music lessons each week for each impossible to all but an accomplished singer or class from Third to Sixth Class. More specifically, he musician. This continues year after year … In its proposed that one lesson per week be devoted to place let us have a graduated, live, practical series scales, the modulator and sight-reading, while the of lessons on music. Include songs by all means, second lesson should focus on songs.12 and exercises that are exercises. Above all, let us Australian Journal of Music Education 47 Chaseling and Boyd have suggestions of the right sort and plenty of observe demonstration lessons and so learn the them, helpful alike to teacher and pupil.16 ‘how’ of teaching music, leading, he believed, to many teachers finding that children responded The new Superintendent of Music, Herbert with remarkable aptitude and the once- Treharne, also addressed the issue of ‘few burdensome subject became the ‘happy’ lesson teachers [being] prepared to teach music in of the week for both teacher and pupil. Treharne schools’, blaming this on music no longer being endorsed Hough’s findings, and reminded the compulsory in the Teachers’ Examinations.17 By Chief Inspector that the future of choral societies the 1920s, teachers could begin their career depended on ‘recruits’ from schools, and hence having received little or no music instruction, children should be taught a repertoire of fine and could gain promotion without passing a songs and sight-reading.21 music examination. Some primary teachers When the NSW Institute of Inspectors of were probably insufficiently skilled or confident Schools released its 1926 publication Teaching to teach music. By 1924, in an article in Musical and Testing, Senior Inspector Thomas Walker Australia18 it was confirmed that some teachers took the opportunity to discuss the condition were avoiding teaching music by claiming they of music in schools.22 Drawing on his vast were musically incompetent; if successful, this experience of inspecting schools, he reported claim was rewarded with 3½ hours per week free varied results in music teaching. Some schools, time while others taught their music. The article he claimed, had reached very high standards, claimed this was having disastrous effects and with fine performances in the NSW Tonic Sol-fa some schools were becoming songless. Association’s competitions,23 while in others By 1926, Alban Kelly, a Sydney Teachers’ music was ‘seriously neglected’ and Sixth Classes College music lecturer, maintained that it was were only achieving Fourth Class standards. generally agreed that music had been poorly Walker maintained that many teachers were taught in many state schools over the past few insufficiently qualified to teach music. The key to years. He claimed that the authorities were either achieving improvement, thus, was the provision oblivious or indifferent to the problem, but that of opportunities for teachers to participate in this problem stemmed from secondary schools, professional development related to the syllabus, where little or no music teaching took place: on leading, he expected, to better results, at least in entering Teachers’ College, students had had five metropolitan schools.24 years without music lessons. Kelly argued that After both his 1926 and 1927 inspections, music was condemned to a perpetual ‘vicious Treharne reported some improvement, although circle’, and it would be years before the music since the Supervisor of Music normally only teaching cycle of neglect could be rectified.19 visited metropolitan schools, it is unlikely Writing in 1925, in Schooling, the inspectors’ that this improvement extended beyond journal, T.