Harnisch, a distinguished educator of Prussia, quotes the following remark from Richter;-'We cannot imagine a complete education of man without music. It is the gymnastic of the affections;' and adds, Music and bodily exercise, in suitable connexion, are necessary to keep body and soul in health.'

Fellenberg observes ;—'We have learned from experience how much musical exercises contribute, not merely to the pleasures of society, and to the formation of the taste (which often affords more assistance to human weakness, in resisting evil, than cold principles of morals,) but also to religious elevation, and the spirit of devotion.' Vehrli, the instructer of the agricultural school of Hofwyl, regards vocal music as of the highest importance; and observes, that he has uniformly found, that, in proportion as it was improved, the spirit of kindness and devotion among his pupils increased.

Pfeiffer and Nageli, the fellow laborers of Pestalozzi, and writing under his direction, express similar opinions in similar terms. An author who quotes them, observes ;- These authors have not only given an impulse to singing, but have pointed out the only true way of teaching it. Their efforts have not been fruitless; for music is already taught, both in our country and city schools, with the greatest success; and what has already been accomplished, in this respect, would, not long since, have been deemed impossible.'

But no more decisive evidence can be required than that of the government of Prussia, which has done more than most others in Europe for the improvement of common schools.

The following ordinance, extracted from the Prussian official Gazette, (Amts Blait,) Cologne, January 15, 1828, will show the light in which this subject is viewed by that govern

ment.

'Among the essential branches of education, which ought to be found in all common schools, and to which every teacher who undertakes the management of such schools, is in duty bound to attend, is instruction in singing. Its principal ob

ject in these schools, is to cultivate the feelings, and exert an influence in forming the habits, and strengthening the powers of the will, for which mere knowledge of itself is often altogether insufficient; hence it constitutes an essential part of educating instruction, and if constantly and correctly applied, renders the most unpolished nature capable of softer emotions, and subject to their influences. From its very nature, it accustoms pupils to conform to general rules, and to act in concert with others. It is far more sure of producing such an effect in youth, when the heart is very susceptible of impressions of this kind; and no importance should be attached to the assertion of many teachers and directors of schools, that we can by no means anticipate this influence upon such wild youths as are found in the country. In general, this belief originates entirely from old prejudices, from a want of proper experience, from a love of indolence, or from an inadequate knowledge of the course and method of instruction. Convinced of the certainty of the result, where the means are correctly employed, we shall not stop to consider such objections as appear to be grounded solely upon exceptions. On the other hand, we shall hold those teachers in particular esteem, who labor, in this subject, with suitable zeal and success, in the conscientious discharge of the duties of their calling. We expect also that these efforts, together with their results, will be particularly noticed in the Report of the School Directors.

'Having recommended this important object of primary instruction, (the immediate connexion of which with religious instruction no one can fail to perceive) to the zealous exertions of the teachers, and the careful attention of the directors of schools, and, at the same time, having urged the study of the best writers upon the subject, which, so far as they relate to school instruction, ought to be found in the libraries of every district,we shall here bring forward one point, which demands a closer and more universal attention.

'If instruction in singing is to accomplish with certainty the objects proposed, it must be long continued without interruption, and, of course, it is indispensably necessary that a regular at

tendance be required during the continuance of the duties of the school, and enforced in the strongest manner.'

It is unnecessary to illustrate the contrast between the last remark and the usual desultory mode in which singing is taught.

*

But the experiment has been tried in this country also. The system was first introduced, in Hartford, Connecticut, during the present summer. Several juvenile choirs were trained in a few months to sing in a manner which surprised and delighted all who heard them, by their accuracy in time and tone of expression. It was introduced into the infant school in that place with equal success, and a distinguished musician who visited it observed, in a letter on the subject, 'I entered upon the examination of the system with some prejudices; but the more I have examined it, the more I am convinced of its superiority over the common method, especially in the simple manner in which the principles of music are presented to the mind of the child. The pupils of the infant school which I visited, after a short period of instruction in rhythm (time) only, surpassed in accuracy of time our ordinary choirs of singing.'

The time allows but a very brief sketch of the mode of teaching music, to which I have referred.

The inductive system of instruction was introduced in Switzerland and Germany at the end of the last century by Pestalozzi, and has been adopted in this country, in reference to some subjects. Early in the present century it was applied to music, in the institution, and under the direction of Pestalozzi, by Pfeiffer and Nageli, who published a manual of instruction on these principles in 1810. This system has since

* Both these experiments were made with disinterested zeal by Mr Ives, now a teacher of music in Philadelphia. A manual of instruction by this gentleman will soon be published, to accompany the Juvenile Lyre, a collection of songs for children, chiefly translated from the works of the Swiss and German composers, prepared by Mr Lowell Mason, President of the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston.

been diffused throughout the central portions of Europe, under various forms, and is acknowledged, in its fundamental principles, to be the only true one. These principles are,—

1. To teach sounds before signs; to make the child sing before he learns the written notes, or their names.

2. To lead him to observe by hearing and imitating sounds, their resemblances and differences, their agreeable or disagreeable effect, instead of explaining these things to him: in short, to make him active, instead of passive, in learning.

3. In teaching but one thing at a time. Rhythm, melody, expression, are taught and practised separately, before the child is called to the difficult task of attending to all at

once.

4. In making them practise each step of each of these divisions, until they are masters of it, before passing to the next. For example, crotchets must be perfectly familiar in practice, before learning quavers; four notes must be sounded without hesitation, before learning the octave; and the elements learned must be combined in every possible form, before learning new ones.

5. In giving the principles and theory after practice, and as an induction from it.

6. In analyzing and practising the elements of articulate sound, in order to apply them to music.

7. Another peculiarity, which is not, however, essential to the system, is, that the names of the notes correspond to those employed in instrumental music, and are derived from the letters with variations for flats and sharps; a method whose utility is questioned by some, but which is deemed very important by others.

It will perhaps be useful to describe the manner in which these principles are applied. Instead of presenting a confused collection of mysterious characters, to serve as the mere signals for certain efforts of the voice, the reason and connexion of

which are never explained, and thus leaving the pupil the painful and humbling task of groping his way blindly in the steps of another, he is first called upon to utter a single distinct sound, and then a letter or word. He is told that the one is called a musical tone, for which the note is the sign; and the other an articulate sound, used in speaking, for which letters are the signs. He thus arrives at a simple conception of song, as distinguished from speech. He is then required to increase or diminish the length of the sound two fold or four fold, and learns the appropriate signs for notes of different length. He discovers the importance of some standard of length for these notes, in order that many voices may sound in unison. His attention is called to the manner in which measure is employed to regulate movement in threshing, hammering, marching, &c. He is requested to unite with his companions in marching around the room, in movements of the hands and feet, in pronouncing words and syllables; and is thus easily led to appreciate and to practise the beating of time, an operation usually so mechanical and disagreeable to the novice in music. He is brought, by experiment and example, to perceive the agreeable effect that may be produced by a series of monotonous sounds, from the mere variation of length and accent. This encourages him to that course of practice which is necessary to produce accuracy in measure, and prepares him to make the proper use of melodious sounds.

The next exercise of the pupil is to listen to sounds which differ in their pitch, to exercise his ear in discriminating between the higher and the lower, and then to imitate them. Several series of tones in succession are made in his hearing. He is called upon to decide which is most agreeable, and is gratified with the discovery that he has selected those of the octave, which forms the basis of music in every nation upon earth.

In order to apply the knowledge he has gained, he is now made familiar with the first half of the octave, and learns to understand and practise the combinations of which