Table Of ContentTHE COMMONWEALTH AND INTERNATIONAL LIBRARY
Joint Chairmen of the Honorary Editorial Advisory Board
SIR ROBERT ROBINSON, O.M., F.R.S., LONDON
DEAN ATHELSTAN, SPILHAUS, MINNESOTA
Publisher: ROBERT MAXWELL, M.C, M.P.
MUSIC DIVISION
General Editor: K.A.WRIGHT
SCHOOL AND AMATEUR ORCHESTRAS
Frontispiece. The Aberdeen Schools Military Band. (By kind permission
of Aberdeen Journals Ltd.)
SCHOOL AND
AMATEUR ORCHESTRAS
by
JOHN B. DALBY, B.Mus., F.R.C.O., (CHM), F.E.I.S.
Organizer of Music, City of Aberdeen Education Authority
Foreword by
DR. RUTH RAILTON, O.B.E., P.R.A.M.
PERGAMON PRESS
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Copyright © 1966 Pergamon Press Ltd.
First edition 1966
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 65-27372
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Foreword
I ONCE asked a great teacher and conductor if he was going to write
a book and he replied: "Those who can, teach; those who can't,
write books about it." John Dalby is one of those rare musicians who
can do both. A fine soloist on the organ, he can bring a choir to life
and make an orchestra sound full of colour through his own deep
sense of beauty and very original mind. Since 1947 we have worked
closely together in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain
and the National Junior Music School in which he has been pro-
fessor of percussion and assistant Musical Director. The fact that his
former students are principal timpanists in four of our leading sym-
phony orchestras and several others are in their percussion depart-
ments, is its own tribute.
So much teaching has gone astray because methods become ends in
themselves. I personally find the atmosphere in which I work is all
important. I prefer orderliness and silence which I find necessary for
concentrated listening, as it is through the ear that we teach the
young to distinguish the accurate from the slovenly, the ugly sound
from the beautiful tone, and discover the shape of the phrase and the
mood conveyed by the rhythm. We should not be trying to fill the
heads of the young with facts and theories but let them experience
the music with their hearts.
This book should help cover some of the many problems which,
left unsolved, hamper this end. I commend it because it comes from
a teacher who can get musical and artistic results from the very
young and from adults.
RUTH RAILTON
vi
Preface
A GENERATION ago the child who learnt to play a musical instrument
other than the piano or violin was exceptionally privileged. Today
the picture is entirely different in that children are encouraged to
play instruments of all kinds. The enthusiasm with which schools
and education authorities provide for the playing of orchestral
instruments, the high standard at which many boys and girls play,
and the excellence of school orchestras and bands are obvious signs of
an educational development that has outstanding significance and
value.
But the playing of instruments is not the exclusive privilege of
children who play in orchestras. The continuing popularity of the
piano, the keen interest in the recorder, and the extensive use of the
percussion band bring thousands of children into music-making
that has little to do with orchestras. Nor must we overlook the
growing interest in the harmonica and the guitar and the enthusiastic
adoption of activities in which children play chime bars, dulcimers,
glockenspiels, and xylophones to their obvious delight. In fact com-
paratively few children are now denied the opportunity of playing a
musical instrument of some kind or other during their school days.
When I began to write this book, I intended to touch upon all this,
but eventually thought better of it. After all, only a large and heavy
tome could do justice to such a comprehensive and detailed subject,
and the writer would have to be exceptionally experienced in every
branch of it. I decided, therefore, to restrict what I have to say to the
discussion of school and amateur orchestras and to the consideration
of instruments that are normally associated with them.
Throughout the book reference is made to many other books. I
make no apology for thus directing the reader's attention to the joy
vii
viii PREFACE
and instruction that further reading will bring. If he wants to learn
more about orchestras and instruments, I strongly advise him to beg,
borrow or steal the books I mention. Alternatively, he can buy the
lot, as I have done, and become the possessor of a small library that is
rich in information and interest.
Mention of these books prompts me to acknowledge the help I
have received. But how shall I begin? In every sentence I have
written I am in some way indebted to other people, and if in the
following pages anyone recognizes what he has said, written, or
done, he must accept my grateful acknowledgement. There are
many, of course, who have contributed more directly to the prepara-
tion of the book, and I take this opportunity of thanking the teachers
with whom I have discussed various topics, the publishers of music
and the makers of instruments who have given advice and informa-
tion, and even the pupils who have taken part in a number of experi-
ments.
Because Chapter 1 is in the nature of a preamble, many readers
may be tempted to skip it and begin at Chapter 2. If so, spare a
thought for Miss Marion Brodie who, while typing all the script in
her spare time, spent many hours in retyping the first chapter time
and again. Please read it if only to make acquaintance with the most
frequently altered and retyped chapter of all time.
Finally, I pay special tribute to Mrs. Elizabeth Baird, M.A., who,
through constructive criticism of the script, has tried to keep my
mode of expression crisp and clear, and to Kenneth Wright, Esq.,
o.B.E., the Editor of this series, who, in keeping my ideas within
bounds, has been patient and firm.
Aberdeen JOHN B. DALBY
CHAPTER 1
Prelude
Aims — Principles — Methods
"THE most exciting sound in music/' That is how a well-known
musician described the playing of an orchestra of young people.
"Exciting" is an apt description not only of fresh youthful playing at
a high standard, but also of the story with which this book is con-
cerned, for it tells of a thrilling adventure in which boys and girls are
brought into intimate contact with great music. It describes how
young players can learn skills of playing and, in company with their
fellows, enjoy inspiring musical experiences in school and youth
orchestras. It presents a vision of the heights of achievement to which
they can be led and points out the recurring miracle of very talented
children who play with technical assurance and artistry beyond nor-
mal expectation. The purpose of this book is to encourage those who
are already embarked and to provide information and inspiration for
some who have not yet begun.
This exceptionally practical subject is so different from anything
else in the curriculum and needs such special treatment that it cannot
conveniently be incorporated in a school's time-table. It follows that
a teacher will have to show resourcefulness in devising a workable
system in which the teaching and playing can prosper, and common
sense and tact will also be needed if the non-musical school authority
is to be made to regard the teacher and his music as a help rather
than a hindrance. In this work, which offers tremendous oppor-
tunities and rich rewards, efficient organization is as important as
high ideals.
At the risk of being banal I quote the aphorism: "Don't put the
2 SCHOOL AND AMATEUR ORCHESTRAS
cart before the horse" merely to point out that in the treatment of
this subject in schools it is sometimes difficult to decide which is the
horse. Are we, for instance, concerned chiefly with the bringing into
being of orchestras with teaching as a more or less casual contribution,
or are we principally engaged, even in orchestras, in teaching child-
ren to play instruments ? Some teachers say that experience of playing
breeds good listeners and that even the unpromising stumblings of
the less apt pupils are therefore worthwhile. Others believe that play-
ing brings about a more permanent conversion to a love of music
than singing or listening. These are worthy enough aims but not by
themselves good enough for our purpose. The true aim, a difficult
one to define precisely, contains something of them all, and there is
no doubt that that aim can only be achieved when, as part of a
school's greater plan to foster a general love and understanding of
music, the opportunity to play an orchestral instrument is offered to
pupils who can really profit by it.
I suspect that some schools and education authorities permit in-
strumental teaching and orchestral playing to enhance their prestige,
for concerts and other performances make excellent window dress-
ing, and music is not immune from the parade of impressive
statistics. The pursuit of prestige in itself may be ignoble, but pride
in fine work is commendable. As soon as a school or an education
authority becomes aware of the value of the work being done and is
proud of it, the way to progress is made easier. This is understandable,
for education has become so full and time-tables are so complicated
that there is room in the school curriculum only for activities that
can fulfil a useful educational purpose. Therefore, if orchestras
and the playing of instruments are recognizable as desirable pos-
sessions, it is more likely that harassed head teachers and cheese-
paring education committees will somehow contrive to establish and
maintain them. Let not the idealist be scornful of such worldly
reasoning. Education has become a very serious business; even
parents have to be made aware of the worthiness of this optional
subject.
Although playing an instrument is great fun, it is important at all
times to aim at high standards, for music is not merely a toy with
PRELUDE 3
which to play but an art in which to create. Those readers who are
old enough will remember the unmusical sounds that came from the
school orchestras of thirty years ago. Of course there were notable
exceptions, but it was generally believed that distressing travesties in
sound were all that could usually be expected of boys and girls. Now
we know better. We find that young players can play in tune, pro-
duce good tone, and shape fine phrases, and that by means of these
and other technical and artistic skills they can make music which
gives pleasure to them and to those who listen. When talented
pupils are well taught and the conditions are favourable, the stan-
dard can be exceptionally high.
Although the recorder and the so-called educational percussion in-
struments occasionally find their way into the school orchestra, the
more normal use of them in the class-room is beyond the scope of
this book. A few schools have had the courage to adopt orchestral
playing as a class subject in lieu of or as an appendage to class singing,
but this treatment of the subject must be regarded as exceptional,
for it is dependent upon very favourable circumstances and particu-
larly upon the presence of specially equipped teachers. The argument
that follows applies, therefore, only to orchestral instruments and to
the normal methods of teaching the playing of them.
First let us think about the pupil. We will consider his teacher
later.
THE PUPIL
Unless a school or an education authority has unlimited funds and
plenty of teachers at its disposal, it cannot offer every child the
opportunity to play an orchestral instrument. It may be necessary,
therefore, to select for tuition the more suitable pupils. If so, it is
fair to cater first for children who have distinct musical talent. These
children are usually outstanding in the singing class or show aptitude
in piano, recorder, or percussion band playing. But it is possible to
overlook talent or for a child's "spark" to become noticeable only
when he is older. Teachers have always to be vigilant, therefore, in
their search for talent which sometimes tends to "hide its light". It is
