Muncie Normal Institute - Arbor Vitae Yearbook (Muncie, IN)

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Vos Salutamus, tum Valete S we send this Arhor Vitae to the press we lind il necessary to stop and pen a few lilies to carry our greetings to fellow students and our heartfelt gratitude to our helpers every- where. XVe found at the very heginning that we had a united support such as we never thought of hefore from the stu- dents. As our work has progressed we have found that every appeal has met with a response, such as we could hardly have hoped for. Especially do we wish to express our thanks to the Stall' whose untiring elforts have la1'gcty lnade this hook what it is, and lo the Art Department, who under Bliss Sinclair and Ntiss liutcher, have given us such splendid illustrations. XVe hope that as this hook goes forth it may tl'llty he a 'l'ree of Life and that il may inspire higher and hetler achievements from those who read its pages. XVhatever may he its intrinsic value, il must stand as a continued triumph over difficulties. From the tirst move we have mel with things seemingly impossihte to overcome. hut we have found that lhe true spirit of College life is that of pushing ditficulties aside, so that we think in this respect we have so much the more made our hook represent the spirit of the school. XVe have no douht that the critic can lind many tlaws hut we are not sending this hook out for that class ot' people. YVe are intending to please our fellow students, who in years to come will wish to look hack to the old days in our Alma Nlatcr. in the year of nineteen tifleen. And now farewell. 'l'he year that is gone has heen titled with much of hoth failure and triumph. No douht to all of us at times have come suggestions of failure, of defeat. Uftentimes the reward seemed hardly worth the price. yet we have struggled on and now as we near the end of our school work and stop to take a hackward view at the path over which we have come. we cannot hut feet that we have gotten a little farther on our way, that we have risen, at least, to some height. Like the traveler on the mountain side. the way seems rough and often he is going down rather than upg yet tinally he emerges on a mountain peak and tinds that he in his toilsome path, has risen perhaps even mites ahove the plain helow. And now may we, fellow students, in our work in life make use ot the trials and triumphs of this year to good advantage, for in the words of the poet: "I aln a part of all that l have met Yet. all experience is hut an arch, Where thru' gleams that nntraveled world XVhose margin fades forever and forever XVhen l move." Lyman I.. Hann, Editor. 5

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Editorial 1,559 IT is not necessarv to emphasize tl1c powel' lllltl i11tl11e11ce of lllllSlt' i11 tl1e ll0lllC illlll in ll1e school. lt's val11e is universally appreciated. "Music comes lll'UIll ll1e feelings more tl1a11 l'l'0lll ll1e reason." so says one of our greatest authorities o11 tl1e art: it is an expression of tl1e e111otio11s, pI'0llll!lt?tl by experience. Music, the suhtlest of tl1e arts, demantls more tl1a11 elaborate designs lllltl tl1e prompting of ambition. It is an ex- pression of tl1e inner life of tl1e composer. 'l'he history of a nation is portrayed, largely, lllllbllgll the SClllllllL'lll of its so11gs. Good songs are 11ot si111ply good poetry set to music, as so llllllly see111 to think, but tl1e 111usic of tl1e song tells its ow11 e111otio11al story and is aided i11 expression by words expressing tl1e sa111e feeling. Une of tl1e good illustrations of Sllt'll SOIIQS is tl1e resurrected "Silver 'l'hreads Among the tl1e tloldf' il is so alive with feeling in both music and words, tl1at it did not "rest lll0l'll0llS desuetude" as Grover Cleveland said. but still exhales that mysterious heart touch that gets i11to so111e songs. I11 direct contrast to this most llCtllllll.lll song, comes "Bob l'p S1-renely," a wild two-step that stirs tl1e blood of tl1e meeltest of beings. Then another llllll one of the best uses of tl1e art of so11g, is lllll l'lllll'l'lI choir: 11ol a paid quartet, but tl1e chorus choir, used i11 tl1e SlllllllL'l' lUXX'llS and cities. lt is often the means of lltlltllllg the interest of ll1e yo11ng people to the better things in life, simply because tl1ey lllllSl express their better feelings and have 11ol 1'eacl1ed tl1e stage where tl1ey are co11te11t to listen to sermons. For them. lllllSll' is worship and is their only way of expressing it. 'l'he gl'01ll temple of Solomon had a choir. consisting of twenty-tive lllUllStllltl singers, divided into twelve cl1oi1's f-one for each 111o11ll1, of two thousand each: and ll1ese XVQVL' subdivided i11to four smaller ones. one for each week, of live hundred each. The chorus has many advantages over any otl1c1' form of cl1urcl1 music: o11c 111ay have anything l'l'0Ill an Aria to tl1e llallelujah tlhorusf IllllSlt' fro111 Handel and Hayden are all possible. XVagner says, "lt was tl1e spirit of Christianity which animated LIIIEXY tl1e soul of music." Many there are wl1o can take a part i11 a chorus who t'illlllOl. i11 any otl1e1' way, express themselves, sthey have 11ever had lllc advantage of taking i11stru111e11tal 1n11sic, or of vocal lessons, but have an inherent love of 11111sic a11d ti11d a solace i11 tl1e church choir. Now just a word on instru111e11lal music. A child lllllSl learn music just as it does a language: naturally and without too lllllt'll rule. Accustom tl1e pupil to different keys early i11 tl1e stages of practice: so many instruction books use the G clef alo11e for so lo11g a time. that when he comes face to face with the bass clef. tl1e foundations of the world are shaken. liring lI1e bass elef into play at the earliest possible instance. A sense of absolute pitch in a cl1ild is a good indication of tl1e 11111sical se11se, but 11ot of a musical genius. Some pro111ine11t musicians do not possess it at all, while many mediocre ones do. Relative pitch is another matter and should he cultivated as early as possible. This means identifying of any tone. after some other l0IlC has ltlil

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F s - been sounded and named. as a clue. ll is a science ot' intervals. This is an essential part ot' Public School Music and is a vital part ot' any school cur- riculum. This study is called "solt'eggio." Vocal instruction in the Public School Music is not necessary, but the solleggio part is valuable to every student. XVe nmst read music as we read our grammar. or any other study: without hearing the sounds. Solteggio is the first stcp towards this desideratum. Singing is ot great help to the pianist. Any method that takes up the two clet's in the early stages and does not cling too closely to the key ol' tl, is good. liut no method is good without a good teacher. Only hc. who can demonstrate every possibility. is a good teacher. The sympathetic bond between pupil and teacher must never be lost sight ol: it is a most impor- tant factor. Another thing- the juvenile recitals are injurious to thc pupil. They dwarl' the growth. l'iubenstein's mother was wise in relusing to allow the boy to give concerts, in spite ol' their need ol' the money. .losel llolmann was the greatest child prodigy ever heard in music. but tailed to become the wonder he was expected to become, in later years. Richard Strauss is still the foremost living composer, though not what we expected ot' llotmann. This is the age ol' scientilic pedagogy. "Education" is derived from the l.atin "educo" meaning "to bring out." and it is the aim of every teacher to elicit all they can from thc pupil that he naturally has instead ol' trying to hammer in. ttf course it was not always so. Hayden. Beethoven and Paganinni sullered many severe punishments for the slightcst mistakes. liut music is being composed for children today. by liizct, liheinberger, Schumann and others that will enable thc youngest student to play and comprehend. The time is al hand when music has its rightful place in the education ot' our children and only those who are well qualitied in the reading and execution ot' it may be able to procure positions in our schools and colleges. "'Thc nian that hath no music in hinirclf. Nor is not moxcd by the concord ol' swccl round - ls tit for trcasons. ftrzilagenis and spoils, The innliolls uf his spirit arc dull as night. .ind his allcctions darla as lirclnisg I.ct no such man bc truKtcd.' Said Lorenzo." Shailicspcarc. "Nh-i'chant ui' Venice." .Xcl Y. Scene l. 'wr e 1 w if YQ, X AM, . .1- 104