It is not enough for children to be trained to listen to the actual notes of a chord—­they must feel the mental effect, in the same way in which they felt these effects in the case of the notes of the scale.

A later step is to make use of the position of the chord in a sequence—­for instance, the child soon gets to notice that many phrases end with the progression subdominant, dominant, tonic.

We now come to the consideration of the dictation of four-part chords.  These need not be sung in arpeggio.  As a first experiment it will be necessary to play the chord to the class with each note doubled in turn, so that they may feel the necessity for doubling the best note.

This experiment is most valuable, as it gets the child away from the cramping feeling of keeping a rule merely because it is mentioned in a text-book.

Plenty of phrases with the primary chords in root position must be taken before the other chords are treated.  For at least a year the class will not be able to write four-part dictation; the time should be spent in identifying the chords when played.

The chant form is the best for elementary work.  It is very simple, and can be adapted to every sort of sequence.  Passing notes, appoggiaturas, suspensions, &c., should be avoided at first.  When the diatonic chords and their inversions are known the principal modulations should be studied.  It will probably be necessary for the teacher to write her own tests, as there are very few books of chants published which contain enough exercises on the use of the easier chords.

The last step in the teaching of dictation is the treatment of what may be called the ‘mixed phrase’, i.e. one in the course of which the number of parts varies.  This is the most difficult stage of all, and will need the utmost patience on the part of the teacher.  But by this time the children will have begun some of the practical work at the piano described in the chapter on ’The Teaching of Extemporization and Harmony’, and this will help them to recognize easily the drift of the mixed phrase.

CHAPTER IX

THE TEACHING OF EXTEMPORIZATION
AND HARMONY

In early days the art of melody was developed before that of harmony.  The same plan should be followed in the general musical education of the child.

As every child possesses a voice, but does not in every case learn an instrument, it is clear that the fundamental training in music must be given through the use of the voice.  The first step will consist in learning how to sing at sight and how to take down easy melodies from dictation.  Parallel with this work the child should be taught to extemporize melodies, and to sing them.

Quite little children will take pleasure in completing a musical phrase of which the first few bars have been given them.  The procedure will be as follows: