The Psychology of Sight-Singing

Extract

The design of this paper is to draw attention to the mode in which our minds work in the act of sight-singing. The subject is one mainly for the consideration of teachers, but it should be of interest to musical students generally. Every rational attempt at an educational classification of the details of such a subject as music must be governed by a knowledge of the way in which the mind develops its latent powers. As singing has exclusively to do with conceptions of sound, I have ventured to style this modest investigation the “Psychology of Sight-singing.” The title may appear to promise a more deeply philosophical enquiry into the elusive subtleties of mental phenomena than I contemplate, or am capable of making. But I trust I may succeed in avoiding a path where discreet angels fear to tread and that I may be able to appeal throughout simply to the every-day musical experience of my audience. There are hundreds of books upon sight-singing, Some pay their possible disciples the compliment of assuming that their capacity is so great that the whole matter can be mastered in a very short time and may be presented in a nutshell. These nutshell methods conveniently assume the skill they affect to impart, and, consequently, are hard for common folk to crack. More elaborate methods claim to ensure success if you only succeed in succeeding. If you do not succeed, the individual is to blame, not the system, which is infallible. It has already been remarked that every system of teaching worthy the name must assume in pupils the existence of certain potential capacities that can be developed. So every teacher is a psychologist, or at least he ought to be if he is worth his salt. It is far from my intention to discuss or advocate any particular method. I design simply to endeavour to tabulate the faculties which all methods assume their pupils to possess in a greater or lesser degree. I propose to omit all reference to rhythm and to confine myself to the relationship of musical sounds to one another.