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The Keep
1956
Recommended Citation
Dressel, Sister Marie Therese S.S.N.D., B.M., "A Comparison Study of Four Catholic School Music Series"
(1956). Masters Theses. 4710.
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/4710
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A COMPARATIVE
-
STUDY OF
A Paper
Pre s ented t o
by
Augu st 1966
Approved by:
Advi sor
Date
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. INTRODUCTION
,
TO THE COMPARATIVE STUDY • • • • • l
Catholic Viewpoint • • • • • • • • • • • l
Kind o f Series • • • • • • • • • • • • • 6
Choice o f Material s • • • • • • • • • • • • 8
Comparison o f Format • • • • • • • • • • • • 40
Comparison o f Layout • • • • • • • • • • • • 43
CHAPTER PAGE
Conclus ion • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 53
BIBLIOGRAPHY • . � ! • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 56
APPENDIX • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 59
CHAPTER I
rec tors , to see that they pre sent this gift to the mind o f
1
Pope Pius XII, "On Sacred Music , " Encyclical L e t
ter of His Holine s s P ope Pius XII ( Washington, D.d.: Na
tionil Catholic Welfare C onterenc e , 1955) , p . 9 .
2
with his intellect and will, toward all that is good and
much more than this because he realizes that the main pur
says:
2
Edward Leen, What is Education? (New York: Sheed
and Ward, 1944) , p. 142. -
3
the heart of each child and plant there the ·seed of faith
ing the true and perfect Christian, that is, to form Christ
4
Himself in those regenerated in Baptism. The aim of Chris
student the ideas, the attitudes, and the habits that are
society.
the Catholic Education Series, and the Music for Life Series,
point most of the secular series are very good. But, from a
sions will be found in the Btudy due to the fact that some
that since only four books are published for some of the
Catholic Music Hour is the only series that has more than
Catholic Education Series into two parts and use each book
Hour Series are entirety too difficult for the age level.
ter. Suffice it to say that this series has never been re
mu sic whi ch i s a God- given means b y whi ch man may prais e and
serve God and thus further hie a t tainment o.f the happine s s
6
for which God ha s creat e d him in this life. Parti cipation
later life how mus i c influe nce s his individual growth by cre
ating a force having its own di s cipline for the dire ction of
j o int parti cipation o f both laity and clergy. For this rea
the ent ire congregation in the sacred a.ct of the Mas s . But
sugge stion:
that the chant i s too di ffi cult and cannot be unders tood by
the younger children. Experience and expe riment s have proved
the more commonly used chant s such as the K�rie , Sanctus and
beaut iful form of musi cal expre s sion by which he can lift
give God word praise but we enhance that praise with the
rhy thm of day s . Wind and tide and wave s move in ordered
rhy thm, The sun s, moons , planet s , and s tars move in rhy thm
tion Serie s and the Music for Life Seri e s use rhy thm in such
goal because the few Cathol i c hymns and chant s that this
seri e s wa s wri t ten for publ i c s chool u se. The main idea
the hold and re s t are stre s sed. ln preparation for the un
rhythmic upbeat .
ted quarter notes, eighth note s and sixte enth note s . After
to rhythm were found: the whole no te, half note, the up and
ing les sons, toy orche s tra, recognition of phras e repe tit ion
stre sses creative rhythm. D e finite dire ctions are given for
3/4 and 4/4 me ter beginning on the downbeat and 2/4 and 3/4
Thre e quarter time and the dot t e d half note are new
for Life Seri e s . There are songs in which clapping and other
function s .
into some dance steps that are fundamen tal to folk dance s
e stabli shed.
phrases.
two ei ghth not e s, the tied quarter note , the psalma t i c re
ted hal f note and the divided beat of two eighth not e s . In
duce d in Book Four of the Music for Life Serie s . The use o f
Gregorian accent .
all the serie s except the Catholic Music Hour. The require
men t s for s econd grade pupil s in this serie s are too diffi
Series, The Cathol ic E ducation Serie s and The Mus ic for L ife
work help in deve loping good tone and pitch accuracy a s aids
veloped by spe cific ear training and vocal work using the
proach.
ing are given in the Music for Life Se rie s . The me thod to be
Since this i s the case in all four books this i s the only men-
training.
The Catholic Music Hour in Book One develops the ele-
ing .
for the song mat e rial to be used. I n this book special stre s s
later chap ters of Book Two a pat tern song is given to provide
rhythmic ear training in Book Two. Oral and writ ten work is
new song.
God Through Mus i c Serle s . Here we find s imple s cale and wasy
its rhythmi c and melodic ear training both oral and wri tten.
scal e s and some of the mode s . Thi s mate rial may seem to be
third grade . The s e books were wri tten to be used for a two
Book Four.
----
The fourth and last book of the To God
the climax of the other t hree book s . This book i s the Grego
be used. Teets are given in the fir s t mode and in the minor
scale .
Music Hour is the obs ervat ion song. Since this aeries was
cur be tween subjects such a s the change from the minor mode s
det ail from the other serie s . It s e ems to deal mostly with
cal as the othe r s . From the first to the fourth book the only
those whi ch the child will nece s sarily learn and know during
stood that thi s could not be carrie d out in all the serie s
Catholic Mu s i c Hour.
are mostly ba sed on the t onic chord. The obj e cti ve of this
Mode Five .
P salm Five
a - gain s t
rot e songs but the s e rapidly lead to tonal and rhythmic fre e
dom. The book contains many melodie s without words . They are
song s in the fir s t book with word cont ent . There are many
Catholic hymnbook.
book o f the Music for Life Serie s ,.,e find many religious
ica. There are twelve Gregorian Chant s and five hymn s in
cluded in this book. All the songs are lis ted under four
nition of phras e and repe tition , reading songs for the read
for melodic basic t onal group s . The obj ective o f Book Two
duced in note song s . The songs are bas e d on the sol to sol
t aught by rot e . There are a few new chant s in moae six and
a review of chan t s in mode five .
P salm Six
J) J I J) ..P £@ J1
of grace, the Lord is with The e .
1
.. II
Chant in Mode Six
{�J'JJJJI)
flll Mother weeping,
. .
Close to Je sus
. .,
to the la s t .
II
The mos t notable song s are taken from the Gre gorian raper-
t oire . The author has grade d the melodie s so that they con
Music for Life Serie s . The secular song s are again grouped
With some short Latin phra s e s a few Gre gorian melodie s with
reading . The rote and note approache s are used in thi s book.
sign. In the fir s t s eme ster reading songs are made in the
sharp keys and in the second s eme ster the flat keys are in
troduced. Songs are based on the doh to doh range and the
sol to sol range in the maj or mode . There are a few s ongs
of psalms five and six and of mode s five and six. P salm
e ight is int roduce d and two new chants in mode eight are
taught by rot e .
P salm Eight
fob�iJJJnJ ��II
Al- l e - - - - - lu - - - la.
rian melodies .
Music Series . I t again use s the rote and not e approach. Songs
are base d on the doh to doh range with a sol to sol range in
of psalms five , six and e ight and of modes five, six and
P salm Three
ip Ji 8 e ou
Hail Ma - ry full of
r 1e
grace , the with The e.
fall - ing,
�tft?P
L o,
� 1'
the sa- cred hos t we hail .
of Gregorian Chant .
Science songs come under the category of eart h , sea and sky ,
ance, and to give him a l ove and appreciat ion of good music
s e rie s called The Music Hour and The Ca tholic Music Hour
who: approved the s e rie s knew very much about music t eaching
monotonous.
The To God Through Music Se rie s and the Mus ic for Life
and song s . They have variety and intere s t and they gradually
Chant .
31
and all the creative work will contribut e to the growth and
are various ways and ti.me s in which the listening pe riod may
music and growth of knowl e dge . The book contains a sugge sted
give s helps for directed lis t e ning. By the time the children
and violin.
t ization.
32
Serie s one find s many act ion songs that de finitely can be
intere s t in ear training but it goe s all out on the sub j ect
pos sibly our modern rhythm band. They are given exper�mce
compositions.
tion is encourage d.
in Book Two are again develop e d in Book Thre e.of the T o God
Schumann.
s trumen t s of the orche s tra. They are shown how music and art
can be synchronized.
oboe , bas soon, french horn and tuba . The s e instrument s are
34
given.
for the classroom t eacher who must teach her own music be
child and how to keep his int ere s t through the use of media
flavor. The sugge stions in the book are very good but they
but the book doe s not have the appeal to the modern child
that the other s erie s have . The monotony of too many folk
for they are fine when used discre e tly . There should be
can be done by re- creating songs and piece s in the chil d ' s
God Through Mu sic Serie s . Mat erial for creat ive expre s sion
the means of devel oping crea tive expre s sion in Book Two of
conve rsat ion, rhythmic ges ture s , and melody and rhythmic
O ne .
Two of all the serie s no new ma terial was f ound for creative
Four of the To God Through Music S eri es. Some dramat ization
short phrases in two parts and also for one of the melodies
u. sual insight into the minds of children. Her id. e as lit erally
draw out of the child any cre ative spark that might be in. him.
Sister Mary John Bosco , the author, has some very fine sug
ge stions for creative expre s sion and the y are varied and
p o s sible for a six year old to give the phrase analysis for
long. I f that is the case , the child doe s not have the right
hundred and s eve nty page s . They are abou t s even by e ight
and one hal f inche s in size . All of the picture s are black
ink drawings but they are so cl everly done tha t the ab s ence
p r e s enting the modern five line staff and the Gregorian four
repre s ent the arsis and the sis o f chironomy. Another dis
onomy marks writ ten through them whther they are in numbers
book covers s eventy- eight page s . The two revised books are
41
again st a modernis tic cro s s . The book i s nine and one half
inche s long and se ven inche s wide . The print and notation
are large . The song manual s con tain abou t one hundred and
ment that has been made in the many pha s e s of music text
of the books is not much dif fe rent than our modern books ,
but , the picture s are very old fashioned. One very fine
n o tation is large but the words seem too small for com
f ortable reading .
print i s too smal l . The one big feature o f The Catholi c Mus i c
the t eache r ' s manual s the same idea will be carried out in
book t o l ook for s ongs for spe cial event s . Be cause all the
fi rst year songs are taught by rote thi s s'erie s doe s not
which are all tha t has been publi she d t o dat e , have s ong
childhood song s , s tudy about the doh family, hymns and re
vari ous songs are sui tably int erspe rsed through the mon thly
l e arne d p salm tone , The Snowman , Who ' s That Tapping at the
followed b y the song, The Moon Boa t , wri tten i n the same
the Olive Tre e s and Silent Ni ght . One o f the outs tanding
ren ' s manual in the teacher ' s manual . Each page i s printed in
ano ther Gregorian mel ody with English translat ion , 0 C ome
Chant .
who are unac quainted with the Catholic Church that o ther
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
.
., .. - . . .. .
... ' : :
Various Forms of Catholi c Church Mus·i o. According to
music in the Catholic Church and take s pre cedence over all
o ther forms of music, but this does not cause the Church to
mus t readily admi t that the Cathol ic Church has not cho s en
,-
the easiest kind of music and Pope Pius XII gives the warn
ing that " when the means and talent available are unequal
tain rule s and regulations are laid down for their per
f o rman ce. They are only permi tted at spe cial servi ce s and
10Ibid.
ll ibid.
49
s on plans and many valuable sugges tion s . The book begins with
From Book Two to Book Four, and thi s will most probably be
after Justine Ward, the author, has produ ced wonderful re
me thodbecause the Ward method is very much older and was writ-
much of her trai ning under the Benedictine monks of Sole sme s
l i turgi cal pi cture s in her book were drawn by the nuns o f the
.
really not adequate for the boys and girl s , si sters and
ons tration was given several years ago for a class of teach
Life S erie s was diffi cult to compare with the other series
the author ever intends to publish one . The reason for thi s
i dea ls that there are certain sugge stions in the children ' s
manual that could well have been left for the teacher ' s
52
t eacherh manual for the Music for Life Serie s she would not
s e rie s from the publi sher. A set of the s e books were found
and the old Mus i c Hour Seri e s have the same four authors i t
cul ty i s that the chant s and hymns cho sen for each year are
o f The · Catholic Mus i c Hour. If one had ever had the oppor
thi ze with the poor teacher who has to teach Latin chant s
o nly one short L atin chant , the Adoro T e , the Kyrie and
die s and words that the children hear daily at Ma s s and with
time .
2
al so as mini sters of Chri s t the Lord and His helpe rs in the
work o f the apo s tolate . They should l ikewi se show n their
conduct and their live s dignity of their calling. l
12
Pope Pius XI I , " On Sacred Musi c , 11 Encyclical L e tter
0p
of His Holine s s P e Pius XII ( Washingt on , D . C . : Nati onal
'Oa tholic Welfare onferen ce;-1955 ) , P • 9 .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. BOOKS
�
Oathol·io Di e s t Reader. New York: Doubleday and Company ,
Ino. , i 52.
B. ENCYCLICAL LETTER
c. NEWSPAPER
BOOK Establi sh fundamental Primary groupinf of Who le , half . and Begins with rote t o
� rhythm, beginning on pul ses in 2 1 s-3 s . quarter not es. · develop vocabulary
downbeat and upbeat . Subdivi sion o f Up and downbeat . of fundamental s tepE
Develop feel for 2/4- pul ses. Gregorian Rhy and figure s.
3/4 meter, through Movement of phrase thms . Freedom of self
clapping - stepping. as whole . Sense of Action songs. expres sion.
Experience in free rhythm formed Rote songs , toy o�
rhythm. Observation through ge s ture s anc che s tra , phys ical
of fast, slow, hold, movement s of whole expre s sion, lis ten
re s t . Rhythmi c up body. i�g lessons and
beat preparation .for re cognition of
Gregorian Ohant . phrase repe ti tion. ·
Work for good tone and O ral and written Ear - training and
true pi tch through dicta.t ion. T eacher . eye training in the
tonal imitation and re first use s gesture s , elements of tonal
spons e. Second seme s ter for rise and fall and rhythmic pro
- introduce , syllable s of melody. Phrases cedu�e and its nota
according t o scalewi se used based on mater- tion providi ng neces
progre s sion. Five l ine ial studied. . sary background
staff pre sented by Rhythmi c dictat i on leading to sight
flash cards - use u sed alone a t firs t , reading and o ther
short mo t ive s used in melody added later. skill s.
previous months . Rote
note approach.
e rial care fully elodic , rhyt i o e cogn on o 5 or
outlined. Scalewise and -both combined. 6 composit ions on
and toni c chord skips . Oral and wri tten. hearing first few
Later, pattern song Maj or and minor measure s . Ability
used to provide melod melodi e s . t o follow and re cog
ic approach to chords Mode s . ni ze a re current
I , V and IV. Melodic theme in a new song.
approach to skip of 4th
throu h tonal nei hbor.
imple s cale and easy fodulati on . e cognition of s tep
chord pat tern s . Theory wi s e progre s sion ,
songs previ ously skips of thir.ds ,
learned - used as fourths , fi fths ,
bridge to l e s s famil sixths and oc�av.e s .
iar tonal material .
cale and chordal pat Rhythmi c ear tes t s . o servat ion song s.
terns used to prepare First mode and
for minor and Gregorian minor scal e s .
mode s already pre sented
by rote .
HYMNS, CHANTS � SONGS
Taught by rote . Mo st Rote . singing rapid Many . religi.ous bje ctive- t o sing 30
ly ba sed on tonic ly leads to tonal s ongs • . Songs per r 40 rote songs.
chord . Ob j e ctive - and rhythmi c free taining to social ne stanza of Amer
reading readine ss •. · dom . s tudi e s , science , oa . Twelve Gregori
Individual s inging Many .melodi e s with singing game s , n Chant s .and f ive
encouraged. Many out words . Eight and rhythmi c pla hymns .
Ameri can songs, child songs from Gregorian Nursery rhyme s . ote. s ongs , ob ser
hood and story songs, and other source s . Songs to help ation s ongs , read
singing .games and a Words and phra s e s singers with low ng and s tudying
short playle t . put t o mus i c • .Sev voice s . One shor songs .
eral . sugge.s t.ed Latin phrase .
l i tur i oal chant s.
Rote and note ap Mo �tly an cient folk Religious songs O to 60 rote songs.
proach. Songs based s ongs . Mos t no table predominate . O to be memorized.
on tonic chord and s ongs from Gregori Songs in same 8 Gregorian _ num
s calewi s e progres an rep�rt oire . category as ers including
si ons . Six key s Melodie s graded so above . Greg9r� salms , chants and
used in note song� . they contain only an melodi e s sees.
Songs based on 5- 5 previously prepared with English wo s tanzas o f Amer-
range . P salm tone mate rial . words .
V and VI . New chant s Short Latin
i n Mode V and VI . phrase s .
Repert o ire of fav Three Latin
orite old s ongs. hymns .
P 1ayl e t .
�
mater�al previously Many liturgical 2 religious
e sented. melodi e s from· the song � . Songs
view of s ong s . Ma s s and other relating to
R�view o f P salms V , s e rvice s . s c ience and
VI and VI I-I and of social s tudie s .
Chant s in Mode s V, Melodie s o f
VI and VII I . famous c ompo-
Psalm I I I and two new sere.
chant s in Mode s VIII Part song s ,
and III. rounds and can-
on s . Songs for
spe cial days.
MUSIC APPRECIATION
TO GOD THROUGH MUSIC CATHOLI C EDUCATION MUSIC !QS � CATHOLIC MUSIC HOUR
BOOK Lay foundation by Write original mel- Echo game and Phrase analysi s o f
omr-
-
que stion and answer odi e s . other - im1 ta- song s. Study of
songs . Musi cal conversat ion . tive songs. motive s and figure s ,
Oreate original with l i s te d vocabu
endings. larie s of rhythmi c
Make instruments. and melodic figure s .
BOOK Same a s above. Wri t ten and sung A s above . Definite procedure
·1·)'UU!.E original melodi e s for developing ex
and rhythms . perience into musi
cal self expre s sion.
BOOK Piano and ins tru Original melodie s Original mel As above .
1''0Ul1. mental experienc e . and songs . odi e s .
Dramati zation o f Choral speak
songs . ing.
Making o f Chant
Booklet in whi ch
words and mu sic
for two chants on
Gregorian s taff
are wri tten.