Have you ever wondered about Mason and Music? by Heidi Buschbach

Music Lessons with Mason: What is Sol-Fa? 
I was a workshop speaker in Iowa in October for a CM retreat.  I did an immersion on Sol-fa, or what we now call Solfege. I also presented an overview of the research I have been doing with the Charlotte Mason Digital Collection about how Mason taught music in the P.N.E.U Schools.  

I wanted to share the information from my handout in case others might benefit! This is kind of dry reading, but if you have been curious about how all the musical pieces fit together like I was, this will interest you! ( I apologize for the formatting issues.  I copied my content from a Word Doc and things won't line up nicely.  But I am a mama, not a blogger, so I am not worrying too much about it!!)

Brief Overview of the Music Lessons of Parent’s National Education Union (P.N.E.U.) Programmes:

Form 1 (1st-3rd)

• Drill, Dancing, and Games: 30 min. 3x/week

          Folk Dancing, Musical and Rhythm Games (which included rhythm and movement called Eurythmics),                 British (musical) Marches,  P.E. Drills

• Music Appreciation : 10 min. 1x/week

           Composer Study - 1 composer per term, sometimes included a living biography

• Singing

          Sight Singing - Sol-fa
                 Form 1b (1st Grade) Singing Games (used English Folksongs): 15 min. 2x/week (intro. to Sol-fa)
                 Form 1a (2nd/3rd) Sol-Fa: 15 minutes 2x/week (ear training with pitch, intervals and rhythm)
          Folk Singing
                Form 1b - 2 Foreign Language folksongs per term: 15 min. 1x/week            
                Form 1a- 2 French and 2 English songs: 15 min. 1x/week
         Hymn  
              1-2 per term (included Christmas Carols) 10 min. 1x/week

• Music (Instrumental)

        Piano - The Child Pianist by Mrs. Curwen - Private Lessons or practice in the afternoon - not included in              morning school time on Timetables. This is similar to the Suzuki method. 

Form 2 (4th-6th)

• Drill, Dancing, and Games: 20 min. 3x/week

      English Country Dances and Peasant Dances, Singing Games, and P.E. Drills possibly done to piano                   music,  Team games

• Music Appreciation: 10 min. 1x/week, Not found on Timetable, possibly done in afternoons

       Composer Study - 1 composer per term, sometimes included a living biography
       Living Books: Lives of the Great Musicians by P. Scholes (biography and musical concepts/form)

• Singing

       Sight Singing- Sol-Fa with Fifty Steps in Sight Singing by Somervell: 20 Min. 1x/week
       Folksong - 2-3 Foreign Language Folksongs  and 2-3 English songs per term: 20 min. 2x/wee
       Hymn - Learn songs by composers studied (included Christmas Carols) 10 min. 1x/week (Not on timetable)

• Music (Instrumental)

       Piano - The Child Pianist by Mrs. Curwen - Private Lessons or practice in the afternoon - not included in              morning school time on Timetables.


Form 3 (7th-8th)

• Drill, Dancing,  and Games: 20 min. 3x/week

         English Country Dances and Peasant Dances , P.E. Drills probably done to piano music, Sports introduced           this Form instead of Musical Games. 

• Music Appreciation : 10 min. 1x/week?, Not found on Timetable

         Composer Study - 1 composer per term, sometimes included a living biography:
         Music Appreciation, History, and Theory/Form Books: The Listener’s Guide to Music by P. Scholes and                Musical Groundwork by F.H. Shera, or The First/Second Book of Great Musicians by P. Scholes

• Singing

          Sight Singing- Sol-Fa with Fifty Steps in Sight Singing by Somervell: 20 Min. 1x/week
          Folksongs - 3 French and 3 German Folksongs  and 3 English songs per term: 20 min. 2x/week
          Hymn/Choral Singing - Learn songs by composers studied (included Christmas Carols) 10 min. 1x/week,             Hymn not on Timetable example that we have, but singing is.

• Music (Instrumental)

         Piano - Student Assigned to learn compositions by the term’s composer. Private Lessons or practice in the          afternoon - not included in morning school time on Timetables.
 
 
Form 4 (9th-10th)

•  In Form 4 (High School) Drill, Dancing, Games  and Singing were done daily, mid-day, for 20 minutes together. We’re not sure how this worked out from day to day. Below is still the content included in the Programmes and these subjects were also all tested at exam time. 
• Drill, Dancing,  and Games

         English Country Dances and Peasant or Scandinavian Dances , P.E. Drills probably done to piano music,             Sports like Hockey/Tennis/Swimming introduced instead of Musical Games

• Music Appreciation

        Composer Study - 1 composer per term, sometimes included a living biography:
        Music Appreciation, History, and Theory/Form Books: (Optional in 10th Grade)The Listener’s Guide to                 Music by P. Scholes, or Musical Groundwork by F.H. Shera, and/or The Second Book of Great Musicians            by P. Scholes

• Singing

        Sight Singing- Sol-Fa with Fifty Steps in Sight Singing by Somervell
        Folksongs: 3 French, 3 German?, and  3 English songs per term 
        Singing/Hymn - Learn songs by composers studied (Carols, Aria, Classical, folk)

• Music (Instrumental)

       Piano - Student Assigned to learn compositions by the term’s composer. Private Lessons or practice in the          afternoon - not included in morning school time on Timetables
       Living Books - Music History and Ear Training
 
Form 5 (11th) and Form 6 (12th)

• In Form 5 and 6 (High School) Drill, Dancing, Games, Music and Singing were done daily, mid-day, for 25 minutes together. We’re not sure how this worked out from day to day. Form 6 has a little less work than Form 5 presumably because they have more academic work to pursue at this time or they are possibly allowed to pursue things of interest to them in the afternoons.
• Drill, Dancing,  and Games

         Same as Form 4

• Music Appreciation

          Composer Study - 1 composer per term
          Living Books - Some Choices: The Enjoyment of Music by A.W. Pollitt, Lives of the Great Composers, ed.            by A.L. Bacharach,  The Musical Companion, ed. by A.L. Bacharach

• Singing

         Folksongs: 2 French, 2 German or Italian, 2 English National or Folk songs
         Choral Singing - Learn songs by composers studied (Carols, Aria, Classical, folk)
         Sight Singing -   Practical sight-singer by A. Carse: 170 Sight Reading exercises

• Music -

       Piano - Student Assigned to learn compositions by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart or Beethoven, Schubert,          Chopin, Schumann
      Living Books about Music Theory, History, etc.: The Growth of Music by H.C. Colles, Foundations of                     Practical Harmony and Counterpoint by R.O. Morris -12 chapters; see preface, Practical Harmony by                   Stewart Macpherson, Elements of Music by F. Davenport