KNOWLI.DC.K 



Tlicv iiuliKf (|iiicknL'ss of tlimii,-!)! ;iinl Mclioii. As 

 tlu'y lU'i'il more skill than any ot tiic prcci'din}; tlic\- 

 are plact'cl at tlif ciiii of tlu- lesson, when eontrol of 

 body has been aetinired. 



'). Kicsi'iKMOKY iiXKKCiSKS (sce Figures 174 and 

 175>. Consist of deep ins|)iratioiis and ex[)irations 

 for the purpose of increasing the supply of owgen to 

 the system. They are generally accompanied In- 

 some simple arm movements which open the chest. 

 They lessen fatigue and give a sense of repose. 



Thus every part of the body isscientificalK- trained 

 and strengthened. The organs of resiiiration, circu- 

 lation and digestion receive more attention than the 

 muscular development, so that these storehouses of 

 vitality may be replenished and the brain, nerves 

 and muscles supplied with healthy nutriment. 



The movements are executed at word of command 

 in order to prev'ent mechanical work and involuntarv 

 imitation. It is an essential principle that each 

 exercise should be completeh' and correctly carried 

 out at the teacher's command, as the best results arc 

 obtained even in a simple movement b\' the concen- 

 tration of the will on the exercise. St\Ic and 

 precision of movement and progress in details are 

 aimed at rather than feats of strengtii. 



The importance of having fully trained teachers 

 as exponents of the Swedish system cannot be too 

 much emphasised : much harm is being done hv the 

 ignorant and uninitiated, who attempt to teacli so- 

 called '■ Swedish Drill "' after having learnt a few 

 exercises. It must be remembered that while 

 suitable exercises, properly [Jerformed, can and do 



correct faulty postures, unsuitable and even suitable 

 oni'S incorrectl)' performed produce, and exaggerate, 

 the very |)ostures and deformities of the bodv for 

 which they are meant to be corrective. 



Unless a teacher is both trained and observant 

 more harm than good is likely to be done bv teaching 

 gymnastics. .As Dr. Shrubsell says: — "No one 

 would dream of placing a teacher who had never 

 learned mathematics in charge of a mathematical 

 class, where the worst that could happen would be 

 failure to acquire knowledge, a purely negative 

 result : whereas often untrained teachers are set to 

 put a class through gymnastic e.xercises, with the 

 grave risk of producing a permanent, positive result 

 in the direction of bad carriage and even bodilv 

 deformity. Two years is none too long in which to 

 learn both the principles of the subject and their 

 api)lication. Slight knowledge is almost more dan- 

 gerous than none at all." 



Swedish gymnastics should constitute a [)art of 

 the ordinary school work, and a place should be 

 given for daily lessons in the timetable. Being less 

 recreative, and presenting a corrective element, they 

 are not intended to take the place of games. They 

 make considerable calls on the mental as well as the 

 bodil\- activities, and to produce the best effects 

 should be taken during morning school and not 

 relegated to the last period of the afternoon. 



It is instructive to notice that during the thirty 

 years the Swedish system has been in general use 

 in Scandinavian schools, the average stature and 

 weight of the children have shown a marked increase. 



[NOTI-:. — We had the pleasure of going down to the .\nstey College and seeing for ourseh'es the most 

 interesting and successful work of the students there. Birmingham is only two hours' journe\- from Euston 

 on the London and North-Western Railway, and a local train carries one on to Chester Road, lirdington, 

 which is practically in the suburbs of the citv. — Eds.] 



II". sri'in' oi' PRiMirix'!- mcsic. 



Dr. C. S. Myi-;ks gave a lecture on " Primitive 

 .Music " at the Ro\al Anthropological Institute on 

 Tuesday, March 19th, when the Presitlcnt. Mr. 

 •Alfred P. Maudslay, was in the chair. 



In this pa])er the chief objects and nu'thods of 

 studying the music of primiti\c peoples were 

 described, illustrated by examples from Horneo 

 (Sarawak), Torres Straits (Murray Islandersi and 

 Ceylon (Veddas), the music of which Dr. .Myers 

 had personall\' investigated. Man\- of the songs 

 were exhibited by means of the phonograph, — an 

 instrument, the importance of which, even to the 

 most musicallx'-gifted ethnologist working " in tiie 

 field," was strongly emphasized. The structure and 

 details of other songs were indicated by various 

 lantern slides in which (i) the music was reduced to 

 our own notation : (ii) the nature and fre(]Uency of 

 the various intervals employed were demonstrated, 

 the inter\als being exjjressed in ratios of xibration 



freipiencies or in " cents," /'.<.'., hundredth parts of 

 our tem[)ered semitone, and (iii) the various scales 

 deduced from the songs were shown. Detailed 

 descriptions were gi\en of the technique of analysing 

 phonographic records and of the graphic method 

 introduced hx Dr. .Myers for recording " in the 

 field " the occasionalK" baffling rh\thnis. met with 

 especially in the drum accompaniments to primitive 

 music. The music of the Nlurray Islanders and of 

 the Todas was analysed to show (i) the wide dift'er- 

 ence even between such verv simple forms of music 

 belonging to two distant peoples ; (ii) the different 

 lines of musical development traceable within 

 different communities; (iii) the great importance, 

 alike for ethnology and for musical history, of 

 studying the process of diffusion of the various 

 styles of music, and also of musical instruments, 

 in regard to their form, their intervals and 

 their absolute pitch. 



