VOCAL MUSIC IN THE FAMILY AND SCHOOL. 31 



parents spend too lnucli time and affectionate regard on themselves 

 and too little on the boys and girls. But what has vocal mnsic to 

 do with this and how will it elevate and make life happier? 



Try it, friend, for yourself and in your family circle and you will 

 find the answer. Weave into the daily life there any pleasing study 

 or exercise which naturally tends to refine and elevate, and you have 

 opened a source of happiness and protection against evil, which is of 

 priceless value to every member of the household. There are num- 

 bers of such studies or exercises which cannot now be discussed. 

 Vocal music is certainly one and not the least in its power and ef- 

 fects, for it can charm the king or the peasant, banish care, cement 

 fellowship, sweeten toil, bear messages of love, melt to tears of grief 

 or pity, inspire to deeds of self-sacrifice or valor, or to thoughts of 

 heavenly purity. 



What a wonderful power to establish in the family, where it will 

 brighten the daily life, inspire to better things and whence its influ- 

 ence may pulsate through the community and nation ! Why should 

 it not be installed in every household ? The rich and great have no 

 monopoly of it, nor are the learned the only ones who can lay hold 

 upon it and enjoy its blessings ! 



What pleasures or advantages does it confer upon those who are 

 its students ? Ask the singer, whose spirit thrills with varied emo- 

 tions as he renders the works of the great masters. Ask the hum- 

 bler choristers, whose souls march with their voices through the 

 great chorales of praise and adoration. 



The family that sings together knits closer those ties that death 

 cannot sever ; the friends that join in chorus are more difficult to 

 part thereafter; sorrow and care take flight as we join in that Hea- 

 ven-born exercise ; the hours spent by many under its influence are 

 often those which, but for its superior attractions, might be wasted 

 in evil companionship or pursuits, and the words of hope, love, con- 

 secration, duty, adoration, or thanksgiving that are uttered by the 

 singer sink into his own heart and there unconsciously exercise cor- 

 responding influence for good. 



Still, this is no recent discovery and to verge on rhapsodizing 

 about vocal music will not make singers. Granted, but some form 

 of force must be turned on if anything is to be set in motion. 



Strange as it may seem to some, it is not so difficult to make 



