Mother Goose Songs Without Words*
60 Easy Compositions for beginner piano by L. E. ORTH with sheet music & lyrics
Published By OLIVER DITSON COMPANY Co. Boston circa 1900
About This Book
This book is actually a first primer for teaching children the piano. The author has set tunes to correspond with well know nursery rhymes from Mother Goose, by this method, he claims superior teaching results. The following are his words:
While a playful melody finds quick response in the child-mind, the notes that symbolize it seem altogether arbitrary and are a great bugbear to the little ones. In teaching my own and other children piano playing, I have found it a great help to give with a melody some familiar words in the same rhythm. No words are so dear to the child as the nursery rhymes. As versions of Mother Goose vary, I have set down the words the rhythm of which the music follows exactly. This identity of rhythm as well as similarity of spirit will help beginners in music, find response in the home circle, and be of use in the Kindergarten where the words can be repeated aloud while the music goes on. What happier way to awaken the musical instinct than to associate with the nursery rhyme a little melody that expresses the spirit of the rhyme itself in all its childlikeness? To do this, and to bring to the hearts of children, little and big, musical cheer and gladness, is the aim of this little work.
*
Actually, words are provided, "without words" refers to being able to play the tunes alone.
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