The final stages in the teaching of extemporization will consist in:

1. Expressing a given idea in musical form, e.g. a march, or a gavotte.

2. Extemporizing on a given theme.

Although these last stages may be thought to be beyond the power of the
average child, experience has proved that it is not so, provided the
previous work has been carefully graded, and that none of the early
steps have been omitted or hurried over.




CHAPTER X

THE TEACHING OF ELEMENTARY COMPOSITION


A wise musician has drawn attention to the fact that music has a more
important educational function than any foreign language, being a common
language for the expression of emotion, imaginative power, and rhythmic
feeling. He went on to say that, as a training, it is of use from the
very earliest years, and for all classes of the community.

If we agree with this view--and it is encouraging to note the increasing
number of those who do so--we must so organize the musical education of
children that a time comes when they will be ready to 'express
themselves' in music in the same way in which they can express