Let’s clarify what ‘rote playing’ is.
Rote playing is simply playing by imitation and repetition. As a piano teacher, I’d sit by a student at the piano and play a simple tune. I would not use music in front of me. The child would listen and watch me play. After watching and listening, the child would repeat what I just played.
There is no notation or knowledge of notes used in rote playing.
What does Mrs. Curwen have to say about rote playing?
I find this an interesting question. The first version I read of Mrs. Curwen’s pianoforte Method was the fourteenth edition. It appears that this edition was written around 1910. (Remember, Mrs. Curwen wrote and re-wrote her book in an effort to continue improving her instruction.)
In the fourteenth edition, Mrs. Curwen does not talk of rote playing or its benefits.
Furthermore, fairly early on in her book on page 22 when Mrs. Curwen begins talking about the first lesson in the first step, she says,
“The sine qua non of reading music is a quick recognition of the written sounds in relation to the keyboard; an unhesitating obedience of the finger to the eye; an obedience so unhesitating and complete, that the action of the two is almost simultaneous.”
What is the definition of sine qua non? It is defined as an indispensable condition, element, or factor on www.dictionary.com.
Considering she doesn’t mention rote playing and then talks about the importance of reading staff notation, I made a quick assumption that playing by rote was not commended by Mrs. Curwen.
Recently, I began reading the 31st edition of her book. Do you know what is written in bold letters on page 4 of her book?
“Rote Playing.”
She says,
“But if at this stage we teach the child to sing by ear, is there any objection to his playing by ear? None at all. Under certain conditions it can be made very educational.”
What stage of education is she referring to?
She says that rote playing
“can quite well be taught by ear and imitation, either as a recreation during the Preliminary Course of “Child Pianist,” or before regular “music lessons” begin at all.
This is such encouragement for me as a mom with young children. My boys are five, three, and one right now. What a great recommendation for me to use with my five year old.
Mrs. Curwen also suggests only teaching by rote under a few simple conditions:
- That the child wants to do it, and is physically fit
- That we do not worry him about it, but teach him when he is inclined and leave off when, for the time, he has had enough.
- That suitable music can be found
For those of us pursing Mrs. Curwen’s pianoforte method as a result of our Charlotte Mason inspired living, we can see a bit of similarity between Mrs. Curwen’s recommendations above and Miss Mason’s recommendations of schooling children under the age of six.
What is the suitable music Mrs. Curwen’s suggests for rote playing?
She mentions two books:
- Dr. Carroll’s “First Piano Lessons” (Farm Scenes)
- “Nursery Jingles” by Edith Rowland. Curwen edition 9188, 9189, 9190
If you are sitting with a child teaching them to play by rote, Mrs. Curwen suggests for the teacher to not have the music with her. She recommends not mixing up the notation with the rote playing. Then she goes on to talk about showing the child the music after they’ve learned to read the notes and find the intervals.
She says that
“to be able to decipher them for himself will be a pleasure akin to that which a child feels when he can read for himself the fairy tale that has often been told him.”