Throughout Mrs. Curwen’s book, you see “N.B.” in various places. This is Italian for Nota Bene. It means to take note. She is marking sometime as significant. She wants me, as a piano teacher, to stop for a moment and read carefully.
Here’s a growing list of notes I’m finding as I go:
Found in Preliminary Lesson 2b:
N.B. – “The pulse is the throb, which we feel; the beat is the stroke, which we see.” (page 44, 31st edition.)
N.B. – “Point to kept in view by the teacher – that the letter name belongs to the sound – the pitch – and only in a secondary sense to the [key].
For all practical purposes in pianoforte playing it is enough that the player shall know the [key] which corresponds to each line or space of the staff. Hence, as I have said before, Pitch, on a keyboard instrument becomes chiefly a question of Locality. The danger is lest it should become altogether so, and the pupil forget – or never realize at all – that the letter names are the names of sounds. It is not necessary, or advisable, to trouble the child with this distinction; if the teacher’s mind is quite clear about it the wrong notion can be kept out of the mind of the pupil.” (page 41, 31st edition.)
N.B. – “The sense of rhythm is rarely altogether wanting, but it may be more or less acute. The child may be accustomed to marching and doing exercises to music at school, and be an expert. If so, he can go straight on with the lesson on time; but if there is any difficulty he must remain at this stage until his ear is so far trained that he can march or clap independently of the teacher’s help, taking his tempo from the music alone. PULSE is the foundation fact of all that we call “time” in music, and if the child cannot feel the pulse it goes without saying that he cannot realize accent and measure and the various developments and modifications of rhythm.” (page 42, 31st edition.)
Found in Preliminary Lesson 3:
N.B. “Never sing with pupils. Let them listen and then imitate. Do not let the name be sung staccato, but have the vowel sound held on for the full pulse.”
Found in Preliminary Lesson 3:
N.B. – There is a tendency, even among teachers, to say “taa aa” as two separate sounds. This is objectionable, and contradicts the teaching, for we take away the t to make two sounds into one. In playing it does not interfere with the practical result, for the player holds on during the second pulse. But in singing it is fatal; and we should correlate the instrumental and vocal work in every way. A slight push on the voice is allowable, but the better way is to beat when a continued sound is spoken of or sung. A tap of one hand on the other is enough.” (page 50, 31st edition.)
Found in Preliminary Lesson 4d:
N.B. – “Do not teach the spaces until the lines are known quite well; that is, till the connection between staff and keyboard is quite clear to the pupil’s mind. Rapidity in naming will come with the daily practice given in the lessons of Step 1.
Point to be kept in view by the teacher all through the staff’s work: that the letter-names belongs primarily to the sound, and only in a secondary sense to the line. See also note in Second Lesson, section Pitch.” (page 63, 31st edition.)