upied my position now nearly ten years, and am just beginning
to find the benefit of the Tonic Sol-fa movement amongst my adult
members of the choir, having now nine adults who have passed through the
school with a good practical knowledge of the Sol-fa notation.

"When I commenced work here (coming from north of England) I was struck
with the very disagreeable tone of the boys' and girls' voices. To say
they sang flat does not convey how flat they sang, nor does it convey
any idea of the tone, but the same may be heard any night at the
Salvation Army meetings here. The vicar of the parish told me also upon
my arrival here, that at a church in Bournemouth a former vicar used to
import all his boy voices outside of Hampshire. So that you will gather
that I had not a light task before me to produce a tone satisfactory to
myself or the inspector. But I may safely say I have for some years
satisfied myself, and last year our assistant-inspector spoke of the
very beautiful quality of the boys' voices. I can assure you that it is
only rarely that I find occasion to complain of the tone. The moment I
hear the objectionable tone produced, I immediately stop the singing,
even if in the middle of prayers. Mine is a boys' school, but I teach
the girls singing with the boys. Now as to how I produced the change:--

"1. I introduced the Tonic Sol-fa notation.

"2. I used to practise very frequently for a few minutes upon the
modulator, making abundant use of the upper--

[Illustration: KEY C. d1 r1 m1 f1]

"3. I prohibited all shouting on high notes.

"4. Particularly was I severe upon loud singing in lower notes, say,

[Illustration: KEY F. r d t_1 l_1 s_1]

"5. I established a degree of sound, and have it still, what is known
amongst my scholars as 'singing in a whisper'--_i.e._, to produce
singing as softly as possible. This idea I picked up in Cheshire from a
good Tonic Sol-faist.

"6. I have one or two favourite hymns, which I always pitch higher than
written, and thus compel the boys to use the upper registers. The boys
know I like these hymns, and I never fail to appreciate them to the boys
at the end of singing. I also have a favourite marching tune--I don't
know the name, but I believe it is often set to the hymn, 'When mothers
of Salem.' This tune is very lofty, and I believe the boys really enjoy
its loftiness, _but there must be no shouting_. When the boys displease
me, I tell them they drop their jaw too much, a