From Wikipedia:
Justine Ward née Bayard Cutting (Morristown, New Jersey, August 7, 1879 - Washington, D.C., November 27, 1975 was a musical educator who developed a system for teaching music to children known as the Ward Method. She was the first woman to develop an American elementary music education method, which predates the Kodály, Orff, and Dalcroze methods, and contains all the same basic elements, with an emphasis on music literacy and aesthetic interpretation.[2]
The Ward method of music education was created in the early part of the twentieth century to promote the use of liturgical chant by teaching children vocal music reading skills. Its author, Justine Bayard Ward, was a newcomer to the Catholic Church and to the field of education, yet her approach proved successful and spread throughout the United States, Europe and other parts of the world. The ancient tradition of choral training in the Church, Ward's upbringing, her musical training and aesthetic inclinations, and her zeal in furthering the liturgical and musical reforms of Pius X fostered the ideal environment for the creation of the Ward method.
Evidence shows that the materials and procedures were largely appropriations of pre-existing ideas. For example, the work in sight-singing was taken from the Galin-Paris-Chevé school, which flourished in nineteenth-century France, and the educational philosophy originated from her publisher, Rev. Thomas Shields. Ward's mentor, Rev. John Young, S.J., had combined bel canto vocal technique with Chevé exercises and, under Shields's guidance, Ward reshaped it. Separation of musical elements, principally rhythm and pitch, and graduated exercises were key ingredients Ward inherited from Chevé. Students learned accurate pitch discrimination through daily sight-singing drills where numbers corresponded to the sung solfège syllables in moveable “do.”
Justine Ward's contributions lie in skillfully incorporating the Chevé sight-singing drills, Young's vocal training, and Shields' theories of aesthetics and childhood development to attain her goal of teaching children music of quality. The repertoire consisted of classical melodies, European folk tunes, and Gregorian chant. Another original contribution was the inclusion of the Solesmes method of rhythm, and the teaching of its rhythms through body movement; Ward had traveled to France specifically to learn from the Benedictines of Solesmes.
The Ward method spread through several avenues. Catholic Education Press began systematic publication of textbooks in the 1910s. Leaders in Catholic education were won over by demonstrations led by Justine Ward. More importantly, the Ward method spread through teacher training courses. It evolved in subsequent publications largely due to her recasting the material to reflect trends in music education. The newer rhythmic theories in Gregorian chant, which depart from the Solesmes method that Ward championed, are one of the leading reasons many still oppose using the Ward Method. This ignores the musical literacy contribution Ward made to elementary music education methods in the United States, and places all emphasis on chant. "The Ward method teaches students how to sing and read music with ease and skill. Its predecessors were Rousseau and Chevé, who developed a method of reading music in numbers for solfege, rather than beginning with the traditional staff. Ward evolved a method that incorporated staff notation so that there is no gap in learning. This method is designed with progressive education ideals in mind, such as learning through the discovery of facts in sequential steps." [2] While the Solesmes method is quite simplistic, due to being the pioneer of modern chant revitalization,[2] it is easy to learn and teach to children and adults, making it an ideal spring board for later learning. The Ward Method remains an outstanding method of teaching music literacy, with or without chant.
Located just behind the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the School of Music building of the Catholic University of America was partially donated by and named for her.
And from Catholic University Centre for Ward Method Studies:
The Ward Method of music instruction is a progressive method of teaching elementary school children – through vocal instruction – music theory, composition, and conducting. The Method was developed by the foundress of the original School of Liturgical Music at The Catholic University of America in 1929, Justine Bayard Ward (1879-1975), to teach American Catholic school children the fundamentals of music which would enable them to sing the vast patrimony of musica sacra which is a part of the Roman Catholic Church’s tradition. The Ward Method is unique in that it has a basis in Gregorian chant, that “treasure of inestimable value” (Second Vatican Council, 1963).
Mrs Ward developed the Method in response to a request from Fr. Thomas E. Shields, chair of the first department of education at The Catholic University. Shields believed that from the earliest years, the child’s emotions must be developed to lead to the formation of worthy character.
Justine Ward née Bayard Cutting (Morristown, New Jersey, August 7, 1879 - Washington, D.C., November 27, 1975 was a musical educator who developed a system for teaching music to children known as the Ward Method. She was the first woman to develop an American elementary music education method, which predates the Kodály, Orff, and Dalcroze methods, and contains all the same basic elements, with an emphasis on music literacy and aesthetic interpretation.[2]
The Ward method of music education was created in the early part of the twentieth century to promote the use of liturgical chant by teaching children vocal music reading skills. Its author, Justine Bayard Ward, was a newcomer to the Catholic Church and to the field of education, yet her approach proved successful and spread throughout the United States, Europe and other parts of the world. The ancient tradition of choral training in the Church, Ward's upbringing, her musical training and aesthetic inclinations, and her zeal in furthering the liturgical and musical reforms of Pius X fostered the ideal environment for the creation of the Ward method.
Evidence shows that the materials and procedures were largely appropriations of pre-existing ideas. For example, the work in sight-singing was taken from the Galin-Paris-Chevé school, which flourished in nineteenth-century France, and the educational philosophy originated from her publisher, Rev. Thomas Shields. Ward's mentor, Rev. John Young, S.J., had combined bel canto vocal technique with Chevé exercises and, under Shields's guidance, Ward reshaped it. Separation of musical elements, principally rhythm and pitch, and graduated exercises were key ingredients Ward inherited from Chevé. Students learned accurate pitch discrimination through daily sight-singing drills where numbers corresponded to the sung solfège syllables in moveable “do.”
Justine Ward's contributions lie in skillfully incorporating the Chevé sight-singing drills, Young's vocal training, and Shields' theories of aesthetics and childhood development to attain her goal of teaching children music of quality. The repertoire consisted of classical melodies, European folk tunes, and Gregorian chant. Another original contribution was the inclusion of the Solesmes method of rhythm, and the teaching of its rhythms through body movement; Ward had traveled to France specifically to learn from the Benedictines of Solesmes.
The Ward method spread through several avenues. Catholic Education Press began systematic publication of textbooks in the 1910s. Leaders in Catholic education were won over by demonstrations led by Justine Ward. More importantly, the Ward method spread through teacher training courses. It evolved in subsequent publications largely due to her recasting the material to reflect trends in music education. The newer rhythmic theories in Gregorian chant, which depart from the Solesmes method that Ward championed, are one of the leading reasons many still oppose using the Ward Method. This ignores the musical literacy contribution Ward made to elementary music education methods in the United States, and places all emphasis on chant. "The Ward method teaches students how to sing and read music with ease and skill. Its predecessors were Rousseau and Chevé, who developed a method of reading music in numbers for solfege, rather than beginning with the traditional staff. Ward evolved a method that incorporated staff notation so that there is no gap in learning. This method is designed with progressive education ideals in mind, such as learning through the discovery of facts in sequential steps." [2] While the Solesmes method is quite simplistic, due to being the pioneer of modern chant revitalization,[2] it is easy to learn and teach to children and adults, making it an ideal spring board for later learning. The Ward Method remains an outstanding method of teaching music literacy, with or without chant.
Located just behind the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the School of Music building of the Catholic University of America was partially donated by and named for her.
And from Catholic University Centre for Ward Method Studies:
The Ward Method of music instruction is a progressive method of teaching elementary school children – through vocal instruction – music theory, composition, and conducting. The Method was developed by the foundress of the original School of Liturgical Music at The Catholic University of America in 1929, Justine Bayard Ward (1879-1975), to teach American Catholic school children the fundamentals of music which would enable them to sing the vast patrimony of musica sacra which is a part of the Roman Catholic Church’s tradition. The Ward Method is unique in that it has a basis in Gregorian chant, that “treasure of inestimable value” (Second Vatican Council, 1963).
Mrs Ward developed the Method in response to a request from Fr. Thomas E. Shields, chair of the first department of education at The Catholic University. Shields believed that from the earliest years, the child’s emotions must be developed to lead to the formation of worthy character.
From Wikipedia:
Justine Ward née Bayard Cutting (Morristown, New Jersey, August 7, 1879 - Washington, D.C., November 27, 1975 was a musical educator who developed a system for teaching music to children known as the Ward Method. She was the first woman to develop an American elementary music education method, which predates the Kodály, Orff, and Dalcroze methods, and contains all the same basic elements, with an emphasis on music literacy and aesthetic interpretation.[2]
The Ward method of music education was created in the early part of the twentieth century to promote the use of liturgical chant by teaching children vocal music reading skills. Its author, Justine Bayard Ward, was a newcomer to the Catholic Church and to the field of education, yet her approach proved successful and spread throughout the United States, Europe and other parts of the world. The ancient tradition of choral training in the Church, Ward's upbringing, her musical training and aesthetic inclinations, and her zeal in furthering the liturgical and musical reforms of Pius X fostered the ideal environment for the creation of the Ward method.
Evidence shows that the materials and procedures were largely appropriations of pre-existing ideas. For example, the work in sight-singing was taken from the Galin-Paris-Chevé school, which flourished in nineteenth-century France, and the educational philosophy originated from her publisher, Rev. Thomas Shields. Ward's mentor, Rev. John Young, S.J., had combined bel canto vocal technique with Chevé exercises and, under Shields's guidance, Ward reshaped it. Separation of musical elements, principally rhythm and pitch, and graduated exercises were key ingredients Ward inherited from Chevé. Students learned accurate pitch discrimination through daily sight-singing drills where numbers corresponded to the sung solfège syllables in moveable “do.”
Justine Ward's contributions lie in skillfully incorporating the Chevé sight-singing drills, Young's vocal training, and Shields' theories of aesthetics and childhood development to attain her goal of teaching children music of quality. The repertoire consisted of classical melodies, European folk tunes, and Gregorian chant. Another original contribution was the inclusion of the Solesmes method of rhythm, and the teaching of its rhythms through body movement; Ward had traveled to France specifically to learn from the Benedictines of Solesmes.
The Ward method spread through several avenues. Catholic Education Press began systematic publication of textbooks in the 1910s. Leaders in Catholic education were won over by demonstrations led by Justine Ward. More importantly, the Ward method spread through teacher training courses. It evolved in subsequent publications largely due to her recasting the material to reflect trends in music education. The newer rhythmic theories in Gregorian chant, which depart from the Solesmes method that Ward championed, are one of the leading reasons many still oppose using the Ward Method. This ignores the musical literacy contribution Ward made to elementary music education methods in the United States, and places all emphasis on chant. "The Ward method teaches students how to sing and read music with ease and skill. Its predecessors were Rousseau and Chevé, who developed a method of reading music in numbers for solfege, rather than beginning with the traditional staff. Ward evolved a method that incorporated staff notation so that there is no gap in learning. This method is designed with progressive education ideals in mind, such as learning through the discovery of facts in sequential steps." [2] While the Solesmes method is quite simplistic, due to being the pioneer of modern chant revitalization,[2] it is easy to learn and teach to children and adults, making it an ideal spring board for later learning. The Ward Method remains an outstanding method of teaching music literacy, with or without chant.
Located just behind the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the School of Music building of the Catholic University of America was partially donated by and named for her.
And from Catholic University Centre for Ward Method Studies:
The Ward Method of music instruction is a progressive method of teaching elementary school children – through vocal instruction – music theory, composition, and conducting. The Method was developed by the foundress of the original School of Liturgical Music at The Catholic University of America in 1929, Justine Bayard Ward (1879-1975), to teach American Catholic school children the fundamentals of music which would enable them to sing the vast patrimony of musica sacra which is a part of the Roman Catholic Church’s tradition. The Ward Method is unique in that it has a basis in Gregorian chant, that “treasure of inestimable value” (Second Vatican Council, 1963).
Mrs Ward developed the Method in response to a request from Fr. Thomas E. Shields, chair of the first department of education at The Catholic University. Shields believed that from the earliest years, the child’s emotions must be developed to lead to the formation of worthy character.
Justine Ward née Bayard Cutting (Morristown, New Jersey, August 7, 1879 - Washington, D.C., November 27, 1975 was a musical educator who developed a system for teaching music to children known as the Ward Method. She was the first woman to develop an American elementary music education method, which predates the Kodály, Orff, and Dalcroze methods, and contains all the same basic elements, with an emphasis on music literacy and aesthetic interpretation.[2]
The Ward method of music education was created in the early part of the twentieth century to promote the use of liturgical chant by teaching children vocal music reading skills. Its author, Justine Bayard Ward, was a newcomer to the Catholic Church and to the field of education, yet her approach proved successful and spread throughout the United States, Europe and other parts of the world. The ancient tradition of choral training in the Church, Ward's upbringing, her musical training and aesthetic inclinations, and her zeal in furthering the liturgical and musical reforms of Pius X fostered the ideal environment for the creation of the Ward method.
Evidence shows that the materials and procedures were largely appropriations of pre-existing ideas. For example, the work in sight-singing was taken from the Galin-Paris-Chevé school, which flourished in nineteenth-century France, and the educational philosophy originated from her publisher, Rev. Thomas Shields. Ward's mentor, Rev. John Young, S.J., had combined bel canto vocal technique with Chevé exercises and, under Shields's guidance, Ward reshaped it. Separation of musical elements, principally rhythm and pitch, and graduated exercises were key ingredients Ward inherited from Chevé. Students learned accurate pitch discrimination through daily sight-singing drills where numbers corresponded to the sung solfège syllables in moveable “do.”
Justine Ward's contributions lie in skillfully incorporating the Chevé sight-singing drills, Young's vocal training, and Shields' theories of aesthetics and childhood development to attain her goal of teaching children music of quality. The repertoire consisted of classical melodies, European folk tunes, and Gregorian chant. Another original contribution was the inclusion of the Solesmes method of rhythm, and the teaching of its rhythms through body movement; Ward had traveled to France specifically to learn from the Benedictines of Solesmes.
The Ward method spread through several avenues. Catholic Education Press began systematic publication of textbooks in the 1910s. Leaders in Catholic education were won over by demonstrations led by Justine Ward. More importantly, the Ward method spread through teacher training courses. It evolved in subsequent publications largely due to her recasting the material to reflect trends in music education. The newer rhythmic theories in Gregorian chant, which depart from the Solesmes method that Ward championed, are one of the leading reasons many still oppose using the Ward Method. This ignores the musical literacy contribution Ward made to elementary music education methods in the United States, and places all emphasis on chant. "The Ward method teaches students how to sing and read music with ease and skill. Its predecessors were Rousseau and Chevé, who developed a method of reading music in numbers for solfege, rather than beginning with the traditional staff. Ward evolved a method that incorporated staff notation so that there is no gap in learning. This method is designed with progressive education ideals in mind, such as learning through the discovery of facts in sequential steps." [2] While the Solesmes method is quite simplistic, due to being the pioneer of modern chant revitalization,[2] it is easy to learn and teach to children and adults, making it an ideal spring board for later learning. The Ward Method remains an outstanding method of teaching music literacy, with or without chant.
Located just behind the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the School of Music building of the Catholic University of America was partially donated by and named for her.
And from Catholic University Centre for Ward Method Studies:
The Ward Method of music instruction is a progressive method of teaching elementary school children – through vocal instruction – music theory, composition, and conducting. The Method was developed by the foundress of the original School of Liturgical Music at The Catholic University of America in 1929, Justine Bayard Ward (1879-1975), to teach American Catholic school children the fundamentals of music which would enable them to sing the vast patrimony of musica sacra which is a part of the Roman Catholic Church’s tradition. The Ward Method is unique in that it has a basis in Gregorian chant, that “treasure of inestimable value” (Second Vatican Council, 1963).
Mrs Ward developed the Method in response to a request from Fr. Thomas E. Shields, chair of the first department of education at The Catholic University. Shields believed that from the earliest years, the child’s emotions must be developed to lead to the formation of worthy character.
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