“Are You Only an Applauder?” American Music Correspondence Schools in the Early Twentieth Century

Course Offerings at Siegel-Myers Correspondence School of Music

One of the most comprehensive and enduring schools was Siegel-Myers Correspondence School of Music founded in 1903. ¹¹ Besides Weldon’s cornet lessons, Siegel-Myers also offered courses in other instruments, among them piano, banjo, guitar, mandolin, and violin, as well as voice (see Figure S1 in the online supplemental material at http://jrme.sagepub.com/supplemental). These courses consisted of 100 professionally printed lessons containing patented photographic illustrations, detailed written instructions, and repertoire that ranged from folk tunes to classical themes. Individual lessons concluded with examination papers that needed to be submitted with correct responses prior to receiving the next installment. The Instruction Department returned incorrect responses for further study. ¹²

Students could complement their applied studies at Siegel with classes in music theory and music history. Siegel advertised that its harmony course would teach students to analyze, memorize, transpose, compose, arrange, and orchestrate with more facility. Peter C. Lutkin, dean of Northwestern University, noted that students who had completed the Siegel harmony course and successfully passed entrance exams would receive two years of college credit, while Robert W. Stevens of the University of Chicago adopted the materials for use in his traditional classroom. ¹³

Correspondence schools also developed in relation to changes and trends in public school education. At the end of the nineteenth century, classroom teachers were responsible for most music education in the public schools. Gradually, normal school training in music expanded, and leading music educators advocated for the placement of more music supervisors in public schools. ¹⁴ This increased emphasis on professional training for public school music educators led to new opportunities for mail-order businesses. Siegel-Myers offered courses specifically for music educators, including a choral conducting course, a course in piano pedagogy, and a course in teacher education for public school teachers designed by Frances Elliott Clark. In her course, Clark advocated a developmental, child-centered approach with an emphasis on singing and ear training. She suggested that songs should contain age-appropriate tempi, range, and lyrics and that music education be focused on actual music making, not on learning facts about music. Clark offered model lessons for the various months of the school year as well as topical lessons, such as rhythm and singing games. Students were encouraged not only to try the model lessons but to report on alterations and results from their actual classroom experiences. These lessons were meant to be compatible with any textbook or songbook currently in use and to be more complete than summer institutes available at the time for music educators. ¹⁵

Course Offerings at Other Schools

While other schools were not as comprehensive as Siegel-Myers, several offered a variety of courses for both music students and music educators. For example, Thomas Tapper of New York began offering Practical Correspondence Lessons for Teachers and Students, including piano, music theory, and music history. ¹⁶ Several schools marketed series of lessons primarily for keyboard and stringed instruments. New York–based United States Correspondence School of Music sold a series of thirty lessons each in keyboard or guitar, banjo, and mandolin; its competitor, the United States School of Music, also of New York, presented a series of forty-eight lessons on a variety of instruments, including piano, organ, banjo, guitar, mandolin, violin, and cornet. ¹⁷

Other schools focused on a smaller number of instruments or instruments that were emerging in popularity. For example, in 1906, Flora E. McCurdy founded the American College of Music in Kansas City, Missouri, offering correspondence lessons in piano, organ, and violin. The Slingerland Correspondence School of Music (formerly the Chicago Correspondence School of Music) provided lessons on the ukulele and cornet. ¹⁸ G. S. Rice Company, also located in Chicago, advertised piano, organ, or guitar lessons with an emphasis on “notes, tunes, chords, accompaniments, and the laws of harmony.” ¹⁹

Along with these broader-based offerings, there were schools and individuals that specialized in one topic. The German-American Conservatory in Chicago was a correspondence school focused exclusively on piano instruction. Advertisements for the school appeared in household periodicals in 1913 but phased out with the start of World War I. ²⁰ Correspondence lessons in voice were offered through the Lawton Institute of Voice Culture based in Rochester, New York; the School of Authentic Voice Production in New York; and the Perfect Voice Institute established in Chicago. ²¹ Those seeking vocational training could take mail-order lessons in piano tuning, voicing, and regulation through the Niles Bryant School of Piano Tuning. ²²

Besides harmony, counterpoint, and composition instruction through a large school like Siegel-Myers, students could also purchase lessons from the National Correspondence Schools of Music under the guidance of Horatio Parker or through the Wilcox School of Composition, both based in New York. ²³ In addition, there were individual teachers who offered mail-order music theory lessons. For example, in the 1890s, Philadelphia music teacher Winchester Barton taught correspondence lessons in harmony; Alfred Wooler of Buffalo, New York, promised to personally correct all harmony and composition assignments in his “simple, concise, and practical” course, Harmony by Mail. ²⁴

Other music correspondence courses developed in relation to the growing kindergarten movement. By 1890, there were 115 private kindergarten associations, typically connected with Americanization efforts taking place at settlement houses. By the 1910s, many normal schools offered kindergarten training, and by World War I most large public school systems offered kindergarten classes. ²⁵ Katherine Burrowes of Detroit patented numerous inventions for teaching music to children and developed a home study course for teachers of kindergarten and primary grades. Lillian Prudence Courtwright promoted her System of Musical Kindergarten as having been adopted in various countries. ²⁶

Faculty

Many of the teachers associated with larger correspondence schools were well-known figures with strong credentials in the field of music education. For example, Frances Clark was associated with the education department of the Victor Talking Machine Company and a founding member of Music Supervisors’ National Conference. In 1895, Thomas Tapper had collaborated with Frederic Herbert Ripley on the developmental general music textbook The Natural Course in Music. Horatio Parker was a professor of music at Yale, where his pupils included Charles Ives. ²⁷ The German-American Conservatory and Lawton Voice Institute advertised that their courses were based on the expertise of the best European and American piano pedagogues or Italian masters of singing. ²⁸

Some correspondence school educators had prior or current careers as active performers or composers. Siegel-Myers’s faculty included pianist William Sherwood, who had been a pupil of Franz Liszt, and music theory teacher Adolph Rosenbecker, a former conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Trombonist Fortunato Sordillo had performed with bands led by John Philip Sousa, Patrick Conway, and Arthur Pryor. Alfred Wooler was a published composer of sacred music. ²⁹ Although they were responsible for writing course content, it is unknown if these educators, performers, and composers had direct contact with students. Nevertheless, their copyrighted lesson materials (particularly with Siegel-Myers’s 100-lesson multipage format) were substantial contributions. ³⁰

Recruitment

Because they had no residency requirement, correspondence courses could attract a broad base of students from wide geographic regions regardless of where the schools were located. Advertising in periodicals and newspapers was a primary recruitment technique. Advertisements were placed in music periodicals like Etude, Jacobs’ Band Monthly, and Metronome, and widely circulated household magazines, such as Ladies’ Home Journal, Popular Mechanics, and Cosmopolitan. The United States School of Music advertised on matchbook covers, a type of marketing that led to derogatory terms, like “matchbook schools” and “diploma mills,” being applied to distance learning. ³¹ Another means of recruiting students was the use of traveling sales agents. For example, in 1925, Flora McCurdy, president of the American College of Music, sent a letter personally congratulating a California agent on securing new enrollments. ³²

There were three main benefits emphasized in advertisements: vocational training, ease in learning, and low cost. Vocational training applied to both teaching and performing. Siegel-Myers promised its normal courses would increase teachers’ professional ability and income, whereas a German-American Conservatory advertisement noted that 14,000 motion-picture theaters were in need of trained pianists. The school further promised that music study would open up every possible opportunity:

As a creator of opportunity, music has no equal. The man who can give pleasure through playing will find all doors open to him and a royal welcome wherever he goes. Music will bring him friends. It will take him into the homes of influential people. It will win him the confidence of those who can help him. It will push him along in business as no other accomplishment can do. ³³

Many schools and individuals advertised that their courses would simplify and speed up the process of learning music: “Music is not hard; only some methods of teaching have made it to appear difficult and mysterious.” ³⁴ One school assured students they would do “nothing tedious or tiresome,” another that everything would be taught by a “rapid and efficient system,” and others that one needed to spend only a few minutes of spare time per day. ³⁵

A number of businesses emphasized the inexpensive nature of correspondence lessons. Siegel-Myers touted its courses as “easy to learn—easy to pay for.” The German-American Conservatory explained that although it had spent $160,000 developing its series, it would cost consumers only twelve and a half cents per day to purchase. ³⁶ Several companies used the word free to attract potential customers. Whereas some offered free trial lessons, the United States School of Music explained that students merely had to purchase the music used during lessons (not the lessons themselves). Slingerland offered its customers free “high-class” instruments (up to a twenty-dollar value) for enrolling in lessons. ³⁷

Reputation

The reputations of music correspondence schools varied widely. In 1909, the investigative weekly Collier’s described lessons offered by the United States School of Music as a “triple-plated swindle” that would only “increase the sum total of human suffering.” ³⁸ David F. Kemp, president of United States School, brought a libel suit against the magazine. In his testimony, Kemp noted the school had been in business for eleven years and had taught over 80,000 students. Frank Damrosch, director of the Institute of Musical Art (which later evolved into the Juilliard School of Music) testified against the school, stating that while it was not “impossible” to teach through correspondence methods, it was highly “unlikely.” ³⁹ Ironically, Damrosch’s brother, Walter Damrosch, conductor of the New York Symphony Orchestra, appeared in endorsements for Siegel-Myers Correspondence School of Music. ⁴⁰

In advertisements, some music correspondence businesses tried to assure consumers of their integrity. C. W. Wilcox reminded potential students, “For many years this advertisement has appeared in every issue of The Etude. Similar advertisements appear and disappear but mine always stays.” ⁴¹ A larger organization, like Siegel-Myers, relied on endorsements from well-known performing artists, pedagogues, and composers, such as Ignace Paderewski, Theodor Leschetizky, and John Philip Sousa. ⁴²

Eventually, the practices of distance education came under closer scrutiny. In 1925, under a grant from the Carnegie Foundation, John F. Noffsinger published a harsh critique of correspondence schools in which he concluded, “Many of them are in the shady zone, bordering on the criminal.” ⁴³ Noffsinger became a founding member of the National Home Study Council, which formed in 1926 to act as a self-regulating agency for member schools. ⁴⁴

Advantages and Disadvantages

The primary advantages correspondence schools offered students were removal of geographic and time limitations and a cost-effective means of gaining an education. Correspondence schools could be particularly appealing to students living in more remote areas. Writing in Jacobs’ Band Monthly, Frank Seltzer noted, “All ambitious students do not live in large cities and they must be taken into consideration.” ⁴⁵ One of the largest schools, Siegel-Myers was said to have students “from Alaska to the Transvaal, from India to Australia and New Zealand, in most music centers of Europe and in thousands of cities and small towns of the United States and Canada.” ⁴⁶ The fact that one could study while remaining in a remote geographic location was even promoted as ensuring the safety of young women as one advertisement warned mothers not to subject their daughters “to the risks of a great city.” ⁴⁷ Most correspondence schools allowed students to enroll at any time of the year and, in spite of offering weekly lesson plans, to set their own pace in completing assignments. While lessons came with a single set of answer sheets, multiple family members could have used the same instructional material at no additional cost. Correspondence schools also created the opportunity for potential students to maintain full-time employment, pursuing course work in their spare time.

The main advantage for schools or individual entrepreneurs was financial gain through increased enrollment. Russian mathematician and composer Joseph Schillinger taught both in New York (including students like George Gershwin and Glenn Miller) and through a lucrative correspondence business. He became so wealthy from his postal tuition courses that he was able to rent a twelve-room apartment on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. ⁴⁸

From a pedagogical viewpoint, correspondence courses also facilitated a wider dissemination of teaching standards and materials. Because these courses were intended for self-study, they contained more explanatory text than typical method books utilized in traditional lessons. This provided a ready source of information for the student to consult. For example, lesson 22 of the American College of Music’s piano course offered the following (still valid) advice on practicing: ⁴⁹ Set a routine time to practice (preferably at least an hour); focus and concentrate specifically on practicing; instead of passing a mistake, always stop and try to analyze the difficulty followed by spot practice; practice slowly at first to avoid making unnecessary mistakes; learn a larger piece of music more quickly by dividing it into small sections and learning one section at a time; practice for fluency, style, and expression, not just correct notes; review previously learned lessons frequently. ⁵⁰

A final pedagogical point regarding correspondence lessons was the attention they brought to active participation in music making. Advertisements with illustrations of people making music in their homes promoted the idea of consumers trying to learn to sing or play an instrument even as phonographs and radio were in their ascendancy. A 1912 Siegel-Myers advertisement queried, “Are you only an applauder?” ⁵¹ One of the most famous advertising slogans of the twentieth century was a 1925 United States School of Music headline that read, “They laughed when I sat down at the piano—but when I started to play!” ⁵²

Correspondence schools of music also had several distinct disadvantages. Objective test questions fostered little spontaneous communication. Authors of one piano course tried to encourage more interaction with questions such as “Does the music for the left hand, beginning with measure thirty-seven give you any trouble? If so, state exactly what the trouble is.” ⁵³ However, unless students were able to analyze and articulate their own difficulties, the efficacy of this type of question is in doubt.

For those studying voice or musical instruments, printed lessons could provide neither live demonstrations nor aural models. In contrast, the Victor Talking Machine Company advertised its recordings of operatic singers as important educational tools for vocal students. ⁵⁴ In an effort to compete, Edison Phonograph Company developed a vocal course with Siegel-Myers School integrating printed correspondence lessons and wax cylinder recordings by both teacher and students. Singers were to listen to examples produced by instructor George Crampton and then record their own voices on blank Edison wax cylinders to submit for critique. In spite of this innovative approach, wax cylinders phased out shortly after the course was introduced. ⁵⁵

Whereas aural models were lacking, most schools included photographs or illustrations to provide as much clarity as possible. Nevertheless, accompanying verbal descriptions of playing techniques could be particularly cumbersome. In his Course in Cornet Study for Siegel-Myers, Alfred Weldon explained tonguing as follows:

Place the tongue between the teeth, the tip pointing upwards and just touching the edge of the upper lip; draw back the corners of the mouth in a slight smile. Take a deep breath holding the tongue in this position. Hold the teeth and lips in the position described above, with the tongue just touching the upper lip, and in a good, strong tone, articulate the syllable “ta” holding it four beats. ⁵⁶

R. L. Decker wrote in Slingerland’s guitar course, “Place the tip of the finger directly back of the fret and over the string which is to be played. Press the finger firm [sic] on the string without cramping the hand and you will have the exact tone desired.” ⁵⁷

Most correspondence lessons focused on the skill of reading music notation. ⁵⁸ For example, the first lessons of Siegel-Myers’s banjo course consisted of explanations of the treble staff and note values. ⁵⁹ Slingerland similarly promoted reading music as a primary goal promising that one would “play by note in four lessons.” ⁶⁰ In an attempt to appeal to children (her advertisements targeted both adult learners and parents of young children), Flora McCurdy of American College of Music promised playing music “by note” would be very simple with her “object teaching” system. Each line or space on the staff and each key on the keyboard was associated with a specific object, such as a cat or dog (see Figure S2 in the online supplemental material at http://jrme.sagepub.com/supplemental). By the seventh lesson, McCurdy eliminated the “objects” but maintained an emphasis on reading notation. ⁶¹

Music theory courses could be especially dry. A composition course offered by the Chicago Correspondence School of Music covered the topic of pedal point with a one-page typewritten explanation. The accompanying assignment read, “The student should write ten exercises of his own on common chords and first and second inversions, introducing examples of dominant and tonic pedals.” ⁶² These types of instructions would have been challenging to even the most determined of students. In describing his early training, Aaron Copland noted, “I was still lacking a finished composition. I sent for a mail-order harmony course, but when I could not complete a Capriccio for violin and piano in 1916, I realized that in order to develop I needed a real teacher of harmony and counterpoint.” ⁶³ Although schools enrolled thousands of students, it is likely that many never completed their courses of study.

Conclusions and Implications

This study provides an overview of early music correspondence schools, revealing a large population eager for access to music education as well as dedicated and enterprising instructors willing to develop, market, and teach the courses. Although pedagogical materials, methods, and quality varied widely, correspondence schools had a long impact on music education. If one takes into account the breadth of offerings and large enrollments, this impact was wider than previous research indicated. Mail-order lessons may have provided the impetus for some to locate an actual teacher for hands-on study, whereas for others (particularly those with no access to formal music instruction), the fingering charts, photographs, and simple tunes may have been enough to provide for hours of enjoyment spent making music (an important goal of any music education program). Through distance teacher education classes, like Frances Clark’s public school course, the impact on music education spread even further.

The results of this study leave several areas open for further research. To have a more thorough perspective of early pioneers, trends, and developments in the field, prominent courses, such as Frances Clark’s public school course (now readily accessible through digital images), deserve comprehensive investigation. ⁶⁴ Research could also be conducted on subsequent generations of distance education in music to complete a historical overview.

Currently, evolving technologies affect course design, delivery, and interpersonal interaction. ⁶⁵ Nevertheless, the use of increasingly advanced technology does not automatically resolve issues long associated with distance learning. These issues, which include quality control, a lack of hands-on music experiences, and student retention and course completion, have drawn recent attention. ⁶⁶ Regarding quality of programs, one scholar advocated that universities and colleges with online music education programs hire professors with strong credentials, maintain high academic standards, and create a record of job placement and original research among graduates. ⁶⁷ Another suggested that a lack of applied instruction, conducting classes, and teaching assistantships in online programs is worth further review. ⁶⁸ In a recent qualitative study of online in-service music teacher education, the researcher recommended the development of adequate orientations for matriculating students and hybrid program designs combining online courses with face-to-face instruction for increased student motivation and comprehension. ⁶⁹

Correspondence schools once promised low costs, ready access, and easy results achieved in one’s spare time. Because of this, some considered distance music education suspect and inadequate in spite of high-profile endorsements and instructors at the most successful schools. Do these attitudes persist? Are they based on experience or assumption? Given the prevalence of distance music education, a wide variety of research designs is still needed to investigate both students’ and teachers’ actual experiences. ⁷⁰ Researchers could conduct surveys comparing academic achievements between online and traditional music students, attitudes regarding distance music education held by musicians and music education faculty, and administrator and faculty motivations behind the development and marketing of current degree programs and courses. Further qualitative studies could investigate the perceptions of students who successfully completed programs (both in the short term and longitudinally) to discover ways these students coped with learning in isolation and the benefits and challenges experienced in this learning format. This research into current distance education practices should incorporate the historical perspective of the early advantages and disadvantages as discussed above, noting both correlation and evolution. Distance education has been and will remain a viable and valuable option for accessing music education. Close scrutiny of its rich history will serve its continued growth and development.