Art and Music in the Pestalozzian Tradition

Abstract

This paper compared the relative impact of Pestalozzianism on art and music instruction in the early 19th century. Both methods departed from traditional rote methods through the use of exercises to measure space (drawing) and time (vocal music). Instruction was similarly organized around basic elements (rhythm, melody, and dynamics [music], and geometric lines and curves [drawing]). These were introduced in a simple-to-complex sequence in typical Pestalozzian fashion. Partly refuted is Ellis's claim that Lowell Mason's treatment of Pestalozzian music was in error. The argument suggests that Pestalozzianism had become a generic term for several similar methods by the 1820s and 1830s. The paper also suggested that music and art, though starting out on essentially the same foot, developed differently because of social forces that affected their respective roles in education.