Lowell Mason published "The Song Garden" which was the first music education series.

1. Lowell Mason
The Song Garden

2. Its Background, Content,
and Comparison to a
Twentieth-Century Series.
Colwell, Cynthia M., and George N. Heller. 2003
Journal of Research in Music Education
51 (3): 231-244

3. The Song Garden
This was the first music education
series for schoolchildren.
It was in print from 1864-1866

4. Purpose
The series was intended to be used in
schools or by families.
It was a systematic, thorough course
of vocal education.
Mason wrote introductions for each book
in which he emphasized the value of
music education.

5. Format
There was no teacher’s edition.
The student and teacher used the same
book.
Each book contained information and
instruction for teachers.
The books were arranged progressively.

6. Book One
Book One was intended for younger
students.
It contained simple, easy, and
beautiful songs.
It included elementary exercises
for beginners.

7. Book Two
This volume was intended for older
students or adults.
It made use of scales and exercises
in the form of rounds.
The use of rounds taught part singing to
the students.

8. Book Three
Book three reviewed material from
the previous level.
Mason wrote an essay entitled
“Vocal Culture” and used it as the
introduction to the book.
This volume was intended for private
vocal teachers and classroom teachers.

9. Audrey Snyder Series
The series, “The Sight-Singer”, by Audrey
Snyder, was published in 1993.
The authors compared this series with
Mason’s “The Song Garden” in terms of:

10. *Physical appearance
*Technical material
*Source of music
*Amount of music
*Sequential approach

11. Physical appearance
The physical appearance is considerably different
considering differences in publishing technologies.
Mason’s books have small type, are single spaced and
have no pictures except for a few diagrams in Book
Three.
The Sight-Singer series has more white space,
cartoon-like graphics, a separate teacher’s edition,
and comes with audio recordings.

12. Technical Material
Mason’s series contains a great deal of information on
music theory and singing procedures. Most of the theoretical
information is at the beginning of each book. Little
information is found with the individual exercises.
“In The Sight-Singer, the theoretical information is on each
page of the student manual with information on singing
procedures included succinctly in the teacher’s edition.”
(Colwell)

13. Source of the Music
“The source of the music for The Song Garden is translated
German literature with both secular and sacred text.” (Colwell)
It is found in a final section of each text.
“The music found in The Sight-Singer is original material,
secular in nature, which Snyder wrote or borrowed from
International folk songs. The song material in The Sight-
Singer is interspersed within the individual lessons.”(Colwell)

14. Amount of Music
The Song Garden contains quite a bit more
musical material than The Sight Singer.

15. Sequential Approach
The two series are similar in approach.
Both series:
*use a movable do solfege system.
*advocate focusing on rhythmic development before
pitch development.
*introduce the solfege syllables in the same order.
*introduce rhythmic notation in almost the same
order.
*share a focus on providing a positive environment,
encouraging daily practice.
*begin with rhythm before progressing to melody.

16. Format
The Snyder series was first published in 1993.
It has separate teacher and student editions.
The “Sight-Singer” series is still available.
Sight-Sing a Song, Set 1 teaches beat and do –
do’ in the keys of C and F major.
Sight-sing a song, Set 2A moves on the the
keys of D and G major.
The Rhythm Reader is designed for choirs,
bands, orchestras, and general music. Rhythms
Are presented sequentially.

17. Critique
The article was well-written and provided an
interesting comparison of an early music series
with a current series. It is noteworthy that
Lowell Mason’s series includes many of the
concepts taught in the Kodaly Method. This
reviewer recommends the article to others
researching music education series.

18. Work Cited
Colwell, Cynthia M., and George N. Heller. 2003. Lowell Mason's
The Song Garden (1864-66): Its Background, Content, and
Comparison to a Twentieth-Century Series . Journal of Research
in Music Education 51 (3): 231-244