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PHILHARMONICA. International Music Journal
Reference:

"Self-scoring tables" by Tikhon Sotnikov in the light of the development of the idea of self-education in Russian music pedagogy

Sycheva Galina Sergeevna

ORCID: 0000-0002-5963-1646

PhD in Art History

Senior lecturer of the Department of Music History of the Rostov State Conservatory named after S. V. Rachmaninov

344002, Russia, Rostovskaya oblast', g. Rostov-Na-Donu, ul. Budennovskii, 23

sgs-music@yandex.ru
Other publications by this author
 

 

DOI:

10.7256/2453-613X.2022.2.37816

Received:

07-04-2022


Published:

23-04-2022


Abstract: The article tells about the first didactic development in the history of Russian music pedagogy on elementary music theory, created in the 1930s by Rostov composer and teacher Tikhon Ivanovich Sotnikov for the independent development of musical and theoretical knowledge. The author of the article points out that the need to create such an educational and methodological manual for self-study was dictated by the current situation in the cultural life of the USSR since the 1930s, when there was an active growth of amateur artistic activity in the country. The gradual complication of the repertoire of collectives required the growth of musical literacy of its participants. Analyzing the historical situation, the author states that despite the developing system of music education, there were not enough schools and qualified music teachers nationwide. The situation was aggravated by the war years, when many libraries and archives were destroyed, and even the search for educational literature presented a significant problem for those who wanted to study musical literacy. The table and thematic cards developed by Sotnikov for independent studies contained not just brief information on musical literacy, but also made it possible to train theoretical knowledge in practice without the participation of a teacher. In addition, the versatility of the Rostov composer's development was also in the fact that his methodology for independent studies could be used in tandem with any of the textbooks on music theory that existed at that time. The idea was highly appreciated by professors of the leading musical universities of the USSR and was recommended for publication nationwide. In conclusion, the author of the article comes to the conclusion that in the context of the historical situation of the mid-twentieth century in the USSR, Sotnikov's development was not just relevant, but with timely publication could have a revolutionary significance for the development of musical culture in the country, and its significance for the history of music pedagogy is undeniable.


Keywords:

Tikhon Sotnikov, elementary music theory, self-education, musical diploma, amateur performance, soviet musical culture, education in the USSR, solfeggio, History of musical self-education, study guide

This article is automatically translated. You can find original text of the article here.

At the early stage of the formation of Soviet Russia in the 1920s, one of the main priorities of state policy was the fight against illiteracy of the population, including in the field of art. To achieve this goal, two ways were chosen: the reorganization of music education (the opening of free music schools for children, as well as evening music courses for the working population) and the development of amateur art as an accessible form of creative realization for every Soviet person. Ensembles, choirs, orchestras and even opera troupes consisting of non-professionals were created at factories and factories, in houses of culture and clubs, in educational institutions and other institutions. In the 1930s, the number of amateur groups grew so much that it became possible to hold All-Union festivals and screenings, which, in turn, contributed to the growth of performing skills and enriching the repertoire. Some of these groups later became famous not only within the country, but also abroad (Chorus M. Pyatnitsky, The Song and Dance Ensemble of the Red Army A. Alexandrovna). Many performers who later became famous musicians (I. Kozlovsky, S. Lemeshev, A. Pirogov, I. Petrov, V. Petrov and others) also came out of the amateur ranks. However, by the mid-1950s, people's interest in it in the USSR began to fade. As researcher M. Fadeeva notes, "by 1952, out of 6 thousand houses of culture and trade union clubs, 1123 did not even have choral circles, and 1566 had orchestras" [9, p. 21]. On the one hand, the decrease in the number of musical groups is quite natural, given the human losses that the Second World War brought.  However, more significant was the fact that despite the active activity of the state on the dissemination and accessibility of music education and the increased level of skill in amateur groups, by the 1950s, a large number of performers who did not possess musical and theoretical knowledge remained among non-professional musicians.  And to make up for their absence was also a problem. After all, not all cities and towns had music schools and qualified teachers by that time. Thus, the question of the possibility of independent development of musical literacy according to existing textbooks has become especially acute for non-professional performers.

Until the mid-1930s, the main teaching aid on music theory in the USSR was considered to be the Textbook of Elementary Music Theory by the famous teacher, professor of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory N. Kashkin. It was published in 1875 and has been regularly reprinted for more than fifty years, which indicates its relevance. In 1938, the textbook "Elementary Theory of Music" by the composer, musicologist, professor of the Leningrad, Kiev and Lviv Conservatories S. Pavlyuchenko was published. It was it that later became one of the landmarks for the creation of later works on elementary music theory by I. Pogodin (1951) and V. Vakhromeev (1956). There were also a number of publications covering musical and theoretical issues: "The course of elementary music theory: exercises, questions and answers" (1917) by composer N. Potolovsky, consisting of two parts; "Elementary Music Theory" (1910) by composer, choral conductor and teacher A. Chesnokov; "Collection of tasks, exercises and questions for the practical study of elementary music theory" (4th ed., 1902) by the famous Russian musicologist, creator of the theory of metrotectonism G. Konyus; "Elementary Music Theory" (3rd ed., 1935) by the Armenian composer, folklorist and musicologist A. Ter-Gevondyan; "Experience of popular presentation of elementary music theory" (1906) M. Lippold. Another interesting publication is the work of V. Odoevsky's "Musical Literacy or the foundations of music for non-musicians" (1868), the purpose of which the author indicated the assistance, "to the best of their ability <...>, to those persons who think that it is too late for them, as they say, to learn music" [7, p. 3]. However, none of the mentioned publications fully solved the problem of accessibility of theoretical knowledge for independent study. Firstly, because most of these textbooks were originally created with the expectation of having an experienced teacher who will guide the student and explain the issues of music theory. Secondly, despite a fairly large list of publications, it was difficult to get them, and after the war, when many libraries were destroyed, it was almost impossible at all. In addition, the study of musical literacy according to the textbook involves the written consolidation of the material. However, at that time in the USSR there was no simple and accessible methodology that would facilitate the independent study of music theory by non-professional musicians.

The idea of creating a manual for self-testing of initial musical and theoretical knowledge was very interesting to Tikhon Ivanovich Sotnikov, a Rostov composer, teacher, collector of folklore and a public music figure (Fig. 1). In addition to research work on collecting folklore of the Kuban and Don Cossacks, as well as the Nekrasov Cossacks (the work of T. Rudichenko is devoted to this topic "From the history of folklore studies of the XX century: T. I. Sotnikov (1901-1975)" [8]), he devoted many years of his life to pedagogical activity and constantly improved in this direction. The composer's personal archive contains notes, articles covering various aspects of music theory, as well as a textbook of harmony written by him (and unpublished) for schools. In addition, he was also pushed to develop the idea of musical and theoretical self-education by his personal experience as a student. In his memoirs, Sotnikov wrote that after the departure of their teacher M. Gnesin from Rostov-on-Don in 1921, the course of composers was transferred to the class of N. Heifetz. Accustomed to the fact that "Gnesin always started and finished classes exactly on schedule <...>, that no unfavorable conditions could shake his punctuality" [5, l. 55], eager for knowledge students could not accept the constant cancellations of classes by Heifetz, who at that time was busy creating a symphony orchestra at the Don Conservatory. Sotnikov writes: "Realizing that we are taught poorly at the conservatory, we tried to fill in the gaps of knowledge with independent studies. We gathered at A. Mitrofanov's and sat up late at night for S. Taneyev's "Moving Counterpoint of Strictly Writing", E. Prout's textbook on the form, N. Rimsky-Korsakov's "Fundamentals of Orchestration" or any books on the history of music" [5, L. 57]. Or, instead of the canceled lecture, students "went to the nearest free class and enthusiastically sang a double fugue from Mozart's Requiem or something similar" [5, L. 56].Until the mid-1930s, the main teaching aid on music theory in the USSR was considered to be the "Textbook of Elementary Music Theory" by the famous teacher, professor of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory N. Kashkin. It was published in 1875 and has been regularly reprinted for more than fifty years, which indicates its relevance. In 1938, the textbook "Elementary Theory of Music" by the composer, musicologist, professor of the Leningrad, Kiev and Lviv Conservatories S. Pavlyuchenko was published. It was it that later became one of the landmarks for the creation of later works on elementary music theory by I. Pogodin (1951) and V. Vakhromeev (1956). There were also a number of publications covering musical and theoretical issues: "The course of elementary music theory: exercises, questions and answers" (1917) by composer N. Potolovsky, consisting of two parts; "Elementary Music Theory" (1910) by composer, choral conductor and teacher A. Chesnokov; "Collection of tasks, exercises and questions for the practical study of elementary music theory" (4th ed., 1902) by the famous Russian musicologist, creator of the theory of metrotectonism G. Konyus; "Elementary Music Theory" (3rd ed., 1935) by the Armenian composer, folklorist and musicologist A. Ter-Gevondyan; "Experience of popular presentation of elementary music theory" (1906) M. Lippold. Another interesting publication is the work of V. Odoevsky's "Musical Literacy or the foundations of music for non-musicians" (1868), the purpose of which the author indicated the assistance, "to the best of their ability <...>, to those persons who think that it is too late for them, as they say, to learn music" [7, p. 3]. However, none of the mentioned publications fully solved the problem of accessibility of theoretical knowledge for independent study. Firstly, because most of these textbooks were originally created with the expectation of having an experienced teacher who will guide the student and explain the issues of music theory. Secondly, despite a fairly large list of publications, it was difficult to get them, and after the war, when many libraries were destroyed, it was almost impossible at all. In addition, the study of musical literacy according to the textbook involves the written consolidation of the material. However, at that time in the USSR there was no simple and accessible methodology that would facilitate the independent study of music theory by non-professional musicians.

In the 1930s, while working at a music school, Sotnikov came up with the idea of creating a manual with which a student could check the accuracy of a completed music theory assignment on his own. The originality of Sotnikov's development consisted in a specially built table with notes (Fig. 2), where each note was written out in five variants: as diatonic and as chromatically altered (with sharp, double-sharp, flat and double-flat). Four dozen perforated cards were attached to the music table (Fig. 3). These cards corresponded to all the main topics of the initial course of music theory and solfeggio: intervals (No.1-5) and their resolutions (No. 16-19); types of major and minor (No. 6-15); triads and their appeals (No. 20-26); dominantseptaccord, its appeals and resolutions (No. 27-32); frets of folk music (No.33-35); chromatic scale in major and minor (No. 36-39); enharmonism of sounds and intervals (No. 40). The cards contained short or detailed notes where the author explained the nuances of construction, for example, a chord in certain keys, or a fret, or a scale.  

The principle of working with the manual was simple: perforated cards of a certain subject were superimposed on a universal table, and the correct version of a particular interval, chord or type of scale was immediately visible in the slots (Fig.4). "After checking the tasks on the topic already passed, and making sure that they were correctly performed, this topic can be considered "credited” and move on to the study of the next topic. Hence the name "Self-accounting tables"" [4, L. 5].

Initially, Sotnikov did not give importance to his development, using it exclusively in his personal pedagogical practice at school and college. The composer was spurred on by the experience of the war years to realize the scale of the practical significance of the invented technique (and its relevance in the light of the training of amateur musicians). Then Sotnikov was listed as the artistic director of the concert and variety bureau, which served military units and hospitals on the front line closest to Rostov. His duties included not only organizing concerts, but also working with amateur soldiers. He gathered choirs and orchestras in various military units, and also conducted classes on musical literacy with performers in amateur groups, where he applied his methodology in practice.

The composer began to actively deal with the issue of publishing tables only in the mid-1950s. In the spring of 1955, Sotnikov sent his work for review to the Gorky State Conservatory, from where, at the end of June of the same year, he received an approving review from the head of the Department of Music Theory, the famous musicologist A. Nesterov.The author of the review highly appreciated the idea and the entire Sotnikov manual, confirming that "the ingenious and simple system underlying the tables makes it possible to quickly and accurately verify the correctness of the construction of various pitch elements studied by music theory" [6, l. 21]. The review contained a number of just wishes and indications of inaccuracies, which the composer corrected, after which in August 1955 a letter was sent to the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR from the Gorky Conservatory with a recommendation for the publication of these tables. It emphasized that "the value and necessity of the work is determined by the fact that a huge number of leaders of amateur music have no special education and need to master the basics of music theory. At the same time, these comrades (especially those living in rural areas) are deprived of the opportunity to study elementary music theory under the guidance of qualified musicians-teachers, without which musical self-education is extremely difficult <...> with the work of Comrade Sotnikov T. I., it becomes possible to develop a fruitful independent study of elementary music theory throughout the country, which will be of great benefit to managers and participants of amateur music" [6, l. 21].

Further, in January 1956, Sotnikov received a review from the head of the Department of Music Theory of the Gnessin State Music Pedagogical Institute, one of the founders of the university P. Kozlov, in which the author highly appreciates the methodological development of the Rostov composer, his talent and ingenuity as a teacher, noting that these tables will be an excellent addition to existing textbooks on music theory. "I think that the work of T. Sotnikov should be printed in a large circulation" [6, l. 23].

It is important to note that from the very beginning Sotnikov focused on the fact that this manual is not a textbook and does not cancel the in-depth study of theoretical material. In one of the last editions of the tables in the 1960s, in an explanatory note, the composer compiled a list of paragraphs from the most common Soviet textbooks on elementary music theory at that time (V. Vakhromeev, S. Pavlyuchenko, V. Efimov, A. Kudryavtsev and V. Taranushchenko, I. Pogodin, S. Maximov, G. Fridkin, Ya. Kolvalskaya, N. Dalmatova and others), which corresponded to thematic cards. Thus, the simple technique invented by Sotnikov was universal and helped in the practical development of theoretical knowledge by musicians on their own, which was unique for that time.

However, despite all the recommendations of famous musicologists and teachers, in March 1956, the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR, which had a monopoly on music publications, refused to publish this work. The explanation was simple: "The Ministry did not consider it expedient to publish your tables at the present time" [6, L. 52], since by that time a textbook on musical literacy and elementary music theory courses had been prepared for publication. Probably, it was about the publication of the first edition of the manual on elementary music theory by V. Vakhromeev, which was intended "mainly for a children's audience" [2, p. 3], and later editions were revised for music schools and evening music courses.

Sotnikov's work might never have seen the light if not for the assistance of his student A. Varfolomos, who offered to publish his teacher's tables as an appendix to one of the five parts of his own textbook "Musical literacy for bayanists and accordionists" [1]. On the title page of the second issue of this edition, "Self-offset tables" are indicated under the name of their creator. However, the version of the tables prepared for the publication of the textbook by Bartholomos was somewhat modified: the reduced number of cards did not cover all the issues of the pitch part of musical literacy. It did not include such topics as: increased and decreased intervals, resolutions of all dissonant intervals and chords, including D7 with appeals, introductory seventh chords and others. In the rules for using "Self-offset tables" at the end of the Varfolomos textbook, it was indicated that those who wished, having understood the principle of the correlation of thematic cards with the main table, could independently produce the missing cards on any topic.

Today, against the background of an abundance of methodological and visual material, notebooks, textbooks, game manuals for teaching musical literacy, built taking into account modern printing capabilities and computer tools, Tikhon Sotnikov's "Self-scoring tables" of the 1930s look quite simple. But in the middle of the twentieth century, in the context of the historical situation in the USSR, it was really a unique and original invention that contributed to the successful independent study of the theoretical foundations of music. Sotnikov's tables can be confidently considered the first didactic development not only in the light of the idea of self-education, but also in Russian music pedagogy as a whole. In addition, with the help of a simple technique, Sotnikov introduced an element of play into the learning process, making such monotonous work as performing and independently checking theoretical tasks fascinating. Today, game technology is widely used in modern pedagogy, being one of the generally recognized and most effective forms for improving the quality of the educational process. Probably, with a different set of circumstances and the timely publication of Sotnikov's work, its influence on the development and level of musical culture in the USSR could have been revolutionary at all, but, as you know, history does not tolerate the subjunctive mood.

 

  

Fig. 1. Tikhon Ivanovich Sotnikov 

 

Fig. 2. Table

 

Fig. 3. Cards

  

Fig. 4. Working with cards and a table

 

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The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

To the journal "PHILHARMONICA. International Music Journal" the author presented his article ""Self-scoring tables" by Tikhon Sotnikov in the light of the development of the idea of self-education in Russian music pedagogy", in which a study of the activities of the Rostov music teacher was conducted. The author proceeds in studying this issue from the fact that in the first half of the twentieth century, the process of teaching musical literacy was possible only under the guidance of an experienced teacher. Independent study of music theory was quite difficult, especially in rural areas and regions far from large cities. The relevance of the research is determined by the fact that even today musical secondary and higher education is possible only under the guidance of an experienced mentor, independent study in secondary and higher musical educational institutions is not given due attention. The scientific novelty is the study of the activities of Tikhon Ivanovich Sotnikov, namely his achievements in music pedagogy. The methodological basis of the research was made up of socio-cultural, historical and biographical analysis. The empirical basis of the research was the development of T.I. Sotnikov for self-study and self-verification of musical literacy by students. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to analyze T.I. Sotnikov's self-scoring tables from the point of view of their application in music pedagogy. Investigating the reasons that prompted T.I. Sotnikov to create the tables, the author conducts a detailed historical and socio-cultural analysis of the state of musical pedagogy and musical culture of the first half of the twentieth century. The author notes that for this period a sufficient amount of musical methodological literature was published ("Textbook of elementary music Theory" by N. Kashkin, "Course of elementary Music Theory: exercises, questions and answers" by N. Potolovsky, "Elementary Music Theory" by A. Chesnokov, "Collection of tasks, exercises and questions for the practical study of elementary theory music" by G. Konyus and others). However, as the author notes, all the manuals had one significant drawback: the inability to study them independently, the theoretical and practical material contained in the textbooks required explanations from an experienced teacher. This problem was felt especially acutely during the 20-30 years of the twentieth century. It was a time when, in accordance with the state policy of eliminating illiteracy, including music, there was a widespread creation of amateur art groups. Many leaders of amateur musical groups at that time did not even have basic musical literacy, it was necessary to train them, which was not always possible due to the lack of music schools and colleges in many localities. The author presents the biography of T.S. Sotnikov, a Rostov composer, teacher, collector of folklore and public music figure who worked in the middle of the twentieth century, paying attention to the reasons that motivated him to create a methodology for independent learning and knowledge testing. He devoted many years of his life to teaching and constantly improved in this direction. In addition, his personal experience as a student at the Rostov Conservatory also prompted him to develop the idea of musical and theoretical self-education. The originality of Sotnikov's development consisted in a specially arranged table with notes (Fig. 2), where each note was written out in five versions: both diatonic and chromatically altered (with sharp, double-sharp, flat and double-flat). Four dozen perforated cards were attached to the sheet music. The named cards corresponded to all the main topics of the initial course of music theory and solfeggio: intervals (No. 1-5) and their resolutions (No. 16-19); types of major and minor (No. 6-15); triads and their appeals (No. 20-26); dominant chord, its appeals and resolutions (No. 27-32); frets of folk music (No.33-35); chromatic scale in major and minor (No. 36-39); enharmonism of sounds and intervals (No. 40). The cards contained short or detailed notes where the author explained the nuances of construction, for example, a chord in certain keys, or a fret, or a scale. The principle of working with the manual was simple: perforated cards of a certain subject were superimposed on a universal table, and the correct version of one or another interval, chord or type of scale was immediately visible in the slots. After checking the tasks on the topic you have already completed, and making sure that they are completed correctly, you can consider this topic learned and move on to studying the next topic. The author states that despite the importance, relevance and at the same time simplicity of the innovative methodology, positive reviews and recommendations for publication, initially the Ministry of Culture refused to publish the manual. The tables were published only thanks to T.I. Sotnikov's student, A. Varfolosom, who included the material in his textbook. Evaluating the paintings of modern artists, the author identifies a number of features that are similar for many masters: First of all, this is the priority of displaying the inner spiritual world, the search of artists, and their experience of existential problems. This fact influences the image of the surrounding reality, making it mystical and metaphysical in modern works (Claire Fahy, Douglas A. Kinsey). The primacy of the idea also pushes modern painters to color experiments, the pure aesthetics of their works (K. Zvolinsk). Another theme uniting the work of many contemporary artists is social tension, acute social problems brewing in modern society (Nazafarin Lotfi). Having conducted the research, the author presents the conclusions on the studied materials, noting that in the middle of the twentieth century, in the context of the historical situation in the USSR, the technique of T.I. Sotnikov was really a unique and original invention that contributed to the successful independent study of the theoretical foundations of music. The tables can be confidently considered the first didactic development not only in the light of the idea of self-education, but also in Russian musical pedagogy as a whole. It seems that the author in his material touched upon relevant and interesting issues for modern socio-humanitarian knowledge, choosing a topic for analysis, consideration of which in scientific research discourse will entail certain changes in the established approaches and directions of analysis of the problem addressed in the presented article. The results obtained allow us to assert that the study of the history of the development of musical pedagogy is of undoubted theoretical and practical cultural interest and can serve as a source of further research. The material presented in the work has a clear, logically structured structure that contributes to a more complete assimilation of the material. An adequate choice of methodological base also contributes to this. However, the bibliographic list of the study consists of only 9 sources, which seems insufficient for generalization and analysis of scientific discourse on the studied problem. The author should work on this issue. In addition, the article needs editorial editing, as it repeats large fragments of material. The author fulfilled his goal, received certain scientific results that allowed him to summarize the material. It should be stated that the article may be of interest to readers and deserves to be published in a reputable scientific publication after these shortcomings have been eliminated.