Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to clarify the changes in singing lessons at Volksschule by the Kretzschmar Reform. Textbooks seem to divide practice materials for “singing technique,” “comprehension of musical grammar,” and “singing songs” into two song collections. However, in analyzing textbooks from the viewpoint of the objective of teaching “reading and singing musical scores,” the three areas of learning content of “singing technique,” “comprehension of musical grammar,” and “singing songs” were connected. This means that students were expected to read and sing the scores of songs themselves using their singing skills and comprehensions of musical grammar that were cultivated using the practice materials. For this reason, the practice materials were not simply drills, and the song collections as teaching materials were not meant to be used for rote memorization. The changes in singing classes in the Volksschule that occurred through the Kretzschmar Reform in practice seem to have changed the form of the lessons from “listening and singing” to “reading musical scores and singing.”
