Interesting work is also being done by Mr. Stephen Moore among quite small children in Worcestershire , using the percussion band as a basis for developing a sense of rhythm and a knowledge of time values .sx It is not yet clear how best to help ; the demand for instruction in instrumental playing is considerable , and there is reason to believe that this is in large measure due to broadcasting .sx The Joint Committee have this problem in mind and hope that at a later stage it may be possible to foster experiments designed to encourage the formation of village orchestras .sx General Remarks .sx The work of the Fund in so far as Music is concerned has been confined to a small number of counties .sx In the early stages the Joint Committee deliberately proceeded somewhat tentatively , and in some counties the Rural Community Councils felt that the existing bodies concerned with music were not yet ready to co-operate over the development of the kind of activities the Fund exists to help .sx Recently , however , evidence has been forthcoming of a greater realisation of the value of the Fund and the possibilities which it offers .sx One of the great obstacles in the organisation of , schools for conductors has been found to consist in the reluctance of many of those who take the lead in their own village to subject themselves to what they anticipate will be criticism of their methods .sx Often , too , they fear that if they enter their team for a festival they may be exposed to comments from the adjudicator which may weaken their own position and discourage the members of their choir , choral society , or group of school-children .sx This particular difficulty shows how important is the function of the Adjudicator at Festivals .sx A little too severe destructive criticism and a village team may be deterred from further participation ; while , on the other hand , the right kind of constructive criticism may send home a team rejoicing to its village , anxious to take part in the next Festival and confident that it can by then improve the quality of its work .sx The small number of counties in which the Fund has hitherto been made use of nine in England and Wales is disappointing .sx To some extent this appears to be due to the requirement that in order to qualify for grant there must be a county joint committee to take responsibility for local organisation and to prepare a constructive as opposed to a merely sporadic .sx scheme .sx As already pointed out , however , the Joint Committee feel strongly that there is great need for all existing musical efforts to be linked together in county areas so that musical needs can be looked at as a whole , new experiments encouraged , and provision made for forms of instruction which may be needed if the general standard of knowledge and performance is to be raised .sx In this connection we would call attention to the need which is certainly widely felt for greater facilities for borrowing musical scores .sx The cost of buying the scores is considerable for village people and tends to restrict their field of knowledge .sx Some County Libraries already possess a Music Section .sx We should like this example to be generally followed in all counties .sx This would do much to enable village singers to become familiar with a wider range of music than is now possible .sx The purposes for which help may be given from the Fund are as follows :sx Schools for Producers .sx Visits of Advisers .sx ( c ) Single lectures and courses of lectures .sx ( d ) Bursaries to enable village leaders to attend schools outside their own county .sx Other experimental work .sx Grant-aid is approved in regard to items ( a ) , ( b ) , ( c ) and ( e ) only when a scheme has been submitted in advance to the Joint Committee .sx The amount given is finally determined after the receipt of a statement of expenditure and receipts .sx The amount of the Bursaries depends on the length and cost of the School , but may in no case exceed 5 5s .sx Details are given in Appendix I of the work carried out with the help of the Fund up to the end of 1931 .sx But these details do not give a complete picture of the volume of activity that has been brought into being as a result in a greater or lesser degree of initial experiments which were aided by the Fund .sx Thus , in Derbyshire , Gloucestershire , Kent , Leicestershire , Lindsey ( Lincs .sx ) , Nottinghamshire and Somerset , work has been done in cooperation with the Local Education or University Authorities which to a certain degree owes its inception to experimental work made possible by the Fund .sx Again , the programme of schools and lectures referred to has acted as a powerful stimulus to the county festival movement , which , in our view , has a high educational value , and this in turn has led to the formation in a number of counties of a village drama league .sx It can be said that in England and Wales a really progressive scheme of dramatic education is now being pursued in 15 counties , while in another 9 a substantial beginning has been made .sx Development has not proceeded on identical lines in each county .sx Where assistance is given by the Local Education Authority for a certain type of work , it has been found possible to supplement that with another type of experimental work with the help of the Fund .sx In other cases Monmouthshire is a typical example a vigorous programme has been developed with the sole help of the Fund , each separate school or lecture or other piece of work qualifying for a deficiency grant under our regulations to meet that part of the cost not met by the students' fees .sx In this case , the development we have had in mind as a model to work on , proceeding by way of the pioneer lecture to the school and course of lectures for producers , supplemented by a scheme of advisory visits to village groups , and bursaries to specially promising students , has been fully exploited and has now led to the formation of a county league of drama .sx Over a score of village groups have already affiliated to the Monmouthshire League and by their subscriptions and donations are on the way to making its work self-supporting .sx Schools for Producers .sx Reports continue to reach us from different parts of the country that while there is no lack of enthusiasm for the drama , qualified producers are lacking .sx It would be surprising if this were otherwise , since the art of producing .sx a play obviously requires faculties of leadership and imagination not so commonly found as a simple love of acting .sx But it reinforces our conviction that it is through the training of leaders that the most useful progress can be made and that the " School " for Producers must be regarded as the main feature of any scheme of dramatic education in the countryside at the present stage .sx The difficulties of organisation are considerable and well known .sx Students in rural areas can normally get away only for a very short intensive course , and centres that are accessible to a fair body of students are not easy to find .sx There are disadvantages in holding schools in urban centres for those who live in villages , the scarcity of suitable halls being one of these .sx The ideal arrangement is to hold the school in an ordinary village hall with proper stage equipment , as , for example , at Great Hucklow , in Derbyshire , but such centres are naturally rare as yet and usually difficult of access , as compared with the large town .sx Another difficulty is that while women students prefer to attend sessions in the morning and afternoon , men are not able to get away until the evening .sx In spite of these difficulties , however , a considerable number of schools have been successfully organised , the proportion of men students is increasing , and valuable experience has been gained as to how the schools can best be conducted .sx The scheme of one-day schools organised in 1931 by the Hampshire Rural Community Council may serve as an example .sx Schools were held on five successive days of the week in the country towns of Andover , Basingstoke , Petersfield , Ringwood and Romsey .sx A total of 172 students attended , of whom 14 were resident in the centres themselves , while representatives of 62 villages all over the county made up the number .sx The schools were directed by Miss Eileen Thorndike , who devoted the morning sessions to giving a complete outline picture of the practical business of production , with the order in which different aspects of it should be tackled .sx Thus , first of all came the important question of the principles which should govern the choice of play for study and production .sx Then a talk on the functions of the producer , followed by an outline of his task , through the preparation of the prompt-book , the first reading , casting , rehearsals , the control of movement and grouping , the manifold problems of " pace " and " colour , " costume , settings , make-up , and so on to the final rehearsal and production .sx This took up a concentrated morning's session .sx After a break , the afternoon session began with questions and a discussion of the morning's talk , and was followed by some demonstrations of make-up , which brought the day's work to an end .sx The Hampshire Schools were attended mainly by W.I. members and other women students .sx An experiment carried out in Monmouthshire in the same year may be quoted because of its greater success in securing male support .sx This was a school held at Grosmont , a village centre in the north of the county .sx It consisted of evening sessions only on five successive days of a week and was attended by 18 men and 51 women students .sx Mrs. Marion Rathbone , who took the school , devoted each session to a talk on different aspects of production , followed by a discussion and a demonstration rehearsal .sx Experience suggests , however , that normally the most satisfactory arrangement is the weekend school , commencing with a session on the Friday evening .sx For example , a school was held at Truro , on these lines , under the direction of Miss Mary Kelly .sx The programme was as follows :sx Students came from all over Cornwall for this school .sx " The discussions which took place were keen and practical .sx Miss Kelly was extraordinarily successful in getting everyone to take part and organised several crowdscenes in a masterly way .sx Parts were learned in advance for the one-act play " Them Buns , " which was played in good Cornish dialect , and introduced the students to a good and humorous short play for women only , a muchneeded requirement , though the movement for making more mixed companies of players is growing .sx " One further experiment of this kind may be mentioned , as it serves to show how different schemes have to be adapted to meet special difficulties .sx The series of pioneer lectures organised in the winter of 1930 by the North Wales Dramatic Association and carried out by Miss Edith Craig was so successful that in the following year it was decided to hold a further course .sx Transport difficulties and the fact that the quarrymen , who were among the keenest supporters of the idea , could not get away until after their day's work , combined to make anything in the nature of a day " school " impracticable .sx But , after consideration , it was felt that something more solid and practical than a mere lecture should be attempted this year , with the result that a series of miniature evening " schools " was held , and worked out on a carefully considered syllabus .sx This scheme was carried out in five centres , Caernarvon , Pwllheli , Wrexham , Llangefni , and Bangor , by Miss Eirian Morgan , who taught in Welsh and English , as required .sx The schools were attended by 131 students , some of whom made journeys of many miles by bicycle and 'bus .sx The schools described above may be regarded as " first " schools .sx In other areas " follow-up " schools have also been held , consisting more exclusively of practice rehearsals and demonstrations , or dealing more fully with some special feature such as Speech , Movement , or Stage Lighting .sx Thus , for example , a one-day school at Oxford , .sx following on a three-day school of the type already described , dealt exclusively with the problem of " How to obtain effects on a simple curtained stage .sx "