A wealth of knowledge at your fingertips… A person could literally earn a bachelor’s, if not a master’s or doctorate, with the knowledge inside these books. There’s just one obstacle standing in that person’s way… You actually have to read and apply the knowledge…
To be clear, I’m referring to The International Library of Music, published by The University Society, and printed in 1965 (this version). It contains 15 Volumes, roughly 5500-6500 pages in total.
One Day I’ll Read Them All
Granted, they’re a great resource to use as needed as well, but the TRUE value would be scouring them on a daily basis and absorbing the knowledge through and through. “One day” I will do that. What’s another word, or phrase, for “one day?” Oh yeah, “Never.”…
I hope it’s not “Never,” but I’ve had access to it for over 50 years now, and…… Yeah, it’s not looking so good – me finishing, or even starting, that long, arduous journey towards music mastery. I’ll blame my Father, my Dad. No, I can’t do that, but he did admit to me that he hasn’t read through the majority of them.
Mom Bought The Books
They were purchased by his Mother, my Grandmother, for use in an actual music education course of sorts. When flipping through some of the pages, you can read the notes my Dad took along the sides of some of the pages. So, they’ve been accessed and studied to some degree. And, they are still there for the motivated learner (that I hope to be “one day”).
Music Education Is Now More Accessible to the Masses
It appears this collection belongs to a series that dates back to the 1920s, or thereabouts. Each newer version adds to it the music culture aspects of the current era. This particular edition, printed in 1965, made high-level musical instruction available to the average, everyday individual.
One has to remember that before the internet, the only way to gain access to such a large amount of musical knowledge and theoretical concepts was to either purchase the material yourself or, in some cases, have access to university libraries.
The collection is basically a set of encyclopedias. There appears to be 15 volumes in total. The page count is roughly between 5500 and 6500. I’ll try to list the individual volume titles below:
The International Library of Music Collection Titles:
- World’s Best Home Songs – Pre-Grade I
- Volume 1 – Study Material, Grades I-II
- Volume 2 – Study Material, Grades III-IV
- Volume 3 – Pianist’s Guide, Theory and Technique
- Volume 4 – The Opera, History and Guide
- Volume 1 – History of Music, Biographical Sketches
- Volume 2 – Biographical Sketches and Dictionary
- Volume 1 – Piano Composition
- Volume 2 – Piano Composition
- Volume 3 – Piano Composition
- Volume 4 – Piano Composition
- Volume 5 – Piano Composition
- Volume 6 – Piano Composition
- Volume 7 – Piano Composition
- Volume 8 – Piano Composition, Index
As you can see, the largest category is devoted to piano composition. Imagine being able to play all the material in those volumes. Talk about – AWESOME!… Awesome isn’t the right word. It kind of lessens the whole experience, but I’m sorry, that’s just my first, regular, ordinary response… It’s not like it would be impossible. It just means one has to sit down and DO IT…
I’m Getting Motivated Now
I’ll admit that by writing this small article about this collection, I’m getting just a tad bit more motivated to give it a try. To start reviewing the material seriously. After all, each of us only has one life to live. I would need to make a plan to tackle this huge ordeal. If I (or anyone) were to set out to do this, I would basically be going back to school to finish a new college degree without the diploma being issued at the end. Not that I would care about a diploma or certificate. This would just be for my own education and enjoyment. I must say, having never achieved a college degree that I actually wanted (I wound up with a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies – more-or-less a “piece of paper” in my opinion), I would be so proud to complete these volumes in their entirety even though their would be absolutely no promise of financial gain or an increase in social status (neither of which I care all that much about – anymore).
Have A Plan And Stick To It
Going back to “the plan” aspect… I can’t imagine that you could just pick a book and go. Or, at least, I could not do that. I would need to start at the beginning, covering every little detail even if I’m already familiar with that particular topic. So, I would need to create my own syllabus of sorts, or just carefully go from page 1 in the first book to its last page, NEVER skipping ahead to something more interesting. Skipping ahead always breaks the momentum in important tasks. It also leaves room for error when you revert back to the “plan.” At least, that’s what I’ve found over the years.
Kind of Like Reading The Bible or an Encyclopedia Set
I would equate this to taking on the task of reading the Holy Bible from cover to cover, which many people have done, but it’s not the easiest of tasks either. To compare the two, the Bible is roughly 1500 pages of densely populated pages of text that’s not the easiest to read and understand in a lot of cases. Oftentimes one needs a companion Study Bible or a Commentary written by a theological scholar. These tools, of course, add to the amount of reading that needs to take place, adding more “volumes” of study.
The International Library of Music is (again) 15 volumes, with anywhere from 5500-6500 pages of material, not as densely populated, but still something you can’t just skim through like your favorite novel either. So, it’s 5x-times as much material, but displayed in an easier-to-navigate format.
The Bible certainly wouldn’t take someone as long to read as this musical library in full. I was comparing it because of its complexity. There’s a method to reading the Bible as well. Yes, you can just read from cover to cover. Still, there are also plans put together by theological scholars that give a much better understanding of the context surrounding certain situations and events throughout the Bible, which require referencing an earlier or later chapter for more insight.
Could Be Its Own YouTube Channel
Ya know, one could actually dedicate an entire YouTube channel to going through ALL of the volumes contained within The International Library of Music… (Uh Huh… Hmmm…. Thinking… Pondering the idea…). There’s so much material, you would never run out of content for a video. Sure, there are tons of music educators online. Still, this idea is a little different because you would be anchoring every video to a concept from the Library. i.e., instead of, “How to Play a C Major Chord on the Piano.” It would be, “How to Play a C Major Chord on the Piano – TILM Standards.” Ok, the title needs a little work, but the point is that everyone who visits your channel would eventually learn that you are referencing TILM in ALL of your videos. Just a thought…
In The End
This Library of Music is quite the knowledge base for ANYONE seeking a better understanding of music in general – historical and theoretical knowledge. Even though it is mostly catered to the piano, it’s knowledge that someone could apply to any instrument.
Until Next Time,
Featured Image: Dad’s International Library of Music Collection gifted to him by his Mother, My Grandmother, quite some time ago… View on Flickr.
