Luther Whiting Mason (3 April 1818 – 14 July 1896) was an American

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

who was hired by the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

government of Japan as a foreign advisor to introduce Western classical music into the Japanese educational curriculum.

Biography

Mason was born in

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

. He worked as a music teacher for many years, in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

(1852–55), followed by

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

(1856–64), and Boston, Massachusetts (1864–79). In addition to teaching, Mason collected songs, wrote textbooks, and promoted their publication. His teaching method made use of charts and what he called "ladders," to explain

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number w ...

, staffs,

clef A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical stave. Placing a clef on a stave assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines, which defines the pitc ...

s, note values,

intervals Interval may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Interval (mathematics), a range of numbers ** Partially ordered set#Intervals, its generalization from numbers to arbitrary partially ordered sets * A statistical level of measurement * Interval e ...

, and dynamics. While in Boston, he was scouted by the Japanese

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

on the recommendation of one of his former students, Isawa Shuji in 1872. During his stay in Japan at

Tokyo Imperial University , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

from 1880-1882, Mason and Isawa worked together to develop programs for the teaching of music in elementary and middle schools, developing teacher training programs, and creating the first graded series of music textbooks in Japan. He also laid the foundation for a national music conservatory, the ''Tokyo Ongaku Gakkō'', now part of the

Tokyo University of the Arts or is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, scul ...

. He also imported

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

s and other western orchestral instruments, and made efforts to "improve" Japanese musical taste by encouraging study of harmony and popular western tunes. Although Mason expressed a strong desire to remain in Japan, his contract was not renewed, largely due to budgetary reasons. Mason later made four trips to Europe, visiting

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

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Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, Sweden and

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, observing teaching methods and collecting hundreds of music books. Mason died in

Buckfield, Maine Buckfield is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. Buckfield is included in the Lewiston- Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England City and Town Area. It is a member of Regional School Unit 10 along with nearby Hartford and Sumner. The ...

on 14 July 1896 at the age of 78.

References

* Howe, Sondra Wieland. ''Luther Whiting Mason: International Music Educator''. Harmonie Press International (1997). * Hall, Bonlyn G. The American Education of Luther Whiting Mason American Music, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Spring, 1988) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Luther Whiting 1818 births 1896 deaths American expatriates in Japan Foreign advisors to the government in Meiji-period Japan Foreign educators in Japan People from Turner, Maine People from Buckfield, Maine