Émile-Joseph-Maurice Chevé (May 31, 1804 – August 25, 1864) was a French music theorist and music teacher. Chevé was born in

Douarnenez Douarnenez (, ; meaning ''douar'' (land) ''an enez'' (the island) or land of the island), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, northwestern France. It is located at the mouth of the Pouldavid River, an estua ...

. He entered the Marines at age 16 and qualified there to become a doctor and surgeon. In 1835, he returned to Paris and studied medicine and mathematics. He also visited a course taught by

Aimé Paris Aimé Paris (1798–1866) was a French scholar. He was the developer of a method of stenography, and co-developer and propagator of what became the Galin-Paris-Chevé system of music notation. Paris studied mathematics and law, and became a l ...

, who propagated a music notation system inherited from Pierre Galin that is now known as the

Galin-Paris-Chevé system The Galin-Paris-Chevé system is a method of reading music, based on the ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, founded by Pierre Galin (1786–1821) and developed by Aimé Paris (1798–1866), his sister Nanine Paris (1800–1868), and her husband � ...

. He was very attracted to the method, and when he ended up marrying Paris's sister Nanine Paris, he promoted and developed it together with Paris. This system is still used in China and other countries, known as the numbered musical notation. From 1844, he gave in Paris more than 150 courses in the method, which became known as the Galin-Paris-Chevé method. He also edited with his wife a series of textbooks that were used at such schools as the

École normale supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

, the

École polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

and the

Lycée Louis-le-Grand The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on Rue Saint-Jacques (Paris), rue Saint-Jacques in central Par ...

. His son Amand Chevé carried forth his interest in the system. Under

John Curwen John Curwen (14 November 1816 – 26 May 1880) was an English Congregational church, Congregationalist minister and diffuser of the tonic sol-fa system of music education created by Sarah Ann Glover. He was educated at Wymondley College in Her ...

it came into the English-speaking world, and was carried by

Lowell Mason Lowell Mason (January 8, 1792 – August 11, 1872) was an American music director and banker who was a leading figure in 19th-century American church music. Lowell composed over 1,600 hymn tunes, many of which are often sung today. His best-know ...

into the United States. A hundred years later, the Hungarian music educator

Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (, ; , ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, music pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music education. ...

adapted the system in his Kodály Method. He is also the uncle of Émile-Frédéric-Maurice Chevé (1829-1897), a poet.

Writings

* ''Méthode élémentaire de musique vocale, théorie et pratique, chiffrée et portée'' * ''Méthode d'harmonie et de composition'' * ''800 duos gradués'' * ''Méthode élémentaire de piano'' * ''Appel au bon sens de toutes les nations qui désirent voir se généraliser chez elles l'enseignement musical'' * ''Protestation adressée au comité central d'instruction primaire de la ville de Paris, contre un rapport de la Commission de chant '' * ''La routine et le bon sens'' * ''Coup de grâce à la routine musicale''

Writings

References

Further reading