Major Publications
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References
Eleanor Smith studied music in Europe and music education with John Dewey at the University of Chicago. She began the music school for the first and eventually largest settlement house, which was established by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr in the slums of Chicago. The Hull-House was opened in 1889, and the music school was established four years later (Green, 1998). Elrod described the school as “an extraordinary music school in an extraordinary setting” (Elrod, 2001).
Students from immigrant neighborhoods were admitted to music classes based on talent for a variety of musical studies and ensembles. When admission expanded to include all students in 1939, enrollment tripled (Green, 1998). Social music classes (not based on talent) were offered to the general student for recreational and non-musical or social goals.
The school was unique because it had the support of Jane Addams, was completely integrated into activities of the settlement, and received financial patronage. The school had an impact on large numbers of musicians as well as non-musician audience members, and therefore influenced the musical tastes of the American public. (Green, 1998).
Smith's music sometimes reflected the political activism occurring in the settlement movement through songs that seemed to recognize the labor movement and inspire community sympathy (Green, 1998). Smith was apparently one of the foremost advocates of the song method (Stoddard, 1968). Alper (1980) analyzed Smith’s songbooks to find the use of Froebel’s philosophy in her compositions for children that recognized developmental levels and universality of childhood. One conclusion was that the inclusion of Smith’s songs in 1980 publications is evidence of the lasting quality and value of Smith’s music (Alper, 1980). In a second source, Alper (1985) suggested that by incorporating Froebel’s concept of individual development and self-expression, “Smith was prophetic, for such texts became increasingly a part of early childhood song books well into the twentieth century” (p. 56).
Smith, E. (1887). Songs for Little Children, Part I. Springfield, MA: Milton Bradley.
Smith, E. (1894). Songs for Little Children, Part II. Springfield, MA: Milton Bradley Co.
Smith, E. (1908). The Eleanor Smith Music Course. New York: American Book Co.
Smith, E. (1915). Hull-House Songs. Chicago: Clayton F. Summy Co.
1986 MENC Hall of Fame
Music at Hull-House
Jane Addams and her work to save immigrant children of Chicago in the Settlement houses
Hull-House
Societal
Alper, C. D. (1980). The Early Childhood Song Books of Eleanor Smith: Their Affinity with the Philosophy of Friedrich Froebel. Journal of Research in Music Education, 28 (2), 111.
Alper, C. D. (1985). Instinct and Imagination: Froebel's Principal of Self-Activity in Turn-of-the-Century Songbooks. Music Educators Journal, 72 (2), 53-56, 58-63.
Elrod, P. G. (2001). Vocal Music at Hull-House, 1889--1942: An Overview of Choral and Singing Class Events and a Study of the Life and Works of Eleanor Smith, Founder of the Hull-House Music School [Abstract]. (Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at URbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, 2001). Dissertation Abstracts Online, 62, no. 08A.
Green, S. L. (1998). "Art for Life's Sake": Music Schools and Activities in United States Social Settlements, 1892-1942. (Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison1998). Dissertation Abstracts Online, 59, no. 07A: 2241.
Stoddard, E. M. (1968). Frances Elliott Clark: Her Life and Contributions to Music Education. (Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, Brigham Young University1968). Dissertation Abstracts Online, 29, no. 09A: 3715.