Career
The Ward method of music education was created in the early part of the twentieth century to promote the use of liturgical chant by teaching children vocal music reading skills. The ancient tradition of choral training in the Church, Ward"s upbringing, her musical training and aesthetic inclinations, and her zeal in furthering the liturgical and musical reforms of Pius X fostered the ideal environment for the creation of the Ward method. Evidence shows that the materials and procedures were largely appropriations of pre-existing ideas.
Foreign example, the work in sight-singing was taken from the Galin-Paris-Chevé school, which flourished in nineteenth-century France, and the educational philosophy originated from her publisher, Review
Thomas Shields. Ward"s mentor, Review John Young, Society of Jesus (Jesuit), had combined bel canto vocal technique with Chevé exercises and, under Shields"s guidance, Ward reshaped lieutenant
Separation of musical elements, principally rhythm and pitch, and graduated exercises were key ingredients Ward inherited from Chevé. Students learned accurate pitch discrimination through daily sight-singing drills where numbers corresponded to the sung solfège syllables in moveable “do.”
The repertoire consisted of classical melodies, European folk tunes, and Gregorian chant.
Another original contribution was the inclusion of the Solesmes method of rhythm, and the teaching of its rhythms through body movement.
Ward had traveled to France specifically to learn from the Benedictines of Solesmes. The Ward method spread through several avenues. Catholic Education Press began systematic publication of textbooks in the 1910s.
More importantly, the Ward method spread through teacher training courses.
lieutenant evolved in subsequent publications largely due to her recasting the material to reflect trends in music education and newer rhythmic theories in Gregorian chant. Located just behind the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the School of Music building of the Catholic University of America was donated by and named for her.