Mary Louisa White facts for kids

Mary Louisa White (born September 2, 1866 – died January 1935) was a talented British composer, pianist, and teacher. She is especially known for creating a unique way to teach music to beginners called the "Letterless Method."

Mary Louisa, often called "Louie" by her family, was the oldest of four children born to Robert and Louisa Makin White. She grew up with a love for music.

Early Life and Musical Journey

Louie studied music with a well-known teacher named John Farmer in London. She became a skilled pianist and performed in many concerts. She played in famous places like the Steinway Hall in London and also gave concerts in Paris.

Around the year 1900, Mary Louisa White started teaching piano at Kensington High School. This school was part of the Girls' Day School Trust, an organization that helped provide good education for girls. She even worked with her sisters, Jessie and Winnie, at the Girls' Day School Trust for a couple of years.

The Letterless Method

Mary Louisa White had a brilliant idea for teaching music to young students. She invented the "Letterless Method." This method used special tools like metal clefs, rings, disks, and black and white buttons. Children could touch and move these items to learn about musical notes. This hands-on approach made learning music fun and easy for beginners.

Her Musical Works

Mary Louisa White wrote many different kinds of music. Her original papers and even scrapbooks about her music career, put together by her mother and sisters, are kept safe at University College, London. Her music was published by companies like Joseph Williams and Alfred Novello in London.

Her compositions include:

Operettas

• Babes in the Woods, opus 42
• Beauty and the Beast, opus 41

Orchestra Music

• Transvaal War Symphony

Piano Pieces

• Ballade in G flat
• Dances No 1 and 2, Opus 47
• Impromptu in E flat, Opus 54 No 2
• Minuet in A flat
• Nocturne in D flat
• Novelette in c minor, Opus 36 No 2
• Prelude in D flat
• Rhapsody in b flat minor
• Short Lyrics
• Sketch Book (Gavotte, Hunting Song, March, Minuet, Pastorale, Waltz)
• Spinning Wheel
• Tiny Tunes for Young Musicians
• Two Waltzes
• Without Octaves

Vocal Music

• Hush-a-bye
• Jubilate (trio for treble voices)
• Maypole
• Night's Rhapsody (duet)
• Prelude of Spring
• School Song for Girls
• Secret of the Sea
• Sleep, Little Baby, Sleep
• Sleep, Sweetly Sleep
• Song of the Water Sprite
• There be None of Beauty's Daughters
• To the River
• Twelve Easy Duets
• When First I Sang to my Darling