SWING TIME

With a meeting set for tomorrow night to elect new officers and plot a course of action for the next twelve months, the Instrumental Clubs are facing two problems that have cast shadows of doubt over their future. For a group that was once the very button on Fortune's cap has sunk low indeed in her favors, falling prey to the twin troubles of changing musical tastes and of lethargy on the part of their members, and unless oxygen is quickly applied, the flame of life may go out entirely. Yet the Instrumental Clubs need only a few readjustments in their program, plus vigorous and enthusiastic leadership, to bring back their once vaunted eminence.

Various changes in the course of music generally have affected the instrumental groups in the last five years. First came the development of serious choral music in the New England schools, which, by rigorous training in choirs and glee clubs, have pointed their students toward the Harvard Glee Club rather than for the informal singing that the Instrumental Clubs provide. Currently, came the shift of taste from banjo and mandolin to violin, 'cello, flute, and the like, a shift which has prospered the Pierian Sodality, but has laid the banjo and mandolin clubs in the grave. Couple all this with waning undergraduate support, which culminated in calling off the last two Christmas trips, and hard times are the inevitable result.

But though the Clubs cannot kick against the pricks of changing tastes, a few readjustments can restore them to their rightful position in the college. By abandoning for good and all the banjo and mandolin, by concentrating on the orchestra and singing groups, for which there is talent galore, and by demanding reasonable proficiency and attendance at rehearsals, the Clubs would not have to stretch to put on a concert this spring as well as a tour of the East next Christmastide, especially since the mist of depression no longer hangs heavy over many interested graduates and sponsors.

The final solution to the present problems rests on men. Officers must be found that are capable to dispel gloom, warm up support, and check the present day tide away from extra-curricular activity. For in their function of providing light and cheery entertainment, amusing to audiences and players alike, the Clubs hold a unique and vital position in the college scene. If capable officers are chosen and vigorously supported in their plans for the ensuing year, a few changes and readjustments will send the Clubs off to a new and a fast start.