{{Short description|American composer}} {{Redirect|Mabel Watson|the British dancer and actress|Mabel Love}} '''Mabel Madison Watson''' (December 16, 1872 – September 12, 1952)<ref>{{Cite web|last=Watson|first=Mabel Madison|date=2 November 2020|title=ancestry.com|url=http://www.ancestry.com|access-date=2 November 2020}}</ref> was an American composer<ref>{{Cite book|last=Cohen, Aaron I.|title=International encyclopedia of women composers|year=1987|isbn=0-9617485-2-4|edition=Second edition, revised and enlarged|location=New York|oclc=16714846}}</ref> who taught piano and violin students.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hixon, Donald L.|title=Women in music : an encyclopedic biobibliography|date=1993|publisher=Scarecrow Press|others=Hennessee, Don A.|isbn=0-8108-2769-7|edition=2nd|location=Metuchen, N.J.|oclc=28889156}}</ref> She was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to James Madison Watson and Emma Hopper Watson. Her father wrote several school textbooks,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ricord|first=Frederick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ILLWDwAAQBAJ&q=mabel+madison+watson&pg=PA295|title=History of Union County, New Jersey|date=1897-01-01|publisher=Dalcassian Publishing Company|language=en}}</ref> and children's author Emilie Poulsson lived with the Watson family during Mabel's childhood.
Watson graduated from the Metropolitan College of Music in New York. She studied music with Kate Sara Chittenden, Herbert Greene, Albert Rosa Parsons, Harry Rowe Shelley, and Otto Meyer<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39pEAQAAMAAJ&q=mabel+madison+watson&pg=PA404|title=The Musical Blue Book of America, ...: Recording in Concise Form the Activities of Leading Musicians and Those Actively and Prominently Identified with Music in Its Various Departments ...|date=1922|publisher=Musical Blue Book Corporation|language=en}}</ref> in America; and with Oscar Raif in Berlin and Isidor Philipp in Paris.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=November 1936|title=Mabel Madison Watson|journal=The Etude|volume=54|issue=11|pages=37}}</ref>
Watson concentrated on teaching beginning piano and violin students. She published at least one article in the journal Kindergarten Review: ''Music as an Element in Aesthetic Training''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hQA8AQAAMAAJ&q=mabel+madison+watson&pg=PA300|title=Kindergarten Review|date=1903|publisher=Milton Bradley|language=en}}</ref> She was known for having beginning piano students use both hands and learn both treble and bass clefs right from the beginning, while most teachers started students using only one hand and one clef. She initially maintained studios in New York City and Philadelphia, but eventually closed the New York City studio and focused on her work in Philadelphia.
In 1920 and 1921, Watson directed the Keene Valley Summer Music Colony (or School)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XB9HAQAAMAAJ&q=mabel+madison+watson&pg=PA193|title=The Violinist|date=1920|publisher=Violinist Publishing Company|language=en}}</ref> in the Adirondack mountains, with assistance from violinist Otto Meyer, her former teacher.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FtnJix3B68EC&q=mabel+madison+watson&pg=PA358|title=The Etude|date=1921|publisher=T. Presser|language=en}}</ref> It was a three month class for instruction in composition, piano, theory, and violin.
Watson was a member of the American String Teachers Association.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=viM5AAAAIAAJ|title=American String Teacher|date=1951|language=en}}</ref> Her music was published by Theodore Presser Co., Arthur P. Schmidt,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yJEMAQAAIAAJ&q=mabel+madison+watson&pg=PA804|title=The Musician: America's Leading Magazine for Musicians, Music-lovers, Teachers and Students|date=1912|publisher=N. Jaakobs|language=en}}</ref> and G. Schirmer, Inc. Her compositions include: == Piano ==
*''Alpenrose Waits''
*''Birthday Party Waltz''
*''Children's Party''
*''Christmas Tree (Christmas Morning)''
*''Dance of the Snowflakes''
*''Desert Caravan''
*''First Visits to Tuneland: A Collection of Rhymes and Tunes to Teach the Notes Up and Down from Middle C<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b6lJAQAAMAAJ&q=mabel+madison+watson&pg=PA544|title=The New England Magazine|date=1912|publisher=New England Magazine Company|language=en}}</ref>''
*''Five tuneful sketches for piano<ref>{{Cite book|last=Office|first=Library of Congress Copyright|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FzQhAQAAIAAJ&q=mabel+madison+watson&pg=PA1014|title=Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series|date=1958|language=en}}</ref>''
*''Flight of Swallows''
*''Folk Dance''
*''Games and Toys''
*''Heath and Hall''
*''Junior High Entrance March''
*''Little One Sleep!''
*''Little Tales from Tuneland: 34 Simple Tunes with Rhymes''
*''Little Two Voice Songs and Dances''
*''March of the Merry Men (Christmas Night)''
*''March of the Tin Cavalry''
*''Marionette Ballet''
*''Merry, Merry March''
*''Mummer's Parade''
*''Night in Venice''
*''On Skis''
*''Out of Doors: Six Characteristic Pieces for Piano<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pU0cAQAAIAAJ&q=mabel+madison+watson&pg=PA81|title=Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions|date=1913|publisher=Library of Congress, Copyright Office.|language=en}}</ref>''
*''Pirates Bold''
*''Playing in the Snow (Christmas Afternoon)''
*''Rubber Doll's Dance''
*''Scenes from Tuneland''
*''Seven Scenes from Childhood''
*''Snow for Christmas (Christmas Eve)''
*''Song of Sleep and Snow (The Night Before Christmas)''
*''Summertime Stories''
*''Tally Ho<ref>{{Cite book|last=Podolsky|first=Leo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=evI3hN9yXOIC&q=mabel+madison+watson&pg=PA18|title=Guild Repertoire: Piano Music Appropriate for the Auditions of the National Guild of Piano Teachers, Elementary A & B: For Elementary Piano|date=1995-11-15|publisher=Alfred Music|isbn=978-1-4574-0398-9|language=en}}</ref>''
*''Trotting Pony''
*''Twelve Magic Keys: 40 Pieces in all the Major Keys<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lNO-xBQH01sC&q=mabel+madison+watson&pg=PA29|title=School Music|date=1918|publisher=P.C. Hayden|language=en}}</ref>''
*''Warp and Woof: Eleven little Tunes & Rhymes for Independent Part Playing''
== Violin ==
*''Bel Canto Method'' (an elementary violin method)
*''First Folk Songs'' (violin and piano)
*''Five Dances in Ancient Style'' (violin, cello and piano)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gB0mlp2sh1QC&q=mabel+madison+watson|title=The Canadian Patent Office Record and Register of Copyrights and Trade Marks|date=1932|publisher=Patent Office|language=en}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Mabel Madison}} Category:American music educators Category:American women composers Category:1872 births Category:1952 deaths Category:Musicians from Elizabeth, New Jersey