WHY DOES THE PUPIL TIRE OF PRACTICING?
Note the heighth (sic) of the piano stool, the lack of a foot-rest, the stooping shoulders, the strain upon the spine, the bad finger and arm positions, the distance of the eye from the notes, the bad position of the lamp on top of the piano, and remember that notwithstanding the teacher’s admonitions pupils will fall into these evils when the teacher is absent, unless the parent is properly instructed. Why not call the attention of all the parents of your pupils to this cartoon which shows exactly how not to sit at the piano?
“MY DAUGHTER HAS A HEADACHE AND CAN T COME FOR HER LESSON.”
This cartoon is a kind of a daily tragedy for teachers. The teacher works largely upon the enthusiasm of his pupils. When he finds, that after all his work, his pupil is willing upon the least pretense to sacrifice a lesson for the pleasure of going to the theatre or to a vaudeville show, do you wonder that the teacher is discouraged? The pupil’s headache is too severe for Czerny, Chopin or Godard, but she can watch a trained baboon try to keep his equilibrium on roller skates without any noticeable distress. All sensible teachers make it a strict rule to oblige the pupil to pay for all lessons except those lost through protracted illness.
