Selected Content
from the Teaching Department 
Content is listed chronologically in the order originally published by "The Etude". To be alerted of new content posted to this department, subscribe to the RSS feed.
Piano Teaching. - November, 1887
A vast difference separates the artist from the professor. The merit of one does not necessarily include the merit of the other, and many an artist of unquestionable talent has confessed his inability to train pupils. Read More
General Advice on the Method of Practice. - November, 1887
1. Place the fingers close to the keys in striking. 2. Sink them completely. 3. Always keep the forearm absolutely flexible. 4. Practise slowly. Read More
Defective Education of Musicians. - November, 1887
If the professors of music show any deficiency in dignity of mind, below other professions, the cause is less in the necessary devotion of their time to the acquirement of the technical and mechanical dexterity requisite to the practice of their art, than to the dissipation of valuable hours in other ways. Read More
Piano Playing and General Musical Instruction. - November, 1887
Concert pianists, who depend upon their pupils to simply imitate them, and who fail to give them correct ideas as to the most advantageous way of practicing and studying, are really doing nothing to promote the most healthful improvement of the technique and style of their pupils. Read More
New Ideas On An Old Subject. - November, 1887
The older I grow, the more I am impressed with the necessity of all pupils knowing all the scales, and playing them daily. As they grow in age and experience, any intelligent teacher can explain the same things in more technical terms; but every child can understand them by this system. Read More
Teacher and Pupil. - November, 1887
A fine art can be pursued to advantage only under the direction and guidance of a master. What greater test of the artist's mastery of his art than his ability to impart his art? What accomplishment can be greater or more worthy? It has been truly said, "The most difficult art known to art is to teach art." Read More
Singing As a Help To the Piano-forte Student. - November, 1887
Schumann says: "Exert yourself, even though you have but little voice, to sing at sight, without the help of your instrument; by this means the quickness of your ear will constantly increase. But if you have a good voice, neglect no opportunity of cultivating it; consider it as the most valuable gift that heaven has conferred on you." Read More
Hints and Helps - July, 1891
The office of the teacher is to encourage, inspire and enthuse the pupil in his work.—E. A. S. The cause of musical education suffers greatly because harmony and counterpoint are not more generally studied.— It will not... Read More
III -- Education Of Pianists. - July, 1891
BY JAMES M. TRACY. If the student is classically inclined, the easy sonatas of Clementi, Kuhlau, Haydn and Mozart furnish the best food for both fingers and brain; but if modern showy music is the aim there are... Read More
Minnie Hauk's Music Lesson - July, 1891
A few days since Mme. Minnie Hauk was called upon by a young choir girl, who desired the great prima donna to give her some information about going abroad to study. After some pleasant conversation, Mme. Hauk said... Read More
Piano-Forte Teaching - July, 1891
BY J. W. ANDREWE. The work of piano-forte teaching may be divided into two parts, to wit, the technical and the musical. All that pertains to music, aside from the means used in its production, is considered... Read More
Professional Versus Amateur Music Teachers; or Low Tuition Fees and How to Raise Them - July, 1891
BY CHAS. W. LANDON. [An Essay delivered before the New York State Music Teachers' Association, at Utica, July 2d, 1891.] While teachers should be free to charge such prices for instruction as they think best, nothing but harm... Read More
Education of Pianists-No. IV. - August, 1891
A teacher who has given us a Liszt, Thalberg, Döhler, Wilhnarr, DeMeyer and other great performers, cannot be ignored, though some of his studies may have become old fashioned from having others of more recent date take their place. Recently, we have had sent us a selection of Czerny's etudes which we can earnestly recommend in full. Read More
Time For a Lesson. - August, 1891
BY CARL E. CRAMER. The following schedule, which has been dictated by many years of experience, may be of some use to young teachers. It is, of course, applicable only to children of average capacity. For geniuses and blockheads, special... Read More
The Teacher's Forum - August, 1891
[Teachers are invited to send The Etude short letters on subjects of general interest to the profession, such as studio experiences, ways of working and practical ideas, but no controversial letters will be accepted.] "MERE TECHNIQUE." Many speak scornfully of... Read More
Education of Pianists-No. IV. (Concluded.) - August, 1891
BY JAMES M. TRACY. Our last paper left off with the commencement of Cramer's Studies. These celebrated studies are often taken up too early in the student's course. Both Dr. Knorr and Prof. Plaidy said they ought never to be... Read More
The Real and the Accessory In Music Study. - August, 1891
BY W. S. B. MATHEWS. The real thing in the study of music is Music itself; the ability to feel it, enjoy it, reproduce it in such a way as to enable others to enjoy it; to understand it as... Read More
Miss Amy Fay on the Deppe Method - July, 1893
One of your subscribers does me the honor to ask for information in regard to my edition of the "Deppe Method." Also, who Deppe is, where born, and if still alive and teaching. I have forgotten where Deppe was born,... Read More
The Basis of Phrasing. - April, 1895
BY W. S. B. MATHEWS. In order to teach phrasing, two things are necessary: First, to train the pupil to recognize the ideas in the pieces he studies; and, second, to give the necessary touches commanding expressive tone quality, through... Read More
To Play Or Not To Play. - April, 1895
MUSICAL EDUCATION THAT WOULD MAKE STUDY A PLEASURE TO CHILDREN. "Do you know," said an anxious mother to a group of interested friends the other day, "my little Lucie is getting to be a great girl, eight years old this... Read More
Common Sense Suggestions To Teachers. - April, 1895
EXTRACTS FROM A LECTURE BY MR. EMIL LIEBLING. Music teaching is a trade; simply a business. Some of us know very little about it, and then the minority of all the music teachers find out a few facts by the... Read More
A Suggestion. - April, 1895
BY ALICE KEACHIE. Having been a teacher for many years I possess an accumulation of books and music which has become quite a care. This year I determined to dispose of a large quantity in the following manner: I arranged... Read More
Make Study Interesting. - April, 1895
Teachers should constantly endeavor to keep their pupils interested, and indeed to make the study of music increasingly interesting. There are so many ways of accomplishing this, that it is difficult to give any code of rules which will be... Read More
What Shall I Play? - April, 1895
BY J. EDWIN HOLDER. What shall I include in my repertoire? What shall I play? What style? What movements? What kind of music shall I include in my repertoire, that when I am asked I can play agreeable music? are... Read More
Trials and Tribulations of a Music Teacher. - May, 1895
THE PUPIL WHO WANTS TWICE TOO MUCH TIME FOR THE MONEY. BY RALPH HAUSRATH. Of all the many disturbing elements in pupils, the one who compels you to spend an hour for half an hour's lesson, is one of the... Read More
Why Go Abroad To Study? - May, 1895
BY W. F. GATES. The prophet is not without honor save in his own country. So it is with the American music teacher. Anything that comes from a place that is not our home, is regarded as better than that... Read More
How To Keep Up An Interest. - May, 1895
BY R. G. GOLDSTEIN. All children are fond of music and most of them look forward with pleasure to their first piano lesson. There is much for reflection in the question, "How keep up the anticipated interest shown before the... Read More
Chat With Young Music Teachers. - May, 1895
BY M. A. LEWIS. Let me extend the right hand of fellowship, and greet you, earnest workers, in a profession well worth our best efforts. We are working not only for mere dollars and cents, but for eternity. Let me... Read More
A Few Considerations. - May, 1895
BY WILLIAM E DOGGETT. To be a good music teacher one should be a thorough musician, a just critic, something of an anatomist, a companion, master, and a gentleman. The companion should ever be a firm master, but the firm... Read More
Notes From a Professor's Lecture. - May, 1895
At the present day almost everybody is studying music, and optimists rub their hands gleefully and talk about æsthetic progress. It is so pleasant and consoling to look at the best side of things. I doubt, however, if we love... Read More
A Little Talk. - May, 1895
BY L. R. PITTS. And now, my dear debutant in the student world of music, at the outset you may as well divest yourself of the idea with which some misguided, albeit well meaning, individual, may have invested you, that... Read More
Classes In Phrasing. - May, 1895
I am inclined to think that the elementary principles of phrasing in piano teaching might be taught to the younger pupils in classes, or in one general class, meeting once a week. Of course, there would come in the worldly... Read More
Letters to Teachers. - May, 1895
BY W. S. B. MATHEWS. "I would like to ask what to do with a pupil who plays very readily and a good grade of music, and has a very sensitive ear for music, but who cannot read. She is... Read More
Flotsam and Jetsam. - May, 1895
BY A. L. MANCHESTER. WHAT SHALL WE DO FOR INSPIRATION? The value to either pupil or teacher of anything which will supply freshness of thought and method or give a new impulse to the professional life cannot be gainsaid. A... Read More
How Shall We Educate The Parents Of Our Pupils? - May, 1895
BY A. G. COLE. One of the greatest trials of the music teacher at the present day is caused by the lack of a musical education in the parents of the children. Let me relate an experience which I recently... Read More
To Pupils. - May, 1895
One of the most important things in the study of music is to have a good teacher, but all the teachers in the world cannot make a musician of you unless you are very much in earnest and willing to... Read More
Another Point of View. - May, 1895
In The Etude the teachers apparently do the greater part of contributing, whereupon it has dawned upon me—why not take the floor from the pupil's standpoint? hoping that some forlorn and shipwrecked student may take heart again, as he realizes... Read More
Points In Music Teaching. - October, 1895
While there is nothing new in the following, from the British Musician, the maxims set forth for the teacher's guidance are well put and apply to tutors in all departments of music, and they are worth preserving. The key to... Read More
The Study of Music. - October, 1895
It is an absurd decision that all children destined to become anything in a musical way will have the natural disposition to work. More than half probably will not, and one of the most miserable of art cruelties is perpetrated in overlooking their musical possibilities simply because they are idle. Read More
Listening To One's Own Playing. - October, 1895
The habit of listening to his own playing, of studying musical effect, should be formed by the student as soon as possible. Of course, this is natural to a certain extent to all players of a musical nature; but, like... Read More
Letters To Teachers. - October, 1895
BY W. S. B. MATHEWS. 1. What methods may be used in teaching piano lessons to a child who does not read ? We like Mathews' "Twenty Lessons to a Beginner," but there it is necessary that she should read... Read More
Types of Piano Teachers. - October, 1895
A YOUNG lady writes to the Musical Times, London, her experience with the typical (in her opinion) music teacher. She begins by pointing to a class of dissatisfied plodders, which are found in all callings, who deplore their fate, and think themselves doomed to everlasting toil, and thus make themselves eternally miserable. Read More
That Other Teacher. - October, 1895
How often is the pupil making such a change told by the new teacher that his former instruction was altogether wrong? That he made a very serious mistake in putting himself under that other teacher's direction? Read More
Difficult Passages as Etudes. - October, 1895
An excellent way to get pupils to understand and appreciate a passage occurring in the "inner parts" of a composition, is to select that passage, use it as a melody, and harmonize it several ways. The pupil will see it at its true value when he recognizes that it is worthy of standing as a melody. Read More
That First Lesson. - January, 1897
Oh! that first music lesson from a new teacher, how alarming it is! One goes into the room shivering and shaking, and feeling all arms and legs; one's fingers won't play a bit; one's ideas all fly to the winds, and one feels such an idiot in consequence. Read More
The Dull Pupil. - April, 1897
To avoid any misunderstanding, it may be best to state right here that freaks are not under discussion; microcephalæ, idiots,* pitch-deaf children, analogies to color blindness; malformed arms and fingers are not "interesting," but impossible. But the common, ordinary "backward pupil," with whom there is nothing the matter, except that he or she doesn't "get on," is a most interesting subject Read More
Leschetizky as a Teacher. - April, 1897
Even after a pupil has been thoroughly prepared in foundational work, he will find he has learned but little in this distinctively beautiful art of piano playing. For let him take a simple "Song without Words" from Mendelssohn, and attempt to play it before one of Leschetizky's artist Vorbereiter, he will be surprised at being stopped at the end of the first or second measure. Read More
Thoughts On Expression. - June, 1897
BY ROBERT BRAINE. "If no have handsome, how can?" was the blunt and unconsciously sarcastic rejoinder of an enterprising Chinaman who had started up in the crayon portrait line, in the Bowery district of New York, in response to the... Read More
Keeping Up With the Times. - December, 1897
I hear so many musicians say that they have given up all practice because they are getting old and their fingers are stiff. If the matter is investigated, it will be pretty generally found that their fingers are getting stiff through lack of regular, systematic practice, and not from advancing age at all. Read More
What a Music Teacher Ought to Know. - December, 1897
It is scarcely a generation ago that there existed a genus of music teacher in America, a strange, tone-producing animal, who knew very little. To this homunculus the word "harmony" meant a knowledge of the tonic, dominant, and subdominant chords; for him the circle of the keys became a semicircle, extending from three flats on the one side to three sharps on the other. This compound of arpeggios and arrogance was always called "Professor," and would have parted with his head rather than with his title. Read More
Ear Training - July, 1898
ARTHUR E HEACOX. A question often asked is "What do you do in ear-training?" We sing more or less throughout the course, and use the piano as little as possible. Pupils are urged to join a class in choral singing... Read More
Music-Study And Manual-Practice - July, 1898
BY WM. E. SNYDER. How do the great majority of piano students, even some of the most talented, earnest and ambitious, set to work to learn an étude or a piece? There are certain études which the modern piano-teacher and... Read More
"Anybody Can Teach a Beginner." - July, 1898
BY ROBERT D. BRAINE. What can be done to get the insane notion out of the heads of thousands of our respected fellow-citizens that "anybody can start a beginner in music," and that "later on will be time enough to... Read More
Teaching Pupils To Think - July, 1898
BY F. B. HAWKINS. However strange it may seem to some, it is a fact that music, like all the other fine arts, is divided into three branches,—the spiritual, the mental, and the physical,—all of which must work in complete... Read More
The Principles Of Musical Pedagogy - July, 1898
BY J. C. FILLMORE. LETTERS TO A YOUNG MUSIC TEACHER. LETTER VII. To W. E. S.—Thus far I have written only of the "up-arm" touch. But, as you already know, there is a "down-arm" touch which is much used by... Read More
The Value and Practice of Advertising Among Professional Musicians - July, 1898
BY J. FRANCIS COOKE, MUS. B. BEHIND THE SCENES. It is often surprising to note the ignorance of the general public regarding the importance of advertising. I have known people to stand in open-mouthed wonder when they hear for the... Read More
Example Above Precept - July, 1898
HELENA M. MAGUIRE. I had a slender wisp of a pupil, with the weakest little fingers in the world, burdened with four rings. I mildly remonstrated, but vanity was stronger than my persuasion, and the tiny fingers toiled on under... Read More
Seek Content in Your Pieces - July, 1898
M. B. ROBESON. A young girl came to me not long since, who had received thorough technical training, and who was in many ways an excellent player, but who was becoming a trial to her relatives "because she would n't... Read More
A Slovenly Student - July, 1898
J. COMFORT. This is the kind that vexes the very soul of every careful teacher, and is surely the kind that materially aids in the development of those peculiarities of character and that excess of temper which are supposed to... Read More
A Polymathic Teacher - July, 1898
MISS SUSAN LLOYD BAILY. A very ambitious young woman once registered with me for lessons in piano and harmony. She was studying almost everything else under the sun at the same time, including the higher mathematics, Latin, French, German, elocution,... Read More
Teaching Notes - July, 1898
KATHERINE LOUISE SMITH. Every teacher starts out, of course, with the determination to have a pupil succeed. There are two reasons for this,—the desire that springs from enthusiasm and a love of the work, and the feeling that one... Read More
How to Make Music Studios Attractive. - July, 1898
IV. This question is one of interest to teachers and pupils, and with the idea of securing material on the subject The Etude solicited contributions from a number of well-known teachers. Replies were published in The Etude for April, May,... Read More
Music Teachers' National Association. Twentieth Annual Meeting - July, 1898
The twentieth annual meeting of the Music Teachers' National Association, June 23d to 27th, at the Waldorf- Astoria Hotel, New York City, is now a matter of history. It opened under the most favorable conditions. The place of meeting being... Read More
On Harmony Teaching - September, 1899
By Homer A. Norris. It is true that during the past fifteen years an extraordinary interest has developed in this country in the study of harmony, but the statement that we take this study more seriously here than... Read More
Letters to Teachers - September, 1899
By W.S.B. Matthews "Please explain the 'up-arm' touch as given in Mason's 'Technic.' A music teacher and I disagree about it. As I understand it the hand and arm in rising cause the fingers to press the keys... Read More
Method Versus Judgment - September, 1899
By Clara A. Korn In these days of keen competition between music-teachers it appears that the one idea that has taken deep root in the minds of instructors is that they must become known as the expounders of... Read More
Science Or Art? - September, 1899
By Will Earhart. (Abridged from a paper read before the Indiana State Music Teachers' Association.) It is a common observation that educational advancement has been, in the last decad, rapid and extensive beyond all precedent. Never... Read More
The Teacher of To-Day. - March, 1900
Upon the teacher of to-day rests the responsibility for the popularity of the musician of the future. Let the teacher see to it that the pupil is encouraged to search for the scientific reason of things. The idea that music is not a science is false. It is the oldest, the greatest, the most exact of them all! To no other cause can we attribute the high standing of the "art." Read More
The Choice of Music as a Profession. - March, 1900
Talent being the first essential required in the successful pursuit of a musical career, everything else follows of its own accord. Nor must love of music be mistaken for talent. No doubt, love of music presupposes some ability for the art. In many cases the practiced eye can discover latent talent where only love of the art is perceptible. And every musician knows that talent of that order properly nurtured and carefully developed may produce most excellent results. Read More
Pupils' Ideals. - March, 1900
BY W. J. BALTZELL The man or woman who has risen to a commanding position has done so by virtue of an ideal. Give a boy an ideal, no matter how, and he will strengthen along the line of that... Read More
Value of Blackboard Illustration for Children. - March, 1900
Is a young teacher from a small country town allowed "to speak in meetin'?" If so, I should like to tell the readers of the Etude about my blackboard class. I read greedily all the articles telling of different ways to interest small children in music; but, as I have seen no plan just like mine, I wish to contribute my mite to the general fund. Read More
Advice to the Student of Harmony. - March, 1900
Every teacher of harmony knows--and doubtless the majority of advanced students have also discovered--how difficult, how nearly impossible, it is to achieve positive results and derive real practical benefit from the study of harmony, before the pupil has learned to "hear with his eyes"; that is, has acquired the faculty of perceiving the effect of the tones on the page before him, and their relations and movements, without the necessity of first playing them upon the pianoforte. Read More
Turning Music Pages. - March, 1900
BY ROBERT D. BRAINE. Do not fail to teach your pupils how to "turn over" the pages of music when there is no one handy to turn for them—that is, if you understand the art yourself. This may seem to... Read More
Thoughts, Suggestions, Advice - Practical Points by Practical Teachers - March, 1900
"I DON'T LIKE MY LAST PIECE."CHARLES W. LANDON. Mendelssohn advised that pupils should not pass judgment on a piece until it was well learned, for the best music does not show its beauties until it is played finely. How, then,... Read More
The Pupil's Personal Responsibility. - March, 1900
BY CHARLES W. LANDON. In reading the lives of the great masters in our art one thing is strikingly prominent: these men of divine gifts were as great workers as they were great in genius. When the strife for place,... Read More
An Individual Who is a Problem. - March, 1900
BY THOMAS TAPPER. I. Every institution in the world is familiar with the Individual who samples its goods on the outer edge. Something prompts him to desire much, but he enters with little faith; he never absolutely sacrifices himself, and... Read More
Nature's Course With the Child. - March, 1900
BY DANIEL BATCHELLOR. How to Interest the Very Young. We now see the importance of educating the young children. To produce the best results we must begin early. And yet, wherever we make a start, we find that the child's... Read More
What Method Do You Teach ? - March, 1900
BY W. F. GATES. One of the first things that is apt to meet the teacher as he is talking to a prospective pupil is the question: "What method do you teach?" And if the teacher is a conscientious man... Read More
An Apt Illustration. - March, 1900
ROBERT D. BRAINE. A striking illustration, sharp, to the point, and pertinent to the question in hand, will often do more toward the correction of an error or a wrong method of practice on the part of a pupil, than... Read More
Studio Experiences. - March, 1900
IN MY MUSIC-ROOM. JOHN ORTH. One young lady who came this morning complained for the second time of pains in her arms. I was not surprised, for I had seen it coming on for some time. It is all the... Read More
The Fourth-Finger Question. - March, 1900
Perhaps no problem in the education of the countless number of piano students confronts music teachers with more demand for its solution than the question of how best to cultivate the usage of the fourth finger. While its treatment in... Read More
"What Method Do You Teach?" An Answer. - April, 1900
Method is nothing but a sharper and clearer artistic perception which some people possess over the rank and file. The happy few who have it see farther and dig deeper than the ordinary mind does. Voilà tout! Read More
The Hyphenated Phrase - January, 1901
WILLIAM BENBOW. It frequently happens that the first note of a phrase is the last one printed at the end of a staff, while the rest of the phrase is continued on the next staff or page. This... Read More
Action - January, 1901
PERLEE V. JERVIS. Clearness, velocity, and brilliancy of execution, the evenness of the trill, depend more upon the up- action of the fingers, than on down. Because tone comes only on the down motion of the key, many... Read More
Perseverance - January, 1901
ALFRED VEIT. Mr. John D. Rockefeller is reported to have said recently, that "there is no quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even Nature." These golden... Read More
Despondency - January, 1901
MADAME A. PUPIN. Most teachers have one or more pupils in a chronic state of despondency and also some who, perhaps, begin with sufficient energy and enthusiasm, but who lapse into despondency because their lessons require more persistent... Read More
Stick to the Classics - January, 1901
ROBERT BRAINE. If you think that you can increase the size of your class and your popularity as a teacher, by lowering your standard to the popular trash of the hour, you will be sadly mistaken. At a... Read More
The Teaching of Musical History. - April, 1901
In reply to a letter from The Etude as to his views on reforms in the teaching and study of the history of music, Professor Niecks, the biographer of Chopin and Professor of Music in the University of Edinburgh, sent us a copy of an address on the subject which he delivered before the Musical Association of England. We have selected the following from his very exhaustive paper. Read More
The Teachers' Roundtable - December, 1901
Conducted by PRESTON WARE OREM. SCOLDING. I want to add a few words on scolding to those written by F. L. S. for the October Etude. Each teacher has all kinds of pupils,—if he has a large class,—and necessarily... Read More
How and What to Practice. - December, 1901
In the present we live, and we must conform our ideas to conditions that confront us, that exist, and shall continue to exist until we eradicate them. So the pianist should eliminate all that is not essential, and find what is best and most needed for his advancement. Read More
Thoughts Suggestions Advice - Practical Points by Practical Teachers - December, 1901
EXCESSIVE CRITICISM. CHARLES W. LANDON. It needs tact, guided by common sense and experience, to know when and how much to criticise a pupil for the pupil's own good rather than for the teacher's selfish satisfaction; to say nothing of... Read More
Studio Experiences. - December, 1901
Many times has it been repeated how stimulating is the interest that parents take in the work of their children who are studying music! So far as my experience goes, all parents, as a rule, are interested in their children's studies, but the trouble is with the interest itself. Read More
The Choice of Technic for a Composition - February, 1902
The following rather comprehensive query was referred by the editor to Mr. Sherwood. His reply contains much suggestive thought as to the training in higher musicianship such as leads to independence on the part of the player. It indicates a course of training which will make it possible to discover in a composition itself certain clear indications as to interpretation and the choice of technical means to express that interpretation. Read More
Graduate Recitals: The What and The How. - April, 1902
The great elements in playing one of these recitals successfully are, first, that the pupil take a real interest in every work, and love it and be determined to make it liked by those that hear it. Second, that it be mature; i.e., have been learned long enough before to be remembered easily. Third, that the student have the necessary technical training in touch and fluency to be able to stand the strain of so much serious playing "under fire." Read More
Teachers' Roundtable - May, 1902
Conducted by PRESTON WARE OREM. A highly-important subject of much practical interest which suggests itself as suitable for discussion in this department is that of the “Music-Teacher’s Book-keeping.” The work of the teacher of music calls for some... Read More
Studio Experiences - May, 1902
PLEASANTRIES OF LESSON-HOUR. C. W. FULLWOOD. There are many amusing, instructive incidents in Studio Experiences. I have a little girl pupil, who is bright, talented, and full of life. When she finishes a particularly good lesson or successfully conquers a... Read More
Practical Points by Practical Teachers - May, 1902
PASSAGE-PRACTICE. PERLEE V. JERVIS. For getting control of a difficult passage I have found these methods of practice very helpful: First, divide the run, cadenza, or what-not into groups of four notes each; if it is in triple time into... Read More
Music and the Season - May, 1902
BY MARIE BENEDICT. As the spring is gradually unfolding its charm in the outer world, to be succeeded in time by the joy of early summer, the teacher may markedly enhance the pupil’s interest in the lesson and in the... Read More
Liszt As a Teacher, by Amy Fay - May, 1902
I am sometimes questioned as to Liszt's "method." He had none that I am aware of, although he doubtless served his time when he was a pupil of Czerny, who must have been one of the best teachers who ever lived. Probably it was to the faithful practice of Czerny's etudes (from which he, in vain, prayed his father to be delivered) in his youth that Liszt owed those fine-spun fingers of his, for his finger-technic was something marvelous, and made everybody else's seem coarse and heavy in comparison. Read More
Essential Characteristics of Teaching Pieces for the Lower Grades. - September, 1902
W. S. B. MATHEWS. Every experienced teacher necessarily formulates in some interior part of his mind certain elements which he thinks pieces ought to have or not have for pupils in the early stages of learning. Yet it is rare... Read More
True Meaning and Value of Creative Work. - September, 1902
Whip the lagging interest into active curiosity if nothing else. Hermann Ritter is known throughout Europe as a wonderful lecturer on musical history, yet it must be said that he spends three-fourths of the lesson-hour in relating apparently irrelevant stories that seemingly have little bearing on the subject. Read More
Practical Points by Practical Teachers - November, 1902
A TEACHER'S BELIEFS AND FADS. W. F. GATES. Music-teachers are generally bright people. As such, their minds are awake and active and ready to grasp new theories as well as old facts. Sometimes these new theories so absorb... Read More
The Etude Music-Study Clubs. - November, 1902
Conducted by LOUIS ARTHUR RUSSELL. A most encouraging response from all over the country has followed the announcement of the establishment of the plan of The Etude Music-Study Clubs, and from many music-centers comes the news of club... Read More
Personal Experience the Great Teacher. - November, 1902
BY EMMA LOUISE ASHFORD. "Divinity is behind our failures and follies also." —Emerson. In entering upon the profession of teaching the young musician of the present day is likely to be— so far as his general education... Read More
The Use Of The Thumb In Piano-Playing. - November, 1902
BY W.D. ARMSTRONG Modern technic has made unusual demands upon the thumb, and fortunate is the individual who has that member well shaped, flexible in all its joints, and under perfect control. The method one studies for the development... Read More
The Piano-Player's Position. - November, 1902
SYMPOSIUM BY F. L. REED, HARVEY WICKHAM, WILLIAM BENBOW, E. D. HALE, F. A. WILLIAMS, FLORENCE M. KING, RICHARD ZECKWER, MARY HALLOCK, E. B. HILL, E. F. MARKS. The average pupil sits too close to the keyboard, and... Read More
Woman's Work in Music - November, 1902
Edited by EMILIE FRANCES BAUER. TO THE CLUBS OF AMERICA As the season opens the editor of this column desires to be of whatever benefit she can to the clubs and to the women-workers in music in general.... Read More
Music-Teaching from a Country Standpoint - November, 1902
BY W. S. B. MATHEWS. In a recent issue of a contemporary publication a distinguished writer comforts a disconsolate woman from Iowa, who regrets that she has to give lessons from house to house, often at less than... Read More
Making Progress - November, 1902
BY N. IRVING HYATT. It is not given to any teacher to know fully the influence he has over his pupil; usually it is not even appreciated by the pupil. This influence does show vitally, however, in the... Read More
The Collection of Tuition Fees. - November, 1902
BY J. FRANCIS COOKE. One of the principal nuisances of many teachers lies in the collection of fees for services rendered. When one purchases any article of intrinsic value, the article, if unpaid for, remains as a constant... Read More
A Cardinal Fault of the Music-Student. - October, 1903
BY J. S. VAN CLEVE. I suppose nothing is more disheartening to a teacher of the art of music than to discover that ideas which have been slowly and with pain as well as painstaking imparted to the... Read More
Theodore Leschetizky - December, 1903
Prepared by FANNY MORRIS SMITHfrom the biography just issued by the Century Co. Our library of books in the English language on music has increased greatly during the last twenty years. Letters, autobiographies, memoirs, and criticisms have multiplied in... Read More
The First Finger Exercises - March, 1904
Teacher's Round Table Editor of The Etude: You have asked me to write what I think about the finger exercises to be given in the beginning of piano study. It is your wish, and it is... Read More
Character in Musical Themes - March, 1904
It is a good thing to encourage pupils to become familiar with certain compositions, and to assign to the themes of such pieces definite qualities. We quote the following from the Musical Standard as bearing on the subject. Whoever... Read More
Studies of Musical Compositions - March, 1904
BY H. C. MACDOUGALL. III. In our studies this month we have two pieces of widely unlike moods, demanding from the player entirely dissimilar treatment and drawing upon differing technical resources. We may extend our contrast still farther, calling... Read More
The Child's Start in Music - March, 1904
BY DANIEL BATCHELLOR [The article following is the second of a series of short helpful talks with teachers who are making or may wish to make a specialty of work with quite young children. Mr. Batchellor has given... Read More
A Correspondence With a Moral - March, 1904
BY FREDERIC S. LAW. The following correspondence is genuine, and tends to throw light on a question which more or less vexes all teachers:— "My Dear Mr. Blank: "Will you kindly send me your terms for... Read More
Imitation of Defects - March, 1904
BY PERLEY DUNN ALDRICH. Considerable discussion has gone on in musical circles at various times in regard to "teaching by imitation," and it it (sic) presumable that further discussion may yet be indulged in. The argument usually put... Read More
Which Hand First? - March, 1904
BY WILLIAM C. WRIGHT. The practice of each hand separately is commended by the best authorities. It is especially necessary for beginners; for it is easier to "break in" one hand at a time than both. But which... Read More
Patrons Have Duties To The Teacher - March, 1904
BY W. S. B. MATHEWS Much has been written first and last of the duties of the music teacher toward the patron. Is it not time to present also the other side of the shield, and to point... Read More
The Pianoforte Legato - March, 1904
BY EDWARD DANFORTH HALE The legato treatment of the pianoforte is a tradition as old as the instrument itself. Now, traditions have their value. They stand in the breach when we are in imminent peril of persisting at... Read More
Aims - March, 1904
BY MAY CRAWFORD. The reason Miss A. accomplishes so much is because she is always trying to work up to something. When given something new to study she has faith enough in her teacher to work at it,... Read More
Memorizing a Repertory - March, 1904
BY MADAME A. PUPIN. A subscriber has requested some rules or suggestions for memorizing and for keeping up a repertory. If properly studied, a piece will be memorized long before it is learned. Most persons begin to... Read More
With My Teachers - March, 1904
BY THALEON BLAKE. Among many instructors (who deserve saintships on the pedagogic calendar, one and all!) only two succeeded in making a lasting impression upon my unwilling intellect. Strange to relate, these two were not pronounced as to... Read More
His St. Cecilia - March, 1904
BY KATHERINE MORGAN. Andrew Bowman, to his pupil, Irving Leighter:— Philadelphia, Pa., December 31, 19—. My Dear Pupil: Old time is ringing a doleful knell for me; but for you time strikes his merry chimes. My... Read More
Mental Touch - March, 1904
BY ANNA E. BAILEY. There are two totally irrelevant pursuits which have greatly helped me to an understanding of artistic pianoforte touch. At first blush they both appear strikingly far-fetched. They are: The study of voice placement and... Read More
Reasons and Remedies - March, 1904
BY FRANK L. EYER. There is a vast deal of poor piano playing in the musical world of to-day. How shall we account for it? Lack of talent? Incompetent teachers? Yes, these are some of the causes for... Read More
The Foundation of Touch - March, 1904
By Henry G. Hanchett Touch influenced by many considerations. Very few effects can be traced to a single invariable cause. Nearly always some side influence comes in and must be reckoned if we are to take account of... Read More
Lessons in Musical History - April, 1904
The work of the Florentine circle, as recounted in The Etude for February, had given impetus to the movement for reform in music, and the idea spread to other Italian cities, Bologna, Parma, Rome. One weakness of the Florentine... Read More
What is Style in Music? - April, 1904
Translated from the French of Jean d'Udine by Florence Leonard. [We reprint the following from Le Courrier Musical, of Paris, one of a series of letters to young students.—Editor.] My dear: In my last letter I tried... Read More
Studies of Musical Compositions - April, 1904
BY PRESTON WARE OREM. IV. In the interpretation of a piece of music it should constantly be borne in mind that every properly constructed composition is a series of effects, carefully planned and consistently carried out. If the... Read More
The Repertory of Pupils. Why, How, and What? - April, 1904
BY W.S.B. MATHEWS By repertory I mean a collection of pieces which, having been taken as lessons, one after another, have been thoroughly learned and are retained by the pupil in such a way as to be played,... Read More
The Stupid Pupil - April, 1904
BY HELENA M. MAGUIRE. The stupid pupil is the most desirable pupil a teacher can have. The more stupid the pupil the more clever the teacher must be. The work done with a stupid pupil is productive of... Read More
Taste Versus Prejudice - April, 1904
BY EDWARD BAXTER PERRY The ancient adage that "there is no accounting for taste," is founded upon a substratum of truth. Strictly and logically speaking, there is not; but as a matter of surface fact in daily experience,... Read More
Nervousness - April, 1904
BY MARY E. LUGER. Much has been written upon the subject of nervousness; in fact, there is scarcely a musical journal published that does not treat of the topic now and then, and still the vast number of... Read More
Madame Marchesi - Some of Her Teaching Principles - April, 1904
Madame Marchesi would strike you with interest no matter where you might see her or in what ignorance you might be of her distinguished personality. Of good height and with an erect bearing and carriage that make her appear taller,... Read More
Musical Taste or Expression - April, 1904
BY FRANCES C. ROBINSON. At the present time piano students spend such unlimited time and strength in the acquirement of a fine technic that it is necessary that great emphasis should be laid, and very frequently, upon the... Read More
The Higher Side of Music - April, 1904
BY HENRY T. FINCK "If you have two loaves of bread," said Mohammed, "exchange one of them for daffodils; for, while bread strengthens the body, to look upon the daffodil rejoiceth the heart." The editor of The... Read More
Perception: Its Relation to Sight Reading - April, 1904
BY A. W. SEDGWICK. That perception is one of the principal causes of defective sight reading is proved by the observations made by tests on different pupils of all grades. Slow sight readers are not always the poorest... Read More
Some Stepping Stones - April, 1904
BY EDOUARD HIPSHER Those Little Things. Success and failure are, after all, only relative terms, and we as teachers should be careful to have the largest possible balance on the success side. By herculean efforts, failure may be... Read More
Chopin the Teacher - January, 1905
BY MARY VENABLE. MANY of the world’s greatest men have given their time, wholly or in part, to the cause of education. The names of those who made it their lifework are well known; but less thought is... Read More
One or Two Lessons a Week. - July, 1906
Two important things in which children must have instruction are:--What to practice, and--How to practice. The latter is of even more importance than the former, for the habit of doing a thing correctly can only be gained under the constant guidance of the teacher. Read More
How to Memorize Music. - July, 1906
Quite a number of otherwise talented pupils have difficulty in committing their pieces. I have been able to secure satisfactory results by the "numerical method of memorizing," with even the dullest pupil. It works especially well with pieces which happen to be difficult to commit. Try this system with the next pupil who declares it impossible to memorize music. Read More
A Budget of Letters. - July, 1906
"I am teaching in a village where the people never hear really good music, and do not look upon it as being of much value to any one who does not make it a source of revenue. I wish you would suggest some means whereby I can show people the worth of music aside from its money value. With such argument I believe I could become a more successful missionary of music." Read More
The Musical Education of the Young, by Jacques Dalcroze. - July, 1906
Jacques Dalcroze, the eminent Swiss composer and pedagogue, has advanced ideas as to the musical education of the young. In view of their originality and suggestiveness, it seems worth while to make an abstract for the benefit of the readers of The Etude of a recently published article which he wrote for a German periodical. Read More
The Selection of Teaching Music. - July, 1906
It is curious what a tendency there is for a teacher to run into a rut in the selection of the same pieces over and over, year after year. Read More
A Plea For Broad-Mindedness. - July, 1906
BY CHARLES E. WATT. Don't imagine that what you know on any topic is all that any one could possibly know, and don't believe for a moment that your way of doing a thing is the only effective way. There... Read More
Suggestions for Sight Reading Practice. - July, 1906
Read in advance of the fingers. Do not leave one chord before the next is in the "mind's eye." Read More
Repertoire and Program-Building - July, 1906
Pianists, of who are about to "finish" their education in the private studio of a master, or graduate from a conservatory of music, are apt to look upon that event as "the end of all things." It is, however, only the close of one chapter of their careers, and proves often to be only the preface, the beginning, rather than the finish. Read More
Suggestions for Chord Playing. - July, 1906
The first time I heard Mr. Leonard Borwick I was astonished at his chords. "How does he do it?" I said. The chord did not seem to be struck at all, but grew out of the building somewhere, and filled the air with sound, being really much louder than the banging of many artists. Read More
Like Tracks In The Snow - August, 1907
By THEODORE STEARNS SULTRY summer sunshine, like the dull days of winter, does not promise much work, neither is it a particularly inviting incentive to the student of music. The vacation period, with its enchantments of balmy weather, genial... Read More
The Musical Education Of The Blind - August, 1907
By George W. Gerlach AN idea exists in the minds of many that the blind are peculiarly susceptible to a musical training; or—to use the common expression—are very musical. It is easy to understand how such a notion is... Read More
Student Days in Weimar with Liszt - May, 1908
Reminiscences of an American Virtuoso and Teacher Who Won the Interest of the Greatest Master of the Keyboard By W. H. SHERWOOD DURING my seven months’ stay in Weimar, where I enjoyed the inspiration of study under that... Read More
Helping the Shy Pupil - January, 1910
Helping the Shy Pupil By A Teacher The shy pupil is a fit object for compassion, and her teacher is equally entitled to commiseration. Shyness militates against the exhibition of talent that may be quite remarkable, and... Read More
Helping the Dull Pupil. - January, 1910
By Florence Ruella Kelly. One of the great successes of the past theatrical season has been a play known as "The Climax." This play is in reality a kind of dramatized music lesson. In it the old music... Read More
A Physiologist's Comments on Piano Playing - February, 1910
It is known that Beethoven, Liszt and Taussig--that wizard of the keyboard--all, at some period or other, contemplated writing piano methods, but hardly got beyond the intention. In their time the physiology of the muscular actions was yet in its infancy. Their projected methods would probably have turned out as unsatisfactorily as those of Hummel, Czerny and the rest. Read More
Ten Important Attributes Of Beautiful Pianoforte Playing. S.V. Rachmaninov - March, 1910
Especially secured for The Etude from an interview with S. V. RACHMANINOFF, Supervisor General of the Imperial Conservatories of Russia [Editor's Note.—A short biography of M. Rachmaninoff appeared in the "Gallery of Celebrated Musicians" in the October issue of... Read More
Some Familiar Teaching Pieces by Franz Liszt - April, 1910
There are very few of Liszt's compositions which are technically within the possible reach of the average piano student, none which may be called easy, but there is a very limited group of much prized, much used, well-nigh threadbare works of this "wizard of the piano" which forms a part of the working repertoire of every teacher and serves to introduce the pupil to the peculiar style and special technical difficulties common to Liszt's productions. Read More
Personal Glimpses of Moszkowski as a Teacher - April, 1910
Moszkowski is one of those "ever-will-be-youthful" types of men, tall, slender, of a certain easy grace in carriage, a gentle air of live-and-let-live, with good will to all, distinct in expression of body as of face. Hair and mustache are somewhat auburn and not over plenteous, face rather long, with high brow, kindly eyes; the hands long and slender, with a few freckles upon them, the speaking tones clear, gentle, good-humored, haunting. Read More
The Etude Educational Cartoons - April, 1910
We herewith present the first of a series of educational cartoons. The force of the cartoon in remedying social evils has been tremendous. Dickens and Cruickshank overturned the iniquities of the British School system by means of their verbal and pictorial cartoons. Tom Nast made Boss Tweed say: "My people can't read--but when Tom Nast draws a picture of me with my hand in the other fellow's pocket, the game is up." The use of comic pictures to show an evil at a glance has never been applied to the educational side of music hitherto. Read More
The Etude Educational Cartoons - April, 1910
We herewith present the first of a series of educational cartoons. The force of the cartoon in remedying social evils has been tremendous. Dickens and Cruickshank overturned the iniquities of the British School system by means of their verbal and pictorial cartoons. Tom Nast made Boss Tweed say: "My people can't read--but when Tom Nast draws a picture of me with my hand in the other fellow's pocket, the game is up." The use of comic pictures to show an evil at a glance has never been applied to the educational side of music hitherto. Read More
Reading at Sight. - August, 1910
By OSCAR HATCH HAWLEY. We all know that there is a difference in the sight-reading ability of our pupils. Some of them seem naturally to read rapidly, while others seem never to be able to read, no matter how... Read More
A Musical Travel Meeting. - August, 1910
By Mary A. Schmitz. A good method of combining instruction and amusement is to arrange an imaginary trip through Europe, calling at all the principal towns and citiesassociated with the names of famous musicians, or in any way... Read More
Suggestions for the Victim of Stage Fright. - August, 1910
BY AMY U. W. BOGG. Stage fright, though ordinarily laughed at and made a joke of, is in reality a very serious affection of the nerves, at times producing a condition which, from any other cause, would merit... Read More
The Scale Wheel - August, 1910
BY FANNIE GILBERT. In teaching children I have found some difficulty in making the study of scales sufficiently interesting. They say they forget to practice the scales. Lately I have hit upon a plan that helps them to... Read More
A Plea for Greater Objectivity in Pianoforte Study and Playing. - August, 1910
BY SIDNEY SILBER. How many pianoforte students and players really hear themselves as others do? Perhaps, just as few as see themselves as others do. My experiences with students of varied temperaments, coupled with my own, have led... Read More
Technic In Pianoforte Playing - August, 1910
The Views of Some of the Most Prominent Teachers of the Day on a Subject of Great Interest to Piano Students By FANNIE EDGAR THOMAS "There is a stage of piano study in which the pupil becomes... Read More
Educational Epigrams. - August, 1910
BY ROBERT SCHUMANN. "Above all things, persevere in composing mentally, not with the help of the instrument, and keep on turning and twisting the principal melodies about in your head until you can say to yourself, 'Now it... Read More
Pianoforte Fingering. - August, 1910
BY DR. ANNIE PATTERSON. Fingering presents a very real difficulty to the pianoforte student, even at advanced stages of his practice. Teachers' systems of fingering also differ, which still further complicates the problem. Indeed, the learner soon finds... Read More
How She Fought Obstacles. - August, 1910
BY JO-SHIPLEY WATSON. Sarah was leaving the Conservatory and going to a little town out West. "One of those stupid places where you vegetate," she told her friends. She was leaving a good deal behind—the conservatory, the concerts,... Read More
Practical Points for Progressive Pupils. - August, 1910
BY GUY S. MAIER. Theodor Leschetizky is but one of the many who has demonstrated to us that teaching is no mere drudgery and that it is not without its own great reward. While Leschetizky is truly distinguished... Read More
Teacher, Conserve Your Energy. - August, 1910
BY EDWARD ELLSWORTH HIPSHER. Yes, when you are once thoroughly equipped, a very sure way to do the very best work is to look out first of all for your own comfort. In doing this you will, in... Read More
A Studio Symposium On Rhythm - August, 1910
BY HARRIETTE BROWER The Student entered the music room with hasty strides; he seemed perturbed. The Pianist looked up from the Brahms Capriccio she was silently memorizing. "I wish you would tell me what rhythm means,... Read More
Some Musical Don'ts. - August, 1910
Don't thump. Don't begin to play until you are ready. Don't count to your playing, but play to your counting. Don't jerk your hand when you put your thumb under. Don't play one hand after... Read More
Extemporizing Effectively. - August, 1910
By FREDERICK KITCHENER. Some folks assure us that a piano should never be used when composing; such persons, however, are apt (if themselves composers) to pen strains which are found upon acquaintance to be noways free from fustiness.... Read More
Some Benefits of Ear Playing. - August, 1910
By LAURA REMICK COPP. [This essay was one of the successful essays in the "1,200 words" class submitted in our Prize Essay contest for 1909.] Playing by ear should not only be countenanced and tolerated, but it... Read More
The Stimulus of a Reward. - August, 1910
By MARY M. SCHMITZ Mankind is so constituted that he requires a reward of some kind for every effort made. Even great virtuosi, such as Paderewski, Busoni and de Pachmann, who have made music an end in itself,... Read More
Strengthening the Weak Spots - August, 1910
Very few of us are not conscious of our weak spots. The man who is ignorant of his weak spots is in a pitiable state. Not until the great weakness is realized and remedied is success possible. Some make... Read More
The Fall Recital - August, 1910
We have repeatedly urged our readers, both the teachers and the pupils, to adopt the plan of giving a recital as early as possible in the fall. This plan has three advantages and we are so firm in our... Read More
How Music Helps The Business Woman - September, 1910
BY MRS. HERMANN KOTZSCHMAR [Editor's Note.—In The Etude for July, 1909. Mrs. Kotzschmar had an article upon a subject similar to the above, giving stimulating advice to women who are engaged during the day but who desire to... Read More
Views of a Royal Academy Professor. - October, 1910
Rowsby Woof, professor in the Royal Academy of Music, in London, has been giving some interesting views on violin teaching and playing to the London Strad. Professor Woof is a great believer in the periodical examinations for music pupils,... Read More
The Leschetizky Method. - October, 1910
THE TEACHERS' ROUND TABLE CONDUCTED BY N.J. COREY Will you kindly make it clear to some of the readers of The Etude what the Leschetizky method is, and how it differs from others? I am using the... Read More
The Psychology of Blunders - May, 1912
By Mary G. Martin From the beginning of history nothing has been less disputed than the fact that offenses are bound to come. It is also true that there is "Woe to him by whom the offense cometh."... Read More
The "Married Woman" Pupil - May, 1912
By Maggie Wheeler Ross. Some one must teach the married woman pupil. Who is there among us brave enough to specialize on this somewhat unpromising class of students? For unquestionably if we would have the full measure of... Read More
Too Difficult Music - May, 1912
By J. M. Baldwin. The number of pupils studying music throughout the United States is increasing every year and with the growing demand for study there is a corresponding increase in the number of teachers, many of whom... Read More
Truths for Singing Teachers and Students - October, 1913
By the most renowned teacher of Singing of the Past Century MME. MATHILDE MARCHESI Prepared in co-operation with her daughter Mme. Blanche Marchesi [The name of Marchesi is so well known in the musical world that it seems... Read More
Teresa Carreño - Observations in Piano Playing - February, 1914
Reviews of the interesting life of Teresa Carreño have frequently appeared in THE ETUDE, but we may be excused for reminding our readers of some of the accomplishments which make this famous pianist one of the most significant figures in the history of the music of the new world. Read More
Observation - January, 1915
By Wilbur Follett Unger ONE of the greatest assets in the equipment of the young music student is the cultivation of observation. By means of this faculty he can save much time and trouble in the correction of... Read More
Mr. Stojowski's Analytical Lesson on the Impromptu in A Flat - February, 1915
By SIGISMUND STOJOWSKI Sigismund Stojowski's edition of Chopin' first Impromptu (the edition to which this article refers) can be downloaded as a PDF document. Click here for the download. Here is a lovely and lovable instance of... Read More
Right Musical Vision - November, 1915
By Grace Busenbark Some of my pupils, who, "having eyes, yet saw not," consequently had difficulty in reading music. One used to look at a chord four or five times before she got it correctly and had... Read More
Methods and Methodism in Music - November, 1915
Grave Dangers in Making Proprietory Musical Systems Compulsory By EDWARD BAXTER PERRY [If the musical people of America had the clarity of vision possessed by Mr. Edward Baxter Perry, the following article would not be necessary. Although... Read More
The Four Essentials of Daily Practice - November, 1915
By Guy Maier The musician who is deficient in one or more branches on the practical side of his art, is to be found everywhere. We meet on all sides teachers and concert-givers who possess a startling technic,... Read More
The Boy Who Would Not Practice - November, 1915
By Ruth Alden A lecturer once said that when he found his audience disregarding his efforts, and actually talking to one another for their diversion, he knew that he was utterly failing to hold their interest. But he... Read More
Organization Among Teachers - November, 1915
Beginning December 28th and continuing for three days the Music Teachers' National Association will hold its thirty-seventh annual convention in Buffalo, New York. This Association, started by the founder of The Etude with the aid of a group of... Read More
Getting Results Through Right Practice - October, 1916
No child ought to be left to practice by himself; someone should always sit with him and see that he gives each note its full value. To attain this object it is excellent to make the little one count out aloud while playing. The pedal should never be permitted, and each hand ought to be practiced separately. Read More
The Phenomenon of "Blind Tom" - February, 1918
In his day, people regarded Tom merely as a great freak, as he indeed was. Nowadays, people realize that his case was principally interesting because it was a marvelous manifestation of the sub-conscious or dream mind as differentiated from the conscious mind. Tom's mind, that is, his conscious mind, was just about sufficient to remove him one step from the helpless imbecile who has to be fed and cared for. Read More
Mme. Ernestine Schumann-Heink - The Mother's Part in the Child's Musical Training - November, 1918
It is not generally known that Mme. Schumann-Heink's father was a Czech and that her mother was an Italian. Her interest in the participation of America in the great world war entirely apart from her residence and citizenship in this country since 1904 is a natural one. She has given her services unreservedly to almost every patriotic cause where she has been called. She has sung in camps for the boys from ocean to ocean, and has been obliged to live down all manner of ridiculous and false allegations as to her loyalty. Read More
The Etudes of Chopin and How They Ought to be Practiced - February, 1920
By I. PHILIPP Professor of Pianoforte Playing at the Paris Conservatoire At less than twenty years of age (October 20, 1829) Chopin wrote from Warsaw to his friend, Titus Woyciechowski, "I have composed an etude after my own... Read More
The Indispensables in Pianistic Success - February, 1920
An Interview with the Eminent Piano Virtuoso JOSEF HOFMANN (The First Section of this Interview Appeared in The Etude Last Month) "In the art of piano playing we have much the same line of curve. At first... Read More
The Best Remedy I Have Ever Found for Nervousness in Public Performance - July, 1920
THE ETUDE invited a group of well-known teachers to give us their opinions upon this subject. Of course, every teacher encounters nervousness in some form. Senor Alberto Jonas recounts, in "Great Pianists Upon Piano Playing," a method he uses... Read More
Dvořák as I Knew Him - May, 1921
By John Spencer Camp [Editorial Note.—Mr. Camp is a well-known composer, pupil of the great Czechoslovak Master.] My relation to the famous composer, Antonin Dvořák, was that of a pupil in composition and orchestration. I had studied... Read More
Mrs. H. H. A. Beach Sets an Example - April, 1924
If Mrs. H. H. A. Beach, the most distinguished woman in American music and also one of the busiest, can take time to foster a musical club, should not others follow her example and fine initiative? Read More
Modern Ideas in Pianoforte Technic - E. Robert Schmitz - August, 1925
When a melody ascends it generally gathers intensity or force. When it descends it diminishes in force, tending toward relaxation. This principle is observed almost universally by sensitive artists. Take the Busoni edition of Bach's Forty-Eight Preludes and Fugues, for instance, and note how the great interpreter has indicated that the phrases gain in intensity as the pitch ascends. Read More
The Most Important Element in Piano Technic - November, 1925
Have you ever seen a musical, nervous breakdown? The music world is full of them. They are people who have struggled with all their might and main to acquire a beautiful and noble artistic project, but who, afterwards, find themselves becoming more and more impotent with every step. Read More
