17 O TH E ETUD E to the pupil and to others, will be the outcome, and there will be fewer weeds of indolence, listlessness, and impatience cropping up to hinder or prevent progress. Activity is a law of nature, and is a sign of a normal individuality, and thus no truer happiness may be found than that realized through work and the consciousness of progress ; the daily unfolding of new powers, a con-stant perception of still greater possibilities. The be-ginner and the advanced student, even the " arrived " artist, stand upon equal ground here ; since to progress there is no end, and the satisfaction found in daily achievement, whether it be the conquering of a hard or a simple exercise, thus clearing the way for one of higher grade, the memorizing of the "first piece," or of some most difficult composition — this satisfaction gained through attainment may be experienced and enjoyed alike by all. Progress is free, and to glean its fruits and benefits remains a mere matter of choice with the individual; but one must be inspired with love for every detail of the essential means and with an enthusiasm which would render such details far from distasteful, because recognized as necessary steps to the end to be attained. The moment one's work degenerates into drudgery, in-terest and enthusiasm take to themselves wings, while progress, with all its attendant joy, satisfaction, and encouragement, becomes impossible. The essay of the pupil referred to above no doubt presented this subject to her student-comrades in a novel light, and since her theory was well attested and borne out by results in her own individual music life, the ideas could not have been other than impressive. We append, with her permission, the following extracts from her article : " 1 Drudgery ' may be called work that is done rather from the head than from the heart, and I think may be wholly abolished or overcome simply by putting more enthusiasm into the labor to be performed. .. . I believe there is no such thing as drudgery to the one who loves his work. 'Love begets love,' and to culti-vate a love for the most trying and difficult tasks will transform these very difficulties into pleasant opportu-nities for achievement and daily progress. .. . A great pianist was once asked if the mechanical part of his work, which occupied several hours of each day, was not disagreeable to him, and this world-renowned artist, who possesses the power to move vast audiences to the height of enthusiasm, answered, heartily, 1 Not in the least! I do not allow it to take that attitude toward me.' " PERSONALITY AND PIANO TEACHING. BY FLORENCE M. KING. THERE is (or was) a distinguished teacher of boys in New York City whose method of instruction was all his own. He would first find, as he said, each boy's " center of gravity," and then proceed to educate him from that standpoint. And, after all, is not that the ideal teaching? The art itself is heaven-sent, for teach-ers are born and not made, and the ideal teacher should possess the sixth sense—self-effacement. Applied to the art of piano-playing, we have seen, too often, in our country the glaring absurdity of perform-ers who are lauded not so much for their own merits of interpretation or touch of the divine fire as that they have been the pupils of the great Somebody-or-other! Sift the matter down and, nine cases out of ten, there have been no more lessons than you can count upon the fingers of one hand. It is unfair to aver that the great exponents of piano music neither are nor can be excellent instructors. The contrary has been proved by examples. Still, it must be admitted that the temptation is great for such a teacher to impress his own personality upon the pupil rather than by the long, slow, patient process to bring out the pupil's own individuality. We are much more apt in that case to have the rank and file branded with the Rubinstein or Paderewski hall-mark rather than by a diversity of excellence in accord with the number of students. They are like the marionette-like members of a particular school of elocution who betray their identity by every trick of gesture and modulation of voice ; not the highest attainment of art, all told ; very much like rows of identical Queen Anne houses built upon speculation to rent and to sell, but certainly not a feast for the tired eye, which roves over the dull monotony, wild with a desire to see one outre window, to behold one variation from the job-lot plan! Oh, for a cornice askew or an unexpected door ! Liszt was a great maestro ; but why a Greek chorus of Liszt lay-figures to be ushered in like the ballet in a spectacular play or a travesty upon the passing show ? Nature is wonderfully chary of her patterns. She does not do work in duplicate. Why, then, in the name of common sense, should we render human nature abnormal by trying to force it all upon one un-bending mold ? Much that is fair, but fragile, gets worsted in the encounter, and comes out a broken vase at best. Why should the charming interpreter of the Schu-mann lyrics and the Mendelssohn "Songs Without Words," who has a gift apart for the chimney corner, be crucified upon the rack of octave-mad Hungarian rhapsodies and whirring spinning-songs? They must ever elude her grasp. On the other hand, the inspiration and applause of a vast audience, necessary to the player of bravura music, would all be lost in the quieter walks of musical life. We would always seem to consider music as successful only in the glare of the footlights, with the great sea of human faces beyond in the spectacular boxes, in the ap-plauding pit, and the echoing galleries. We act very much as if its efficiency were to be reck-oned by the ticket office receipts, and its success by the glaring head-lines in the morning papers. As a matter of fact, the music of quiet life has its full artistic value and compensations—the relief for over-charged spirits, the comfort to the restless Sauls, and the joy of homes that must ever be countless. Teach the birdlings to use their wings, oh, wise teacher, and whether, like the eagle, they soar up beyond your vision into the blue sky and become part of the vast universe of silver stars, or whether they gently flit from bough to bough in the green, leafy trees, a rest for the tired eyes and the aching heart, you will not have lived in vain. They are perfect of their kind. The egotism of pupils is the bane of the life of every self-respecting teacher. Technic must ever come first as a foundation of solid masonry. As Rosenthal has put it, "Th e piano is a thing of wood and iron, not easily made sensitive to the sympa-thetic touch; therefore," he continues, " I would say, firstly, technic ; secondly, technic ; lastly, technic !" There is nothing I hold so valuable a factor in artistic piano-playing as a much-pruned and well-directed egotism. As teachers, we are too apt to wish to shine in the reflected glory of our pupils' achievements. We are too apt to appropriate their laurels as a halo around our own inflated heads. We care not so much for the unidentified meed of praise—"Ah, what divine art!"—as for the statistic compliment, "Oh , yes; a pupil of the Conserva-tory " ; or, " Evidently a student of 's ! " Natural enough, too, in this cold, cold world, for music teachers who may not choose and reject their pupils according to some standard of excellence of their own. Unpromising pupils are plentiful as blackberries in a good season, and it is only mortal to wish to make the best advertisement we can out of the only too few who are really gifted. Of course, you will say it is a matter of bread and butter, this judicious advertising ; that the man is on a sure road to starvation who hides his musical light under a bushel. The present writer is not arguing the matter from the dollar-and-cents standard, and yet she can not but think that, in the long run, the staying power of the absolutely genuine teacher will outlive the flimsy puffs of the vast majority of superficial musical fakirs, COMMENT ON THE PROGRAM OF THE NEXT M. T. N. A. MEETING, THE Twenty-first Annual Convention of the Music Teachers' National Association, to be held in Cincinnati during the third week in June, deserves the largest attendance ever had at such a gathering, because of the scope and magnitude of the undertaking. The hearty support of the citizens of Cincinnati has made it possible for the officers of the Association to assure visiting members that the programs will be pre-sented in their entirety, or with but slight changes. The departmental sessions, in charge of teachers of large experience, should prove of great value to all teachers of the different branches of the art. These sessions will be conducted very much on the order of round-table discussions. Some musician of ability will be invited to open the discussion of a topic by reading a brief paper on the subject assigned, or by a short address, and then the matter will be open for general discussion by the members in three-minute speeches. The concert programs speak for themselves. Never before in the history of the Music Teachers' National Association has the American composer been placed before his fellow-musicians in such an advantageous position. Usually but very few American works are performed at the National meetings, but on this occasion the American composer will reign supreme. There are those who think it unwise, and not for the best interest of art, to give concerts of American compositions alone, who, with a considerable show of justice, hold that the American composer and American music will never attain their rightful position in the musical world until they are measured by the same stand-ard and weighed in the same balance by which their European colleagues are judged. This is un doubtedly true ; and, were these concerts intended primarily for the usual concert audience, we would entirely agree with the objection offered ; but as these concerts are to be given especially for and to the better class of musicians of our land, we can not see the force of the objection. Many of the best of our musicians are totally unaware of the quality and quantity of works written by resident Americans during the last decad, and the concert programs of the coming meet-ing will afford an opportunity to hear some of the best works. The Program Committee has but one regret in the matter, and that is the fact that the number of con-certs does not permit the performance of many meritori-ous works which really deserve this recognition. There was room for but so many numbers, and others will have to wait until another time, much to our regret. Those whose works are not on the program should give the Association as hearty a support in this effort for the recognition of American art as though they were represented. Let every one come prepared to enjoy the feast of music, good fellowship, and reason, forgetting personal preferences for this or that thing, and encourage the present and incoming officers by their presence and manifestation of good-will, and the meeting of '99 will go down in the history of the Association as one of the best of its life. ONE of the best things a musician can do for his art is to bring before the people the position that music should occupy in the general scheme of education. Music stands as the representative of the esthetic life in general. The world at large often gives to the term "education " the meaning of simply a collection of facts and theories, to the neglect of the esthetic sense. But when we exploit the real place of music in the scheme of education, we are opening the way for all that goes to make up a higher and better esthetic life, which is part and parcel of that higher culture that all truly educated men and women view as the worthy ideal of the race. It is toward this ideal that the American teacher who is in love with his work is constantly striving, and toward which he should carry his pupils.
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