TH E ETUD E 39 practical point5 by Eminent Tcgc^'S R TEFLLCHE^' S JOY . CABL W . GRIMM. MANY people think that the more money a teacher earns, the better satisfied he is with his lot. Certainly, without money he could not exist; but it is not the one and only thing that makes him happy. Others think if a teacher has many pupils living in luxurious homes, then he is truly in luck. Still others think the teacher who has chiefly older and advanced pupils is to be envied. It is not money, luxury, or beauty that attracts and delights a teacher; it is the progress of the pupil. The pupil who studies well charms him ; what matters it to him whether the pupil is rich or poor, young or old, a beginner or not! The larger number of men of great genius and talent were of poor parentage. Why is it that many teachers will give instructions to poor, aspir-ing pupils free of charge? "For the sake of mere advertisement," some prosaic persons may say. No, that is not the reason. It is because a teacher finds his greatest pleasure in seeing his work bring forth fruit; the more there is of it, the greater his satisfaction. And never imagine he desires to have only one pet pupil. Remember that your teacher esteems you principally for your earnest study and for the good progress you make according to your ability. He will keep you in loving remembrance long after you quit taking lessons. Do your duty, and you will find that your parents, your teacher, and every one who knows you will be highly gratified with your improvement and success ; for art and industry are admired by everybody. STUDEN T ID E ALIS . CHARLES W. LAN DON. THE ideals that pupils have as to what should take their first and best attention in music practice is worth the teacher's trouble to look into. Almost invariably it will be found to be some one-sided thing ; perhaps note-values, holding the hands in a certain way, accenting, fast playing, loud playing, etc.,—almost as many ideas as there are pupils. Yet to play with an intelligent expression, to make the musical thought of the piece stand out clearly and with the right amount of accom-paniment, to make the piece sing its musical message, phrasing, climaxing, rhythmic contrasts,—in short, all that goes to make playing musical, seldom stands in the pupil's ~ * ad as the one thing for which he is doing all this woi ind study. Who to blame for these one-sided and false standpoints ? The teacher, of course. If the teacher emphasizes some one particular, lesson after lesson, the pupil of necessity learns to take that thing as the one great essential in piano-playing. Of course, each pupil has to have certain things continually harped upon, yet this should be done so that he shall consider them as a means to the final expressive playing of his pieces. Let the musical tree bear its fruit, but let these other things be twigs and leaves. OFI TH E CULTIVATIO N O P STYII E PIHJIOM FO^T E PLIFLVI^G . E. R. KROEGER. THE great virtuosi have set such a pace in technical development that students have been prone to consider technic the principal aim of pianoforte playing, and have bent their energies accordingly. In this way the true aims of art have suffered, and the "means" have been taken for the "end. " The majority of young pianists have been inclined to play the most difficult pieces they could select, merely to display digital facility, instead of those which they could render with less exertion and more beauty. This craving after extraordinary technical ability is carried to such an extreme that points of style essential to correct interpretation are abandoned entirely. The object seems to be to play as many notes within a given period of time as possible, rather than to play them with charm and color. Many pupils' recitals, and even musi-cal club concerts, are anything but a pleasure to the lis-tener on this account. Each performer seems to choose compositions which, under the best circumstances, are too difficult, but when under the excitement of public performance should never be attempted. The audience frequently breathes a sigh of relief when he or she leaves the stage. Now, there should be a reaction against this craze for displaying technic. There are many beautiful com-positions written by the greatest masters which are charming to any audience, and are not overwhelmingly difficult. In studying them, the pianist will have the opportunity for self-criticism in features of style. Phras-ing, which is so frequently grievously sinned against; attention to dynamics and expression-marks ; gradations of accents; contrasts between legato, portamento, and staccato ; the proper observance of the use of the pedals,— how much these are neglected in the study of difficult compositions ! To be sure, a technical mastery of the notes of a piece should be an understood thing. But one should select for performance a composition within one's ability. After the technic is mastered, study minutely all the necessary features of style. When this is done, then add to this the innate musical feeling and individ-uality of touch of the player. A satisfactory artistic rendition will be the result. ^HlxRltRTlOfi. DR ROBERT GOLDBECK. THE relaxation of the muscles in piano-playing is the foundation of all technical progress. It is not easy, how-ever, to maintain this negative and receptive state of the tendons, muscles, and nerves during practice. It is the same thing with the mind. In order to receive impressions that will remain and become fruitful, the mind must be in a passive mood, free from opposing prejudice, ready to do battle, but not so ready to receive. In fact, when the mind is on the alert to offer rigid (unrelaxing) opposition, how could it be open to new convictions, new ideas, which, if it could only make them its own, would be so helpful, constitute such a glorious progress ? So also the muscles are receptive and impressionable when they are relaxed, and if kept in that state will find the best way to appropriate to themselves what is useful to advance in the correct path of evolution and development. If any one asks, How can I learn to play octaves? the simple answer is, Keep the muscles relaxed, and they will come to you, with the easiest way of playing them, and with the position of hand and wrist best for you. CHRHRCTUHISTICS. BY THOMAS TAPPER. THE best results follow in any business in proportion to the amount of personal attention which the business receives. And nothing more frequently impresses us than the fact that people have failed in an undertaking only because they keep themselves well out of it. This explains a large number of very bad music performances; a much larger number, I am sure, than we may right-fully attribute to incompetence. I do not care how high be the grade of a class of music students, there will al-ways be found present among them an element of unwillingness which keeps the best they have more or less out of their endeavors. The reason this is found in such a class is not because it is a class of music students, but because it is a class of human beings. The de-duction is this : Talent must be sternly commanded by its possessor, or it availeth little. On New Year's day I heard played two " Songs With-out Words "b y Mendelssohn. If I were to attempt to say by what I was most strongly impressed during the performance (Mendelssohn's contribution to the same being for the moment unconsidered), I should say that it was the perfect conception of the singer, together with the equally perfect conception of the accompanist. Of course, nothing less than this would adequately express the composer's intent. But it was as completely ex-pressed as one could desire ; a perfect performance, as of two people moved by the same force, the same mind, and the same sympathy. What made this possible ? First, decided talent; then, years of toil; abundance of suffering (nothing seems to ripen talent as this does) ; an ideal just as decisively present in little things as in great ones. Add to this a genuine faith in the divinity of talent and in the efficiency of labor. Further, a never-ending sympathy with the unfortunate, and at all times a thorough belief in short steps. Now we know what played the Mendelssohn songs— a great character. One can see that nothing else can inspire the hands to voice a great interpretation. KEEPIN G U P R T*EPEI*TOIF*E . PERLEE Y. JERVIS. IN keeping up a repertoire most pupils do an unneces-sary amount of practice at the keyboard. For studying purely musical effects and finesse in playing there can not be too much practice; but for merely "keeping a piece in the fingers," hard thinking will accomplish more than much playing. After a piece has been thoroughly memorized and learned, sit down away from the instrument and think through the right-hand part slowly and carefully, making a clear mental picture of every note as it appears on the printed page. Think the left hand in the same manner, and after that both hands together. At first this will be done very slowly and only by hard thinking ; but by daily practice the student will soon become expert at it, when the thinking can be done more rapidly. After thinking the piece through, sit down at the keyboard and play through very slowly, hands separately and then hands together. If each piece has been thoroughly learned in the beginning, a large repertoire can be kept at the fingers' ends by playing each piece in this way once or twice a week. T O CUF* E STFLGENPI^IGHT . MADAME A. PUPIN. THE pupils of the conservatory were very much ex-cited. It was graduating night for the piano-class. All asserted that they were horribly nervous. One young woman was sitting in a corner—pale, cold, and silent ; a young man, red and perspiring, was rushirg hither and thither ; a pretty young girl, a picture of despair, was biting her handkerchief to keep the tears from falling ; an epidemic of fear seemed to have seized them all. "Fie ! fie!" exclaimed the elocution teacher as she entered the room. "What do you mean by all this nonsense ? I have a remedy in my room that will set you right in a moment." " What is it ? " cried a chorus of voices. " I will give each of you a dose just before you are ready to play, but you must each promise not to tell the others what it is." As each pupil emerged smiling from the elocution teacher's room, went on the platform, and came back saying, " I never felt the least bit frightened," great curiosity was expressed as to what this wonderful remedy could be. Now, it seems she only slapped their backs. She began by pattiD g their backs and shoulders with the palms of her hands, alternating right and left. The slaps grew faster and harder, until the poor victim could scarcely bear it; yet as the blood went tingling through the veins there was such an exhilarating effect that each one felt impelled to endure "just a little more," until the teacher sent them off laughing to the then delightful task of playing their graduating piece, which all of them did with honor to themselves and their teachers.
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