Page 810 DECEMBER 1920 (She had been seated in the audience wrapped in a black cloak so as not to be noticed by those around her.) GOO D CHEE R Her e I am ! PLENT Y Wha t ar e you doing down ther e wit h the people? GOO D CHEE R I' m alway s righ t dow n amon g the people. MUSI C D o they kno w tha t you ar e ther e ? GOO D CHEE R No , I don't thin k tha t they do. PEAC E But it is so dar k tha t I' m afrai d they can't see you. GOO D CHEE R Tha t doesn't mak e any difference. If they would only look aroun d a little they could find Good Cheer with the m no matte r ho w dar k it is. MUSI C Come righ t up wit h us, Good Cheer, we can't wait an y longer. (Good Cheer goes on the stage. She is dressed in a flowing gown of scarlet.) £ PLENT Y Wha t is it you do best of all, Good Cheer ? GOO D CHEE R I mak e people laugh whe n they wan t to cry, I tak e the bitterness and the poison out of life. MUSI C Ca n you make us laugh now ? GOO D CHEE R I don't know, but I'll try . 6 . RECITATION Christmas Up to Date 'Twa s the nigh t befor e Christmas , Whe n all throug h th e flat No t a creatur e wa s stirring , No t even the cat. Above th e steam heate r the stockings wer e placed, I n hopes tha t by Sant a they soon would be graced. Th e children wer e snu g in their wee foldin g bed, Whil e visions of Tedd y Bear s danced throug h each head. An d I, in pajamas—--likewise in a grouch — Ha d gone to my patent convertible couch, Whe n out on the asphalt ther e rose such a clatter I spran g fro m my bed to see wha t wa s the matter . A mantl e of darkness enshrouded the room, Th e "quarter " ga s meter had lef t us in gloom. But afte r detachin g a chair fro m m y feet, I thre w back my curtai n and looked dow n the street. Th e ar c light shone brigh t on our new garbag e can, Waitin g the call of the D . S. C. man . An d wha t did m y wanderin g optics devour Bu t a tpurin g car of a hundre d horse-power . Wit h a business-like chauffeu r so shiny and slick, I kne w in a jiff y it mus t be S t Nick. A s th e dr y leaves befor e the hurrican e fly, H e ascended the fire-escape nimble and spry. I dre w in m y head, and wa s turnin g aroun d Whe n in throug h th e air shaf t he came wit h a bound. Hi s coat wa s of broadcloth, the finest I'v e seen, Thoug h it smelled rathe r strongly of fres h gasoline. Hi s cheeks wer e like roses, his nose like a cherry, He' d th e ai r of a ma n wh o wa s satisfied—very. H e wa s chubby an d plump, but a shrewd-lookin g guy, An d ther e gleamed throug h his goggles a keen little eye. H e spoke not a word , but the fox y old elf Jus t walked t o the mantel, an d laid on the shelf A -letter typewritten—i n business-like style— The n hustled awa y wit h a sarcastic smile. H e jumpe d in his car, and with thre e loud "honk-honks " H e whizzed round the corner and on towar d the Bronx . I opened the letter, the message I read, An d then I crept silently back into bed. Fo r here' s wha t I saw with dismay and disgust, "Retire d fro m business, sold out t o the Trust. " PLENT Y Oh, pshaw ! I don't like that. Besides, I don't thin k tha t Sant a has gone out of business. MUSI C I kno w he hasn't ; he 'phones m e all the tim e tha t he will hav e t o have mor e and mor e music books, pianos, violins and talkin g machines to keep up with the demand . GOO D CHEE R Wher e is Santa Claus, anyhow ? PEAC E He' s sure to come along soon. Who' s this comin g now ? (Enter a child with a paper box like a square hat box. The letter C, at least nine inches tall, has been cut out of the front of the box and red paper pasted over the openingr. In the box is an ordinary electric hand flashlight, so arranged that the light will fall on the red paper and fixed so that child can switch it on easily. As the other children enter with the other initials, they line up so that they spell the word Christmas.) 8 . TABLEAU X FIRS T CHIL D C is fo r Christmas , the gladdest of days. SECON D CHIL D H is fo r holly and candles ablaze. THIR D CHIL D R is fo r rhymes, like carols we sing. FOURT H CHIL D I is fo r iszard o r any old thing. FIFT H CHIL D S is fo r Sant a Claus, always so merry . SIXT H CHIL D T is fo r tree, with the mistletoe berry . SEVENT H CHIL D M is fo r music, the joy of the day. EIGHT H CHIL D A is fo r ample, our Christma s display. NINT H CHIL D S is fo r singing Th e Da y of th e year . AL L Th e worl d is rejoicing, Fo r Christma s is here ! (Childre n switch on electric lights.) (Enter Santa Claus zvith a great ringing of sleigh-bells.) SANT A CLAU S What' s this I hea r about Musi c and Peace and Plent y an d Good Cheer ? Why , I ow n the m all.' The y ar e all m y children. No w I mus t get busy, ver y busy, because I met a ma n wit h a big book and a lot of figures, wh o told m e tha t by actual calculation he ha d been able to find out that I had t o visit thre e hundre d and thirt y million children in less th^ n eight hours ! FIRS T CHIL D But ho w do you do it, Sant a Claus ? SANT A CLAU S Ah ! that' s m y little secret. (The concealed choir commences to sing softly and gradually the audience is encouraged to join in by means of singers scattered through the audience.) Any good carol can be selected from the following list, but probably the best of all is: 9. Music Hark, the Herald Angels Sing CAROLS Adest e Fidelis . O Sanetissima . Silen t Night . O Littl e Tow n of Bethlehem . (While the carol is being sung Santa Claus goes among the audience and distributes gifts.) V TH E END . THE ETUDE Practical Exercises in Weight Playing By Edward Bryan Lesher WHILE much ha s been writte n about the importanc e of weigh t in piano playing, fe w understan d the prope r use of it. Althoug h it is difficult t o explain it in type, the followin g ma y assist the ETUDE reade r in graspin g some of th e mai n principles. Whil e you ar e playing a scale ask some frien d t o raise you r hands, withou t warning , about fiftee n inches in th e air an d then let the m drop loose. If you r hand s stay up, you have not been usin g th e weigh t touch—if , on the contrary , they dro p of thei r own accord downwar d withou t .an y exertio n upon th e keys, you have in all probability been usin g th e principle of weigh t in you r playing. You r hand s should feel like lead t o anyon e wh o endeavor s t o raise them fro m th e keys, but they nevertheless should feel virile an d alive t o you but in no sense stiffened at any tune. Some use weigh t instinctively. Rubinstein used it, but he did not kno w ho w he acquired it. Mos t of th e presen t day pianists of renow n use it. I t seems t o m e tha t ther e is a school of weigh t player s wh o use th e rollin g touch, makin g most of the motion s with the fore* arms . It ma y be weigh t but it is not dead weight, it is controlled weight, because the ar m is used t o adjus t the weigh t t o the keys. I n tru e weigh t playing n o though t is given t o adjustments . Ther e ar e some teacher s wh o claim tha t allowing the entire weight of the ar m t o be supported upon the fingers make s playin g impossible as you cannot lif t you r fingers quick enough, therefor e hinderin g velocity, which requires lightness an d th e minimu m of weight. Thi s is a fallacy. It does not har m th e hand , o r hinde r th e velocity in an y manner . I t ha s only been th e metho d of application which ha s been misunderstood . Perhap s the reason fo r failur e in acquiring dexterit y wit h weight is tha t the student ha s not practiced lon g enoug h t o derive benefits fro m it. But once it is ac-quired, a facile technic is sure. Th e mos t importan t reason fo r failur e is tha t the flexor muscles of most pianists have been exercised mor e tha n th e extensors, because in weight-playin g the exten -sors do the most work . I t is this supposed weakness in the han d that ha s led man y t o believe tha t weigh t hinder s velocity. Whe n the extensor s ar e exercised correctly a big difference is noted both in ton e an d velocity. Velocity passages instead of being weak, uneven, mud -dled, to o light or dry, become clear, beautifu l an d dis-tinct. Als o a greate r sense of control over the keyboar d is noticed. Important Muscular Control Anothe r grea t weaknes s in the hand s of most pupils is th e undeveloped inter-osseous muscles ; tha t is th e muscles which separate an d dra w the fingers together . Chor d playin g becomes impossible without control of these muscles. Some par t of each day's practice should be given t o the development of these muscles. A good exer -cise is t o keep th e weight of the ar m supported on one finger. Sa y wit h the weight supported 011 th e second finger, placed 011 C wit h a quick jerk , stretch th e thir d finger as fa r as possible and strike E or F . D o th e same with each pair of fingers. Anothe r exercise t o do awa y fro m the piano is this : Clasp the second an d thir d finger s of the righ t han d with th e fingers of the lef t han d an d tr y t o separate the tw o fingers. Als o with the second and thir d separated, use th e lef t han d to tr y t o close them, the second and thir d fingers resisting. Anothe r idea which helps greatly in developing effi-cient piano playing is t o use the straigh t thumb—no t bent as is the usual method. Thi s applies t o the use of all five finger exercises, scales or any thum b crossings. I used the bent thum b in m y playin g nine year s and could not play a decent scale, but in less tha n tw o weeks' practice wit h a straigh t thumb , a ver y grea t difference wa s noticed in m y scales. Mor e indifferent scale playing is due t o bent thumb s tha n t o wea k fourt h fingers. A good rule is : The thumb should be straight at all times. Th e simplest exercises do the greatest wonders . A fe w simple exercises persisted in and carrie d t o the highest degree of perfectio n in both velocity and tone ar e fa r better tha n volumes of exercises played throug h a fe w times. Most grea t pianists hav e a fe w cherished exercises whic h they practice every day. The y kno w that these ar e short cuts t o keep up technic. Ye t most pupils will pass these exercises by as "too easy." The y should remembe r it is not the mental aspect of exercises, but the muscula r application tha t counts. Albert o Jona s ha s given in his Pianoscript Book man y helpfu l exercises tha t if persisted in fo r a yea r will give one a fine technic. Of course th e student mus t kno w ho w t o apply them .
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