Provide For The Young
Parents see the necessity of providing the means for their children to learn to take care of themselves. A fortune left to a son frequently, if not generally, proves a curse. A "good match" may turn out badly for a daughter. A few hundred, or even o... Purity Of Method
Purity of vocal method must not be departed from by teachers. The introduction of new ideas is at best a hazardous undertaking. In the routine of teaching week after week and month after month the teacher finds himself casting about for a new idea. ... Recover From Mistakes
Next to him who makes no mistakes, is he who recovers from and disguises the errors. At best a performance full of errors of pitch, word, tone and quality is but a patched garment. Apply the mind to eradicating every error. Perhaps the most common t... Regularity
"It is the regularity of the laws of nature which leads us to put confidence in them and enables us to use them." Thus writes Dr. McCosh and he was a keen observer of men and things. His remark suggests that teachers can and will be trusted and used... Renew Thought
The teacher who does not live in high thought, and who does not attempt to attain a high ideal, does poorer work than he thinks he does. It is an easy matter to settle into a rut and to follow certain lines. These wear themselves out. New ways of im... Reputation Comes Slowly
Reputation which will last comes only by slow degrees. Man may spring into notoriety at a bound because of some fortuitous circumstance and he may hold the prominence which he gains by his strength of manhood, but the cases of this kind are rare. It... Songs For Beginners
When selecting songs for study for beginners, only those which have smooth and well defined melodies should be selected. Modern composers seek by the strangest harmonies, following each other without coming to points of definite rest, to do things d... Speaking And Singing
The basis of good singing is good speaking. The speaking voice in common use during conversation covers a range of five or six notes. Frequently lower and higher notes are called into use, but the high and low notes of the singing voice are seldom u... Study Poetry
Every singer should be an earnest student of poetry. There are minds to which poetry does not appeal as does the practical prose. But in all minds there is enough of latent love of poetry which can be developed until poetry appeals with even stronge... Success
A few decades ago a clumsy, lank, raw-boned boy roamed over the hills of the State of Ohio. He was not marked with the talent of many, nor was he noted for anything in particular except, perhaps, an aptness in "doing sums." Bare-footed, and with s... Sustain Perfectly
Sustaining perfectly the reservoir of air is the greatest desideratum in using the voice. Acquiring ability to do so is a puzzle often to students. The reason is in the fact that no muscles which are directly under the control of the will can be cau... There Are No Mistakes
How often does every one of us make the "mistake of a lifetime?" Probably everyone has made that remark many times regarding himself. The circumstances of life have seemed to point out a certain path. We have followed it. Later we felt it to be wron... Time Ends Not
We may say with Emerson that "Time has his own work to do and we have ours," and with Wood, "Labor is normal; idleness, abnormal," but in music there must be times of cessation from labor. Call it change of work, if you choose rather than admit that... True Art Is Delicate
All true art is delicate. Music is the most delicate of all arts. Music is expressed through thought and emotion. In this, music has much the advantage over sister arts. The sculptor can chisel his thoughts into marble, and there they can imperishab... Vocal Tone
All vocal tone used in singing when produced at the vocal bands is small and probably always about alike. The tone which we hear is "colored", "re-inforced" etc., on the way from the vocal bands to the outer air. In order that the tone shall carry...

Study Poetry Friends Can Help Musical Library Experience Sustain Perfectly Vocal Tone Analyze Songs Renew Thought

Success Speaking And Singing Heart And Intellect All Things Are Good Preparation For Teaching Crude Voices Express No Emotion Purity Of Method Reputation Comes Slowly