Chapter V (4)

Do you believe the playing of the modern rag-time piece to be actually hurtful to the student?

I do, indeed, unless it is done merely for a frolic; though even such a mood might vent itself in better taste. The touch with vulgarity can never be but hurtful, whatever form vulgarity may assume--whether it be literature, a person, or a piece of music. Why share the musical food of those who are, by breeding or circumstance, debarred from anything better? The vulgar impulse which generated rag-time cannot arouse a noble impulse in response any more than "dime novels" can awaken the instincts of gentlemanliness or ladyship. If we watch the street-sweeper we are liable to get dusty. But remember that the dust on the mind and soul is not so easily removed as the dust on our clothes.

ETHICAL

[Sidenote: _What the Object of Study Should Be_]

How can we know that our talent is great enough to warrant us in bestowing year after year of work upon its development?

Pleasure and interest should be such that it is in the actual working that one is repaid. Do not think so much of the end of your work. Do not force your work with the one view of becoming a great artist. Let Providence and the future decide your standing in music. Go on studying with earnestness and interest, and find your pleasure in the endeavour, not in the accomplishment.

PITCH AND KINDRED MATTERS

[Sidenote: _The International Pitch_]

What is meant by "pitch" as regards piano tuning? People say that a certain piano is pitched lower than another. Would E on one piano actually sound like F on another?

Yes, it would if the pianos were not pitched alike. It is only recently that an international pitch has been established which was adopted everywhere except in England. In the international pitch the A in the second space of the treble staff makes 435 vibrations a second.

[Sidenote: _The "International" Piano Pitch_]

Which piano pitch is preferable, "concert" or "international"?

By all means the "international," because it will fit your piano to be used in conjunction with any other instrument, no matter whence it may come. Besides, the international pitch was decided upon as far back as 1859, in Paris, by a government commission, numbering among its members such men as Auber, Halevy, Berlioz, Meyerbeer, Rossini, Ambroise Thomas, and many physicists and army generals. You can easily infer from this that, in determining that the A in the second space of the treble staff should have 435 vibrations a second, all phases of music--vocal, instrumental, string, brass, wood, wind--have been duly considered.

[Sidenote: _The Well-Tempered Piano Scale_]

Is there really a difference of three-eighths of a tone between A-sharp and B-flat on the piano?

There is no difference on the piano. But acoustically there is a difference, over which, however, I would waste no time, since the evenly-tempered scale has been generally adopted, and every composition from Bach's time to the present day has been thought and written in it.

[Sidenote: _The "Colour" of Various Keys_]

Is it not a mistaken idea that any one particular key is more or less rich or melodious than another?

The effect of a tonality upon our hearing lies not in its signature (as even Beethoven seemed to believe) but in the vibration proportions. It is, therefore, irrelevant whether we play a piece upon a high-pitched piano in C, or upon a low-pitched piano in D flat. There are certain keys preferable to others for certain colours, but I fear that the preference is based not upon acoustic qualities but rather upon a fitness for the hand or voice. We apply the word "colour" as much to tone as the painters apply "tone" to colour, but I hardly think that anybody would speak of C major as representing black, or F major green.

THE STUDENT'S AGE

[Sidenote: _Starting a Child's Musical Training_]

At what age should a child begin the study of instrumental music? If my daughter (six years old) is to study the violin should she first spend a few years with the piano, or _vice versa_?

The usual age for a child to begin the study of music is between six and seven years. A pianist hardly needs to learn another instrument to become a well-rounded musician, but violinists, as well as the players of all other instruments, and also vocalists, will be much hampered in their general musical development if they fail to acquire what may be called a speaking acquaintance with the piano.

[Sidenote: _Age of the Student is Immaterial_]

I am not longer in my first youth, cannot take more than one hour's lesson a week, and cannot practise more than three hours a day. Would you still advise me to begin the study of the piano?

Provided there is gift and intelligence, the will, and the opportunity to study, age need not stand in your way. If your three hours of study are properly used, and your hour's lesson a week is with a good teacher, you should not become discouraged.

[Sidenote: _Twenty-five Not Too Late to Begin_]

Do you think that mastery of the piano is unlikely or impossible when the beginner is twenty-five years of age?

It is neither unlikely nor impossible. Your age will to some degree handicap you, because from purely physical causes the elasticity of the fingers and wrists could be developed much more quickly if you were ten years younger. If, however, you are endowed with strong musical gifts in the abstract you will achieve results superior to those attained by younger people with less talent. In overcoming the difficulties due to a late beginning you will find great inward satisfaction, and your attainments are bound to be a source of joy to you.

TEACHERS, LESSONS AND METHODS

[Sidenote: _The Importance of the Right Teacher_]

I have a son who is very desirous of learning to play the piano. I have been advised that an ordinarily good teacher is good enough to begin with. Others tell me a beginner should get the best teacher possible. Which would you advise? I live in a small town.

The seriousness of your question is aggravated by the statement that you live in a small town, and that there is possibly no teacher of ability to be found in your town. And yet it is only such a one that I can recommend for your son. For nothing is more dangerous for the development of a talent than a bad foundation. Many people have tried all their lives to rid themselves of the bad habits acquired from an ignorant teacher in the rudimentary stages of their studies, and have failed. I should advise you to try your best to send your boy to some near-by city where there is an excellent teacher.

[Sidenote: _Nothing But the Best Will Do_]

Wishing to begin the study of the piano now, in my twenty-fourth year, just for the sake of my great love for music, and knowing not even the notes, is it necessary to go to an expensive teacher at once or would a cheaper teacher do for the beginning?

If music is to be merely a pastime, and you content yourself with a minimum of knowledge, the cheaper teacher will do; but if you aspire to become musical in a better sense, why, by all means, apply to a teacher of the better class. The maxim: "For the beginning this or that is good enough," is one of the most harmful fallacies. What would you think of an architect who says: "For the foundation loam is good enough; we put a sandstone house over it, any way." Remember also, that the road a cheaper teacher has led you to take must usually be retraced when your aspirations rise toward the better in music.

[Sidenote: _Music Schools and Private Teachers_]

Shall I take my lessons in a music school or from a private teacher?

Music schools are very good for acquiring a general musical education. For the higher study of an executive specialty (piano, violin, the voice, etc.) I should naturally prefer private instruction from a specialist, because he can give more attention to each individual pupil than is possible under the wholesale system followed, not by all, but by the majority of music schools. What I should advise would be a combination: General matters--harmony, counterpoint, forms, history, and aesthetics--in a music school; and private lessons for your specialty from a teacher who has an established name as an executive artist. The best music schools have such a man at their head, and in these you find the best combination.

[Sidenote: _Individual Teacher, or Conservatory?_]

After taking lessons for five years and a half from a good teacher, would you advise a continuance with the individual teacher or attendance at a college of music or conservatory?

For a general musical education I always recommend a good music school or conservatory. For the study of the piano I think it best to take private lessons from an artist who is experienced both as an executant and as a teacher. Some music schools have such men on their staff, if not, indeed, at their head.

[Sidenote: _Where Outside Criticism Is Desirable_]

Having had twenty months' lessons and having now mastered Etudes by Berens, opus 61, by Heller, opus 47, and Smith's Octave Studies, do you think I am justified in continuing my lessons?

Assuming that you have really "mastered" the works you mention I can only encourage you to continue your lessons; I would, however, advise you to obtain an experienced pianist's criticism in order to assure yourself that your idea of "mastering" is right.

[Sidenote: _The Sex of the Piano Teacher_]

Is there any preference as to sex in the question of choosing a piano teacher; in other words, is a woman teacher preferable for any reason for a girl and a man teacher for a man?

Your question does not admit of generalization from a purely musical point of view. It must be--on this premise--decided by the quality, not by the sex, of the teacher. A good feminine teacher is better than a bad masculine one, and _vice versa_. The question of sex does not enter into the matter. Of course, the greater number of eminent teachers are found on the masculine side.

[Sidenote: _Too Much "Method"_]

My recently engaged teacher says that the word "method" jars on her nerves. Kindly advise me whether a method is not the best thing for a novice, and, if so, which one?

Your teacher, while possibly a little over-sensitive, is not wrong. America is the most method-ridden country in the world. Most of the methods in vogue contain some good points--about a grain of truth to a ton of mere ballast. Your teacher's utterance makes me think that you were lucky in finding her, and that you have excellent reason to trust in her guidance.

[Sidenote: _What the Leschetizky Method Is_]

How does the Leschetizky method rank with other methods, and in what respect does it differ from them?

There are but two methods in all the arts: a good one and a bad one. Since you do not specify with what "other" methods you wish to compare that of Leschetizky I cannot answer you with definiteness. There are, alas, so many "methods"! But the majority of them are based upon a deliberate disregard for that reverence which is due to great compositions and to the example of their rendition given by great interpreters. I have not studied with Leschetizky, but I think that he believes in a very low position of the hand and a sort of super-energetic tension of the tendons of the arms and hands.

[Sidenote: _Give Your Teacher a Fair Trial_]

Has a young pupil, after studying the piano irregularly for two months, tested fairly a teacher's ability?

Of course not! Altogether I do not like the idea of a pupil's testing his teacher's ability, rather the reverse. He may possibly find his teacher unsympathetic, but even this matter he is apt to judge prematurely. In most cases of irregularly attended or poorly prepared lessons the lack of sympathy means nothing more than that the pupil is a trifler and the teacher's honesty of purpose is not to his taste.

[Sidenote: _Either Trust Your Teacher or Get a New One_]

I have a "Piano Method," left over from lessons with my first teacher; it was very expensive, and I learned only a few pages of it. We moved to a different city and my new teacher objects to using the book, or, as she says, any such book. I do not know what to do about it, and would thank you for your advice.

When you apply to a teacher for instruction you must, first of all, decide in your own mind whether you have or have not absolute confidence in his ability. If you trust him you must do as you are advised to do; if not, you must apply to another teacher. A book, costing much or little, plays no part in the matter. By what you say of the new teacher, however, I am disposed to think that he is better than the first one.

[Sidenote: _The Proper Course For a Little Girl_]

Commencing piano lessons with my seven-year-old daughter, should I devote my efforts to the development of the fingers and hands, or retard such development so as to keep pace with the expansion of the mind?

Your question is interesting. But if your mind is clear on that point--and it seems to be--that a one-sided development (in this case technical) is dangerous to the "musical" talent of your little daughter, why, then, your little girl is, indeed, "out of danger." Your very question is a credit to your insight.

[Sidenote: _Frequent Lessons and Shorter_]

Is it better for a young student to take one hour lesson or two half-hour lessons a week?

Since young students are liable to form bad habits it is essential that they should come under the teacher's eye as frequently as possible. Hence, it is preferable to divide the hour into two equidistant parts.

[Sidenote: _Number of Lessons Depends on Progress_]

Which plan is better for a child of eleven or twelve years: to take a one-hour lesson or two half-hour lessons a week?

The child's age is not the determining factor in this matter; it is his musical status.

[Sidenote: _One Lesson a Week_]

Is one lesson a week inadequate for a piano student?

It will be sufficient in the more advanced stages of piano study. In the earlier stages, however, where the danger of forming bad habits is greatest, it is best to bring the pupil under his teacher's eye twice a week at the very least.

[Sidenote: _Better Not Give the Child "Modified Classics"_]

What little classics are best for a child after six months' lessons?

There are collections without number of facilitated or simplified arrangements of classic pieces, but I do not altogether approve of them. Let the classics wait until the child is technically--and, above all, mentally--ripe to approach such works as they are written.

[Sidenote: _Can Music Be Studied in America?_]

Is it necessary for me to go to Europe to continue my music studies?

If you have very much money to spare, why not? You will see much, also hear much--and some of it not quite so sublime as you anticipated--and, last but not least, you will have "studied abroad." While this slogan still exercises a certain charm upon some people in America, their number is growing less year by year, because the public has begun to understand that the United States affords just as good instruction in music as Europe does. It has also been found out that to "study abroad" is by no means a guarantee of a triumphant return. Many a young student who went abroad as a lamb returned as a mutton-head. And why should there not be excellent teachers in America by this time? Even if you should insist upon a European teacher you can find many of the best in America. Is it not simpler that one teacher from Europe go to America to teach a hundred students than that a hundred students should make the trip for the sake of one teacher? I should advise you to stay where you are or go to Philadelphia, New York, or Boston, where you can find excellent teachers, native, resident Americans and foreigners. To quote a case in point, let me say that in Berlin I found Godowsky's pupils to be almost exclusively Americans. They came from various sections of America to study with him and with no one else. But during the eighteen years he spent in Chicago they did not seem to want him. Perhaps he was too near by! Why this self-deception? Without mentioning any names I assure you that there are many teachers in America now who, if they should go to Europe, would draw a host of students after them, and some of these excellent men I know personally. It is high time to put an end to the superstitious belief in "studying abroad."

MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS

[Sidenote: _Organizing a Musical Club_]

Please give me the name of a good book on musical history and advise me how to organize and conduct a musical club among my pupils. Also give me a name, please.

You will find the "History of Music," by Baltzell, a serviceable book. As a name for your club I suggest that of the patron saint of music--Saint Cecilia--perhaps, or that of a great composer. Ask the secretaries of a number of musical clubs for their constitutions and by-laws and then adapt these to your locality and circumstances. Make your pupils feel that it is their club and act, yourself, as secretary, if possible.

[Sidenote: _How to Get Music Published_]

Please explain how to go about publishing a piece of music, and also give the name of some good publishing houses.

It is very easy to publish a piece of music if the publisher sees any merit in it. Send your piece to any publishing house whose name you find on the title pages of your sheet music. The readers or advisers of the house will report to their chief as to the merit of your piece, and he will then decide and negotiate with you, if his decision is favourable. If he should not care for it he will return your manuscript and you may try some other house. I advise you, however, to obtain the opinion of a good musician before you send your piece to a publisher.

[Sidenote: _"Playing in Time" and "Playing in Rhythm"_]

What is the difference between playing "in time" and playing "in rhythm"?

Playing in rhythm refers to the inner life of a composition--to its musical pulsation. Playing in time means the prompt arrival upon those points of repose which are conditioned by the rhythm.

[Sidenote: _The Student Who Cannot Play Fast Music_]

I find great difficulty in playing anything that goes quick, though in a more moderate tempo I can play my pieces faultlessly. Every teacher I had promised to develop my speed, but they all failed. Can you give me a hint how to overcome my difficulty?

Quickness of action, of motion, even of resolution, cannot be acquired by training alone; it must partly be inborn. I assume that your piano-playing is one phase of a general slowness. There is but one remedy for that. You have relied upon your teachers to develop your speed--you should have relied upon your own will-power. Try to will it and to will it often; you will see the ability keep step with the exertions of your will.

[Sidenote: _"Wonder-Children" as Pianists_]

My child of five years of age shows signs of great talent for music. He has a keen, true ear, and plays rather well for his age. Does this justify me in hoping that something out of the ordinary will become of him? They say that so-called "wonder-children" never amount to anything in later life.

That "wonder-children" never amount to anything in later life is not borne out by history. If some are disappointments it is either because they astonished by mere executive precocity, instead of charming by their talent, or because they were ruined by unscrupulous parents or managers who confounded the promise of a future with its realization. But, aside from these few, all great musicians were "wonder-children," whether they became composers, pianists, violinists, 'cellists, or what not. The biographies of our great masters of the past centuries as well as those of more recent times (Mendelssohn, Wagner, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Rubinstein, and all the others), will bear me out in this statement. If your child shows more than mere precocity--if, for instance, he does not merely play in his fifth year what others play in their tenth, but shows qualities of musical superiority--then you may with a fair degree of certainty feel hopeful of a fine musical future for him.

[Sidenote: _The Value of Going to Concerts_]

Shall I attend orchestra concerts or shall I give preference to soloists?

By all means attend orchestra and chamber-music concerts! For these will acquaint you with those works which are, after all, of the greatest importance to the student. Besides, you will usually hear more correct interpretations than from soloists. The latter, with some luminous exceptions, overestimate their own authority and take such unseemly liberties that in many cases you hear more Smith, Jones, or Levy than Beethoven, Schumann, or Chopin. Individuality in a soloist is certainly a great quality, but only if it is tempered by a proper deference to the composer of the work in hand. If you cannot hear a soloist who is capable of sinking his individuality in the thought, mood, and style of the composer he is interpreting--and this is given to only the very greatest--you do far better to prefer to the "individual" renditions of a soloist the "collective" renditions of the orchestra or string quartette. The synthetic nature of the orchestra forestalls the extravagances of so-called individuality and insures, generally speaking, a truthful interpretation. The very worst conductor imaginable cannot do as much harm to a composition as can a mediocre soloist, for an orchestra is a large body and, therefore, not so easily moved and shifted from the path of musical rectitude as is a single voice or an instrument. A really great soloist is, of course, the finest flower of the garden of applied music, for his touch with the instrument is immediate and he needs no middleman to express the finest shades of his conceptions; while the conductor--and even the best--has to impart his conception (through the baton, facial expression, and gesture) to other people before it can become audible, and on this circuitous route much of the original fervour and ardour may be lost. But there are more good orchestras than great soloists, and hence you are safe in attending orchestra and chamber-music concerts.

[Sidenote: _Books That Aid the Student Working Alone_]

Compelled to study without a teacher for two years before I can go to a conservatory, what method should I study for my technique and what pieces?

You fail to say whether you are a beginner or already somewhat advanced. Still, I think it safe to recommend Mason's "Touch and Technique," Sternberg's Etudes, opus 66; and select your pieces from the graded catalogues which any publisher will be glad to send you.

[Sidenote: _Music as a Profession or as an Avocation_]

Would you advise a young man with a good foundation to choose music--that is, concertizing--as a career, or should he keep his music as an accomplishment and avocation?

Your distinguishing between music and concertizing gives direction to my reply; that the question was not answered by your own heart before you asked it prompts me to advise music for you as an avocation. The artist's career nowadays is not so simple as it appears to be. Of a thousand capable musicians there is, perhaps, one who attains to a general reputation and fortune. The rest of them, after spending money, time, and toil, give up in despair, and with an embittered disposition take up some other occupation. If you do not depend upon public music-making for a living; if your natural endowments are not of a very unusually high order, and if your entire personality does not imply the exercise of authority over assemblages of people--spiritual authority, I mean--it were better to enjoy your music in the circle of your friends. It is less risky and will, in all probability, give you much greater satisfaction.

[Sidenote: _How Much You Can Get From Music_]

When I hear a concert pianist I want to get more from his playing than aesthetic ear enjoyment. Can you give me a little outline of points for which to look that may help me in my piano study?

There is no pleasure or enjoyment from which we can derive more than we bring with us in the way of receptiveness. As you deepen your study of music and gain insight into its forms, contrapuntal work and harmonic beauties you will derive more and more pleasure from listening to a good pianist the deeper your studies go. What their playing reflects of emotional life you will perceive in the exact measure of your own grasp upon life. Art is a medium connecting, like a telegraph, two stations: the sender of a message and the receiver. Both must be pitched equally high to make the communication perfect.

[Sidenote: "_It is So Much Easier to Read Flats Than Sharps!_"]

You would confer a favour upon a teacher by solving a problem for her that has puzzled her all her life; why do all pupils prefer flats to sharps? I am not at all sure that I do not, in some degree, share this preference. Is it a fault of training, or has it any other cause?

Your question is both original and well justified by frequent observation, for it is quite true that people prefer to read flats to sharps. But note it well that the aversion to sharps refers only to the reading, not to the playing. If any one should find it harder to _play_ in sharps, say, after knowing the notes well, it would be a purely subjective deception, due to a mental association of the note-picture with the respective sounds. My personal belief is that the aversion to the _reading_ of sharps is caused by the comparative complexity of the sign itself, and this leads me to think that the whole matter belongs rather to ophthalmology than to either acoustics or music.

[Sidenote: _Rubinstein or Liszt--Which the Greater?_]

As between Liszt and Rubinstein, whom do you consider the greater?

Rubinstein I knew very well (I was his pupil), and have heard him play a great many times. Liszt, who died when I was sixteen years old and had not appeared in public for some twenty years previously, I never met and never heard. Still, from the descriptions which many of my friends gave me of him, and from the study of his works, I have been able to form a fair idea of his playing and his personality. As a virtuoso I think Liszt stood above Rubinstein, for his playing must have possessed amazing, dazzling qualities. Rubinstein excelled by his sincerity, by his demoniacal, Heaven-storming power of great impassionedness, qualities which with Liszt had passed through the sieve of a superior education and--if you understand how I mean that term--gentlemanly elegance. He was, in the highest meaning of the word, a man of the world; Rubinstein, a world-stormer, with a sovereign disregard for conventionality and for Mrs. Grundy. The principal difference lay in the characters of the two. As musicians, with regard to their natural endowments and ability, they were probably of the same gigantic calibre, such as we would seek in vain at the present time.

[Sidenote: _As to One Composer--Excluding All Others_]

If I am deeply interested in Beethoven's music can I not find in him all that there is in music, in both an aesthetic and a technical sense? Is any one's music more profound?

You imagine yourself in an impenetrable stronghold whence, safe from all attacks, you may look upon all composers (except Beethoven) with a patronizing, condescending smile. But you are gravely in error. Life is too rich in experience, too many-sided in its manifestations, to permit any one master, however great, to exhaust its interpretation through his art. If you base your preference for Beethoven upon your sympathies, and if, for this reason, his music satisfies you better than that of any other composer, you are to be complimented upon your good taste. But that gives you no right to contest, for instance, the profoundness of Bach, the aesthetic charm of Chopin, the wonders of Mozart's art, nor the many and various merits of your contemporary composers. The least that one can be charged with who finds the whole of life expressed in any one composer is one-sidedness, not to speak of the fact that the understanding cannot be very deep for one master if it is closed to all others. One of the chief requirements for true connoisseurship is catholicity of taste.

[Sidenote: _A Sensible Scheme of Playing for Pleasure_]

I am fifty-six years old, live in the mountains sixty-five miles from any railroad, alone with my husband, and I have not taken lessons in thirty-five years. Do you think "Pischna" would help me much to regain my former ability to play? If not, what would you advise me to do?

Refrain from all especially technical work. Since your love of music is strong enough to cause you to resume your playing you should take as much pleasure in it as possible and work technically only in the pieces you play--that is, in those places which offer you difficulties. Decide upon a comfortable fingering first, and practise the difficult places separately and slowly until you feel that you can venture to play them in their appropriate speed.

[Sidenote: _First Learn to Play Simple Things Well_]

What pieces would you advise me to memorize after Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-sharp minor and Chopin's A-flat Ballade? These pieces do not appeal to the majority of people, but I enjoy them.

If such a work as Chopin's Ballade in A-flat does not "appeal to the majority"--as you say--the fault cannot lie in the composition, but must be sought in the interpretation. Why not try a few pieces of lesser complexity and play them so perfectly that they do appeal to the majority. Try Chopin's Nocturne, opus 27, No. 2; Schumann's Romanza, opus. 28, No. 2; or his "Traumerei," or some of the more pretentious "Songs Without Words" by Mendelssohn.

[Sidenote: _About Starting on a Concert Career_]

I am twenty-four, have had four years' rigorous work in a conservatory and a partial college training. My technique is adequate for Brahms's Rhapsody in G minor and McDowell's Sonatas. I have good health and am determined not to grow self-satisfied. Is there a place on the concert stage--even if only as an accompanist--for a woman thus equipped?

Any public career must begin by earning the good opinion of others. One's own opinion, however just, is never a criterion. My advice is that you speak to some of the prominent concert agents, whose names and addresses you find in every well-accredited music paper. Play for them. They are usually not connoisseurs by actual knowledge, but they have developed a fine instinct for that which is of use to them, and you are, of course, aware that we must be of use to others before we can be of use to ourselves. If the right "stuff" is in you you will make your way. People of ability always do. That there is room for women on the concert stage is proved by the great array of meritorious women pianists. Especially for accompanying women are in demand--that is, for _good_ accompanying. But I would not start out with the idea of accompanying. It seems like going to a commercial school to study be to an "assistant" bookkeeper. Become a fine, all-round musician, a fine pianist, and see what the tide of affairs will bring you. The proper level for your ability is bound to disclose itself to you.

[Sidenote: _Accompanist Usually Precedes Soloist at Entering_]

Should an accompanist precede or follow the soloist on the stage in a concert or recital, and should sex be considered in the matter?

If the soloist be a man the accompanist should precede him on the stage in order to arrange his music, the height of his seat or whatever may be necessary, during which time the soloist salutes the audience. For these reasons it should be the same when the soloist is a woman, but as women are of the feminine persuasion it will, perhaps, look better if the accompanist yields precedence to her.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF QUESTIONS

PAGE

About Starting On a Concert Career 162

Accenting a Mordent in a Sonata 70

Accompanist Usually Precedes Soloist at Entering 164

Action of a Beginner's Piano, The 87

Action of the Little Finger, The 17

Advantage of Legato over Staccato, The 22

Affected Movements at the Piano 126

"Afraid to Play Before People" 121

Age of the Student is Immaterial 139

Always Keep in Touch With Bach 81

Art of Accompanying a Soloist, The 118

Art of Playing With Feeling, The 124

As to one Composer--Excluding All Others 160

As to Playing Rubato 100

As to the Bach Fugues 88

Bach's Music Necessary to Good Technique 80

Bach's Preludes and Fugues 82

Beethoven Sonata with a Pastoral Character, The 84

Beginner in Bach Music, The 80

Best Physical Exercise for the Pianist, The 181

Best Way to Improve Sight-Reading, The 117

Best Way to Work Up a Quick Tempo, The 54

Better Not Give the Child "Modified Classics" 148

Biting the Finger-Nails Spoils the Touch 19

Books that Aid the Student Working Alone 155

Broad-Tipped Fingers Not a Disadvantage 20

C-Scale Fingering for All Scales, The 28

Can Music be Studied in America? 148

Cantabile Passages 7

Charm of Chopin's Touch, The 86

Chopin's Barcarolle 88

Chopin's Works for a Popular Concert 88

"Colour" of Various Keys, The 187

Company that One Keeps in Music, The 188

Composition Must Fit the Player, The 130

Conditions Which Dictate Speed in Playing, The 53

Counting Out Loud 50

Difference Between Conception and Rubato, The 102

Difference Between "Finger Staccato" and Other
Kinds, The 22

Difference Between Major and Minor Scales, The 109

Difference in Playing Trills, The 74

Different Conceptions May be Individually
Correct 102

Difficulty of Playing Repetition Notes, The 34

Disputed Chopin Reading, A 78

Do not Allow the Wrist to Get Stiff 10

Do not Injure the Hand by Stretching It 13

Do not Over-Use the Soft Pedal 44

Do not Raise the Piano-Stool too High 4

Do not Raise Wrist in Marking a Rest 99

Do not Stiffen the Hands in Playing Scales 9

Do not Use a Piano Extreme in "Action" 36

Double Sharp Misprinted for Double Flat 65

E Sharp and B Sharp and the Double Flat 64

Easiest Way to Memorize, The 113

Effect of Double Flats, The 65

Effect of Playing the Same Piece Often, The 122

Either Trust Your Teacher or Get a New One 146

Etudes for Advanced Players to Work At 94

Exercises for the Beginner to Practise 93

Fatiguing the Hand by Stretching 12

Few Sonatas of Beethoven, Well Played,
Are Enough, A 85

Fingering the Chromatic Scale 28

Fingers Needed to Play a Mordent, The 28

Firm and Crisp Legato Touch, The 24

First Learn to Play Simple Things Well 162

Four Ways to Study a Piano Piece 52

Fourth and Fifth Fingers, The 16

Frequent Lessons and Shorter 147

General Rule About the Pedal, A 39

Genuine Piano Hand, The 130

Give Your Teacher a Fair Trial 145

Good Finger Exercises 93

Good Intermediate Books of Etudes 94

Greatest Composers as Pianists, The 91

Hearing a Piece Before Studying It 104

Height of the Piano Seat, The 5

Horseback Riding Stiffens the Fingers 132

How a Tie and a Slur Differ 63

How Are Syncopated Notes to be Played? 71

How Best to Play the Octaves 29

How Grace Notes Are Played 61

How Long an Accidental Affects a Note 64

How Much You Can Get from Music 157

How Organ Playing Affects the Pianist 26

How Tight to Keep the Piano's Action 37

How to Get Music Published 150

How to Hold the Thumb 16

How to Improve the Technique 4

How to Play Passages Marked "Rubato" 100

How to Use the Pedal 39

How Waltz, Menuet, Mazurka and Polonaise Differ 111

Importance of Studying With the Right Teacher,
The 140

Incorrect Position of the Fingers, An 8

Individual Teacher or Conservatory? 142

In Order to Memorize Easily 115

In Playing a Sonata 75

"International" Piano Pitch, The 136

International Pitch, The 136

Is the Piano the Hardest to Master? 127

"It is So Much Easier to Read Flats Than
Sharps!" 157

Kind of Piano Upon Which to Practise, The 35

Kullak's "Method of Octaves" Still Good 34

Learning the Art of Accompanying 118

Learning to Accompany at Sight 117

Learning to Modulate 107

Let Your Ear Guide Your Pedalling 41

Loose Wrist, The 9

Masters Cannot be Studied In Order 90

Meaning and Use of "Motif," The 68

Meaning of Solfeggio, The 74

Meaning of "Toccata," The 111

Memorizing Quickly and Forgetting as Readily 115

Metronome Markings, The 57

Metronome Markings May Better be Ignored 59

Modern Piano Music 92

Mood and Tempo in the A Flat Impromptu 87

More Technique the More Practice, The 3

Morning is the Best Time to Practise 46

Morning Practice on the Piano, The 45

Music as a Profession or as an Avocation 156

Music Schools and Private Teachers 141

No Necessity to Watch the Fingers 19

Not Playing the Two Hands at Once 25

Nothing But the Best Will Do 141

Number of Lessons Depends on Progress, The 147

Old Problem of Duple Time against Triple, The 98

Omitting One Note in a Chord 89

Once More the "Soft" Pedal 44

One Lesson a Week 147

Only Kind of Practice Worth While, The 47

Order of Studying Beethoven's Sonatas 83

Organ Playing and the Piano Touch 26

Organizing a Musical Club 150

Perfect Rubato the Result of Momentary Impulse 101

Personal Element and the Metronome, The 58

Pianist Who Fails to Express Herself, The 123

Piano Study for Conductor and Composer 128

Play Chords With a Loose Arm 11

Playing Duple Time Against Triple 96

Playing from Memory is Indispensable 112

"Playing in Time" and "Playing in Rhythm" 151

Playing of Double Thirds, The 35

Playing of Slurred Notes, The 62

Playing On a Dumb Piano 38

Playing the "Melody in F" 79

Playing the "Spring Song" too Fast 77

Playing with Cold Hands 49

Point in Playing the "Moonlight Sonata," A 76

Position of Auxiliary Note in a Trill 72

Position of the Turn over a Note, The 71

Position of the Wrist, The 10

Practising Eight Hours Instead of Four 48

Practising the Two Parts Separately 52

Premature Fatigue in the Arms 33

Problem of Transposing at Sight, The 119

Proper Course for a Little Girl, The 146

Rapid Octaves 30

Real Meaning of Speed Terms, The 60

Relation of Harmony to Piano Playing, The 105

Rests Used under or over Notes 62

Results Count, Not the Methods, The 6

Rolled Chord Marked "Secco," A 70

Rubinstein or Liszt--Which is the Greater? 158

Rule for Selecting the Speed, A 60

Safe Way of Stretching the Small Hand, A 13

Sensible Scheme of Playing for Pleasure, A 161

Sex of the Piano Teacher, The 143

Should Piano Students Try to Compose? 108

Slurs and Accents Not Related 63

Small Notes under Large Ones 70

Some Pieces for a Girl of Fourteen 75

Speed and Smoothness in Trilling 73

Staffs are Independent of Each Other, The 66

Starting a Child's Musical Training 138

Stiff Wrists in Playing Octaves 33

Student Who Cannot Play Fast Music, The 151

Student Who Wants to Compose, The 108

Student with a Fondness for the Pedal, The 42

Study of Mendelssohn, The 85

Study of Operatic Transcriptions, The 91

Study of the Scales, The 51

Study of the Scales is very Important, The 50

Studying Counterpoint by One's Self 107

Take a Month's Rest Every Year 56

Taking Liberties With the Tempo 89

"Tenuto" Dash and Its Effect, The 69

Text-books on Harmony 106

There Are Dangers in Using a Metronome 59

There Is Only One Minor Scale 109

Tied Staccato Notes 69

Tilt of the Hand in Playing Scales, The 6

Time to Devote to Technical Exercises 47

To Gain Facility in Sight-Reading 117

To Keep Errors from Creeping in 116

To Play a Glissando Passage 29

To Prevent Sore Finger-tips After Playing 20

To Produce a Softer Tone 43

To Produce Good Legato 23

To Strengthen the Weak Finger, Use It 18

To Work up a Fast Tempo 53

Too Much "Method" 144

Trill Begins on the Melodic Note, A 72

Twenty-five Not Too Late to Begin 139

Two Hands Playing Difficult Rhythms, The 97

Universal System of Marking Fingering, The 27

Use of the Pedal for Colouring, The 39

Use Pedal With Caution In Playing Bach 41

Using the Two Pedals at Once 48

Value of Clementi's "Gradus" To-day, The 95

Value and Correct Practice of Phrasing, The 98

Value of Going to Concerts, The 153

Value of Heller's Studies, The 93

Watch Your Breathing 55

Weak Fingers of the Left Hand, The 18

Well-Tempered Piano Scale, The 137

What a Dot May Mean 77

What a Double Dot Means 62

What Does "Technique" Mean? 3

What Is the Best of Chopin? 86

What Is the Difference Between the Major and
Minor Scales? 110

"What Is the Matter with My Scales?" 14

What the Leschetizky Method Is 144

What the Object of Study Should Be 135

What to Do with an Unemployed Hand 21

When an Accidental Is in Parentheses 66

When Playing Octaves 31

When Reading Over a New Piece 51

When the Fingers Seem Weak 18

When to Keep Away from the Piano 132

When to Play for People 120

When Tremolo Proves Unduly Fatiguing 11

When Two Fingers Have the Same Note 79

Where Outside Criticism Is Desirable 143

Where the Accent Should Be Placed 78

Which Fingers Demand Most Attention? 16

Which Should Come First--Conception or
Technique? 103

Why Rag-time Is Injurious 134

Why So Many Different Keys? 105

Why the Pianist Should Study Harmony 104

Why the Piano Is So Popular 128

Why Two Names for the "Same" Key? 67

"Wonder Children" as Pianists 152

Wrist Staccato at a High Tempo 21

Wrist Stroke In Long Octave Passages 32

INDEX

A flat, key of, 67.
Impromptu in, 78, 87.
Chopin's Ballade in, 162.

A sharp, key of, 67.
difference between, and B flat, 137.

Accent, where the, should be placed, 78.

Accenting a mordent, 70.

Accents, slurs and, not related, 68.

Accidental, how long an, affects a note, 64.
when an, is in parentheses, 66.

Accompaniment, 118.

Accompaniments, in left-hand waltz, 17.

Accompanist, 118, 119, 164.

Accompanying, at sight, 117.
a soloist, 118.
the art of, 118.

Action, of the wrist, 9.
of the arm, 11.
of the little finger, 17.
a piano extreme in, 36.
how tight to keep the piano's, 37.
of a beginner's piano, 37.
a too heavy, 38.
too light an, 38.

Adagio, 60.

Advantage, of legato over staccato, 22.
of universal fingering, 27.

Affected movements at the piano, 126.

Age, and physical development of the beginner, 138, 139.

Age of the student, immaterial, 139.

Aid, books that, the student working alone, 155.

Allegretto grazioso, 77.

Allegro, 60.

America, can music be studied in, 148.

"American" fingering, 27.

Andante, 60.

Appassionata, the last movement of the, 76.

Appoggiatura, 72.

Arm, action of the, 11.
play chords with a loose, 11.

Arms, premature fatigue in the, 33.

Arpeggio, 3, 9.

Art, of accompanying, the, 118.
the canons of, 125.

Attention, which fingers demand most, 16.

Auber, 136.

Auxiliary, position of, note in a trill, 72.

Average, speed, 59.
tempo, 60.

Avocation, music as a profession or as an, 156.

B flat minor, Chopin's Prelude in, 95.

B sharp, 64, 65.

Bach, use pedal with caution in playing, 41.
the beginner in, music, 80.
in touch with, 81.

Bach, Philipp Emanuel, 88.

Bach's, music, 80, 81.
preludes, 67, 82.
fugues, 67, 82, 83.

Bad music, 183.

Baermann, Carl, 94.

Ballade, Chopin's, in A flat, 102.

Baltzell, "History of Music," by, 150.

Barcarolle, Chopin's, 88.

Beethoven, the sonatas of, 83, 85.

Beethoven's Sonatina, opus 49, 59.
Fifth Symphony, 69.
Sonata Pathetique, 70.
"Moonlight Sonata," 76.
sonatas, 83.
order of studying, sonatas, 83.
Sonata, opus 28, 84.
style, 85.
first and last sonatas, 90.

Beginner's, the action of a, piano, 37.

Bendel's "Zephyr," 53.

Berceuse, Chopin's, opus 57, 86.

Berens, 95, 143.

Berlin, 118.

Berlioz, 91, 136.

Best, how to play the octaves, 29.
morning is the, time to
practise, 46.
way to work up a quick tempo, 54.
what is the, of Chopin, 86.
the, book of instruction for a beginner, 93.
the, way to improve sight-reading, 117.
the, piano hand, 130.
the, physical exercise for the pianist, 131.
nothing but the, will do, 141.

Biting the finger-nails, 19.

Blumenstuck, Schumann's, 79.

"Blurring," 23.

Body, general position of the, 4.

Books, of Etudes, 93, 94.
that aid the student working alone, 155.

Brahms, 162.

Breathing, 55.

Broad-tipped fingers, 20.

Bulow, 17.

Buessler, 106.

C flat, 67.

C sharp, key of, 67.

C sharp major, Bach's fugue in, 83.

C sharp minor movement, the, 58.

Cantabile passages, 7.

Cantata, 112.

Chaminade, Toccata by, 111.

Chaminade's "Air de Ballet," No. 1, 70.

Chopin, Polonaise, opus 53, 74.
a disputed, reading, 78.
Life of, 86.
the best of, 86.
Etude by, 94.
Etudes in C minor, 95.

Chopin's works, 23, 79.
Prelude, No. 15, 58.
Valse, opus 42, 61.
Polonaise, opus 58, 74.
Polonaise, opus 26, No. 1, 77.
Nocturne in F sharp, 78.
Impromptu in A flat, opus 29, 78, 87.
charm of, touch, 86.
Chants Polonais, 88.
Fantasy Impromptu, 88, 97.
Barcarolle, 88.
Nocturne, opus 27, No. 2, 88, 162.

Chopin's works for a popular concert, 88.
Ballade in A flat, 162.

Chord, rolled, marked "secco," 70.
in the Waltz in E minor, 89.

Chords, play, with a loose arm, 11.

Chromatic,
the, scale 28.
thirds, 35.
accidental, signs, 66, 67.

Classics, "modified," 148.

Clementi, 81.

Clementi's "Gradus ad Parnassum," 95.
Sonatina, opus 37, 96.

"Colour," of various keys, 137.

Colouring, 39, 44, 137.

Composer, piano-study for, 128.
as to one, 160.

Composers, the greatest, as pianists, 91.

Composition, 108, 130.

Conception, difference between, and rubato, 102.

Conceptions, different, 102.

Concert, Chopin's works for a popular, 88.
etudes, 94.
work, 156.
career, 162.

Concerto, the Grieg, 35.

Concerts, the value of going to, 153.

Conservatory, individual teacher or, 142.

Conductor, piano-study for, 128.

Correct practice of phrasing, 98.

Counterpoint, studying, 107, 142.

Cramer Etudes, the, 17, 45.

C-scale fingering, 28.

Counterpoint, studying, by one's self, 107.

Counting, 50.

Course, proper, for a little girl, 146.

Criticism, where outside, is desirable, 143.

Curved fingers, 6, 7.

Czerny, 45, 81.

D flat, key of, 67.
arrangement of Bach's Fugues, 83.

Damper pedal, the, 43.

Dance, music, 134.
Liszt's, of the Gnomes, 58.

Dangers in using a metronome, 59.

Dash, "tenuto," and its effect, 69.

Diatonic, thirds, 35.
sequel, 73.

Different, conceptions, 102.
rhythms, 97.
keys, 105.

Difference, between "finger staccato" and other kinds, 22.
in playing trills, 74.
between conception and rubato, 102.
between major and minor scales, 109.

Difficulty of playing repetition notes, 34.

Doppio movement, in Chopin's Nocturne in F sharp, 78.

Dot, double, 62.
what a, may mean, 77.

Double notes, 35.
thirds, 35.
dot, 62.
flat, 64, 65.
flats, 65.
sharp, 65.

Dumb piano, playing on a 38.

Duple time, 96, 98.

E minor, Waltz in, 89.

E sharp, 64.

Ear, let your, guide your pedalling, 41.

Easiest way to memorize, 113.

Edition, Peters's, of Chopin, 79.

Edition, Steingraeber, of Beethoven, 84.

Education, general musical, 141.

Element, personal, and the metronome, 58.

"English" fingering, 27.

Erlking, Liszt arrangement of the, 32.

Errors, to keep, from creeping in, 116.

Ethical, 135.

Etudes, Cramer, 17, 45.
octave, 30.
for advanced players, 94.
good intermediate books of, 94.
by Ruthardt, 94.
twelve, for technique and expression, 94.
concert, 94.
by Baermann, 94.
of Chopin, 95.
by Kessler, 95.
by Berens, 95, 143.
by Heller, 143.
Sternberg's, 155.

Example, force of, 104.

Exercise, best physical, 131.

Exercises, stretching, 12, 13.
technical, 47.
for the beginner, 93.
good finger, 93.

F, Melody in, 79.

F minor, Chopin's Ballades in, 86.

F sharp, key of, 67.
Chopin's Nocturne in, 78.

Fantastic Fairy Tales, 92.

Fantasy Impromptu, Chopin's, 88, 97.

Fatigue, premature, in the arms, 33.

Faulty touch, 8, 43.

Fifth Symphony, Beethoven's, 69.

Finger, the middle, 16.
technique, 16.
the little, 17.
the weak, 18.
touch, 19.
staccato, 22.
exercises, 93.

Fingering, English, 27.
universal, 27.
American, 27.
the chromatic scale, 28.
C-scale, 28.

Finger-nails, biting the, 19.

Fingers, position of, 6.
the other, 16.
fourth and fifth, 16.
weak, 18.
broad-tipped, 20.
needed to play a mordent, 28.

Finger-stroke, high, 7, 23, 24.

Finger-tips, sore, 20.
"wiping" the keys with the, 35.

Firm legato touch, 24.

Flat, double, 65.

Flats, double, 65.

Fugue, definition of a, 82.

Fugues, Bach's, 82.

G flat, key of, 67.

G minor,
Chopin's Ballade in, 86.
Brahms's Rhapsody in, 162.

Gavotte in A, the, 44.

General, technique, 3.
rule about the pedal, 39.
musical education, 141.

Glissando, the, 29.
to play a, passage, 29.

Gluck-Brahms, 44.

Godowsky, transcriptions by, 23.

Godowsky's pupils, 149.

Going to concerts, value of, 158.

Grace notes, 61.

"Gradus ad Parnassum," Clementi's, 95.

Grieg Concerto, the, 35.

Halevy, 136.

Hand, position of, 6.
stretching the, 12.
small, 13.
unemployed, the, 21.
genuine piano, 130.

Hands, two at once, 25.
playing with cold, 49.

Harmonic, clarity, 41.
turns, 105.

Harmony, study of, 104.
relation of, to piano-playing, 105.
textbooks on, 106.

Haydn, 75.

Heller, etudes by, 143.

Heller's studies, value of, 93.
opus 154, 94.

"History of Music," 150.

Importance of the right teacher, 140.

Impromptu, Chopin's, in A flat, 78.
Chopin's Fantasy, opus 66, 88, 97.

Instrument, the, 35.

Intermediate, good, books of etudes, 94.

International piano pitch, 136.

International pitch, 136.

Key, two names for the same, 67.

Keys, why so many different, 105.
"colour" of various, 187.

Kuhlau Sonatinas, 75.

Kullak's, Octave School, 31.
"Method of Octaves," 34.

Learning, to modulate, 107.
to accompany at sight, 117.
the art of accompanying, 118.

Legato, 22, 23.
advantage of, 22.
touch, 24.
meaning of, 24.

Leschetizky method, the, 144.

Lessons, teachers, and methods, 140.
number of, depends on progress, 147.
frequent, and shorter, 147.

Liadow, "Music Box" by, 92.

"Life of Chopin," the, 86.

"Limping," 25.

Liszt, 130, 158.

Liszt's, Dance of the Gnomes, 58.
transcription of Chants Polonais, 88.

Little finger, action of the, 17.

Loud counting, 50.

MacDowell, Sonatas, 162.

Major, difference between, and minor scales, 109, 110.

Marking a rest, in, 99.

Marks and Nomenclature, 57.

Mason's "Touch and Technique", 155.

Masters cannot be studied in order, 90.

Mazurka, 111.

Mazurkas, Chopin's, 86.

Melody in F, the, 79.

Memorize, easiest way to, 113.
in order to, easily, 115.

Memory, playing from, 112.
the, 112.

Mendelssohn, the study of, 85.

Mendelssohn's "Spring Song," 77.

Menuet, 111.

Method, too much, 144.
Leschetizky, 144.

Methods, teachers, lessons and, 140.

Metronome, markings, 57, 59.
personal element and the, 58.
dangers in using a, 59.

Meyerbeer, 136.

Minor, difference between major and, scales, 109.
only one, scale, 109.

Miscellaneous questions, 150.

"Modified Classics," 148.

Modulate, learning to, 107.

Mood and tempo in the A flat Impromptu, 87.

"Moonlight Sonata," the, 76.

Mordent, fingers needed to play a, 28.
accenting a, in a sonata, 70.

Morning practice on the piano, 45.

Moscheles, Etudes by, 94.

Motif, meaning and use of, 68.

"Moto perpetuo," 112.

Mozart, 46, 75.

Mozart's art, 160.

Music, the beginner in Bach, 80.
modern piano, 92.
bad, 133.
the company that one keeps in, 133.
can, be studied in America, 148.
how to get, published, 150.
as a profession, 156.
how much you can get from, 157.

"Music Box," the, 92.

Music schools and private teachers, 141.

Nocturne, Chopin's, in F sharp, 78.
opus 27, No. 2, 88, 162.

Nocturnes, Chopin's, 86.

Nomenclature, marks and, 57.

Note, auxiliary, 72.
when two fingers have the same, 79.

Notes repetition, 34.
double, 35.
slurred, 62.
tied staccato, 69.
small, under large ones, 70.
syncopated, 71.

Object of study, 135.

Octave, chords, 11.
Kullak's, School, 31.
in extended, playing, 32.
passages, 32.

Octaves, 29.
rapid, 30.
when playing, 31.
wrist, 31, 32.
arm, 31.
stiff wrists in playing, 33.

Operatic transcriptions, 91.

Order of studying Beethoven's Sonatas, 83.

Other fingers, the, 16.

Organ, touch, 26.
playing, 26.

Pachulski, 92.

Pedal, a general rule about the, 39.
how to use the, 39.
use of the, for colouring, 39.
use, with caution in playing Bach, 41.
the "soft," 43, 44.
a constant use of the soft, 45.

Pedalling, let your ear guide your, 41.

Pedals, the, 39.
using the two, at once, 43.

"Perpetuum Mobile," Weber's, 112.

Peters's Edition, 79, 82.

Phrasing, value and correct practice of, 98.

Physical exercise, best, for the pianist, 131.

Pianists, the greatest composers as, 91.
"wonder-children" as, 152.

_Pianissimo_ touch, the, 44.