The Indianapolis journal., 1903-06-07

tone would like to revel in Mephisto's
selections, and so the soul of poor Gounod
continues to suffer torment Then select
| ion OF songs-Italian. German and French
are ruthlessly assaulted-the foreign
languages are generally preferred IL the
student knows nothing about them.
| Brahms. Tschaikowsky, Schubert. Gounod.
| Schumann, Saint-Saens, Grieg, Massenet
| and other masters, with a sprinkling OF
modern English or American composers,
are dragged into the melee, and the singer
| announces song recital, and has blossom
ed into a full-blown professional artist"
/ A couple of years or less will have suficed
| for the teacher to impart all that he or she
| knows of the vocal art, and the self
satisfied pupil appears before the public. If
| a woman, her friends applaud her to the
| echo load her with flowers and perhaps
good-natured press writer will treat lightly
her shortcomings, and announce that she
| is promising addition TO the concert stage.
| Not until she comes in contact with
conscientious critic who has the courage
| 10 show up her vocal shortcomings will she
| learn the truth. Then, amid tears of anger
| and vexation, and the consolation of
! Ignorant but sympathetic friends, she will
what singing is, and shouldn't be allowed
| TO hold such position on a respectable
newspaper; while the editor of the truth
telling journal is likely TO be bombarded
| with protests, and demands that the Offend
| ing critic be dismissed, sent to write
essays on early vegetables.
| TEACHER TO BLAME.
The incompetent teacher is, of course, to
blame for this He or she is desrous above
all things TO get the almighty dollar at
| any risk, and tells the pupil who appeals
| for lessons that she has a fine voice and
that he will make an artist" of her in Jig
time. If the pupil had good voice when
she began her lessons, she will probably
! have lost a part of 1T at the end of
| couple of years, or less, and the rest of it
will be In state Of collapse from relaxed
| vocal chords, with tendency sing fat
or sharp, or with pronounced vibrato or
| tremolo.
Now. hear what Lilli Lehman says in
answer TO the question as to how the high
est distinction in vocal art may be reached:
Through natural gifts, among which l
reckon the possession of sound organs and
a well favored body; through study, guided
| by an excellent teacher, who can sing well
| himself-study that must be kept up for at
| least six years, without counting the pre-
liminary work"
The giving of musicales by teachers of
singing is custom that in some instances
might better be omitted. 1t may be we'll
| enough for those who think 1t necessary to
| keep themselves before the public, and who
desire free advertising, to give one or even
| two pupils musicals during the season, if
the advancement of their scholars will
justify it. But. when no particular i'm
| pTOVem6nL can De nOtlceQ In the TWO or
three months intervening between such ex-
| hibitions, the impression left the audi
| ence may not be to the teachers credit
| Then, again, II is liable to give the pupils
| the impression that they rapidly be-
| coming artists and that they about
ready TO give song recitals on their own
account. 1t is the easiest thing in the
world to make a young student believe that
he or she Is really fine singer, when they
are hardly better than tyros; but 1t is an
| exceedingly difficult matter TO make them
1 h0lf hof Ia nf hn 0rf
even If you are stating the truth, and may
heaven have mercy on you if you do.
Then there are the various methods"
and the teachers who represent them.
method, the Marchesi, the Bouhy, the
Shriglia, the Lehman. the French, the
| German, the Marcel, the Bassino, the
Smith-Jones, the Tommy-rot and other
innumerable methods-all have their cham
pions and advocates. Rival professors
claim that each is the only genuine repre-
sentative of some particular master, and
that the others are frauds and humbugs,
and the beauty of 1t is that, If each rep
erning principle of the method under dis
cussion, no two would be likely to give the
same explanation.
CHARLATAN'S LONG SUIT.
One hears a great deal about the proper
placing of the voice by the teachers of
the vocal art. 1t Is very important mat
ter for young students to know what their
voices really are. and how they should be
classified. But the professor of the present
day is equal to all that, be he master of
the art or be he an incompetent. The
pupils voice will be placed-somewhere.
If woman, she may be told by the char
latan teacher that she's a high soprano,
because she can touch B fiat; or that she
may be contralto if she can sing low G
and a high B fat, or that she may be a
dramatic soprano because she can sing
from UP to A, a mezzo-soprano, a
o-soprano-contralto, or a dramatic
contralto, and goodness knows how many
other variations may have cropped up
within the minds of the voice placers dur
ing the past two or three years.
After the pupils voice has been placed"
the professor starts in with few scales
and shows how certain notes may be
reached. Here is a specimen of lesson
the personal experience of young
man of my acquaintance who recently
called upon me to test his voice, and tell
him what IL really was. He has light
baritone voice of pleasing quality and a
strong musical temperament. He rehearsed
the conversation word for word. He was
practicing a scale with one or two high
Els in it. and the tone produced was not
satisfactory to the teacher.
Bear down now." said the professor,
"bear DOWN. (This was when the pupil
was singing d. and the next note to be sung
was Ed
But how am / to bear down? 1 want to
go up was the natural reply.
That's all right, but bear down on your
throat and you'll get the E."
The pupil did his best to 'bear down. :"
The cords of his neck stood out, his face
flushed red, and his voice broke on a
screamy d fiat. The young man was dis
heartened-he had been studying with that
teacher two years. and had never been in
formed what covered" or ''closed" tones
were, or how TO form them. When l ex-
planned to him few simple facts and
showed him how to reach F, which he did
with comparative ease he seemed dazed
find a professor who could teach him the
rudiments Of the art. The story is not COM
plete yet. The young mans sister, who pos
sesses naturally good contralto voice. had
been studying with the same teacher as a
soprano for yeral years, until she had
well-nigh ruined her voice. And that PRO
fessor'' has the nerve to take a comfortab BILE
fee from his victims, and / am informed
that. in one of prolonged sickness on
the part of pupil who had taken three or
four lessons, after paying for one quarter
in advance, he declined to make up the loss
to her.
The solo soprano of one of the principal
churches in the city, in a conversation with
me few months ago, related expert
ence she had one night after concert
| which took place several years ago. She
was introduced to woman who had recent
ly established herself in the city as a vocal
teacher.
| II was much pleased with your singing -
said the teacher when they were introduced
"but you haven't got the tremolo, my dear. -
| The surprised soprano. who, by the way,
| is good artist reDlied: "The trpmoloi