Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury [Connecticut]) 1903-1917, 1908-04-11

music making she must, to be really an
all around fashionable girl, have not only
a cultured taste for music but also good
working knowledge of the piano or some
other musical instrument This ability
to play easily the society ingenue takes
modestly. She does not expect to have
| it regarded as serious musical accom-
plishment. But it is useful at times to
be able to play new music Of a compare
lively simple kind and to play for informal
dancing during visits to the country, &c
For people who play i'll this unpretentious
way, without any claims to artistry of
high order and only when it is actually
useful, there is special order of popular
ity. 1t is considered an obliging thing to
do, and hostess and guests are usually
more than grateful to the young girl who
has taken the pains to learn to play in
this way and also is sufficiently good ma
tured to be willing to keep up her supply
Iof new dances and Accomplishments to
popular airs.
For the girl who is taking music seri-
ously and vet looking upon it entirely as
an accomplishment and with no idea of
using it professionally singing promises
far more success than the playing of any
instrument. Singing is an infinitely more
personal art than performing on any must
cal instrument. Consequently a far
greater number Of girls who are to enter
society are engaged in the serious study
of singing than are engaged in the serious
study of any other branch of musical art.
The fashionable young girl usually
takes her singing lessons in the studio of
her instructor, who may be either man
or woman. She is usually accompanied
by her governess or some elderly member
of her family. While the girl sings the
governess sits in the corner of the big
studio and reads or watches the progress
of the lesson.
AT what age do we begin?' asked Mr..
Victor Harris, to whose studio many
fashionable young girls as well as
professionals wend their way for in
struction in singing. at depends on
the girl. The average age is seven
teen and one-half years. but some
times the voice shows itself at fourteen.
more often at fifteen, and great many
do not show until twenty-one or twenty
two. Sometimes, when girls come with
their parents in hopes of studying singing.
find so little voice that | send them
away for year. If find musical talent
and not sufficient voice it often happens
that at the end of a year they are quite
ready to begin, the voice having come out
in the meantime. There is absolutely no
relation between the high, piping voice of
the little girl and the same girls voice
when she has become woman. II is just
the same as with boy-quite impossible
TO determine what it will be after ma
turity. Consequently we don't begin
training for singing too early.
"Once started we give the society girls
as much training as the professionals
two, four or sometimes seven lessons a
week, depending OH the strength of the
voice. or course, lesson every day is
very unusual-a sort of musical training
de luxe.
Eve demand as much work as from
professional singers. 1t isn't the guam
tity but the quality of practising done
which counts in singing SO we only de-
mand as much practice as the pupil can
give without beginning 10 feel tired.
''There Is one thing which believe 10
very important and which fashionable
girls are paying a great deal Of attention
to. and that is enunciation of the words of
songs. believe that more English songs
should be sung. We should turn back
TO English more. The reason We do NOT
do so is that there Is lack Of pure die
tion in our mother tongue. II we would
We might acquire the same pure beauty
of speech which makes French so per-
feet language. As in singing the effect
produced depends upon the words as well
as the music, the lack Of pure diction Is
a great drawback to our English songs.
There is one great difficulty In teach
ing singing. which is that with girls who
are under instruction and have good
voices such amazing progress is some
times made 10 six months that they are
too easily satisfied and stop working with
out being able TO realize that when one
.tops In mlsc one instantly begins to fall
back. There is no standing STILL"