Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-13

LHE there was m account OF a
H3t rather absurd system Of teach.
49, Ing singing. as exemplified by a
I4SnAQN New York teacher. The New
80 York sun has had q recent
article on the question OF vocal methods.
and while all Of these are utterly
ridiculous, the following specimens are
culled from the said article fer the con-
alteration Of the readers OF this column.
and as a preface to the serious matter
which appears later on. in connection with
the National Association Of Teachers OF
singing:
Singing teachers who endeavor 10 i'm
press on their pupils the fact that they
alone possess the real secret Of tmpartina
we art have many such tricks. One
alone could teach a perfect legato to her
pupllS Inc young women who came TO
r[edy with her were put under a pledge
rot 70 reveal the means by which they
acquired this secret of the most difficult
kind OF singing. None of them was ever
able 70 show that she had learned the art,
but the strange method OF impartinF II
finally became public.
The pupil, as she tried to Civ the sus-
famed, drawn out notes that con stitute
good legeto singing. had to stand IN front
OF a plate into which there fell a steady
aIrsTte 4 molasSes' never broken into sep
imposed to suggest to the pupil visualIv
me necessary kind of sustained tone. OF
- oa ApNAAAlk OF the Kind. as a
pupil who did not have sense enough r.
learn what legatO singing was without
~ necessity, of seeing it usually sug-
sesIeu as wen could never achieve Il.
Another deep secret was that possesed
", a woman who asserted that she was
the diSf,c, TEere6me with a few lessons
lneT tongues. That deep secret was
afso not to be revealed; but 1t turned out
SleeI while that all she did was to stand
Tor several lessons in front of her nTnH
anu hold a spoon over the pupils
s sflsue A ~ keep IT in the place it should
falsely told that the spoon bad hesn
inserted in her mouth.
This spoon method Is an old trick ana tho
principle under which 1t was worked was
employed in the invention Of a device which
was patented in England and which one
placed in his mouth when he practiced. 1t
was designed to hold the tongue down. and
II mad an opening at the back and one at
me front whereby the tone made It exit
But here is another:
had to give up my teacher" said a
youhg man who came to a well known in
Keep on .practicing the way he told me I
must II l wanted to learn anything. I was
10 put a siphon In my mouth in order to
been able to make It. l was to hang the
sPhnon on my lower jaw and let IT stay
ana then as my term was coming to an end
l decided to try someone else.
he ! a a man 4 had not sense enough to open
sly OF hanging a siphon on 1t there was.
OF course. nothing for him to learn. There
take the place OF what the singer should
be able to accomplish through his intelii-
gencei one OF these which a teacher used
to sell for a few dollars was a small bit
Of wood which was to be placed between
the teeth and cost about cents TO make,
between the back teeth II opened sp% h tba
mouth in what the teacher described as the
orTTbb srps oSS sTs way 20 sing correctly 49,.
these will suffice. The point is that there
are many persons teaching singing who
are so far away from the real foundation
OF good singing that they go about the
work OF teaching as though It were purely
a physical act. Hence all these various
tricks" of vocalization and tone-produc-
ton.
on the ocean liner Arabic last June. the
musical critic OF The Bee had the pleasure
Of holding profitable converse with Mr..
Herman Klein, the well known New York
voice teacher and musician. Away from
his busy studio. Mr.. Klein had the time.
the inclination and the kindness to talk to
the writer about the National Association
of Teachers OF Singing, its aims and its
reason for existence. Mr.. Klein is the
chairman of the executive board of the as
sociatlon. To give one some idea OF the
association and its work. certain sections
have been taken from the announcement
and are hereby reprinted.
The object of the association. which was
Incorporated in November. 1896. is to estab-
lish a standard of vocal instruction for
treatment of the voice, which will be IN
accord with the best thought Of the Oldest
school and in harmony with the views OF
the medical profession; the promotion OF
cooperation among teachers Of singing for
their own interests as we'll as those OF
students; and amongst other things, to
secure legislation which will fix qualiflca-
tons and require the registration of sing
ing teacher
Mr.. Herman Klein has been an authority
for years in the realm OF singing. He was
genuinely associated with the great Man
uel Garcia long enough to be in close
touch with that master-teacher's ideas and
the results OF his vast experience. Gle
was over 100 years old when he died.
Mr.. Klein, since coming to New York, has
been a power and in London be was well
known and identified with the best.
One may see that there is an earnest
move In this matter. when one is told
that amongst those who have joined the
association as patron members are Nine,
Gadskl, Nine. ~Sembrich, Nine. Nordica,
Nine. Schumann-Heink. Nine. Emma
Games. Nine Tetrazzini. Nine. Louise