The Washington times., 1920-02-05

L
his poor burial place was forgotten
laurent, the Metropolitan opera bar-
itone. was educated to be an engineer
Thomas Chalmers was a real estate
dealer. Lewis James, one the most
popular ballad singers OF today, never
tried TO sing until he was eighteen
years old and then did not believe
he could sing. Leola Lucey the hght
opera star of today. now on concert
tour, lived a part OF her yesterdays
In a cheap New York hall bedroom.
and often her meals consisted OF
plain bread and water.
You have q chance even IL you
havn't a nickel to your name.
Nickels aren't needed but the kind
Of genius Mr.. Edison described is
Maybe you've heard Marie TIFFANY
the noted operate and concert So
prano at the Metropolitan Opera:
maybe you've heard her at one OF her
triumphal concerts in American cit
les, II you are q traveller. You may
have heard her in Paris before the
war. And surely you have heard her
re-creations for the new Edison.
Toll Spell. Success.
| mo one who has won success has
toiIed more earnestly and applied
himself most assidously than the op-
| cratic star Of today" said Miss Tif-
fanny. '"rhe young student who plans
to be a great artist, to succeed some
day must be a continuous toiler.
The student who applies himself
half-heartedly, who does not give his
heart and soul to the study of music.
cannot become a great musician.
almost every place go some
vocal student comes to me to ask with
whom she should study when she goes
to New York. II j have the time.
usually take the student to sing for
me. In nine cases out of ten, / find
the student has had a very elementary
training and a very superficial knowl-
edge of music. She could learn much
more in her own home town. IL she
cared to apply herself. Often a
mother requests me to hear her
daughter sing. Usually the mother
prefaces the daughters performance
by an explanation similar to this:
She has such a sweet voice. or she
sings beautifully when she thinks no
one is around to hear her. would
rather have my daughter sing than
anything else in the world OF course.
because of the mothers attitude, the
daughter gets the idea that she is
thoroughly trained and ready for an
artistic career. The first thing l try
to do with mothers of this character
Is to impress upon them the import
ance of patience, years of hard work
and constant application. and how
they must teach their children to con-
centrate their thoughts upon a future
| of the hardest kind of work.
Must Know Foreign Tongues.
VERY often these young girls have
no musical background whatever. and
usually have a knowledge only of
English and very often an inadequate
knowledge of that. But they are all
sure that they are now ready for New
York and success. Harmony Is Greek
to them, and the piano Is also an un-
known quantity.
I'm these days of reproduced sound,
Il is an, easy matter to become con-
yersant with a foreign language, even
II there is no teacher of foreign
languages in ones home town. The
operate singer especially must know
foreign languages.
81 cannot emphasize too much the
Importance of continuous work and a
thorough education in all branches OF
music. When the time comes, one
must be prepared for success. The
opportunity always presents itself.
When one learns how to think and
to discriminate for ones self. he or
she has learned the big secret of sue
cess.
Tho greatest fault with the Amer
lean vocal student is lack of patience.
No student of music can succeed
without continuously practicing
patience.
"In the study Of music. or any other
art, one of the most important factors
in winning success Is learning to
s..1 90
more than my vocal organs in the
study Of music. For instance, when
/ am learning a new aria, always
study the music without the piano for
a long time. l memorize the song
before l sing IL. And one always
must remember that the voice must
not be overworked.
studies with Phonogrnph.
ct often study new selections by
listening to them on the phonograph
and I often practice with the phono-
graph The student may live in
small town, or, for other reasons, may
not have the opportunity to hear
great artists, but can always hear a
phonograph and study with II. OF
course, the artist who becomes great
has expended much money during her
student career, but the lack OF mon ay
is not a serious hindrance to yodL,;
students. Where there Is a will,
there Is a way.
America Is crowded with oppor-
tunities for the young who\ want to
earn their own way and the history
OF music shows us that some OF The
greatest musicians the world has ever
known succeeded despite poverty, NJ
health and many other disadvsntages
that Kindred. but did not stop them
on the way to progress.
Courage. patience, industry, con-
slant application, right living and
right thinking and willingness to
sacrifice now for the benefit of the
future. make the great singer. the
great musician, just as they made the
IIncolns the Napoleons and the Dis.