davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1921-02-13

less application. Let me say at once
that the subtle art of singing is best
learned abroad, in centers where
music is interviewer with the daily
life of the people, instead of being
only a recreation or luxury for the
few. Residence in the classic at
mospheres is, therefore, a condition
sine qua NON. d.
Beware of Friendly Praise
This is, of course, a serious step,
and it costs good deal of money, as
shall show. Therefore, no young
singer should embark upon her
career without adequate forethought
and preparation. High unbiased
counsel should first be sought.
Kindly and partial praise from rela-
tives and friends, perhaps over the
rendering of ballads in the home or
at an amateur concert, should not
suffice to thrust a girl on the pa
tience Of discriminating public.
The best adviser will be musi-
clan of eminence, with first-hand &C.
quaintance with the great art critics
Of Europe. Mere local or provincial
experience is apt to prove an un-
reliable guide to the conditions of
universal career. consistently
recommend d sojourn of three years
or so in France or Italy, where
music has been fostered for CEN
turies and precious traditions are
boarded up, to be drawn upon at
will by the students of to-day.
In my time Mathilde Marchesi was
the ideal teacher in Paris. She was
marvel Of scientific method. deriv-
ing it from Manuel Garcia, and
through him from the age-old Ital-
ian hierarchy of song. The Mar
chest formula may be summed thus:
Change to the middle notes on F.
Begin the head notes on F sharp,
and once on the head notes always
sing pianissimo."
Worked Eight Hours a Day
When studying with Marchesi /
took only three short lessons week,
but worked eight hours day on
theory, tradition and technique, In
Berlin Lilli Lehman was COM
petent teacher. So, Of course, was
M. Jean de Reszke in Paris. Of
voice training in Rome, Milan and
Naples, have no first hand knowl
edge. In my own Italian roles I
was fortunate enough to have the
guidance of Verdi, Puccini and Leon
cavallo, and in France Charles
Gounod himself directed me, as well
New-York tribune., 1921-02-13
The Great Soprano Purposely Does
Not Gloss Over the Difficulties
That Beset the Beginner

in a. class. Nor can I countenance
the humble student working at any
other trade or calling while trying
to cultivate lae voice. For this takes
vitality from the very sources that
need it most. II I seem to have cold
comfort for the singer of slender
means, it must be remembered that
the God-given voice of predestined
greatness will infallibly find way
and not rust through disuse or un-
discernment.
New-York tribune., 1921-02-13

remarking here that robust physical
health is of supreme Importance
Without this, great career is en-
tirely impossible.
All intellectual pursuits will help
the student Of singing. Anything
that develops the mind tends also
to broaden ones powers and widen
the field of musical interpretation.
always advise catholicity of taste,
and l urge the student to attend the
best concerts available, as we'll as
operas and instrumental recitals.
For time which is not spent in prac-
tice may very profitably be employed
in absorbing the finest music. AS
the young painter visits the won
drous Tribuna of the Uffizi Palace
in Florence, or as the budding
sculptor studies Michael Angelo in
the Vatican, so should the student
Of singing learn from the most
eminent in her art. Here again the
girl blessed with this worlds goods
can score.
1t is difficult for me to advise
the student of humble means, be-
cause, as | have explained, residence
abroad for three years or so, with
professional fees to pay, as we'll as
BOARD, lodging, dress, concerts, opera
and other incidenta1s, does entail a
considerable outlay, and is at the
same time indispensable, if ambition
aims at the highest.
Can't Work and Study
Girls in humble circumstances
often believe that work in choir
or chorus will at least afford them
some advancement. Here | would
utter a warning. My own career as
a choir singer was brief, so | can
not speak from experience about its
trend or effect. But chorus work
can do 1rreparable harm to singer
unframed in the placing" of her
voice and apt to be prodigal in
the use Of it.
Then ambitious young women will
sometimes save their money with
a view to taking q course at a
musical college. This plan / cannot
indorse always supposing the
aspirant aims at the best. The
whole secret of success lies in indi-
vidual training, not in tuition by
the group or mass. A young singer
must have her own personality
educed or drawn out, her own tenn
permanent developed without the
trammels of formality.
It is, therefore, clear that the best
results cannot be obtained by tuition
New-York tribune., 1921-02-13
A 1horr,y Road

There are scholarships and prizes
to be gained; there are legitimate
ways and means Of attracting atten-
tion and securing patronage and aid
as successful recent debuts have
shown at the Royal Opera in Covent
Garden, which is the aspiring sing
er's ultimate goal in England. I
will not conceal the fact that the
born artist, the singer de carriere,
has thorny road to travel, with the
always learning" of Michael Angelo
as Turing motto throughout.
have never at any time offered
facile encouragement to what I may
without offense call Ordinary" gifts.
But the girl of genius deserves a
helping hand from US all, both for
her own sake and that of the musical
world, which she may one day de-
light.
Having cultivated the mind and
begun languages at home in the way
| have indicated-possibly by living
with French or Italian family
the student is presently ready for the
indispensable course abroad in some
famous center Of musical tradition.
Here there must be no question of
the chosen teachers competency, for
methods of tuition can make or mar
the voice. Pupils who have already
attained renown are, of course, a
sound guide. If after a lesson the
singer feels that her voice is tired
this may be taken as evidence of
improper instruction and that
teacher should be given up.
Lesson Should Be Short
am an advocate of very short
lessons and very long study. AL
ways remember how delicate and
complex is the beautiful mechanism
of voice production. Half an hours
practice is enough each morning, un-
less the student is exceptionally ro-
bust, in which case another half
hour may be taken in the afternoon.
Many young singers are led to i'm
agine they accomplish wonders by
practicing for hours on end. This
is a serious error, and one that has
quite spoiled many a lovely voice.
No student should let enthusiasm
run away with her, to the verge of
fatigue and beyond. And if after a
three years course abroad success
is not fairly assured, the aspirant
should return home and give up all
thought of the great career. In
deed, there should be signs in sight
after eighteen months of prudent.
we'll regulated work.
Not everything can be learned in
this period of novitiate. The young
artistic, with music in her soul, real
ly begins to learn after she has come
before the public and taken Life
itself for her mentor and guide. It
is at this stage that personality may
be said to assert itself. The singer
now thinks and feels for herself
she may vary the tenets of tech
nique and the rigid bounds of tradi-
ton. Personally, do not approve
New-York tribune., 1921-02-13
Voice Not Enough

The moral Of this is that voice
alone is not enough. had forth.
with to begin French seriously, and
in Brussels put in six hours a day
at it under Mile. Tordeus. | hope
vocal aspirants may be cheered by
the tale of my own early struggles.
Remember, I lived at the other end
of the globe, as far as possible from
the best musical traditions and at
mosphere. At the age of twenty 7
was wife and mother; and my first
concert appearance was calculated
to damp all ardor and ambition.
Alone l hired a small hall, and
then went about selling tickets to
my friends--people who had heard
me sing in the choir, either at the
Presbyterian Church or that Of St.
Francis in Melbourne. But my par
ents were distressed at the whole
affair. My father went round to
ali the ticket holders and asked
them as family favor to stay away.
And this they did.
On the great night I faced an
audience of just two persons, yet I
sang my whole program through
precisely as though the place were
packed with enthusiasts. In the
same spirit l met and overcame
every subsequent damper. Indeed,
obstacles had a peculiar whet and
spur for my nature--a fortunate
trait for any artist, especially one
who adopts q musical career.
Should Start at Seventeen
Now let me begin with the girl
who has an exceptional voice as we'll
as capacity for hard and careful
work, together with the strength Of
character that will not take "No"
from an unkind fate on the upward
road. Nothing should be done by
the student until she is over seven
teen. Even limited study before
that age may hinder development or
do injury.
Among my daily letters are re-
guests for q hearing from girls of
New-York tribune., 1921-02-13
Dishonest Teachers

Apparently any quack can set up
rs professor" and trick a public
which is all too easily deceived.
feel strongly on this subject, having
seen the havoc wrought in this way
in many nations. 1t is we'll for the
student to begin early on physiology
and languages, as well as on a gen
eral knowledge Of music, including
the piano, counterpart and har-
mony. Supremely necessary is an
accurate knowledge of the marvel
GUS mechanical apparatus
which produces the singing voice. l
would even advise the student to get
some throat specialist to show the
vocal cords; the sight would be very
impressive and interesting.
1t was on these true physiological
lines that the old masters taught,
showing the pupil clearly how to
f}ar IL t,tono, or spin the voice as
subtly and finely as the spider does
the silky web it draws from it's own
body. A painter may know little Of
optics, but the voice-producer should
be as intimately acquainted with the
anatomy Of the larynx as the engi-
neer is with his engine or the arch
itect with the nature and values of
his working material.
Unless the structure of the larynx
be understood the "attack" or appli-
cation of the air blast to the vocal
strands will not be as perfect as it
might otherwise be. Let me insist
again that lovely voice is no more
than the basic accessory Of great
career. Nature may be prodigal in
the elementary gift, but no student
can expect to become a singer of
renown by mere inspiration. IL faut
t1'availLer! owe must work!)
Right method of breathing, the
"attack" and the use of the registers
must all be carefully mastered. The
successful singer should also be ac-
quainted with the structure of those
parts above the voice box, as we'll as
with the need for a we'll controlled
chest expansion in the production of
tone.
For Nervous Beginners
It is in these and kindred matters
that students too young to be al
lowed free use of the voice should
be assiduously instructed. On all
grounds good breathing should be
taught to the young and adolescent,
when the body is most capable of de-
velopment. Exercises that strength
en- the diaphragm have a special
value, since this is the main factor
Of inspiration.
Expiration is less easily controlled
and calls for more careful practice,
since faulty or hurried breathing
mars the accurate vibration of the
vocal strands. I advise nervous
singers to take a few deep breaths
before going on the stage or concert
platform. Moreover, the novice
would do we'll to avoid numbers
which have rather exciting opening
bars.
Students Of singing may be rich
or poor in this worlds goods; both
classes have much to contend with
in a career which calls for cease
New-York tribune., 1921-02-13
By Mime. Nellie Melba


n HAVE received as many. as a
h hundred and twenty-five letters
in a single day from students
Of singing who sought my help. In
one day also thirty or forty more
have begged for hearing, and
found that some Of these could not
tell one note from another. Now, in
my view, mediocrity is best discour-
aged. 1t can only hamper or obscure
real talent, overcrowding the sing
ing profession and disappointing or
even irritating the musical public
upon whose patronage the highest
art must ultimately depend.
Therefore, shall speak quite
plainly, confident that the student
with a fine voice. as well as the true
temperament and determination, will
profit by my none too rosy words
There is no royal road to success in
singing. rate correct breathing be-
fore even the possession Of beauti.
full voice, for this can be marred by
faulty breath control. Phrasing
true resonance and expression also
depend upon respiration. Here we
have one of the old italian secrets
which so many singers of our day
have never found.
Make Haste Slowly
Louis Pasteur's motto, II faut
trdUailler ("We must work"), shoulc
be that Of every ambitious artistic
Hasten slowly applies supremely ir
the delicate and complex art of dra.
matte singing. And when all the
obstacles / name have been van
quished and the stage is reached il
is then that the most important
study may be said to begin. Fol
life and art are the greatest Of teach.
ers.
One of the luckiest and most tai.
ented women who ever lived-Mme
La Pompadour--could review hel
career and declare that "Ma Uje esl
an combat" ("It has been one long
fight.") Perhaps it is better so. Gone
must travel and turmoil" as Byron
remarked, otherwise there is no ex
istence." So if / seem to strew the
climbers path with thorns I am quite
sure she will surmount them, glory.
ing in the struggle as she goes.
Consider my own case. 1 quote il
with no vanity at all, but only te
illustrate my meaning. The gift Of
song was certainly mine. l was
born with a natural and absolute
breath control. Consequently as g
child Of seven I was as far advanced
as more mature students are after
years of study and practice.
At my school in East Melbourne
the girls would gather round ms
and say, "Nellie, do make that funny
noise in your throat!" My tril
amused them, yet for all that
had everything to learn. Even afte,
my public debut in Brussels as Gilds
in "Rigoletto" my French was very
bad-though I studied the part OF
Lakme under the composer himself
The opera directors came one day
to that famous master and ex
pressed grave doubts about me
Ought to sing in "Lakme" at all
The answer of Delibes was very de
cided. "Qn'eIle chont6 en- chinois,
he cried, pounding the table with
his fist, "meais qm'eIle chante mon
operat" ("Let her sing in Chinese
if she likes, as long as she sings my
work.")
New-York tribune., 1921-02-13
ba Warns Young Singers of the Rough Way Ahead of The
operate Heights Are Not To Be
Gained Without Years of Hard
Work and Sacrifice =

fifteen or sixteen. But, however
promising, I always tell these they
are too young. Others again have
had their voices marred or even
ruined by ignorant methods or inn
proper tuition. Competent teachers
are extraordinarily few, and fancy
this accounts for the dearth Of COM
petent singers.
The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-05-10

to use her moral support to compel
satisfactory adjustment of the German
reparation controversy, is as much based
upon economic reasons-a desire to bring
about revival of business in the United
States-as upon anything political. The
ripples of complaint which have eman-
ated from those on Capitol hill who are
inclined to see European affairs from the
political angle, particularly as something
consistent or inconsistent with campaign
speeches, have failed to Swerve the exec
utive branch<Of the government from its
determination to bring about an era of
business prosperity irrespective of how
the formula affects the purely political
side of things here. The commonly re-
ported statement that Secretaries Charles
Evans Hughes and Herbert Hoover are
influencing the policy of President Hard
ing is only partially correct. There are
others in the cabinet who feel that the
big thing before the Harding administra-
ton today is the revival of business
the return to normally. Therefore when
the question came up i'll the cabinet
whether the invitation of the allies to
join in their councils should be accepted
the point was how acceptance or rejec-
ton would affect the future of American
business.
Need Money to Pay Us.
Officials recognize that until the allies
have a satisfactory adjustment of the
The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-05-10
BLIND MAY SOON ....
READ NEWSPAPER
British Invention Transforms Printed
Lines Into Musical Notes for
the SightIess.

LONDON. May 10.-Blnd persons
will now be enabled TO read their fav-
orite daily newspaper along with the
other members of the family, according
to Archibald Barr, emeritus professor
of engineering at Glasgow university,
who i'm an address described the mech
anism of British invention for that
purpose.
The lecturer explained that the read
ing was accomplished by producing in q
telephone receiver series of musical
notes representing the various letters as
these were passed over by the instrument
in traversing line of printing. The
sense of hearing. therefore. is employed
instead of the sense of sight.
At present the cost of the device is al
most prohibitivc. but it is hoped soon t.
make it available TO the thousands
doomed to darkness through loss of sight
The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-05-10
CHILD CLAIMS
SHE WAS PRISONER
Hartford Eleven Year-0Id Tells Weird
StOry-In Exhausted Condition
When Reaches Home.

WEST HARTFORD. May 10.-Anna
Stetson, Il, who disappeared from her
home here last Saturday afternoon and
for whom sheriff's posses had since been
securing the countryside, last nigh
staggered through the doorway OF her
parents' farm house and told a weird
incoherent tale of having been held
captive by two men in a house scarcely
a mile from where she lives. She said
that they had liberated her as darkness
fell. and she described one of her cap
tors as a short man with dark nous
tache"
The child = condition is such that she
is able to give only the most fragment
arv account of her experiences. She
is tired hysterical and appears to be
suffering from nerve exhaustion.
Anna, who is very small for her age,
asserts that she has not slept in a bed
since the man with the dark moustache
held prisoner, she claims, she was
Obliged to sleep on a cold floor.
Just how the short man took her
away seems to be very vague in her
mind She is positive, however, that
there was no woman present in the
house in which she says she was held
captive
The child 3 story is believed to have
lifted suspicion from a neighboring
Farmland who disappeared coincident-
ally with her.
At the instigation of States Attorney
G. c. Rowland an inquest was held yes
tcrday before Judge A. G. Whitman
The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-05-10
Are You Afraid
TO BUY a WESTERN FARM MORTGAGE?


that lost in farm mortgages in the
II of the
defaulted
II poison your against the farm mortgage today?
II A
sacrificing high
Judgment peudced against this form of
II vestment today?
AIOstev
everybody that the lost
the losses other forms
II which well
without and of them leaders in the
II business.
mortgage stand
banking business sOund and
II foundation
II The VERMONT TRUST COMPANY
banking business enjoys the
companies colleges and
III with Established
III weston.
fr0md
reliable placed
satisfying
afOrding substantial interest yield and peace of mind
II VERMONT TRUST CONIPANYS SECURITIES
investors interests and the attractive rate
right Investment for whether
whether wish cash
Call today Our advise is free and
III obligation
FARM MORTGAGES FARM MORTGAGE BONDS
COLLATERAL TRUST BONDS
/ VERMONT LOAN & TRUST co.
F. b. PUTNAM Sales Manager BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT
The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-05-10
JENNIE POWERS TO RESCUE.
Says Ear Tags On tuberculosis Cows
Are Too Heavy and Stiff.

KEENE, n. H. May 1O.-The tags
which have been used to tag the cows
examined for tuberculosis in this section
have been changed. Jennie b. Powers.
the agent of the Cheshire County HUI
name society, maintained that the tags
were too stiff and heavy, and that they
pinched the cows ears.
Recent tests for cows for tuberculosis
in keene and vicinity have not developed
as many that react as there, were a num-
Der of months ago, before the crusade for
milk from tuberculin tested cows started.
Vt that time number of ''reactors" were
found in various parts of the county, but
these have been thinned out and it is
the belief of Health Officer Burke that
only few infected cows are in the city
and these will be wiped out in a short
time. The new ruling that every COW
from which milk is sold. shall be tested
and tagged, is to be rigidIy enforced.
The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-05-10
ACTORS MUST WEAR
MORE CLOTHING
French Minister Of Justice Trying TO
Eliminate 0bseenity from
Stage i'm Paris.

PARIS, May 10.-The after-war or
gle of pleasure in cosmopolitan centers
has developed so much daring license in
Paris that the minister of justice has
taken the matter in hand and called a
sharp halt to the gradual shrinkage in
and continual increase in looseness of
speech.
Everything approaching obscenity
must be cut out of stage representations
he declares, and dramatic artists and
music hall singers must be clad. Other
sible for the character of the attractions
offered to the public viii be prosecuted.
The press praises the minister for his
courage and proposes a general movement
in favor of the uplifting of dramatic
productions
The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-05-10
Billy Had Observed.

Billy considered himself far too manly
to demean himself by playing house with
his sister. One Sunday morning when he
wished to devote his entire time to the
comic section of the newspaper sister
leased him to play house.
DO play with her, Billy" said his
mother.
''All right" he said, ''I'll be your hus-
band, and here is where l disappear be-
hind the Sunday papers like all husbands
do"
And he read his paper in peace.-Roeh-
ester Post-Express.