Evening star., 1939-01-01

within. At this point DR.. GAM
touched the great truth of music
Interpretation. so far transcending
all technical perfection yet so often
given a second place in a students
instruction. The feel for the right
thing to do can be cultivated, great
ly, if there is great talent, and to
some degree when talent is inferior.
The question of class work in
piano, as in other branches of
music teaching, has always been a
discussion and the paper read by
Nellie G. McCarty of New York
City on THE Advantages and Dis
advantages of Class Work in
Piano was an enlightening one.
Most teachers will agree with her
that, for the beginner at least, class
work is the most stimulating. OF
great significance also was Alfred
Mirovitch's subject, The Sacred
Duty of the Music Teachers Toward
Our Youth" wherein he stressed
the unrestful conditions of the
world, so destructive of the cultiva-
ton of the finer things of life and
the need to make the youth of this
country more conscious of the sta
bilizing and elevating effect OF good
music in combating it.
The vocal forum had also much
to give to teachers, the most i'm
portant of which was a demonstra-
ton, scientifically, of the vocal
vibrato by Harold Seashore of
Springfield College, Springfield,
Mass. Startling al first glance was
his statement that singers are never
on pitch except momentarily, but
Immediately the significance was
changed by his saying that fuctua-
tlons of pitch were always a part
of artistic singing. In proof of his
theory, Mr.. Seashore used a record
Of Lawrence Tibbett to show how
great is the sharping and fatting of
notes IN even one of the finest voices
OF the century and in the perform
ance OF one of our greatest and
most conscientious artists. The rec
ord of Drink to Me Only With
Thine Eyes" played first at the
regular speed and thus showing an
apparently finely drawn vocal line,
proved to be full of distortions and
odd vocal tricks when played at a
much slower tempo Nevertheless,
since it was pointed out that such
pecullarltles are part of all artis-
tic singing and should be so, the
momentary astonishment that any
thing could be imperfect in Tibbett's
singing was dispellcd.
At the same hour forum in the
Senate room of the Library of Con-
gress was taking string and cham
Der music under consideration and
in another scientific demonstra-
ton the same oddities of pitch in
string instrumentalists' playing was
brought out by Arnold Small of the
University of Iowa. Except when
playing on an open string, player
varies considerably to the high or
low side in sustaining tone. Other
subjects covered with instructive
value were the Problems of Cello
Teaching and Playing by Janos
Scholz; Violin Study in Colleges"
by H. Hugh Altaver of the Womens
College of the University of North
Carolina, and problems of String
1ntonation,' by Ottakar Cadek of
the Birmingham Conservatory.
The speakers of this convention
have left many fertile ideas to be
digested by the local members of
the teaching profession. If con-
structively applied and taken to-
gether with DR.. CAMS admonition
that after all the feeling for music
is what counts most. the teachers
of this city will be doing their bit
toward realizing that great OBJ
jective of which Capt Bischof
spoke when he welcomed the visit
ing teachers to Make Washington
the national center of music"