and with such
playing-skill as we have we sit down and use our hands instead of our
minds. Now a great many do that, young and old. But the only people
who have a chance to conceive their music rightly are the young; the
old, if they have not already learned to do it, never can. That is a
law which cannot be changed.

We have talked about listening so much that it should now be a settled
habit in us. If it is we are learning every day a little about tones,
their qualities and character. And we do this not alone by hearing the
tones, but by giving great heed to them. Let us now remember this:
listening is not of the ears but of the thoughts. It is thought
_concentrated_ upon hearing. The more this habit of tone-listening
goes on in us, the more power we shall get out of our ability to read
music. All these things help one another. We shall soon begin to
discover that we not only have thoughts about sounding-tones, but
about printed tones. This comes more as our knowledge of the scale
increases.

We can now learn one of the greatest and one of the most wonderful
truths of science: _Great knowledge of anything comes from never
ceasing to study the first steps._

The major scale, as we first learn it, seems a perfectly simple thing.
But if we think of it all our lives we shall never discover the
wonders there are in it. Hence, three simple rules for us to follow in
learning to think music are these:

1. To listen to all tones.

2. Never to stop studying the major scale.

3. To become accustomed to hear tones within.

If we are faithful to these we shall, with increasing study and
industry, become more and more independent of the piano. We shall
never think with our hands, nor depend upon anything outside of
ourselves for the meaning contained in printed tone-thought.

If now we join two things we shall get the strength of both united,
which is greater than of either alone.

If in our playing lessons we have only the very purest music (heart
music, remember), and if we are faithful in our simpler thinking
lessons, we shall gain the power not only of pure thought, but of
stronger and stronger thought. This comes of being daily in the
presence of great thoughts--for we are in the presence of great
thoughts when we study great music, or read a great poem, or look at a
great picture, or at a great building. All these things are but signs
made manifest,--that is to say, made plain to us--of the pure thought
of