form of art.
Technic is the background for expressive singing, and to sing
expressively is what every one should be striving for.

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A SINGER

"A beautiful voice is a gift from heaven, but the cultivation of it
rests with its possessor. Here in America, girls do not realize the
amount of labor and sacrifice involved, or they might not be so eager to
enter upon a career. They are too much taken up with teas, parties and
social functions to have sufficient time to devote to vocal study and
all that goes with it. There are many other things to study; some piano
if possible, languages of course, physical culture and acting, to make
the body supple and graceful. I say some piano should be included, at
least enough to play accompaniments at sight. But when she has mastered
her song or role, she needs an accompanist, for she can never play the
music as it should be played while she endeavors to interpret the song
as that should be sung. One cannot do complete justice to both at the
same time.

"In order to study all the subjects required, the girl with a voice must
be willing to give most of her day to the work. This means sacrificing
the social side and being willing to throw herself heart and soul into
the business of adequately preparing for her career.

AMERICAN VOICES

"I find there are quantities of lovely voices here in America. The
quality of the American female voice is beautiful; in no country is it
finer, not even in Italy. You have good teachers here, too. Then why are
there so few American singers who are properly prepared for a career?
Why do we hear of so few who make good and amount to something? If the
girl has means and good social connections, she is often not ready to
sacrifice social gayeties for the austere life of the student. If she
is a poor girl, she frequently cannot afford to take up the subjects
necessary for her higher development. Instruction is expensive here, and
training for opera almost impossible. The operatic coach requires a
goodly fee for his services. And when the girl has prepared several
roles where shall she find the opportunity to try them out?
Inexperienced singers cannot be accepted at the Metropolitan; that is
not the place for them. At the prices charged for seats the management
cannot afford to engage any but the very best artists. Until there are
more opera houses throughout the country, the American girl will still
be obliged to go to Europe for ex