h, young American voices which come to
me to be trained."

VOCAL MASTERY

"What is Vocal Mastery? There are so many kinds! Every great artist has
his own peculiar manner of accomplishing results--his own vocal mastery.
Patti had one kind, Maurel another, Lehmann still another. Caruso also
may be considered to have his own vocal mastery, inasmuch as he commands
a vocal technic which enables him to interpret any role that lies within
his power and range. The greatest singer of to-day, Shalyapin, has also
his individual vocal mastery, closely resembling the sort that enabled
Maurel to run such a gamut of emotions with such astonishing command and
resource.

"In fine, as every great artist is different from his compeers, there
can be no fixed and fast standard of vocal mastery, except the mastery
of doing a great thing convincingly."

XXVII

=THE CODA=

A RESUME

The student, seeking light on the many problems of vocal technic, the
training for concert and opera, how to get started in the profession,
and kindred subjects of vital importance, has doubtless found, in the
foregoing talks a rich fund of help and suggestion. It is from such high
sources that a few words of personal experience and advice, have often
proved to be to the young singer a beacon light, showing what to avoid
and what to follow. It were well to gather up these strands of
suggestion from great artists and weave them into a strong bulwark of
precept and example, so that the student may be kept within the narrow
path of sound doctrine and high endeavor.

At the very outset, two points must be borne in mind:

1. Each and every voice and mentality is individual.

2. The artist has become a law unto himself; it is not possible for him
to make rules for others.

First, as to difference in voices. When it is considered that the human
instrument, unlike any fabricated by the hand of man, is a purely
personal instrument, subject to endless variation through variety in
formation of mouth and throat cavities, also physical conditions of the
anatomy, it is no cause for wonder that the human instrument should
differ in each individual. Then think of all sorts and conditions of
mentality, environment, ambitions and ideals. It is a self evident fact
that the vocal instrument must be a part of each person, of whom there
are "no two alike."

Artists in general have strongly expressed themselves on this point:
most of them agree with Galli-Curci