self and temporarily he will live the song.

Every song has an atmosphere, a metaphysical something which
differentiates it from every other song. The singer must discover it and
find the mood which will perfectly express it. If his imagination
constructs the image, creates the picture, recalls the feeling, the
emotion, the result will be artistic singing. The song is that which
comes from the soul of the singer. It is not on the printed page. If I
study a Schubert song until I have mastered it, I have done nothing to
Schubert. It is I who have grown. Through the activity of the
imagination, guided by the intelligence, I have built up in my
consciousness as nearly as possible what I conceive to have been
Schubert's feeling when he wrote the song, but the work has all been
done on myself.

A chapter might be written on the artistic personality. It reveals
itself in light, shade, nuance, inflection, accent, color, always with a
perfect sense of proportion, harmony and unity, and free from all that
is earthy. It is the expression of individuality. It cannot be imitated.
If you ask me for its source I repeat again Whistler's immortal saying:
"Art is an expression of eternal, absolute truth, and starting from the
Infinite it cannot progress, =IT IS=."

VII

THE CONSTRUCTION OF A SONG.

Has he put the emphasis on his work in the place where it is
most important? Has he so completely expressed himself that the
onlooker cannot fail to find his meaning?

_Appreciation of Art_. Loveridge.

When you listen to a song and at its close say, "That is beautiful," do
you ever stop and try to discover why it is beautiful? The quest may
lead you far into the field of Aesthetics, and unless you are accustomed
to psychological processes you may find yourself in a maze from which
escape is difficult. Let us remember that in studying the construction
of a song we are dealing with states of mind. A song is the product of a
certain mood and its direct aim is to awaken a similar mood in others.

It is a well established fact that sound is the most common and the most
effective way of expressing and communicating the emotions, not only for
man but for the lower animals as well. This method of communication
doubtless began far back in the history of the race and was used to
express bodily pain or pleasure.

The lower animals convey their feelings to each other by sounds, not by
word