mples of this one might cite the
Bach _Choral Vorspiel_, _Nun Freut euch_, of which I have made an
arrangement, and such a composition as the Chopin Prelude Opus 28, No.
3, with its running accompaniment in the left hand.

"It is often perfection in little things which distinguishes the
performance of the great pianist from that of the novice. The novice
usually manages to get the so-called main points, but he does not work
for the little niceties of interpretation which are almost invariably
the defining characteristic of the interpretations of the real
artist--that is, the performer who has formed the habit of stopping at
nothing short of his highest ideal of perfection.

LEARNING TO LISTEN

"There is a detail which few students observe which is of such vast
importance that one is tempted to say that the main part of successful
musical progress depends upon it. This is the detail of learning to
listen. Every sound that is produced during the practice period should
be heard. That is, it should be heard with ears open to give that sound
the intelligent analysis which it deserves.

"Anyone who has observed closely and taught extensively must have
noticed that hours and hours are wasted by students strumming away on
keyboards and giving no more attention to the sounds they produce than
would the inmates of a deaf and dumb asylum. These students all expect
to become fine performers even though they may not aim to become
virtuosos. To them the piano keyboard is a kind of gymnasium attached to
a musical instrument. They may of course acquire strong fingers, but
they will have to learn to listen before they can hope to become even
passable performers.

"At my own recitals no one in the audience listens more attentively than
I do. I strive to hear every note and while I am playing my attention is
so concentrated upon the one purpose of delivering the work in the most
artistic manner dictated by the composer's demands and my conception of
the piece, that I am little conscious of anything else. I have also
learned that I must continually have my mind alert to opportunities for
improvement. I am always in quest of new beauties and even while playing
in public it is possible to conceive of new details that come like
revelations.

"The artist who has reached the period when he fails to be on the
outlook for details of this kind and is convinced that in no possible
way could his performances be improved, has reached a very