tter teacher. Lucky is the child, who like
Gounod, Reisenauer and others, has had the invaluable instruction that
a patient, self-sacrificing mother can give. The mother is the most
unselfish of all teachers, and is painstaking to a fault.

SLOW SYSTEMATIC PRACTICE

She insisted upon slow systematic regular practice. She knew the
importance of regularity, and one of the first things I ever learned was
that if I missed one or two days' practice, I could not hope to make it
up by practicing overtime on the following days. Practice days missed or
skipped are gone forever. One must make a fresh start and the loss is
sometimes not recovered for several days.

I was also made to realize the necessity of freshness at the practice
period. The pupil who wants to make his practice lead to results must
feel well while practicing. Practicing while tired, either mentally or
physically, is wasted practice.

Pupils must learn to concentrate, and if they have not the ability to do
this naturally they should have a master who will teach them how. It is
not easy to fix the mind upon one thing and at the same time drive every
other thought away. With some young pupils this takes much practice.
Some never acquire it--it is not in them. Concentration is the vertebrae
of musical success. The student who cannot concentrate had better
abandon musical study. In fact, the young person who cannot concentrate
is not likely to be a conspicuous success in any line of activity. The
study of music cultivates the pupil's powers of concentration perhaps
more than any other study. The notes to be played must be recognized
instantaneously and correctly performed. In music the mind has no time
to wander. This is one of the reasons why music is so valuable even for
those who do not ever contemplate a professional career.

One hour of concentrated practice with the mind fresh and the body
rested is better than four hours of dissipated practice with the mind
stale and the body tired. With a fatigued intellect the fingers simply
dawdle over the keys and nothing is accomplished. I find in my own daily
practice that it is best for me to practice two hours in the morning and
then two hours later in the day. When I am finished with two hours of
hard study I am exhausted from close concentration. I have also noted
that any time over this period is wasted. I am too fatigued for the
practice to be of any benefit to me.

THE NECESSITY FOR A GOOD GENERAL EDUC