f
superiority of talent that enabled the aged and somewhat infirm Liszt to
excel his younger contemporary.

BE NATURAL

In closing, let me enjoin all young American music students to strive
for naturalness. Avoid ostentatious movements in your playing. Let your
playing be as quiet as possible. The wrist should be loose. The hands,
to my mind, should be neither high nor low, but should be in line with
the forearm. One should continually strive for quietness. Nothing should
be forced. Ease in playing is always admirable, and comes in time to all
talented students who seek it. The Deppe method of hand position, while
pedantic and unnecessarily long, is interesting and instructive.

Personally, I advocate the use of the Etudes of Chopin, Moscheles and
the _Etudes Transcendante_ to all advanced pupils. I have used them with
pupils with invariable success. I have also a series of thirteen Etudes
of my own that I have made for the express purpose of affording pupils
material for work which is not adequately covered in the usual course.

Young Americans have a great future before them. The pupils I have had
have invariably been ones who progress with astonishing rapidity. They
show keenness and good taste, and are willing to work faithfully and
conscientiously, and that, after all, is the true road to success.

TALENT COUNTS

If you think that talent does not count you are very greatly mistaken.
We not infrequently see men who have been engaged in one occupation with
only very moderate success suddenly leap into fame in an entirely
different line. Men who have struggled to be great artists or
illustrators like du Maurier astonish the world with a previously
concealed literary ability. It is foolish not to recognize the part that
talent must play in the careers of artists. Sometimes hard work and
patient persistence will stimulate the mind and soul, and reveal talents
that were never supposed to exist, but if the talent does not exist it
is as hopeless to hunt for it as it is to seek for diamonds in a bowl of
porridge.

Talented people seem to be born with the knack or ability to do certain
things twice as well and twice as quickly as other people can do the
same things. I well remember that when all Europe was wild over the
"Diabolo" craze my little girl commenced to play with the sticks and the
little spool. It looked interesting and I thought that I would try it a
few times and then show her how to do it. The more