I have had to work against. Yes, as you say, it is a rather remarkable
hand in regard to size and suppleness. But I hardly agree that it is
like Liszt's; more like Chopin's, judging from the casts I have seen of
his hand.

"As for technical routine, of course I play scales a good deal and in
various ways. When I 'go into training,' I find the best means to attain
velocity is to work with the metronome. One can't jump at once into the
necessary agility, and the metronome is a great help in bringing one up
to the right pitch. You see by the firmness of these muscles at the back
and thumb side of my hand, that I am in good trim now; but one soon
loses this if one lets up on the routine.

"Then I practise trills of all kinds, and octaves. Yes, I agree that
octaves are a most necessary and important factor in the player's
technical equipment."

Going to the piano and illustrating as he talked, Mr. Schelling
continued:

"Merely flopping the hand up and down, as many do, is of little use--it
does not lead to strength or velocity. As you see, I hold the hand
arched and very firm, and the firmness is in the fingers as well; the
hand makes up and down movements with loose wrist; the result is a full,
bright, crisp tone. One can play these octaves slowly, using weight, or
faster with crisp, staccato touch. I play diatonic or chromatic octave
scales, with four repetitions or more, on each note--using fourth finger
for black keys.

"I sit low at the piano, as I get better results in this way; though it
is somewhat more difficult to obtain them. I confess it is easier to sit
high and bear down on the hands. Yes, I thoroughly approve of 'weight
touch,' and it is the touch I generally use. Sometimes it is a certain
pressure on the key after it is played, using arm weight.

"Ah, you are right. The young teacher or player, in listening to the
artist, and noticing he does not lift his fingers to any extent, and
that he always plays with weight, hastily concludes these are the
principles with which he must begin to study or teach the piano. It is
a mistake to begin in that way. Very exact finger movements must be
learned in the beginning. As I said before, technic is such an
individual matter, that after the first period of foundational training,
one who has the desire to become an artist, must work out things for
himself. There should be no straight-laced methods. Only a few general
rules can be laid down, such as will fit most c