being correct. Two things are of supreme importance: namely, firm finger
joints and loose wrists; these must be insisted on from the very
beginning. I sometimes use firm wrists in my own playing, if I wish to
make a certain effect; but I can safely affirm, I think, that no one has
ever seen me play with weak, bending fingers.

WHAT TECHNIC INCLUDES

"Piano technic includes so much; everything goes into it--arithmetic,
grammar, diction, language study, poetry, history, and painting! In the
first stages there are rules to be learned, just as in any other study.
In school we had to learn the rules of grammar and mathematics. Just
such rules are applicable to musical performance. I must know the rules
of versification in order to scan poetic stanzas; so I must know the
laws of rhythm and meter to be able to punctuate musical phrases and
periods. Pupils who have long passed the stage of division and fractions
do not seem able to determine the time-values of the various notes and
groups of notes used in music; they do not know what must be done with
triplets, dotted notes, and so on. So you see 'just technic' includes a
multitude of things; it is a very wide subject.

EACH PUPIL A DIFFERENT PROBLEM

"Each pupil presents a different problem as to physical formation of
hand and body, intelligence and talent. Those who are the most talented
do not always prove the most satisfactory students. They grasp the
composer's ideas quickly enough, it is true, so that sometimes in a few
days, they can take up a difficult composition and clash it off with
such showy effect as to blind the eyes of the superficial listener; but
these students are not willing to work out the fine points of the piece
and polish it artistically. Neither are they willing to get right down,
to the bed rock of technic and work at that seriously and thoroughly. If
this course is suggested they grow restive, think they are being held
back, and some times prefer to study with a more superficial teacher.
The consequence is they never really amount to anything; whereas if
these same players possessed perseverance along with their talent they
could become great artists. I would rather have an intelligent, earnest,
serious pupil, who is obedient and willing to work, than a very gifted
pupil. The two seldom go together. When you find both in one person, a
marvelous musician is the result, if assisted by the right sort of
training.

HARMONY STUDY

"One thing