ce. When a new pupil comes to me the
first thing we do is to get the hand into correct position, and the
fingers rounded and firm. If the pupil is intelligent and quick, this
can be accomplished in a few weeks; sometimes it takes several months.
But it must be done. Of what use is it to attempt a Beethoven sonata
when the fingers are so weak that they cave in. The fingers must keep
their rounded position and be strong enough to bear up under the weight
you put upon them. As you say, this work can be done at a table, but I
generally prefer the keyboard; wood is so unresponsive.

"I think, for this work, children are easier to handle than their
elders; they have no faults to correct; they like to hold their hands
well and make them look pretty. They ought to have a keyboard adapted to
their little delicate muscles, with action much less heavy than two
ounces, the minimum weight of the clavier. As they grow and gain
strength, the weight can be increased. If they should attempt to use my
instrument with its heavy action, they would lame the hand in a few
moments or their little fingers could not stand up under the weight."

(3) Do you approve of finger action?

"Most emphatically. Finger action is an absolute essential in playing
the piano. We must have finger development. As you say, we can never
make the fingers equal in themselves; we might practise five hundred
years without rendering the fourth finger as strong as the thumb. Rather
let us learn to so adjust the weight and pressure of each finger, that
all will sound equal, whenever we wish them to do so. I tell my pupils
that in regard to strength, their fingers are in this relation to each
other," and the pianist drew with her pencil four little upright lines
on the paper, representing the relative natural weight of the four
fingers. "The fifth finger," she said, "figures very little in scale or
passage playing. By correct methods of study the pupil learns to lighten
the pressure of the stronger fingers and proportionately increase the
weight of the weaker fingers."

(4) Do you approve of technic practise outside of pieces?

"I certainly do. The amount of time given to technic study varies with
the pupil's stage of advancement. In the beginning, the whole four hours
must be devoted to technic practise. When some degree of facility and
control have been attained, the amount may be cut down to two hours.
Later one hour is sufficient, and when one is far advanced a v