. All young singers are more or less
nervous; in fact, I know very few old ones who are not, and this is
where your own accompanist proves of the greatest value.

One of my pupils who made her debut said, "I had a sensation as of a
lump in my throat, and felt that at the end of the pause I =must= swallow
or choke. My accompanist had played for me before and seemed to
anticipate my predicament, so gave me a little more time on that 'pause'
and I was saved. With a strange accompanist, I would have gone to
pieces."

Because a singer is an amateur, their parents and friends seem to think
that anyone can play their accompaniments. The truth of the matter is,
the less experienced the singer, the better the accompanist must be.
Good accompanists are born, not made.

To be sure, practice makes perfect, but I know of many fine pianists who
read well, have time, rhythm, technique, execution, and yet who will
never make good accompanists. It takes all of these and more.

Nothing makes failure more certain than the blundering of an
inexperienced and unskilled accompanist.

SELECTING A TEACHER.

It is not always that the best read man on voice culture makes the best
teacher; in fact, we find that teachers, who have not been singers
themselves, but who have devoted years to the study of the physical and
technical side of the question have turned out very few good singers.

In order to make a good teacher, one must first have command of his own
voice in order to make perfect demonstrations which are essential to the
beginner. Further, a teacher in order to be successful must have
practical experience with the world and singers. No two voices can be
treated in the same manner. Therefore, the teacher with the practical
experience is naturally far better equipped to teach than the one who
has merely studied the mechanism of the throat.

It is positively harmful for a teacher to make any attempt to explain
the technical side of the voice to a =beginner=. Better develop the ear
and memory. A teacher must have patience and tact in order to be able to
deal with the different natures, dispositions and moods that are
encountered in the studio. One word of kindness and encouragement will
invariably do more toward putting a pupil at his ease and secure the
best results from his work than any number of severe sermons and
sarcastic criticisms.

The pupils are paying for their lessons and are entitled to courteous
treatment. Avoi