appearance, and acquire an intelligent appreciation of the vocal achievements of others. Such persons can consequently increase their pleasures by the knowledge of the science of tone production, and whatever improvement they can accomplish in this art with their own voices will be a material help towards their social or professional success, and an immense gratification whenever they may have occasion to address their fellowmen. QUESTIONS FOR TOPICAL REVIEW What is the general tendency of the time towards children? What is the mental peculiarity of a normal child? What is a real teacher? How are the best results obtained in teaching? What are the requisites of a teacher in the art of tone production? What purposes should a teacher have in view for his pupil in imparting the science and the art of tone production? CHAPTER XVI THE PUPIL In the study of the science and the art of tone production the word "pupil" designates an adult or one who has at least reached adolescence, the age when a person has become self-dependent or is preparing to be. The pupil comes to the teacher of his own volition. His interest in the study is all that could be desired; in fact, the teacher is often obliged to restrain his excessive ambition for advancement. The simple breathing exercises, which are many times the only reliable means of laying the foundations on which the voice is built, hardly suffice to satisfy his impetuosity. He is sometimes inclined to accept the theory, "The way to learn to sing is to sing," quoted by incompetent teachers, who begin teaching by the interpretation of authors with all their pupils. Most singers and vaudeville actors, when they are forced to leave the stage, become teachers of vocal music or elocution. By acquiring the science of tone production many of them might make desirable teachers, but they shirk the necessary exertion, relying on the fact that to most people the possession of a pleasing voice is a sufficient guaranty of ability to teach, and most pupils are attracted by the method of quick singing by imitation. Man has not yet abandoned his pursuit of the fruit of omniscience and the magic rod. The medical profession, after several generations of faithful study and intelligent teaching, has not materially reduced the prosperity of the charlatans. The promise that health can be bought in a bottle sounds good to the sick. Millions of dollars are lost every year on the getrich-quick promise. Thousands of pupils ruin their voices and impair their health at the hands of incompetent teachers. To succeed in the study of the science and the art of tone production, the pupil needs energy and brains and he must use these faithfully in following intelligent teaching which accords with the laws of Nature. The principal object of the lessons is to enable the pupil to apply his energy to the best advantage when by himself. The quality of the teacher's voice has no importance further than the ability to give clear demonstrations of the physical action of the vocal organs. The sex of the teacher is immaterial for the success of either sex. The question of fitness is rather in the aptitude of a person to locate the weak parts and apply the needed exercise, or detect a partial tension and direct the means for a necessary relaxation. This is for the building up of the organs and the acquiring of the art of tone production. The study of vocal music and the interpretation of the authors require the selection of a person having all the aptitude needed to teach the art in order that it may be guarded; but a more advanced knowledge of music and the ability to perform gracefully might be of material assistance. The pupil can be benefited by hearing good artists of his profession. He should not try to imitate them, no matter how much superior they may be, but he cannot help being prompted by a salutary ambition, and he always receives some practical suggestions for the natural advancement of his own voice. |