As I have already said, most every singer makes a method unto himself.
It is all the same in the end. The Chinese may, for instance, have one
name for God, the Persians another, the Mohammedans another, and the
people of Christian lands another. But the God principle and the worship
principle are the same with all. It is very similar in singing. The
means that apply to my own case may apparently be different from those
of another, but we are all seeking to produce beautiful tones and
interpret the meaning of the composer properly.
One thing, however, the student should seek to possess above all things,
and this is a thorough foundation training in music itself. This can not
begin too early. In my own home we have always had music. My children
have always heard singing and playing and consequently they become
critical at a very early age.
I can not help repeating my advice to students who hope to find a vocal
education in books or by the even more ridiculous correspondence method.
Books may set one's mental machinery in motion and incite one to observe
singers more closely, but teach they can not and never can. The
sound-reproducing machines are of assistance in helping the student to
understand the breathing, phrasing, etc., but there is nothing really to
take the place of the living singer who can illustrate with his voice
the niceties of placing and _timbre_.
My advice to the voice students of America is to hear great singers.
Hear them as many times as possible and consider the money invested as
well placed as any you might spend in vocal instruction. The golden
magnet, as well as the opportunities in other ways offered artists in
America, has attracted the greatest singers of our time to this country.
It is no longer necessary to go abroad to listen to great singers. In
no country of the world is opera given with more lavish expenditure of
money than in America. The great singers are now by no means confining
their efforts to the large Eastern cities. Many of them make regular
tours of the country, and students in all parts of this land are offered
splendid opportunities for self-help through the means of concerts and
musical festivals. After all, the most important thing for any singer is
the development of the critical sense. Blind imitation is, of course,
bad, but how is the student to progress unless he has had an opportunity
to hear the best singers of the day? In my youth I heard continually
such artists as La Salle, Gayarre, Patti, De Reszke and others. How
could I help profiting by such excellent experiences?