The time to begin training depends upon the maturity of the voice and
the individual, considered together with the physical condition of the
pupil. Some girls are ready to start voice work at sixteen, while others
are not really in condition until a somewhat older age. Here again comes
the necessity for the teacher of judgment and experience. A teacher who
might in any way be influenced by the necessity for securing a pupil or
a fee should be avoided as one avoids the shyster lawyer. Starting vocal
instruction too early has been the precipice over which many a promising
career has been dashed to early oblivion.
In choosing a teacher I hardly know what to say, in these days of myriad
methods and endless claims. The greatest teachers I have known have
been men and women of great simplicity and directness. The perpetrator
of the complicated system is normally the creator of vocal failures. The
secret of singing is at once a marvelous mystery and again an open
secret to those who have realized its simplicity. It cannot be
altogether written, nor can it be imparted by words alone. Imitation
undoubtedly plays an important part, but it is not everything. The
teacher must be one who has actually realized the great truths which
underlie the best, simplest and most natural methods of securing results
and who must possess the wonderful power of exactly communicating these
principles to the pupil. A good teacher is far rarer than a good singer.
Singers are often poor teachers, as they destroy the individuality of
the pupil by demanding arbitrary imitation. A teacher can only be judged
by results, and the pupil should never permit herself to be deluded by
advertisements and claims a teacher is unable to substantiate with
successful pupils.