"It appears to me that mastery of the technic of the violin is not so
much of a mechanical accomplishment as it is of mental nature. It may be
that scientists can tell us how through persistency the brain succeeds
in making the fingers and the arms produce results through the infinite
variety of inexplicable vibrations. The sweetness of tone, its
melodiousness, its _legatos_, octaves, trills and harmonics all bear
the mark of the individual who uses his strings like his vocal chords.
When an artist is working over his harmonics, he must not be impatient
and force purity, pitch, or the right intonation. He must coax the tone,
try it again and again, seek for improvements in his fingering as well
as in his bowing at the same time, and sometimes he may be surprised
how, quite suddenly, at the time when he least expects it, the result
has come. More than one road leads to Rome! The fact is that when you
get it, you have it, that's all! I am perfectly willing to disclose to
the musical profession all the secrets of the mastery of violin technic;
but are there any secrets in the sense that some of the uninitiated take
them? If an artist happens to excel in some particular, he is at once
suspected of knowing some secret means of so doing. However, that may
not be the case. He does it just because it is in him, and as a rule he
accomplishes this through his mental faculties more than through his
mechanical abilities. I do not intend to minimize the value of great
teachers who prove to be important factors in the life of a musician;
but think of the vast army of pupils that a master teacher brings
forth, and listen to the infinite variety of their _spiccatos_,
octaves, _legatos_, and trills! For the successful mastery of violin
technic let each artist study carefully his own individuality, let him
concentrate his mental energy on the quality of pitch he intends to
produce, and sooner or later he will find his way of expressing himself.
Music is not only in the fingers or in the elbow. It is in that
mysterious EGO of the man, it is his soul; and his body is like his
violin, nothing but a tool. Of course, the great master must have the
tools that suit him best, and it is the happy combination that makes for
success.
"By the vibrations and modulations of the notes one may recognize the
violinist as easily as we recognize the singer by his voice. Who can
explain how the artist harmonizes the trilling of his fingers with the
emotions of his soul?
"An artist will never become great through mere imitation, and never
will he be able to attain the best results only by methods adopted by
others. He must have his own initiative, although he will surely profit
by the experience of others. Of course there are standard ways of
approaching the study of violin technic; but these are too well known to
dwell upon them: as to the niceties of the art, they must come from
within. You can make a musician but not an artist!