"If I have spoken of the serious aims of many teachers of piano, I
cannot say as much for the students: they are often superficial and want
to go too quickly; they are apt to be in a hurry and want to make a
show, without being willing to spend the necessary years on preparation.
No art can be hurried. Students of painting, sculpture, architecture or
music must all learn the technique of their art; they must all learn to
go deep into the mysteries and master technic as the means to the end,
and no one requires exhaustive preparation more than the executive
musician. The person who would fence, box or play baseball must know the
technic of these things; how much more must the pianist be master of the
technique of his instrument if he would bring out the best results.
"At the very bottom and heart of this subject of mastery lies
Concentration: without that, little of value can be accomplished.
Students think if they sit at the piano and 'practise' a certain number
of hours daily, it is sufficient. A small portion of that time, if used
with intense concentration, will accomplish more. One player will take
hours to learn a page or a passage which another will master in a
fraction of the time. What is the difference? It may be said one has
greater intelligence than the other.
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