Читать книгу Chats to 'Cello Students - Arthur Broadley - Страница 6

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The pupil is caused to suffer much inconvenience and perhaps even spoiled altogether for any real artistic work, if his early studies are not directed in an efficient manner. One smiles when one sees an advertisement in a local morning paper after the following fashion. Mr. ----, Professor of Music. Lessons on Piano! Singing! Violin! 'Cello! Guitar! and Zither! also French! and German! All one man, remember, not half-a-dozen, and yet learned as he evidently is, I would not trust him to show a pupil how to hold his bow correctly. If the student resides in or near London, he will obtain better results, and in the long run will find that it costs him less, to connect himself with one of the recognised institutions, such as the Royal Academy of Music or the Guildhall School of Music. To be recommended by one of these institutions is to obtain the passport into the highest musical circles. In the provinces the choice of a good 'cello teacher is not so great, the reader will do well to remember that being a member of some fairly well known orchestra, is not always a guarantee of excellence, sometimes influence, or money, or perhaps both have been the means of obtaining the coveted position. The student will do better then to have lessons from someone who is known to be a master of his instrument, and if it should happen that the teacher is a better player than an exponent of the art of 'cello playing, if the student carefully watches his style, and hears him play often, he will at least learn how a composition ought to be performed, even if he is compelled to find out for himself how the mechanical part of its production is accomplished. I know one of our first class teachers (violin) who seldom takes the instrument into his hands during a lesson, contenting himself with verbal explanations; this, unless the student is above the average standard of intelligence can never be productive of really good results; practical demonstrations generally being far more effective than mere talk. The pupil then must see that his teacher can play the exercises which he teaches, and should the teacher make any objection to exhibiting his skill in this fashion, depend upon it that the lack of it has a great deal to do with it.