ceed.
Everything the student is called on to do should be a distinct pleasure.
To master the piano or the violin many hours of tedious practice are
required. Students of singing are indeed fortunate to be spared the
necessity of this tiresome work. In place of two or three hours' daily
practice of scales and exercises, the vocal student need do nothing but
sing good music.

Much is required of a competent vocal teacher. First of all, he must be
a cultured musician and a capable judge both of composition and of
performance. Further, while not necessarily a great singer, he must have
a thorough command of all the resources of his own voice. His
understanding of the voice should embrace a fair knowledge of vocal
physiology and of vocal psychology. His ear should be so highly trained,
and his experience in hearing singers so wide, that he possess in full
the empirical knowledge of the voice. The vocal teacher must be familiar
with the highest standards of singing. He should hear the great artists
of his day and also be well versed in the traditions of his art.

A highly important gift of the vocal teacher is tact. He must know how
to deal with his pupils, how to smooth over the rough places of
temperament. He should be able to foster a spirit of comradeship among
his pupils, to secure the stimulating effect of rivalry, while avoiding
the evils of jealousy. Tact is an important element also in individual
instruction. Some students will demand to know the reason of everything,
others will be content to do as they are told without question. One
student may be led to stiffen his throat by instruction which would have
no such effect on another. In every case the teacher must study the
individual temperaments of his pupils and adapt his method to the
character of each student.

Practical instruction, in its outward aspect, should be very simple. At
one lesson the teacher assigns certain studies and has the pupil sing
them. Now and then the teacher sings a few measures in order to give the
student the correct idea of the effects to be obtained. If any
pronounced fault is shown in the student's tones, the master calls
attention to the fault, perhaps imitating it, to make it more apparent
to the student. In his home practice the student sings the assigned
studies, trying always to get his tones pure and true. At the next
lesson the same studies are again sung, and new compositions given for
further study.

A great advantage mig