rtments of a cabinet, one of which will
hold all of the copies of a single selection, and having these
arranged alphabetically or numerically, will considerably facilitate
matters for both you and the librarians. Do not think it beneath your
dignity to investigate the number of copies of any composition that
you are planning to use, and when there are not enough to supply each
singer in the chorus and each desk in the orchestra with a copy, to
see to it that more music is ordered. It is impossible to rehearse
efficiently if the singers in a chorus have to use a part of their
energy in trying to read music from a book or sheet held by some one
else, or if the players in an orchestra are straining their eyes
because three or four instead of two are reading from a single desk.

It will be convenient for the conductor to possess a file containing a
copy of each number in the library at his home or studio, each copy
being marked "conductor's copy." In this way, the director will always
be assured of having the same music, and will feel that it is worth
while to mark it in such a way as to make it more useful in both
rehearsal and performance.

[Sidenote: COUNTING ALOUD, TAPPING, AND SINGING WITH THE CHORUS]

Do not make the mistake of counting or tapping on the desk constantly
during the rehearsal. You may think you are strengthening the rhythm,
but as a matter of fact, you are actually weakening it, for in this
way you take away from the performers the necessity of individual
muscular response to the pulse, and at the performance (when you
cannot, of course, count or tap) the rhythm is very likely to be
flabby and uncertain. Singing with the chorus is another mistake
against which the amateur should be warned. The director not only
cannot detect errors and make intelligent criticisms if he sings with
the chorus, but will make the members dependent upon his voice instead
of compelling them to form the habit of watching him. The only
exception to this principle is in teaching new music to a choir
composed of very poor readers, in which case it is sometimes much
easier to teach a difficult phrase by imitation. Even here, however,
it is almost as well to have the organ give the correct tones. In
leading community singing, the conductor will of course sing with the
crowd, for here he is striving for quite a different sort of effect.

[Sidenote: VENTILATION]

See to it that the practice room is well ventilated, especially fo