of that. A voice trained on "pieces" soon goes to pieces.

Another mistaken idea is that "any teacher is good enough for a
beginner," whereas the beginning is the very time that the foundation
of right method or wrong method is laid. Classifying the voice is, of
itself, of great importance. Remember that Jean de Reszke's first
teacher thought he was a baritone and that he sang as a baritone in
opera for five years before a more competent teacher discovered that he
was really a tenor. Some voices are so near the dividing line that it
requires wide experience and a fine ear for quality on the part of a
teacher to determine in what direction they should be developed to
greatest advantage. A fine ear may determine that the seeming mezzo is
a true soprano, that the notes of the pupil who comes as a baritone have
the tenor quality and that his scale safely can be added to, while the
would-be tenor has the baritone timbre which will prevent his notes from
ever ringing out with the true tenor quality. Yes, this initial task of
voice classification is far too important to be entrusted to "any
teacher."

There are piano-thumping teachers of voice, who not having voices
themselves are obliged to give their pupils the pitch of each note by
pounding it out on the pianoforte. Voice quality has nothing in common
with pianoforte quality of tone, yet constant thumping of the pianoforte
by a singing-teacher in order to give the pupil the pitch, is apt to
mix pianoforte color into a pupil's voice and mar its translucent vocal
quality. A teacher need not be a fine singer--few vocal teachers
are--but, at least, he should be able to give pitch vocally and to
suggest with sufficient definition the quality of tone the pupil is
to produce.

At what age should singing-lessons begin? Some say the earlier the
better. Others hold that, under no circumstances, should a boy or girl
be taught to sing before the age of puberty, before the voice has
mutated. Those who believe that singing can be taught in childhood and
safely continued even during the critical period of mutation, point out
that the muscles of the voice-producing organs are most flexible and
adapt themselves most easily to the task in hand during childhood and
that the process of training them had best begin then, and that, with
proper care, the lessons can be continued during the period of
mutation.

My own opinion is that this period is so critical and proper care is
so apt _not_