the violinist can make a single tone on his
instrument beautiful through variety; for it is impossible for him to
make even _one_ tone which does not have shades of variation in it,
however slight they may be, which render it expressive. But you cannot
do this on the piano: you cannot color a single tone; but you can do
this with a succession of tones, through their difference, through their
relation to each other. On the other hand you may say any tone is
beautiful if in the right place, no matter how harsh it may be. The
singer's voice may break from emotion, or simulated emotion, in an
impassioned phrase. The exact note on which it breaks may not be a
beautiful one, it may even be very discordant, but we do not think of
that, for we are moved by the meaning back of the tones. So on the piano
there may be one note in a phrase which, if heard alone, would sound
harsh and unpleasant, but in its relation to other tones it sounds
beautiful, for it gives the right meaning and effect. Thus it is the
_relation of tones_ which results in a 'beautiful tone' on the piano.

"The frequent trouble is that piano teachers and players generally do
not understand their instrument. A singer understands his, a violinist,
flutist or drummer knows his, but not a pianist. As he only has keys to
put down and they are right under his hand, he does not bother himself
further. To obviate this difficulty, for those who come to me, I have
had this complete model of piano-key mechanism made. You see I can
touch the key in a variety of ways, and the results will be different
each time. It is necessary for the pianist to look into his instrument,
learn its construction, and know what happens inside when he touches a
key.

"As you say, there are a great many methods of teaching the piano, but
to my mind they are apt to be long, laborious, and do not reach the
vital points. The pianist may arrive at these after long years of study
and experimenting, but much of his time will be wasted in useless labor.

"In my own case, I was forced by necessity to make headway quickly. I
came to Paris years ago as a violinist, but there seemed no opening for
me then in that direction. There was opportunity, however, for ensemble
work with a good violinist and 'cellist. So I set to work to acquire
facility on the piano as quickly as possible. I consulted all the
pianists I knew--and I knew quite a number--as to what to do. They told
me I must spend many months on t