nse of rhythm, there is no remedy
equal to practising with a metronome, using this instrument of torture
daily until results are evident, when, of course, there must be a
judicious slowing down in its use. The mechanical sense of rhythm, the
ability to count three or four to a measure, and to group the notes of a
piece correctly, can be taught to any person, if one has the patience;
but for those delicate rhythmic _nuances_ required by a Chopin mazurka
or a Viennese waltz, a specific rhythmic gift must be possessed by the
pupil.

"Leschetizky says little to his pupils on the subject of technic; I
cannot remember his having spoken a dozen words to me on the subject,
during all the time I have known him. His interest, of course, lies
wholly in the matter of interpretation, and technic comes into
consideration only as a means and never as an end.

"Leschetizky likes to have the player talk to him, ask questions, do
anything but sit still and not speak. 'How do I know you comprehend my
meaning,' he asks, 'that you understand what I am talking about, if you
say nothing?' At first a student may be silent from nervousness, but if
he is bright he will soon 'catch on,' and see what is expected of him.
Leschetizky says sometimes: 'When the Lord made the ten commandments He
omitted the eleventh, "Thou shalt not be stupid."' If one is not very
quick, one may have a hard time with this master.

"As a high school in technic I use Joseffy's _School of Advanced Piano
Playing_ with my pupils. This work leads to the highest possible
technical development at the keyboard, and I consider it the last word
in piano technic. The hundreds of exercises have been devised with most
wonderful ingenuity, and the musicianship of the author stands out on
every page. The book is not a dry series of technics but has vital
connection with all the big technical problems found in the literature
of the piano.

"In teaching, I consider a second piano an absolute necessity. There are
so many things in piano playing which cannot be put into words, and the
teacher must constantly illustrate. How can one teach the interpretation
of a Chopin nocturne, for instance, by merely talking about it. I can
say, 'play loud here--soft there'; but how far do such directions go
toward an artistic conception of the piece? One cannot indicate the
swell of a melody, the tonal and rhythmic _nuance_ of a _groupetto_--and
a thousand other things in any other way than by the l