This wonderful singer has fallen into the hands of an
incompetent teacher and the beautiful voice has been damaged until the
tremolo is unbearable and we listen with pity at the havoc made in a
few months of force upon the beautiful voice by such teaching. There
never was an age when so many singing pupils are being taught, and yet
we have no singers. Pupils do not apply themselves seriously to the
real study of the voice as they do to other studies. To sing a song is
all they aspire to do. They consider it all useless nonsense to
practice technic. They want the glory without the conscientious work
which is a daily requirement. Very few singers of today are provided
with real vocal technic. They learn to scream one note at a time. A
short life and a merry one, great glory and great salaries,
sacrificing their voices at the demand for big tone. Perhaps they
rejoice in a brief season. Afterwards their names are forgotten. Good
singing, as all other performances, consists in the due adjustment of
every factor connected with it.

[Illustration:

Frederick Zech
Henry Wetherbee
Adolph Klose
S. Arrillaga
William P. Melvin
John W. Metcalf
Wm. M'F. Greer

ASSOCIATED MUSICIANS AND SINGERS

1854-1900]

I had my first experience in 1894 with the voice of a young girl that
had a perpetual tremolo. I was thoroughly amazed at the unsteady
wavering of each note. At last I asked her why she did not sing in a
steady tone. Her reply was she could not help it. I then inquired if
she had former instructions. She replied she had. After trying in vain
to get a pure tone, I told her I'd rather not teach her as I had no
knowledge of how to relieve her of this defect which could not be
allowed in a perfect singer. Her disappointment was so great as to
cause her to weep. My heart was touched for her misfortune and I told
her I had only one remedy and if she would try that I'd undertake the
work of restoring her voice to its normal state if possible. This was
Tuesday. I asked her to return on Friday and if I saw any improvement
I'd teach her if she would obey orders. I gave her a lesson in the art
of breathing, something which had been entirely neglected before,
and sent her away. On the following Friday she took her second lesson,
and the voice was as steady as if she had never done the other work. I
continued to teach her for two and a half years and at my first
recital she and I sang the duet, Qui est Homo, from Rossini's Stabat
Mat