Books › The Violin: How to Master It, 1880 › scan 14
Scan 14
The Violin: How to Master It, 1880
14 lines. Read by computer on 23 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1"Mastery" a Relative Term.
3The student who has followed me thus far may begin to get frightened, and say to himself—"I could never master the violin—I need not dream of it." Or he may say—"It is clear that to master this instrument requires the study of a lifetime; it must be the student's sole occupation; I have not time for that; I had better try some easier instrument."
5Now, in one sense, this is sound, and in another it is utterly fallacious. The "mastery" of an instrument at best is but a relative term. We cannot all be Joachims or Paganinis—and even they are always learning—but however poorly we may play there is no reason why we should not play in the proper manner. It is as easy—actually easier in reality—to play upon the violin with the instrument in its proper place and position, with the bow held freely and gracefully, and the body erect and at ease, as with the dozens of bad habits with which ignorance or indifference fetter their victims for life. To all, therefore, I would say, begin right, keep right in the method of your playing, and then advance as far as you can in that direction. This is all that the poorest player or the most gifted genius can accomplish, and if the fruits are sometimes slower to appear, sweet are they when culled. Studied thus, the accomplishment is a never-ending source of delight; there are no limits to the execution but those of your time and manipulative skill; the instrument, to begin with, is boundless in its resources, and at every fresh advance new effects and fresh beauties are unfolded to lighten the toil and cheer the student on his way.
7The Violin a Lady's Instrument.
9Again, I would say, there is no instrument more suited than this to a lady's hands. All that is feminine is required for its mastery—tenderness, lightness, grace, swiftness and dexterity. For this reason I unhesitatingly pronounce the violin the instrument of the future for ladies.
11The Violin and Pianoforte Contrasted.
13The pianoforte at best is but a vulgar, noisy, unreal, hard and unsympathetic imitation of the harp, and, had it not been that it is almost as easy of mastery as a wire-strung dulcimer played with two sticks—a mere question of execution and mechanical practice—would never have attained
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