Books › The Violin: How to Master It, 1880 › scan 9
Scan 9
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.
1The Royal Road to Learning.
3A few dollars expended on a thorough and conscientious teacher may do much, but, after all, the student must rely almost solely upon himself. The royal road to learning is hard work; when this is accompanied by enthusiasm, the result is so wonderful that it is often misnamed genius.
5Musical Notation.
7The first step towards mastering the violin is the learning of musical notation, just as the first step to book lore is the study of letters and syllables; but as there is nothing, however simple, which may not be made to appear difficult, this very trifling task has been made a sore bugbear to many a distracted beginner. A knowledge of the elements of harmony is a simple matter; yet there is no book on harmony published, that I am aware of, that would not make even a professional musician's hair almost stand on end, with its frightful terms and incomprehensible explanations. A good practical knowledge of the old notation may be acquired in two lessons. I never had to give more to any pupil, and will here lay down the process by which the task is made easy.
9Defects of the Sol-fa Notation.
11A young pupil once came to me in great concern, and asked if it were possible to play the violin by the Tonic Sol-fa Notation; that was the only notation he understood, and like hundreds more he was staggered by the look of the other—strongly averse to attempting to master it. My answer was not given either in haste or ignorance, as I understood both notations, but it was given decidedly against the Sol-fa, as instrumental music. Any one can understand how, when we look at a long word in ordinary typography, such as Constantinople, we do not spell the syllables out in letters like a child. Familiarity with the syllables has taught the eye to group them at a glance in one phrase. In like manner, in reading at sight a rapid passage in music, such as the following, it is impossible to read every note by name.
13Allegro.
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.