Scan 115
Voice and violin: sketches, anecdotes, and reminiscences by T.L. Phipson, 1898
9 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 97. See the scan on archive.org.
1"It's not that, it's not that," he interrupted; "but I thought you were a violinist."
2"Yes, sir, I am studying the violin."
3"Well, my dear pupil," said the worthy doctor, "you must drop one or the other;" and then, after a slight pause, he added, "If you sing, it will take you away from your instrument, and if you play the violin it will destroy your voice; so you must give up one or the other if you wish to excel in either."
4As years rolled by I have often thought of those remarks, and, moreover, I have had ample proof of their truth.
5In time I fancied I had discovered the reason.
6Dr. Meisser assured me that hard practice on the violin or the piano (and probably on any other instrument) would eventually ruin the best of voices. Only exceptionally strong constitutions may, here and there, be found capable of undergoing the double study, after the preliminary period of the solfeggio is passed.
7The reason of this appears to be that in playing an instrument the nerves which govern the vocal chords are incited, so that the person who plays sings inwardly, more or less, the whole time.
8A person in good health, possessing a tolerably fine quality of voice, who attempts to sing a song after playing upon an instrument, will find his voice very much fatigued, his notes will be thin and
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