Arthur Broadley

“ The conception of the work and its manner of delivery rests entirely with the conductor, each player for the time being must accept his reading, and be as subservient to the will of the conductor as are the keys of a pianoforte to the fingers of the musician.
In concluding it is as well to remember that we are not all constituted alike; some are born to be leaders, they have will, individuality, originality; others are more fit to be lead, they can accomplish much under [Pg 100] the guidance of some master mind, but if left to themselves are utterly useless. ”

“ The student must keep in mind that the composer writes his thoughts; perhaps the reader is unable to conceive the difficulty of transferring to paper the musical thoughts which come unbidden to the mind; to write the notes is simplicity itself, but how impossible to write a melody so that every inflection of tone power, every slight change in tempo, and more than this the exact sentiment which the music should convey. To some people—perhaps to some players—music is merely the sounding of a variety of combinations of sounds, in various rhythms ”

“ The successful quartet player must possess to a certain degree, the abilities of both classes. Whatever class of work the student intends to fit himself for, he must gain a knowledge of the positions in a practical manner, i.e., with the instrument in hand. Theory by itself is of no use, the player may know that a certain note will be produced if a given string be stopped in a certain place, but if he is unable to perform the mechanical part, and by exactly gauging the distance to be leaped, stop the note perfectly in tune, the knowledge stands for nothing. ”

“ The piano is generally supposed to be the fallback classical instrument, but I would not recommend this, we have quite enough piano playing of the second and third and the atrocious order, without violin and 'cello cast-offs trying their hand at it. I do not know of a more pathetic sight, than to see a youth with no musical gifts whatever, wasting the best years of his life, and his—or his parents'—money, in the study of an instrument for which he has no natural capabilities. ”

“ Perhaps it is possible to find a parallel in art; one contemplates a beautiful geometrical design; clever, intricate, graceful, but how much better are we for its contemplation? Has it conveyed any truth? Is it possible to move a crowd either to tears or laughter? ”

“ I know one of our first class teachers (violin) who seldom takes the instrument into his hands during a lesson, contenting himself with verbal explanations; this, unless the student is above the average standard of intelligence can never be productive of really good results; practical demonstrations generally being far more effective than mere talk. The pupil then must see that his teacher can play the exercises which he teaches, and should the teacher make any objection to exhibiting his skill in this fashion, depend upon it that the lack of it has a great deal to do with it. ”

“ With the exception of added cadenzas in some concertos, it is not now considered good taste to embellish a composition—even the simplest melody, by the addition of anything to the written notes. The modern artist, especially the instrumentalist, must content himself with his individual treatment of what is before him, depending solely on this, and the beauty of the composition for his effect. ”

“ True music is conceived in the mind of the composer, in some more or less perfected form, before any attempt is made to transfer the ideas to paper. Of course each composer has his individual way of working, thus Beethoven never was without a note book in which he jotted down any bits of melody or any musical thought which occurred to his mind during his perambulations. ”

“ The subject of gliding, although referring more directly to phrasing, is so nearly connected with shifting and the choice of positions that one is insensibly led into its treatment. A melody should never depend on the characteristics of an instrument for its effectiveness, although much individual charm is given to a composition by such characteristics being allowed to assert themselves without spoiling the intentions of the composer. Thus the phrasing should never be marred just because it is convenient or inconvenient to introduce that connecting link, the glide. ”

“ Violin! 'Cello! Guitar! and Zither! also French! and German! All one man, remember, not half-a-dozen, and yet learned as he evidently is, I would not trust him to show a pupil how to hold his bow correctly. If the student resides in or near London, he will obtain better results, and in the long run will find that it costs him less, to connect himself with one of the recognised institutions, such as the Royal Academy of Music or the Guildhall School of Music. To be recommended by one of these institutions is to obtain the passport into the highest musical circles. ”

“ Perseverance, although a very estimable gift, never yet by itself made an artist, the real artist is an artist [Pg 3] because it is impossible for him to be anything else. Nevertheless if the pupil can feel assured that he has a fairly fine ear, capable of easily distinguishing the difference in musical pitch, and a natural feeling for rhythm, he will be justified, providing he likes music almost better than anything else, in taking up the study of an instrument, which for solo work ranks with the violin for difficulties. ”

“ If the reader has already commenced the study of the 'cello, it will be advisable for either his parents or himself to make direct enquiries of his professor, whether the latter thinks the pupil is sufficiently gifted to continue the study of this most difficult instrument. Of course every 'cello player cannot be a Becker or a Klengel, but unless the student has a very correct ear, and if he is old enough a fair amount of ambition, it would be better for him to study some less exacting instrument; that is if he feels compelled to learn something. ”

“ The human voice is supposed to be the most perfect musical instrument—if one may so term it; all instruments which are made by man having in comparison some imperfection. Thus, it is impossible on the pianoforte to commence a sustained note piano and gradually swell out to forte, nor is it possible to glide one note into another, although much may be done in this direction by causing the note to sing in such a manner, that one note seems to be sustained until the next has been [Pg 55] tenderly approached. ”

“ The composer writes what inspires him at the moment, but his greatness is shown in the manner in which these themes are contrasted and varied, so that the interest of the listener is sustained throughout the whole performance. This must be considered in the delivery of a musical composition. "It is the effect on the listener which one must constantly have in mind," no matter how turbulent are the feelings of the player, if the passion does not find its way into the delivery, the audience will be quite unaware of the fact. ”

“ To the young player buying an instrument for life, if upwards of £15 can be given it is far better to purchase an entirely new one of good make, of a model suited to the individual taste of the student; by the time he has worked some ten or a dozen years on it he will have brought out most of the beauties of tone which the instrument is capable of giving. A really good new instrument improves more rapidly than is generally admitted—with good hard exercise work in all the positions. ”

“ We are told that musicians should reach their audiences through the ear and not the eye, but when one considers the numerous class of compositions which have been written solely to display the brilliant technique of the soloist, or to show the possibilities of the violoncello as a solo instrument, and that many of these works are written by really great composers, the fact is forced to be acknowledged that this phase of our subject must be considered. ”

“ In string quartets, orchestral music, etc., a very fine effect is possible if all the players execute it in a proper manner. The bow should be drawn quite close to the bridge, with only medium pressure applied, the stroke should be performed more rapidly than ordinary bowing. This bowing executed by a number of strings gives a very weird effect, the only objection to its use being that if great skill is not used, the string, instead of vibrating as a whole, will vibrate in segments, thus giving out one or other of the natural harmonics. ”

“ In almost every melody there are places where every musician feels compelled to dwell on the interval between two notes, sustaining the one note, and retaining the advent of the other; this "expressive" kind of glissando, besides being the most pronounced in its effect, is consequently the most objectionable if incorrectly used. On the violoncello it is produced by playing two notes with the same finger, gliding slowly from one position to the other. This glide must never be used to connect two notes which are separated by a large interval, as a most unpleasant howling will be occasioned ”

“ In choosing a bow Dodd and Tourte are names to conjure with, but happily there are no lost "secrets" in the art of bow making, and fortunately a new bow after a few weeks use is better than an old one, therefore the craze for old bows except with collectors and rich amateurs, will never be so pronounced as is the case with old instruments. If the student can pay say a couple of sovereigns, he must consider himself tricked if he does not secure a bow good enough for any sort of work, and one which will with care last for years. ”

“ It is possible that the necessary varieties of pressure, or more accurately, "touch," which are requisite to a soulful performance, may be more readily accomplished with the tips of the fingers, owing to a greater concentration of nerve matter there than at the side of the thumb, but this we must leave to physiologists; those whose ear is so delicately formed that they notice these slight varieties in tone colour, will perhaps be thankful for the hint whereby a soulful manner of fingering and phrasing in the high positions may be acquired. ”

“ At first sight it appears very wonderful how any given interval between two sounds may be reduced down to measurement, and have its tonal character represented by a physical movement, but with long practice the movements of the arm and fingers become so perfectly under control, and work in such sympathy with the brain, that the act of conceiving the character of an interval, and its production, seems almost to be accomplished by the same brain action. ”

“ The very system of working up to perfection, and memorizing a certain number of compositions, is detrimental to good reading; in fact it may be safely said that the more an artist plays by ear the less able will he be to read at sight. I should think such artists as Piatti, Lady Hallé, Joachim, however, are notable exceptions,—not to the rule, but to great solo players being poor sight readers, but these artists have always combined much quartet playing with their solo work. ”

“ The student should endeavour to produce a clear, round tone, which must be of even volume throughout the whole bow-stroke. To accomplish this, a correct motion of the arm and wrist is necessary, the first finger must gradually increase the pressure on the [Pg 22] bow as the head is reached, being again relaxed as the bow is pushed to the heel; to apply the necessary pressure without causing any inequality in the tone, is the secret of fine legato playing. ”

“ The student should always strive to produce a beautiful pleasing tone from his instrument. Rapidity of execution can be acquired with downright hard work, but great skill, prompted and controlled by a fine sense of tone quality is necessary to obtain a full tone, without it partaking of a hard, forced quality, or accompanied by scraping so pronounced as to be most unpleasant except perhaps to people at a great distance from the player. ”

“ Emotion, sentiment, must not be given a place in the musician's vocabulary, anything which does not appeal solely to the intellect we are told to consider vulgar and sensual. Luckily for the string player these superior people are in a minority, the multitude are yet swayed, and to the end will continue to be moved by a melody sung or played from the heart. ”

“ In reading aloud or reciting, if one only observes the ordinary rising and falling of the voice at the division of the periods, marks of interrogation, etc., it would be hardly possible to say that one read with expression. There is something more than this school boy elocution required; does not an orator hurry an impassioned passage, and drag a doleful one, does he not shout a command and whisper a tender sentence. ”

“ In practising the scales in quavers (Ex. 26) , the bow actually bounces away from the string between each note, at the moment the bow is thrown on the string, the hand should move backwards, or forwards, so that sufficient tone may be brought out of the instrument. Regarding the latter, it will be evident to the student, that the action of the bow falling on the strings cannot alone set them in vibration; no matter how brilliant is the bowing, we must have some species of stroke or the result will be minus tone. ”

“ To acquire this skill, and also in some measure to educate the ear to the various tone-colour effects which are possible on the violoncello, much thoughtful practice is necessary. The student must not only know the correct movements which the hand and arm are to make in performing any particular style of bowing, but with much practice, he must so develop the muscles of his bow-arm, that they respond instantly to effect the slightest change in the amount of pressure required for the different degrees of sound-volume, or for the various parts of the bow used. ”