Music Books

THE EDUCATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF HELLERAU At Hellerau two things make an ineffaceable impression upon the mind—the exquisite beauty of movement, of gesture and of grouping seen in the exercises; and the nearness of a great force, fundamental to the arts and expressing itself in the rhythm to which they attain. Jaques-Dalcroze has re-opened a door which has long been closed. He has rediscovered one of... more...

CHAPTER I. ON ELEMENTARY PIANO-FORTE INSTRUCTION. You ask, my dear friend, for some particular information about my piano method, especially with regard to my mode of elementary instruction, which differs essentially from that in common use. I give you here the main points; and, if you place confidence in my experience of forty years, and if you will supply those details which I have omitted, your own... more...

PREFACE The following rhythmic plays compiled by Mr. John N. Richards of the Newark Department of Physical Education have been devised to meet the needs in the transition of Physical Education activities between the kindergarten and the first few years of the primary school. The physiologist tells us that the nervous organism of early childhood is injured by the strain of strict, immobile attention... more...

CHAPTER ONE ANTECEDENTS AND CHILDHOOD S FAR back as I can remember my life was associated with music. Father and mother were both highly gifted. In our family were three boys and seven girls, and each possessed a voice of unusual excellence. The looked-for pleasure every day was the morning and evening worship at which the family gathered in the sitting room to hear the word of God explained by my... more...

COWBOY YARNS The centipede runs across my head, The vinegaroon crawls in my bed, Tarantulas jump and scorpions play, The broncs are grazing far away, The rattlesnake gives his warning cry, And the coyotes sing their lullaby, While I sleep soundly beneath the sky. OUT WHERE THE WEST BEGINSOUT where the handclasp's a little stronger,Out where the smile dwells a little longer,That's where the... more...

My Dear Young Friends, Whom I am constrained to love and honour by many Obligations. It was the generous and condescending Friendship of your Parents under my weak Circumstances of Health, that brought me to their Country-Seat for the Benefit of the Air; but it was an Instance of most uncommon Kindness, to supply me there so chearfully for two Years of Sickness with the richest Conveniences of Life.... more...

CHAPTER I. WHAT THE FACE TELLS. "And the light dwelleth with him."—Daniel II: 22. Once a master said to a child: "If thou wilt study diligently, learn, and do good unto others, thy face shall be filled with light." So the child studied busily, learned, and sought how she could do good unto others. And every little while she ran to the glass to see if the light was coming. But at each... more...

About the sweet bag of a beeA chieftain to the Highlands boundAe fond kiss, and then we severAgincourt, AgincourtAh, my swete swetyngAlas! my love, you do me wrongAllen-a-Dale has no faggot for burningAll in the Downs the fleet was moor'dAll ye woods, and trees, and bowersAnd did you not hear of a jolly young WatermanAn old song made by an aged old pateA parrot from the Spanish mainArm, arm, arm,... more...

THE ARTIST'S LIFE The father of a young woman who was preparing to become a virtuoso once applied to a famous musical educator for advice regarding the future career of his daughter. "I want her to become one of the greatest pianists America has ever produced," he said. "She has talent, good health, unlimited ambition, a good general education, and she is industrious." The educator... more...

FOREWORDS When Harrison Ainsworth, in his preface to Rookwood, claimed tobe "the first to write a purely flash song" he was very wide of themark. As a matter of fact, "Nix my doll, pals, fake away!" had beenanticipated, in its treatment of canting phraseology, by nearly three centuries, and subsequently, by authors whose names stand high, in other respects, in English literature. The... more...