732 
The RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
All'll 26, 
Sorts 
All 
Music Without a Teacher 
Just how much can a person really 
learn about piano playing or organ play¬ 
ing without a teacher? I should judge 
it to be impossible; however, I don't know 
and I would like to know if I could. 
TI. W. 
It really depends a great deal on the 
person. A girl of average intelligence and 
sufficient perseverance can learn the me¬ 
chanical side of either piano or organ play¬ 
ing fairly well without a teacher. She will 
do better on the organ than on the piano, 
because there is so much less to learn 
about playing a reed organ. But learning 
the artistic side of either piano or organ 
playing is an entirely different matter. 
No amouut of teaching or practice will 
put music iuto a person unless she is 
lucky enough to be born with some talent. 
The piano student of some degree of 
advancement can get phonograph records 
of good selections correctly played and lis¬ 
ten to them, then learn to play them as 
they are played by the masters. So can a 
■tudent of vocal music. A regular course 
of vocal lessons is now arranged, includ¬ 
ing exercises and vocalization, by a well- 
known teacher of vocal music. They tell 
me that girls are using these aids in many 
places far from civilization and teachers, 
tike some parts of Alaska, for instance. 
But these aids fail the student who own* 
A reed organ. 
The sensation of the musical world to¬ 
day is Madame Galli-Curci, the best col- 
orature soprano 6ince Patti, who trained 
herself to sing. Recently she has written 
an article telling how she did it. We 
learn that at 18 6he was a conservatory 
graduate with a diploma, a medal and 
even a professorship, having intended to 
follow the career of a pianist. She also 
had attended the opera from childhood in 
her native city of Milan. Mascagni, th« 
composer, heard her sing and changed her 
plans. He did not recommend a teacher, 
telling her singers were born, not made. 
She practiced assiduously, beginning with 
the Italian operas because they are melo¬ 
dious, and their trills, runs and arpeggios 
are a sort of natural calisthenics for the 
voice. Here is part of what she says to 
the American girl who is anxious to train 
herself. “She must have, of necessity, 
some standard of tone production. She 
must analyze each bar of music, listening 
to her phonograph record over and over, 
until she is sure of the exact sound of 
each note when it is correctly and easily 
produced. With that standard in mind, 
the next step in teaching one’s self to sing 
is—to sing! Take one air at a time and 
listen to it. This is a thing that very 
few students do, that listen to their own 
▼dees. But it is the one infallible way 
of knowing the quality of one’s singing. 
“Sing an air, then, listening as if your 
voice belong to someone whom you do not 
like very well, and whom, therefore, you 
will not be inclined to favor. By your 
own honest, educated ear you can tell if 
the quality you wish to attain is there. 
“Be brave. It is so easy not to see the 
faults in your own tones. That is why a 
teacher is helpful; he can criticize you 
ruthlessly. If you would do without him, 
you must be your own fiercest critic.” 
Then, beside a musical standard of some 
sort, and unlimited patience and perse¬ 
verance, the tei cherless girl needs the 
ability and the courage to criticize her 
own work mercilessly. If there is some 
candid member of her family, with an ear 
for real music, t who will do this for her, 
she may count herself fortunate. 
Probably self-instruction is easier in 
music now than it ever was before, be¬ 
cause music bopks are so much better 
written. There are excellent methods for 
both organ and piano, where the printed 
text takes the teacher’s place as far as 
words may. Particularly, there is a grad¬ 
ed course for the piano, in six grades, 
that gives a complete musical education. 
It is popular with teachers, mothers who 
teach their own children far from a teach¬ 
er, and students working by themselves. 
The first two grades, studies, pieces and 
manual, can be used quite well on the 
organ, but not after that grade, because 
notes go out of range and studies are espe¬ 
cially for problems of execution possible 
only on the piano. Finally, every selec¬ 
tion in this course is melodious and mer¬ 
ciful for the beginner’s family to listen 
to. This is also an American method, 
with pieces frequently by our American 
composers. Unfortunately many music 
bouses are German owned or under Ger¬ 
man control and like to produce the im¬ 
pression that all worth-while music is 
German. 
The beginner on the reed organ would 
need a simple organ method and a book 
of old. familiar songs. Then she could 
use Streabbog’s Album, a harder method, 
and some of the excellent studies by L. 
Meyer, of which there are eight books. 
She could get catalogues of the good-10- 
cent editions of sheet music and try the 
samples given in the back and choose her 
own pieces, in the grade where she could 
play them. 
Starting with a good organ method of 
the present day, and having heard a cer¬ 
tain amountof music, the girl stands a 
fair chance of success if she works hard 
enough. Today the books start with the 
position of the hands, position of the 
body and other important matters. Per¬ 
sonally, I never had a music lesson until 
I went away to school. We always had 
alogue of the makers, and learn all she 
possibly can about the instrument itself. 
Next she should learn the proper position 
of hands and of body at the instrument, 
and practice hand-shaping exercises on a 
convenient table daily. Professionals do a 
good deal of that, and a famous kinder¬ 
garten method has the children finger 
their scales in the air, then on a table, 
long before they go to the piano itself. 
A Boston editor wrote me recently that 
an accomplished musician who came into 
her office sat down while waiting, to 
“practice” at one of the long tables. 
Even at her own home a good bit of her 
practicing was done on a table, and she 
was under the direction of a teacher of 
professional pianists. One reason for this 
is that the student has not so many things 
to think about at once. 
“There are so many things to think 
about all at once,” wailed the young 
friend of whom I have spoken. "I have to 
think of the notes for both hands, and the 
time, and the expression and tin* finger¬ 
ing, and how I sit. and how I hold my 
hands, and keep my feet on the pedals! 
IIow does anybody ever learn?” 
They learn only by hard, steady drudg¬ 
ery of work. The beginner ought not t< 
practice too long at one time, not over 
half an hour: not to practice when she is 
over-tired, to have a regular time if pos¬ 
A Personally Conducted Poultry Show 
an instrument in the house; lirst an an¬ 
cient melodeon, then a good organ, finally 
my piano came. My invalid mother 
showed me a little at times, and we 
owned a good organ method. But my 
teacher at the academy informed me that 
while I read well, my time was uneven 
and the position in which I held my hand's 
was awkward in the extreme, and my 
fingering was all wrong! She was right, 
and I found it very hard to correct all 
these faults. — 
I have a little neighbor who tried for 
nearly, a year to teach herself to play. 
She had learned to read the right-hand 
notes in school singing lessons and count¬ 
ed down to find the left-hand notes. She 
had practised almost entirely on the right- 
hand notes because it was easier to read 
; them when I took her in hand. She 
brought the mail and I helped her as far 
as I could. I studied especially to teach 
beginners, and she has outgrown my help, 
but still continues. A few years ago I 
tried to help a young It. N.-Y. reader 
with lessons by mail. I believe she gained 
some, but she lacked the ability to ex¬ 
press her difficulties clearly enough, so I 
could do much for her; then she moved 
to town where she could have professional 
teaching. The music books I have men¬ 
tioned may be obtained from any good 
music store at a fraction of the price a 
correspondence school would charge for 
books no better, and a girl can do as well 
by herself as she can to pay for an ex¬ 
pensive course by mail. 
The fortunate owner of a new organ 
or niano should first of all study the cat¬ 
sible, to learn to play familiar songs and 
hymns as soon as possible, and to keep 
her hands in as flexible condition as she 
may. Hands stiffened by washing or iron¬ 
ing can have a coat of cold cream and a 
few moments rest, and then will play very 
well. I should like very much to hear 
from any girl who is trying to teach her* 
•elf, and know how she gets on. 
EDNA S. KNAPP. 
Some New England Notes 
Sea Food and Others 
Clam Chowder.—Fry slices of pork, 
diced, until all the grease is “tried out,” 
remove pork, fry, but do not brown, 
three or four onions cut quite fine, add 
12 or 15 potatoes quartered and sliced 
and cover with hoping water. After 
about 15 minutes add the snouts of a 
•quart of clams coarsely chopped. When 
the potatoes arc done, add the rest of the 
clams and their liquid, and a quart or 
more of milk, dependin'' on the broth de¬ 
sired. and season. If tomatoes are liked, 
add with the suouts. 
Corn Chowder.— An excellent corn 
chowder is made by frying pork and 
onions as above, but just covering the 
sliced potatoes with boiling water, and 
15 minutes later adding the corn and to¬ 
matoes, and covering enough to .prevent 
burning, then when done, use only.milk 
and season, bring to a boil and thicken 
slightly, boil for a minute. This is much 
richer than half water and half milk, but 
of course depends on the availability of 
milk, so, farmers’ wives, be thankful we 
have about all we want. I add a little 
sugar, ns my husband has such an intense 
liking foi uything sweet. 
Raisin »>read. —Some day, when a lit¬ 
tle sugar strays into your homes, giving 
you the shock of your lives: Two cups 
white flour, one cup rye flour, two cook¬ 
ing spoons sugar, one heaping teaspoon 
sal 4- , one-half cup raisins; mix thoroughly, 
heat some milk and melt one heaping 
cooking spoon of shortening in milk ; cool, 
mix with one cooking spoon molasses, and 
do not make too stiff. Oh, if I ever for¬ 
got that yeast cake, you would probably 
have a raise taken in your temper when 
the dough failed to “raise” to your ex¬ 
pectations. Add the dissolved yeast to 
the other liquid ingredients. 
Sttet Pudding. —My family have estab¬ 
lished a preference for this pudding to 
our Christmas plum pudding: One cup 
molasses, one cup sweet, milk, one-half to 
three-quarters cup suet or one-half cup 
butter (I use butter) ; sift one teaspoon 
soda, one teaspoon salt with three cups 
flour to form stiff batter. When nearly 
sifted add one-half cup currants or raisins 
to remainder in sieve, and dredge in this 
way. Add cinnamon or nutmeg to taste. 
I add both. Put. in greased tin and steam 
about three hours. This is excellent when 
re-steamed. 
Sauce. Before that awful blow, the 
scarcity of sugar. I always made a sugar 
sauce, but lately tried the following which 
went very well and is more economical 
anyway. Heat some milk, add sugar, salt, 
nutmeg to taste. Thicken a little with 
cornstarch. 
In making bread pudding have you ever 
tried a little less bread, more milk and 
eggs ns for a custard, nutmeg, a little 
cocoa mixed with a little sugar and moist¬ 
ened with milk, stir, and bake? Serve 
plain, warm or cold, or with cream, plain 
or whipped. 
Pineapple Cream. —Scald one cup milk 
Mix one and one-half tablespoons each of 
cornstarch and sugar, speck of salt. Ad i 
slowly the milk, stirring constantly for 
five or six minutes, then occasionally. 
Remove from fire and while very hot 
fold in lightly but thoroughly, the well- 
beaten white of one egg. When partially 
cooled, add two tablespoonsful grated 
pineapple, nour into molds, serve cold with 
cream. 
Another dessert: Make a one-egg cake 
Fill loaf cake pan one-third full of sliced 
apples, pour in batter, bake. When done, 
serve hot with any preferred pudding 
sauce, or cream. 
A filling foi tarts or turnovers: Cook 
raisins in water with slices of lemon. Re¬ 
move lemon, sweeten a trifle, add a little 
cinnamon. 
Marshmallow Frosting, —One cup 
coffee A sugar, five tablespoons water, two 
teaspoons vanilla, boil till it spins a 
thread; beat constantly, and while pour¬ 
ing into one egg white until very stiff. 
Use when cold. This is simply made but 
requires someone who is a good “beater.” 
Tin* cake must also, be cold before frosted. 
This may also be used while warm for a 
sauce. Fine for chocolate pudding. 
Gingerbread. —This has a fine recep¬ 
tion by a chum of mine who is still in 
college. Stir together one cup molasses, 
one-half cup brown sugar, one-half cup 
lard, melted. Add one level tablespoon 
ginger, one teaspoon cinnamon, pinch salt. 
Stir in one cup boiling water in which is 
dissolved two level teaspoons saleratus. 
two and one-halt cups flour. Beat, add 
two well-beaten eggs. Bake slowly so it 
will rise evenly. Serve hot for supper 
or when cold, ice with a little confec¬ 
tioner’s sugar moistened with cream or 
milk, flavor with vanilla. 
When sending in a “box of eats” to 
friends away, I reserve a little of the 
icing, add a little cocoa to it and make a 
crossbar pattern or name over the white, 
a very interesting proceeding for a would- 
be artist, bound to decorate something. 
Oyster Stew. —Drain but save liquor 
from oysters. Heat the oysters in a fryer 
untit they curl in one and one-half 
tablespoons butter. Heat till the boiling 
point the desired amount of milk. Add 
oysters and the liquor, salt and pepper. 
Bring to a boil. Pour into soup plates 
with a cracker floating in the top. A 
ground cracker or two could be added t«> 
the stew itself. MBS. c. H. L. 
Block Island, R. I. 
Tying on the Rubber 
What a great blessing to mankind is tie- 
use of rubber footwear in some shape to 
keep our feet dry. The fanner uses the 
rubber boot for the stable, and when very 
muddy removing these for a clean slipper 
or shoe when lie enters the house. But 
for continuous use many cannot wear 
these, as the feet sweat so much. Many 
use the common rubber that slips on over 
the shoe. After this rubber has been 
worn a while the rubber becomes 
stretched so it is liable to be pulled off 
by the mud. A friend has shown me a 
plan for holding these rubbers Tn place 
that is so simple I pass it along through 
you. Take a strong string about three 
'feet long, double it. leaving one end about 
seven inches longer than the other. Tie 
a knot in loop end of string about six 
inches from end. or just large enough 
to go over heel of rubber, bring both 
ends up on inside of foot, and pass long 
end over instep and under string on out¬ 
side of heel. New bring both ends of 
string together over instep and tie. If 
string and loop are of proper length no 
mud can pul! rubber off w. c. h. 
Ashtabula, O. 
