Inattention is a destroyer.  It divides our power between two or more things when it should be directed upon a single thing.  Concentration gives us greater and greater mind-power.  If you will look in the dictionary to find what concentration means (you should be good friends with the dictionary) you will find it is made up of con[15] meaning with, and centrum, a center, “with a center,” or “to come to a center.”  If you hold a magnifying-glass between your hand and the sun you will find that at a certain distance the sunlight is in a circle.  By changing the distance with delicacy you can diminish the circle to almost a point,—­you make the light come to a center.  When the circle of light is large, no particular effect is noted by the hand.  When, however, the circle is as small as it can be made you feel a sensation of warmth which, if continued long enough, will really burn the hand.  That small circle is the sunlight in concentration.  The rays of sunlight, instead of being scattered, are centered.  They burn the hand because they are full of power—­powerful.

By way of example:  Let the different rays stand for inattention and the tiny circle of light for concentration.  The former has little or no power; the latter is full of power.  This very well illustrates what happens, both when our thoughts are scattered over a large area, and when they are brought together—­concentrated—­in a small circle.  The first listening indeed which should claim our attention is not tone-listening, but listening to what is said to us.  No one under a good teacher ever learns well who is not attentive and obedient.  And then listening and doing are inseparably joined.  Tone-listening makes us self-critical and observant, and we are assured by men of science that unless we become good observers in our early years, it is later impossible for us.[16]

In the previous Talk we spoke about listening to all kinds of sounds, particularly those out-of-doors.  In this Talk we shall speak only of real music-listening.  You know, now, that music born out of the heart is the thought of a good man.  Of course, beautiful thoughts of any kind should be listened to not only with attention, but with reverence.  Reverence is the tribute which the thoughtful listener pays to the music of a man who has expressed himself beautifully in tone.  This at once reveals to us that we should listen to what is great for the purpose of getting ideals.  We hear what we hope to attain.  It is said of the violinist, Pierre Baillot, that when only ten years of age he heard the playing of Viotti, and though he did not hear it again for twenty years the performance ever remained in his mind as an ideal to be realized in his studies, and he worked to attain it.

The pupils of the great Viennese teacher of the piano, Theodor Leschetizky, say he asks no question more frequently than “Can you not hear?” It is not only difficult to listen to ourselves, but listening is one thing and decidedly a superior thing, while hearing is another and equally inferior thing.  And it shows us, when we think of it, that no self-criticism is possible until we forget all things else and listen to what we are doing and listen with concentration.  It now becomes clear to us that no one becomes an intelligent musician who is not skilled in tone sense, in listening, and having thoughts about what is heard.