“The conventional manner of teaching provided an inordinate number of mechanical exercises in order to overcome so called ’technical difficulties.’  Only the prima facie disturbance, however, was thus taken into consideration—­not its actual cause.  The result was, that notwithstanding the great amount of labor thus expended, the effort had to be repeated each time the problem was confronted.  Aside from the obviously uncertain results secured in this manner, it meant deadening of the imagination and cramping of interpretative possibilities.  It is only possible to reduce to a minimum the element of chance by scrupulously carrying out the dictates of the laws governing vital principles.  Analysis and the severest self-criticism are the means of determination as to whether theory and practice conform with one another.

“Mental preparedness (Marcus Aurelius calls it ’the good ordering of the mind’) is the keynote of technical control.  Together with the principle of relaxation it provides the player with the most effective means of establishing precise and sensitive cooeperation between mental and physical processes.  Muscular relaxation at will is one of the results of this cooeperation.  It makes sustained effort possible (counteracting the contraction ordinarily resulting therefrom), and it is freedom of movement more than anything else that tends to establish confidence.

THE TWO-FOLD VALUE OF CELEBRATED STUDY WORKS

“The study period of the average American is limited.  It has been growing less year by year.  Hence the teacher has had to redouble his efforts.  The desire to give my pupils the essentials of technical control in their most concentrated and immediately applicable form, have led me to evolve a series of ‘bow exercises,’ which, however, do not merely pursue a mechanical purpose.  Primarily enforcing the carrying out of basic principles as pertaining to the bow—­and establishing or correcting (as the case may be) arm and hand (right arm) positions, they supply the means of creating a larger interpretative style.

“I use the Kreutzer studies as the medium of these bow-exercises, since the application of new technical ideas is easier when the music itself is familiar to the student.  I have a two-fold object in mind when I review these studies in my particular manner, technic and appreciation.  I might add that not only Kreutzer, but Fiorillo and Rode—­in fact all the celebrated ‘Caprices,’ with the possible exception of those of Paganini—­are viewed almost entirely from the purely technical side, as belonging to the classroom, because their musical qualities have not been sufficiently pointed out.  Rode, in particular, is a veritable musical treasure trove.

THE APPLICATION OF BOW EXERCISES TO THE
STUDY OF KREUTZER

“How do I use the Kreutzer studies to develop style and technic?  By making the student study them in such wise that the following principles are emphasized in his work:  control before action (mental direction at all times); relaxation; and observance of string levels; for unimpeded movement is more important than pressure as regards the carrying tone.  These principles are among the most important pertaining to right arm technic.