studio. The mother explained that her little girl had been "leading the singing" in school ever since she was eleven years old, but that her voice was not as good as it used to be, and that she would like to have her study, but thought she was too young. I tried the girl's voice and found two registers used so differently that a person sitting in the next room would think they were listening to two persons singing. She had a terrible break between the chest and head tones, and for four years had been developing in this bad way of singing. Now, this child should either have taken up voice culture at eleven years of age or not "lead the singing" in school. Children, with very few exceptions, in going from chest to head tones, will sing with the throat, not understanding how to make the change, or rather how to place the tone; in this way producing a break, which later in life, when they take up voice culture, will cause endless, and in some cases, permanent trouble.

I know of many children who sing at entertainments, school, church, etc., and you will hear their parents say, "Scarcely a week passes that my daughter does not sing at some entertainment. If she were a little older, we would have her take up voice culture." Now, if your daughter is old enough to sing at entertainments, she is old enough to study. Either do not let her sing, or put her under the care of a good teacher.

"How shall I know if she is under proper instruction?"

A good teacher will, first of all, not allow her to sing at the top of her voice, which all children seem to delight in doing. A good teacher will not develop on the extreme high or extreme low tones. A good teacher will even up the medium register, teach her how to use the breath on the tone, how to place the tone, overcoming all seeming change from chest to head, will give her perfect pronunciation and enunciation. This can be done at any age from eleven years, depending on the individual. A girl who has good ear, and who does not lead the singing in school at eleven and sing at entertainments, can begin at sixteen or seventeen and develop into a very fine singer.

"Should my son take up voice culture before his voice has changed?"

This case is just the same as with the girl, if he sings. In fact, I have found in my twenty years' experience as singer and teacher that the boy who studies voice culture before his voice changes has an easy road to travel after his voice has changed. Many boys' voices have not finished changing until they are eighteen or nineteen years of age. The boy who studied before his voice began changing understands the breath control, the placing of the tone, and the pronunciation and enunciation. These four fundamentals are absolutely necessary in order to sing well; and whether his voice, after the change, develops into tenor or bass, these fundamentals remain the same, and enable him to continue, instead of merely begin. The boy, who has studied, or is under a good instructor, will know when to stop singing. I have known many boys with promising voices, who have ruined them entirely by singing or trying to sing during the change. But they were not boys who were under instruction, or they would have known better. I do not claim that it is necessary to begin the study of voice culture as a child, as this is entirely a matter of the individual, but I do claim that you can count on one hand the singers who have reached distinction and whose voices have lasted any length of time, who started their singing lessons after they were out of their teens.

I have pupils who are making a good living as church soloists and on the concert stage, who commenced their study after they were twenty years old, but they are the exception, and not the rule.

I think a woman has the greatest success in teaching children. This may be partly due to her maternal instincts. Her illustrations and demonstrations are more simple than a man's. Her patience with children also fits her wonderfully well to teach the child.

You can accomplish nothing with the voice through fear. If the young boy or girl loves the work, looks forward to the lessons, they cannot fail in whatever they undertake.

To satisfy those who disagree with me in regard to the value of early study, I would ask them to read the lives of the great singers, and they will find that with very few exceptions they took up the study of voice culture before and during their early teens. Space forbids me to give a complete list. However, for the benefit of those who have no access to the biographies of the singers, I will select the names that I am sure you are familiar with, beginning at 1740, and down to the present time:

Malibran, one of the world's most famous singers, at the age of seven was studying Solfeggio with Panseron at Naples, Italy, and made her debut in grand opera in her fifteenth year.

Pesaroni made her grand opera debut at sixteen, and twenty-five years later we find her still one of the leading grand opera singers.

Teresa Titjens made her debut in grand opera at the age of fifteen.

Pauline Lucca was singing at thirteen, and made her debut at the age of sixteen.

Kellog made her debut as Gilda in "Rigoletto" at the age of eighteen.

Minnie Hauk took up voice study at the age of twelve, and was singing in grand opera during her seventeenth year.

Christine Nilson, as a child, sang on the streets, was placed under an instructor, and six months later sang at Court.

Albini, during her twenty-second year, was engaged by the Royal Italian Grand Opera at Covent Garden, to sing the leading roles of the grand opera.

Scalchi studied while a mere child, and made her grand opera debut at the age of sixteen.

Melba made her debut in grand opera when she was twenty-two years of age.

Nevada sang in public at the age of six, and has been singing ever since.

Patti made a three-year concert tour under the direction of Strakosh, between the ages of eight and eleven, and made her grand opera debut at nineteen.

Nordica made her debut at fifteen, and is still one of the greatest and loveliest of our singers.

Sembrich sang solos in church when she could scarcely see over the railing, and was in grand opera at the age of twenty.

You may have doubts as to the art of singing of those whom you have read about, but I am sure you have heard at least Scalchi, Melba, Patti, Nordica and Sembrich, and you can have no doubt as to their being classed both as singers and artists.

It is needless to say that these people must have studied these operas in order to sing them, and when you take into consideration that they were not "music dramas" that require really more proficiency in acting than in singing, but the Italian operas, requiring most perfect coloratura work, and the Wagner operas, demanding heavy dramatic singing, I think you must be convinced that if early study were injurious to the voice, these great "songsters" would not be living examples of my assertion.

Someone will say, "This may be the case with women, but what of the men?"

We find the great German tenor, Albert Nieman, singing the grand opera roles at eighteen.

Heinrich Vogl, styled the "Interpreter of Wagner," sang these opera roles at the age of twenty.

Italo Campanini was singing in grand opera at twenty-one.

Guilliam Ibos, the grand French tenor, and Van Dyck, were both singing the grand opera roles at the age of twenty-two.

Jean de Reszke was soloist at the cathedral at Warsaw at the age of twelve, and was singing in grand opera at twenty-two. I am sure many of you have heard him sing after his forty-fifth year, and will not deny that he is both singer and artist.

Then I hear someone say, "Perhaps their voices did not change, as they were tenors." There is some change at maturity in all voices. Very well, what about Victor Maurel? He was singing the