Vocal study before age 20 is likely to be injurious, though some survive it in the hands of very careful and understanding teachers.

In the piano, one has the instrument complete before he begins; but in the case of the voice, the instrument has to be developed by study.

The student who deceives himself into thinking that he is giving his life like an ascetic in the spirit of sacrifice for art, is the victim of a deplorable species of egotism.

Acquiring a repertoire in these days, when the vocal literature is so immense, so overwhelming, that the student with sense will devote all his energies to work and not imagine himself a martyr to art.

The sincerity of the art worker must permeate the song as naturally as the green leaves break through the dead branches in springtime.

A student will send me an urgent appeal to hear her, saying she is poor and wants my advice as to whether it is worth while to continue her studies. I invariably refuse such requests.

If the student could give up her work on my advice, she had better give it up without it. One does not study for a goal. The goal is a mere accident.