A\\EMIVER% ^ - ;lOSANCn ^E-UBRARYQc, ^-UNIVERJ/A REFLECTIONS OF A MUSICIAN BY F. MARION RALSTON BOSTON RICHARD G. BADGER THE GORHAM PRESS Copyright, 1920, by F. Marion Ralston All Rights Reserved Made in the United States of America The Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A. Music Libniv DEDICATED TO THE YOUNG IN HEART, EVERYWHERE, WHO TRULY BELIEVE IN THE DIVINE MISSION OF MUSIC PREFACE It is inevitable that one who has devoted the major portion of his days to a calling, should have pondered deeply the various aspects of his subject. In giving to the world some of the views that have made music an inspired subject to me, I do not ask for agreement. But because these ideas have helped me over many rough places it occurs to me that there may be others less experienced and of young- er years, who may find something herein of value to them in gaining the larger vision of music's place in the scheme of the Great Musician. Should this prove true, this small volume will have served its purpose. THE AUTHOR CONTENTS Page CONCERNING INSPIRATION n CONCERNING ROUTINE 20 BYWAYS OF THOUGHT 28 ON BEING GREAT 36 ON SERVING OTHERS 41 ON WAITING 48 DISCOVERIES 53 ENCOURAGEMENT 63 ON CONTENTMENT 68 THE MESSAGE OF THE MORNING .... 73 REFLECTIONS OF A MUSICIAN CONCERNING INSPIRATION Once upon a time a musician said to me, "I cannot tolerate all of this talk about in- spiration. Real composition is a matter of finding good themes and working them out intelligently by the laws of music, as evi- denced in the works of the great composers." I didn't argue, for I have long since dis- covered that arguments on art, as well as on religion and politics are unconvincing. But many a time has this musician's state- ment returned to me, and I have pondered its meaning. Without inspiration, life itself is dead. Home, when that dear spot is what its name indicates, furnishes inspiration to fathers, mothers and children for efforts toward their ideals. Friends express mutual faith in each other, and lo ! the piece of work that could not be finished is gloriously com- pleted. Lovers do unheard of tasks through their mutual love, philanthropic benevo- lences awaken unselfish devotion in the 11 Reflections of a Musician hearts of thousands because of their inspired origin, and great music stimulates great thought and noble action. Can any work in life inspire mankind, unless it first comes into being through inspiration? Music is so one with the Universe that the very heavens would fall, were it eliminated. Rhythm is in the air, the earth, the sea, while melody bursts from the throats of multitudinous feathered folk and it quietly lives, too, in the heart of man. To be sure, good things may be put to base uses and music as well as literature is made on occa- sion to serve vile ends. This is a distortion and not a natural growth. As I write, I hear the lovely song of a mocking-bird outside of my window. The song is a burst of rapturous delight and anon it subsides into a tender message of quiet faith in the goodness of life. I wonder if after he sings, the mocking- bird measures the song's perfection or fail- ure by rules of harmony? Of course the mocking-bird isn't a scientist and so accuracy is not his chief point! But neither 12 Concerning Inspiration are musicians and poets scientists, and so their true utterances come from the same source as the song of the mocking-bird. There's nothing new in all of this. Walter sang to the old master's of .Nuremburg and he failed under the rules of scientific pro- gression, but his song reached the heart of the daughter of the burgomaster! And indeed the Masters finally pronounced it the prize song. Rules stand to music as the frame-work of a house stands to the Home. As the center of the Home is Love, so the center of a musical composition is sponta- neous, inspired melody. It is the freshness, the loveliness, the joy, the sadness, the rhythm that count, for they come straight from the heart of Universal Life. I'm wondering how a life may bring forth melody! The genius, the one who from infancy pours forth melody as the mocking- bird pours forth his song, is scarcely to be taken into account here, for the genius is supposed to be the exception who proves the rule that most men lack initiative and crea- tive ability. I wonder if he is? Do you 13 Reflections of a Musician know, I'm inclined to think that the genius proves the rule, that the one living as nature intended, is spontaneously creative, and all the rest of us are the exceptions simply because we haven't learned to prove the rule yet. Even more, I believe that everyone may learn to prove the rule! This is the age of marvels miracles and man is growing mentally and spiritually by bounds. Inspiration is a sudden influx of spiritual light and it sets aside all previous rules or dogmatic utterances. That the common day to each man, woman and child is not a constant source of inspiration, is not the fault of the day but the result of the view point. Even when a man is starving and dying, even then, inspiration may descend upon his soul, for the recent terrible war has produced innumerable evidences of this through books, poems and letters written by soldiers in their last earthly extremity when a new view-point burst upon them and they saw life whole and not in fragments. But to go back to music! How may the 14 Concerning Inspiration real musician be possessed of inspiration as a natural and unbroken state? I should say that it is the result of a state of Being. Music is allied to the soul, the spiritual na- ture of man, so closely, that it expresses the spiritual qualities or even the base passions of the composer, if that be his frame of mind while writing. Every composer of depth has a musical individuality as striking as his personal appearance. Perhaps more so! Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Liszt, Wagner, Debussy, Tschaikowsky, MacDow- ell, each stand for a certain dynamic inten- sity of spirit and each gives his message in the light of his individual conception of the thing he hears. If you cannot sing you are a prisoner, though you live in a palace and have multi- tudes at your command. I do not mean if you have not a voice but if you cannot sing! Singing is a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the beauty of life, and is always inspired. A voice may be only a perfect musical instru- ment giving forth perfect tones, but with no trace of soul or spirit to send its message home to the multitudes. 15 Reflections of a Musician A great singer and a wonderful voice are not the same thing, but he who possesses both has the world at his feet, for God rules him. The gentler you are, the lovelier will be the melody of your being. Heroic strains are needed for martial music, but at the heart of every inspired composition lies a great repose, the repose described by Lanier as "building a nest in the greatness of God." For every one who turns to musical com- position as a life work, ten more might have done so had they discovered the inspira- tional source of melody, even as the traveler discovers the source of a mighty river. It is within, like the Kingdom of Heaven. Hum, as you go down the street, if it's only a popular song you've heard. By and by you will sing a song you've never heard, to your own great joy and wonder. Any deep emotion is the very soil of melody and once you have started the habit of setting your life to the melodic plan, this habit will grow rapidly, until you will not be able to remember your melodyless days. When we speak of the inspiration that is 16 Concerning Inspiration infallible however, I mean the inspiration which comes to a man whose life has been consecrated to the service of mankind. The thoughts such a man utters, whether through music, literature, painting, sculp- ture, architecture, business, science or reli- gion, will be inspiring and uplifting to the human race. The conscious choice of adopting one's highest ideals as a life policy is a most nec- essary and unavoidable link in the chain of a perpetual and enlarging inspiration, for God only touches man to permanent issues of inspired usefulness when man is reaching out and giving his best to serve others. Then the great Master Musician mightily floods the mainspring of man's being and gives him the gift of the inspired message. Inspiration frees the spirit, mind, heart, soul of man, and leads him to express ideals and ideas beyond his greatest dreams during ordinary hours, so that he finds himself in the midst of expressions not his own and yet giving them forth as though they were. In such exalted moods, great music crys- tallizes and takes form in human conscious- 17 Reflections of a Musician ness' and the one who is the medium for its transmission wins a place among the immortals. Chopin confined his work, except six songs, to the narrow confines of the piano. Beethoven tried every medium of expression for his art. To doubt the inspiration of either would be absurd. Inspiration is in quality and purity, rather than in scope and the first essential of the real musician is to know his own natural channel or channels for expression and to avoid all artificial effort and forcing pro- cesses. Of all people he is the most reliant upon genuineness and simplicity and whether by temperament he be simple or complex, musically he is compelled to be straightforward of expression or he loses his inspiration. Would you be inspired? Put aside the desire for a great career, for fame or for leadership. Become a simple little child again and ask the Great Musician to use you (ask in your own way, for there be many ways of asking) for the glory of His being, to reach and comfort the lives of men. 18 Concerning Inspiration Then return to the simple routine of the everyday worker in your art, believing that you have received that for which you have devoutly longed, and you will receive "according to your faith." 19 CONCERNING ROUTINE What a dullness falls upon the heart at mention of the word routine! How housekeepers, business men, school teachers, pupils, preachers, day-laborers, and all of the world's workers sooner or later come to dread its deadening influence. Indeed many a heart has broken under its tightening grasp and many a mind lost its elasticity. Why then must it be? Let us look to nature for a reply. Every twenty-four hours the earth turns on its axis ; every year the earth travels around the sun; Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, perpetually bring their returning seasons; birds fly South in winter and return to the North in summer; stars and moon shine upon us by night and the sun by day. Hundreds of similar instances arise to confront our resentful attitude toward rou- tine, until we are compelled to pause and consider ourselves in the light of a creation under a seemingly endless law of routine, 20 Concerning Routine and to search intelligently for our happy part in the general arrangement. We are told that "in the beginning God created the heavens and earth, the sea and all that in them is," to serve man. Even were one not a Biblical student it would be difficult to deny this fact in the face of such wholesale evi- dence as abounds. Gradually with the ages, man has come to appropriate for his con- venience all of the properties of air, earth and sea, so far as he grows in the knowledge of them and ability to do so, and one of his largest aids toward the acquirement of knowledge by which he can appropriate these things is routine, the simple routine of Nature. There must be a most profound need for routine in the lives of men as truly as in nature, and reason is our faculty for setting us straight by giving us the true sense of poise regarding this subject. As soon as we learn the use of a thing we are in a position to become a master of it. How tiny babies have to learn what things are for! I remember once visiting a sweet young mother, but our visit was being prac- 21 Reflections of a Musician tically ruined by her three year old son, who persisted in rolling his small red chair before us with such a noise that we were unable to converse intelligently. "Son," finally said the wise lady, "a chair is to sit on; a ball is to roll!" The little fellow looked at her for a moment, then placed his chair in a proper position, sat in it and looked as important as could be, now that he had found the use of it, really. Then he left us to go and find nursie and get her to help him roll his ball. People of mature years do not always learn the use of things or ideas and adopt them as promptly as did this baby of three. Yet until we are wise enough to do this, we cannot hope to fit our life work into the scheme of things, so that we are working with and not against the Creator. The joy of learning the real use of each event in life is a marvelous joy, and one fact which we all must face, is routine. Take the piano as an illustration. Suppose a child of seven is commencing lessons. Watch his routine of practice during the first year! Painfully, usually, he practices his half an hour daily, and with efforts com- ical to behold, learns the use of fingers, 22 Concerning Routine hands, wrists and arms. Then comes the study of expression, fingering, scales, signa- tures, studies, interpretation, chords, each in turn taking considerable thought on many successive days, before being rightly mas- tered. Year after year new problems arise, new difficulties are overcome until at last he emerges a concert pianist and plays the Tschaikowski B flat Minor Concerto with more ease than he remembered seven sharps in his first year. Indeed all of the early knowledge, painfully acquired by routine, has long since become automatic and what was originally a conscious process has be- come an unconscious one. Any line of work could be traced from its beginning as has this pianist's case, and it is finally realized that in the lives of all successful men and women, routine has played a major part. This does not mean that the routine of today will be the routine of tomorrow. No ! Routine in a given direction is only necessary until that situation is mastered! If one be then spiritually awake, he will find of a 23 Reflections of a Musician sudden, new avenues and openings, full of unexpected and delightful opportunities. For it is an inevitable law, that one who has faithfully persisted through days of labor to the mastery of his subject will, without seeking new fields, have them open before his very eyes, as in the old days of fairy tales, and Routine will no longer appear in the drab of a task mistress, but she will drop her colorless garment and behold she will stand a wonderful angel of light, beckoning him forth to enjoy the harvest of his own patient faithfulness to the technique of his calling. But the oil of the former days must be enthusiasm, born of faith in the greatness of his mission. It is a great matter to a com- poser to know the value of routine in writing. Self-depreciation and timidity accompany a certain lack of conviction as to the legiti- macy of his work and may indicate that he has not found his real work. However, that may not always be so, for George Eliot was a noted instance of a woman of genius who repeatedly feared she would be unable to complete a work begun, although she had 24 Concerning Routine completed so may works before. Lewes saved her to the world. But not all geniuses or talented persons possess so marvelous a friend as Lewes was to George Eliot, and the most sane course for each person to pursue is to faithfully follow routine through all of the tempera- mental ups and downs of the creative artist's career, with a persistent faith in the success- ful result of honest and intelligent work. Depression is of all things unintelligent. Failure is not a tragedy; but the stupidity which permits depression, is, since this is a question of character and could be so easily remedied. Depression is usually due to self- centered ambition and is quickly cured by the simple process of doing something foi someone else, just for the mere pleasure ol being of service. When the present routine of your life is no longer of service to you, having fulfilled its purpose, then you will emerge into a larger life that at first will seem to be out- side of the law, such will be your sense of freedom. But after you become accus- 25 Reflections of a Musician tomed to the newness of it, you will see that though your field of work has expanded, the law of regularity has never ceased and while your routine may have changed from specific work at specific times and places to the routine of always being cheerful, optimistic, kind, it will be nevertheless a routine, and by being true to it, other future days will come when a still larger vista will spread before you and a new view of routine will increase your wonder in the greatness of the law. Experience increases our wisdom, while through routine, patience becomes habitual and not a strained effort. Gradually the larger life unfolds with its selfless possibilities and we look back upon the days of our tutelage with greater appre- ciation than we had when we were in them. Wisdom thus steadily teaches us to live bountifully in the now, for it does not re- turn. I say bountifully not wastefully; with that large sense of values and the immense opportunity of having today in our grasp. 26 Concerning Routine We should follow some such motto as this : Our prayer to the Great good Father Is just for some hours of play, Some hours of work, some acts of good, Though they pass with the passing day! To be healthy, happy and loving, Wherever we find our sphere, And to sing with a will the Glorious song Of the wonderful Now and Here. If, I say, we were to adopt some such daily motto as this, Routine would assume her true aspect, and we would understand God better. 27 BYWAYS OF THOUGHT I look into the depths of my soul and there find a great sea of longing for the Unattain- able. It moves rhythmically, as the waves of the ocean move, but though it advances and then recedes, it is still the Unattainable, for when I have sailed its spaces, greater distances stretch beyond, and I have not attained unto it. I am about to clasp some- thing to my breast that is inimicable to my being, so why let it trouble me that I find I may not realize all of the perfect vision in a day? Can I not see that, were I able to obtain all of the knowledge of the Universe, so that I no longer knew the urge of the Unattainable, I would be God Himself? I can concede that I am a bit of God, but I cannot consent to the monstrous proposition that I could become all of God. So let me rejoice that throughout all eternity I will ever see the Unattainable, for when I have mastered what I believe to be the Un- attainable, there will still be new vistas unknown, just beyond. 28 Byways of Thought Who am I, that I should betray my brother? Better a thousand fold keep silence than add one jot to his defeat. How do I know what caused his downfall? It was merely chance that brought his secret into my keeping. Or was it chance? Why was it not a plan of the Infinite to let my Brother know that there was at least one friend whom he could trust? We may never meet again, this friend and I, but should it chance otherwise, long, long hence, may the Divine Creator have blotted from my mem- ory all recollection of his misdoing, so that should he question me, "Have you kept my secret?" I may answer, "Have you a secret?" Then will he say, "Do you not remember?" and I will look into his eyes with frank innocence and reply, "No, it has fallen from me like an old garment and that past deed, whatever it may have been, will never cross the threshold of my mind again. Only good deeds live!" ****** Do you remember when we heard the great pianist play the Liszt Sonata? We walked home that night in a great, deep 29 Reflections of a Musician calm, the peace in our hearts recalling Mt. Ranier, majestic there amidst the clouds. Infinity had spoken and we had heard! Ah, the great moments! Yet the sages tell us that the smallest moment is as God-filled with wonder as are these so-called greater times. Can it be that our eyes are so blinded by convention that we despise the day of small things from our infancy and the spirit is dulled till tenderness in small ways vanishes! At what age did false values enter the heart and mind and turn us from God to worldliness? ****** Why need you and I have a following? Or why need we follow? Can I truly dictate to a soul, or can a man plan for me? Some- one seems to be what I wish I were, so I run to his door day after day and become so fair a copy of him that the stupid ones think I'm real ! Or another seeing me through colored glasses and thinking me to be somewhat more than I am, besieges me with his company until I have a desire to shock him in some vulgar fashion or put a card out on my front door, "Not at Home." Why can 30 Byways of Thought we not simply be ourselves? The very act of being true attracts all true thought and an ever widening circle of sincerity includes such thinkers within its reach. ****** I have observed that the great Spirit of Wisdom plans for us, and have learned beyond all doubt that real growth is accomp- lished quietly and steadily, as Nature shows. There is nothing in a forced development. Genius shows itself quite early generally, though sometimes it conies to the attention of the world late, as in the case of Du Maurier, who wrote "Trilby" in the advanced period of his life, although his life-work had been painting. In his case talent protected genius, until the genius was ripe for expres- sion. I have a deep compassion for child- prodigies. Seldom do they have a fair chance to develop normally, for once the world discovers them with its craving for novelty, only the wisdom of strong guardians can save them for the day of their ripening. ****** It were wisdom not to drop stitches in 31 Reflections of a Musician life's knitting, for it means going back and doing the work over again, or leaving a weak spot in the fabric of life that some day may mar, beyond recovery, the wholeness of what might have been a beautiful life! Perfect work is what is required of us, ****** Nothing more quickly brings the soul to itself than the healing balm of Nature. We have been sitting by a lovely lake this even- ing, a friend and I, watching the frail canoes glide along, drinking with our eyes the gor- geous rhododendrons' showy brilliance and letting the breezes play about us with soothing touch, as the birds sing their last evening song. How small are human plan- nings amidst such surroundings, and how helpless man is, if he dares to stand against God! Egotism hides its head and fades into the artificial background of its mortal pre- sumption, when brought but once, face to face with a scene such as this. Nothing more quickly bring the soul to itself than the healing balm of Nature. 32 Byways of Thought We have been reading Mrs. Browning's "Sonnets from the Portuguese." Doubtless such poetry is not for the crowd. It is rare, I know, just a wonderful orchid of thought or a bird of Paradise. I recall a little slum child who thinks a dandelion the loveliest flower she knows, and scarcely looks twice at a violet. The heart of all life is the same. If Mrs. Browning clothes her heart's utterances in too stately a rhythm for the unlettered ones, yet her power of loving made her one with all who know love and mankind are the better for her life though they read never a word of her poetry. Throughout the Universe the laws of righteousness are assailed by the unknow- ing, who mistake evil for good. Everyone who thinks, endeavoring to live to his highest level, is a part of the law of right- eousness, whatever may be the line of his activity. It doesn't so much matter whether the masses have head his book or not, but it does matter very much indeed whether he has written his best. 33 Reflections of a Musician The little Sorority House nestles under the hill and its hospitable door stands open to welcome its members whether they be of a year's standing or twenty years. All differ- ences fall away, and a college home lasts a life-time. Bless you, little house! Your pure, warm atmosphere breathes unchang- ing fidelity and sends its message all over the world wherever your daughters may be. Once I held a fine scorn of such exclusive companies as seemed to form the body of select and limited societies, but I do so no longer. It is unwise to scorn the thing you do not know, for all good things grow beau- tiful with knowledge. Gossip would rob the individual, the society, the church, college, or club of their value. Such gossip comes from the ignorant without and languid within; the workers know the beauty of association with those of congenial tastes. Should one be upbraided for needing to be alone occasionally? Or be criticised for loving a small, select company now and then? There are daily opportunities for being of and with the crowd and finding the ideal in 34 Byways of Thought the usual, so why begrudge a choice com- pany upon rare occasions any more than you would a choice book, which the public passes by? At least such a company satis- fies your craving for the artistic and uncom- mon thing. Creative Intelligence gives all, both common and uncommon, therefore pray be not so exclusive as to deny either one, since by so doing you cut life right in the middle and become in youth, warped in the making. Take each experience as it comes and refuse only (if refuse you must) because the multiplicity of opportunities is too great to be wholly embraced. Fly from no society, neither aristocratic nor plebeian, for you have a strain of them both in you, deny it though you may. You need the society assembled at your front door or it would not be there. Bless you, dear little sorority house under the hill, and bless you, oh my sisters far and near! 35 ON BEING GREAT I have recently had the pleasure of meet- ing three unusually remarkable women,' and I recall with interest their dissimilarity. The first one was so egotistically over- bearing that she was offensive even when she tried to be gracious; the second made a visible effort to be courteous and a deep humanness underlying the effort, constructed a bridge of sympathy which somehow gained your affectionate compre- hension; but the third was great simply. She didn't try to say or do anything partic- ularly, even while you felt that she was interested in you with a simplicity that swept away all artificiality, and left you free to be yourself. What she said was interesting of course, but the feeling at the end of ten min- utes that you had always known her was the miracle, and I am still wrapt in the wonder of it. It would seem that greatness were nothing more nor less than being one's unselfed self, if I may so word it. Allowing for various differences in temperament and individuality, 36 On Being Great the quality of true greatness is one, and is built upon simplicity. The past twenty-five years have seen remarkable evolutions in the thought and lives of women, but in one respect they will never be able to change, since womanhood stands for sympathetic insight into the needs of the race, with a mothering, and not an intellectual impulse. No matter how bril- liantly successful a woman's professional career may be, she does not fulfill the prime reason for her existence unless she approaches life with a large and unselfish affection, putting herself warmly into the other's place. We love the name of Abraham Lincoln, because it carries with it an impression of approachableness ; as if, had you met him, he would have had time for you. Just such a sense of having plenty of time, is insep- arable from true greatness; only the small mind hurries, lest it overlook something. The great mind has such a calm confidence in the ruling Power of the Universe, that he knows all necessary things will be done: and should he overlook a detail in some way, 37 Reflections of a Musician another will attend to it better than he could have done, or else he will be brought back to it, in time to have it serve its purpose. The cause of hurry is lack of thought, for when one thinks enough to realize the true tranquillity at the very heart of creation, there is no desire for hurry. Rather is there a restful at-one-ment with the present en- vironment and a conviction that all is well. Another vital element in greatness is alert- ness. This quality insures a permanent interest for its possessor, in all persons, events and places that come into his day; ennui is an unknown word and vital interest is the result of true thought. Have you ever noticed how, when you have for the first time taken up a new subject, you are contin- ually meeting persons or reading articles giving information on this subject? You might have known those persons or read those papers before, yet somehow you have failed to discover the slightest mention of the matter, until you awakened a new inter- est and then are you amazed to find how much many know on a subject that had been 38 On Being Great to you so unimportant until some event thrust it in your way. Truly great people have the faculty of being so interested in others, that they call forth all of the secret stores of hidden know- ledge in them, and learn more about them in a few hours than their life-long neighbors know. Another element of greatness is spon- taneity. There is always the inner urge to do the thing that is intrinsically great. You ask me how I know it, and I can only say that I do not know how I know it; but I am very sure that should you interview ten men of creative and inventive ability of the first rank, each would tell you, in his own way, that a desire to do this thing so possessed him that he had no choice in the matter; it was not premeditated but spontaneous. A great musical composition is the march of an onward impulse incomprehensible to the uninspired. When a masterpiece comes forth, a greater mind than a mere human brain can produce, writes it, and the so- called composer is merely the scribe. In his true moments the composer acknowledges 39 Reflections of a Musician this and after such a piece is written he is more amazed than anyone else at its beauty. Were all creative artists to keep this selfless fact in view, every artistic production would be a masterpiece and every creative artist would be called a genius. To be great one must seek the source of Universal Thought and learn to be at one with the mainspring of his own being, there, in quiet moments of deep repose, he will find out what his talents, loves and inter- ests are, and with humble acknowledgement he will be what he is, free from false desires and wearying ambitions, knowing that all must eventually come to this same point. Then whether he sings or plays, writes, speaks, or acts, builds bridges or directs a bank, he will be natural, and unaffected, doing all to the glory of God. Let the world call the result what it will! In Truth and in verity the essence of his work will be great and his name will shine with the immortals, though never a breath of fame blows it across the sky and only his humble and daily companions are awake to his presence. 40 ON SERVING OTHERS It is sometimes puzzling to know just how to serve people. You do a thing for some- one that seems to you particularly nice and he scarcely notices it; again a service is rendered quite unconsciously and behold, someone folds you in his embrace and calls you the most wonderful friend in the world. There must be a natural law for service, as there is for every activity; and part of life's work is to discover how this law may be appropriated. I have observed that birds and flowers do not run about trying to serve people; they just sing and grow, giving a wealth of happi- ness to others without the slightest effort. Only human beings formulate great laws for service and become so bound by rules of organization that they make an end of the thing which should have been the means, and all real joy is lost. To be sure, the Creator gave the flowers and birds for man's enjoyment, and creative wisdom gives according to law so it well behooves us to follow this plan. 41 Reflections of a Musician A great deal of so-called service is due to egotism someone thinks she knows what another should do better than that one him- self so she dictates and interferes and "does things" for him, to his utter discomfort and her final discouragement. There is scarcely more genuine satisfac- tion in any one phase of life, than in under- taking a new matter for one's self. How truly annoying it is, when one has reached the interesting point of carrying out ideas that have been carefully formulated by some degree of pains taken to make the project worth trying how truly annoying it may be, to have some one say at that point "Dear me! Let me help you! This is an interest- ing undertaking and I've had so much more experience than you, that I want to show you just how to do it!" If you are approached at a moment of fatigue, you weakly give in and joy takes wings. But if you are feeling strong and fit, you simply smile and say "Thank you, but I believe I'll try my own way!" and then you go ahead unconcernedly attending to your own business, with a prayer in your heart 42 On Serving Others that your friend will do the same thing. Generally he does. So far as I know, the chief advantage a man has over nature, is the intelligent under- standing he may have of nature and the power to appropriate the laws underlying the Universe. Why do we not serve in the very highest sense of the word by merely attending to our own work faithfully, and giving help to others when they ask for it? There may be exceptional cases, where one is incapable of asking the help he needs; but generally speaking, we are all capable of helping our- selves more than we do, and we also are pretty fair judges of the amount of help we actually need from others in order to avoid failure. One very lovely way of serving on the part of serious students of music, is to play the best things they know, willingly and happily, when asked on social occasions to play. This statement may be a bit like preaching rather than a reflection, but I have often wondered at the enormous amount of time and money expended by music students on good music, 43 Reflections of a Musician with the best teachers and that the sequel should be so often ragtime. This is not a protest against ragtime, but I simply wonder where the plain common sense comes in, when the energy is given to the study of serious music and the student prefers to play ragtime to his friends, of an evening. There is something wrong somewhere in the scheme of such musical planning. If all students who truly believe in the elevating mission of music would band to- gether in a great crusade against the per- formance of cheap pieces, the world would receive as great an influence toward the achievement of permanent beauty as could be given by any other actively launched plan to maintain high standards. I cannot see that things have ever been helped in any line, when the one with the larger, finer vision descends to practice habi- tually the ideas of the unidealistic brother. With every single human being life is a con- tinual choice between the better of two ways, and I am only wondering is it worth while choosing the lower way, in order to be sure of jolly company! Having seen the ideal 44 On Serving Others way from the beginning and having once put one's hand to the plow, there cannot be a turning back without tragic consequences. The idealistic way may be harder, but it is also the happier, as anyone may prove quickly enough by practicing the choice of the larger, better life for a while. It does bring about a change in the nature of one's intimacies, but always by improvement. Then when you serve, you give of your best to those who deserve your best and the balance sheet is square in its account. Another thing that has set me wondering is, why so many first class professional musicians give their services free of charge? Merchants invited out of an evening are not supposed to bring presents to the family from their store nor does the host consider his merchant guest ungracious because he hasn't seen fit to hand him a roll of silk after dinner. Perhaps, because real musicions are so much like children, so naturally un- business-like and so idealistic in tendency, they fear the charge of commercializing their art, and so fall to the other extreme and un- derestimate it. All musicians desire the 45 Reflections of a Musician close acquaintance of friends who love their work and take comfort in it, and need just such companies to whom they may offer themselves when the musical spirit moves. But why should a pianist or singer perform free of charge at Mrs. B's reception because little Johnny takes lessons of him! I'm just wondering, that's all! Does he fear to lose his pupil by declining to perform under those circumstances? Or does he enjoy public ap- pearances so much, that he prefers an unpaid appearance to none ; supposing he is unable to find a pay engagement? Are musicians always to be guileless, the victim of the sponger and the social servitors of their day? I can't see that this is service; rather is it seriously retarding the progress of social ethics, by this constantly giving something for nothing. Humanity can't stand it, at present. To sum up then, what constitutes true service? It seems to be such a mutual thing that both the giver and the recipient are of the greatest mutual value to each other. A Symphony Concert could scarcely take place 46 On Serving Others without an audience and I hesitate to say that the audience is unimportant to the pro- duction. So it is with anything that is given, and if one is more blessed than the other, it is the one who gives in the right spirit to an- other, in need of what he has to offer. The greatest moments of service are surely the most self-forgetful ones, and petty per- sonalities are wholly lost in the moments of beautiful realization. To strive to serve is as painful as it is futile, but to give lavishly without striving is the Creator's way and ac- complishes His work. To serve, presupposes much honest preparation, since individuals naturally cannot give what they do not pos- sess, be it time, money, music or one's self. The last is the most difficult and slowest to learn, but when one has mastered this master lesson, the question of service through all avenues is settled, since there is always an immediate and constant need for everything that one honestly has to give, if the eyes see the opportunity and the ears hear the call. 47 ON WAITING In America a general feeling of rush per- vades the land. From childhood's days to old age, we are either silently or audibly im- pressed with the fact that we must hurry, until the habit is so strongly formed that we become slaves to an unthinking process that began before we were born. A quiet day in the country, full of the real- ization of nature's methods generally leaves in the soul a far more vital sense of having lived, than a day in the city following social orders, going to concerts, and seeing no end of people. It may be that just the opposite should be the case, and under certain circum- stances it would be. All depends upon the viewpoint, the attitude reached and main- tained toward people and events. There are such varied types of men that every condition is needed, but unless you realize the conditions necessary to your own true unfoldment, you may find yourself roaming the spaces of life's area, without getting nearer the realization of your cherished dreams. 48 On Waiting Of all the lessons we Americans need most to learn, and perhaps the most difficult one, is simply waiting. From merely standing for a street car, to waiting for one's deepest heart's desire, an impatience sooner or later creeps in, robbing us eventually of health and happiness. There must be some vital, active process in simply waiting, which we fail to realize and again we look to nature for our lesson. Could we imagine the earth anxious to turn more rapidly on its axis? The ocean anxious to show more billows? When we live according to clear thought, true feeling and inspiration, we are at one with God's processes, and being so, are con- tent to do the next bit of work, unhasting, unresting, leaving the result to a wise and fixed law. Of all the places where the meaning of waiting should be mastered, a large city is the most necessary place. I have heard many thinking, interesting people say that they have found it absolutely necessary to get to the country in order to restore poise, 49 Reflections of a Musician and even after having found it, three months of the usual city life destroyed it again. As a matter of fact, forty nine out of fifty of the things most of us do, are unnecessary. Simplify! Simplify! SIMPLIFY! These un- necessary things negate our very individuali- ties until we finally cease having real tastes or run to the other extreme and become over- heated in the attainment of our desires. There is a fundamental fact that is vital to poise, namely, only the truly Beautiful and Useful are necessary to the process we call living; the thousand other things born of greed, insincerity, and artificiality, dull the heart, fetter the imagination and pervert the mind. I cannot attain one thing by neglect of another, but haste indicates that I may. If I leave a duty to run to see a friend, the frame of mind I carry with me precludes all possi- bility of a sincere encounter. Get through with the business in hand in a first-class fashion, for then is the mind free to turn to one's friend and a whole-hearted greeting will you be able to give. When we come to the matter and manner 50 On Waiting of working, music of all work, cannot be hurried. Past practice ruins technique, and eventually hinders all true interpretation. Perhaps fast practice has been accountable for more musical failures than any other fault. Eight out of ten students practice too rapidly, and many a professional has daily to remind himself that slow practice is the only safe method. Why, then, this desire to hurry through a composition? It must be for the stupid idea that the faster you go the sooner you will learn it. If it should be that more serious mental habit, nervousness at the thought of performance, then all thought of performance must be given up until poise is established. Music of all subjects, cannot be hurried. To be sure, some of the greatest composi- tions are written in an incredibly short time and compositions have often been memorized for performance very quickly, but in these cases, haste does not enter in. Rather is it due to the ability, (accumulated through the years of waiting), to build up thought processes of solidity, of mental concentra- tion, finally reaching a point where inspired 51 Reflections of a Musician illumination becomes a factor in daily work and whole pages are grasped and mastered in a twinkling. Haste, even in the slightest de- gree, cuts the connection between solid thought and inspiration. So it must seem that we must wait for all things to mature, and the ability to wait with unruffled mind and even active joy, doing for others while you wait for your own to come to you, is one of the sure harbingers of the fruition of your dreams. 52 DISCOVERIES I am born today and I start life with a fresh, clean page. In this today there is nothing behind me to erase, and God's great plan lies ahead for anticipation. ***** I know not the people about me, though they are said to be friends and acquaint- ances. There is a veil between them and me, a veil of their own desiring. The uni- versal law that brings my own to me, will lift the veil from these lives, when I need to penetrate its thickness. As lightning pierces the darkness, so will my intuition pierce the wrappings jealously guarding the souls of those who are mine. As for the others, we are strangers, though we meet daily. ***** Levity is apt to tarnish the gold of thought for it does not spring from inno- cence. Gaiety has a sparkle in it and there- fore to be trusted. If gaiety comes not spon- taneously, it were better quietly to love God and be still. ***** 53 Reflections of a Musician The poet's mission is to keep the childlike pure, in the heart of man. * * # * * The musician's lot is to express emotion, whether profound or charmingly simple and should he be unable to do this, he is a musi- cian in name only. * * * * * All artists exist to hold the world to the simplicity of innocency and beauty. Strange worldly wisdoms hide from men God's treasures, but the little child wanders through a field of daisies, a part of it, in un- conscious consciousness. * * * * * Anxiety would rush in when the soul is at rest and rob it of its birthright, the peace earned through faithfulness to duty. Real peace vibrates with tense reality and gives a tone of wondrous beauty, for it is a harp formed of the purified human heart and the Musician is God, Himself, touching the harp with the firmness and tenderness of the Master. 54 Discoveries I will not peer through the windows of to- day, anxiously scanning the horizon of to- morrow, lest there be sorrow in its embrace. Listen to the song of today; the air, rain, sun, clouds, grass, grain, trees, flowers, fruit, mountains, valleys and ocean all call saying: "We are with you today, but tomorrow we will all be changed. Night will fall, bathed in moonlight, dawn will bring the early morning dew and tomorrow we will not be as we are today. Awake thou sleeping one and enter the realm of realization, which is the ability to live in the great today!" ****** All this may be heard in fine music and something may be added to it, too deep for speech. Music covers every realm, for the earth was formed to the rhythm of the Uni- versal pulse of God and the harmony of His thought holds the stars to their courses. Only man may try to produce a false tone and call it music, but that will fall away like an old garment. Real music, brim full of a pure, sparkling freshness not to be imitated, will always live, for there will always be the pure in heart to give it birth. 55 Reflections of a Musician A soul does not trust itself until it learns to trust the native integrity of its own being. Freedom is attained by risking the scorn of men and following the light of Love. Then it strangely follows that those who have scorned will one day appreciate the marvel of untramelled being and will praise the God in you whom before they rejected. ***** Music is like life, it shifts with ever chang- ing meaning and you must seize today's melody, for it will never come again. The great desire within to express thought and being through art in some form, is but half the process. Just at hand lies the material by means of which you may express the emotion or exalted state of being. A dreamy inaction is better than a dreamless one, but when you seize your dream and make it a reality, when thought becomes a poem or a picture, statue or cathedral, symphony, novel or drama, then you have let life's energy use you in nature's way and have demonstrated your right to live. 56 Discoveries Fear of failure paralyzes the mind and loses to the world many a great work. The true in heart have braved the dangers of failure and have always, just beyond, come unto a marvelous success. Take but one step in the right direction, and your cause is greatly won, since the process of success is but a series of such steps. ***** A work of Art may bring you to yourself, but after that your action is the thing. Value the impulse within to act, as a priceless jewel. There are a thousand ways of being stimulated to action: the glance of a friend may bring me to my feet in an ecstacy of resolve and I may go forth in consequence to victory; I have known the song of a little bird to open the way to heavenly accom- plishment; and the cheerful blaze on the hearth within, of a rainy day, has furnished dreams out of which great achievements have grown. 57 Reflections of a Musician The commonplace is only monotonous be- cause we have not found the many little secret springs for happy action therein. ***** Do not underestimate your present place and work! The consequences of doing well the thing in hand will be of inestimable value to you at a time of which you little dream! ***** Would you have music in your soul? Then cultivate the habit of gratitude for every- thing in your life. If your heart is so black and your mind so darkened that you cannot see your many causes for thanksgiving, go to the most miserable outcast you know, tell him your state and let him help you. You have fallen lower than the lowest thought you have of man's ability to give his life to folly, and only one whom you scorn can help you. Action alone will save you and an ac- tion that sends the lightning of God's judg- ment to the center of your heart, burning the miserable selfishness of you until it crum- bles to ashes, filling you with such humility that you are grateful for the least of His 58 Discoveries mercies. Then a melody will flow from your heart and your lips will praise the great Crea- tor with a song of Thanksgiving. * * * * I have often thought that I would be hap- pier were I in a little different set of circum- stances. But the thought is soon seen to be shallow, and happy the man, who, seeing the shallowness of it, stays where he is, until all of life calls him to something higher. He is then moved by that inexorable something men are wont to name Pate, an irresistible impulse that carries him on in spite of him- self to larger and nobler things. ***** This is the end of all study; that I may so enshrine the vital thought of the beauti- ful within my heart that it will presently melt itself into my being and lose itself in my knowing, until the Truth and I are one: and I cannot tell which may be the Truth and which be I, so at one have we become. ***** 59 Reflections of a Musician Before the song of the nightingale came from the heart of the thicket, it dwelt in the invisible. Then a thought blossomed in the Mind of Love till it became expression, and I heard the song of the nightingale, The song! Whence came it? Whither goest it? To what purpose was it created? The melody! The lovely thing, Straight from the unspoiled vastness of un- selfed thought! To what purpose is it given? The poem, inspired of fervor Lent by the spirit of Creation to the thought of humanity! Are these things for naught? Listen soul! Climb to the stars, While your arms encircle the human family; Love them with a throbbing passion Of pure devotion, And from the heights, Drop into their hearts The song, the melody and the poem, That they may take comfort thereby and learn to grow in grace. 60 Discoveries Clear eyes! How wonderful you are! You look with the vision Of a purified heart; You see that God made All that was made And called it "Good!" Cloudy eyes! How strangely mistaken you are! You see trees walking As though they were men, You see a fallen and sinful world; You see that God placed a curse upon Adam Commanding him to toil for his daily bread. Your soul grows hard, Your voice is sharp, Your face grows wrinkled And your hands feeble, Cloudy eyes, You could brush away the shadow If you would, Cloudy eyes! But you will not see that you may do it! A veil is over your face, And you tear it not off. So it is with the daughters of Eve And they make their lives through the veil of the flesh, So that reality is hidden from their view. The morning is fresh and clear, 61 Reflections of a Musician Nature's womb palpitates With the holy throb of living And all of life is a psalm. The clear vision has seen it, And it will be so forever. But Cloudy Eyes Pulls the veil of flesh Over her face, And walks in the shadows Of strange untruths. Clear Eyes! How wonderful you are! You look with the vision Of a purified heart; You see that God made All that was made, And called it Good ! 62 ENCOURAGEMENT There is an old, much used saying to the effect that the Devil's irresistible tool is dis- couragement. Barring the fact that very few persons live who believe in a personal devil or that he uses tools, it is nevertheless true that discouragement is a quality of mind more certain to defeat our hopes than any other quality known to human conscious- ness. Reasoning inversely, intelligent encourage- ment should be the human lever, capable of bringing us "back to normal" more promptly than any other quality. And this is true. To encourage one to continue a calling for which he has no aptitude, or to take a trip which lies along perilous regions, would indeed be criminal! But to encourage right activity, intelligently, is a work fit for the gods and has saved many a career, when shattered hope would have hugged defeat. Vulgar flattery and inordinate praise are stupid habits and react disastrously upon the one prone to such ways. Encouragement is the sign of intelligent 63 Reflections of a Musician and unselfish interest in others. It sees the problem, seizes the heart of the matter, is able to point out the strong as well as the weak places and can explain how to increase the former and destroy the latter. The old fashioned idea of criticism is, that the self-imposed critic should find flaws in the work, and the more flaws found the bet- ter the criticism. The new idea of criticism is, that the critic is one who, because of his profound knowl- edge of the subject is able to show how nearly the work approaches the truth con- cerning the matter and how to enlarge the good points already made. Modern psychology is very clear regard- ing the depressing results of a fault-finding attitude. Where once it was considered the sign of intelligent, now it is considered merely ignorance. Anyone, be he child or adult, when en- gaged in a consciously constructive piece of work, with a conviction of its usefulness, is walking in the right direction, and should be encouraged to continue, although the adept who sees the crude beginnings may recog- 64 Encouragement nize the faultiness in much of its construc- tion. Encouragement does not necessarily mean praise, but it does mean always the act of show- ing another how to go happily on. Even though a human situation may seem hopeless, there is ever a Divine remedy, and the encourager never recommends desertion, but he praises faithfulness. Encouragement may be given us at any period, no matter how well we may think the day is going, and if rightly given we grow thereby. It must be given from our highest level, and when we drop down, suffering is God's remedy to spur us on again. "Despise not the day of small things" is a good motto, for carefulness in little things insures accuracy in larger matters. It is well to discriminate between the state of mind that requires carefulness of detail and the state of mind liable to become petty. The first is merely requiring honesty of oneself, the second takes credit to self for not shirk- ing a plain duty. Pettiness calls attention to self; the ability to be true to detail, throws the attention toward the work. 65 Reflections of a Musician No matter how absurd a piece of work may seem to you, no matter how ugly a life may impress you as being, if you are a dis- cerner of thought, you will always find a bit of the truth in the work, or the person in- volved. Seize this fact, bring it out into the white light of day, praise it and show the one most concerned how to improve upon it. If you cannot do this, then to criticise is to lend yourself temporarily to defeating the cause of righteousness by depressing, through unconstructive and thoughtless speaking, one who may be making frantic efforts towards the light. Foster within you the fact that every man is as truly desirous of success as you are. Be slow to speak on the subject with which you are little acquainted, and be humble in giving the knowledge that you have acquired through honest work. At the end, remember that the true en- courager encourages most, when he is striv- ing the most diligently to complete the task before him and therefore has no time to find fault with the processes of his neighbor. One 66 Encouragement grown clear and straight through the dis- charge of his own duty, is alone capable of intelligently criticizing and thus encouraging his brother. Then the process of criticism has become a process of enlightenment, and so is good. 67 ON CONTENTMENT Contentment is dynamic! It is twin sister to a Divine discontent "that neither slum- bers nor sleeps" and they walk hand in hand. Contentment has at its root the knowledge of the Universal fulfillment of desire and the willingness to wait patiently for that end. All honest desire is legitimate, for the ob- taining of an end teaches the truth about it, namely, that nothing, friends or family, possessions, fame or beauty can satisfy un- less one can wholeheartedly share them. It is the act of sharing a possession with an- other who desires it, that brings contentment and not the possession of the thing itself. I am sitting by my window on a lovely summer's day when the sky is clear, the breeze a balm, the distant mountain's mystic blue, and a farmer is cutting his oats near by. No sound disturbs the peace of my fairy bower, save the song of birds, the murmur- ing pines and the regular sound of the ma- chine in the distant oats-field. Yes! I am content! And even as I acknowledge this, 68 I take my pen and find an added joy in trying to tell you of it. An ineradicable quality of content is the ability to share your gifts with an- other. Real contentment does not lead to sleep or death, but is invigorating and health-giving. It is coupled with an independent attitude of mind and heart that prays and then go on to help answer the prayer. Contentment is not a beggar and the inertia of idleness can never know the active peace of true contentment. An artist only reaches the land of content- ment when he realizes that he is master of his art and is at last able to rely upon his own judgment, with the true humility of a Mas- ter. Depending upon others for the final word about a thing causes a steadily declin- ing ability to judge keenly, and such a mind knows but a portion of contentment. At a certain angle of each man's thought is presented the opportunity to sow the seed of contentment. Unfortunate though it may seem to be, no one can quite tell another the angle, but each must know it for himself. It is born of innate intuition and is never the 69 Reflections of a Musician result of external training or circumstances. Say not that all men cannot possess such in- tuition, for you break life's mainspring when you become convicted of such a thought. In- tuition is dulled by misuse, and resurrected when followed, even though its gleam be but a faint star's light. To follow it is to live. It would indeed be a simple matter should a wise man say "Do thus and so you will be content!" Have you never been at work and suddenly felt that you were in your right place, doing the right thing? And was not the con- sciousness of it followed by a wave of con- tent quite impossible to define? I venture to say that work well done brings contentment sooner than anything else, but this also must be under right conditions and not under compulsion. Contentment seems to be at the juncture of two lines of consciousness; first the reali- zation that your own character and events have placed you just where you are, and second, that an element of true manhood is that quality which refuses to be overcome, and inevitably finds the way out. Unite 70 On Contentment these two states of consciousness and you are master of the situation. A sense of mastery over events brings contentment of the truest sort, but it is earned sturdily and is unknown to the weakling. How many children are compelled to study music without a natural taste for it! Parents not only have their own independent de- cisions to make, but are the guardians of their children's work through the tender years. How important is it to find the natural taste of the child rather than to force him into subjects in which the parents desire him to be proficient! Many a time sleepy people have let their life work slip by because they were too lazy to be about their business and find out just what was their work. No man's a clod ! But he may be too dull spiritually to find the work that leads him to his own. I see nothing for such a one but to suffer. Contentment is truly an experience known only in the present; has neither past nor fu- ture. True growth involves an ever strength- ening desire to outdo ones-self, so that the best work of yesterday has already been 71 Reflections of a Musician left behind and is fast disappearing in the distant horizon. There is no such thing as "resting upon one's laurels." A certain laxness in the accomplishment of a definitely conceived end, is a bar to con- tentment. A mind, a heart and soul large enough to conceive a perfect work, also must possess a conscience that will be merciless to laxity of endeavor, if he fulfills his destiny. Happy the man who has found his work, his homespot and his place in the social or- der of events! Disturbances without but emphasize the contentment within, and his intimates are those who, like himself, have arrived at the period of contentment when character is regarded in its right light and the shifting events of mortality but as pass- ing shadows compared with the sun. Who can deny that such a man has en- tered heaven, although some may call heaven a visible city of gold with gates of precious stones! Contentment is more precious than such a city and more to be sought. 72 THE MESSAGE OP THE MORNING To awaken Hearing the first songs of the birds ; To think of an unfailing Creator By whose bounty all needs are supplied ; To be thankful for the new day, Joyous to embrace its duties, Eager to know its surprises Coming straight from the heart of God; To keep the strength of maturity Nor yet lose the simple-heartedness Of the little Child; To be conscious of a freshness in living, To find a keen interest in other's needs And to love yourself, So that you may know how to love your neighbor; To be conscious of all these things In the dawn of a new day, And go forth, singing, Is the message of the morning. 73 ) ft \ r y \\U -UNIVE Ftf/ I |U?) i\*&? *'~*-*l \ltaJ I MUSIC UCSOUT JJBRARY. A 000 861 970 2 lOS-ANCOax 4$tUBKARYQ 60 R15