acquired as some of the other violin effects. I advise pressing down the
first finger on the strings _inordinately_, especially in the higher
positions, when playing artificial harmonics. The higher the fingers
ascend on the strings, the more firmly they should press them, otherwise
the harmonics are apt to grow shrill and lose in clearness. The majority
of students have trouble with their harmonics, because they do not
practice them in this way. Of course the quality of the harmonics
produced varies with the quality of the strings that produce them. First
class strings are an absolute necessity for the production of pure
harmonics. Yet in the case of the artist, he himself is held
responsible, and not his strings.

"Octaves? Occasionally, as in Auer's transcript of Beethoven's _Dance of
the Dervishes_, or in the closing section of the Ernst Concerto, when
they are used to obtain a certain weird effect, they sound well. But
ordinarily, if cleanly played, they sound like one-note successions. In
the examples mentioned, the so-called 'fingered octaves,' which are very
difficult, are employed. Ordinary octaves are not so troublesome. After
all, in octave playing we simply double the notes for the purpose of
making them more powerful.

"As regards the playing of tenths, it seems to me that the interval
always sounds constrained, and hardly ever euphonious enough to justify
its difficulty, especially in rapid passages. Yet Paganini used this
awkward interval very freely in his compositions, and one of his
'Caprices' is a variation in tenths, which should be played more often
than it is, as it is very effective. In this connection change of
position, which I have already touched on with regard to scale playing,
should be so smooth that it escapes notice. Among special effects the
_glissando_ is really beautiful when properly done. And this calls for