"Relaxation is a hobby with me; I believe in absolute freedom in every
part of the arm anatomy, from the shoulder down to the finger-tips.
Stiffness seems to me the most reprehensible thing in piano playing, as
well as the most common fault with all kinds of players. When people
come to play for me, that is the thing I see first in them, the
stiffness. While living in Berlin, I saw much of Mme. Teresa Carreño,
and she feels the same as I do about relaxation, not only at the
keyboard, but when sitting, moving about or walking. She has thought
along this line so constantly, that sometimes, if carrying something in
hand, she will inadvertently let it drop, without realizing it--from
sheer force of the habit of relaxation.

"You ask how I would begin with a young pupil who never has had lessons.
I use the principle of relaxation first of all, loosening arms and
wrists. This principle can be taught to the youngest pupil. The wrist is
elevated and lowered, as the hand is formed on the keys in its five
finger position, with arched knuckles. It does not take long to acquire
this relaxed condition; then come the finger movements. I do not believe
in lifting the fingers high above the keys; this takes time and
interferes with velocity and power. I lift my fingers but little above
the keys, yet I have plenty of power, all the critics agree on that. In
chords and octaves I get all the power I need by grasping the keys with
weight and pressure. I do not even prepare the fingers in the air,
before taking the chord; I do not find it necessary." Here the pianist
played a succession of ringing chords, whose power and tonal quality
bore out her words; the fingers seemed merely to press and cling; there
was no striking nor percussion.

"To return to the beginning pupil. As for a book to start with, I often