"...In the Book of Instructions will be found a regularly arranged series of lessons and exercises calculated for the gradual advancement of the pupil, which will save the master much time and trouble..." (127).
"...as well as an immense saving of time and trouble to masters..." (128).
"Soon I decided to try reading while exercising my hands each day" (134).
"...it keeps people from making faces, from playing from the arm or the shoulder; it makes the fingers independent, corrects the position of the hand which makes it as graceful as possible. I shall add as a last recommendation the fact that I still use it myself all the time..." (135)- Kalkbrenner, in regards to his own version called the "Hand guide".
Is it just me or did I just witness a late night infomercial? Sit and watch t.v, while eating whatever you want and have a little electric belt shock your fat away! The pounds will melt off! I can hear it now, Logier and Kalkbrenner on their very own T.V special, selling Hand Guides and Royal Chiroplasts galore! "You barely have to teach your students, in fact, they teach themselves, in groups of 30-40, sign here!"
Fat? You could go to the gym and eat well, or you could just buy an "Ab Contour". Tired? You could sleep, or you could just drink coffee! Hungry? You could cook, or you could go to MacDonalds! Don't have time to watch your students? Put their hands in a metal device so they can't move!
These "machines" were nothing more than pure money making schemes. While they make more sense in the days of the finger school era, the number of skeptics at least gives me faith that there is, indeed, a force of nature more powerful than a good salesman.
I don't know what's worse, the "Ab Contour" or the "Dactylion".
I agree with you whole heartedly about the whole money making scheme! I also thought that it would not be bad for there success as teachers either. It would help there status in the music world, up a notch from the others.
ReplyDeleteI think that those devices for learning good positioning have rightfully earned a bad reputation, but I also think the inventors probably had good intentions. Maybe the Ab Contour people have good intentions, too...
ReplyDeleteAs far as the business end, it is possible to find parallels in the modern day; there are several methods of teaching that involve certification, which require a fee to take a class.