From this we shall learn that
to study music rightly is to cultivate in our own hearts the same good
thought which the composer had. Hence the third reason we can find for
studying music is that it makes us able to help and to cheer others,
to help them by willingly imparting the little knowledge we have, and
to cheer them by playing the beautiful thoughts in tone which we have
learned.
These are three great reasons, truly, but there are many others. Let
us speak about one of them. In some of the Talks we are to have we
shall learn that true music comes from a true heart; and that great
music--that is the classics--is the thought of men who are pure and
noble, learned in the way to write, and anxious never to write
anything but the best. There is plainly a great deal of good to us if
we study daily the music of men such as these. In this way we are
brought in touch with the greatest thought. This constant presence and
influence will mold our thoughts to greater strength and greater
beauty. When we read the history of music, we shall see that the
greatest composers have always been willing to study in their first
days the master works of their time. They have strengthened their
thoughts by contact with thoughts stronger than their own, and we may
gain in just the same way if we will. We know now that there are many
reasons why it is good for us to study music.
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