Smith published numerous compilations of songs, including two six-volume textbook series, which were widely used throughout the United States.

[4] She later graduated from Cook County Normal School, but continued to study music privately as a pupil of Frances A. Root (voice) and Frederick Grant Gleason (composition).

In some instances, she was not allowed to observe or be seen, as her presence was deemed improper in groups composed of only male performers or students.

Smith incorporated Fröbel's ideas that childhood is a universal experience in which children learn by imitation, using their natural abilities.

Second, third, fourth and fifth intervals were typical in her voice scores with the piano accompaniment creating interest through varied rhythm patterns.

[5] In this type of instruction, students learned the skills for reading music from a combination of interval recognition, ear training and observation of songs.

[18] Smith arrived at Hull House in the autumn of 1890 and, shortly after her first visit, [5] began to give voice and piano lessons to both children and adults.

Initially, free concerts were given on Sunday, both to uplift the community and to highlight the talents of the settlement house teachers and musicians.

Smith, a classically trained musician, felt that the purpose of the events should be to present educationally challenging programs.

[21] They finally reached a compromise at the turn of the decade, with Sunday concerts featuring music with popular appeal and weekday evening programs focusing on more challenging material.

[23] Smith's teaching style differed from conventional music instruction at the time in that she required instrumental students to study voice.

Gertrude Madeira Smith,[20] Eleanor's sister,[2] gave organ instruction and Charles Moerenhout of the Chicago Orchestra taught violin.

[20] Smith felt that adding vocal training gave a level of experience that was neglected by singular focus on memorization of scales and structural drills usually prevalent for those learning instruments.

She also incorporated songs from the students' homelands as a way to intermingle their old cultures with their new lives[24] and made efforts to involve their parents in the development of the curricula.

As a progressive reformer, Smith advocated that inclusive diversity was a means of building a cosmopolitan citizenry united by pursuit of music excellence.

[24] She initiated an annual Christmas concert which also included a dramatic presentation and was eagerly anticipated by the neighborhood for its holiday pageantry.

Jazz pianist Art Hodes recalled that one of the first jam sessions he ever had occurred when a young clarinetist named Benny Goodman joined the Boy's Band.

[29] Posthumously, Smith's papers were donated to the University of Illinois at Chicago[28] to preserve what Jane Addams described as "one of the most finely creative minds" which "fulfilled the highest mission of music".

[29] Attribution This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: J. W. Leonard Woman's Who's who of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Women of the United States and Canada, 1914–1915 (1914)