He was a student of all of them and of the Italian school also, as some of his songs show.

Foster's first and only music teacher--except in the 'do-re-mi' exercises in his schoolboy life--testifies that Foster's musical apprehension was so quick, his intuitive grasp of its science so complete that after a short time there was nothing he could teach him of the theory of composition; that his pupil went straight to the masters and got illustration and discipline for himself.
"This was to be expected of a precocious genius who had written a concerted piece for flutes at thirteen, who was trying his wings on love songs at sixteen, and before he was twenty-one had composed several of the most famous of his American melodies, among them Oh Susannah, Old Dog Tray and Old Uncle Ned.

As in other things he taught himself music, but he studied it ardently at the shrines of the masters.

He became a master of the art of song writing.

If anybody cares to hunt up the piano scores that Verdi made of songs from his operas in the days of Foster he will find that the great Italian composer's settings were quite as thin as Foster's and exhibited not much greater art.