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diff --git a/30889-8.txt b/30889-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cb50ceb --- /dev/null +++ b/30889-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5159 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Mechanism of the Human Voice, by Emil Behnke + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Mechanism of the Human Voice + +Author: Emil Behnke + +Contributor: Mrs. Emil Behnke + +Release Date: January 8, 2010 [EBook #30889] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MECHANISM OF THE HUMAN VOICE *** + + + + +Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +THE MECHANISM +OF THE +HUMAN VOICE. + +(CURWEN'S EDITION, 5263.) + +BY + +EMIL BEHNKE, + +_Late Lecturer on Vocal Physiology at the Tonic Sol-fa College, +Teacher of Voice Production._ + +EDITED, WITH A NEW CHAPTER ON "VOICE FAILURE," + +BY MRS. EMIL BEHNKE. + +FIFTEENTH EDITION. + +LONDON: +J. CURWEN & SONS LTD., 24 BERNERS STREET, W. + +Price 1s. 6d.; CLOTH 2s. 6d. + + + + +PREFACE TO THE NINTH EDITION. + +PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. + +PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. + +PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. + +CONTENTS. + +PLATES. + +INDEX. + +FOOTNOTES. + + + TO + MY DEAR WIFE + THIS ESSAY + IS + AFFECTIONATELY + DEDICATED + + + + +PREFACE TO THE NINTH EDITION. + + +A ninth edition of this book having been called for, I take the +opportunity to return my sincere thanks for the many kind expressions +concerning its usefulness which have reached me since the lamented death +of its author, my dear husband. + +In carrying on his work, both my daughter and myself have felt the +benefit of the clear and concise instructions the book contains. + +We have also proved with our pupils the absolute truth and value of the +BEHNKE SYSTEM OF VOICE TRAINING, by means of which we have obtained +results most gratifying to ourselves, and surprising to the pupils, +whether speakers or singers. + +I hope that the new chapter on "Voice Failure," which I have added by +Mr. Curwen's desire, may be of some use in preventing breakdown of +voice, from which so many students suffer. + +K. BEHNKE. + +18, EARL'S COURT SQUARE, S.W. + + + + +PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. + + +A THIRD edition of this little book has now become necessary, and I must +again express my gratitude for the continued commendations bestowed upon +my work both in the press and in private letters. + +In response to many solicitations, I have added to this edition a few +hints on teaching, deduced from physiological facts, which may prove +useful by stimulating the advance of thought in a new direction. + +These hints are extracts from a series of articles on "Science and +Singing" which I had the pleasure of writing in the _Edinburgh St. +Cecilia Magazine_; and I am indebted to the Editor, Mr. A. C. Miller, +for kindly permitting me to reproduce them here. + + + + +PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. + + +The favourable reception and rapid sale of a large first edition has +stimulated me to revise this little book, and without alteration of my +original scheme of practical utility, to somewhat enlarge on one or two +points which appeared to demand further elucidation. + +In this, as in the former edition, I have received great assistance from +my friend Mr. Lennox Browne, the eminent throat surgeon, who, by ever +patiently discussing with me debatable points, and by giving me access +to cases, interesting from a physiological point of view, both at the +Central Throat and Ear Hospital, Gray's Inn Road, and in his extensive +private practice, has afforded me opportunities of increasing my +knowledge and experience which would not have arisen otherwise. I feel +it a pleasure as well as a duty publicly to acknowledge my indebtedness +to him, which I have, many times before, expressed in private. + +My best thanks are also due to Mr. J. Spencer Curwen, for the help he +has rendered me in many ways. + +And finally, it would indeed be ungrateful on my part, if I did not +place on record the obligation under which I consider myself to my +reviewers for the uniformly favourable notice they have so kindly taken +of my first effort, and for several useful hints of which I have duly +taken advantage. + +One objection has been made which strikes at the very root of the plan +upon which I have proceeded in my little volume, and to which, +therefore, I beg leave to say a few words in reply. A learned writer in +the _Athenæum_ finds fault with me for making use of popular instead of +scientific terms, which, he says, may be the cause to the reader of +great confusion if he refers to other works, and he adds that "Back +Ring-Pyramid Muscle" is almost as hard a mouthful as "Crico-Arytenoideus +posticus." I have asked several non-scientific friends of good general +education to read this sentence to me, and they succeeded very well with +"Back Ring-Pyramid Muscle," while they utterly collapsed when coming to +"Crico-Arytenoideus posticus." + +This is, however, in my humble opinion, of minor importance. The great +point is, that my terms--which by the way are not inventions, but simply +translations--convey a meaning to the general reader, and the originals +do not. This is a fact which I dared not ignore, because my essay is +intended for the people and not for men of science. As I have taken care +also, for the sake of those who might wish to consult other and more +learned books than mine, to give the terms generally used by +physiologists by the side of my translations, I do not think there is +anything that could ever confuse my readers. + +I conscientiously believe that these are good and weighty reasons for +the plan I adopted in the first edition, and trust my reviewers, as well +as my readers, will accept them as a sufficient justification of the +same practice in the present volume. + +E. B. + +_February, 1881._ + + + + +PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. + + +The number of books bearing more or less directly on the Theory of Voice +Production which have been published during the last few years is very +large, and shows clearly the extraordinary interest taken in this +subject, not only by professional singers and speakers, but also by the +general public. If I am now about to add another contribution to this +already extensive literature, it is simply because amongst all the many +excellent works on the Human Voice there is not one which brings before +the reader the whole subject from beginning to end. The student who +really wishes to get a clear understanding of the matter is obliged to +wade through a variety of scientific books, and to pick up here and +there, by means of very hard reading, such little scraps of information +as, with much labour and waste of time, he can extract from books which +were, in most instances, never written for the purpose for which he +consults them. + + * * * * * + +To supply this generally-admitted want I have written these pages, in +which I have endeavoured, to the best of my ability, to place before the +reader in a simple and comprehensive form the Physiology of the Human +Voice. I have, as far as possible, discarded all scientific terms, and +it has been my aim to treat my subject in so simple and direct a manner +as really to enlighten my readers instead of bewildering them. A +treatise like this can, under no circumstances, be light reading; and I +ask those who are truly anxious for information to give me patient +study, accompanied by careful reference to the diagrams. For students +who enter upon a perusal of these pages in such a spirit, this essay is +specially intended; and if I have succeeded in making plain to such as +these a really complicated subject, then my highest ambition will be +satisfied. + +E. B. + +_April, 1880._ + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + PAGES + +Introduction 1-7 + +The vocal organ as a musical instrument 8-61 + +Differences of the voice-box, or larynx, in children, women, and men 62-68 + +Movements of the voice-box, or larynx, which can be seen or felt 69-72 + +The laryngoscope, and how to use it 73-79 + +The teachings of the laryngoscope 80-105 + +Appendix--Hints on teaching 106-125 + +Appendix To The Ninth Edition--Voice Failure 126 + +Appendix To The Tenth Edition--Does Diaphragmatic +Breathing Apply Equally To Women As To Men? 141 + +Index 143 + +Index To "Voice Failure 146 + +Footnotes. + + + + +PLATES. + + + PAGES + + I. General view of vocal organ _facing title_ + + II. The Lungs 10 + + III. The Chest 11 + + IV. Chest capacity--Methods of breathing 16 + + V. Side view of the Larynx 32 + + VI. Front view of the Larynx 33 + + VII. Larynx, Side view showing interior 37 + +VIII. Larynx, Side view, muscles, &c. 42 + + IX. Larynx, Side view, interior of left half 43 + + X. The Glottis in three states 46 + + XI. Larynx, Section viewed from above 48 + + XII. Larynx, Section viewed from behind 51 + + Sketch of Laryngoscope designed by Dr. Foulis 78 + +XIII. Laryngoscopic Image--Breathing 84 + + XIV. " " Upper thick register 84 + + XV. " " Upper thin register 85 + + XVI. " " Small register 85 + + Diagram of compass of the registers 93 + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +We are living in an age which is singularly poor in fine voices, both +male and female, and with regard to the tenors of the present time there +is this additional misfortune, that, as a rule, their voices do not +last, but are often worn out in a very few years; in many instances +while their owners are still under training, and before they have had an +opportunity of making their appearance in public. If we remember that +there was a time when most beautiful and highly cultivated voices were +so plentiful that even in comparatively small towns there were to be +found Opera Companies consisting of excellent singers, we may well ask +ourselves how this remarkable change for the worse has come about. +People have attempted to account for it in various ways. Up to the +middle of the last century women were forbidden by Ecclesiastical Law to +take part in Church music. The voices of boys being available only for a +very short time, means were taken to prevent their voices from breaking, +and thus a class of male soprani and contralti was created, who made +their first appearance in Rome in the beginning of the 17th century, and +to these singers the education of the female voices was soon almost +exclusively entrusted. In the middle of the last century, however, when +women were permitted to participate in Church music, there was no longer +any occasion to procure artificial female voices, and these singers +gradually died out, though there were still some of them living and +teaching in the beginning of the present century. According to Rossini, +who certainly was eminently qualified to give an opinion on the subject, +the decline of vocal art in these latter years is mainly due to the +disappearance of this class of singers, and if it be true that +henceforth the training of female voices was undertaken by tenors, who, +being of course unable to give a true pattern to their pupils, treated +the female organ according to their own very different registers, then +it can easily be understood that many voices must have been ruined by +the process, and the scarcity of distinguished female singers would thus +be satisfactorily accounted for. But I fail to see in what way the +disappearance of male soprani and contralti could possibly have affected +tenors and basses. + +Again, it is asserted that the way in which modern composers write vocal +music is the cause of the evil. Certain it is that in the compositions +of the old Italian masters the voice is studied, and nothing introduced +which is hurtful or disadvantageous. Awkward intervals are avoided, no +fatigue is caused, and everything is eminently _singable_; but the music +is not always expressive of the sense of the words, which were clearly +considered to be of minor importance. With our modern (and especially +with the German) composers, it is just the opposite, their chief aim +being thoroughly to enter, not only into the spirit of their text, but +even into the slightest shade, the minutest detail of it, so as to make +the music, as it were, a translation of their words into a higher kind +of language. What, on the other hand, is possible or impossible for the +voice is, since the time of Beethoven, but rarely considered; many +composers, even the most distinguished ones, having evidently little +knowledge of the most beautiful of instruments, for which they are +nevertheless continually writing. + +When one of the greatest living masters introduced the harp into his +works, he wrote for it just as though it were a piano--_i.e._, as though +it were to be played upon with the thumb and four fingers. But it so +happens that on that instrument the fourth finger is never used. +Consequently, when it came to the point harpists could not play that +gentleman's compositions: they had first to re-write them. Here the +composer, of course, was found out immediately, and he or any other man +would have the same fate if he attempted to write for an instrument the +properties of which he did not fully understand. But with the human +voice the case is different. Every musician believes himself to be +competent to write for it, though he may possibly be wholly unacquainted +with its many peculiarities. It is to be feared, therefore, that modern +composers must be held largely responsible for the sad state of affairs +concerning vocal art at the present time, and well might they learn a +lesson from Mozart, who, in spite of his genius, first carefully studied +the human voice, and then wrote for it. + +Another explanation of the decline of singing is this, that the gradual +and very considerable rise of pitch during the last 150 years is at the +bottom of all the mischief, as the vocal organ is unable to bear the +strain to which it is subjected. With regard to tenors, however, the +great evil is, that with very few exceptions, such as the celebrated +Frenchman, Roger, they disregard, or at any rate did disregard for a +considerable period, the falsetto register, singing everything, however +high, in chest voice. I am afraid it cannot be said even that they have +been beguiled into this serious mistake by the imperceptible rise of +pitch just mentioned, but the truth is that they have committed this +fatal blunder knowingly and wilfully, because they saw that it would +pay. In support of this statement I will quote a few lines from the +publication called "The Opera and the Art of Singing," by +Glogg-ner-Castelli: + + "In the field of singing a new man arose, who, in spite of great + personal attributes, worked destructively for the future, and whose + influence upon the later manner of singing is seldom truly + recognized. I mean the singer Duprez. Hissed off at first in Paris, + he turned to Italy, where he stayed several years, and then + returned to the French capital. When he came to use his magnificent + vocal resources, as he did in the Fourth Act of _Tell_, where he + brought out the high C in the chest voice with all the might of his + colossal organ, it was all over with the fame of all his + predecessors. Nourrit, till then the favourite of the Parisians, a + distinguished tenor singer, recognized the rival's power. His day + was over, and in despair over his lost and irrecoverable glory, he + flung himself from an upper window upon the pavement, and so made + an end of his life. Duprez may justly be considered one of the + greatest dramatic singers of our time, and the main features of his + method soon spread themselves all over Europe. After hearing of + Duprez, and how the chest register could be cultivated even into + the highest regions of the voice, the public were no longer + contented with the use of the falsetto. Soon it became impossible + to be engaged as an "heroic tenor" without at least possessing the + high B[b] in the chest tone. The singers found it a more thankful + task to humour the taste of the public than to pay extra regard to + the intentions of the composer; for often Meyerbeer himself + indicates, by a _pp_, his design that the falsetto and not the + chest tone should be employed. That every tenor singer, whether + such high pressure suited his natural compass or not, strove to + screw his voice up and 'make effect' was very natural; for art goes + after bread, and a high C with the chest voice often realizes an + income of thousands to its fortunate possessor. Roger has made a + laudable exception; his beautiful use of the falsetto certainly + produces a more agreeable effect than the forced chest tones so + unnatural to the organ of many a singer. How widespread is this + mistaken notion, that the use of the falsetto is entirely contrary + to art, we hear frequently enough in the expressions of individuals + when some unlucky tenor happens to get caught on one of these + tabooed falsetto tones. Thus the school founded by Duprez, + important in itself, has called into life a manner of singing, the + ruinous consequences of which we can see daily." + +But whatever may be the true reason or reasons, the fact that we have +very few singers of eminence as compared with former ages, and that +vocal art in general has gone down, is undisputed, and men have set +themselves to remedy the evil by trying to ascertain the actual process +by which the voice is produced, thinking that if they could but find +this out there would be a true scientific basis upon which to found a +way of teaching singing--or as I should rather say, of training +voices--which would be sure and unerring. + + * * * * * + +The experiments of the great physiologist Johannes Müller are well +known, and they have been followed up by others. But they were made upon +dissected larynges, and as various teachers of singing started the most +conflicting theories as to how the process shown by Müller was carried +on in the living subject, and treated the voices of their pupils +accordingly, these investigations have perhaps on the whole done more +harm than good. Science was made responsible for the blunders of those +who attempted to be guided by it. And thus it has happened that when at +a later period further trials were made, but this time upon the living +subject, and in the act of singing, they were received with indifference +and distrust. Only very lately teachers of vocal music have begun to +find out that here are facts put before them which cannot be gainsaid, +and that if these investigations do nothing else, they at any rate make +them acquainted with the exact nature of the vocal organ, and what it +will bear and what it will not bear. + + + + +THE VOCAL ORGAN AS A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. + + +"Physiologists," says Dr. Witkowski,[A] "are quite at issue when they +endeavour to determine what kind of instrument the vocal organ +resembles; indeed, Galien compares it to a flute, Magendie to a hautboy, +Despiney to a trombone, Diday to a hunting-horn, Savart to a +bird-catcher's call, Biot to an organ-pipe, Malgaigne to the little +instrument used by the exhibitors of Punch, and Ferrein to a spinet or +harpsichord. The last-named compared the lips of the glottis to the +strings of a violin; hence was given the name _Vocal Cords_, which they +have since retained. The current of air was the bow, the exertion of the +chest and lungs the hand which carried the bow, the thyroid cartilages +the _points d'appui_, the arytenoids the pegs, and lastly, the muscles +inserted in them the power which tensed or relaxed the cords." + +It must be admitted that the human voice bears more resemblance to a +reed instrument than to any other; but when the comparison is pushed to +its legitimate consequences it is found to break down. We cannot resist +the conclusion that the vocal organ is infinitely superior to any +instrument made by human hands. Its mechanism is so wonderful as to +excite the profoundest admiration, and the more we continue to study it +the more we marvel at the wisdom of the Divine Maker who planned it. I +shall, therefore, speak of it simply as a wind instrument composed of-- + + 1.--THE BELLOWS. + + Represented by the LUNGS. Pl. I (Frontispiece), L. + + 2.--THE WINDPIPE. Pl. I, w. + + 3.--THE VOICEBOX OR LARYNX. Pl. I, v. + + 4.--THE RESONATOR. + + Represented by (_a_) THE UPPER PART OF THE THROAT, or PHARYNX, pl. + I, P; (_b_) THE MOUTH, pl. I, M; (_c_) THE NOSE, pl. I, N. + +[Illustration: PLATE II. + +THE LUNGS + +R. RIGHT LUNG. L. LEFT LUNG. + +W. WINDPIPE (TRACHEA). + +V. VOICEBOX (LARNYX). + +The top part of the left Lung is represented as partly cut away in order +to show the ramifications of the Bronchial Tubes.] + +[Illustration: PLATE III. + +THE CHEST. + +B B. BREAST BONE. + +C C. COLLAR BONES. + +1 TO 11. RIBS. (The twelfth not visible.) + +M (curved dotted line). MIDRIFF (DIAPHRAGM). + +L L. LUNGS. H. HEART. + +W. WINDPIPE (TRACHEA). +] + +The Lungs are enclosed in the chest, which they fit exactly, and of +which they occupy by far the largest portion, leaving but a small space +for the heart. They consist of two halves (pl. II, R, L), each roughly +resembling the upper part of a sugar-loaf somewhat flattened and +hollowed out at the bottom. The left shows two and the right three +distinct flaps or lobes. They are only connected by means of the +windpipe (pl. II, W) and its branches. + +=The Chest= (pl. III) is an air-tight chamber, which is narrower above +than below. It is formed by the spine at the back, twelve ribs (pl. III, +1 to 11, the twelfth not visible on the drawing), with their inner and +outer muscles on either side, the breast-bone (pl. III, B B) in front, +the root of the neck at the top, and the midriff or diaphragm (pl. I, M) +at the bottom. + +=The Midriff= (pl. III, M) is a muscular and movable partition by which +the lungs are separated from the abdomen. It is arched upwards like an +inverted basin, but when its muscular fibres contract it flattens and +descends, thus increasing the capacity of the chest at the expense of +that of the abdomen. + +=The Function of the Lungs= is, as everybody knows, respiration, which may +be considered from a mechanical or a chemical point of view. In this +little work we are only concerned with the mechanical part of the +subject. If we examine the lungs of a calf, which are very similar to +those of a human being, we find that they are soft and elastic to the +touch, giving out when pressed a peculiar whizzing sound. We may +increase their volume by blowing into them through the windpipe, so as +to make them double their original size, and then tie up the windpipe. +On re-opening the windpipe the air escapes, and the lungs are gradually +reduced to their former bulk. Now, by drawing a deep breath we produce +the same result in ourselves as by blowing into the lungs of the calf; +by holding the breath we produce the same result as by tying up the +windpipe--that is to say, we keep the lungs in a state of expansion; and +by releasing the breath we are, as it were, untying the windpipe, +leaving the lungs to dwindle down gradually to their former size. + +There is one very material point, however, in which the analogy ceases. +It is this: we keep the air in the inflated calf's lungs by tying up the +windpipe, and the corresponding act in ourselves would be to hold our +breath by muscular contraction of the outlet in the throat. This is +precisely what we do in straining, and in lifting heavy weights, &c.; +but it should _never_ be done in breathing for vocal purposes. Here it +must, on the contrary, be our endeavour to train, to the highest +possible degree, the powerful muscles of the chest and of the abdomen, +instead of throwing the labour intended for them upon the comparatively +weak and delicate muscles governing the outlet of the windpipe. + +To make the way in which respiration is carried on clearer still, I +quote the following interesting and lucid account from Huxley's +"Elementary Physiology," fourth edition, p. 104. He compares the +breathing apparatus to "a sort of bellows without a valve," in which +the chest and the lungs represent the body of the bellows, while the +windpipe is the pipe; "and the effect of the respiratory movement is +just the same as that of the approximation and separation of the handles +of the bellows, which drive out and draw in the air through the pipe. +There is, however, one difference between the bellows and the +respiratory apparatus, of great importance in the theory of respiration, +though frequently overlooked, and that is, that the sides of the bellows +can be brought close together so as to force out all, or nearly all, the +air which they contain, while the walls of the chest, when approximated +as much as possible, still enclose a very considerable cavity; so that +even after the most violent expiratory effort, a very large quantity of +air is left in the lungs." + +=Respiration=, consequently, consists of two acts--namely, inspiration and +expiration. Inspiration may be produced in three different ways--(1) By +pushing the chest forward and flattening the midriff, so as to compel +the lungs to _descend_ and to increase in volume in order to fill the +empty space created by this movement; (2) by extending the ribs +_sideways_; and (3) by _drawing up_ the upper parts of the +chest--namely, the collar bones (pl. III, C C) and the shoulder blades. +In scientific works the first is called diaphragmatic or abdominal,[B] +the second lateral or costal, and the third clavicular or scapular +breathing. As, however, these terms convey no meaning to the general +reader, I prefer to speak of--(1) Midriff Breathing; (2) Rib Breathing; +(3) Collar-bone Breathing. In taking a full, deep inspiration, midriff +breathing and rib breathing take place almost together and assist each +other--that is to say, the midriff contracts and flattens, and +immediately afterwards the ribs extend sideways; with this difference, +however, that in men the action of the midriff takes a larger share in +the work than the ribs, while in woman, on the contrary, the movement of +the ribs is greater than that of the midriff. + + By way of illustrating this curious difference of breathing in men + and women, the following anecdote, which has the recommendation of + being strictly true, may perhaps amuse the reader. Some time ago a + troupe of "Female Minstrels," calling themselves, I believe, "The + American Amazons," made a tour through this country. Their faces + were blackened in the orthodox fashion, and they were in male + attire, wearing tight-fitting garments of a peculiar kind. Two + friends, both medical men, went to hear them (or perhaps to see + them, I am not sure which), when Mr. A remarked that two of the + performers were men. Mr. B did not see it, even when the + individuals were pointed out to him, and asked his friend for the + reasons for his opinion. "Why," said Mr. A, "I see it by their + abdominal breathing!" And sure enough Mr. B now saw it too, and + there was no mistake about it; for in the two suspected + individuals the abdomen was evidently moving in respiration, while + in all the others no movement was perceptible excepting that of + their chests. + +[Illustration: PLATE IV. + +DIAGRAMS ILLUSTRATING THE VARYING CAPACITY OF THE CHEST, ACCORDING TO +THE METHOD IN WHICH THE LUNG IS INFLATED. + +From Mr. Lennox Browne's "Medical Hints on the Production and +Management of the Singing Voice," by permission of Messrs Chappell +and Co. + +The front outline A of the shaded figure represents the chest after +full expiration; the black continuous line A gives the increase in +size of the chest, and the descent of the diaphragm, indicated by +the curved transverse lines, in full abdominal respiration. The +dotted line C shows the retraction of the diaphragm and of the +abdominal muscles in forced clavicular inspiration. The varying +thickness of the line B indicates the fact of healthy breathing in +a man being more abdominal than in woman. The outlines of forced +inspiration in both sexes are remarkably similar. +] + +The combined forms of midriff and rib breathing are the right method of +inspiration, while collar-bone breathing is absolutely wrong, and should +never be made use of. The reasons of this are not far to seek. The lower +part of each lung is large and broad, while the upper part is +cone-shaped, and very much smaller. It is self-evident, therefore, that +by downward and sideways expansion (enlarging the _lower_ part of the +lungs) you will inhale a much greater quantity of air than by drawing up +the collar-bones. This consideration alone should suffice to prove the +utter falseness of collar-bone breathing. Collar-bone breathing has also +the additional disadvantage of causing much fatigue, because all the +parts surrounding the upper region of the lungs are hard and unyielding, +so that a great amount of resistance has to be overcome (the "_lutte +vocale_" of French authors), while the very opposite is the case with +the lower part of the lungs. + +Mr. Lennox Browne, who was, I believe, the first to direct the attention +of English readers to this matter, says,[C] "Clavicular [collar-bone] +breathing is a method of respiration totally vicious, and to be avoided. +By it the whole lower part of the chest is flattened and drawn in, +instead of being distended; consequently the lower or larger part of the +lungs is not inflated. It is a method never exercised by nature in a +state of health, but only when, from disease, either the abdominal or +chest muscles cannot act; and it is the method least efficacious in +filling, as it is the one calculated to most fatigue the chest; for it +compresses the vessels and nerves of the throat, and this leads to +engorgement and spasmodic action of the muscles." + +We may well pause here and give another moment to the consideration of +this most important subject. The lungs, as we have seen, are the bellows +of our vocal organ; they supply the air which is the motive power on +which the voice depends. Without air no tone can be produced. Nay, more, +life itself must cease without it. Breathing goes on regularly while the +voice is silent; but in speaking and singing both inspiration and +expiration have to be regulated according to the nature of the phrases +to be spoken or sung. If the speaker does not know how to take breath +and how to control the expiration, his delivery will of necessity be +jerky and uncertain. But in the singer it is even more important that he +should be able to fill his lungs well, and, having done this, to have +absolute command over his expiration; because while the speaker can +arrange his sentences, his speed, and his breathing-places very much at +his own pleasure, the singer is bound by the music before him. It must, +therefore, be his aim to cultivate a proper method of breathing with the +object of first getting, with the least possible fatigue, the largest +possible amount of air in the most scrupulously careful manner, so as to +prevent even the smallest fraction of it from being wasted. Yet how +seldom is breathing systematically practised as an indispensable +preliminary to the production of tone! I have no hesitation in saying +that the subject is, in many instances, dismissed with a few general +observations. Pupils, of course, take breath somehow, and teachers are +glad to leave this uninteresting part of the business, and to proceed to +the cultivation of the voice. + +It may be as well to add that what has been said so far about right and +wrong methods of breathing is not by any means mere theory, but that any +one can convince himself of the truth of the rules laid down by making a +few experiments with the spirometer, an instrument for measuring the +breathing power of the chest by indicating on a dial the exact number of +cubic inches of air expelled from the lungs. This breathing power will +be found to vary according to the way in which the inspiration has been +accomplished. In my own case, for instance, the spirometer should +register, according to the table of comparative height and breathing +power compiled by John Hutchinson, 230 cubic inches. Having suffered +from severe attacks of bleeding from the lungs, my maximum with midriff +and rib breathing is only 220, but with collar-bone breathing I barely +reach 180! + +During the Summer Session of the Tonic Sol-fa College I carefully tested +the breathing capacity of ten students, and found that there was an +average excess of midriff and rib breathing over collar-bone breathing +to the extent of 25 cubic inches: the least amount of their increased +power was 12 cubic inches, and the greatest was 45! I imagine that these +figures are more eloquent than any words, and I think it superfluous to +make any further comment on them. + +I am strongly of opinion that breathing exercises, especially in the +case of intending public singers, should always be carried on with a +spirometer,[D] because that instrument enables us with the greatest +accuracy to check results which otherwise can only be guessed at. + +If this suggestion were acted upon we should certainly no longer be +distressed by that intolerable and never-ceasing tremolo which now so +frequently mars many, in other respects, fine voices. It is a curious, +and at first sight unaccountable, circumstance that this great fault is +specially noticeable amongst French singers. But at the Conservatoire de +Musique in Paris students are deliberately taught the wrong method of +inspiration; for, as we gather from the "Méthode de Chant du +Conservatoire de Musique," they are told to "flatten [or draw in] the +abdomen" and to "bulge out the chest." Thus the mystery is at once +cleared up, because the tremolo arises almost invariably from a weakness +of the muscles of the midriff or diaphragm, to which attention has +already been called in these pages. Owing to the abdomen being drawn in, +the midriff never properly contracts; the muscles are not sufficiently +exercised, and consequently have not power enough to resist the pressure +that is brought to bear upon them in singing. They tremble, and this +trembling being communicated to the lungs, which are resting upon them, +the stream of air they give forth, loses its evenness and continuity, +with the result I have just stated. It will be seen from the above +explanation that this tremolo, one of the greatest vices besetting +modern singing, and which has hitherto been held by many to be +incurable, may be got rid of completely, though perhaps not very +quickly, by the simple remedy of lung gymnastics on the right principle. +The tremolo may certainly also arise from weakness of some muscles in +the voicebox or larynx, by which the tension of the vocal ligaments is +diminished and increased in rapid alternation. But this is a case for a +medical man, which does not fall within my province to discuss, though I +am justified in saying, on the authority of Mr. Lennox Browne,[E] that +even in many of these cases the effect is clearly attributable to +faulty breathing, since there is seldom any local disease of the larynx; +while exercise on a right method of breathing will cure the spasmodic +action of the laryngeal muscles with but little or no medical treatment. + + * * * * * + +I need scarcely add that there is yet another kind of tremolo, which, +being absolutely under the control of the performer, is one of the chief +ornaments of song, and to which the observations just made in no way +apply. + + * * * * * + +In addition to the involuntary tremolo there are a number of other +afflictions, "Clergymen's sore throat" amongst them, which are admitted +by eminent medical authorities to be due to collar-bone breathing, and +which may be entirely cured by proper lung gymnastics, or, in other +words, by breathing exercises on the right principle; that is to say, by +calling into play the muscles of the abdomen and of the lower part of +the chest. This is a subject which is little understood by singers and +public speakers, many of whom would be amazed at the sometimes most +wonderful results produced by such simple means. I will therefore quote +a case in point which came under my notice quite recently, and which +will give the reader an idea of the importance of proper breathing: + +Mr. X, a tall thin young man, engaged in evangelistic work, suffered +from a "weakness of voice," which he found a great hindrance to his +success. He therefore consulted Mr. Lennox Browne, who at once told him +that he had no disease of any kind, and sent him to me for a course of +breathing exercises. I found that Mr. X chiefly spoke in a child's +voice, over which, moreover, he had very little control; and when I +requested him to take a deep inspiration, he drew in his abdomen, bulged +out his chest, and raised his collar-bones. The spirometer only +registered 200 cubic inches instead of 260, which, according to +Hutchinson's table, was his mean. + +My course was, therefore, plain. I made him stand in an easy natural +position, neither allowing him to bulge out his chest, nor to draw in +the abdomen, and then instructed him how to acquire some control over +his midriff and the lower muscles of the chest. It may be observed here, +in passing, that we can, in a state of health, contract and relax these +muscles at will, just as easily as we can bend a finger, and that this +power, when lost through disuse, can be regained with little difficulty. +In Mr. X's case this process was particularly speedy, with the result of +increasing his breathing power in two lessons by 60 cubic inches. In one +additional week I could dismiss him with a full sonorous man's voice, in +place of the uncertain child's squeak with which he came to me. It is no +exaggeration to say that this young man left me with a _new_ voice, and +if people had heard him when he first came to me, behind a screen, and +again after the last lesson, they would certainly not have believed that +they were listening to the same person. What Mr. X and his friends think +of his case may be seen from the following letter which he wrote me on +July 6th, 1880:--"Now that a week has passed since the last lesson I had +from you, I write to bear testimony to the wonderful benefit to my voice +obtained through the very short course I took. My friends are quite +astonished at the marked difference, and I beg you will accept my most +sincere thanks," &c. + +Many similar cases might be mentioned, but the one just quoted is +sufficient, and I will sum the matter up with a few remarks which Mr. +Lennox Browne made as chairman at my lecture at the Aldersgate Street +Literary Institution, on October 9th, 1880. He then said that, in his +medical experience, he found that persons who suffered from their voices +generally owed their ailments to bad habits of using the voice, and not +to any defect in the larynx or resonance chamber. In several cases +lately he had sent such patients to Herr Behnke, who had given them +lessons in correct breathing, and who had thereby, and without any +medicine, galvanism, or other aid, restored their voices in a remarkably +short time. + +From what has been said above about midriff and rib breathing _versus_ +collar-bone breathing, the folly of tight-lacing, or, indeed, of in any +way interfering with the freedom of the waist, will be at once apparent. +We pride ourselves upon our civilization; we make a boast of living in +the age of science; physiology is now taught, or at least talked of, in +almost every school; the laws of health are proclaimed in lectures and +lessons innumerable all over the country, and we laugh at barbarous +customs of other nations, such, for instance, as that of Chinese women +preventing the growth of their feet by forcing them into boots of only +half their proper size. And yet our ladies wear instruments of torture +called corsets, altering the shape of their bodies, and positively +driving the lower ribs _into the lungs_! Now which folly is the +greater--that of doubling up the toes, or of crippling the body in its +most vital parts? Let ladies answer the question, and let them further +most solemnly consider that the girls of to-day are the mothers of +to-morrow, and that upon the measure of their own health and strength +depends the well-being of coming generations. + +It is only fair to add, that if the practice of interfering with the +freedom of the waist is reprehensible in the case of ladies, it is, in +one sense, still more so in the case of the male sex, because, as has +been shown before, men depend more for their breathing upon the action +of the abdominal muscle than women. They should, therefore, neither wear +tight-fitting vests, nor suspend their pantaloons by means of +waistbands, belts, or buckles. Loose garments and braces are the proper +thing, though the latter are commonly, but erroneously, considered to be +injurious. _Abdominal_ belts may be worn with advantage by persons of +either sex requiring their support; but these are very different from +stays or waist-bands. I find that an enterprising firm is advertising +corsets for gentlemen (!), and a woodcut may be seen in some papers +representing a young Adonis laced up in regular ladies' fashion, so +that, if it were not for his luxurious moustache, one would certainly +take the drawing to be meant for a woman. It is almost impossible to +imagine that a man could ever make such a fool of himself; on the other +hand, it is clear that these advertisements would not continue to appear +if they did not bring customers. But these poor creatures do not deserve +to be called men, and I am sincerely sorry for them. + +With regard to the question whether inspiration should take place +through the mouth or through the nostrils, I must enter my most decided +protest against making it a practice to inhale through the mouth. There +are, of course, occasions when this is unavoidable, as, for instance, +where the singer has rapidly to take what is called a "half breath." But +complete inflation, or, "full breath," is not the work of a moment; it +takes time, and must be done gradually, steadily, and without the +slightest interruption. This should _always_ be done through the +nostrils. The mouth was never intended for breathing, while the nose is +specially and admirably adapted for this purpose. Not only can the lungs +be well and quickly filled through this channel, but it is so cunningly +devised that it acts at the same time as a "respirator," both purifying +and warming the air before it touches the more delicate parts of the +vocal organ. On the other hand, when inhaled through the mouth, the air +carries with it, sometimes right into the voicebox, dust and other +impurities, and its temperature is not materially altered. The +consequence is that the throat and voicebox, when heated by singing or +talking, or by hot rooms, are often exposed to cold, raw, and foggy +winter air, and serious derangements of the respiratory organs are the +natural consequence. If, moreover, this pernicious habit of breathing be +once contracted, we shall soon also sleep with open mouths, thus +parching our throats, and sowing the seeds of many a serious disorder. + +On this point I quote a few lines from Dr. Louis Elsberg,[F] professor +of laryngology in the University of New York: "The natural mode of quiet +breathing is through the nose; mouth-breathing is an acquirement. A +new-born infant would choke to death if you closed its nose; it does not +immediately know how to get air into the lungs through the mouth until +after, by depressing the tongue, you have once made a passage for it." + +George Catlin, the celebrated traveller among American Indians, became +so thoroughly convinced that the difference between the healthy +condition and physical perfection of these people in their primitive +state, especially their sound teeth and good lungs, and the deplorable +mortality, the numerous diseases and deformities in _civilized_ +communities, is mainly due to the habit, common among the latter, of +breathing through the mouth, especially during sleep, that he wrote a +book entitled "Malrespiration and its Effects upon the Enjoyment and +Life of Man." In this book he says, "If I were to endeavour to bequeath +to posterity the most important motto which human language can convey, +it should be in three words, 'Shut your mouth.' In the social +transactions of life this might have its beneficial results as the most +friendly cautionary advice, or be received as the grossest of insults; +but where I would print and engrave it, in every nursery and on every +bedpost in the universe, its meaning could not be mistaken, and obeyed, +its importance would soon be realized." + +He also says, "It is one of the misfortunes of civilization that it has +too many amusing and exciting things for the mouth to say, and too many +delicious things for it to taste, to allow of its being closed during +the day. The mouth therefore has too little reserve for the protection +of its natural purity of expression, and too much exposure for the +protection of its garniture; but, _do keep your mouth shut_ when you +_read_, when you _write_, when you _listen_, when you _are in pain_, +when you are _walking_, when you are _running_, when you are _riding_, +and _by all means when you are angry_! There is _no person_ but who will +find and acknowledge _improvement_ in _health_ and _enjoyment_ from even +a temporary attention to this advice." + +Again he says, "There is a proverb, as old and unchangeable as their +hills, amongst North American Indians, 'My son, if thou wouldst be wise, +open first thy eyes; thy ears next, and last of all thy mouth, that thy +words may be words of wisdom, and give no advantage to thine adversary.' +This might be adopted with good effect in _civilized_ life; he who would +_strictly adhere_ to it would be sure to reap its benefits in his +_waking_ hours, and would _soon find_ the habit running into his hours +of _rest_, into which he would _calmly_ enter; dismissing the nervous +anxieties of the day, as he firmly closed his teeth and his lips, only +to be opened _after_ his eyes and his ears in the morning, the rest of +_such_ sleep would bear him daily and hourly proof of its value." + +Catlin regards the habit of sleeping with the mouth open the most +pernicious of _all bad habits_. The horrors of nightmare and snoring +are, according to him, but the _least_ of its evil effects. He thinks +"for the greater portion of the thousands and tens of thousands of +persons suffering with weakness of lungs, with bronchitis, asthma, +indigestion, and other affections of the digestive and respiratory +organs," the correction of this habit is a _panacea_ for their ills! + +He insists that "_mothers_ should be looked to as the first and +principal _correctors_ of this most destructive of human habits; ... and +the united and simultaneous efforts of the civilized world should be +exerted in the overthrow of a monster so destructive to the good looks +and life of man. Every physician should advise his patients, and every +boarding-school in existence and every hospital should have its surgeon +or matron, and every regiment its officer, to make their nightly and +hourly 'rounds,' to force a _stop_ to so unnatural, disgusting, and +dangerous a habit! Under the working of such a system, mothers guarding +and helping the helpless, schoolmasters their scholars, hospital +surgeons their patients, generals their soldiers, and the rest of the +world protecting themselves, a few years would show the glorious results +in the bills of mortality, and the next generation would be a +_regeneration_ of the human race." + +=The Windpipe= (pl. I, W).--Having examined the bellows of our vocal +organ, we next notice the windpipe, by means of which the air is carried +into and out of the lungs. It is an elastic tube kept open by 18 or 20 +rings which do not quite meet at the back. It enters the lungs by means +of two smaller tubes, which in their turn branch out very much like the +roots of a tree, until their ramifications end in the microscopic cells +of the lungs. The windpipe is capable of being slightly elongated or +shortened, and narrowed or widened, and its interior is covered with a +mucous membrane, which, as its name implies, is continually kept in a +moist state. + +=The Voicebox, or Larynx= (pl. V) may be described as resembling a funnel, +the upper part of which has been bent into a triangular shape. Its front +corner (pl. V, 1) may be both seen and felt in the throat, and the +general position of the voicebox is thereby at once indicated. The +framework of the voicebox consists of five parts. 1st. The Ring +cartilage (pl. V, 2) is so named on account of its general resemblance +to a signet ring. It is narrow in front, and has the part corresponding +to the seal behind; the upper border (pl. V, 8, 4) rises very +considerably towards the back, where it is about an inch high. 2nd. +Riding upon this, as it were, with its hollow part towards the back, +is the Shield cartilage (pl. V, 5), which consists of two plates united +in front at an angle which forms the prominence referred to just now as +that corner of the triangular funnel (pl. V, 1) which may be both seen +and felt in the throat, and which is commonly called the Adam's Apple. +It protects the interior and more delicate parts of the voice apparatus, +from which circumstance it derives its name of shield cartilage. The +plates of the shield have each at the back two horns, the upper and the +lower. With the upper horns (pl. VI, 1, 2) the shield cartilage is +attached by means of bands (pl. VI, 6, 7) to the corresponding +projections (pl. VI, 4, 5) of the tongue-bone (pl. VI, 3), which has the +shape of a horseshoe. With the lower horns (pl. V, 8), of which on our +diagram we can only see one, it moves upon the ring cartilage as upon a +hinge (pl. V, 9). + +[Illustration: PLATE V. + +SIDE VIEW OF THE VOICEBOX, OR LARYNX. + + 1. FRONT CORNER OF THE VOICEBOX (LARYNX). + + 2. RING (CRICOID) CARTILAGE. + +3, 4. UPPER BORDER OF THE RING. + + 5. SHIELD (THYROID) CARTILAGE. + +6, 7. UPPER HORNS OF THE SHIELD. + + 8. RIGHT LOWER HORN OF THE SHIELD. + + 9. POINT WHERE THE SHIELD MOVES UPON THE RING. + + 10. RING-SHIELD (CRICO-THYROID) APERTURE COVERED BY MEMBRANE. + + 11. LID (EPIGLOTTIS). + + 12. WINDPIPE (TRACHEA). + +] + +[Illustration: PLATE VI. + +FRONT VIEW OF THE VOICEBOX, OR LARYNX. + + 1, 2. UPPER HORNS OF THE SHIELD. + + 3. TONGUE (HYOID) BONE. + + 4, 5. HORNS OF THE TONGUE-BONE. + + 6, 7. BANDS UNITING THE SHIELD WITH THE TONGUE-BONE. + + 8, 9. LID. + +10, 11. PLATES OF THE SHIELD. + + 12. RING. + + 13. ELASTIC BAND UNITING THE SHIELD WITH THE RING. + + 14. WINDPIPE. + +] + +This is a very particular point, and I beg the reader particularly to +notice that if the shield cartilage (pl. V, 5) were gradually drawn +downwards and forwards, the space which we now see between the shield +and the ring (pl. V, 10) would get smaller and smaller, until at last it +quite disappeared; and the distance between the front of the shield (pl. +V, 1) and the highest part of the back of the ring (pl. V, 4) would be +increased. + + I may observe here that authorities differ as to whether the shield + moves upon the ring, or the ring upon the shield, and that some + maintain the one is drawn down while the other is tipped upward. It + is sufficient for our purpose, however, that a movement as upon a + hinge takes place, whereby, as explained just now, the distance + between the front of the shield and the highest part of the back of + the ring is increased. + +3rd. =The Lid= (pl. V, 11) is an elastic cartilage which serves to close +the voicebox in the act of swallowing, in order to protect it against +any intruding foreign substances. The food we take has to pass over it, +and it sometimes happens, when the lid has not been pulled down tight +enough, that a particle of food enters the voicebox, in which case we +say it has "gone the wrong way," and there is then no peace until the +intruder has been got rid of, generally by a violent fit of coughing. + + The lid, it is true, is not the only means of protection which the + voicebox possesses. Professor C. J. Eberth, for instance, mentions + (Archiv für pathol: Anatomie, vol. lxiii., p. 135, Berlin, 1868) + the case of a woman who, upon dissection, was found to be entirely + without the free upper part of the lid, which could alone cover the + voicebox. She had never experienced any difficulty in swallowing, + and it is therefore clear that with her the closing of some of the + parts immediately below was sufficient to prevent the food from + getting into the voicebox. But "the exception proves the rule," and + in spite of this and other similar cases, the fact remains that the + lid is obviously the first and most natural protector of the + voicebox. + +4th and 5th. We have thus far become acquainted with three cartilages +out of the five. Let us now remove one plate of the shield, as though +cutting it off with a knife (pl. VII, 1 and 2), in order that we may +look inside and see the remaining two cartilages which have hitherto +been hidden by it. These are-- + +=The Pyramids= (pl. VII, 1 and 2), so called because of their shape. Their +bases are triangular and hollowed out; their sides taper upwards and +terminate in points which are bent slightly backwards, and they have +each two projections, one pointing forwards (pl. VII, 3) and the other +outwards and backwards (pl. VII, 4). It will be convenient to have a +special name for the projections pointing outwards and backwards, which +we will therefore call the Levers. + +The Pyramids are attached with their hollow bases to the borders of the +ring (pl. VII, 5), and they are capable of executing rotary movements +with surprising freedom and rapidity. Their inner sides may be made to +run parallel or to diverge. In addition to this they can be drawn +towards each other, or away from each other, so that their summits may +either be widely separated or brought close together. + +=The Vocal Ligaments= are two ledges of elastic tissue covered with a very +delicate membrane. Each one of them is connected along its whole length, +on one side, with the shield cartilage. The vocal ligaments are attached +by their hinder ends to those little projections of the pyramids which +point forwards (pl. VII, 3, 3), and by their front ends to the centre of +the shield (pl. VII, 6), where the two plates meet under a more or +less acute angle. + +[Illustration: PLATE VII. + +SIDE VIEW OF THE VOICEBOX, OR LARYNX, SHOWING THE INTERIOR OF IT, THE +RIGHT PLATE BEING REMOVED. + +1, 2. PYRAMIDS (ARYTENOID CARTILAGES). + +3, 3. FRONT PROJECTIONS OF THE PYRAMIDS. + +4. LEVER OF THE RIGHT PYRAMID. + +5. UPPER BORDER OF THE RING. + +6, 3, 3. VOCAL LIGAMENTS. + +7. LID. + +8. SHIELD. + +9. LEFT UPPER HORN OF THE SHIELD. + +10. RING. + +11. WINDPIPE. +] + + These vocal ligaments are generally called the vocal cords, but + this term is misleading, as it implies strings like those, for + instance, of the violin, which are attached only at either end and + are free at every other point. This, however, as we have just seen, + is not the case, the "Cords" being free only along their inner + edges. The name "Vocal Bands," which German physiologists have + substituted for "Vocal Cords," does not mend the matter, as it is + open to exactly the same objections. The term "Vocal Lips," also + used by some writers, is, in my judgment, the most unfortunate of + all, because it conveys a totally wrong idea of these parts, as + will be seen from a description in another chapter of their + movements in the act of singing. I have, therefore, sought for a + word which, as a proper description of the thing it is to + designate, shall always call a correct image to the reader's mind, + and as I cannot find a better one than "Ligament," I have adopted + it. I shall consequently in these pages always speak of the + tone-producing element as the "Vocal Ligaments." + +The vocal ligaments, having met, are struck by the air blown against +them from below, and being elastic they yield, allowing themselves to be +forced upwards. A little air is thereby set free, and the pressure from +below diminished, in consequence of which the vocal ligaments resume +their former position, and even move a little more downwards. The +renewed pressure of the air once more overcomes the resistance of the +vocal ligaments, which again recede as soon as another escape of air has +taken place, and this process is repeated in rapid and regular +succession. In this manner, and in this manner alone, is vocal tone +produced, whether it be called chest, falsetto, head, or by any other +name. + + There are still some writers who teach a different doctrine. For + instance, Miss Sabilla Novello, in her "Voice and Vocal Art," + embodied in the "Collegiate Vocal Tutor," published by Novello, + Ewer, and Co., says on p. 9, that "The head voice results from the + upper [_i.e._, the false] vocal cords" (these we shall see + presently), and on page 13, that the falsetto tones "are created + principally by the action of the trachea [windpipe] and not by that + of the vocal ligaments." Another writer, Mr. Rumney Illingworth, in + a paper "On the Larynx and its Physiology," read before the Royal + Medical Society of Edinburgh, on March 3rd, 1879, and communicated + to "The Students' Journal and Hospital Gazette" (Vol. IV., No. 91, + p. 151), says that "The falsetto voice is produced by the laryngeal + sacculi [the pockets of the voicebox, which will be described + further on] acting in the same way as a hazel-nut can be made to + act as a whistle, when the kernel has been extracted through a + small hole in the shell; or as part of the cavity of the mouth acts + in whistling." I shall refer to these theories again as the + opportunity for their proper discussion arises; for the present I + will quote a few authorities on the subject. + + Dr. CARPENTER, in his "Human Physiology," eighth edition, page 914, + says, "The true theory of the voice may now be considered as well + established in regard to this essential particular that the sound + is the result of the vibrations of the vocal cords," &c. + + Professor MARSHALL, in his "Outlines of Physiology," page 255, + says: "Experiments on living animals show that the vocal cords are + alone the essential organs for the production of voice, for so long + as these remain untouched, although all the other parts in the + interior of the larynx be destroyed, the animal is able to emit + vocal sounds.... The existence of an opening in the larynx of a + living animal, or of man, _above_ the glottis [glottis means the + vibrating element of the voicebox] in no way prevents the formation + of vocal sound; such an opening if situated in the trachea + [windpipe] causes total loss of voice, but by simply closing it, + vocal sounds can again be produced. Such openings, in man, are met + with, either as the results of accidents, of suicidal attempts, or + of operations performed on the larynx or trachea for the relief of + disease." + + Dr. TOBOLD, Professor in the University of Berlin, in his + "Laryngoscopie and Kehlkopf Krankheiten" (Laryngoscopy and Diseases + of the Larynx), p. 131, says, "Soft palate, lid, pockets, and + pocket-bands are not directly active in the production of either + chest or falsetto tones; they only modify the tone produced in the + glottis." + + Dr. LUSCHKA, Professor in the University of Tubingen, in his great + work "Der Kehlkopf des Menschen" (The Human Larynx), says in the + introduction: "Only the vocal cords, with the slit they form, have + specifically functional signification, in a narrower sense, of a + voice apparatus, as the parts of the larynx which lie under and + over them have no material and deciding influence on the production + of sound." + + I will bring my quotations to a close with the following, which + seeks to prove the contrary. Dr. C. B. GARRETT ("The Human Voice," + J. and J. Churchill, London, 1875, p. 17) says, "It is recorded + that the larynx of a blackbird was removed by severing the windpipe + just below it; that the poor 'thing continued to _sing_, though in + a feebler tone.' This proves that notes can be formed _behind the + instrument_ and before the air reaches it." This argument, however, + is of no value, because it so happens that birds have two larynges, + one at the bottom and the other at the top of the windpipe. Dr. + Garrett seems not to have been aware of this fact. + +The vocal ligaments in the adult male are, in a state of rest, about +three-quarters of an inch long, and in the female about half an inch. I +pointed out before that the vocal ligaments are attached in front to the +shield (pl. VII, 6) and behind to the pyramids (pl. VII, 3, 3). Let it +now be borne in mind--1st, That the pyramids, in their turn, are +fastened to the upper border of the ring cartilage; and 2nd, That by +drawing the shield downwards and forwards upon the ring, the distance +between the upper border of the ring (pl. VII, 5) and the front of the +shield (pl. VII, 6) is increased, and it will be easily seen that this +movement must of necessity have the effect of stretching the vocal +ligaments. + +This drawing of the shield downwards and forwards upon the ring is +brought about by a pair of muscles ascending on either side, in the +shape of a fan, from the ring to the shield cartilage (pl. VIII, 1, 2). +These muscles we name the "Ring-Shield Muscles." In opposition to them +there is another pair inside the shield, running parallel with the vocal +ligaments (pl. IX, 1, 2, 3). They are attached (like the vocal +ligaments) in front to the shield cartilage and behind to the pyramids. +These muscles we will call the "Shield-Pyramid Muscles." They counteract +the ring-shield muscles, and having overcome their resistance, pull the +shield cartilage up again, thereby, of course, relaxing the vocal +ligaments. The ring-shield muscles, therefore, _stretch_ the vocal +ligaments and the shield-pyramid muscles _relax_ them. The +shield-pyramid muscles have an additional function--that of pressing +together the vocal ligaments, under certain circumstances, thereby +narrowing the opening between them. They have therefore been, in these +later days, called the Sphincter[G] muscle of the glottis. They have +also been called the Vocal Muscles, since they play so important a part +in the formation of all vocal tone that a paralysis of them causes total +loss of voice. + +[Illustration: PLATE VIII. + +SIDE VIEW OF THE VOICEBOX, OR LARYNX. + +1, 2. RING-SHIELD MUSCLE (CRICO-THYROIDEUS). + +3. LID. + +4. SHIELD. + +5, 6. UPPER HORNS OF THE SHIELD. + +7. RING. + +8. WINDPIPE. +] + +[Illustration: PLATE IX. + +SIDE VIEW OF THE VOICEBOX, OR LARYNX, SHOWING THE INTERIOR OF THE LEFT +HALF. + +1, 2, 3. SHIELD-PYRAMID MUSCLE (THYRO-ARYTENOIDEUS). + +4, 5. RING-PYRAMID MUSCLE (CRICO-ARYTENOIDEUS). + +6. SHIELD. + +7. LEFT UPPER HORN. + +8. PYRAMID. + +9. RING. + +10. WINDPIPE. +] + + It may be observed here that it is impossible to imitate, in the + dead subject, the contraction of the vocal muscles. All + conclusions, therefore, drawn from experiments upon exsected + larynges, with regard to tone-production in living man are + necessarily quite untrustworthy, and cannot for one moment be + admitted as evidence against observations made upon singers with + the laryngoscope. + +These two pairs of muscles, then, namely the ring-shield muscles (pl. +VIII, 1, 2) and the shield-pyramid muscles (pl. IX, 1, 2, 3) by +stretching, slackening, and compressing the vocal ligaments, mainly +govern the pitch of the tones produced by their vibrations. The +ring-shield muscles receive some assistance in stretching the vocal +ligaments from another quarter, of which we shall speak later on. + +We have now had a look at the vocal ligaments, and we have seen by what +means they are put on the stretch. As, however, in a state of repose +these ligaments diverge behind, they must be brought parallel to each +other before they are ready for the production of sound. Let us, +therefore, in order to explain how this is done, imagine that we have +cut off that part of the pyramids which is standing out above the vocal +ligaments (pl. VII), and let us now have a look at these parts from +above. You see the ligaments (pl. XA, 1, 2), a section of the pyramids +(pl. XA, 3, 4), and uniting these an elastic band (pl. XA, 5). The space +between these parts is commonly called the Glottis, but as this +appellation belongs more properly to the vocal ligaments, it is +manifestly wrong to give the same name to the _space_ which they +inclose. This space should be distinguished as the "_Chink_ of the +Glottis" or the "Vocal Chink." + + I have been blamed for making this distinction in the face of + almost universal usage. But I can point to the great anatomist + Professor Luschka as having set the example, and while it is true + that in most physiological works "Glottis" is used for the _slit_ + between the vocal ligaments, yet the appellations "Rima glottidis" + and "Aperture of the glottis" are also employed for the same thing. + Medical men, moreover, speak of "Spasm of the glottis," and singing + masters of the "Shock of the glottis," which terms are clearly + quite meaningless when applied to a space. + +Dr. Garrett says, on page 12 of the book quoted before, that "The upper +portion of the larynx above the false vocal cords is termed the +glottis." He might as well say, "The upper portion of the face above the +nose is termed the mouth." I really should not notice so astounding a +statement were it not made by one signing himself an M.D., and published +by so eminent a firm of Medical publishers as Messrs. J. and A. +Churchill. + +[Illustration: PLATE X. + +A. GLOTTIS IN REPOSE. + +B. GLOTTIS IN RESPIRATION. + +C. GLOTTIS IN THE PRODUCTION OF SOUND. + +A. 1, 2. VOCAL LIGAMENTS. + +3, 4. SECTION OF THE PYRAMIDS. + +5. ELASTIC BAND. + +6, 7. LEVERS OF THE PYRAMIDS. +] + +On plate XI you see all parts in a state of rest. To the levers of the +pyramids (pl. XI, 1, 2) a pair of muscles is attached, the bases of +which are fixed upon the back of the ring cartilage below (pl. XI, 3, 6, +3). The action of these "Back Ring-Pyramid Muscles" (pl. XI, 4, 1 and 5, +2) is to contract as soon as we take breath, thereby drawing together +the pyramids _behind_ and separating them _in front_, at the same time +stretching the elastic band behind (pl. X, A, 5). By this movement the +chink of the glottis is thrown _wide open_ into the shape depicted on +pl. X, B. During expiration these relax, the elastic band contracts, and +the vocal chink resumes the shape as on pl. XI. These movements go on +from the beginning of our lives to the end, whether we are asleep or +awake, with more or less vigour, according as we take a slight or a deep +inspiration. The back ring-pyramid muscles (pl. XI, 4, 1 and 5, 2), have +consequently the all-important function of keeping open the gate through +which the air we breathe enters the lungs. They have, therefore, been +poetically called the "Guardians of the Portal of Life." By their action +of pulling the pyramids backwards, they also assist the ring-shield +muscles (pl. VIII, 1, 2) in stretching the vocal ligaments. + + * * * * * + +In opposition to these "Opening Muscles" there is another pair rising +from the side borders of the ring (pl. XI, 3, 3) which are fastened to +the front part of the levers of the pyramids (pl. XI, 1, 2), serving to +draw together their front projections to which the vocal ligaments are +attached, and which are thereby brought parallel with each other. + +[Illustration: PLATE XI. + + +VIEW OF A SECTION OF THE VOICEBOX, OR LARYNX, FROM ABOVE. + +1, 2. SECTION OF THE PYRAMIDS WITH VOCAL LIGAMENTS AND ELASTIC BAND. + +3, 6, 3. RING. + +7. PYRAMID MUSCLE (ARYTENOIDEUS TRANSVERSUS). + +8, 9, 10. SHIELD. + +11. BANDS BY MEANS OF WHICH THE PYRAMIDS ARE ATTACHED TO THE RING. + +4 & 5. BACK RING-PYRAMID MUSCLES (POSTERIOR CRICO-ARYTENOIDEI). + +1, 3 & 2, 3. SIDE RING-PYRAMID MUSCLES (LATERAL CRICO-ARYTENOIDEI). + +NOTE.--The shield-pyramid muscles (Thyro-Arytenoidei) which run parallel +with the vocal ligaments are, for the sake of clearness, omitted from +this diagram.] + +These "Side Ring-Pyramid Muscles" (pl. XI, 3, 1 and 3, 2; see also pl. +IX, 5, 4) are assisted by a single muscle uniting the pyramids behind +the elastic band which we have already noticed. This muscle we will call +the "Pyramid Muscle" (pl. XI, 7). By the united action of the muscles +which have just been described the vocal chink is thrown in the shape +shown on pl. X, C, and the vocal ligaments are now in a proper position +for the production of tone. + + * * * * * + +Before proceeding any farther it will be well if we once more glance at +the muscles with which we have become acquainted, so that we may be +quite sure about their functions. + + +MUSCLES: + +I. GOVERNING THE SHAPE OF THE VOCAL CHINK. + +The Back Ring-Pyramid} OPENING +Muscles } THE VOCAL CHINK. + +THESE ARE OPPOSED BY-- + +The Side Ring-Pyramid } +Muscles, and the Pyramid} CLOSING +Muscles, assisted by the} THE VOCAL CHINK. +Shield-Pyramid Muscles } + + +II. GOVERNING THE PITCH OF THE TONES. + +The Ring-Shield Muscles, } STRETCHING +assisted by the Back Ring-Pyramid } +Muscles } THE VOCAL LIGAMENTS. + +THESE ARE OPPOSED BY-- + +The Shield-Pyramid } SLACKENING +Muscles } THE VOCAL LIGAMENTS. + +=The Pocket Ligaments= (called "False Vocal Cords," pl. XII, 1 and 2) are +a pair of horizontal projections running above and parallel with the +vocal ligaments (pl. XII, 3 and 4). The pocket ligaments are, like the +vocal ligaments, attached in front to the shield and behind to the +pyramids. They may be described as two ledge-shaped pads mainly formed +of glands. They are very sensitive and movable, and ready on the +smallest incitement to meet with great rapidity in order to protect the +vocal ligaments from any harm. They must, therefore, be chiefly regarded +as safeguards of the vocal apparatus, though it is probable that by +breaking the stream of air passing through the chink of the glottis, +they also exercise considerable influence upon the _quality_ of the tone +emitted. It may be affirmed, however, without the slightest hesitation, +that they have absolutely nothing to do with the _production_ of tone. +We shall see these glandular ledges again during our observations upon +the living subject, and I shall therefore say no more about them at +present. + +[Illustration: PLATE XII. + +VIEW OF THE VOICEBOX, OR LARYNX, WHICH HAS BEEN CUT OPEN FROM BEHIND. + +1, 2. POCKET LIGAMENTS (FALSE VOCAL CORDS). + +3, 4. VOCAL LIGAMENTS (VOCAL CORDS). + +5, 6. SHIELD (THYROID) CARTILAGE. + +7, 8. CARTILAGES OF SANTORINI. + +9. LID (EPIGLOTTIS). + +14, 10 & 15, 11. FOLDS OF MUCOUS MEMBRANE (ARYTENO-EPIGLOTTIC FOLDS). + +12, 13. WEDGES (CUNEIFORM CARTILAGES). + +14, 15. CARTILAGES OF WRISBERG. + +16, 17. PYRAMID MUSCLE (ARYTENOIDEUS TRANSVERSUS). + +18, 19. RING (CRICOID) CARTILAGE. + +20, 21. TONGUE (HYOID) BONE. +] + +The space between the pocket ligaments and the vocal ligaments (pl. XII, +1, 2, 3, 4) is the entrance to two pouches or pockets which extend +outwards and upwards. The dimensions of these pockets vary very much in +different individuals. As a rule their height does not exceed two-fifths +of an inch, so that their terminations do not reach the upper borders of +the shield cartilage (pl. XII, 5 and 6). But there are instances in +which the pockets are nearly three-quarters of an inch high, and where +such is the case they, as a necessary consequence, reach beyond the +shield. Sometimes they are so high as nearly to touch the root of the +tongue. Their outer walls are chiefly formed of loose fatty cellular +tissue, and the pockets are almost entirely surrounded by a large number +of small glands. + + Now these are the "Laryngeal sacculi" which, according to Mr. + Illingworth, produce the falsetto voice by "acting in the same way + as a hazel-nut can be made to act as a whistle, when the kernel has + been extracted through a small hole in the shell," &c. I think, + however, that the reader will, from the description given above, + agree with me that the acoustic properties of the pockets of the + voicebox cannot be very great, and that, at all events, there is a + vast difference between their construction and that of a hazel-nut, + either with or without the kernel. Then there is this additional + difficulty, that even if one could whistle upon the pockets in the + manner suggested, there are two of them, covered, let it be + remembered, with a multitude of glands, continually producing + moisture, and liable to enlarge or to diminish. How, I should like + to know, could two such cavities be so tuned as under any + circumstances to produce exactly the same tones? Would not rather + frightful discords be the inevitable result? And again, what + provision is there in the pockets for the gradations of pitch? But + quite apart from these considerations, this and other similar + theories are completely disproved by the fact that every tone which + the human voice is capable of producing can be produced by + _inspiration as well as by expiration_. The tones sung by + inspiration are, as might be expected, wholly devoid of beauty, + because the vocal apparatus is, as it were, put upside down, and + the position of bellows and resonator reversed. But that does not + alter the question. The fact remains, and clearly proves that the + pockets have no more to do with the falsetto than with the chest + voice, because in inspiration the air strikes the vocal ligaments + _after it has passed_ the pockets, and yet the result is, beauty of + tone apart, exactly the same. + +The function of the pockets, in my opinion, is this: They are the means +of isolating the vocal ligaments, thus enabling them to vibrate freely +and without hindrance. They also allow the sound-waves to expand +sideways, thereby materially adding to their resonance. Lastly, they +with their many little glands produce and supply the vocal ligaments +with that moisture without which, according to the investigations of J. +Müller,[H] the production of tone cannot be carried on. + +Above the pocket ligaments there is a kind of tube which is formed by +the upper part of the pyramids (surmounted by two little bodies called +the cartilages of Santorini, pl. XII, 7, 8) behind; the lid or +epiglottis (pl. XII, 9) in front, and sideways by two folds of mucous +membrane running up from the pyramids to the lid (pl. XII, 14, 10 and +15, 11). These folds are in many cases supported by two small +cartilages, which we will call the Wedges (pl. XII, 12, 13). These, +according to Madame Emma Seiler, are the chief factors in the formation +of the highest register of the female voice. In some physiological works +they are treated as of very little consequence, and in others they are +not mentioned at all. + +These wedges are two thin strips of cartilage running in front of the +pyramids (pl. XII, 12 and 13) where they are embedded in a number of +glands. Their upper ends terminate in the cartilages of Wrisberg (pl. +XII, 14, 15), and their lower ends gradually dwindle away in the +direction of the vocal ligaments. + + Madame Seiler says that they "reach to the middle of the vocal + chords, by which they are enveloped."[I] She comments in the same + book on the fact that German anatomists have been reluctant to + admit the existence of these cartilages; and she adds on page 61, + "It was, therefore, a great satisfaction to me to find them + described under the name of the cuneiform cartilages in Wilson's + 'Human Anatomy.'" It must be confessed, however, that Wilson's + description of them is totally different from Madame Seiler's. He + says, "The cuneiform cartilages are two small cylinders of yellow + fibro-cartilage, about seven lines in length and enlarged at each + extremity. _By the lower end or base_ the cartilage is attached _to + the middle of the external surface_ of the arytenoid (the pyramid), + and by its upper extremity forms a prominence in the border of the + aryteno-epiglottidean fold of membrane"[J] (_i.e._, the fold + running up to the lid). According to Seiler, therefore, the wedges + reach from the pyramids to the middle of the vocal ligaments, but + according to Wilson their bases are attached to the middle of the + outer surface of the pyramids, so that they cannot even touch the + vocal ligaments. As Madame Seiler assigns very important functions + to these wedges in the formation of the highest register of the + female voice, and as she quotes Wilson in a manner that must lead + the reader to suppose he gave a similar description to hers of + these cartilages, I have thought it right to give Wilson's + statement in full. + + But there is a description of these cartilages by Dr. Witkowski + which corresponds very closely with Madame Seiler's. Speaking of + some of the glands of the voicebox, he says in the work mentioned + before, on p. 12--"They are arranged in the form of an L, whose + vertical branch goes along the arytenoid cartilages (the pyramids), + _the horizontal branch following the direction of the vocal cords_. + _There is often found situated in the midst of this group of glands + the cuneiform cartilage of Wrisberg_, sometimes reduced to a mere + cartilaginous granule." + + Dr. Elsberg also describes them on p. 37 of the treatise before + mentioned as "elongated nodules" in the hinder portion of the vocal + ligaments, and says they are found "more often in the female than + in the male sex." He calls them the "posterior vocal nodules," and + gives on p. 36 a diagram which shows them most clearly and + unmistakably. This point would therefore seem to be settled. + +=The Resonator.=--We now come to the last part of our instrument, namely, +the resonator, which is formed of (1) the pockets of the larynx; (2) the +tube above the pocket ligaments; (3) the upper part of the throat; (4) +the mouth; and (5) the nose. Before giving a description of the +resonator, it will be necessary to make a few introductory remarks on +certain laws of the philosophy of sound, which have been so clearly +demonstrated that they admit of no contradiction. + +=Tone=, as we have seen, is the result of rapid periodic vibrations. + +The =Loudness= of tone depends upon the _amplitude_ of the vibrations. +This is easily shown by drawing a bow over the string of a violin: while +the vibrations of the string are largest, the tone produced is loudest, +and as the vibrations get smaller, so the tone becomes fainter. + +The =Pitch= of tone depends upon the _number_ of vibrations in a given +period of time. The greater the number of vibrations the higher the +pitch, and _vice versâ_. + +The =Quality= of tone depends on the _form_ of the vibrations, "which also +determines the occurrence of upper partial tones."[K] + +Now, to make the sound of any tone-producing element more intense, and +to give it some special quality, is the work of the resonator. If we +simply fix a fiddle string at either end, and, after giving it a certain +amount of tension, draw a bow across it, we shall certainly produce a +tone, but a very poor and faint one. Put the same string with the same +amount of tension upon a cheap violin, and the tone will be intensified, +and its quality changed, though that quality may be of a very unpleasant +kind. Repeat the experiment upon an Amati or a Straduarius, and not only +will the tone be more powerful still, but it will also have a full, +round, and beautiful quality. Something, it is true, depends upon the +string and upon the bowing, but we are here supposing the same string +and the same player, our object being to show how the _resonator_, +which, in this case, is the body of the violin, intensifies the tone of +the string, and affects its quality. + +Illustrations exemplifying the same thing might be multiplied to any +extent, but the one I have just given will suffice. As with the string, +so with the vocal ligaments. Cut a larynx out of a dead body, put it in +proper position on the top of a bellows, and force the air through it, +and you will produce tone, but faint and poor tone. Now add a resonator +to the larynx, and the tone of the vocal ligaments will be intensified, +and its quality altered according to the kind of resonator you make use +of. + +It is clear, therefore, that the human voice does not only depend upon +the vibrations of the vocal ligaments, and the corresponding vibrations +of the air passing between them, but also upon the resonator as defined +on p. 9. According to the natural formation of our resonator, and +according to the infinite variety of shapes which every one has it in +his power to give to it, our voices will be, always supposing the +conditions of the vocal ligaments to be the same, either full, round, +sonorous, and _beautiful_, or they will be poor, cutting, muffled, +guttural, nasal, and _ugly_. + +As we have, or may easily acquire, absolute command over the resonator, +or, at least, over the greatest part of it, it is a comfort to know that +so very much depends upon it, and I trust my readers will now, with some +amount of pleasure, look with me at this part of the vocal apparatus. + +The 1st and 2nd divisions of the resonator--namely, the pockets of the +larynx and the tube above the pocket ligaments--have been fully +described on pp. 52, 53, and no more need be said on the subject here. + +The upper part of the throat, called in scientific works the "Pharynx" +(pl. I, P), is a cavity, the largest part of which may be seen through +the arch at the back of the open mouth. Its hinder wall is formed by the +spinal column, and it extends upwards as far as the Eustachian tubes +(pl. I, E) which communicate with the middle part of the ear. Here it +joins-- + +The =Cavities of the Nose= (pl. I, N), which have for their base the hard +and soft palate (pl. I, H and S), and which are divided by a bone +partition. + +The only part of the =Mouth= which requires a particular description is +the soft palate. This is a movable partition by means of which either +the mouth or the nose can be completely separated from the throat. If +the nose is to be shut off from the throat the soft palate is _raised_, +and pressed against the back of the pharynx. If the mouth is to be shut +off the soft palate is _lowered_, and rests closely upon the back of the +tongue. This partition plays a most important part in vocalization. In +the formation of all pure vowel sounds it is _raised_, thereby closing +the nasal cavities, and it has been found that the closure is loosest +for "ah" (as in "father") and tightest for "e" (as in "bee"), the +intermediate vowels being "a" (as in "name"), "oh" and "oo" (as in +"food"). This has been clearly shown by Czermak in the following manner. +Lying down on his back, he had the nasal cavities filled with tepid +water. He then uttered the various vowel sounds, and ascertained from +the quantity of water required to force open the closure formed by the +soft palate the degree of tightness for each vowel. He afterwards +constructed a very ingenious little apparatus, by means of which, in one +of his lectures, he demonstrated this fact to his audience. It will be +easily understood from the above explanation that, if the closure of +the nasal cavities is sufficiently imperfect to allow any considerable +amount of air to pass through the nose, the result will be a nasal tone. + + I am aware that the very opposite is taught by some. There are + those who maintain that nasal tone arises from the air _not_ being + able to get through the nose. I am even informed that in some parts + of England where nasal tone seems to be a general affliction, it is + the practice of teachers of singing to cause their pupils to bathe + their noses in hot water in order to relax the muscles which are + supposed by their contraction to produce nasal tone. I would, + however, in support of my statement, draw attention to the + following indisputable facts:--(1) It is quite possible to + completely close the nostrils, and yet to produce pure vocal tone. + (2) Persons who are either partly or entirely without the soft + palate can _under no circumstances_ utter a single sound without + the most pronounced nasal quality. It seems to me that these facts + sufficiently speak for themselves; but if any of my readers are not + convinced by them, let them try this experiment: Take a thin mirror + and hold it flat against the upper lip, with the glass upwards. Now + sing a pure vocal tone, and the mirror will remain perfectly + bright. Sing, on the contrary, with nasal quality, and the mirror + will at once be completely dimmed. This shows conclusively that + nasal sound is produced by singing _through_ the nose, and this + cannot be done without lowering the soft palate. Teachers of + singing know well enough that guttural tone is caused by the + obstinate arching up of the tongue, and if they understand their + business they eventually succeed in teaching a pupil labouring + under this disadvantage to get perfect control over his tongue. But + nobody thinks of the soft palate, though that can be brought under + subjection just as well as the tongue. Let singing masters see to + it, and young ladies will no longer be laughed at for having to + put their noses into hot water before charming their friends with + a song. + +It now only remains to be added that the interior of the windpipe and of +the voicebox, as well as that of the throat, the mouth, and the nose, is +lined with a thin mucous membrane of a pinkish colour. This concludes my +description of the Vocal Organ as a musical instrument. + + + + +DIFFERENCES OF THE VOICEBOX, OR LARYNX, IN CHILDREN, WOMEN, AND MEN. + + +The voicebox of a newly-born baby is about one-third the size of that of +a grown woman. It is therefore rather large in proportion to other parts +of the body, with the exception of the head, which comparatively is +larger still. The horizontal outline of the shield cartilage is a very +gentle curve, and the upper horns are short, in consequence of which the +voicebox is close to the tongue. The wedges, according to Merkel, are +strongly developed; the vocal ligaments are short and thick, and the +pockets deep. Up to the third year the voicebox grows very considerably, +but no particular alterations take place from that time to the period of +puberty, which generally occurs at the age of 14 or 15, rather earlier +in girls than in boys. This period of change lasts from six to twelve +months, or sometimes even two or three years. During this time the vocal +organs undergo a marked change. In boys, the angle at which the two +plates of the shield meet becomes more and more acute, and the length of +the vocal ligaments increases only in the proportion of five to ten. In +girls, on the other hand, the horizontal outline of the shield does not +lose its evenness, and the length of the vocal ligaments increases only +in the proportion of five to seven. The cartilages would seem, +especially in boys, to grow more rapidly than the muscles, so that the +slowly-growing muscles do not, at first, control the newly-developed +cartilages. This accounts for the unmanageable state of the voice at +this period. The changes which take place in the female voicebox are +very imperceptible, so that they do not materially affect the character +of the voice. In the male voicebox, on the contrary, the alterations are +very marked, and the result is that the high voice of the boy is changed +into the tenor or the bass of the man. While, therefore, before the +period of puberty the voicebox is materially the same in both sexes, +there are, afterwards, considerable differences noticeable, not only +with regard to size, but also with regard to shape. This seems, indeed, +sufficiently obvious, and any one can see it by simply comparing the +outside of the throat of a man with that of a woman. + + Nevertheless we are told by Mr. Lunn[L] that "Anatomy teaches us + that there is no difference between the male and female larynx save + in size;" and by Dr. Garrett (on page 13 of the book quoted before) + that "The male larynx does not differ anatomically in the least + from that of the female, except in size." + + My readers may judge for themselves whether these statements are + borne out by facts or not. + +It must further be observed that the whole upper part of the shield in +the female voicebox is less developed than in the male. The upper horns +are short, so that the voicebox is more closely attached to the +tongue-bone, and its position in the throat is altogether higher in +woman than in man. To show more clearly still the difference in the +proportions of the male and the female voicebox, I give below some +average measurements (taken from Luschka's great work on the Larynx) +which I have, for the convenience of English readers, reduced, as nearly +as possible, from centimetres and millimetres to inches. + + MALE. FEMALE. + + Height of the voicebox in } 2-4/5in. 1-9/10in. + front, with the lid raised } (7 cent.) (4.8 cent.) + + Greatest width between the } 1-3/5in. 1-2/5in. + plates of the shield cartilage} (4 cent.) (3.5 cent.) + + Depth between the lower } + border of the shield cartilage, } 1-1/5in. 1 in. + and the opposite point } (3 cent.) (2.4 cent.) + of the ring cartilage. } + + Length of the vocal chink ... 1 in. 3/5 in. + (25 mm.) (15 mm.) + +According to this eminent anatomist, therefore, the differences between +male and female larynges are as follows: In height, 9/10; in width, 1/5; +in depth, 1/5; in the length of the vocal chink, 2/5 of an inch. As it +is plain that if there were "no difference between the male and the +female larynx save in size," all their proportions would be alike, I +think I may safely assume that I have proved my point, which is a rather +important one, as the reader will see when the registers in the male and +female voice come up for discussion. + +We will now consider the question how the various classes of +voice--_i.e._, Sopranos, Contraltos, Tenors, and Basses--are to be +accounted for by corresponding differences in the voicebox. We know that +tone is produced by the vibrations of the vocal ligaments. It is clear, +therefore, that a voice will be high or low according to the number of +vibrations which the ligaments are capable of producing, or in other +words, according to their dimensions and their tension. This difference +is easily seen by comparing the voicebox of a soprano with that of a +bass, because there the proportions are so manifestly smaller in the one +than in the other. There are similar distinctions between soprano and +contralto on the one hand, and between tenor and bass on the other, but +they are not so striking. Neither can they, for various reasons, be +demonstrated with the laryngoscope; but they exist nevertheless. + +It is true that the vocal ligaments of a soprano are sometimes longer +than those of a contralto, just as the ligaments of a tenor are +occasionally longer than those of a bass. But I maintain that the longer +ligaments of sopranos and tenors are correspondingly thinner, and that +their tension is greater, owing to the ring-shield or stretching muscles +being more powerful than their opponents--the shield-pyramid muscles. +Where this is the case the ligaments are more slanting than they would +be otherwise, and the consequence of this is that less power of blast is +required to make them speak. With this mechanism the higher registers +are very readily united with the lower ones, and the voices so produced +are of a light and flexible kind. Where, on the contrary, the vocal +ligaments of contraltos and basses are comparatively short, they are +also thick in proportion, and the shield-pyramid muscles are more +powerful than the opposing ring-shield muscles, so that there is less +tension. I shall be asked how I can prove this tension theory, and my +reply is this: The diameter of the vocal ligaments depends in a large +measure on the magnitude of the shield-pyramid muscles. If, therefore, +the ligaments are exceptionally thick, the muscles just named must of +necessity be very powerful, and can easily resist the pulling of the +ring-shield muscles. If, on the contrary, the ligaments are +exceptionally thin, it is equally certain that the shield-pyramid +muscles are weak in proportion, and then the stretching muscles can +easily overcome their resistance. + + * * * * * + +I may add that I came to the above conclusions about the various classes +of voices years ago, when commencing the study of this subject. Not only +have I never since seen any reason to alter my views--although I have +not failed to notice and carefully examine the theories of others +denying my doctrine--but I am more than ever convinced that my +explanations are correct. I have now the gratification of seeing my +theory confirmed by so great an authority as Dr. Merkel, of Leipzig, who +most elaborately explains the subject in his latest work on the larynx, +to which I have already alluded in these pages. + + * * * * * + +Besides the factors enumerated above, there are, no doubt, others which +are also of consequence in determining the particular kind of voice to +be produced by this vocal apparatus or by that; as, for instance, the +windpipe, or the resonator, or both. The capacity of the chest--nay, the +structure of the whole body, may have a more or less direct influence +upon it. But there are absolutely no statistics to proceed upon, and in +the absence of these it is vain to indulge in any speculations on the +subject. + + + + +MOVEMENTS OF THE VOICEBOX, OR LARYNX, WHICH CAN BE SEEN OR FELT. + + +The voicebox in a man is situated almost exactly in the middle of the +throat; in woman its position is, for reasons partly explained on page +64, considerably higher. It moves downwards in inspiration, and upwards +in expiration; and the more vigorously we breathe, the more marked are +these movements. In the act of swallowing the voicebox rises quickly, +and in yawning it goes down so completely that the whole windpipe may +vanish into the chest, and even the part of the ring cartilage may +disappear. + +When singing in what is called chest-voice the voicebox rises gradually +with each higher tone. Changing the mode of tone production, and +singing--say an octave higher--in falsetto, the voicebox makes quite a +leap upwards, and then again rises gradually with each higher tone, +just as in chest-voice, but in a lesser degree. The voicebox, however, +does not stand so high for the lowest falsetto as for the highest chest +tones. + + It is possible, of course, to limit these movements to a minimum, + but a teacher who insists upon his pupils keeping their voice-boxes + perfectly still commits a serious mistake, because it is always + injurious to do violence to nature. It is one thing to keep the + voicebox steady, thereby facilitating the working of some of those + muscles which act immediately upon the vocal ligaments; it is quite + another thing, as will be seen below, to attempt to prevent + movements which have to serve a great purpose. + +In _whispering_, the voicebox occupies a different position in the +throat for each vowel. I invite the reader to try the following curious +experiment. Let him take the larynx gently between the thumb and the +first finger, and then _whisper_ OO (as in "food,") OH, AH, A (as in +"name,") and E (as in "bee"). He will find that the voicebox rises with +every succeeding vowel until at last it has completely slipped away from +between the finger and thumb. Each one of these _whispered_ vowels has, +as first ascertained by Helmholtz, its exact pitch, whether uttered by a +little child or by an old man, and the effect of the rising of the +voicebox is to shorten the resonator, whereby the raising of the pitch +is produced. + +I stated on page 41 that the vocal ligaments were capable of being +stretched by the ring-shield muscles, and that the pitch of the tones +produced by their vibrations depended mainly on their tension. As we +are now taking note of such movements of the voicebox as may be either +seen or felt in the throat, we will take the opportunity of trying +whether my statement can be verified. Let the reader, therefore, do as +follows:--(1) Place the finger on the shield cartilage, and press it +vigorously backward. (2) Sing loudly any high tone that is well within +your compass. Hold this tone steadily, and _be quite sure you do not +alter its pitch_. (3) Now suddenly remove your finger, continuing to +sing as before. What is the result? Your tone is raised by a third, or +even more, according to the amount of pressure you exercised on the +shield. And how did this result come about? In this way: By pressing the +shield backwards you elongated the ring-shield muscles, thereby +counteracting their stretching influence, and at the same time +slackening the vocal ligaments. The tone you sang while doing this was, +we will say C'. By releasing the shield you enabled the ring-shield +muscles to contract again, thereby putting the vocal ligaments on the +stretch as they were at first. That changed your C' to E', or higher +still. Have I proved my assertion? + +Now one more test, if you please. I pointed out to you on page 34 an +opening between the shield and the ring. You will see it on plate V, No. +10. Please sing a low tone; place your finger gently on the shield, and +move it downwards. You will soon discover a little hollow which +corresponds with the opening I just mentioned, and into which you can +easily put part of the tip of your finger. Now sing up the scale, and +take care to keep the tip of your finger in the hollow. Remember that in +singing up the scale your voicebox will rise, which movement you must +follow, or you will lose the place. If you do this carefully, you will +find that the hollow gets smaller and smaller by degrees until at last +it closes entirely, and you can no longer find a trace of it. Now sing +down again, keeping your finger on the same spot. You will soon notice +the hollow again, and it will continue to get larger and larger until +you arrive at the bottom of your scale. + +This, of course, is but another way of showing the mechanism by which +the pitch of your tones is raised or lowered, and we have proved the +same thing by our preceding experiment. But I asked you to try this +chiefly because it will enable you to put a check upon my statements +with regard to the registers of the voice, a subject which I propose to +discuss in another chapter. + + + + +THE LARYNGOSCOPE, AND HOW TO USE IT. + + +The Laryngoscope in its simplest form is a thin circular mirror, about +three-quarters of an inch in diameter, set in a metal frame, and +fastened at an angle of 120° to a piece of wire from three to four +inches long, which is put into a small wooden handle not much thicker +than a pencil, and about the same length as the wire. By help of the +laryngoscope we can either see our own larynx or that of another person. +The easiest experiment is upon the larynx of some one else. In this +case, the person to be operated upon sits facing the sun, the head +slightly bent backwards, and the mouth wide open. If he has not +sufficient control over his tongue to prevent it from arching up, he +must gently hold its protruding tip with a pocket handkerchief between +his thumb and forefinger. The mirror is now slightly warmed to prevent +its becoming dimmed by the moisture of the breath, and then, holding it +like a pen, the operator introduces it into the throat so that it +touches the uvula. This must be done lightly yet firmly, care being +taken not to bring the mirror into contact with the base of the tongue. +The rays of the sun falling upon the mirror are reflected downwards into +the voicebox, the image of which is clearly visible in the mirror. In +making observations upon oneself, a second mirror in the shape of an +ordinary hand looking-glass is necessary to reproduce the image in the +small mirror. This is the way in which the renowned professor of +singing, Senor Manuel Garcia, made those famous "Observations on the +Human Voice," communicated to the Royal Society by Dr. Sharpey, on May +the 24th, 1855. Similar attempts had been made before; for instance, in +1827 by Babington, in 1838 by Baumès, in 1840 by Liston, and in 1844 by +Warden and Avery. But they had all ended in failure, an occasional +glimpse of some parts of the voicebox being the only result obtained. +Garcia, however, brilliantly succeeded where all his predecessors had +failed, and was the first not only to see the vocal ligaments, but to +see them in the act of singing, and to see them so clearly as to be able +to give an account of their minutest movements. The instrument has since +been greatly improved, and the process of investigation has become a +science. Medical men all over the world have laid hold of it, and +suffering humanity is daily benefited by it. But Garcia is the man who +produced the first results, and to him, therefore, is due the credit of +being practically the inventor of the laryngoscope. + +It is almost incredible, but it is true, that this splendid invention +was received coldly and with distrust in this country, and had it not +been for Dr. Johann N. Czermak, Professor of Physiology at the +University of Pesth, the matter would, in all probability, have been +forgotten. But this gentleman recognized the value of Garcia's +invention, and he at once went enthusiastically to work, and pushed on +vigorously in the way which Garcia had opened for him. He constructed an +apparatus which enabled him, by making use of artificial light, to work +without interruption and without waiting for the sun to shine. He then +made his first attempts on himself in order to become acquainted with +the conditions which have to be fulfilled by the observer as well as by +the person to be operated upon. In this way he soon became a master of +the new process, which he immediately brought under the notice of the +profession by giving lectures and demonstrations in the chief towns of +Europe. + +More than twenty years have passed since then, and the laryngoscope has, +during that time, been made excellent use of, not only for the +alleviation of suffering, and the cure of disease, but also for its +original purpose--_i.e._, the exploration of the mechanism of the human +voice. + +My own connection with the matter has arisen through my desire to sift +contradictory statements made by various observers. Having read many +English, German, and French books on the subject, I was in position to +pick up a hint here, and to get some good advice there, and the +consequence was that I was able to pursue a course which made me +familiar with the use of the laryngoscope in a very short time. As my +experience may be useful to others, I will briefly relate how I +proceeded. + +I made my first attempts upon a skull, to which I attached a +plaster-of-Paris model of the voicebox, the whole being fastened to an +iron stand. The instrument I used was a concave reflector on a spectacle +frame. The reflector had a hole in the centre, and was capable of being +moved in various directions. The next thing was the little mirror +described on page 73, and lastly, a gas lamp on the principle of the +well-known "Queen's" reading lamps, which can be raised or lowered at +pleasure. I placed the skull to the left of the lamp, and looking with +my right eye through the hole in the centre of the reflector, practised +throwing the light swiftly and with certainty into the upper part of the +throat. I then introduced the little spy mirror, and tried to see and to +recognize the various parts of the voicebox, which, let it be +remembered, present a somewhat different appearance in the looking-glass +from what they do if seen without it. Then I got a friend to mark my +artificial voicebox, unknown to me, in various ways, and endeavoured +quickly to discover what he had done. In this way I soon acquired a +considerable amount of skill in handling the instrument, and also became +thoroughly familiar with the image of the voicebox in the mirror.[M] +Having thus to a large extent mastered the mechanical part of my work, I +proceeded to make observations upon myself. I placed to the left of the +lamp an ordinary bedroom looking-glass, in which now appeared my own +face instead of the skull which hitherto occupied this place. I opened +my mouth, and by the help of the reflector directed the light into the +image of it in the looking-glass. I then continued in every way as I +had done with the skull, with this difference, however, that I had +first, as pointed out before, to warm the little spy mirror in order to +prevent its becoming dimmed in the throat. + +An instrument has since been designed by the late Dr. G. D. Foulis, of +Glasgow, which for simplicity, general excellence, and cheapness, far +surpasses the above contrivance, and which I strongly recommend to +intending students of laryngoscopy. It consists of a plain stand on +which is placed a glass globe filled with water, the whole being +surmounted by a small square mirror. The rays from a lamp or candle, +placed behind the globe, are concentrated into the open mouth of the +observer, who is seated in front of it, enabling him, by the use of an +ordinary throat mirror, to inspect the movements of his own vocal +ligaments. + +[Illustration] + +This apparatus, as shown in the annexed drawing, including a throat +mirror, and safely packed for transmission, may be had from Messrs. W. +B. Hilliard & Sons, 65, Renfield Street, Glasgow, for the very small sum +of 7s. 6d. + +Let not the reader who tries laryngoscopic investigations be discouraged +if, at first, violent retching is the result. It does not so much arise +from sensitiveness of the parts touched, as from awkwardness in +introducing the mirror. If he perseveres he will soon be rewarded by a +view of the pearly white vocal ligaments, and a little repeated practice +upon himself will enable him also to operate upon others without causing +them discomfort. + +I close this chapter by again reminding amateur laryngoscopists that in +the vast majority of cases where the touch of the mirror causes retching +and gagging, it is due less to the sensitiveness of the person operated +upon than to the want of skill on the part of the operator. He should in +that case renew his experiments upon himself, and continue them until he +has fully mastered the use of the instrument, as it is not fair to make +others suffer for his own clumsiness. + + + + +THE TEACHINGS OF THE LARYNGOSCOPE. + + +On introducing the mirror into the throat we first see the back part of +the tongue, which has a very uneven surface, and which is, as a rule, +covered with greyish phlegm. We next notice a hollow space between the +tongue and the lid, which is divided by an elastic band forming a little +bridge between the two. Next comes the upper free part of the lid, the +shape of which greatly varies in different individuals. It hangs over +the voicebox, which it almost completely hides from view; but during the +production of a high tone on the vowel A, as in "sad," it takes an +almost perpendicular position. When the lid is so raised (pl. XIV, L) we +can see right down to the bottom of it, where we observe that it bulges +out a little. Extending from either side of the lid to the pyramids are +two folds of mucous membrane, in the hinder part of either of which are +to be observed two little elevations representing the cartilages of +Santorini (pl. XIV, S S), and the upper points of the wedges, called +the cartilages of Wrisberg (pl. XIV, W W). Looking down the kind of tube +which is formed by the parts just enumerated, we next notice two +horizontal projections running from front to back, which are the pocket +ligaments (pl. XIV, P P). Everything we have seen so far is of a pinkish +colour. Below the pocket ligaments, right at the bottom of the tube +described above, we see the main object of our investigation, namely, +the vocal ligaments (pl. XIV, V V). These, being almost of a pearly +white, form a strong contrast to all their surroundings, and it is quite +impossible to mistake them. + + * * * * * + +In quiet breathing the vocal chink is of a triangular shape, of which, +however, we can only see the hinder part, the front part being hidden by +the lid (pl. XIII). In exaggerated efforts at breathing this space gets +considerably larger, so that, with a well-directed light, we can see +into the windpipe, of which the rings are plainly noticeable. It is even +possible to see the lowest part of the windpipe, where it is divided +into the two branches entering the lungs. + + * * * * * + +For the purpose of studying the movements of the vocal ligaments in the +act of singing, the vowel A, as in "sad" will be found the most +favourable, because the formation of the mouth, and the position of the +tongue which it necessitates, enable us to get a complete view of the +interior of the voicebox, which during the emission of other vowel +sounds is more or less hidden. + + Mr. Lunn objects that all investigations with the laryngoscope are + valueless on account of the supposed necessity of holding the tip + of the protruding tongue. He says, in a letter to the "Orchestra" + (January, 1880): "One of our most promising singers told me he + could not rightly produce his voice when under laryngoscopic + investigation. It is a moral impossibility for all!" (A physical + impossibility would be more to the purpose.) "Let the reader pull + his tongue out with a napkin as far as he can, and sing, and he + will get some notion of the tone producible." There is no + foundation for this objection, because if a singer has his tongue + under proper control there is not the slightest occasion to put it + out and to hold it. As to pulling it out as far as one can, that + should not be done under any circumstances, and no man having the + slightest knowledge of laryngoscopy would suggest such a ridiculous + proceeding. In my own case the vocal ligaments can be seen from one + end to the other while I keep my tongue in its natural position, + and I am willing to demonstrate this fact to any one who has any + doubt in the matter. + +As soon as we produce a tone, the pyramids, and with them the vocal +ligaments, meet, so as to touch each other more or less closely, while +there still remains a large space between the pocket ligaments above. +Every time we take breath, the pyramids with the vocal ligaments recede, +to meet again as before, every time we strike a new tone. The vocal +ligaments, thrown into vibrations by the stream of air passing between +them, cut, as it were, this stream of air into regular waves, and thus +(as more fully explained on p. 38) tone is produced. + +We notice here that this tone-production may be originated in three +different ways:--(1) The vocal ligaments may meet _after_ the air has +commenced to pass between them. Of this an aspirate is the result. (2) +The vocal ligaments may meet _before_ the air has commenced to pass +between them. This causes a check or a click at the beginning of the +tone. (3) The vocal ligaments may meet just at the very moment when the +air passes between them. In this case the tone is properly struck. There +is nothing to make it indefinite as in case No. 1, and nothing to impede +it as in case No. 2. Production as in case No. 3 causes the tone to +travel much farther than production as in cases Nos. I and 2, and it is +this way of striking a tone which is known under the name of "Coup de +Glotte" or "Shock of the Glottis." + + "But it is not a shock of the glottis at all," says Mr. Lunn, on + page 68 of the book quoted before. "It is an audible result arising + from the false cords [pocket ligaments] releasing condensed air + imprisoned below them, which air in its release explodes." I beg + leave to observe that condensed imprisoned air thus released could + produce a puff, but not a musical tone. The matter is, moreover, + capable of being demonstrated to the eye. The process takes place + as described above, and I am ready at any moment to show that the + pocket ligaments _never_ meet in singing. There can, therefore, be + no possibility of condensed air being imprisoned below them, and we + need not enter into any further argument on the subject. + +[Illustration: PLATE XIII. + +LARYNGOSCOPIC IMAGE. BREATHING. + +T. TONGUE. + +L. LID. + +V. V. VOCAL LIGAMENTS. + +W. W. CARTILAGES OF WRISBERG. + +S. S. CARTILAGES OF SANTORINI. + +] + +[Illustration: PLATE XIV. + +LARYNGOSCOPIC IMAGE. UPPER THICK. + +T. T. TONGUE. + +L. LID. + +P. P. POCKET LIGAMENTS. + +V. V. VOCAL LIGAMENTS. + +W. W. CARTILAGES OF WRISBERG. + +S. S. CARTILAGES OF SANTORINI. +] + +[Illustration: PLATE XV. + +LARYNGOSCOPIC IMAGE. UPPER THIN. + +T. T. TONGUE. + +L. LID. + +P. P. POCKET LIGAMENTS. + +V. V. VOCAL LIGAMENTS. + +W. W. CARTILAGES OF WRISBERG. + +S. S. CARTILAGES OF SANTORINI. +] + +[Illustration: PLATE XVI. + +LARYNGOSCOPIC IMAGE. SMALL. + +T. T. TONGUE. + +L. LID. + +P. P. POCKET LIGAMENTS. + +V. V. VOCAL LIGAMENTS. + +W. W. CARTILAGES OF WRISBERG. + +S. S. CARTILAGES OF SANTORINI. +] + +We now proceed to study the Registers of the human voice. A very Babel +of confusion exists on this important subject, and we are not only +perplexed by a multiplicity of terms, but also by the various and often +contradictory meanings attached to them. Thus people talk of chest, +medium, mixed, throat, falsetto, and head registers, and these terms +being utterly unscientific--_i.e._, being based upon sensations and +fancies instead of physiological facts--no one can give a clear and +satisfactory definition of any one of them. To bring order into such +chaos is an almost hopeless undertaking, and the first step in this +direction is obviously to ask ourselves, What is the meaning of the word +"Register?" My reply is this: _A register consists of a series of tones +which are produced by the same mechanism_. Then comes the question, Can +any such registers be demonstrated in the vocal apparatus; and if so, +what are the mechanisms by which they are produced? The answer supplied +by the laryngoscope is, Yes. There are, broadly speaking, three +registers in the human voice, and the mechanisms are plainly visible, as +follows:--(1) During the lowest series of tones the vocal ligaments +vibrate in their entire thickness (pl. XIV). (2) During the next series +of tones the vocal ligaments vibrate only with their thin inner edges +(pl. XV). (3) During the highest series of tones a portion of the vocal +chink is firmly closed, and only a small part of the vocal ligaments +vibrates (pl. XVI). + +In accordance with these physiological facts, Mr. Curwen, in his +admirable book "The Teacher's Manual," calls the registers _the Thick_, +_the Thin_, and _the Small_. These names have a scientific basis, and +their meaning cannot be misunderstood. They are already familiar to +thousands who study music by Mr. Curwen's method, and I have myself made +use of them in my lectures at University College and at other places. I +shall, therefore, also adopt them in this little work, and hope they +will soon find general acceptance among teachers and learners, as +thereby a great many misunderstandings will be avoided. + + * * * * * + +Our next business will be to ascertain how these registers are divided +among various voices, and the result as revealed by the laryngoscope is +rather startling. It consists in this, that the break between the Thick +and Thin occurs _in both sexes_ at about [Illustration: musical +notation] In order to realize the full meaning of this, the reader must +bear in mind that music for tenors is generally written an octave higher +than it is sung, so that the tones we are now speaking about would, as a +rule, in a tenor part be expressed by [Illustration: musical notation]. +My assertion, therefore, amounts to this, that everything below +[Illustration: musical notation] whether sung by soprano, contralto, +tenor, or bass, is produced by one mechanism--that is to say, by the +vocal ligaments vibrating in their entire thickness; and that the series +of tones above [Illustration: musical notation] whether sung by bass, +tenor, contralto, or soprano, is again produced by one mechanism +(although a different one from the last), that is to say, by the vocal +ligaments vibrating only with their thin inner edges. Then there remains +the small register, which belongs almost exclusively to sopranos, and +which represents the series of tones above [Illustration: musical +notation]. + +I thus maintain, not only that the great break between the thick and the +thin occurs (individual differences apart) at the same place in both +sexes, but that (leaving for the moment sub-divisions out of +consideration) the male voice has but two registers--_i.e._, the Thick +and the Thin, while the female voice has three registers--_i.e._, the +Thick, the Thin, and the Small. From this it follows that the female +voice is _not_, as supposed by some, simply a reproduction of the male +an octave higher. + +I have spoken of the above results of the investigations with the +laryngoscope as startling, because the female voicebox is generally +imagined to be exactly like the male, save in size, and the inference +that the female voice must be exactly like the male, save in pitch, is, +therefore, a very natural one. Neither am I surprised that those who +hold an opposite view to mine are never tired of advancing this +argument. + + Mr. Lunn says, in the book quoted before, on page 24, "Consequently + it may safely be asserted that the vocal cords are subject to the + same laws as all sounding bodies, and as the sole difference + between the male and the female larynx is one of size alone, the + voice from the latter _is_ a reproduction of the former on a higher + scale." + +I have, however, shown by the measurements of Luschka, on p. 64, that +the proportions of the female voicebox are materially different from +those of the male, and I have also pointed out differences in shape +noticeable to any observer. Now, although I do not pretend that I have +by these facts and figures sufficiently accounted for the difference in +the registers of the male and the female voice; yet these facts and +figures are nevertheless greatly in my favour, and they are certainly a +sufficient answer to the above argument of those who differ from me. + +My case is further strengthened by the testimony of that eminent +physiologist, Dr. Merkel, who says,[N] "In the male organ there are only +two materially different registers to be noticed, the chest and the +falsetto, ... on the other hand, in the female organ there are clearly +to be distinguished three registers--a low, a medium, and a high." (From +Dr. Merkel's definitions on pp. 148, 149, and 152, it will be seen that +low, medium, and high, are but other names here employed for Thick, +Thin, and Small.) Dr. Merkel, speaking of the chest (thick) register, +goes on to observe, on p. 148, "It ceases, very curiously, in both sexes +on one of the first four tones of the one-lined octave (der +ein-gestrichenen Octave) [Illustration: musical notation] so that it is +about one octave longer [deeper] in man than in woman." + +Let it be observed above all things that I am not propounding a theory, +but explaining a fact; a fact, moreover, which I have before now +demonstrated to men holding opposite opinions, thereby convincing them, +and which I am willing at any moment to demonstrate again. A very +striking proof that the distribution of the registers is in accordance +with my explanations may be further found in the circumstance that it is +often impossible to distinguish a male voice from a female when (other +things such as power and quality being equal) both sing in the same +registers. The similarity is, of course, greatest between tenor and +contralto, and in case of a trial they must confine themselves to the +compass easily belonging to both; neither should the singers be seen by +the listeners. I have frequently by these experiments convinced +sceptics; and it has happened more than once when the female voice was +slightly more robust than the male, that, to the great amusement of +those present, the judges emphatically and without the slightest +hesitation pronounced the lady to be the tenor and the gentleman the +contralto. + + * * * * * + +We have so far only spoken of three registers, the Thick, below +[Illustration: musical notation]; the Thin, between [Illustration: Music +and]; and the Small, above [Illustration: musical notation]. The +distinguishing features of these are so very clear as to make any +mistake impossible. But now we come to sub-divisions, and with regard to +these the matter is not so simple. Singers know very well that other +breaks occur in the human voice besides those hitherto mentioned, and +the question arises how they are to be accounted for by corresponding +changes in the vocal organ. The evidence furnished on this point by the +laryngoscope is, in my opinion, not sufficient, because the alterations +in the vocal ligaments are so exceedingly minute as to be capable of +being differently interpreted by different observers. I have +consequently come to the conclusion that they cannot be accepted as +indicating changes of mechanism unless corroborated and amplified by +other signs. + +In order to place the whole subject before the reader in a comprehensive +form, I cannot do better than quote the elaborate description which +Madame Emma Seiler gives of the registers in "The Human Voice in +Singing" (Philadelphia, 1875). Madame Seiler, to whom Mr. Lunn is +pleased to refer, on p. 65 of his treatise, as an "ignorant person," +assisted Professor Helmholtz, of Heidelberg, in his essay upon the +Formation of the Vowel-tones and the Registers of the Female Voice. He +says he thus had "an opportunity of knowing the delicacy of her musical +ear, and her ability to master the more difficult and abstract parts of +the theory of music." The Professor further speaks of her as "a very +careful, skilled, and learned teacher." Professor Du Bois-Reymond, of +Berlin, also describes her as "a lady of truly remarkable attainments." +With such recommendations I make no apology for quoting at length from +Madame Seiler's writings; and it will be readily understood that +whenever I differ from her, I do so with some diffidence, and only after +careful conviction of the accuracy of my own independent observations. + +[Illustration] + +I shall substitute the terms hitherto used in these pages for others +employed by Madame Seiler, and I have added a diagram of the +registers, which may assist the reader in forming a clear idea of the +subject. + + +THE THICK REGISTER. + +"When the vowel A, as in 'man,' was sung, I could, after long-continued +practice, plainly see how the pyramids quickly rose with their summits +in their mucous membranous case and approached to mutual contact. In +like manner the vocal ligaments approached each other so closely that +scarcely any space between them was observable. The pocket ligaments +formed the ellipse described by Garcia in the upper part of the +glottis." + +The word "glottis" really signifies the vibrating element in the +voicebox. I suppose, therefore, that by "the upper part of the glottis" +Madame Seiler here means the "part above the glottis." + +"When, in using the laryngoscope upon myself, I slowly sang the +ascending scale, this movement of the vocal ligaments and pyramids was +repeated at every tone. They separated and appeared to retreat, in order +to close again anew, and to rise somewhat more than before. This +movement of the pyramids may best be compared to that of a pair of +scissors. With every higher tone the vocal ligaments seemed more +stretched, and the vocal chink somewhat shorter. At the same time, when +I sang the scale upward, beginning with the lowest tones, the vocal +ligaments seemed to be moved in their whole length and breadth by large, +loose vibrations, which extended even to all the rest of the interior of +the voicebox. + + * * * * * + +"The place at which the pyramids, almost closed together, cease their +action and leave the formation of the sound to the vocal ligaments +alone, I found in the thick register of the female voice at C, C[#] +[Illustration: musical notation], more rarely at B [Illustration: +musical notation]. In the thick register of the male voice this change +occurs at A, B[b] [Illustration: musical notation]. With some effort the +above-mentioned action of the pyramids may be continued several tones +higher. But such tones, especially in the female voice, have that rough +and common timbre which we are too often compelled to hear in our female +singers. The glottis also, in this case, as well as the parts of the +voicebox near the glottis, betrays the effort very plainly; as the tones +ascend, the glottis and the surrounding parts grow more and more red. +_As at this place in the thick register there occurs a visible and +sensible straining of the organs, so also is it in all the remaining +transitions, as soon as the attempt is made to extend the action by +which the lower tones are formed beyond the given limits of the same._ +These transitions, which cannot be extended without effort, coincide +perfectly with the places where J. Müller had to _stretch_ the ligaments +of his exsected voicebox so powerfully in order to reach the succeeding +half-tone. Garcia likewise finds tones thus formed disagreeable and +imperfect in sound. + +"Usually, therefore, at the note C[#] [Illustration: musical notation] +in the female voice, and A, B[b] [Illustration: musical notation] in the +male voice, the vocal ligaments alone act in forming the sound, and are +throughout the register moved by large, loose, full vibrations. But the +instant the vocal ligaments are deprived of the assistance of the +pyramids they relax, and appear longer than at the last tone produced by +that aid. But with every higher tone they appear again to be stretched +shorter and more powerfully up to F, F[#] [Illustration: musical +notation] the natural transition from the thick to the thin register, as +well in the _male_ as in the _female_. The voicebox is perceptibly lower +in all the tones of the thick register than in quiet breathing." + +I confess my inability to understand how the vocal ligaments can get +_longer_ by relaxing and _shorter_ by stretching. But apart from this I +assert that there is no relaxing of the vocal ligaments at the break +between the Lower Thick and the Upper Thick at all. This is clearly +proved by the ring-shield aperture, which would open immediately if such +were the case. I also doubt whether the action or inaction of the +pyramids determines the break between the Lower Thick and the Upper +Thick, as they are cartilages--_i.e._, pieces of gristle--and cannot, +therefore, by any vibrations of their own assist in the production of +tone. The tension of the vocal ligaments increases as we sing up the +scale until the ring-shield aperture has quite disappeared. But while it +remains so closed, and without the vocal ligaments being any further +stretched, we can yet sing higher still. The gradations of tone are now +no longer formed by the action of the ring-shield muscles (see p. 34), +but by the shield-pyramid muscles which press the vocal ligaments more +and more closely together, until at last scarcely any trace of a slit +remains between them. Another result of this action of the +shield-pyramid muscles must also be to narrow the space _below_ the +vocal chink, which, as we know from the experiments of J. Müller, has +the effect of raising the pitch of tones. I think it very likely, +therefore, that the change from the lower to the upper thick is really +brought about by the shield-pyramid muscles coming into play after the +ring-shield muscles have done their share. + + +THE THIN REGISTER. + +"All the tones of the thin register are produced by vibrations only of +the fine, inner, slender edges of the vocal ligaments. In this action +the vocal ligaments are not so near together, but allow of a fine linear +space between them, and the pocket ligaments are pressed further back +than in the production of the tones of the thick register. The rest of +the action of the glottis is, however, entirely the same. With the +beginning of the thin register at F[#] [Illustration: musical notation] +the whole vocal chink appears again longer, and the vocal ligaments are +much looser than in the highest tones of the thick register. The united +action, already described, of the pyramids and the vocal ligaments in +forming the deeper tones of the thin register, extends to C, C[#] +[Illustration: musical notation] in the female voice, and in the male +voice to E[b], E [Illustration: musical notation] commonly written thus, +E[b], E [Illustration: musical notation] but which only rarely occurs in +composition, and then is sung by tenors as I have given it; that is, one +octave lower. + +"With the C[#] [Illustration: musical notation] in the female voice, and +the E[b], E [Illustration: musical notation] in the male voice, the +pyramids cease again to act, and, as before, in the Upper Thick, leave +the formation of the sounds to the vocal ligaments alone, which at this +change appear again longer and looser, but with every higher tone +tighten up to F, F[#] [Illustration: musical notation] in the female +voice, and in the male voice to G [Illustration: musical notation] or as +it is commonly written, [Illustration: musical notation]. In the thin +register the voicebox preserves its natural position as in quiet +breathing." + +I must say here that I have never had any very clear conception of +Madame Seiler's meaning when she speaks of the action or inaction of the +pyramids in the formation of the registers. In the lower thick register +there is, as a rule, a small triangular space between them which gets +gradually smaller as the tones ascend, until it is quite closed in the +upper thick. Dr. Merkel, also, has made the same observation. So far, +therefore, we are agreed. But even of this I can find no trace in the +thin register, where I have always noticed that the pyramids are quite +close together. On this point, my assertion is borne out by Dr. Merkel, +who insists upon the same thing. I also demur to Madame Seiler's +statement that in this register again the vocal ligaments relax at the +beginning of the upper division, and I invite the reader to test the +matter by reference to the ring-shield aperture. The evidence furnished +by this experiment is conclusive, because the vocal ligaments cannot +possibly relax without a corresponding enlargement of the ring-shield +aperture. A very striking illustration of this occurs during the +transition from the Upper Thick to the Lower Thin. During the highest +tones of the Upper Thick, when the tension of the vocal ligaments is +greatest, the ring-shield aperture, as we have seen before, completely +closes, while immediately opening very widely during the lowest tones of +the Lower Thin, when the vocal ligaments are quite relaxed. Nothing of +the kind takes place during the change either from the Lower Thin to the +Upper Thin, or from the Lower Thick to the Upper Thick. It appears to me +that Madame Seiler has rather exaggerated the importance of these minor +breaks, while she does not make enough of the great break between the +Upper Thick and the Lower Thin. If there is straining anywhere, it is +during the attempt to carry the mechanism of the Upper Thick beyond its +natural limit. In this case the tension of the vocal ligaments, as +indeed of all surrounding parts, becomes so tremendous that at last the +whole thing looks as though it were literally going to fly to pieces in +every direction. Now change into the Lower Thin, and the relief is +wonderful. Let tenors make a note of this. If they _will_ violate +Nature, they must pay the penalty! + +As regards the transition from the Lower Thin to the Upper Thin, I would +suggest the following explanation:--The vocal chink is at first, as +Madame Seiler says, linear, and the gradations of tone are caused by +simple tension of the vocal ligaments, which is proved by the diminution +of the ring-shield aperture. While this goes on we are in the Lower +Thin. Now the laryngoscope reveals another method of still further +raising the pitch, which consists in a gradual shortening of the vocal +chink. This is caused by the shield-pyramid muscles pressing together +the ends of the vocal ligaments, thereby giving the vocal chink a +slightly elliptic shape. When this mechanism comes into play we are in +the Upper Thin. + + +THE SMALL REGISTER. + +"When in the observation of the thin register I had sung upwards to its +highest tones, and then sang still higher, I became aware, with the F[#] +[Illustration: musical notation] of a change in the motions of the +organ of singing, and the tones thus produced had a different _timbre_ +from those of the Thin. It required long and patient practice before I +finally succeeded in drawing forward the lid so that I could see the +glottis in its whole length. Not until then was I able to observe the +following: With the F[#] [Illustration: musical notation] the vocal +ligaments suddenly closed firmly together to their middle, with their +fine edges one over the other. This closing appeared as a fine red line +extending, from the pyramids at the back, forward to the middle of the +vocal ligaments, and leaving free only a third part of the whole +glottis, immediately under the lid, to the front wall of the voicebox. + + * * * * * + +"The foremost part of the glottis formed an oval orifice, which, with +every higher tone, seemed to contract more and more, and so became +smaller and rounder. The fine edges of the vocal ligaments which formed +this orifice were alone vibrating, and the vibrations seemed at first +looser, but, with every higher tone, the ligaments were more stretched." + + * * * * * + +I have repeatedly had the opportunity of observing the mechanism of the +small register, and I only differ from Madame Seiler in this, that I did +not notice that "with every higher tone the ligaments were more +stretched." It appeared to me, on the contrary, as though the raising of +the pitch was produced by a contraction of the vocal ligaments. In all +other respects I entirely agree with the above description. According to +Madame Seiler the small register is formed by the action of the wedges, +as described on p. 54. + +We have thus become acquainted with the mechanism of the registers of +the human voice. We have also seen that it is possible to carry these up +beyond their natural limits, though the process is accompanied by +visible signs of straining. The practice of teachers, therefore, whose +aim it is to "extend" voices upwards, and who are very proud, especially +in tenors, of their "made tones," is strongly to be condemned, and is +sure to have disastrous results. It is, on the other hand, equally +possible to carry the registers down several tones below the places +called the breaks, so that at the limits of each register there are a +number of tones which may be produced by two different mechanisms. The +carrying down of a register causes no fatigue, and though its volume is +weak as compared with the corresponding lower register, it is surprising +how soon it can, by judicious practice, be made to acquire fulness and +power. + +In order to prevent misunderstandings, it may be well to add that the +breaks as indicated in the preceding pages are intended only to show +the average compass in the great majority of voices. As, for instance, +there are basses who have an exceptional extension of the Lower Thick +downwards, so there are, undoubtedly, tenors who have an exceptional +extension of the Upper Thick upwards. It must, therefore, be the voice +trainer's business very carefully to ascertain the exact limits of the +registers in every single case. In choral singing, however, where +individual attention is impossible, the breaks as given above may be +implicitly relied upon. Not only should the registers never be carried +above these points, but if the teacher is wise he will insist upon his +pupils forming the habit of changing the mechanism a tone or two below. + +NEVER "EXTEND" LOWER REGISTERS UPWARDS, BUT STRENGTHEN THE UPPER +REGISTERS, AND CARRY THEM DOWNWARDS, THUS EQUALIZING THE VOICES FROM TOP +TO BOTTOM, AND ENABLING YOUR PUPILS TO SING WITHOUT STRAINING. That is +the great lesson taught by the investigations described in these pages. +I have seen a singer pull himself together, and with a tremendous effort +shout a high A in the thick register. His neck swelled out, his face +became blood-red, and altogether the "performance" was of an acrobatic +rather than of an artistic nature. The general public, of course, loudly +applauded, but people of taste and refinement shuddered. Such +exhibitions are, unfortunately, not rare. If this little book should +contribute, however remotely, to discourage them, it will not have been +written in vain. + + + + +APPENDIX TO THE THIRD EDITION + + +It has been suggested to me that the usefulness of my little book would +be enlarged if I were to add an appendix containing some application to +practical work of the physiological laws already explained. This I have +endeavoured to do in the following chapter, and I trust the simplicity +of the directions will enable the reader to carry out my instructions, +to vary them, and to enlarge upon them according to circumstances. + + +HINTS ON TEACHING. + +One of the most important lessons taught us by the study of Vocal +Physiology is the correct method of breathing and of obtaining control +over the respiratory muscles. I will now give a few exercises for this +purpose. + +Divest yourself of any article of clothing which at all interferes with +the freedom of the waist. Lie down flat on your back. Place one hand +lightly on the abdomen and the other upon the lower ribs. Inhale, +through the nostrils, slowly, deeply, and evenly, without interruption +or jerking. If this is done properly the abdomen will, gradually and +without any trembling movement, increase in size, and the lower ribs +will expand sideways, while the upper part of the chest and the +collar-bones remain undisturbed. Now hold the breath, _not_ by shutting +the glottis, but by keeping the midriff down and the chest walls +extended, and count four mentally, at the rate of sixty per minute. Then +let the breath go _suddenly_. The result of this will be a flying up of +the midriff, and a falling down of the ribs; in other words, there will +be a collapse of the lower part of the body. This collapse may not at +first be very distinct, as the extension has probably been insufficient; +but both will become more and more perfect as the result of continued +practice. + +Let it be clearly understood: The _in_spiration is to be slow and deep, +the _ex_piration sudden and complete. In _in_spiration the abdomen and +the lower part of the chest expand, and in _ex_piration they collapse. + +The time of holding the breath is not, at the outset, to exceed four +seconds, and the student must never, on any account, fatigue himself +with these exercises; they may, however, be frequently repeated at +intervals. It will be found by occasional trials upon the spirometer +that the breathing capacity increases with these exercises. The process +of abdominal respiration becomes easy and no longer requires constant +watchfulness, and the student will soon be able to carry it on, not only +lying down, but while he is standing or walking, though not at once with +the same ease. He must now, for a time, be careful to see that he has +the same physical sensations in breathing which he noticed while making +his first experiment when lying down; and he must exercise special care +when running, going upstairs, &c., and, of course, in speaking or +singing. + +The criterion of correct inspiration is, as I have said before, an +increase of size of the abdomen and of the lower part of the chest. +Whoever draws in the abdomen and raises the upper part of the chest in +the act of filling his lungs does wrong. + +Meanwhile, in continuing the breathing exercises, the time of holding +the breath may be increased at the rate of two seconds per week; so that +the student who, during the first fortnight, limited himself to four +seconds will, at the end of six weeks, hold his breath during twelve +seconds. I have, in some instances, with students of mine, gone as far +as twenty seconds; but I desire very earnestly to warn my readers to be +cautious and not to go to extremes. Nothing will be gained, but infinite +harm may ensue by over-doing these lung gymnastics, and persons at all +inclined to bleeding from the lungs should not undertake the exercises +at all, except with the sanction of their medical adviser, who will +limit the practice according to circumstances. + +The second breathing exercise is the exact opposite of the first, and +consists in taking a rapid _in_spiration and making the _ex_piration +slow, even, uninterrupted and without jerking or trembling. My musical +readers will at once see the importance of this exercise for the purpose +of singing sustained tones and florid passages; but it would be quite +useless to attempt it before No. 1 has been sufficiently practised. + +The third and last breathing exercise consists in taking the +_in_spiration as in No. 1, and the _ex_piration as in No. 2. After the +two preceding ones have been fully mastered this last is easy enough; +and the student who has persevered so far will now have overcome one of +the greatest difficulties of a vocalist, namely, the proper management +of the breath, an accomplishment which seems to become more and more +rare in our go-ahead times of electricity. + +I feel that my description of these breathing exercises is far from +complete, and what is worse, that it may lead to misunderstandings, the +results of which will hereafter be laid to my charge. But writing, +however lucid and careful, can never take the place of _vivâ voce_ +instruction; and I wish it to be distinctly understood that the +explanations here given are not by any means intended to supersede the +aid of a competent and painstaking teacher. + +I will take leave of this part of my subject by warning my readers +against the mistake, which may be caused by a superficial perusal of +these pages, that it is the chief aim of the above breathing exercises +to enable the singer or speaker to cram as much air as possible into +the lungs. I have pointed out some of the evils which are likely to +arise from exaggerated breathing efforts; yet I wish to say again, most +emphatically, that it is quite possible to _overcrowd_ the lungs with +air. This is a matter of every-day occurrence, which is not, however, on +that account any the less reprehensible; for, as I have already +mentioned, it is sure to lead, sooner or later, to forcing and +inequality of voice, and to congestion of the vessels and tissues of the +throat and of the lungs. + +Now we come to the question of the production and cultivation of the +voice, including the nature and the proper treatment of the registers. +In this connection I shall endeavour to explain a series of exercises +based upon physiological facts, which will enable the reader to strike +out a safe and direct path, avoiding much useless drudgery, and leading +to eminently satisfactory results. As it is not my object to supply a +singing manual, but simply to point out the way of treating the voice +upon scientific principles, I shall not attempt to deal separately with +the different classes of voices, or to go into minute details; but it +will rather be my aim to lay down general principles, leaving my readers +to carry them into practice, and to elaborate them according to +individual circumstances. It must also be borne in mind that the +exercises I am going to recommend will here be taken as they suggest +themselves, while passing in review the various parts which unitedly +form the mechanism of the human voice. Therefore, in the actual process +of training a voice, they will have to be taken in a different order +from that in which they are discussed here, in accordance with the +general plan of this book. + +The movements of the pyramids with the vocal ligaments attached to them +are governed by two sets of muscles pulling them either together or away +from each other. These have been fully described under the names of the +"Closing Muscles" and the "Opening Muscles;" and the reader will at once +see the importance of devising a set of exercises which shall call these +opening and closing muscles into play, thereby making them powerful, and +bringing them under the control of the will. + +This is, fortunately, a very simple matter; for all we have to do is to +sing a series of short tones, each tone to be followed by a short +inspiration. We have learnt that every time we strike a tone the vocal +ligaments are made to approximate; by so doing we therefore exercise the +closing muscles. Every time we take an inspiration the vocal ligaments +are separated; by so doing therefore we exercise the opening muscles. It +is plain from these explanations that, by practising in the manner just +indicated, we shall gain the same results in five minutes which it +would take us half an hour to obtain by singing sustained tones after +the usual method of teaching. + +Let me now give as clear a description of the exercise as possible. Find +the pitch of your speaking voice, which we will say is _F_. Then sing +the following:-- + +[Illustration: musical notation + +_o_ _o_ _o_ _o_ +_ah_ _ah_ _ah_ _ah_ +_ai_ _ai_ _ai_ _ai_ + +Strike the tone firmly and clearly, avoiding alike the _check_ of the +glottis and the _glide_ of the glottis. This is often a matter of great +difficulty, requiring much patience and perseverance on the part of the +teacher as well as on that of the student. The _glide_ of the glottis is +particularly hard to eradicate, and in many instances the case seems to +be hopeless. Do not, however, despair, but try this: Pronounce +vigorously the word "Up." Then _whisper_, but still very vigorously and +distinctly, three times the vowel _u_, as you just had it in the word +"up." Immediately afterwards _sing_ "Ah." Thus-- + + UP! _u_, _u_, _u_, Ah. +(_spoken_) (_whispered_) (_sung_) + +I recommend this device from extended personal experience, and hope my +fellow-teachers may find it as useful as I have found it myself. Another +point of importance in practising the exercise for strengthening the +opening and the closing muscles is the breathing after every tone; and +this must be done gently and without effort, the only perception which +the singer should have of it being a slight movement of the midriff. +When you can sing the exercise in this manner on _F_, your supposed +speaking tone, then go up the scale, semitone by semitone, to _B_ or _C_ +above, and down again, semitone by semitone, to _B_ or _C_ below. Of the +quality of tone I will say nothing here, because that part of the +subject will be discussed later on in connection with the tongue and the +soft palate. + +The next thing in connection with the physiology of the vocal organ from +which we can deduct a practical lesson is the action of the muscles +governing the pitch of the voice. This process is a very complex one, +and can be made clear only by _vivâ voce_ explanations, with the help of +good models and moving diagrams, by demonstrations with the +laryngoscope, and by carefully watching external signs. There is no +doubt, however, that a set of muscles, described as the "Stretching and +Slackening Muscles," play the most important part in this matter, and I +advise the reader to study carefully the chapter on "The Movements of +the Voicebox," and try the experiments mentioned in it. It will thus be +seen that the flexibility of the voice depends in a great measure upon +the control we have over the muscles governing the pitch; that is to +say, upon the readiness and exactness with which we are able to allow +them to contract or to relax. + +Performers upon various instruments, as for instance the piano and the +violin, know that certain exercises are indispensable to brilliant +execution, because they strengthen the muscles of the wrist and of the +fingers, and make them obedient to the will. It has even been found that +simple finger gymnastics, exercising separately different sets of +muscles, and making them independent of each other, are of the greatest +value, and save long hours of tedious and wearisome practising. In a +similar manner we may spare ourselves much trouble and gain our end most +readily by vocal gymnastics, calculated to bring into play the +stretching and slackening muscles of the larynx. There is no difficulty +about it. Sing F, the same tone from which we started when exercising +the opening and the closing muscles, and add to it G. The alteration of +the pitch is brought about by a contraction of the stretching muscles +overcoming the resistance of the opposing slackening muscles, thereby +_tensing_ the vocal ligaments. If you again sing F, the case is +reversed, and the new alteration in pitch is brought about by a +contraction of the slackening muscles overcoming the resistance of the +opposing stretching muscles, thereby _relaxing_ the vocal ligaments. + +[Illustration: musical notation + +_o_ _o_ +_ah_ _ah_ +_ai_ _ai_ + +The above is an example. Take great care to render it perfectly. Sing +every tone clearly and distinctly, but without jerking, at the same time +_uniting_ all the tones, but without drawling. Do not try how quickly +you can sing, but rather how distinctly. Commence slowly, and be in no +hurry to increase the speed. Raise and lower the exercise semitone by +semitone within the medium part of your voice. A variety of exercises +founded upon the same principles may be introduced, and will serve to +increase the flexibility of the voice in a very short time. + +Now we come to the "Registers" of the voice. I have defined a register +as "a series of tones produced by the same mechanism." The five +registers of which the human voice, taken as a whole, consists, are +carefully described, and the means by which they are formed minutely +explained in a former part of this book. These registers, nevertheless, +continue to be a stumbling-stone to many, and the fact of the existence +in the throat of different actions for the production of different +series of tones has led some teachers into the deplorable mistake of +developing and exaggerating them, instead of, on the contrary, smoothing +them over and equalizing them. The result is that we often hear singers +who seem to have two or three different _voices_. They are growling in +the one, moaning in the second, and shrieking in the third; while it +should have been their aim so to blend and to unite the registers as to +make it difficult even for a practised ear to distinguish the one from +the other. Such singing is outrageous, and I protest against the opinion +expressed in some quarters that it is the natural outcome of the +teachings of the laryngoscope. + +In developing and strengthening the registers I base my first exercises +upon the fact that the "Vowel Scale" goes from low to high in this +order; _oo_, _oh_, _ah_, _ai_, _ee_, so that consequently the highest +tones will be produced most readily when singing the vowels in the order +just given. + +[Illustration: musical notation + +_o_ _ah_ _ai_ _ee_ _ai_ _ah_ _o_ +_oo_ _o_ _ah_ _ai_ _ah_ _o_ _oo_ + +Sing this exercise quite softly, strike each tone clearly and +distinctly, and take a _slight_ inspiration after every tone. Be careful +to take a full inflation only at the beginning, and afterwards to inhale +_less_ air than has been consumed in every preceding tone, or you will +after a while overcrowd the lungs, and experience a sensation of being +choked. This is a thing to be avoided in any case; but under present +circumstances it should be remembered that the short inspirations are +not taken for the purpose of re-filling the lungs, but simply to compel +the "opening and closing muscles" to do their work. By so doing we give +them six times more exercise than by breathing only once at the +beginning; and, what is more important still with regard to our +immediate object, we greatly facilitate the task of the vocal ligaments +to arrange themselves in different ways according to the registers they +are to produce. + +It is self-evident that the danger of carrying the mechanism of a +register beyond its proper limit is greater if the vocal ligaments are +kept together, than it would be if they were made to separate, thereby +being enabled to close again under different conditions. It will be +seen, therefore, that the slight inspirations after every tone are an +essential part of the exercise, and must on no account be omitted. The +exercise is to be taken at a convenient pitch, and then to be raised +semitone by semitone in accordance with the requirements of individual +voices. It may, after some time, be taken right through upon the vowel +_ah_, and finally _legato_, gradually increasing the speed, to the +Italian word _scala_, singing the syllable _la_ to the last note. + +The change from one register to another should always be made a couple +of tones below the extreme limit, so that there will be at the juncture +of every two registers a few "optional" tones which it is possible to +take with both mechanisms. The singer will be wise, however, to avail +himself of the power of producing an optional tone with the mechanism of +the lower register only on rare occasions. To force the register beyond +its natural limit is, of course, infinitely worse, and should never be +tolerated. The practice carries its own punishment, as it invariably +ruins the voice; and tones so produced always betray the effort +(frequently in a most painful degree), and are consequently never +beautiful. + +It is to be observed that the exercise given above may be varied to any +extent, so long as it is based upon the principle which has been +explained. The beneficial results in the development of the voice will +speedily be noticed, and then sustained tones may be sung through the +whole compass after the orthodox fashion. + +This brings me to the consideration of the "mixed voice," which is +essential in bridging over the break between the "upper thick" and the +"lower thin" of the tenor, and which is also frequently made use of by +baritones and basses in the production of their highest tones. + +The "voce mista" is "mixed" in this sense, that it combines the +_vibrating mechanism_ of the "lower thin" with the _position of the +larynx_ of the "lower thick;" that is to say, while the vibrations are +confined to the thin inner edges of the vocal ligaments, the larynx +itself takes a lower position in the throat than for the "lower thin," +and the result is a remarkable increase of volume without any +corresponding additional effort in the production of tone. A few trials +before a looking-glass will at once prove the correctness of this +explanation, and, what is of more practical consequence, will enable the +student with a little practice to overcome the serious difficulty of +singing high tones without straining, yet with a fulness capable of +being increased or diminished at pleasure. + +The last thing we have to consider is the "resonator" of the human +voice, namely, the upper part of the throat, the mouth, and the nose. +Whether we sing _ah_, _ai_, _ee_, _o_, or _oo_, the original tone +produced by the vibrations of the vocal ligaments is in either case +absolutely the same, and it takes the form of one vowel or another, +solely according to the shape which the "resonator" assumes, and which +may be described as a mould into which the tone is cast. The quality of +the voice also--its throatiness, its nasal twang, its shrillness, +harshness, and ugliness, or its purity, roundness, fulness, and +beauty--depend mainly upon the nature of the resonator, and upon the +way in which we work it. It is, therefore, a matter of the highest +importance to be fully acquainted with this part of the vocal apparatus, +and I hope my readers will follow me in a brief consideration of it with +the more pleasure, as we are now speaking of parts which are directly +under the control of our will, and upon the proper management of which +so much depends. + +There is a most able, most painstaking, and most instructive work upon +this subject, "Pronunciation for Singers," by Alexander Ellis, Esq., +F.R.S., &c., published by J. Curwen and Sons, to which I would call the +attention of all who desire to make the best use of their voices. To be +really understood this book requires that the student should +conscientiously carry out all the experiments Mr. Ellis suggests. But +any one doing so will, I venture to assert, rise from the study of this +subject with a deeper conviction of the immense importance of the +"resonator," and with a clearer perception of the best way of managing +it than he ever had before. I obtain better and quicker results with my +pupils since I have learnt the lessons Mr. Ellis teaches, and I have no +doubt my fellow teachers will derive similar benefit from their study. + +One of the few points upon which "doctors" do not differ is that the +tone, in order to be pure, resonant, and far-reaching, must be allowed +to come well to the front of the mouth. It should, as the phrase goes, +be directed against the hard palate just above the front teeth. But this +is an unfortunate way of putting it, as the tone fills the whole cavity +of the mouth, and cannot be "directed" like a jet of water upon any +given point. Nevertheless the idea sought to be conveyed by the +injunction is good, for it is certainly essential to good quality that +the tone should be brought well forward in the mouth. This is frequently +prevented by several circumstances which we will now consider:-- + +The "soft palate" may be in the way. This is the movable partition +shaped like an arch with the little pendant called the "uvula" hanging +down in the centre. It acts like a curtain. If we lower it, it hangs +upon the back of the tongue, shutting off the mouth from the throat, +thereby compelling the tone to pass through the nostrils, and thus +giving it a nasal quality. This nasal quality increases the more the +passages through which the tone has to travel are impeded; but the first +and indispensable condition for its existence is the lowering of the +soft palate. Raise this, and you may completely shut the nostrils and +yet produce a pure vocal tone. The reason is that, with the soft palate +_up_, the nose is shut off from the throat, thereby compelling the tone +to pass through the mouth. + +But more, the soft palate is never still for a moment while we are +singing or speaking, as it assumes a different degree of tension for +every vowel and also for every pitch of the voice. We see, therefore, +that this curtain has great influence upon the management of the voice, +and we should do all we can to get it under our control. In order to +accomplish this, arrange a mirror so that you get the light reflected +upon the back of your throat without bending the head, stretching the +neck, or otherwise assuming an awkward position. I recommend reflected +instead of direct light, because with the latter it is almost impossible +to get a perfect sight of the soft palate without making any +contortions, and these, however slight, are fatal to success. The +management of the light will, no doubt, offer a little difficulty to +those not practised in these matters, but once made it is easily +rearranged, and the gain is great. + +The mirror mentioned above is to throw the light into your mouth; you +will require another one in which to see the image. Now try the +following: Open your mouth and breath through the nostrils; the soft +palate will immediately drop upon the tongue. Sing while it is in this +position, and you will produce nasal tone. Now breathe through the +mouth, and the soft palate will rise. Raise it higher still, by +attempting to yawn, till the uvula almost disappears. Sing again with +the soft palate in this position, and if nothing else interferes you +will produce pure vocal tone. If you sing up and down the scale you will +perceive that the soft palate to some extent rises and falls with the +pitch of your tones. You will also notice that the tension of it +increases as you approach the the limit of one register, and that it +diminishes as soon as you change into the next register above. All these +things, and a great many besides, you will notice if you observe +carefully, and by a little steady practice you will acquire easy control +over the movements of your soft palate, the beneficial results of which +will soon be manifested in the improved quality and the better +management of your voice. + +This leads me to remark that the soft palate should, as a matter of +course, be in a perfectly healthy condition, or it cannot perform the +infinite variety of movements required from it. In many cases however, +it is in a very different state, the arch being congested, the uvula +elongated, and the tonsils greatly enlarged. People with a soft palate +like this are handicapped. They might as well try to run a race with a +heavy weight on their shoulders as to sing or speak with such +impediments in their throats. They should at once put themselves in the +hands of a properly qualified medical practitioner, who may probably +recommend clipping of the uvula or excision of the tonsils. Either +operation is a slight one, and in suitable cases nothing but good can +follow from it. + +Another obstacle to the forward production of tone is often caused by +that great movable plug called the tongue. We have it on the highest +authority that the tongue is an "unruly member." It is sometimes +difficult to keep it under proper control, and with some people it is +continually running away altogether. As under ordinary circumstances, so +in singing. Instead of peacefully assuming the position necessary for +the production of the various vowels, the tongue rises in rebellion; it +arches up, stiffens and defies all attempts to keep it in order. The +tone is consequently more or less impeded and shut in, with the result +of making it guttural or throaty. Here again singing before the mirror +as described above will enable the student to master his tongue and to +improve his voice to a wonderful extent. All voice trainers, as I have +said before, agree that tone should be allowed to come well forward, and +the best plan to bring about this desirable end is to sing _oo_, then to +allow _oo_ to dwindle into _o_, and finally to allow _o_ to dwindle into +_ah_. + +In some cases these _oo-o-ah_ exercises are insufficient because the +throatiness of tone is partly brought about by a stiffening of the +throat in general. The _oo-o-ah_ must then be preceded by staccato +exercises upon the syllable _Koo_, which have the effect not only of +throwing the tone forward, but also of making the throat supple. Make +the experiment before a mirror and you will see the reason. + +I should have pointed out in the course of this chapter that one of the +great secrets in the production of fine resonant and far-reaching tone +consists in using as little air as possible; and I conclude by advising +all those who want to be heard to open their mouths, a thing which, +curiously enough, many people in these islands seem to be determined not +to do. + + + + +_APPENDIX TO THE NINTH EDITION_ + + + + +VOICE FAILURE. + +A NEW CHAPTER, WRITTEN FOR THE NINTH EDITION, BY MRS. EMIL BEHNKE. + + +The large and ever increasing number of professional voice users of all +classes and of all grades who break down in voice is matter for serious +and earnest consideration. Innumerable students of singing of both +sexes, in England and abroad, suffer shipwreck of their hopes and +ambitions in the loss of their voices during the process of training, +long before the period arrives for professional and public voice use. In +some of these cases general delicacy of constitution has been the +principal factor in the failure; in others weakness of throat or lungs +may have been a cause. But after making ample allowance for such +physical contributories, we are still face to face with the fact that +voice failure, accompanied by throat ailments, more or less serious, +occurs with startling frequency, and no other reason is assigned for it +than the irresponsible, indefinite one that the voice broke down under +training. Of the infinitesimal number of successful students--that is to +say, of those who, having completed their studies, come before the +public as professional singers--so few escape the common lot that it +would almost appear as if a fatality attended the following of the +vocal art; yet from a health point of view, singing is an admirable +exercise, and abundant medical testimony has been adduced in proof of +this statement. + +There are, of course, other causes of non-success in vocal students +besides break-down of voice. A fine voice and good musical knowledge are +but parts of the equipment of the singer; if he have not the soul of an +artist he will never rise above mediocrity. With musical and artistic +failures this chapter has nothing to do, but only with preventible +causes of break-down, such as have come under my personal observation +from close association with the work of my late husband, and also in my +own and my daughter's work since his lamented decease. + +In the establishment of a rule or law founded upon general truths, a +number of examples bearing upon the subject under consideration are +relied on as conclusive evidence, and by their use we are enabled to +analyse reasons and deduce conclusions. + +From the examination of a large number of cases of vocal failure in +singers and in speakers who have placed themselves under my tuition for +recovery of voice, I have found that among the most frequent and most +injurious mistakes are:-- + +1st. Wrong methods of breathing and of breath management. + +2nd. Loud singing and shouting. + +3rd. Neglecting to cultivate the resonators. + +4th. Forcing: (_a_) the registers; (_b_) the top notes. + + +INCORRECT BREATHING. + +As regards methods of breathing, the descriptions and instructions given +in this volume require no addition, and if carefully followed will prove +of inestimable advantage both hygienically and vocally. It is, however, +a fact that, not only in England, but also on the Continent, pupils are +taught to breathe clavicularly, in opposition to Nature's method, which +is diaphragmatic--_i.e._, the combined forms of rib and diaphragm +breathing. The following is a striking example of the evil of clavicular +breathing. + +During last summer an American lady, who had been studying singing in +Milan for three years, came to me in great distress. She had expected to +appear in Grand Opera in London, but, alas! her voice broke down, and +serious throat troubles manifested themselves. She had lost all the +upper notes of her voice from C in alt. down to D in the stave, and what +was left of it was thin, reedy, and tremulous, like that of an old woman +instead of a girl of 24. Her master had insisted on clavicular +breathing, the result being that when her lung capacity was tested it +registered only 80 cubic inches instead of 240. In addition to faulty +breathing, she had been allowed to force up the registers of the voice +to such an extent as to bring on serious congestion, with varicose veins +in the vocal ligaments and in the pharynx. After several lessons the +breathing capacity increased to 200 cubic inches, the voice regained +some of the upper notes, and lost the "cracked," tremulous sound. In +time, with great care, the majority of the notes will come back, but +probably C in alt. will never be reached again, and the general +deterioration of voice may never be fully overcome. + +Numerous similar instances, in men's voices as well as in women's, could +be adduced, but the foregoing suffices; the results of incorrect +breathing and of forcing being much the same in all cases, differing +principally in degree. + +In the "Treatise on the Art of Singing" by the late Signor Lamperti, +occurs the following passage, which fully bears out the necessity for +diligent acquirement of correct methods of breathing:--"Masters of the +present day, instead of obliging pupils to make a severe study of the +art of respiration, as a rule, omit it altogether, and take them through +the greater part of a modern opera at every lesson, to the certain ruin +of their voices, and often at the expense of their bodily health. How +many young singers come to Milan or to Paris with beautiful voices, +musical talent, and every other natural gift, who, after putting +themselves under the guidance of a master for two years, study modern +operas; how many of these unfortunately find at the time of their +_début_ that their voices, instead of being fresh and improved by +education, are already worn and tremulous, and that, through the +ignorance of their master, they have no longer any hope of success in +their artistic career, which was finished before it was begun." A sad +but an "ower true" description, applicable to other centres of +voice-training besides Milan and Paris. + +It is scarcely possible to over-estimate the importance of correct +methods of breathing and of breath management to all voice users, +whether they are singers or speakers. As breath is the motive power of +all voice it needs but little consideration to arrive at the conclusion +that the best method of supply and control of this motor power is of +vital necessity to those who depend upon their voices for success in +their vocation, whether it be that of singer, clergyman, lecturer, or +actor. + +Some of the worst descriptions of stammering owe their origin to +improper breath management, and numbers of such cases which have been +under my care have been perfectly cured by specially designed breathing +exercises, adapted to the requirements of each individual case, combined +with training of the various muscles employed in articulation. As no +two persons stammer alike there can be no universal panacea for the cure +of this terrible affliction; it is, therefore, necessary to study the +peculiar idiosyncrasies of each case before formulating a plan of +treatment; and this makes it impossible to write rules for self-cure +suited to every case. + + +LOUD SINGING. + +The practice of always singing loudly is greatly to be deprecated, +leading as it does to undue strain, to coarseness of the voice, and to +utter inability to modulate it into softness and purity of tone. Anyone +can shout and bawl, but not every one can sing softly--therefore always +practise softly until the voice be well formed, when it will be easy to +increase the volume of sound. Constant shouting causes the muscles of +the larynx to lose their contractile power, and a condition is brought +about which is analogous to writer's cramp. Sometimes no voice can be +produced, while at others it is given forth in a series of +uncontrollable jerks. Singers deficient in resonance, and who have not +acquired the best use and control of the various parts of the resonator, +resort to the objectionable practice of forcing their voices, relying +upon power of blast and vigour of shout instead of cultivating +resonance. A loud, big voice, produced with effort, is a manifestation +of a certain amount of physical power; but such voice-production is not +singing, it is mere shouting. Tones so produced will ultimately show +their bad origin by the effect left behind on the misused muscles. + + +CULTIVATION OF THE RESONATORS. + +The resonators of the human voice, about which years ago Emil Behnke +lectured and wrote, are only just beginning to receive the attention +which their important functions deserve. Over some of the resonating +cavities we can obtain no voluntary control; but over the whole of the +mouth, of the buccal cavity, and over part of the pharyngeal we may, by +education, gain as much influence as over the fingers of the hand, and +the results obtained by such training are frequently astonishing. A +student at one of our colleges came to me recently whose first question +was "Can you teach me how not to sing with a 'squeezed' throat?" +"Nothing easier," was my reply. On his singing a few notes to me, the +tone of the voice revealed that owing to want of knowledge of the action +of the resonators, he was closing his throat in such a manner that the +voice sounded as if he were singing through the teeth of a comb. Without +looking in his mouth, I drew on a piece of paper the position in which +were his soft palate, the pillars of the fauces, the uvula, and the +tongue, telling him that was the picture he would see on looking at his +throat while singing. This proved on examination to be the case; and +great was his wonderment to find that, after a little practice he could +voluntarily remedy this squeezed position until it gradually disappeared +altogether, and with it the unpleasant quality of voice which had caused +him so much trouble. + +The inherent quality of tone is reinforced by the co-vibrations of the +air in the resonance cavities, the greater fulness of the sound being +caused by the increased quantity of air which is set into vibration. The +slightest alteration in the shape of these cavities affects the quality +of vocal tone by altering the direction and size of the air columns. + +There is for every tone an air column of a certain size which most +powerfully reinforces that tone; and every resonance cavity answers to +some particular note better than to others. Timbre in the voice depends +largely upon the echoing and re-echoing of these resonance chambers; and +it needs but little reflection to see that the shape given to the mouth +in pronouncing speech sounds--more especially vowel sounds, with all +their various shades--interferes more or less with the purity and +quality of tone. Hence the necessity in singing for modifying vowel +pronunciation to suit the various tones and pitches of the voice. Every +shade of vowel has a certain pitch of its own which is best produced by +certain positions of the mouth, tongue, and soft palate. It is, +therefore, necessary, carefully to shape the mouth so that, on notes of +different pitches, the configuration of the mould may be that which +gives the best quality of the particular vowel tone. There must be an +unimpeded passage for the voice from the larnyx to the lips, and this +cannot be obtained if the same vowel shades are maintained in song as in +speech. The vowels which require the greatest alteration in position of +the mouth are A, E, and U; E being quite the most difficult, because, +contrary to the opinion of some teachers who consider it the best for +forward production of tone, it keeps the sound farther back in the +throat than any other vowel, shutting it up and making the sound thin +and poor. Diligent practice before a mirror is necessary in order to +acquire the best position of the buccal resonance chamber; its +attainment will well repay the trouble taken, for not only will the +voice gain in timbre, in resonance, and in ease, but pronunciation will +become pure and clear. + +The vowel "ah" is frequently chosen as the best one for vocalising, +because in its pronunciation it is easy to put the mouth in a good +position; and voices are trained on it exclusively, with the result that +no other vowel, or vowel shade, is perfectly produced. Actual false +intonation often arises from want of practice in adjusting the cavity of +the mouth to that shape required for producing the best tone and +resonance on the different notes; the absence of co-ordination between +the fundamental tone and the overtones preventing perfect tune. + +The absolute truth of the foregoing remarks may easily be proved by +singing the vowels at either extreme of the "vowel scale of nature," +viz., "oo and ee," over the whole compass of the voice, having regard to +the beauty of tone. Although the singer may be quite unaware of the +science underlying the fact, it will be found that the quality of the +voice at the bottom of its range as these vowels are sung is very +different from that at the top of the range, the alterations taking +place in almost imperceptible gradations. By reference to the foregoing +pages of this book it will be seen that the late Emil Behnke attached +great importance to vowel training, and exemplifications of his methods +are to be found in "Voice Training Exercises" and "Voice Training +Studies" written in conjunction with C. W. Pearce, Mus.Doc. The subject +is also fully explained in "Voice, Song, and Speech," by Lennox Browne, +F.R.C.S., and Emil Behnke; and the whole matter is most ably discussed +in "Pronunciation for Singers," by the late Dr. A. J. Ellis, F.R.S., +published by Messrs Curwen & Sons. + +In thus strongly advocating education of the resonator in the production +of vowel sounds in singing, let me not be supposed to ignore the +necessity for also cultivating pronunciation of consonants, which have +been termed the checks and stops of sound. + +Clearness of enunciation and purity of pronunciation, which are great +aids to the voice, and possess a charm all their own, depend upon both +vowels and consonants being accurately rendered. + +The English are the worst enunciators of all European peoples, and their +custom is to lay the blame on the language, than which none other is +deemed by them so unvocal. There is, however, a vast amount of sonority +and musical charm in our grand and noble language, second only to the +Italian, when properly spoken. + +The cultivation of pure, accurate, and refined pronunciation in speech +will greatly facilitate good enunciation in singing, and should he +sedulously acquired; for there are numbers of vocalists who leave us in +doubt as to whether the words they sing are English, French, Italian, or +German; while the number of those who mispronounce words in a deplorable +manner is legion. + + +FORCING THE REGISTERS. + +The next factor which has much to do with voice failure is forcing the +registers beyond their proper point of change. The erroneous belief +appears to exist that, by carrying up the registers a few notes beyond +their natural limits, the tones thus produced are fuller and richer. But +if in training a voice this practice be followed the result will be +serious injury to the vocal organ. + +This is not a theoretical statement; we can easily see with the +laryngoscope the great amount of congestion of the vocal ligaments +immediately caused by thus forcing up a register; and not only are these +affected by the strain put upon them, but the whole interior of the +throat becomes blood-red, and looks irritated and inflamed. As soon as +the change to the right register is made the vocal apparatus returns to +its normal state. + +Now we all know the effects of undue strain on muscles in other parts of +the body, and have felt the pain and weakness arising therefrom; but far +worse results follow the damage to the throat caused by the strain of +forcing up the registers, by both speakers and singers. The quality of +the voice becomes impaired, and actual loss of notes follows. In some +extreme cases which I have had under my care, there has been entire +absence of voice both in speaking and in singing, and much suffering has +been experienced from granular inflammation of the throat brought on by +this faulty voice use. + +Another method of forcing the voice is the almost universal endeavour to +acquire "top notes" which do not belong to the singer's compass. Because +of the high notes in some voices exceptionally endowed by nature, it +seems as though all singers, no matter what their natural range, have +made it the one object of their training to strive after a vocal +attainment whose rarity appears to be almost its only justification to +be considered as an artistic merit. Why should these ever vanishing +"top notes" be so much craved and striven for? Can it be said that, as +regards each individual voice, these notes are higher in a scale of +excellence than the rest? What merit does their acquisition promise as a +set-off to the deterioration of the voice and its inevitable ultimate +failure? A high note, _per se_, is not necessarily "a thing of beauty" +to the listener, while the result of its attainment is often the +converse of a "joy for ever" to the singer; for in those cases of +forcing up the voice above its natural compass, violence is done to the +throat, which in time results in some of the many ailments peculiar to +singers who use faulty methods. The middle range of the voice becomes +proportionately weaker and thinner as the cult of the extra "top notes" +becomes greater, until the anomalous position is reached of a voice with +two ends and no middle; while these superadded, artificial, high notes +are wanting in timbre, in purity, in strength, and in ease. It is easily +demonstrable by the laryngoscope that the forced and strained action of +the vocal ligaments, and of other laryngeal and throatal muscular +action, exercises an injurious influence upon the voice. The endeavour +to sing notes beyond the extreme of the compass, or notes which do not +naturally lie within any one register--particularly the chest +register--causes great fatigue of the tensor muscles of the vocal +ligaments, and serious congestion, extending to the windpipe and pharynx +has, in many cases, followed this practice. + +More time and energy are devoted to the acquirement of what the late +Emil Behnke called "mere acrobatic skill" than is given to the purely +artistic side of voice use, and it follows that we get "the survival +_not_ of the fittest" but rather of those with exceptionally strong +physical organisations, instead of refined artists. + +The deterioration throughout the whole compass of the voice is often +painfully noticeable during an entire song, but the forcible shouting of +a full, high-pitched note at its close seems to be intended to +compensate for all the misery previously endured by the sensitive +listener. + +Now the maintenance of a healthy condition of the vocal muscles depends +to a great degree upon the right use of those muscles in the formation +of tone. There should never be any feeling of fatigue, strain, pricking, +tightness, aching, or of pain in the throat, nor yet of huskiness after +vocal practice. The method of voice use which produces such results, or +any one of them, is wrong. Nature is pointing out as forcibly as +possible the injury which is being done. Her warning should be heeded +before conditions, getting worse, lead up to the sad ailments from which +so many suffer, and which are disastrous to both voice and health. + +The foregoing facts and illustrations force upon us the conclusion that +the large majority of throat affections from which both speakers and +singers suffer might be entirely prevented by correct methods of voice +use. As prevention is proverbially better than cure, it must be +infinitely more advantageous to acquire correct methods than to unlearn +bad ones which exercise a deleterious influence, always recognisable +even when entire voice failure has not followed their practice. + + + + +_APPENDIX TO THE TENTH EDITION_ + + +DOES DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING APPLY EQUALLY TO WOMEN AS TO MEN? + + +In a kind notice of the first edition of this brochure, which appeared +in _The Medical Press_, the editor raises the above question. He says: +"The evils attending faulty methods of voice-production are pointed out +both from an anatomical and from an artistic point of view, +diaphragmatic breathing being especially insisted on in opposition to +mere clavicular breathing. This is undoubtedly correct; but we think the +advice here embodied would have been even more valuable had the +authoress mentioned if from her experience she thought it applied in an +equal extent to both sexes, as it is well known that nature, or we may +perhaps more correctly say, the art of dress, causes women to breathe in +a far more 'clavicular manner' than men." + +This is a valuable criticism, and as the point indicated is likely to be +of interest to many persons, I append my reply, which appeared in the +next number of _The Medical Press_:-- + +"To the Editor of the _Medical Press and Circular_. + +"SIR,--I intended the advice on breathing to apply to both sexes, +diaphragmatic breathing with perfect control being the foundation of all +good voice-production, whether in speaking or in singing, in men and +women alike, while clavicular breathing is a potent factor in +voice-failure accompanied by throat ailments. From the examination of a +large number of cases, I find it exceptional for a woman, when dressed, +to breathe diaphragmatically, but when the garments are unfastened, and +a few simple directions followed, Nature's mode of breathing commences +to re-assert itself, feebly at first, but vigorously after a little +practice. Very many men also breathe clavicularly, to the great +detriment of their voices, whether in speaking or in singing. I have +noticed, however that whereas the majority of women _always_ breathe +clavicularly, comparatively few men adopt this pernicious habit unless +when using the voice, which is, of course, the worst time for them to +employ it. As a rule, men re-acquire the natural manner of breathing +more easily and quickly than women; this may be partly accounted for by +their greater freedom from constricting garments. After a few weeks' +training of the respiratory muscles, the lung capacity frequently +exceeds, in women especially, the average given in Hutchinson's tables. + +"Thanking you in anticipation for your courtesy in publishing this +letter,--I am, sir, yours &c., + +"K. BEHNKE + +"18, Earl's Court Square, S.W." + + + + +INDEX. + + +Artificial female voice, Roman teachers, 2 + + +Back ring pyramid muscles, 46, 48 + +Bands uniting shield and tongue-bone, 34 + +Belts _v._ braces for men, 25 + +Breast bone, 11 + +Breathing, Collar-bone, 17 + ----, Curing defective, 23 + ---- during sleep, 28 + ---- exercises, 106 + ----, midriff and rib combined, 17 + ----, Mouth _v._ nostril, 26 + ---- neglected by teachers, 19 + ----, View of larynx, 84 + +Breath, Singers' half-, 26 + +Browne, Lennox, on breathing, 18, 22 + + +Carpenter, Dr., How tone is produced, 39 + +Cartilages of Santorini, 51, 54, 80 + ---- of Wrisberg, 51, 54, 81 + +Catlin on American Indian breathing, 28 + +Chest described, 12 + ---- voice used for pay, 4 + +Chink, Vocal, 45, 81 + +Clergymen's sore throat, 22 + +Collar-bones, 11 + +Composers disregarding voices, 3 + ----' ignorance of harp, 3 + ----, Modern, wed music and words, 3 + ---- to blame for vocal decline, 4 + +Cords, Vocal, a misleading term, 38 + ----, ----, False, 60 + ----, ----, origin of term, 8 + +Corsets for gentlemen, 26 + +Curwen's names for registers, 87 + +Czermak's test in vowel formation, 59 + ---- use of the laryngoscope, 75 + + +Duprez' Chest C, 5 + + +Eberth's case, voice-box without lid, 35 + +Elsberg on nose-breathing, 28 + ---- on wedges (posterior nodules), 55 + +Eustachian tubes, 58 + +Exercises, Ah, legato, scala, 117 + ----, Breathing, 106 + ----, Controlling tongue, 124 + ----, glottis, check and glide, 112 + ---- for tone quality, 119, 121 + ---- in changing registers, 118 + ----, Mixed-voice, 119 + ---- on koo, 124 + ---- on vowels, 116 + ----, Opening mouth, 125 + ----, Resonator, 119 + ----, Soft palate, 121 + ---- to govern pitch, 115 + ----, Voice production, 110 + +Experiment, calf's lungs, 12 + ----, Czermak on vowels, 59 + ----, defects in breathing, 23 + ----, feeling ring-shield aperture, 72, 100 + ---- in telling male and female registers, 90 + +Experiments, Marshall on animals, 39 + ----, Müller on dissected larynges, 7, 96 + ----, pressing shield to test pitch, 71 + ----, Spirometer, 20 + ----, Violin tone, 57 + ----, whisper and feel voice-box, 70 + ---- with laryngoscope, 76, 92 + ---- with mirror, for nasal tone, 60 + + +Falsetto register neglected, 4, 6 + +Female and male minstrels, 15 + ---- voice spoilt by tenor pattern, 2 + +Foulis' laryngoscope, 78 + +French singers subject to tremolo, 20 + + +Garcia and the laryngoscope, 74 + ---- on forced registers, 96 + +Garrett, error in describing glottis, 45 + ---- on a blackbird's larynx, 40 + ---- on differences in larynges, 64 + +Glogg-ner-Castelli on chest voice, 5 + +Glottis, Chink of the, 45, 81 + ----, Defects to avoid, 112 + ---- in producing sound, 46 + ---- in repose, 46 + ---- in respiration, 46 + ----, Shock of the, 83 + ----, sphincter muscle, 44 + + +Heart, 11 + +Helmholtz on whispered vowels, 70 + +Horns, Upper and lower, 34, 37, 42 + +Human voice, four parts, 9 + ---- voice, incomparable, 9 + +Huxley's description of respiration, 14 + + +Illingworth, Rumney, on falsetto, 39, 52 + +Inspiration and expiration, 14 + ---- of men and women, 15 + ----, Three ways of, 14 + ---- through the mouth, 26 + +Isenschmid's throat apparatus, 77 + +Italian composers studying voices, 3 + + +Lacing, Tight, 25 + +Laryngo-Phantom, Isenschmid's, 77 + +Laryngoscope described, 73 + ----, Errors in using, 79 + ----, How to use, 73 + ----, What is seen, 80 + +Laryngoscopic images, 84, 85 + +Larynx generally described, 31 + ---- (see Voice-box) + +Levers of the Pyramids, 36 + +Lid and its function, 32, 35, 80 + +Ligaments, Pocket, 50, 81 + ----, ----, not tone producers, 52 + ----, ----, their functions, 53, 83 + ----, Vocal, described, 36, 81, 94 + ----, ----, how produce tone, 32, 81 + ----, ----, how stretched, 47 + ----, ----, in S.C.T.B. voices, 66 + ----, ----, size, movement, 41 + ----, ----, Three actions of, 83 + ----, ----, View of, 37 + +Lung gymnastics, 21 + +Lungs described, 9 + ----, Experiment with calf's, 12 + ----, their function, 12 + +Lunn on "Coup de glotte", 83 + ---- on differences in larynges, 64, 89 + ---- on laryngoscopic views, 82 + +Luschka, and term "vocal chink", 45 + ----, how tone is produced, 40 + +Luschka's measurements of larynges, 64 + + +Male contralti, 2 + ---- soprani, 1 + +Malrespiration, 28 + +Marshall, experiments on animals, 39 + +Merkel on male and female larynges, 90 + ---- on pyramids and registers, 99 + ---- on tension of ligaments, 67 + +Merkel's terms for registers, 90 + +Meyerbeer and the falsetto, 5 + +Midriff, 11 + ---- described, 12 + +Mixed voice, defined, 119 + +Mouth, its part in singing, 59 + ----, when to keep it shut, 29 + +Mozart studied voice before composing, 4 + +Mucous membrane, 61, 80 + +Müller's experiments on larynges 7, 96 + +Muscles, back ring pyramid, 46, 48 + ---- governing pitch, 113 + ----, How to strengthen, 113 + ----, ligament tension theory, 67 + ----, Pyramid, 49 + +Muscles, Ring-shield, 41 + ----, ----, how change registers, 97 + ----, Shield-pyramid, 41 + ----, Shield-pyramid, how change registers, 97 + ----, Side ring-pyramid, 48 + ----, Summary of uses of, 49 + + +Nasal tone, various theories, 60 + +Nose cavities, 59 + +Nostrils best adapted for breathing, 27 + +Nourrit and Duprez, 5 + +Novello, Sabilla, how tone is produced, 39 + + +Palate, Soft, exercising, 121 + ----, ----, its movements, 59 + +Paris Conservatoire method of inspiration, 20 + +Pharynx, 58 + +Pitch, Mechanism affecting, 72 + ----, Rise of, strains voice, 4 + +Pronunciation for Singers, Ellis's, 120 + +Pyramids, how act in registers, 99 + ----, Levers of the, 36, 46 + ----, side view, 37 + ----, their shape and motion, 36, 82, 94 + + +Register, Mechanism of thick, 94 + ----, Thick, described, 94 + ----, Thin, ", 98 + +Registers, Compass of the, 93 + ----, Teachers' Manual on, 87 + ----, definition, 86 + ----, described by Mme. Seiler, 94 + ----, distinguishing sex, 90 + ----, Evil of straining, 101 + ----, How ligaments act in, 86 + ----, how small is formed, 101 + ----, how upper thick formed, 95, 97 + ----, Images of, 84, 85 + ----, Laryngoscope and sub-division of, 91 + ----, "Mixed voice", 118 + ----, optional tones, 118 + ----, places of break, 87, 96 + ----, Straining of, 95 + ----, Three female voice, 88 + ----, to equalise, not expose, 116 + ----, Two male voice, 138 + ----, Upper and lower thick, 96 + ----, ---- ---- ---- thin, 100 + ----, what laryngoscope teaches, 104 + +Resonator changes by vowel, 70 + ----, effect of formation, 58 + ----, its parts, 9, 56 + +Respiration described, 13 + +Ribs, 11 + +Ring cartilage, 31, 32 + +Ring-shield muscles, 41, 70 + +Roger, the French tenor's style, 4, 6 + +Rossini on decline of vocal art, 2 + + +Seiler, description of the registers, 92 + ----, Madame, on "wedges", 54 + ---- on action of vocal ligaments, 100 + +Shield and ring, Motion of, 34, 71 + +Shield cartilage, 34 + +Shield plates, 33, 71 + +Shield-pyramid muscles, 41 + +Singable music, 3 + +Singing _v._ speaking, 18 + +Snoring and keeping mouth open, 30 + +Sphincter muscle of the glottis, 44 + +Spirometer tests recommended, 19 + + +Teaching, Hints on, 106 + +Tenors as teachers of female voice, 2 + ----, Short vocal life of, 1 + ---- sing octave lower than written, 87 + +Tobold, how tone is produced, 40 + +Tone, how produced, 56 + ----, loudness, 56 + ----, pitch, 56 + ----, quality, 56 + ----, Three ways of producing, 83 + +Tongue-bone, 34 + ----, Exercises to control, 124 + +Tonic Sol-fa College, Experiments, 20 + +Tremolo, Controlled artistic, 22 + ----, Involuntary, 21 + ---- mars fine voices, 20 + ----, Origin of, 21 + + +Violin, Experiments for tone on a, 57 + +Vocal gymnastics, 114 + +Voce mista, 118 + +Voice-box, Attempts to see the, 74 + ---- compared with instruments, 8 + ----, differences in size, 62 + ----, dissecting, 7, 44, 57 + ----, its parts specified, 31 + ---- measurements, 64 + ---- movements, teaching of, 70, 72 + ----, visible movements, 69 + +Voice-breaking, Cause of, 63 + +Voice, Cause of high or low, 65 + ---- cultivation exercises, 110 + ----, female, Wrong use of, 95 + +Voice, period of change in youth, 63 + ----, quality of, exercises, 119 + ----, poverty of the age, 1 + ---- sufferers, Cure of, 24 + +Vowel scale, Order of the, 116 + ----, Use of palate in forming, 59 + + +Wedges, Action in small register, 103 + ----, or cuneiform cartilages, 51, 54, 81 + +Whispering, Voice-box movements in, 70 + +When to keep the mouth shut, 29 + +Wilson, Erasmus, on cuneiform cartilages, 54 + +Windpipe described, 31, 81 + +Witkowski on "the wedges", 55 + ---- on views of specialists, 8 + +Women in church music, 2 + +Words ignored by composers, 3 + + + + +INDEX TO "VOICE FAILURE." + + +Breathing, Evils of clavicular, 128 + +Breathing, Lamperti on, 129 + +Breathing, Wrong, 127, 128 + + +Forcing, 128 + +Forcing, Acquiring top notes, 137 + + +Intonation affected by resonance, 134 + + +Laryngoscope, Its lessons, 137, 138 + +Lung capacity, 128 + + +Pronunciation, 136 + + +Registers, Forcing, 128, 136 + +Resonators, Neglect, 128, 132 + + +Shouting, 128 + +Singing, Loud, 128,, 131 + +Stammering, 130 + +Symptoms of faulty voice use, 139 + + +Throat, Inflammation of, 137 + +Timbre, 133 + +Tone, Squeezing, 132 + + +Vowels, Shaping mouth for, 134 + +Vowels, Scale of nature, 135 + + + + +Opinions of the Press and the Medical and the Musical Professions on the +Author's Book, Lectures, and Teaching. + + +SIGNOR GARCIA writes to the Author:-- + +DEAR SIR,--Very many thanks for the copy forwarded to me of your most +interesting work. It will prove of an inestimable advantage to students, +being, in my humble estimation, one of the clearest and most practical +treatises on the subject which contemporary literature has produced. +Accept also my sincere thanks for the description contained in your work +of the origin of the laryngoscope, and believe me, dear sir, yours most +sincerely, M. GARCIA. + + +THE ATHENÆUM. + +Interesting, compared with those previously published, as being written +by a musician and not by a medical man. Hence we are not surprised to +find purely musical questions discussed here with great ability. + + +NATURE. + +The object of this little book is to give singers a plain and +comprehensible view of the musical instrument on which they perform. The +author seems to have succeeded in this attempt remarkably well. He has +evidently had much practical work himself, and has especially set +himself the task of examining the action of the vocal organs during +singing by means of the laryngoscope; and his record of his own +experience in acquiring the use of that beautiful instrument is not only +interesting, but of much practical value. The last section of the book +is devoted to the teachings of the laryngoscope as to the action of the +vocal ligaments in producing voice, with especial reference to the +so-called registers. "A register consists of a series of tones which are +produced by the same mechanism," is his definition (p. 86), which is new +and complete, and he proceeds to explain the different mechanism of each +kind of register as actually observed on singers. There are some good +remarks on breathing (pp. 17-22). All information is given throughout in +clear, intelligible language, and illustrated by fourteen woodcuts.... +The book may be safely recommended to all singers, and others who are +desirous of knowing how vocal tones are produced. + + +SATURDAY REVIEW. + +On the important question of the different registers of the voice and +their proper use, Mr. Behnke practically breaks new ground. He has +carefully gone over the whole subject of the production of the voice as +far as the larynx is concerned, and worked it out anew by a long and +careful series of experiments and observations with the laryngoscope.... +Mr. Behnke's book is clearly written, and the plates well drawn and +printed; while the anatomical details are made clear to the general +reader by the use of English names for the different parts.... It is a +very valuable book, and ought to be read and thought over by all who +have the training of young singers, and indeed by all musicians. + + +MEDICAL PRESS AND CIRCULAR. + +In clear and untechnical language the author gives an accurate account +of the construction and mode of action of the human larynx, its +differences in men, women, and children, and the teachings of the +laryngoscope, notably with respect to the "registers" of the voice.... +M. Behnke is evidently an accurate observer and a logical reasoner, and +a study of his work side by side with Witkowski's "Movable Atlas of the +Throat and Tongue" must be advantageous to any one desiring to make the +best use of his voice. + + +THE SPECIALIST. + +This useful little book is the outcome of the author's large experience +and careful research. It is written concisely, in clear and untechnical +language, and frequent references are made to such authorities as +Huxley, Lennox Browne, Eberth, Carpenter, Marshall, Luschka, &c. That +Herr Behnke thoroughly understands his subject no one who reads his book +can doubt, and if those who wish to know the right way to sing and avoid +the wrong way will carefully study this little manual they will not go +far wrong. For all who are dependent on the right use of their voices +for their daily bread, Herr Behnke's book will be most opportune. + + +MUSICAL STANDARD. + +An excellent specimen of a familiar way of putting unfamiliar truths. + + +MUSIC TRADES REVIEW. + +There are excellent reasons why singers should possess an intimate +knowledge of the structure and functions of the various organs concerned +in the production of the voice, and this knowledge they are likely to +gain more easily and effectually from the present treatise than from any +other with which we are acquainted. Mr. Emil Behnke writes in a +singularly clear and lucid manner, and if his book be not exactly light, +it is very interesting reading. Much of the information conveyed is +invaluable. We cannot too strongly recommend the present volume to the +perusal of vocal students. + + +MUSICAL EDUCATION. + +After carefully reading the book we are at no loss to understand how it +is that there is such a demand for it amongst the members of the musical +public. The style is admirably simple and lucid, and every statement +made is in accordance with the latest views on the subject held by +physiologists and anatomists of acknowledged eminence. + + +KEY BOARD. + +The most reasonable, practical, and common-sense work to be found +anywhere. + + +THE VOICE. + +This book is clear and plain, and gives just the information that every +singer and speaker should have. It is the ablest and most practical +treatise on the voice we have seen. + + +THE INQUIRER. + +Men have set themselves to try and ascertain the actual process by which +vocal sounds are produced, and thus to form a scientific basis on which +to found a way of training voices. Herr Behnke, in a singularly clear +and lucid manner, brings the whole subject before the reader, and, to +make it readily understood by non-scientific people, gives a translation +of the Greek terms used by physiologists side by side with the +originals. We cannot too strongly insist upon the necessity of forming a +scientific basis for teaching singing, and, indeed, for training the +voice for public speaking, &c. We congratulate Herr Behnke upon the +patience and perseverance with which he has pursued his investigations +with the laryngoscope. + + +MUSIC. + +Mr. Emil Behnke has already made himself known to the leading members of +the musical and medical professions by his learned lectures on "The +Theory of Voice Production," and has gained the esteem of those +interested in the subject by the masterly manner in which he deals with +the matter, as well as his unaffected and, as far as possible, +untechnical treatment of it. Mr. Behnke has done much to popularize the +study of the human voice, and his book (which abounds in admirable +plates) deserves to be widely known. + + +EDUCATIONAL TIMES. + +It is but rarely that science figures as the handmaid of art, yet this +book is a signal instance of it, for it is one of the first attempts, if +not the very first, at an investigation, on strictly scientific +principles, of the normal and the abnormal development of the voice, +both in speaking and singing. Herr Behnke, who is both a musician and a +physiologist, has brought to bear upon this subject his knowledge as a +musician, and the results of several years of patient and careful +scientific experiments. We cannot too highly commend this little work to +the attention of all those interested in so important a subject. + + +BIRMINGHAM DAILY GAZETTE. + +Since Herr Behnke's removal from Birmingham to London he has become an +accepted authority on the subject of voice production, and we are glad +to see the results of his studies presented in the useful way in which +they are in this little volume. Earnest and conscientious students of +the vocal art need not be reminded that the production of fine tone is +not the all-in-all of the excellences of singing, but they will +certainly know better how to employ their gifts after mastering the +secrets Herr Behnke reveals. + + + + +Opinions of Mrs. Emil Behnke's Pupils. + +VOICE TRAINING. + + +FROM AN OLD PUPIL. + +GRESHAM HOTEL, DUBLIN. + +DEAR MRS. BEHNKE,--It is indeed regrettable that Mr. Behnke was not +spared to reap to a greater extent the reward of his wonderful work. +You, I know, must have acquired an adequate knowledge of his magnificent +system of teaching to enable you to continue on the same course, and so +perpetuate his memory. This is a source of comfort to your many friends. + + +FROM A LADY LECTURER. + +EDGBASTON, _May 11th, 1893_. + +MY DEAR MRS. BEHNKE,--I feel I must write to tell you how much better I +am, and how greatly indebted I am to your treatment.... I can take two +or three meetings a week with ease, thanks to your training, and the +deeper and fuller tone of my voice has been remarked upon by many. + + +LARNE, IRELAND. + +I have no hesitation in saying that, under God, you were the means of +curing my voice. + + +FROM A CLERGYMAN WHO HAD BROKEN DOWN IN VOICE. + +LONDON, _July, 1893_. + +My voice gives me no trouble now; it is indeed very much fuller and more +resonant. I can fill my church without the least effort. + + +FROM A CLERGYMAN WHO HAD SUFFERED FROM "CLERGYMAN'S SORE THROAT." + +BRIGHTON, _26th June, 1893_. + +DEAR MRS. BEHNKE,--I take this opportunity of thanking you very much for +what you have done for my voice. I shall try to keep up your exercises, +and hope to receive more lessons later on in the year. + + +FROM A CLERGYMAN WHO STAMMERED, AND WHOSE VOICE WAS WEAK. + +"THE PARSONAGE," _Feb. 7th, 1893_. + +DEAR MRS. BEHNKE,--I told the Rev. Mr. S. of the great benefit I had +derived from your instruction. He proposes to bring the subject of your +work, and the importance of it to young clergymen, before the Bishop, +with a view to something being done for ordination candidates. + + +FROM A TEACHER OF SINGING. + +SCARBOROUGH, _Jan. 6th, 1894_. + +DEAR MRS. BEHNKE,--For some years I have been teaching successfully on +the lines laid down in your late husband's publications and his own +"Voice Training Exercises;" and have put into the hands of some of my +pupils your "Voice Training Primer." One of them has just passed Trinity +College Senior Singing Examination with honours (84 marks out of 100). +My own experience is that no exercises I have ever used have so helped +to produce "forward" and to cure "throaty" tone, and I have long felt I +owed to Mr. Behnke a debt of gratitude for his works. May I be permitted +to acknowledge it to you? + + + + +STAMMERING. + + +THE TIMES. + +Pre-eminent success in the education and treatment of stammering and +other speech defects. + +THE BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL. + +DR. F. L. NICHOLLS writes:--"This infirmity is so great a drawback to +almost every walk in life, and for public speaking so complete a +hindrance, that a cure is of the utmost importance. It may therefore be +of interest, and possibly of some use to members of the medical +profession having a case of this nature in their practice, and desiring +assistance for its cure, if I mention that I have recently had the most +satisfactory experience of the cure of such a case. The father, a +minister, was very anxious for his son to follow in his own footsteps, +while the lad stuttered so badly it was not to be thought of, unless a +cure could be effected; and for this purpose he was sent to Mrs. Behnke, +of Earl's Court Square, London. Mrs. Behnke was chosen from high +recommendations, and very thoroughly has she proved worthy of them. The +lad has just returned home, and speaks without the slightest impediment. +I should state that previously to going under Mrs. Behnke's hands we had +tried various rules and recommendations without the least success." + +"Stammering: its Nature and Treatment." Price 1_s_, of Mrs. Emil +Behnke. + + + + +Causes of Voice Failure. + +_By Mrs. EMIL BEHNKE._ + +=Third Edition, Revised and Enlarged.= + +=OPINIONS OF THE PRESS=. + + +THE WEEKLY ECHO. + +A very useful pamphlet by a very able teacher. It is published at +sixpence, but contains many guinea fees' worth of knowledge, and hints +where to procure more. + + +THE SHREWSBURY CHRONICLE. + +Ought to be perused by all who seek distinction as vocalists. + + +BRISTOL TIMES. + +A valuable little brochure. It is one of the most concise and practical +treatises on the subject we have seen, and if only the hints contained +therein were more generally observed, we should have not only less voice +failure, but more good singers with strong, resonant, and lasting vocal +organs. The little book should be in the hands of all singers, students +especially. + + +HEARTH AND HOME. + +Mrs. Behnke's pamphlet should be eagerly read. I advise all those who +are interested in the preservation of their voices to invest sixpence in +the purchase of this admirable booklet, as they cannot fail to gain much +assistance from the excellent matter therein contained. + + +HALIFAX GUARDIAN. + +The pamphlet is terse and valuable in the information it affords. + + +THE MEDICAL PRESS. + +"Causes of Voice Failure," by Mrs. Emil Behnke, has the merit of being +practical and of containing truths which must appeal forcibly not only +to singers, but also to listeners. + + +WARRINGTON GUARDIAN. + +"Causes of Voice Failure." This important subject is well treated by +Mrs. Emil Behnke. + + +THE QUEEN. + +Well worth reading for the valuable hints which it contains. + + +THE PRACTICAL TEACHER. + +The husband of Mrs. Behnke was the greatest authority in his day upon +voice-training, and, in recommending his wife's book we need only say +that her knowledge of this subject is only second to what his was. + + +MUSICAL OPINION. + +This is a small, cheap, and useful pamphlet by Mrs. Emil Behnke. The +quiet, clear, convincing manner in which she writes deserves full +recognition. + + +SUSSEX DAILY NEWS. + +"Causes of Voice Failure," by Mrs. Behnke, is a useful little tract +which may be confidently recommended to the notice of singers, +professional and amateur, for the sound advice and cautions against +common faults of training contained in it. + + +BRISTOL OBSERVER. + +Mrs. Emil Behnke has written a little work on "Causes of Voice Failure" +which deserves to be widely circulated among students of singing. It +should be carefully read. + + +CAMBRIAN. + +Excellent advice is given which must be of great value to those who +contemplate adopting the vocal profession either from a pecuniary or +from an artistic standpoint. + + +THE SCHOOLMASTER. + +Mrs. Behnke goes to the root of the matter, and her proposals are urged +clearly. Incidentally she touches on stammering, and we recommend those +interested in the subject to give her ideas, at any rate, consideration. + + +THE PROFESSIONAL WORLD. + +We would recommend it to all interested in the question of voice +production and voice preservation. + + +LITERARY WORLD. + +The writer of this essay is a well-known expert in her subject. + + +TUNBRIDGE WELLS ADVERTISER. + +In a concise form Mrs. Behnke gives some valuable hints that singers +would do well to note and pay attention to. + + +WEST SUSSEX GAZETTE. + +Mrs. Behnke was well advised to consent to the publication of this +valuable chapter added to the ninth edition of her husband's well-known +work, "Mechanism of the Human Voice," and we are glad to note it has +already run to a second edition. + + + + +THE BEHNKE VOICE-TRAINING METHOD. + +=Voice-Training Exercises= + +=ALSO= + +=Voice-Training Studies= + +=BY= + +=EMIL BEHNKE and Dr. C. W. PEARCE.= + +_In separate books for Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Contralto, Tenor, +Baritone, and Bass._ + +Price: Paper Covers, 1s. 6d. net cash; Bound in Cloth, 3s. net cash. + + +=Voice-Training Primer= + +=By MRS. EMIL BEHNKE=. + +Price 2s. net cash; Bound in Cloth, 3s. net cash. + +_These works are highly recommended by the musical, medical, and general +press, and by teachers._ + +CHAPPELL & Co., Ltd., 50 NEW BOND STREET, LONDON, W. Melbourne and New +York. + +=And may be had of all music-sellers.= + + + + +=The Musical Herald.= + +_A Journal for the Professor and Amateur._ + + +PUBLISHED ON THE 1st OF EACH MONTH. 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A guinea is given as the first prize. + +=The Musical Herald= reports all important Choral Contests, sending its +representatives to any part of Great Britain or of Europe where events +of interest are proceeding. + +=The Musical Herald= interviews musicians who have things of weight and +interest to say. + +=The Musical Herald= has correspondents in every district of Great and +Greater Britain who supply the pages of "News from all Parts." + +=The Musical Herald= is invaluable to students preparing for music +examinations, because of the help given by its practical articles and +answers to enquiries. + + +_Published by_ + +J. CURWEN & SONS Ltd., 24 BERNERS STREET, LONDON, W. + + + + +=History, Biography, Church Music, &c.= + + +=HANDBOOK OF ACOUSTICS.= By T. F. HARRIS, B.Sc., F.C.S. Price 33. 6d.; +postage 3d. A handbook for musical students. Contains 18 chapters +profusely illustrated; with numerous questions and an Appendix of +Examination Papers. + +=HISTORY OF ENGLISH MUSIC=. By HENRY DAVEY. A monumental work tracing the +history and proving the advanced position, past and present, of English +music. Contains many new and important facts. Price 6s.; postage 4-1/2d. + +=HYMN LOVER, THE.= By Rev. W. GARRETT HORDER, Price 5s.; postage 4d. +Second and revised edition. An account of the rise and progress of +Hymnody. + +=MEMORIALS OF JOHN CURWEN.= By his Son, J. SPENCER CURWEN. Price 2s.; +postage 3d. + +=MUSICAL HAUNTS IN LONDON.= By F. G. EDWARDS. Chapters on Handel, Haydn, +Mendelssohn, Weber, and many other musicians, with stories and pictures +of their residences in London. Price 1s.; post. 2d. + +=MUSICIANS OF ALL TIMES.= Compiled by DAVID BAPTIE. Second and cheaper +edition, 1s. 6d.; postage 2d. Concise biography of composers, teachers, +artists, and all other musical workers, containing 5,000 names. + +=STUDENT'S MUSICAL HISTORY.= By H. DAVEY. Price 1s.; postage 1-1/2d.; +cloth, 1s. 6d.; postage 2-1/2d. The cheapest historical handbook; +comprehensive, concise, brought up to date. + +=STUDIES IN WORSHIP MUSIC.= First Series. By J. S. CURWEN. Price 5s.; +postage 4d. Contains articles and information on various matters +relative to Worship Music, arranged in three divisions--Historical, +Practical, Descriptive. Revised and enlarged. + +=STUDIES IN WORSHIP MUSIC.= Second Series. By J. S. CURWEN. Price 2s. 6d.; +postage 2-1/2d. Continues above work--articles on the Chapel Royal, +Westminster Abbey Choir, &c. + +=SHORT DICTIONARY OF MUSICAL TERMS, A.= By ARNOLD KENNEDY. M.A. Price 1s. +(postage 1d.); cloth, 1s. 6d. (postage 1-1/2d.). About 2,700 terms. +Gives the phonetic pronunciation of foreign words. German, French, and +Italian terms are included. + +=UNITED PRAISE.= By F. G. EDWARDS. Price 3s. 6d.; postage 3d. Originally +advertised as "Common Praise." A practical handbook of Nonconformist +Church Music. + + +LONDON: J. CURWEN & SONS Ltd., 24 BERNERS STREET, W. + + + + +STANDARD WORKS ON MUSIC. + +=For full list and particulars, apply for catalogue, gratis and post +free.= + + +=A B C OF MUSICAL THEORY.= R. DUNSTAN, Mus.D. Cloth, 2/-. + +=ART OF BREATHING.= LEO. KOFLER. Price, cloth, 4/-. + +=BOY'S VOICE, THE.= J. S. CURWEN. Price 2/6. + +=CANDIDATE IN MUSIC, THE.= H. FISHER, Mus.D. Book I, Elements, paper, 1/6; +cloth, 2/-. Book II, Harmony, paper, 2/-; cloth, 2/6. + +=CHORAL AND ORCHESTRAL SOCIETIES.= L. C. VENABLES. Price 2/6. + +=CHURCH AND CATHEDRAL CHORISTER'S SINGING METHOD=. HAYDN KEETON, Mus.D. +Cloth, 3/-; paper, 2/-. + +=COMPANION FOR TEACHERS.= J. SPENCER CURWEN. Price 1/-. + +=COMPENDIUM OF HARMONY.= GEO. OAKEY, Mus.B. Price 2/-. Examples in Sol-fa +only. + +=CONSTRUCTION, TUNING, AND CARE OF THE PIANOFORTE.= Edited by H. FISHER, +Mus.D. Price, limp cloth, 1/-. + +=CYCLOPÆDIC DICTIONARY OF MUSIC.= R. DUNSTAN, Mus.D. Cloth 7/6 net. + +=FIGURED BASS.= GEO. OAKEY, Mus.B. Price, limp cloth, 1/-. + +=FIRST STEPS IN HARMONY.= R. DUNSTAN, Mus.D. Cloth, 2/-. + +=HANDBELL RINGING.= C. W. FLETCHER. Price 2/6. + +=HANDBOOK OF ACOUSTICS.= T. F. HARRIS, B.Sc., F.C.S., Price 3/6. + +=HARMONY ANALYSIS.= GEO. OAKEY, Mus.B. Price 3/-. Both notations. + +=HISTORY OF ENGLISH MUSIC.= H. DAVEY. Price 6/-. + +=HOW TO READ MUSIC.= JOHN CURWEN. 24 chapters, pp. 128, price, cloth, 1/6; +paper, 1/-. + +=HOW TO TEACH THE STAFF NOTATION.= E. MASON, Mus.B. Price 2/-. + +=HOW TO TRAIN CHILDREN'S VOICES.= T. MASKELL HARDY. Price 1/-. + +=HYMN LOVER, THE.= Rev. W. GARRETT HORDER. Price 5/-. + +=MANUAL OF MUSIC, A.= RALPH DUNSTAN, Mus.Doc. Price 2/6. + +=MANUAL OF ORCHESTRATION.= HAMILTON CLARKE, Mus.B. With Appendix, 1/6. + +=MANUAL OF VOICE PRODUCTION.= H. J. B. DART. Staff, 1/-. + +=MECHANISM OF THE HUMAN VOICE.= EMIL BEHNKE. Cloth, 2/6; paper, 1/6. + +=MUSICAL HAUNTS IN LONDON.= F. G. EDWARDS. Price 1/-. + +=MUSICAL INSPECTION=. By a SCHOOL INSPECTOR. Price 1/6. + +=MUSICAL SELF-INSTRUCTOR.= J. SNEDDON, Mus.B. Price 2/6. Both notations. + +=MUSICAL THEORY.= JOHN CURWEN. Price 3/6. In Parts--I, II, IV, 4d. each; +III, 1/4; V, 1/-. Both notations. + +=MUSICIANS OF ALL TIMES.= Compiled by W. G. W. GOODWORTH, Mus.B. Price +2/6. + +=MUSICIAN, THE.= RIDLEY PRENTICE. Six Grades, 1/6 each. + +=NEW GRADED HARMONY EXERCISES.= GEO. OAKEY, Mus.B. Price 2/-, cloth. + +=PSYCHOLOGY FOR MUSIC TEACHERS.= H. FISHER, Mus.D. Cloth, 3/-. + +=ORCHESTRA, THE, and how to write for it.= F. CORDER. Price 7/6. + +=ORGANS, ORGANISTS, AND CHOIRS.= E. MINSHALL. Price 1/6. + +=PIANIST'S MENTOR.= H. FISHER, Mus.D. Price 2/6. + +=PLAYING AT SIGHT.= R. T. WHITE, Mus.D. Oxon. Price 1/6. + +=PRIMER OF ELOCUTION.= F. HARRISON, M.A. Price 1/6. + +=PRONUNCIATION FOR SINGERS.= A. J. ELLIS, F.R.S. Price 3/6. + +=SCHOOL MUSIC TEACHER, THE.= J. EVANS and W. G. MCNAUGHT. Price 2/6. + +=SHORT DICTIONARY OF MUSICAL TERMS.= A. KENNEDY, M.A. Price 1/-; cloth, +1/6. + +=SINGER'S GUIDE.= J. ADCOCK. Price 1/-. + +=SINGING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.= A. WATKINS. Cloth, 1/-. + +=SOLO SINGER.= SINCLAIR DUNN. Price 1/-. + +=SPEAKING VOICE.= Mrs. EMIL BEHNKE. Price 4/6. + +=SPECIMEN LESSONS ON THE TONIC SOL-FA METHOD.= Edited by J. SPENCER +CURWEN. Cloth limp, 1/6. + +=STANDARD COURSE, THE.= J. CURWEN. Price 3/6. + +=STUDENT'S MUSICAL HISTORY.= HENRY DAVEY. Price 1/-; cloth, 1/6. + +=STUDIES IN WORSHIP MUSIC.= J. SPENCER CURWEN. 1ST SERIES, 5/-; 2ND +SERIES, 2/6. + +=TEACHER'S MANUAL, THE.= JOHN CURWEN. Price 4/-. + +=TEXT-BOOK OF COUNTERPOINT.= GEO. OAKEY, Mus.B. Price 2/-. cloth. Both +nots. + +=TEXT-BOOK OF HARMONY.= GEO. OAKEY, Mus.B. Price 3/-. Both notations. + +=TEXT-BOOK OF MUSICAL ELEMENTS.= GEO. OAKEY, Mus.B. Paper 1/-; cloth, 1/6. + +=TRAINING COLLEGE MUSIC COURSE.= B. MILLS, Mus.B. Price 3/-. + +=UNITED PRAISE=. F. G. EDWARDS. Price 3/6. + +=VOICE PRODUCTION IN SINGING AND SPEAKING=. WESLEY MILLS, M.A., F.R.C.S. +Price 7/6 net (no reduction). + +=VOICE TRAINER, THE.= J. A. BIRCH. Both notations, 1/-. + + +=LONDON: J. CURWEN & SONS Ltd., 24 BERNERS STREET, W.= + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] "The Mechanism of Voice, Speech, and Taste." Translated and edited +by Mr. Lennox Browne, F.R.C.S. London: Baillière, Tindall, and Cox. + +[B] It having been proved to Mr. Behnke that the use of the term +"_abdominal_" instead of "_diaphragmatic_" breathing led to +misconception and misrepresentation of his views on this important +subject, he discarded the words "abdominal breathing" and used only the +term "diaphragmatic breathing" in his teaching and writing. Will readers +kindly bear this in mind?--K. B. + +[C] "Medical Hints on the Production and Management of the Singing +Voice," Fifth Edition, p. 15. London: Chappell and Co. + +[D] Only for the purpose of ascertaining the capacity of the lungs +_before_ commencing the exercises, and the gain acquired after some +weeks of regular work. + +[E] "The Throat and its Diseases," pp. 289, 290. London: Baillière, +Tindall, and Cox. + +[F] "The Throat and its Functions." New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. + +[G] _Sphincter_ is an anatomical term applied to circular muscles which +constrict or close certain natural orifices. + +[H] "Ueber die Compensation der physischen Kräfte am menschlichen +Stimmorgan," p. 8. Berlin, 1839. + +[I] "Voice in Singing," p. 189. Philadelphia, 1875. + +[J] "Anatomist's Vade Mecum." By Erasmus Wilson, F.R.S. London. Eighth +edition, p. 596. + +[K] Helmholtz, "Sensations of Tone:" translated by Alexander J. Ellis, +F.R.S., &c., p. 37. + +[L] "Philosophy of Voice," 2nd edition, p. 19. Baillière, Tindall, and +Cox. + +[M] A "Laryngo-Phantom" has recently been brought out by Dr. Isenschmid +of Munich, which greatly facilitates this preliminary practice. It +consists of an imitation of the throat, the larynx, and the mouth, and +"is intended to familiarize students with as many of the details +connected with the use of the laryngoscope as it is possible to learn +before the application of the instrument to the living subject." A +number of little paintings representing different laryngoscopic +appearances may be slipped into this Phantom, unknown to the student, +who has to discover what has been done by the usual process. This +apparatus can therefore be strongly recommended as affording excellent +and constant practice. It may be had of Messrs. Krohne & Sesemann, 8, +Duke Street, Manchester Square, W., price £2 2s. + +[N] "Der Kehlkopf," p. 153. Leipzig, 1873. J. J. Weber. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Mechanism of the Human Voice, by Emil Behnke + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MECHANISM OF THE HUMAN VOICE *** + +***** This file should be named 30889-8.txt or 30889-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/8/8/30889/ + +Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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