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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Advice to Singers, by Frederick James Crowest
+
+
+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: Advice to Singers
+
+
+Author: Frederick James Crowest
+
+
+
+Release Date: October 10, 2012  [eBook #41013]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVICE TO SINGERS***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Veronika Redfern, David Edwards, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images
+generously made available by Internet Archive (http://archive.org). Music
+for audio illustrations was transcribed by Anne Celnick, Sarah Thomson,
+and the DP Music Team.
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original lines of music and
+      audio illustrations.
+      See 41013-h.htm or 41013-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41013/41013-h/41013-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41013/41013-h.zip)
+
+
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive. See
+      http://archive.org/details/AdviceToSingers
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
+
+      Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=).
+
+      Any ranges or simple exercises that have been depicted
+      on a staff in the original have been represented in this
+      volume using Scientific Pitch Notation. In this system,
+      C4 represents middle C and is set at 256 Hz.
+
+
+
+
+
+ADVICE TO SINGERS
+
+by
+
+FREDERICK J. CROWEST
+
+Author of "The Great Tone Poets" "Musical Groundwork"
+Editor of "The Master Musicians" Series, etc.
+
+      "Since singing is so good a thing
+      I wish all men would learn to sing"
+
+[Illustration: Publisher's Device]
+
+Seventeenth Thousand
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+London
+Frederick Warne and Co.
+and New York
+1904
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+Singing cannot be learnt from a book, and so far from attempting any
+such impossible feat as writing a book which might be called "_Singing
+without a Master_," the author's object--frequently insisted upon
+herein--is to point out the impossibility of overcoming the difficulties
+of singing without a teacher. At the same time, there are points upon
+which a master would not feel called upon to speak; nor would he
+(except, perhaps, in the course of a very long period of training) be
+likely to touch on many matters which, though closely connected with the
+life or business of an accomplished singer, yet lie rather outside the
+province of the voice-trainer.
+
+In a work consisting of detached paragraphs, and not being a continuous
+essay, it is not always possible to enter into full explanations of the
+reasons for certain statements; and (for the want of such explanation)
+one paragraph may _appear_ to contradict another. However, I can assure
+the reader that such paragraphs are only _apparent_ contradictions; and
+if he will take the trouble to think such points out for himself, he
+will find that they are easily reconcileable.
+
+There is no subject, perhaps, on which opinions are so divided, and
+prejudices run so high, as the proper method of training and using the
+voice; nor is there perhaps one more wrapped in mystery than is the art
+of singing. This is probably the result of that readiness with which
+almost every music teacher has hitherto undertaken to teach Singing.
+This book will not, I am sure, add to the mystery. A careful perusal of
+its contents should clear away many misconceptions, and place the
+student on the right road to that end which he or she has in view.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.
+
+
+That another large edition of this little Manual should be called for in
+so comparatively short a time is sufficiently encouraging testimony of
+the worth of the book and the favour it has found at the hands of
+students of singing and others--a result the more gratifying to the
+publishers since hitherto it has been issued with an anonymous
+title-page. Often has the authorship of the little volume been
+industriously defended and disputed--not by myself--both in this country
+and America; but, on the whole, the identity of its originator has been
+well maintained. For my part matters might have remained so, especially
+as I am not insensible to the fact that there is much "preaching"
+herein--as indeed there must be in such a work, and some of the advice
+is of such a nature that its giver runs the risk of being placed upon an
+exceeding high pinnacle of moral excellence, or of being accounted the
+personification of all the virtues--both of which distinctions might
+scarcely be merited. The appearance of my name upon the title-sheet is
+the result of no wish of mine, and I have consented to it only out of
+deference to the pressing request of the publishers.
+
+A chapter on the Physiological Surroundings of the Voice has been added
+to this edition.
+
+                                                   FREDERICK J. CROWEST.
+
+
+PREFACE TO THE SEVENTH EDITION.
+
+Once again my publishers have informed me of the necessity for
+reprinting this Manual, which has been so successful both here, in
+America, and in the Colonies. I have nothing to alter in the work, but I
+must express my thanks for the marked support that has been given to
+this straightforward advice. Did space permit, much might be said
+relative to that growing complaint, "Teachers' (or Board School)
+Laryngitis" as it is called. For some time past I have been authorized
+to make observations at the chief Throat Hospitals in connection with
+this constantly increasing mischief, arising from an injurious use of
+the voice in Teaching, and which only proper Voice Production will
+remedy. While I cannot give advice here, I shall be happy to answer any
+communications of sufferers from this complaint.
+
+                                                   FREDERICK J. CROWEST.
+
+     24 AMPTHILL SQUARE, LONDON, N.W.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                                  _Page_
+
+  PRELIMINARY REMARKS                                                  9
+
+  ON HABITS, DIET, &c.                                                13
+
+    Early Rising--Cleanliness--The Hair--The Teeth--Exercise--Dress--
+    Diet--Smoking--Late Hours--General Morality.
+
+  PRONUNCIATION AND STUDY OF WORDS                                    21
+
+    Nervousness--Pronunciation--Vowel-Sounds--Consonants--English--
+    Emphasis--Position of Lips--Study of "Words"--General
+    Education--Dramatic Study.
+
+  VOICES AND THEIR VARIOUS QUALITIES                                  28
+
+    Voices and their Names--Compass--Soprano--Mezzo-Soprano--
+    Mezzo-Contralto--Contralto--Alto--Tenore-Leggiero--Tenore-Robusto--
+    Barytone and Basso-Cantante--Bass--Buffo--Qualities of Voices.
+
+  INSTRUCTION, BOOKS AND MASTERS                                      47
+
+    Schools of Singing--Masters--Institutions--A First Opinion--Bad
+    Lessons--Bad Teachers--Books of Exercises.
+
+  PRACTICE                                                            53
+
+    Individuality--Perseverance--Facial Expression--Self-Accompaniment--
+    Position of Body, Arms, Hands, Throat, Tongue, Larynx--
+    Head-Singing--Throatiness--Clearing the Throat--High Notes--The
+    Scale--Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano--Tone--Chest, Falsetto, and
+    Head--Scale Practice--First Exercises (_with Examples_)--Duration
+    of Practice--Singing in Tune--How to Begin--Variety--Chorus
+    Singing--Humming--Studying Songs--Imitation--General Musical Study.
+
+  ON STYLE AND EXPRESSION                                             71
+
+    Traditional Styles--Modern German _Lieder_--"The Cathedral
+    School"--Oratorio (_with Examples_)--Opera--Ballads--Recitative
+    (_with Examples_)--Slurring--Sentiment--Decision--Imitation--Public
+    Singing--"Holding" an Audience--Mistakes in Public.
+
+  ON TIME IN SINGING                                                  87
+
+    The Metronome--Accent--Exercises: four beats to the bar; three
+    beats to the bar; two beats to the bar.
+
+  ON THE CHOICE OF MUSIC                                             103
+
+    Music to Suit the Voice--"Original Keys"--Execution--Fashion--
+    Forming a "Repertoire."
+
+  PHYSIOLOGICAL SURROUNDINGS                                         109
+
+    The Larynx--The Thyroid--The Pharynx--The Voice; A Wind, Reed,
+    or String Instrument.
+
+  EXERCISES                                                          115
+
+    Exercises 1, 2, for Uniting Notes--Exercise 3, for Flexibility,
+    &c.--Exercise 4, on Intervals of Thirds--Exercise 5, on Intervals
+    of Fourths--Exercise 6, on Intervals of Fifths--Exercise 7, on
+    Intervals of Sixths--Exercise 8, on Intervals of Sevenths.
+
+  INDEX                                                              126
+
+
+
+
+ADVICE TO SINGERS.
+
+
+
+
+PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
+
+
+Whatever be the actual difference between the professional and the
+amateur singer, if a person is worthy of the name of singer at all,
+there should be no difference in their views of Art, and in their
+devotion to practice. Singing is an art, and one of the most difficult
+of the arts to master; and any one who attempts to learn it must be
+prepared to give the same devotion to it as is demanded by the sister
+arts of painting and sculpture. I do not mean exactly devotion of the
+whole time and energy of life to it; because, however necessary that may
+be for the professional, who has to make his living by it, such entire
+devotion to an accomplishment or an amusement (for such singing is to
+the amateur) would, for a non-professional, be frequently impossible,
+and very often wrong, as it would lead to a neglect of the duties of
+life. But, while the entire devotion of time and energy of a
+professional singer is demanded to master the various styles, and the
+immense mass of music, with which he or she will have to deal in the
+exercise of the profession, the amateur should bear in mind that such
+time and energy as he can devote to singing must be firmly restricted to
+doing what he undertakes thoroughly well--as well, in fact, as a
+professional. The amateur's position, which forbids him to make singing
+the work of his life, limits the range of his work, not the quality of
+it. He cannot, even if he have the voice of a Rubini or a Braham, master
+the difficulties of opera, oratorio, and ballad alike. Circumstances
+forbid him to conquer the world, but there is no reason why he should
+not be a king in his own special realm. To be that he will have to
+follow the same rules as though he were able to attack the whole
+universe of vocal music; for he should feel that the only difference
+between him and the professional singer lies in the sphere of their
+work.
+
+The same remarks apply to many professionals. _Very_ few can excel in
+all styles, and few in more than one. To attempt all is a great mistake,
+and will probably lead to failure, or at least mediocrity in all.
+
+But the first point that I would insist upon is the necessity for
+earnest devotion and regular work, both in professional and amateur, so
+that the term _Artist_ may apply to both. I shall be at no great pains
+to avoid occasional repetitions of incidental remarks. In a book
+intended for constant reference rather than for one perusal, and one
+divided, as this is, into short paragraphs, words may attract attention
+in one place, while in another they may have been overlooked. If,
+therefore, I err in this respect, I shall do so deliberately, my sole
+aim being to help and impress the student as much as possible.
+
+Remember that the human voice is the most delicate of all instruments,
+susceptible to more and more varied influence than any other. The singer
+has to combine in himself the instrument and the performer; and while
+all the artistic and intellectual qualities necessary for the
+instrumentalist are required by him, he is compelled beyond that to
+realize that he is a living instrument, and to exercise over himself all
+the care--and indeed far more than all--that players exercise over their
+most cherished "weapons." He has not only to learn how to sing, but how
+to be and to remain fit for singing. He, more than any other musical
+artist, will find that he is affected by moral as well as physical and
+intellectual causes, and he must face this fact boldly.
+
+In writing down the brief hints which this little work offers to
+singers, I shall therefore take in a range of subjects and enter into
+many details which may seem to have little to do with the practice of
+_Do_, _Re_, _Mi_. I do this advisedly, and I believe that such hints as
+those on general culture and habits of living are by no means the least
+important part of my work. I do not profess to teach my readers how to
+sing--(any singer knows, and I should like the public to know too, that
+singing cannot be taught by a book)--but to give "hints to singers," and
+many of those hints are on such subjects as it would be an impertinence
+on the part of a singing master to allude to. If the student takes
+offence at the _book_, it happily does not reach the author.
+
+Following out the previous thought, I shall try to turn the intending
+singer's attention to several other subjects, before I touch upon that
+of strictly musical interest. And if I here seem to "preach"
+occasionally, I shall never do so without cause, and never, I trust, in
+any spirit but that of the warmest sympathy with the aspirations and the
+peculiar trials and difficulties of those who are still in full vigour
+of youth and health.
+
+Remember that I give _hints_, not _rules_. It is quite impossible to lay
+down rules of living which shall apply alike to male and female, or to
+variously constituted natures. But I hope I may trust to the common
+sense of every individual to draw sound conclusions, and to form his or
+her own rules, by the help of these hints, and, the rules once formed,
+to adhere to them resolutely. If singing is to be done at all, it is
+worth while to do it well, and to spare no pains to that end.
+
+There is a good deal to be done by the student of singing before he
+attacks the strictly musical part of his difficulties. General
+education, if deficient, must be attended to; habits of living must be
+formed and followed out; faults of character, such as laziness, ill
+temper, slovenliness, impatience, and want of perseverance, must be
+bravely fought; for the study of singing, perhaps more than of any other
+art, will test the character severely in these respects.
+
+The student must be prepared to exercise a good deal of self-denial; to
+put aside all notions of self-merit for a long time to come; and to be
+humble, and ready to take a hint from any source. Whatever merits he may
+have at starting are certainly not due to his own skill; they are simply
+natural gifts, and the better they are, the more is there for him to
+learn in doing justice to them. Let him not waste time in admiring what
+he is, or has done; but let him keep all his energy for what he may yet
+be and for what he yet has to accomplish.
+
+
+
+
+ON HABITS, DIET, &c.
+
+
+The following paragraphs contain hints on various matters apparently
+little connected with singing, yet all of more or less importance to the
+singer. The voice, and the power of using it, depend so greatly upon
+general health, and health is so easily affected by habits of living,
+that I offer no apology for entering into some details which, though
+easy enough to write down, and read when written, would be difficult for
+a singing master to allude to or suggest without giving offence.
+
+
+=Early Rising.=--Practise early rising, and, if possible, take a short
+walk before breakfast. This tends to keep the circulation of the blood
+in a good condition, and that is, of course, of great importance to the
+lungs, and all the organs which singing requires to tax somewhat
+severely.
+
+
+=Cleanliness.=--Strict cleanliness is of the greatest importance. Take a
+cold bath every morning directly you get out of bed. Do not stand
+"pottering about," or you may catch cold, but go to your bath while the
+skin is moist with the perspiration which the warmth of bed has drawn
+out. If you let the perspiration dry, and then plunge into cold water,
+you run a great risk of giving yourself a severe chill. Sponge yourself
+well, and rapidly, all over, especially the chest, throat, back of the
+neck, and all round the loins; and dry the body thoroughly and briskly
+with a rough towel. Let no fear of damaging the complexion deter young
+ladies from this most healthy and necessary operation.
+
+In winter, if the circulation is naturally sluggish, it is as well not
+to take the bath perfectly cold, but merely add enough hot water just to
+remove the extreme chill. The bath ought to feel cold to you, even
+though it be not the coldest possible.
+
+It is well to take a warm bath once a week--if possible, just before
+going to bed. Do not have it hot, but simply warm, and, of course, use
+soap with it. Do not dawdle over it, but "have it and have done with
+it," and then get to bed at once. If you find the effect of it to be
+enervating or relaxing, take it less warm in future. The object of it is
+simply to open and cleanse the pores of the skin--a matter of great
+importance.
+
+
+=The Hair.=--The same rule of extreme cleanliness applies to the hair, and
+for the same reason, viz., its intimate connection with the circulation
+of the blood and the pores of the skin. Keep the hair well brushed, and
+have it frequently cut and shampooed. Avoid "pomatums," washes, and
+greasy messes of every kind: their smell is objectionable and their
+effect is generally to dirty the head. Moreover, the public have the
+good taste to object to the appearance of an artist before them who is
+evidently "got up" with pains for the occasion. A person who is
+habitually as clean as he can be, need never fear to appear in public,
+and may spare himself the disgusting application of "grease" to his head
+to make himself fit to be seen.
+
+If a moustache is worn, let it be kept within bounds, and not allowed to
+fall over the mouth, where it would affect the tone of the voice. Do not
+cut it straight along the lip, but train it right and left, allowing it
+to grow naturally and uncut. The advantages of the moustache are two: it
+acts to a certain extent as a respirator, and protects the mouth and
+throat as the eyelash does the eye, and it helps to conceal any slight
+distortion of the mouth in singing. This, I confess, is a doubtful
+advantage:--there ought to be no distortion, and if any were seen, it
+might, perhaps, be corrected. However, I give the opinion for what it is
+worth.
+
+
+=The Teeth.=--The teeth play such an important part in the production of
+the voice that every care should be taken to preserve them sound and in
+good condition--to say nothing of the part which they play in facial
+expression, a point to which every singer should attend. A bad state of
+the teeth at once affects the stomach, and that again the voice, so that
+no apology is needed for drawing the student's attention to this matter.
+Clean the teeth the first thing in the morning, and the last thing at
+night. Use a moderately hard brush, better too soft than too hard, with
+cold water, or better still, just lukewarm. Avoid all "dentifrices" and
+advertised nastinesses in the way of powders and "fragrant" washes. A
+mixture of powdered (not "prepared") chalk and orris-root, in the
+proportion of about three to two, is the best thing to use, and any
+chemist will make that up for you. Remember to brush the teeth inside
+and along the top, as well as outside; and if you find this difficult
+with the ordinary-shaped brush, get one of those which are sold for the
+purpose. If you find, in spite of your care, that your teeth become
+discoloured, the cause is probably that your stomach is out of order. In
+that case, go straight to a doctor, for the consequence of such
+derangement is that "tartar" is formed on the teeth, and this grows, and
+pushes back the gums, altering the form of the cavity of the mouth, and
+so affecting the tone of the voice.
+
+
+=Exercise.=--Be as much as you can in the open air. Take moderate walking
+exercise, but of course do not tire yourself before singing or
+practising. For male singers, rowing, riding, football and cricket (but
+without the shouting so often incidental to these games), racquets or
+tennis, and above all an hour or two weekly in a gymnasium, are
+excellent things; while for ladies, walking, riding, lawn-tennis, "la
+grace," and calisthenics are equally useful. If you live in a town,
+always walk in preference to taking a conveyance, when time and weather
+permit it.
+
+Never breathe through your mouth in walking, especially at night, or on
+coming out into the open air after singing. Keep the lips closed, and
+inhale the air through the nostrils. This is easily acquired, and to be
+able to do this will be found of great service in taking breath for
+singing; but out of doors it is most important, for the immediate rush
+of cold or damp air to the delicate organs of the throat, especially
+when the latter have been excited by the exertion of singing, is
+dangerous. It is a good plan, and a profitable use of the time, to
+practise breathing when walking, by filling the lungs, and utilizing
+each inspiration for as long a distance as possible.
+
+
+=Dress.=--Nothing can be said in favour of our climate for singing. With
+proper precautions, however, a great deal of trouble arising from this
+cause may be averted. In summer, as well as in winter, for instance, the
+writer would strongly urge the wearing of moderately thick-soled boots
+or shoes. Then, again, the neck and chest should never be exposed alike
+to a June sun and a December frost; but, instead, it should be
+moderately and reasonably covered. Great care should be taken never to
+get wet, especially wet or damp feet.
+
+In going out of hot rooms into the open air much pains should be
+exercised to keep the chest and throat covered up with an overcoat or
+cloak--however warm the weather may be. In _very severe_ winter weather
+the singer will derive much comfort by wearing a flannel
+chest-protector. Sitting about in gardens, and on lawns, in the evenings
+on even the warmest days, is not a safe indulgence for the student who
+is in earnest in the pursuit of his art.
+
+One caution is necessary as to "wrapping up," however. Do not over-do
+it. The constant use of a "comforter" renders the throat delicate and
+susceptible. All you have to fear is damp, not cold, in the atmosphere.
+A comforter, closely wound round the throat, promotes perspiration, and
+the risk of chill in removing it is greater than in not wearing it at
+all. Common sense must guide every one. It is impossible to make a rule
+for all.
+
+
+=Diet.=--As to diet: avoid everything that is at all indigestible. Live
+well, and take plenty of varied nourishment. The singer's system _must_
+be well nourished. Chocolate and coffee are better than tea; the latter
+is too astringent, and affects the nerves too much, if taken in
+abundance. Sugar, in moderation, should always be used with those
+beverages, and they should never be taken very hot. Bread is better than
+toast, but avoid hot or very new bread. Eggs and butter are good. Meat
+should be plainly cooked and not too well done. Pork tries the digestion
+too severely to be a desirable food for a singer, and the same may be
+said of veal. Fish is good for the singer, and he should if possible let
+it form a part of his daily _menu_. Creams and pastry are simply poison,
+and cheese should only be taken in great moderation. Fruit is an
+excellent thing if judiciously used. But here, again, hard and fast
+rules are impossible, because constitutions vary. Only remember the old
+proverb, "We must eat to live, and not live to eat."
+
+Never practise or sing upon an empty stomach, or soon after a meal:
+either of these habits will unfairly tax your digestive organs, and in
+so doing damage your voice. After a meal, all the energy of the body is
+required for the stomach; in a healthy person the extremities will
+generally be cold after a full meal, and the reason is that the
+digestive organs are using all the heat and blood that the body can give
+for their special work. Nature thus points to a rest of every other
+organ at that time, and you must not fight against Nature by attempting
+any such severe physical strain as the practice of the voice demands.
+
+All acids and astringents are bad for a healthy throat and stomach.
+Vinegar, highly-flavoured sauces, almonds and raisins, nuts of every
+kind should be avoided. Some of these are useful as remedies in relaxed
+throat, or congestion of the throat, no doubt; but I am speaking simply
+of what is desirable for a person in a state of health. In cases of
+cold, hoarseness, or indisposition of any kind, my prescription is,
+"Don't doctor yourself, but (as Abernethy said) '_Take advice_.'" Be
+very careful and abstemious in the use of spirits. Brandy is decidedly
+injurious, it heats and inflames the throat, and tends to constipate the
+bowels. Gin or whiskey is the most wholesome spirit, but take as little
+as possible of either. If you drink beer or stout, take draught and not
+bottled, and always in great moderation. All effervescing liquors are
+objectionable; therefore eschew champagne, Moselle, bottled ale and
+stout, _et hoc genus omne_. The fluids called port and sherry are cruel
+foes to singing. A glass of _good_ port is a fair medicine in certain
+cases, and the same may be said of very dry Amontillado, but if
+you have nothing the matter with you, avoid port and (so-called)
+sherry--especially the hideous compound of alcohol and molasses known as
+"brown" sherry--as you would poison.
+
+The best drink for singers is claret, or any light wine, French, German,
+or Italian. I myself find the latter on the whole the best, and such
+wines as Barolo Secco or Chianté are pure and cheap, and contain all the
+properties necessary for a singer's beverage. But in this as in all
+else, _moderation_ is a _sine quâ non_. Fluids are apt to produce
+congestion or mucus in the throat and glands of the mouth, and that of
+course interferes with the free action of the muscles in singing.
+
+
+=Smoking.=--As a general rule it may be laid down that smoking is a bad
+habit for the singer, male or female (for there are females who are
+proud of being able to smoke cigarettes nowadays!). With many instances
+of great singers who have also been great smokers before us, it is
+impossible to say decidedly that singers must not smoke; but the habit
+is one to be very cautiously indulged in. If smoking in any case induces
+expectoration, it should at once be given up, for the habit of spitting,
+to which some smokers allow themselves (quite needlessly) to give way,
+is, in reality, the greatest evil of smoking; it weakens the throat,
+lungs, and chest. If a man can smoke without spitting or drinking, I
+confess that I am no great enemy to tobacco; but the "if" is a big one.
+
+A cigarette is certainly a safeguard against taking cold in coming out
+of a hot room into the open air, especially after singing; but strong
+cigars or strong tobacco in pipes are to be avoided, because of their
+effect on the nerves.
+
+
+=Late Hours.=--Avoid late hours. You require, not only a certain amount of
+sleep, but to take that sleep before the body and mind are at all
+overtaxed. From many causes, it is well known, the human frame is always
+at its lowest from about 2 a.m. till 5 a.m., and the nearer you approach
+those hours in going to bed, the less able are you to derive all the
+benefit which you require from sleep. Twelve o'clock is late enough for
+any one.
+
+Another reason why late hours are bad is connected not with physical
+facts so much as with morals. It is true, you may come to no actual
+harm, or get into no positive mischief, by being out late at night, but
+you place yourself in a position of risk--risk of cold, over-fatigue,
+inhaling vitiated atmosphere, &c., as well as risk to moral character,
+which latter, in its way as delicate as the voice, is injured not only
+by actual violation of right, but by all society, conversation, and
+literature which tend to dim its brightness, or (to use another
+metaphor) to spoil the purity of its outline by roughly knocking off its
+corners. At all events, as to the night side of "Life," you are better
+out of it.
+
+
+=Morality.=--Nothing can act more prejudicially upon a singer than those
+influences which are understood by that very inclusive term, a "fast"
+life. I would, therefore, urge upon the student the necessity of a
+religious avoidance of those influences. They dull the purity of thought
+which marks all true art; they deaden the intellect which art requires;
+and they injure the physical powers, without which all a singer's study
+may be suddenly rendered useless to him. All excess is bad, and
+self-restraint and self-control are of the greatest importance both to
+character and health. Many an anxious student has mastered the musical
+side of his art, but has failed under the rigid demands which the moral
+code makes upon an intending singer. It is of no use for a singer to be
+strong musically, and weak morally: the two preparations must go
+hand-in-hand; and while building up a structure of vocal greatness, his
+care must always be that the moral foundation will always support the
+weight of persistent study, and leave him favourably placed in the stern
+competition going on around him for a front place in the race for
+singing fame, and the inevitable honours. Keep these hints in mind,
+think them carefully over, and be your own moral doctor. That will be
+better than following any code of cut and dried rules. If you err at
+all, let it be on the side of self-denial, the hardest and probably the
+highest of all virtues.
+
+
+
+
+ON THE STUDY OF PRONUNCIATION AND "WORDS" IN SINGING, &c.
+
+
+The singer has to combine the arts of the musician, the public speaker,
+and, to a certain extent, the actor. Clearness of pronunciation and
+correctness of emphasis are included in the range of his study. Nor are
+these so easy of acquirement as many persons suppose. To a novice, the
+almost inevitable nervousness inseparable from the prominent position
+which a solo singer necessarily holds in the company, or before the
+audience to which he is singing, is very apt to render the enunciation
+less distinct and more rapid than is natural to him. His ear guides him
+less safely; and, in fact, every sense, influenced by the abnormal state
+of his nerves, is apt to play him more or less false. It is only by
+having carefully studied and mastered every detail of manner, posture,
+and speech, as well as of the music to be performed, that a singer can
+rise superior to the treachery of his nerves, in whatever form that
+treachery may show itself.
+
+
+=Nervousness.=--A few words as to nervousness. You will often hear persons
+boast that they are not the least nervous in public; and, perhaps, will
+feel inclined to envy them. Get rid of any such notion at once. If by
+"nervous" is meant "frightened," that is another thing altogether; and
+it is perfectly true that there are hundreds of persons who are not in
+the least afraid of appearing in public, nor affected by timidity when
+so appearing. But fear is only one form of nervousness. I firmly
+believe that it is impossible for a real artist ever to appear in public
+without being _nervous_. But the nerves act in many ways: the fervour of
+an eloquent speaker carried away by his subject; the "_abandon_" of a
+fine actor thoroughly entering into his part and identifying himself
+with it; the sustained energy of a declamatory singer; the faultless and
+unerring agility of a florid _soprano_, who astonishes her hearers by
+wonder on wonder of execution--all these things are due, in their subtle
+charm, to nervousness--_i.e._ to delicate nervous organization in active
+play. These artists are not frightened, it is true, but excited,
+stimulated, roused from the normal state of eating, walking, and
+sleeping; something of the spiritual kindles the mere physical forces in
+them--some breath of inspiration sustains that living power which so
+influences the hearers. In some way or other every great artist is
+always nervous; were it not so, the essence of their power would vanish.
+Persons of cold and phlegmatic temperament lack the very life-breath of
+art; and though they may train themselves into fair imitations of some
+great artists, they will generally be detected with ease, by any hearer
+of true sensibility, as imitations, not the real thing. Therefore do not
+be ashamed to admit that you are nervous, if it be so. Nerves are a
+cruel master, but a splendid servant; instead of letting them overcome
+you, force them to do your bidding; and instead of "nervousness" meaning
+"fear," you will find that it means courage and power to do your best.
+
+
+=Pronunciation.=--Study correctness of pronunciation and propriety of
+emphasis quite apart from singing. Remember that in speaking or singing
+in a large space and to a number of persons, every sound must have not
+only additional force, but additional volume. And that comes to mean
+that every vowel-sound in the words sung must be intensified, and every
+consonant be delivered with more accuracy than is necessary in ordinary
+speaking. If you were to pronounce the syllable "die" (for instance), in
+singing, _exactly_ as you do in speaking, you would produce on the
+notes or note to which that word belonged a thinness of tone which would
+be very ugly, and probably would not "carry" far. And the same with any
+vowel-sound--even "Ah," or "Oh,"--which, though not producing a thin
+tone, would certainly produce a coarse one, if sung exactly as spoken in
+ordinary conversation.
+
+
+=Vowel-Sounds.=--The reason of the need of this slight change is as
+follows. Every vowel-sound, like every musical sound (for vowel-sounds
+are nothing less than musical sounds) is composed of _two_ sounds.
+Combined with the prominent and chief sound which first attracts the ear
+is a second, which, though not prominent, lends point and force to the
+other. Thus our English vowel-sound "A" is really _Éh-é_; "E" is _E-é_;
+"I" is _Ah-é_; "O" is _O-óo_, or even _Aw-oo_; "U" is _Ée-óo_. Of
+course, I do not mean to say that those absurd-looking syllables really
+express exactly the sounds which we produce in speaking the vowels, for
+no combination of letters can do that, or can bring within reach of the
+eye the subtleties of sound in human speech; but if you attempt to
+pronounce those syllables, you will find that you are really pronouncing
+the vowels from which I "translated" them.
+
+Now, in conversation or rapid speaking, the subordinate sound of the
+vowel is scarcely noticeable, while the more prominent sound is heard
+for the short interval of time required. But in singing or public
+speaking, where the production of tone is more deliberate, the space to
+be filled with sound larger, or, in other words, the column of air to be
+set vibrating is greater and heavier, the _complex_ sound of the vowel
+must not be ignored. It is impossible to lay down any set of rules by
+which the student may overcome this difficulty; but every one, by
+bearing in mind the absolute necessity of attention to this point, may
+easily accustom himself to the slight change of pronunciation (as it
+will at first appear) which is required to give vowel-sounds when sung,
+or spoken "_ore rotundo_," the same tone, to the hearer's ear, as they
+have in ordinary speaking. As a general rule this is done by keeping
+the throat more open, the larynx (or "Adam's apple") as low down as
+possible, and the root of the tongue flat, depressed, even hollowed like
+the bowl of a spoon. The truth of all this may easily be tested by
+singing any short passage deliberately and distinctly, with the exact
+pronunciation of ordinary speaking, and then repeating it with attention
+to the above hints. In the first instance the result will be meagre,
+hard to be heard at a moderate distance, and very likely extremely
+ludicrous to the hearer. In the second, you will find that the tone of
+the notes gains in roundness and fulness, while the words are clearly
+heard in every part of the room with the exact effect belonging to them.
+I purposely refrain from attempting to write down the difference
+discernible in any words so sung, because, as I have already said,
+_letters_ cannot accurately express distinctions so delicate, yet so
+all-important to the singer, speaker, and hearer.
+
+
+=Consonants.=--In pronouncing consonants, be careful to give each its due
+value, but without exaggeration. Be especially particular to sound the
+_last_ letter of each word distinctly. But take care to avoid adding a
+slight sound (as of an _e_ mute) after the final letter: for instance,
+do not say "When other-_é_ lips," &c., or "bright-_é_ days," and so on.
+Do not over-aspirate the letter "_H_." "_N_," "_L_," "_M_," "_B_,"
+"_P_," and "_V_," are all letters requiring care in firm pronunciation.
+
+Avoid prefixing a slight sound of "_N_" to the first word of a song or
+passage in singing. It is a common trick with beginners to do this, and
+they frequently do it without being in the least conscious of it. It is
+produced by a kind of nervous feeling of the teeth with the tongue, as
+if to make sure that all is right for the start! I have heard an
+aspiring youth actually begin a well-known song thus: "_Nwaft her
+Rangels Nthrough the sky_," &c.
+
+
+=English Words.=--The English language is not the most suitable one under
+the sun for singing purposes; nevertheless, it is not nearly so
+intolerable and unfavourable an one as it is the fashion to make out.
+The grand old Scripture passages which Handel, Mendelssohn, and others
+have set to music testify to this. Yet musical care _is_ needed when
+singing English words, and especially in pronouncing the "sibilants," as
+_S_, &c. These "sibilants" must never be enunciated rapidly, or their
+ill effects will soon be found in a series of _hissings_. Let it be your
+study, then, to avoid this ill effect in singing English words, and to
+utter such sounds slowly and carefully, with the endeavour to produce a
+soft and agreeable effect; for it is, indeed, unpardonable to hear an
+English singer unable to render perfectly the words (if =not= the music)
+of his native country's songs and ballads.
+
+
+=Emphasis.=--Having accustomed yourself to carefulness over each letter in
+your pronunciation, the next thing is to study correctness of emphasis,
+&c. All this is apart from the strictly musical portion of your studies,
+and, while you can work at this without music, you will certainly spoil
+the effect of your singing (however good your voice and voice production
+may be), unless you do so study your "words." I should recommend you to
+practise reading aloud for not less than a quarter of an hour at a time,
+say once a day. Read _standing_; place your book on a desk, on a level
+with your eyes, and speak out deliberately, and with full tone of voice,
+and as much variety of intonation as the matter read requires.
+Shakespeare is your best author for this study. You will feel at first
+as if you were doing a very absurd thing, but never mind that--do it,
+and do it as well and as carefully as you can.
+
+
+=Position of the Lips.=--In speaking and reading aloud during your
+preliminary training for singing, be very careful that there be no
+change in the aperture of the mouth or position of the lips while
+uttering any one sound, however prolonged. If the lips move from their
+first position, however slightly, the tone immediately changes, and the
+pronunciation ceases to be pure and refined.
+
+
+=Study of Words.=--The words of a song are as much worthy of the singer's
+study as the music, that is, if the song is worth singing at all. I do
+not mean to say that in themselves they must necessarily be of equal
+merit, but that they require as much attention on the part of the singer
+to bring out their meaning. Study the text, therefore, apart from the
+music. Read the words aloud deliberately; master the sentiment of them,
+and note the prominent words and phrases, so as to be able to give them
+their due value when you have to combine them with the music. Avoid
+giving prominence to such words as "of," "for," "the," "and," "in," &c.,
+&c., but yet let each be distinctly pronounced, and not slurred over in
+an indefinite murmur. Learn the words of your song by memory. Master the
+text, and consider the whole from an elocutionist's point of view before
+you attack the musical side of the matter. A singer when singing in
+public should not be troubled with his words and music too.
+
+
+=General Education.=--An important branch of study is that of giving
+expression to the passions, and of communicating your conceptions and
+emotions to the minds of your listeners. No better training could a
+young singer have for forming such ideas than the earnest perusal of the
+works of Shakespeare, Dante, Goethe, Milton, Lytton, George Eliot, &c.;
+or in watching carefully and intelligently the acting of our best stage
+performers. For a singer to be successful, he or she must be in a
+position to express, and bring home to an audience, such emotions as
+love, hatred, anger, fear, grief, and pity; all these, and many other
+such feelings, have constantly to be transmitted by the singer, and it
+is to the most natural and faithful exposition of these, and that most
+consistent with the other equally important points of the art of
+singing, that the student's attention should for a long while be
+patiently and perseveringly directed.
+
+The singer should be a well-educated man, and he should know at least
+one other language beside his native tongue. He should be well read,
+too, in the best literature of these two languages. On questions of all
+the arts he should seek to make his views sound and true. He should seek
+to travel, and so enlarge his mind, for all this training will reflect
+itself in the work of an artist so liberally educated. An inferior
+education has been the bane of many a student, who has had the organ and
+all the necessary musical ability.
+
+
+=Dramatic Study.=--To be a successful public singer, even in the
+concert-room, one must be more or less an actor; and, therefore, the
+time and money bestowed in acquiring a sound knowledge of dramatic
+action and elocution will be well spent. For the lyric stage, such a
+study is imperative; but its utility to artists who aspire no higher
+than to ballad or oratorio singing cannot be too highly estimated.
+
+
+
+
+VOICES AND THEIR VARIOUS QUALITIES.
+
+
+The life of the singing voice is so comparatively short, that the study
+of singing is rendered more difficult than that of any other art. You
+may buy a violin or a pianoforte, ready-made and perfect, in your
+childhood, and nothing remains for you but to study the instrument
+diligently under a good master. But the vocal instrument cannot be said
+to exist at all, for purposes of singing study, before the age of
+eighteen or twenty in males, and (in our climate) sixteen in females.
+Even at those ages the organ is necessarily immature and undeveloped.
+Consequently the study of the art has to be carried on during the
+progress of the instrument to maturity.
+
+To counterbalance this disadvantage, however, we must bear in mind that
+that very study materially helps to perfect the instrument. Singing is
+by no means all "style," and the study of it includes the formation of
+the voice and production of a good tone, and it is, of course, easier to
+manipulate an unfinished article than a finished one--to educate youth
+and suppleness than to bring maturity and stiffness into subjection to
+new conditions.
+
+Therefore begin your study in the youth of your voice; but, recollecting
+that its life is the most short-lived of your faculties, let your study
+be most earnest and painstaking. Especially if singing is to be your
+profession, act upon the wise advice of Dr. Burney, and "Never go to bed
+till you have learned something which you did not know the previous
+night."
+
+
+=Voices.=--"What is your voice?" is a very common question, sometimes
+expressed in the rather less polite but more intelligent form, "What do
+you call your voice?" The answer almost invariably is either "Soprano,"
+"Contralto," "Tenor," "Bass," or "Barytone." Here is a warning for you
+at starting. Do not limit your notions of what voices are to those four
+or five generic names. Because choral music is generally written in four
+parts, for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, the non-musical public, and a
+great many musical people (some composers included) seem to think that
+those names are an inclusive description of every human voice.
+
+This would be of very little consequence if it were only a question of
+names; but it is of no use to say "What is in a name?" if the result of
+a wrong name is to lead to mischief. The misfortune of wrongly naming
+your voice is that it will lead you to practise wrongly, and to choose
+the wrong style of music for study and performance. For instance, a
+young lady may call herself a _soprano_ because she can "_sing up to
+C_," and may therefore fancy that the whole repertoire of a Tietjens or
+a Clara Novello is within her reach; and acting on this notion, she may
+fatally damage a naturally bright and pleasing voice by giving it work
+to do which belongs of right to a voice of totally different calibre,
+the _mezzo-soprano_.
+
+
+=Naming the Voice.=--Remember always that the character of a voice is
+determined not by compass or range of notes, but by quality, or body and
+_timbre_, of tone. Two ladies may have voices ranging from A to A--two
+octaves--and yet one might be a pure light soprano, and the other a
+genuine contralto; while in length of compass a mezzo-soprano may even
+beat them both. And so with male voices (the variety in which is even
+greater than in female), you may have a voice of pure tenor quality, and
+yet of such limited compass that your energetic barytone friend next
+door may make your life miserable with jealousy of the ease with which
+he bellows high Gs, G sharps, and even on great occasions an A or so.
+
+But compass has nothing whatever to do with the name of the voice: it
+may limit the quantity of music which can be performed, but it should
+have no influence on the choice of the style of music to be studied.
+This is a point of the greatest importance, therefore I repeat it
+briefly once more--_Your voice must be described and used with reference
+to its quality, or volume and timbre, and not with reference to the
+number of notes which you can sing._
+
+
+=Male and Female Voices.=--The actual varieties in tone and quality in
+different voices cannot, of course, be expressed on paper; but a careful
+use of your ears in listening to good public singers will soon teach you
+to discriminate. Female voices are of at least four kinds: soprano,
+mezzo-soprano, mezzo-contralto, and contralto. Male are of five or six,
+or even more. Alto; tenore-leggiero or light tenor; tenore-robusto or
+strong heavy-voiced tenor; barytone--basso-cantante (erroneously
+identified with the barytone by some persons); basso-profondo or bass.
+
+Beside all these divisions or species, voices must be again classed
+according to their power. Any one who has ever heard an opera singer in
+a moderate-sized private drawing-room, will readily appreciate the
+difference between a _voce di camera_, or "chamber voice," and a _voce
+di teatro_.
+
+
+=Compass.=--The respective compasses of the several voices may be roughly
+set down as follows, but it should be borne in mind that it is by no
+means a matter of course that a singer of any particular voice should
+possess or cultivate the whole range of notes supposed to belong to that
+voice. He or she may be none the less a tenor or a soprano because the
+one cannot produce an "_Ut de poitrine_," or the other "_F_ in _Alt_."
+There is a special individuality in every voice, as in every face, and
+therefore every voice must be treated, by a good teacher, on its own
+merits, as a thing in some respects unique.
+
+Perhaps it will be best, therefore, instead of saying that the compass
+of any given kind of voice is from ---- to ----, to say that music for
+such and such a voice is generally written between such and such limits.
+The range allotted by composers to the various voices is about two
+octaves to each--for solo work, of course--and is as follows, it being
+understood that the male voices are an octave lower in pitch than the
+female:--
+
+    _Soprano_, and _Tenore-Leggiero_, and in operatic music a certain
+    kind of _Tenore-Robusto_.
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: C4]
+    {to
+    {[Music: C6]
+
+    _Mezzo-Soprano_ and _Tenore-Robusto_
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: A3]
+    {to
+    {[Music: A5]
+
+    _Mezzo-Contralto_ and _Barytone_
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: G3]
+    {to
+    {[Music: G5]
+
+    _Contralto_ and _Bass_
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: E3]
+    {to
+    {[Music: E5]
+
+The basso-cantante is a low barytone, or high bass with a lighter
+quality of tone than the basso-profondo. The alto voice, or
+counter-tenor as it used to be called, is not a natural voice at all,
+but is artificially produced by training the _falsetto_ to the exclusion
+of the other parts of the voice. It is totally distinct from the
+contralto voice of a female, in quality, average compass, and the style
+of music best suited to it. It is of more use in part-singing and
+cathedral music than for solo work, although in some oratorios solo
+parts have been allotted to it. It is rarely pleasing when heard alone,
+for very few alto singers are able to avoid the appearance of singing
+with effort; and the whole performance, except in some instances,
+appears unnatural and forced. The alto voice ranges generally
+
+    from
+    [Music: G3]
+    to
+    [Music: C5]
+
+    but its best notes are confined to the octave of B flat.
+
+
+=Soprano.=--The soprano is generally clear, bright, and penetrating in
+tone; capable, if rightly produced, of "carrying" far without any
+appearance of force or effort. Its lower register is often weak and
+ineffective, and the forcing of those notes by a bad singer often
+damages the voice, and spoils the evenness of tone, which is of far more
+importance than power and noise in singing. Low notes, even if
+naturally weak, may be trained to take their proper share of the work of
+the voice, and every year will add to their natural power. Most soprano
+voices have a "break" on
+
+[Music: G4]
+
+and another, and more difficult one to deal with, on
+
+[Music: E5]
+
+or
+
+[Music: F5]
+
+The lower notes are the (so-called) "chest" register; the middle ones,
+between the breaks, the "falsetto," and the upper ones the "head" notes.
+I shall speak of these often-used and frequently-misapplied words
+presently; I merely mention them now for the sake of pointing out to
+soprani, what many young lady amateurs utterly ignore, that they have
+these "breaks," and possess "chest," "falsetto," and "head" notes, as
+well as male singers.
+
+Soprano voices are frequently capable of great flexibility, and passages
+are easy to them which tax the powers even of a light mezzo-soprano
+severely. The high notes, especially, are in many cases easily produced
+in a staccato manner, like notes of a piccolo flute, and an effect is
+thus made, which, though pretty and pleasing if judiciously employed,
+becomes a great snare to many singers, who for the sake of astonishing
+their audience work the upper part of their voices unfairly, and,
+neglecting steady use and practice of the lower registers, will very
+soon find that they have weakened the power and thinned the tone of the
+whole voice.
+
+But there are many voices of pure soprano tone which lack this
+flexibility: let the fair owners console themselves with the
+recollection that good _sostenuto_ singing is quite as pleasing, in the
+long run, as displays of vocal gymnastics. You may not be able to
+attempt the "_Dinorah_" Shadow Song, or the "Rejoice Greatly" in the
+"_Messiah_," but you will find that you have plenty of good work left
+for you in such music as "Dove Sono," "Deh vieni, non tardar"
+("_Figaro_"), or "Jerusalem" ("_St. Paul_").
+
+Moreover, you may possibly have what is a much rarer gift (in a pure
+soprano) than flexibility--you may have a tone of voice capable of
+executing declamatory music with fine effect. Music of this kind is
+generally appropriated by some mezzo-soprano of high compass, and more
+properly belongs to voices of that class; nevertheless, the effect of
+sustained declamatory music, well executed by a real soprano, is
+unrivalled in its way.
+
+
+=Mezzo-Soprano.=--The mezzo-soprano voice is perhaps the commonest of all
+female voices, and yet one of the rarest met with in perfection. It is
+fuller and rounder in quality than the soprano--less flexible, and more
+adapted to a _sostenuto_ or declamatory style. Mezzo-soprano voices vary
+so much that it is difficult to name any note on which the "break" will
+be found. Sometimes it is on the same notes as a soprano--sometimes on
+the same as a contralto--on the average, perhaps, nearer the former.
+Wherever it may be, however, a judicious teacher will soon point it out,
+and put the student into the way of rightly treating it. Teaching, and
+_good_ teaching, is especially necessary for voices of this class, for
+their fortunate possessors are generally ignorant of the value of the
+treasure which they possess in a good mezzo-soprano; and if it be of
+light quality, they fancy themselves soprani, and force the upper
+register of the voice in trying to "stretch their compass;" or if their
+low notes develop first, they think that "with practice" they are to be
+contralti; and by over-exercise and fondness for displaying those deep
+notes, they run the risk of widening the break, and rendering the
+quality of the whole voice hopelessly uneven.
+
+What lies within the sphere of a good mezzo-soprano has been shown in
+late years by a Grisi and a Tietjens, the latter of whom will live in
+the recollection of all who ever heard her, as the perfect model for
+every mezzo-soprano in the production of the pure tone and even quality.
+
+
+=Mezzo-Contralto.=--The name mezzo-contralto speaks for itself. It is by
+no means an uncommon voice, and if used with discrimination is an
+effective and useful one. Both in compass and quality it lies between
+the contralto and the mezzo-soprano. Heavier in tone, less resonant, and
+less flexible than the mezzo-soprano, it is yet lighter than the
+contralto. Pure contralto voices are so rare that many mezzo-contralto
+singers appear as exponents of contralto music, and by paying chief
+attention to the lower register of their voices, they become fair
+imitations, and more than passable substitutes, for the real article.
+The possessor of this voice must be guided by the advice of a good
+teacher as to the direction in which her voice should be trained.
+Sometimes the natural quality of the voice renders it advisable to
+attempt rivalry with the mezzo-soprano, rather than with the contralto;
+sometimes the reverse. It is a question for decision by a competent
+adviser in each individual case, and therefore I shall not attempt to
+lay down any decided rule, except my oft-repeated one, "GO TO A MASTER,
+AND A FIRST RATE-ONE,"--a point on which I shall have more to say
+further on. How impossible it is to lay down rules for a mezzo-contralto
+is shown by the fact that an eminent living "mezzo-contralto" is gladly
+accepted on our opera stage as a leading contralto, and yet succeeds
+admirably in such a part as Rossini wrote for a mezzo-soprano of the
+most florid kind--_Rosina_ in "_Il Barbiere_."
+
+
+=Contralto.=--The quality of a true contralto voice is so peculiar that it
+is impossible to mistake it for any other voice, although other voices
+may be mistaken for it. Of course, there are exceptional cases in which
+the contralto and mezzo-contralto are combined in one voice: the lower
+range being of full and pure contralto quality, while instead of the
+somewhat limited upper notes of the contralto, a rich mezzo-contralto
+range of notes may develop themselves; and in such a case careful
+training will be able to soften these two into each other, so that a
+complete voice of peculiar charm and great usefulness will result. But
+such cases, if not rare, are certainly the exception and not the rule,
+the deep and powerfully resonant tone of the true contralto being
+comparatively seldom met with. There is generally an awkward break
+between the low B and the D above it in this voice, and Eâ™­ or E
+are the highest notes within reach of the average contralto. Voices of
+this class are better adapted for a species of ballads, for solemn
+declamation, or music of a calm and flowing character, than for
+elaborate execution or lively melodies. But here again exceptions must
+be made in favour of those who have the physical means, as well as the
+artistic skill, to study such music as that of the _Page_ in "_Les
+Huguenots_," _Arsace_ in "_Semiramide_," or "_La Cenerentola_." For an
+average English contralto, however, the best line of study is in good
+songs and ballads, and, chief of all, oratorio music.
+
+
+=Alto.=--The alto, or counter-tenor voice, is said by a well-known English
+alto singer to be "simply a development of the _falsetto_--generally the
+_falsetto_ of an inferior bass voice." It is said to be almost peculiar
+to English singers, and to that fact is ascribed its extensive and
+effective use in the fine works of the English Cathedral School of
+composers. Of course, in a voice which is so artificial, there must be
+expected a worse "break" than usual--the break in this case being the
+point below which the falsetto cannot be extended, and where the natural
+"chest" quality of tone has to be used. This break generally lies near
+the same place as the contralto break--if anything, rather higher--say
+between C and E in the middle of the voice. The effective notes of an
+alto usually lie in the octave of B or Bâ™­he repertoire of
+music for which this voice is suited is comparatively limited. That
+repertoire, however, includes the greater number of oratorios, a good
+deal of fine old Italian music, and a few old English songs; while a
+singer of cleverness and cultivation will find many ballads which he may
+make his own by the help of transposition and style of delivery.
+
+Great pains must be taken by the possessor of an alto voice in the
+formation and production of a good tone. The voice must be made to sound
+as _natural_ as possible; and, if necessary, power must unhesitatingly
+be sacrificed to sweetness. There is great danger of producing a harsh,
+reedy, or nasal tone, which, to the hearer, is simply distressing or
+offensive.
+
+Above all, let him be content to develop his own means, and to keep to
+music suited to or written for his voice. A good alto will make no
+effect, and will do his voice and style harm, if he "poaches on the
+preserves" of other voices--tenors, for instance, or basses--(singing
+the songs of the latter an octave higher). I once heard an alto--a fair
+singer so long as he stuck to his own work--make an absurd exhibition of
+himself by attempting the great song "Love Sounds the Alarm," in "_Acis
+and Galatea_," at a public concert!
+
+Let him also beware of the snare of contralto music. The alto in a man
+is totally distinct from the contralto in a woman. The tone is utterly
+different--the best notes of the one are certainly not the best notes of
+the other; and although in certain cases a contralto may sing with good
+effect music written for a male alto (_e.g._ in some oratorios), yet the
+converse is scarcely ever true. The low notes, which are so fine in a
+contralto, and so unlike any other tone except perhaps a few notes of
+some tenors, are utterly wanting in charm, and generally in power, in a
+male alto; while the sweet and ringing middle notes of the latter are
+far more effective in alto music than the (frequently) weak and
+uncertain middle notes of a contralto. Choose your music as you name
+your voice, by the quality of tone you can produce, and not by the range
+of notes.
+
+
+=Tenore-Leggiero.=--The _tenore-leggiero_ or "light tenor," is the male
+voice corresponding to the female soprano; it is perhaps the most
+delicate and difficult to manage of all human voices. In the present
+day, when fashion is all in favour of noise, it is difficult for any but
+the strong-minded to stand firm against the tendency to shout and bawl,
+which appears to be the highest aim of many singers, and the highest
+admiration of most audiences. Now for a light tenor to attempt this
+style of singing is simply suggestive of the old fable of the frog who
+tried to make himself as big as the bull, and burst in the attempt.
+There is a modern school of singing which, though it may be suitable
+enough for heavy voices such as basses and robust tenors, is fatal to
+light and delicate voices. The style of singing, and of music to be
+sung, by this voice, is quite different from that appropriate to strong
+and full organs; and, if you are the possessor of a light tenor, you
+must at once rid yourself of the common amateur fancy (a fancy, too, by
+no means confined to amateurs) that you must imitate a certain
+ever-popular living tenor, whose name has passed almost into a proverb
+as typical of the perfection of English singing. You _cannot_ be a
+"Reeves" or a "Braham," therefore it is only waste of time and strength
+for you to try. But there is a great deal of music which neither a
+"Reeves" nor a "Braham" could sing, which is well within your reach; and
+more than that, there is a great deal of excellent music which, though
+you cannot sing it _like_ them, you may render very effective in a
+totally different style. Very often a _pianissimo_ is quite as
+expressive as a _fortissimo_, and grace and sweetness are frequently an
+excellent substitute for power and force. You must be content to
+recognize that the latter are out of your reach, and that the effects
+which you can produce are to be attained by other means.
+
+However, while assuring you that power and force are not given to you, I
+do not mean to say that voices of your class need be at all inaudible in
+a space however large. The tone of a light tenor is generally clear,
+resonant, and penetrating; sometimes there is a metallic ring about it
+which is extremely pretty, if not forced. I have heard a light tenor,
+singing at the back of the Covent Garden stage, send his voice clearly
+out into the great theatre, with apparently more ease than his "robust"
+friend, who was shortly afterwards vociferating at the footlights.
+
+A light tenor must be careful not to force up the lower register of his
+voice beyond its natural and easy limit. The charm of the voice is in
+the perfect blending together of the lower, middle, and upper registers,
+and to do this the upper notes of each register should be equally at
+command, as the upper notes of that register or the lower notes of the
+one above it. In order to attain this, the change from one register to
+another should generally be made considerably lower than the place where
+the real "break" in the voice comes. For instance, supposing the "break"
+to be on Eâ™­, the singer should be able to change his register as
+low as B or Bâ™­, and to take all the notes between those two
+places, either in the upper or lower register, with equal effect.
+
+In voices of this character there is often one note which requires to be
+_made_--_i.e._, which is so naturally defective in tone and quality that
+it can only be produced effectively by imitating as nearly as possible
+the quality of the register above or below it. This note is generally E,
+F, F♯, or (sometimes) G, between the middle and upper registers; and if
+you find that you unfortunately have such a refractory note, remember
+not to try and force the tone of it from the next note above or below;
+_e.g._, if your bad note is F, do not try to improve it by singing E
+well and then passing on to the F; but try and form the note from the
+fifth above or below (whichever it happens to resemble most in tone).
+Rounden the refractory note--give it a full tone in practising, and
+produce it well from the chest, letting the sound reverberate from the
+centre of the roof of the mouth--neither too far back towards the
+throat, nor too much on the teeth. Your teacher, if he knows his
+business, will soon put you into the way of this. Voices vary so much
+that these very general remarks must suffice here; but each voice, if it
+has its peculiar difficulties, has also, doubtless, its peculiar charm;
+and for light tenors, rich in both charms and difficulties, the rule is
+all-important: Do not try to imitate anybody else, but let your aim be
+to do the best that can be done with such natural gifts as you may have,
+aided by the best training that you can procure for them.
+
+
+=Tenore-Robusto.=--The robust or strong tenor is the male voice
+corresponding to the mezzo-soprano of a female. It is not an uncommon
+voice, but is rarely met with in anything like perfection. A robust
+tenor voice of large compass and round full tone is a treasure of the
+utmost value. The fact is, that too frequently the possessor of a good
+voice of this kind, instead of taking care of it and training it for the
+future, begins using it too soon, strains and forces it into coarseness,
+and spoils it for ever. People do not realize that a voice may be strong
+in quality and powerful in tone, and yet in itself be an excessively
+delicate thing to keep in order.
+
+Moreover, voices of this kind in their youth frequently resemble
+barytones, and their owners, fired with ambition to rival some popular
+barytone singer, mistake their vocation, and shout and bellow on the
+very part of the voice--the upper "chest" register--which requires the
+tenderest nursing to fit it for future difficulties. Consequently, when
+the voice develops with age, and the singer finds that barytone work is
+too heavy for the lower part of the voice, and that he can without much
+difficulty extend his compass beyond the barytone limits, he discovers
+that what he has been using as the top of his voice is nearer the middle
+of it, and that the mode of using those notes which he has practised is
+excessively difficult, if not impossible, with those which now lie above
+them. The result is either the creation of a very awkward "break," which
+even time and practice can never entirely remove, or else (and this is a
+commoner case) the same process of forcing which has been employed
+hitherto is applied to the upper notes, as far as strength can take it!
+This is the reason why so many tenor singers are utterly unable to
+produce the real tenor "tone," and sound like barytones forced up to a
+higher compass. There is no sweetness in the upper notes so
+produced--nothing but force and noise; while the hapless perpetrator of
+the howls which represent high notes turns scarlet in the face, and
+quivers all over with his exertions. I therefore give to tenors of this
+class exactly the same warning that I gave to soprani:--Do not ignore
+the fact that you have three, or at all events two, distinct registers
+of the voice, the (so-called) "chest," "throat," and "head." Do not
+suppose, when you hear a great singer produce on a high note exactly the
+same quality of tone as he produced on a low one, that he did it exactly
+the same way, or "got it from the same place," as some people say. The
+perfection of his training and the diligence of his practice have
+enabled him to assimilate the quality of one register to that of another
+so completely as to deceive your ear. The proof that this is true may be
+found in inspecting a great deal of music written for and sung by the
+most famous operatic tenors of the past--the singers of that pure
+Italian school of which so few disciples now remain.
+
+There are notes and passages in that music which no "chest" register
+could by any physical possibility execute, but some of which have been
+sung within the recollection even of the "rising generation" with all
+the effect intended, and with the very tone that critical slang calls
+"chest notes," (simply because it so closely resembles the tone of chest
+notes that few, if any, can detect that they are differently produced
+from the low notes.)
+
+For obvious reasons I abstain from mentioning the names of any living
+singers, but I can name one, not very long since dead, who attained the
+highest reputation here as a _tenore di forza_--whose "chest notes" were
+chronicled by the newspaper critics, and were the envy of aspiring
+youths--and yet who has ever been heard distinctly to deny that he ever
+produced those notes in the same way as the lower ones, and to laugh at
+the idea that such a thing was possible; and this was Mongini.
+
+I have entered into this at some length because it is a point which is
+more and more ignored by the singers and teachers of this generation. I
+might almost say that a school of singing exists the whole aim of which
+is to abolish the natural upper part of the voice, in order to stretch
+and force the one lower register up beyond its natural compass. I do not
+deny that in certain cases a voice results from this treatment which is
+powerful, effective, and capable of executing a good deal of music with
+much success and satisfaction to the performer; but for one case where
+this treatment so far succeeds, it fails in twenty to produce a voice
+both pleasing and useful; it is, moreover, in singers trained on this
+method that we most commonly hear the odious (and involuntary) trembling
+of the upper notes commonly called the _vibrato_.
+
+Therefore, to sum up those who find, when their voices begin to form,
+that the natural quality of their voice is lighter than that of a bass,
+had better make up their minds at once to give the voice fair play, and
+let it alone for a time; then consult a good master, or one really
+experienced in hearing singers, as to what the future of the voice is to
+be. It is by no means easy always to decide at that early period whether
+the permanent quality of the voice will be tenor or barytone, and
+therefore it is folly to try and settle the question for yourself by
+singing, in untaught style, music which may prove to have been all along
+unsuited to you. Your patience in waiting till the voice really declares
+itself will amply repay you afterwards by the absence of the
+difficulties which too early a use of the voice would have created for
+you to overcome.
+
+
+=Barytone and Basso-Cantante.=--The barytone voice is thus described in
+Stainer and Barrett's "Dictionary of Musical Terms:" "A voice of fuller
+quality than a tenor, and lighter than a bass, having a compass partly
+included in both.... This voice has only been distinguished by name as
+being of a separate character within the present century. Early writers
+indicate its existence by the use of its special clef. The term barytone
+is unmeaning unless it be looked upon as a corruption of barytenor; but
+it is quite possible it was borrowed from the instrument barytone or
+bardone, which occupied a place between the tenor and bass viols."
+
+The derivation of the name from "barytenor" is slightly absurd,
+considering that half that extraordinary word is Greek and the other
+half Latin; whereas the name barytone is a Greek word, used by
+Aristotle, and meaning "deep-sounding."
+
+The distinctive character which this voice has assumed within the
+present century is due, I believe, to the great change in the pitch of
+musical instruments which has taken place. In the last century the
+pitch was so much lower than that at present in use, that a "high
+barytone" was much the same as a "robust tenor." Consequently, music was
+not written exclusively for the barytone voice, its existence as a
+separate class of voice not being sufficiently recognized. Gradually, as
+the pitch was raised, the barytone separated itself clearly from other
+voices, and has now a repertoire of music and a style of singing of its
+own; and instead of appropriating tenor music, it, if anything, has
+stolen away some of the property of the bass; for the raising of the
+pitch which placed tenor music beyond the reach of a barytone has also
+rendered a good deal of music originally written for a bass far more
+suitable for a barytone, or at all events for a basso-cantante. I am
+well aware that by many musicians the basso-cantante is identified with
+the barytone. The distinction is so slight that it is not worth while to
+quarrel over names; but that the two voices are distinct I am persuaded.
+The basso-cantante is of fuller and rounder quality than the barytone
+proper; less flexible, less metallic in tone, and generally rather lower
+in compass. But the method of using both voices is the same, and for all
+purposes of amateur singers no distinction need be insisted upon.
+Professionals, however, who have to deal with heavy work on a large
+scale, will soon find that there is a good range of music more suited to
+the rich voice of greater volume and less flexibility (which I
+distinguished as the basso-cantante) than to the bright, flexible voice
+which has something of the tone of a full "tenore-robusto," and which is
+the barytone proper. Neither of these voices is much troubled with a
+"break," although there is a perceptible difference between the natural
+quality of the lower and upper octaves of the voice when quite
+uncultivated. This difference, however, which makes itself felt in the
+region of these notes, is got rid of in practice without any of the same
+difficulty which is encountered by tenors or contralti in managing the
+decided breaks in their voices. The possessors of barytone voices may
+therefore be looked upon as having comparatively "easy times of it."
+There is a large repertoire of music at their disposal, including much
+of the most popular ballad music of this century and the last; the voice
+is generally a favourite with an audience; the style of barytone singing
+is undisputed, and the singer will not find himself violently criticised
+by the partizans of a rival school of singing to that in which he
+himself has been trained, which is inevitably the fate of tenors!
+
+[Music: F3 G3 A3]
+
+Only let him avoid the temptation to shout, and to sing up to the very
+top of his compass at full pitch. Unfortunately, an English audience
+does like a noise, and appreciates plenty more than beauty of tone. It
+is tolerably easy for a barytone to be a showy singer, and therein lies
+the greatest danger to his chance of ever being a really good one. He
+must be content to go through his training quite as self-denyingly and
+perseveringly as any one else who is gifted with fewer natural
+advantages.
+
+
+=Bass.=--Of the bass voice less need be said here, not because it is a
+less important voice than any of the others, but because it is more
+generally known and better understood. A perfectly pure bass voice is,
+however, a rare thing. This voice has no upper register, properly
+speaking; the whole voice consisting of "chest" notes, and not admitting
+of even the process of developing upper notes of extraordinary quality,
+which is part of the training of a barytone or a basso-cantante. Power
+and richness are the chief qualities of charm in a bass, while
+flexibility and true intonation are the qualities most rarely found in
+that voice. The young singer who finds that he certainly is not meant by
+nature for a tenor, and also that with all his efforts the upper notes
+of a barytone are quite out of his reach, need not be discouraged by any
+lightness or thinness of quality in his voice from the hope that he may
+develop into a good bass. The full and rich quality of this voice is
+later in showing itself than is the case with any other voice, and the
+young singer must be content to study for some time with the compass of
+a bass and the quality of a kind of barytone, till Nature puts him in
+full possession of his powers. Only he must study bass music, and not
+try, because his voice is of barytone quality, to sing barytone music.
+Let him, on the contrary, avoid trying to extend the compass of his
+voice in the upper notes, and give his best attention to the lower ones.
+The upper ones will be well within his command in time, and if he will
+be content to let them alone at first, he may become a truly "celebrated
+bass;" but, if he persists in shouting at them now, he will never have
+anything but coarse upper tones, only fit to be heard behind a
+costermonger's barrow, or in "comic" songs at the Music Halls.
+
+
+=Buffo.=--The last remark reminds me that I have said nothing about a
+class of bass singers very useful in certain Italian and French
+operas--the _buffo_, or comic bass. The development of voice with these
+singers is of less consequence than the study of a peculiar style, a
+good deal of the point of their songs consisting in the entire
+elimination of anything like musical tone from many notes and passages.
+A clever and good buffo singer may very likely be able to sing other
+music well, but the style is so entirely dramatic and so utterly out of
+place anywhere except on the stage, that no amateur should ever attempt
+it, and no professional should appear _in a concert-room_ as the
+exponent of such music. Therefore, for those who wish to sing, any
+remarks on the peculiarities of a buffo bass would be superfluous; those
+who wish to study that line as a profession, for stage work, must learn
+all that they need from a regular dramatic teacher; while those who wish
+to execute English "comic" songs, may spare themselves any anxiety as to
+their voices: if they have any voice naturally, "comic" singing will
+soon destroy its charm, and that will not matter to them, for the last
+thing necessary to sing a "comic" song is the possession of a voice of
+any kind. Therefore, if you have a bass (or any other voice, indeed),
+avoid "comic" songs, and leave the "buffo" business to those who can do
+nothing better.
+
+
+=Qualities of Voice, Good and Bad.=--It may not be unwelcome to the
+student to have pointed out to him those qualities of voice which are to
+be aimed at or cultivated, and also those which are to be avoided or
+overcome.
+
+The charms of a voice are found among the following qualities:
+clearness, sweetness, evenness, flexibility, power, extent of compass,
+variety, brilliancy, firmness, persuasiveness.[1]
+
+[1] It used to be said of Rubini that "he had tears in his voice."
+
+On the opposite side must be ranked roughness, huskiness, feebleness (or
+want of power), shrillness (or want of depth), hardness and want of
+flexibility, dulness, or want of "ring," &c.
+
+It is, of course, impossible for any one voice to unite in itself all
+these merits or all these defects; and you cannot give yourself merits
+which Nature has withheld; but you may marvellously improve what natural
+merits you have, and do wonders in overcoming any difficulties which
+Nature has placed in your way.
+
+
+
+
+ON INSTRUCTION, MASTERS, AND "SINGING TUTORS."
+
+
+The voice, and how to use it, is a subject which has troubled many
+minds, and no doubt this will continue to be the case; but the difficult
+problem will not be solved by running to pettifogging teachers, who
+advertise to teach all that is known of singing, and a little more, in
+twelve easy lessons, without previous knowledge or practice at home, for
+the small fee of one guinea! Let it be stated once for all: singing
+cannot be taught in twelve easy lessons, and can scarcely be acquired in
+one hundred very severe lessons. Therefore distrust at once any one who
+holds out so tempting a bait to you; remember that there is no "royal
+road" to singing, any more than there is to the acquirement of any other
+art; and the person who tells you that he can teach you to do without
+trouble that which costs great artists the study of a lifetime,
+proclaims himself, _ipso facto_, to be a humbug.
+
+
+=Schools of Singing.=--There are several so-called Schools of Singing.
+There is a French School, which for any language but French is bad, and
+which very seldom turns out a pleasing singer. There is a German School,
+which is worse, being simply the production of coarse noise. Some people
+say that there is an English School. I hope there may be some day, but
+at present its existence is rather doubtful, unless those who talk of an
+English school of singing mean the Cathedral style--which for solo work
+is detestable--or the old school of Oratorio singing, with its
+Handelian traditions, which was not an English, but an Italian, and the
+best Italian, school.
+
+In fact, there is but one school of singing in the world, and that is
+the Italian. Whatever language you wish to sing in, whatever style of
+music you wish to study principally, you must train your voice, produce
+it, and learn to use it in the Italian method, if you hope ever to
+deserve the name of a singer.
+
+
+=Masters.=--Of course, in a work of this sort, it is impossible, and
+would be wrong if it were possible, to mention the names of living
+teachers: therefore I can only give general hints. If possible, study
+only under a master whom you know to have lived in Italy, and to have
+studied there for some years under some good master or in some good
+Conservatoire--Naples, Milan, and Florence generally supply the best.
+Possibly, for an English singer, an English master _who fulfils these
+conditions_ may be better than even an Italian, as he should understand
+better the peculiarities of English voices and temperaments, and would
+know at once where the chief difficulties would lie. Let me, however,
+correct a popular error. A good singer is not necessarily a good
+teacher, nor is it necessary for a first-class teacher to be able to
+sing at all. Nor need you necessarily look for your master among
+foreigners with fine sounding names. There are two or three good
+teachers of singing in this country who are foreigners; but there is
+also some native talent equally capable of teaching singing, as it is
+accepted in this country at the present time. These know the English
+style better than any foreigner can teach it, and after all, style is
+the chief consideration.
+
+
+=Institutions.=--As we have no real English School of singing, it is
+perhaps fortunate that we have no Conservatoire. There are, however,
+Institutions accessible to those who cannot afford to have masters at
+home or to place themselves under a private teacher. Of these, the chief
+is the Royal Academy of Music, in Tenterden Street, Hanover Square.
+There is also the National Training School of Music, the London Academy
+of Music, also the Guildhall School, and there is Trinity College,
+London, where I believe singing lessons may also be obtained. To all
+these establishments singing masters, more or less good, are attached,
+and it is open to any one to obtain admission to the concerts given from
+time to time at the institutions themselves, and to form some kind of
+opinion as to the teachers from the performances of the pupils. It would
+be well for an intending student to do this, for of course at any
+institution where there are several professors, one might suit you and
+another might not; it is even conceivable that one professor might do
+all for you that you could possibly require, while another professor
+might be an ignorant charlatan. Therefore, hear their pupils and judge
+for yourself, making inquiries at the same time of musical people who
+are qualified to express an opinion on singing. I must not, however,
+withhold from my readers my conviction that private lessons are better
+and more effectual than those taken in schools and academies. The terms
+at these public institutions are such that they preclude the possibility
+of more than twenty or thirty minutes being devoted to each pupil, and
+that is _not_ a sufficient time to bestow upon a lesson. Forty-five or
+sixty minutes are needed to give a good lesson; and the pupil who pays
+fifteen shillings or a guinea for this, does a wiser thing than the one
+who pays a fourth of that sum for, say, twenty minutes' attention.
+
+=A First Opinion.=--The actual successful teachers of singing in London
+may be counted on the fingers of one hand, and those who are qualified
+to teach singing, but who are not specially successful, may be found on
+the remaining five fingers. Each of these professors would probably not
+take less than one guinea the lesson, and it would, honestly, be far
+cheaper in the long run to pay this sum for one good lesson in singing
+than it would be to have fifty lessons founded upon wrong principles,
+even for nothing. And for this reason: teachers of this calibre will not
+trouble themselves about you or your guineas unless you have a promising
+voice, some general musical talent, and show signs of becoming, to some
+degree, a credit to your _teacher_, for to these men guinea pupils are
+very plentiful, and it is only reasonable that a guinea from a clever
+pupil should be worth considerably more to a sensitive artist than the
+same amount from a fool. Therefore, a first opinion from one such
+teacher may save your spending money, time, and energy on a pursuit in
+which you can never succeed.
+
+
+=Bad Lessons.=--Never take a bad singing lesson till you know how to sing.
+You may then do so (if you care to), and learn the "how not to do it" of
+singing. It is commonly supposed that the earliest singing lessons may
+be administered by any "dabbler," and the last touches given afterwards
+by a "finishing master." Never was there a greater error. Pay your
+guineas first, and your shillings afterwards. If you cannot afford to
+have good instruction in beginning to sing, you will be still less able
+to take it afterwards, for artistic reasons. Remember that every bad
+singing lesson which you take hardens old faults and creates new ones,
+and, moreover, takes you farther and farther away from your original
+starting-point. So, when you begin under the right man and the right
+method, you have to _undo_ all this that you have expended toil and
+money to acquire.
+
+
+=Bad Teachers.=--It is astonishing how much money is wasted by people who
+want to sing, through not going at once to the fountain-head for the
+necessary training. Because a man is a musician many people conclude
+that he must necessarily be able to teach singing! Such an idea is
+scarcely less monstrous than that of a man being a good physician and
+consequently competent to amputate a limb, or to take out and reset an
+eye. Do not follow this "multitude to do evil." Be as careful in
+inquiring about your singing master as you would be about your doctor.
+Both in London and in the country there are "professors" whose knowledge
+of singing stops at professing--the class of people who (very likely)
+keep a music-shop, tune your piano, play polkas and waltzes for your
+evening parties, and have a brass plate on their doors to this effect:
+
+MR. HANDEL MOSCHELES IGNAZIO JONES, PROFESSOR OF THE PIANOFORTE,
+HARMONY, THE VIOLIN, ITALIAN, AND SINGING.
+
+All honourable professions, no doubt; but to profess to combine them all
+is dishonourable, and insulting to the common sense of those who know
+anything of any one of the subjects professed. A singing master, if he
+is worth anything, must be a man of one trade--singing. For the teaching
+of singing is a "specialty," and the man who can teach it _properly_ is
+not likely to be a man of all (musical) work.
+
+
+=Books of Exercises, &c.=--There are numerous "Singing Tutors" published,
+giving rules, exercises, _solfeggi_, &c. Many of these are excellent,
+and some nearly perfect. But all alike are useless or worse than useless
+to the tyro, without a master. You might as well suppose that a child
+could learn to be a carpenter by having some fine wood and a box of good
+tools.
+
+I have before observed that voices vary as faces do; no two are exactly
+alike, each voice having its peculiar merit and its peculiar defect.
+Now, a good master will treat each voice on its own merit, and not place
+it at first on the Procrustean bed of a book of rules and exercises. He
+will probably write down his own exercises expressly for his pupil, and
+if not that, he will select certain exercises from the book, and forbid
+others to be attempted for a time. You must also let your master select
+such a book for you, so that you may have one in which the rules do not
+contradict those which he has already given you verbally, or else you
+will be perplexed with a multitude of counsellors.
+
+It is not till a certain stage in singing has been reached, under the
+training of a master, that any book of exercises can be of service to
+you. When that stage is reached, you will find such a work of great use
+in a part of your labours. Among such books may be named as especially
+good,--Concone's Exercises, Righini's, Guercia's, Nava's, Lablache's,
+and Lamperti's; but, again I say, do not choose for yourself. There are
+some excellent rules, as well as some good exercises, in an old work of
+the kind by Crivelli, and also in "Singing Exemplified," a work by T.
+Cooke. If you can meet with these, secure them--although I fear they may
+be long since out of print--for in the literature of singing the _new_
+is by no means certain to excel what was written in the days of our best
+composers and singers of operas and oratorios.
+
+
+
+
+ON THE PRACTICE OF SINGING.
+
+
+Remember that the voice is of all instruments the most difficult one to
+study, and to bring perfectly under control, especially for the first
+year or two. Do not attempt to cultivate it with the view to
+professional remuneration, unless you can set apart at least two hours
+daily for most careful study, and can also afford to wait at least eight
+or ten years for any _substantial_ pecuniary reward for your labours.
+
+
+=Individuality.=--It is of great importance to bear in mind that no two
+voices are exactly alike. To some singers is given quality of voice, to
+others quantity. And for each alike, steady, well-aimed, and
+well-ordered practice is indispensable. But, whatever you sing ought,
+like your voice, to have some touch of individuality: the song should
+seem to come naturally from you, and to be the spontaneous expression of
+your thoughts. At the same time you must not lose sight of the
+all-important guide which you have in the composer's intentions and
+wishes. Remember that a small and delicate voice may be made to go as
+far as, if not farther than, a voice of large volume and long compass.
+By judicious management, by touching expression of the softer feelings,
+by careful selection of music to be performed, the obstacles which are
+placed in a singer's way by want of power may be effectually removed,
+because the audience will irresistibly feel the influence of the
+singer's individuality. The difficulties of the singer who has the gift
+of quantity rather than quality of voice, are in some respects greater,
+because the necessity for thus impressing on his audience a sense of his
+own individuality is not so strongly forced on him by circumstances. Not
+only has he to labour to attain a good quality of tone, but he must also
+resist the temptation to fancy that "might is right," and that the
+"sensation" caused by a powerful voice is all that he need aim at. And
+here let me say, the way to get quality is to listen as often as
+possible to some leading singer of your own kind of voice. Try and
+imitate his tone; but above all practise with a medium tone--a
+_mezzo-voce_--listen for the beauty in your tone, and think of what you
+are doing when practising.
+
+
+=Perseverance.=--The surest means of improving and strengthening the voice
+is by constantly exercising and practising it. Just as the muscles and
+fibres of the legs of a pedestrian are increased and made capable of
+great exertion by careful training, so is it with the nerves and muscles
+of the throat. With judicious training, the compass of the voice is
+extended, its quality is improved, its tones grow rounder and firmer;
+and, if the master is a good one, and the pupil is willing to study
+patiently for some time, never resting content, but always aiming at
+further progress as year succeeds year, he may not unreasonably hope to
+attain a well-earned place in his profession, and its attendant reward.
+
+
+=Facial Expression.=--A looking-glass should form a part of the furniture
+of a singing student's study, for it is most important to watch the
+face--its features and expressions--when singing; and it is none the
+less useful for insuring the constant right position of the mouth. In
+respect to the facial expression when singing, there is a very great
+tendency to look too serious, too severe, and too hard when earnestly
+studying. Now, a cheerful and good-humoured expression does not
+necessarily imply carelessness, and it is far more agreeable to the
+audience than an anxious and troubled look. Some people look quite
+savage when singing; and when rendering passages of love and tenderness,
+their features are far more indicative of rage, revenge, and murder!
+And this very common fault is generally quite an unconscious habit. It
+is only to be remedied by constant care, and to this end practice before
+a looking-glass will be found very helpful.
+
+
+=Position of the Body.=--How to stand when singing has been explained by a
+great number of writers on the subject, and most of the explanations
+given have been chiefly remarkable as being entirely erroneous and
+false. The body should not be kept in a perfectly upright position, as
+it is (too popularly) believed that it should. The best position is when
+the body is well collected, with its chief weight upon the right leg and
+foot, with the head gently leaning forward, and the arms and, indeed,
+the whole carriage disposed in that manner which would indicate to the
+audience a sort of desire on your part to _persuade_ them and bring them
+over to your feelings and sentiments. When the right leg begins to tire
+with the weight of the body, the left leg can take its duty, when the
+right may be gracefully drawn back as in dancing. The best lesson on
+this subject, however, can be gleaned by carefully watching the _pose_
+of a good Italian singer during singing.
+
+
+=Self-Accompaniment.=--A sitting position is a very bad one in which to
+practise. All singing should be done in a standing position, and the
+student is strongly urged to adhere to this rule. Instead of sitting at
+the pianoforte, and accompanying an exercise or "solfeggio," it is far
+better to sound the first note of each passage therein, and master the
+same without any accompaniment. The advantages of this mode of
+practising must be obvious; but one of the most important is, that the
+attention is not divided between the pianoforte and the voice, while it
+leaves the singer free to give all his attention and care to the
+_production_ of the notes which he is endeavouring to sing artistically.
+
+
+=Position of the Arms.=--I would urge upon the student to hold a piece of
+music in his hands while he practises. There is a place for the hands
+when singing in public; but this place is neither the trouser-pockets,
+nor on the hips, nor behind the back, nor across the chest, but rather
+that position which is secured by _leisurely_ holding the music-sheet,
+not as if actually singing therefrom, but as though it were merely
+intended for reference, if required. This easy attitude not only gives
+the hands and arms their legitimate position, but also lends a grace and
+freedom to other parts of the body, all which points must be attended to
+in singing. Remember to keep the arms well away from the body. Some
+singers stick the elbows into the waist, as though to give support;
+instead of doing which, they hinder the free action of the lungs,
+besides giving an awkward look to the whole figure.
+
+
+=Position of the Hands.=--Do not let your hands hang down, but keep them
+well before you, in some position which allows of your turning the palms
+uppermost. In this way you (as it were) lock the joints of the
+shoulders, and put a check on the tendency to raise the shoulders, which
+is an invariable consequence of taking breath wrongly. Keep your
+shoulders well back, your elbows depressed, and your hands with the
+palms uppermost, and you will find it difficult, if not impossible, to
+indulge in the vice of heaving the chest and shoulders up and down, like
+the piston of a steam-engine!
+
+
+=Position of the Throat.=--One of the first conditions of singing well is
+to keep the throat open. To have the throat in its proper position the
+tongue must be kept down, and hollowed like the bowl of a spoon, its
+root being well depressed. Nor must the throat ever be allowed to screw
+itself up small, a common failing of many singers whenever they approach
+a high note. Most of my readers have yawned once or twice in their
+lives: if they will do it once more, in front of their looking-glass,
+and watch the inside of the mouth as they yawn, they will see and feel
+the exact position in which the throat should be during good singing. It
+will be useful to repeat this proceeding until the mind is thoroughly
+impressed and the memory familiarized with the feeling of the mouth and
+throat in this, the correct position for singing.
+
+
+=Position of the Throat, &c., in Soft Singing.=--When singing softly, or
+_piano_, as it is called, take great pains to keep your throat as open
+as you would for singing loudly, leaving it entirely to the mouth and
+lips to keep the tone soft, yet steady and firm. Do not forget, too,
+that in soft singing it is a great advantage to keep the mouth in a
+smiling position.
+
+
+=Position of the Tongue.=--The tongue, while being so useful, is
+nevertheless a very unruly member in singing. It has so great a tendency
+to get out of its place. Its legitimate office is to rest quite flat, or
+even hollow, in the bottom of the mouth, with its root well down, as
+this keeps the throat-passage clear, and with the tip of it just
+touching the lower teeth. Get a looking-glass, and continually watch the
+position of the tongue. Never allow it to roll up or turn about when
+singing, or the effect produced will be scarcely worth repeating. The
+tongue should occupy the least possible space in the mouth, and this is
+the case when the directions here given are carried out.
+
+
+=Position of the Larynx.=--The larynx, or upper part of the wind-pipe,
+plays a most important part in singing. Upon it depends all the beauty,
+and quality, and richness of the voice. The singer will do well to
+constantly think about the larynx, to watch it, to feel that it is well
+down below the mouth before commencing the first note of a song, which
+note must, under such circumstances, be rich, round, and penetrating.
+Then the larynx must never be allowed to rise above this fixed point. It
+may be deepened, and must be, for the higher notes, but it must never
+ascend, or nearly approach the roof of the mouth, or the sound-passage
+is closed, and the sounds become at once impure, vitiated, and without
+body or foundation.
+
+Try and guard against the bad habit of pushing forward the chin when
+singing, otherwise the tone cannot fail to be faulty. The chin should be
+well down on the chest, and the larynx quite low, to lead to an easy
+and pure production of tone. To be constantly moving both the jaws for
+every note, continually displaces the larynx, impairs the purity of the
+tone, spoils the articulation of the words, and, what is worse than all,
+produces a hideous expression of the features, which latter fault would
+alone be sufficient to prejudice seriously the chances of any singing
+artists. The lower parts of the jaws, not the upper ones, should do the
+work; and when a high passage or note is before the singer, the lower
+parts of the jaws should be exercised to drop as the notes increase in
+height. The singer's face should be controlled, if no other member can
+be so regulated.
+
+
+=Singing in the Head.=--There is, in all beginners, a tendency to sing too
+much in the head, that is, to have the foundation of the tones too high
+up in the throat. This fault is due to the difficulty experienced by
+beginners in keeping the larynx sufficiently below the mouth. The
+fulness of tone, the rich, round, and mellow quality which is so much
+admired in all good singers, is almost entirely owing to the voice being
+pitched low down, and not high up in the throat, towards the back of the
+head (as it _appears_ to be).
+
+A few trials of this will soon convince the student of the vast
+difference in the character and _timbre_ of the tones of these two ways,
+and also of the economy of the plan here recommended, so far as regards
+the wear and tear of the voice in practice.
+
+
+=Throatiness.=--Throatiness, or singing in the throat, is the common enemy
+of all English singers. Our language is the chief cause of this
+disagreeable habit, which we begin to acquire as soon as we learn to
+talk. Still, by diligence, the evil can be cured, and no better plan can
+be followed than to constantly practise singing the vowel-sounds Ah, A,
+E, O, throughout the compass of the voice, taking every possible
+care--and this is the point--never to allow the _tone_ to vary, nor to
+leave the teeth, and not to screw up the throat, especially in high
+notes. It is impossible to produce a "throaty" quality of voice if the
+throat is well open, and the tone is firmly directed, and kept on the
+upper teeth and front of the mouth. On the other hand, if the student
+screws up the throat, rolls the tongue, or practises singing without
+being constantly on the look-out for the "voice on the teeth," the
+result must be a "throatiness," which is most disagreeable to all people
+who have any real knowledge of what singing should be.
+
+
+=Clearing the Throat.=--Singers, good and bad, are often troubled with an
+apparent stoppage in the throat, and this inconvenience seems to be at
+its worst just at that moment when they wish to sing. To displace or to
+cure this stoppage, they begin hacking and coughing ("clearing the
+throat" as it is called), which proceeding, however, only makes bad
+worse for the time being, and finally grows into a habit, till at last
+such people cannot venture to open their mouths without first subjecting
+the throat to a series of these irritating "hacks." A good master will
+soon cure this complaint by refusing to continue the lesson whenever the
+pupil gives way to the bad habit. It is in many cases simply a nervous
+trick, and if the singer will accustom himself to _swallow_ instead of
+coughing, whenever he feels the sensation of which we are speaking, he
+will soon get rid of it. If it results in any case from real weakness of
+the throat, it may be beneficial to gargle three or four times a day
+with moderately strong salt and water, especially before singing. This
+does no harm to the voice, and by bracing and strengthening the muscles
+of the throat renders them more obedient to the singer's will.
+
+
+=High Notes.=--Many people find great difficulty in counting, with any
+degree of certainty, upon the top notes of their register. I know of no
+greater assistance towards bringing these out than that of well
+contracting the mouth and lips at the beginning of the passage in which
+these high notes occur, dropping the lower jaws, and securing a good
+play of the mouth as the highest note is reached, at the same time
+keeping the throat as open as possible, ejecting the sound to the
+audience with as much "lip-force" as can be secured, being careful that
+the tone is safe "on the teeth" before the note is "opened."
+
+
+=The Scale.=--There can be no doubt whatever that the grand groundwork of
+all singing is the diatonic scale. On it is built all the graceful forms
+and figures which belong to the great artist. Yet how few seem to know
+and to appreciate this fact! To excel, the diatonic scale must be
+practised most seriously and assiduously in its plain and simple form;
+nor must it be left until the student can sing every note therein
+purely, without wavering or flutter, and with precision, in the soft,
+medium, and loud voices.
+
+
+=Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano.=--The singer will derive much advantage by
+bearing in mind that the voice has three main gradations which the
+Italians class as the _forte_, the _mezzo di voce_, and the _piano_. The
+management of these three is of vital importance, and the singer should
+certainly practise the scales in all three voices, and have each at
+command for every exercise and passage which he studies.
+
+
+=Tone.=--The tone of the voice must never be vitiated or rendered impure
+from any cause whatever. There is always a danger of this in passages of
+great energy and passion, but it should be remembered that whatever be
+the effect aimed at, it cannot be attained by any means which involves a
+change in the tone of the voice. The first and chief consideration must
+always be to produce a good tone in the right manner. If the tone be not
+good, the singing cannot be agreeable; and if it be not produced in the
+right manner, you have no security that it will be equally good
+throughout the voice, or in passages of all kinds.
+
+
+=Chest, Falsetto, and Head Voice.=--I have already said that there is a
+good deal of confusion existing as to the use of the terms "chest,"
+"falsetto," and "head voice." And this is scarcely to be wondered at,
+seeing that nobody has yet decided _how_ the three qualities of sound
+are produced, while everybody knows that the names are so far
+misleading, in that no sound whatever is really made in the _chest_ or
+in the _head_, but that all are due to the passage of air through the
+larynx, in which are placed the vocal cords upon which the air plays.
+The changes of sound which are spoken of as "chest," "falsetto," and
+"head" voices are due to changes in the position of the larynx and its
+surroundings, and in the action of the vocal cords. What those changes
+are, and how or why they cause the results which we hear, has yet to be
+discovered: there are several theories, but no one has yet ventured to
+claim the certainty of truth for any one of them. There is an excellent
+article on "The Larynx" in Stainer and Barrett's "Dictionary of Musical
+Terms," to which I would refer those who wish to understand these
+various theories. For my present purpose it is sufficient to point out
+that each of the names is an utter misnomer. The "chest" voice is
+probably so called because the vibrations of the notes in that register
+may be distinctly felt in the chest; and because the breath passes
+directly from the chest, as it seems, without any opposition in the
+throat, producing the sound on its way. The "falsetto," or range of
+notes above the chest, is so called (and rightly so) because in that
+register of voice the tone _feigns_, or imitates, the tone of the
+"chest" notes below, although it is certain that the sounds are not
+produced in the same way, for the position of the vocal cords and their
+attendant parts is different, and changes suddenly on the passage of the
+voice from the chest to the upper register. A falsetto, rightly trained
+and used, is one, therefore, which is true to its name, and so well
+imitates the "chest," that the hearer cannot distinguish the "false"
+from the real "chest tone." The "head voice," which many people persist
+in confusing with the falsetto, is so called because to the singer it
+feels as though the notes so produced came from the head. This is due to
+the larynx itself rising up in the throat and approaching the back of
+the head. It comprises, in reality, _all_ that part of the voice which
+lies above the "chest" register, all the lower part of it being shared
+by the "falsetto," exactly as the falsetto shares the greater part of
+the chest register. The falsetto, therefore, belongs to both, and its
+use is to carry, by its power of imitation, the tone of the lower or
+chest register into the upper or head register, so combining them that
+no audible change of quality, or "break," is perceptible.
+
+
+=Scale Practice.=--It cannot be too strongly impressed upon, or too
+frequently pointed out to, the singer (no matter what may be the stage
+of his or her artistic development) how desirable and advantageous it is
+to be constantly singing exercises and solfeggi in preference to songs.
+It is a popular fallacy, especially among amateurs, that the practice of
+scales and intervals should be left behind as soon as possible. Pray do
+not be mistaken. The never-failing daily practice of singing open chords
+in solfeggi, scales, and exercises, is fraught with advantages which
+cannot be gained by the study of yards, or even miles, of song tunes. As
+an instance of how much may be done in the study of scale practice, the
+writer would point out that this particular exercise should not be left
+until the student can sing the diatonic scales throughout the whole
+extent of the voice in one unbroken breath, and with one quality,
+character, and volume of voice. When this point has been reached, its
+peculiar efficacy will be so apparent as not to require any
+recommendation or advice for its daily continuance.
+
+
+=First Exercises.=--This is a book of advice, not of exercises, nor do I
+profess to teach you, but only to point out to you, how you must prepare
+to be taught. I cannot too often repeat that no book by itself can teach
+you singing, and my object is not to supersede a master, but to induce
+you to place yourself under a good one. However, it may happen that
+circumstances of time, place, or pocket prevent your doing so as soon as
+you would wish, and it is far better even to learn from a book what you
+can in the way of rules and exercises, than to go on singing by the
+light of nature, or under a cheap and inefficient master, or working at
+exercises too advanced for a beginner (which is as bad as not working at
+any at all). I therefore give here a few simple but most important
+exercises, which you may work at until you are able to place yourself
+under the care of a good master. Bear in mind, first, all that has
+already been said here about taking your breath, the position of
+standing, the form of your mouth, and place of throat, tongue, teeth,
+&c., and study the following exercises daily say to the extent of thirty
+minutes three times a day, with full attention to all the above points:
+
+[Music: C major scale, beginning at C4, in semibreves]
+
+Sing this fully and firmly. It should be begun and ended with the same
+quality and "thickness" of sound, as suggested by the even line over
+each note. You should be able to hold each note out in one breath for
+twenty seconds without the slightest alteration being perceptible in the
+tone, any more than there would be if it was a note proceeding from an
+organ-pipe. Practise it on each of the following sounds consecutively:
+"A" in "Bard," "A" in "Fate," "E" in "Steel," "I" in "Life," "O" in
+"Pole," "U" in "Rule," prefixing each sound by L, and so singing Lah,
+Lay, Lee, Li, Lo, Loo. In singing this first exercise, which for basses
+and barytones will be, of course, an octave lower, be careful not to
+force the lower notes, and do not seek to get a powerful tone thereupon.
+The tone does not need to be full and heavy on these notes, but rather
+should be a WELL-PRODUCED, light, and thin quality of note. The way to
+proceed is: (1) To inspire the breath from the bottom of the lungs as it
+were--not raising the shoulders. (2) Steady the breath for a second or
+so in the chest while you THINK the note you are about to sing, and
+while you prepare your throat and mouth for singing by lowering the
+larynx and opening the throat. (3) Then begin to sound the note--not
+from the back of the mouth, but from the tip of the tongue and the front
+teeth--thus taking the whole of the tone out of the mouth, which is what
+is required to be done. Sustain the note till you have only a little
+breath left--then finish off in a clean manner, and allow the remaining
+breath to leave the lungs and body in an orderly way.--Repeat the same
+operation for _every_ note, and if you desire to make progress, give a
+minute's attention of this kind to every single note.
+
+[Music: 2--Broken C major triad in semibreves beginning and ending on
+C4, then raising a semitone to continue the pattern.]
+
+and so on, rising by semitones until you come to this:
+
+[Music: Broken G major triad in semibreves beginning and ending on G4.]
+
+which is certainly the highest that you ought to attempt at present.
+
+Exercise No. 2 is a first step towards joining notes, and is another
+difficulty in the matter of _production_. The object to be aimed at is
+to sing the two notes which are bound (or tied) together with the same
+breath, and the same body and quality of tone. To step from C to E, the
+first movement in the exercise is to raise the voice a major third; but
+the student must pass from his mind any notion of raising the throat in
+order to sound the higher third. As the note E is higher than the C, the
+tone of the former must be generated lower in the chest than had been
+the case with the C. The higher the note to be sung, the lower must be
+its generating-point in the chest. This is the only way to OPEN the
+voice, and I need scarcely say that it produces an entirely different
+tone and method than are secured by the common habit of screwing and
+tightening the throat, in proportion as the notes ascend in pitch.
+
+Another good exercise which may be combined with the last-given is the
+following:
+
+[Music: 3--Broken C Major Triad in semibreve beginning and ending on
+C4, followed by a broken F Major Triad in semibreves beginning and
+ending on C4. Broken G minor triad in semibreves beginning and ending on
+C4, followed by a broken A minor triad in semibreves beginning and
+ending on C4.]
+
+This exercise (3) must be sung in the same manner as indicated with No.
+2, care being taken as each note gets higher to pass _under_ the
+preceding note, and not as it were to generate a high note over a lower
+one.
+
+After which you may take this:
+
+[Music: 4--C major arpeggio in semibreves, beginning on C4 and landing
+on C5. C5 is held for six beats prior to descending in crotchets in a C
+major scale, and holding the bottom C4 for four beats.]
+
+but sing it very slowly and deliberately, bearing in mind the production
+of the high notes.
+
+As you begin to get all these notes firm and round, you may take these
+same exercises in D, Dâ™­, and Eâ™­, but be very careful not
+to force the upper notes.
+
+[Music: 5--Interval practice by holding C4 for four beats and slurring
+to D4. After breathing, slur C4 to E4. After breathing, slur C4 to F4.
+After breathing, slur C4 to G4. Continue this pattern until C5 is
+reached. Then, begin on C5 and slur to B4. After breathing, slur from C5
+to A4. Continue this pattern until C4 is reached.]
+
+Exercise 5 is one where the question of the breath and its proper
+management becomes of vital importance. The reader will observe the
+notes are bound together, and the student's attention should be turned
+towards passing from one note to the other, without any appreciable
+difference in the _quality_--I do not say pitch--of the tone. Having
+inspired in the manner already explained, the singer will sound the
+_Do_ with a pure, sympathetic, not harsh or forced sound; and by
+_pressing down_ the breath, will _lift_ the voice on to the _Re_. When
+he has succeeded with the step of a second, he can go on to the step of
+a third, fourth, &c. The care must be to utilize the breath, always
+supporting the tone with the breath. If the sound wavers, then there is
+something wrong with the breath. You are either singing with too little,
+or are forcing the breath.
+
+[Music: 6--Beginning on C4 and holding each note for two beats, go up by
+semitones until E4 is reached and held for four beats. Begin pattern
+again, but begin on D4â™­. Continue until A is reached.]
+
+And so on.
+
+[Music: 7--Beginning on C5 and holding each note for two beats, go down
+by semitones until A4â™­ is reached and held for four beats. Begin
+pattern again, but begin on a B4. Continue until G4â™­ is reached.]
+
+And so on, descending the scale by semitones.
+
+[Music: 8--In minims, sing C4, E4, G4, C5, B4, G4, F4, D4. Begin the
+pattern again starting a semitone higher on D4â™­.]
+
+Practise No. 8 slowly and steadily, with perfectly even tone throughout,
+without any crescendo or diminuendo.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Let all the above exercises be taken successively, _forte_, _a
+mezzo-voce_, and _piano_, preserving exactly the same amount of tone
+throughout each passage, and holding the notes with the same force with
+which you attack them steadily to the end, not letting them die away.
+The trick of letting notes die away is easily learnt afterwards, but at
+present you have to master the far greater difficulty of holding notes
+firmly with unvarying tone. Practise these exercises on all the
+vowel-sounds already given. All such exercises are of course only
+variations of the diatonic and chromatic scales, so arranged as to
+prepare the voice for executing those scales evenly and perfectly, with
+equality of tone on every note; for till you can sing scales, you are
+not fit to sing songs of any kind.
+
+
+=Duration of Practice.=--Always guard against over-straining and
+over-working the voice. Do not sing or practise for a longer time than
+half an hour without allowing the voice rest for some time. If you have
+three hours at your disposal daily to devote to singing, the most
+economical use of the time is to divide it equally between the morning,
+afternoon, and evening.
+
+
+=Singing in Tune=.--Correct intonation is of the greatest possible
+importance in singing. Every singer should pay especial attention to
+this point. The heavier the voice, the more necessary becomes such
+attention, and therefore contralti and basses are strongly advised to
+lose no time in facing this (to them) considerable difficulty. Deep
+basses, indeed, are rarely perfectly in tune for any long time together,
+and some of the most famous bass singers have left behind them
+recollections of this painful defect. Therefore, whatever be your voice,
+do not take for granted that even the possession of a good ear will
+always ensure your singing in tune. Sometimes excellent singers, and
+good musicians too, will sing out of tune, perfectly aware that they
+are doing so, but, for a time, unable to prevent it from physical
+causes--relaxation of the throat, fatigue, indisposition, &c., under
+which conditions the muscles are unable to obey the will as usual. Do
+not, then, make too light of this matter, because you may think yourself
+quite incapable of singing out of tune; it is at all events wiser to be
+on the safe side. Therefore, never practise (nor sing, if you can help
+it) with a pianoforte which is not well in tune and well "up to pitch."
+And be very constant in practising intervals, such as major and minor
+sixths and sevenths, so as to be able to strike them as perfectly in
+tune and as unvarying in quality as the notes of an organ diapason.
+
+
+=How to Begin.=--Many people never make a good start when beginning to
+sing any piece. Now a very good remedy for a part of this evil is not to
+prepare yourself too soon. Use the bar immediately preceding that in
+which your part commences to gather up your faculties, and, to use a
+common phrase, "to pull yourself together;" then let the muscles of the
+body gently settle down. The ease and freedom acquired by this momentary
+call upon the system is very remarkable; and for the singer especially
+the hint cannot be too often acted upon.
+
+
+=Variety Indispensable.=--An unchanging volume of sound is very soon
+wearying to the ear; and therefore a singer who scarcely ever varies the
+pitch of his voice will find that however loudly he may sing, his
+audience will have a feeling of dissatisfaction, as though they could
+not hear him distinctly--the fact being that their ears, being fatigued
+with the uniformity of the noise, cannot do their proper work, and the
+attention therefore flags. One great secret of being agreeably heard by
+an audience is to vary the body of tone (not the _quality_ of it,
+observe). As a rule singers are left tolerably free to do as they like
+in this respect. Composers of songs rarely give them any help in the
+matter. In fact, nowadays so many people compose "vocal music" without
+knowing anything about the vocal instrument for which they compose, that
+it is not wonderful that they ignore their power of helping the singer
+by properly combining duly marked _forte_, _piano_, and _mezzo-voce_
+passages, so as to ensure a variety of effect. Therefore, in most modern
+music, a singer has to take his own "reading" of a song, and to make it
+as effective as he can by varying the power of his voice. It might even
+be taken as a rule that every _forte_ passage should be succeeded by a
+soft one. The voice should rise and fall, and be varied in its
+inflexions in that agreeable manner which is so marked in good orators
+and dramatic elocutionists.
+
+
+=Chorus Singing.=--If you are studying seriously for solo singing, you
+must discontinue all chorus singing, especially during training. Singing
+in church choirs and choral societies must be abandoned. And this not
+because there is no good to be learned there, but because the little
+good is by no means commensurate with the great amount of harm which is
+acquired along with the good. To enumerate here all the evil habits so
+easily learnt would be impossible. Not the least of them, however, is
+the tendency to shout louder than your neighbour, to use yourself to the
+bad habits of those on each side of you; to produce a bad tone; to
+"chop" the passages instead of phrasing them; to attack notes
+carelessly; to sing coarsely; to depend on others; to get into a
+machine-like regularity of rendering the music. All these evil habits
+are the result of chorus singing; and while many of them are detrimental
+to the voice itself, it may be safely said that any one of these habits
+is fatal to good solo singing.
+
+
+=Humming.=--Some people have a wretched habit of continually humming
+tunes. Pray do not get into this habit of singing unconsciously--than
+which nothing is more prejudicial to the voice. You should never sound a
+note without being perfectly aware of what you are doing, and that it is
+being done in the right manner. The faults acquired by "humming over,"
+as it is called, are of the worst kind, and, moreover, they are far
+sooner acquired than eradicated.
+
+
+=Studying Songs.=--Be careful, in studying a new song, not to waste either
+time or strength by a trifling and superficial treatment of it.
+"Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well." First of all,
+_sol-fa_ the melody a few times in a full _mezzo-voce_. Then study it
+with rather stronger tone, paying attention to lights and shades, yet at
+the same time being chiefly occupied with the melody itself. Then make
+your breath-marks, and adhere to the same unfailingly. Then sing the
+melody once throughout, in order to find the weak places; having found
+which, you need no more practise the whole of the melody, but give all
+the attention to these latter phrases. Having mastered these, the melody
+will be complete. It will then be necessary to determine where the notes
+shall be made to _bend_ into each other, to add the _nuances_, a few
+graceful figures and effects which belong alone to the true artist.
+
+
+=Imitation.=--By no means the worst lesson which you can have will be
+gained by imitation of some acknowledged first-rate singer, whose voice
+is of the same kind as your own. Before going to a concert at which any
+such artist is announced to sing, procure copies of his songs (if
+possible), and make yourself acquainted with the compositions first of
+all. Then go and hear how those works are rendered by the singer who is
+to be your model; listen with your copy in your hand; make notes of any
+points which strike you, and while the impression made upon you is still
+fresh, go home and imitate them as closely as you can.
+
+
+=General Musical Study.=--If you want to be a good singing artist, many
+more things besides singing should be studied. You should be
+sufficiently acquainted with the pianoforte to play your own
+accompaniments, even of the most difficult songs, well enough to get an
+idea of them. Then a knowledge of harmony, counterpoint, and
+orchestration is of the greatest value. The study of the best scores,
+orchestral and vocal, should not be neglected, and further, the student
+should make himself or herself otherwise familiar with the rise and
+progress of the art, by reading all the best books on the subject,
+whether historical, critical, or biographical.
+
+
+
+
+ON STYLE, EXPRESSION, &c.
+
+
+The study of language, articulation, and deportment, the gradual
+formation and building-up of the singing voice, and the incessant
+practice of scales and exercises, are in reality only the necessary
+preliminaries to singing itself. Singing, or the proper use of the voice
+combined with the due enunciation and expression of the words, is
+nothing unless due attention be also paid to style, to the fit and
+effective execution of the music selected, due regard being paid both to
+taste and tradition.
+
+
+=Traditional Styles.=--Although the groundwork of all good singing is the
+same, the music to be sung varies greatly in style. There is church
+music, oratorio music, and opera music, as well as ballad music; and a
+certain nondescript--half recitative, half declamation--which is of
+modern growth, gives pleasure to many people (both performers and
+audience), and comprises the greater number of modern German "songs."
+
+
+=Modern German Lieder.=--This latest development of vocal performances, of
+which I desire to speak with all due respect, has no traditions
+whatever, but it has a style, decided, though (in my opinion) bad. It
+has, however, one merit: it imperatively demands that the singer should
+understand the meaning both of words and music, for the whole thing
+depends on expression and modulation. The composers of these works
+generally do their part fully in the way of modulations and
+accompaniment; but as they frequently forget to supply anything in the
+shape of a melody, the singer must do his best to touch or move his
+audience by his expressive delivery of the words in the musical
+inflections which (with this class of composers) occupy the place of a
+"tune." However, if you admire this kind of music, and have been
+properly taught to sing before you attempt to execute it, I have not a
+word to say against it: so long as you use your voice legitimately, this
+style of music can do you no harm, and if you study dramatic expression
+and elocution properly, you may doubtless produce an effect very
+pleasing to others who admire it. But the danger of such music to the
+untrained voice and untaught singer is very great indeed; and I do not
+hesitate to say that the frequent performance of it by such an one
+_must_ result in the ruin both of voice and style.
+
+
+=The Cathedral School.=--The one point in music wherein England has just
+reason to boast of her past, is the existence of a distinct class of
+music composed for her church service, and that music of a high order of
+merit. Distinctive in character, this church music--"services" and
+"anthems"--has created for itself a distinct school of singers, and, by
+tradition, demands a distinct style of performance. I have elsewhere
+stated that the "Cathedral School" of singing is "detestable for solo
+work," and so it is for any solo work except cathedral solo work, where
+the operatic or oratorio style of singing would seem to us, who have
+always been familiar with the traditional and one accepted style, out of
+place, and irreverently suggestive of the concert-room. It is difficult
+to describe upon paper the peculiarity of this style of singing, and it
+could only be learnt by imitation in its own home, the cathedral. Its
+chief characteristics are a sort of passionless "statuesqueness," a
+steadiness of tone akin to the notes of the organ, which is its only fit
+accompaniment, an absence of all attempt at personal display on the part
+of the singer. Its faulty tendencies are towards deficiency of
+expression and slowness of "attack;" these are apparent, generally, when
+a "cathedral" singer appears in the concert-room; but in church, the
+pervadingly reverent character of the performance takes off the
+impression of coldness and tameness in the individual singer, while the
+ear, accustomed to the slight difference in time with which the various
+organ-stops "answer," does not notice in the singer that want of
+"crispness" in the time which the accompaniment of an orchestra reveals
+at once.
+
+Unless you are really intending to sing professionally in a church or
+cathedral choir, the study of this style will not be of much use to you;
+you will find its good points equally insisted on in the oratorio school
+of singing, while its defects should be avoided in any. For =English
+part-singing= there is, however, no training so good, its traditions
+being exactly those of the finest old English secular part-music--the
+madrigals of Wilbye, Weekes, and Purcell, &c.
+
+
+=Oratorio.=--By oratorio singing--speaking of it as a distinct style--I
+may say at once that I mean the school of Handelian singing, of which
+the traditions are distinct, and which has only been slightly modified
+to suit the more modern oratorios of other composers. Of course,
+Mendelssohn cannot be sung exactly like Handel or Bach, but the general
+style of delivery should be the same, and till you can sing Handel, you
+cannot hope to be able to sing Mendelssohn. The ability to sing Handel,
+Bach, and Glück, I believe to be the sole foundation for a pure style of
+singing either in opera or ballad music: the music is such that it
+cannot be trifled with--the difficulties cannot be evaded, but must be
+mastered--while the exquisitely smooth and vocal character of these
+great masters' music trains the singer to an evenness and solidity of
+style which is most valuable in any music that may be afterwards
+attempted. Moreover, the songs of Handel form an admirable school for
+the training of individual taste and judgment in the introduction of
+ornaments, the variety of phrasing, and other minute details of finish.
+Not that you may exercise your individual taste in introducing ornaments
+into Handel or Bach--far from it; but the songs are written with the
+express intention that certain ornaments should be introduced in
+particular places, and the style (and in many cases the notes) of these
+ornaments has been accurately handed down to us; therefore, in learning
+this traditional manner of singing such music, the student is trained to
+a knowledge of the appropriate place for the introduction of
+ornamentation and "grace"--the appropriate character of such
+embellishments, and the appropriate opportunities for introducing them.
+For instance, most of Handel's songs commence with a movement which is
+intended to be repeated at the close of the song, the middle part being
+generally a movement in some relative key, which is not repeated. The
+traditional style of giving such songs is to reserve ornamentation for
+this repeated first part, and thus to avoid the effect of sameness which
+would result from adhering in the "repeat" to exactly the same rendering
+of the music with which the singer gave it at first. Such ornamentations
+were taken for granted by the composer, and it was only because of a
+tasteless abuse of this privilege of adornment on the part of foolish
+singers, an abuse which became an unbearable nuisance, that in after
+years Rossini adopted the plan of writing into his music florid passages
+which should supply the singer with ornaments which were good of their
+kind and which were put in in appropriate places, rather then trust his
+airs to the mercy of inartistic "decorators." Handel, and the composers
+of earlier times than Rossini, omitted the ornamentation, so as not to
+hamper the singer, for, as has been well said by an old writer on the
+subject: "The same execution that would from one singer afford pleasure,
+might from another excite disgust: the compositions of old masters have
+no written cadences to a repeated passage, for this very reason, no
+doubt. But it is understood, and indeed expected, that the singer of
+talent should display his own taste by the introduction of such fanciful
+and graceful ornaments as may be best calculated to exhibit his voice to
+advantage, and thereby heighten, instead of lessen, the effect of the
+composition."
+
+The same writer, in explaining the reason for the introduction of such
+ornaments and changes, goes on to remark: "In conversation, though we
+frequently repeat words and even sentences, in expressing any particular
+subject, yet we might as naturally expect to see a person laugh without
+a smile, as give such repetitions without some variation in voice and
+manner.
+
+"The first part of an air is often written to be repeated. In justice to
+the author, when that is the case, simplicity of style should be
+inviolably preserved; but, on repeating the strain, free scope may be
+given to the imagination, taking it for granted that no person would be
+vain enough to attempt the introduction of his own fanciful graces,
+unless sufficiently master of the science to feel the propriety of going
+so far and no farther."
+
+Perhaps I may make the meaning of all this clearer by giving a few
+specimens of these traditionally accepted adornments in repeated
+passages.
+
+[Music:_First time._
+
+    ri - mem - - bran - za, Puoi di nuo - vo, &c.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    ri - mem - bran - za, Puoi di nuo - vo, &c.]
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    dol - ce ri - mem - bran - za, &c.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    dol - ce ri - mem - bran - - za, &c.]
+
+[Music:_First time._
+
+    Puoi di nuo - vo, di nuo - vo av - ve - len
+    ar ................... mi.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    Puoi - di nuo - vo di nuo - vo av - ve - len
+    ar ................... mi.]
+
+The above are taken from a fine song by Cesti (1660), "_Tu mancavi a
+tormentarmi_."
+
+The following are the adornments taught in the Paris Conservatoire, as
+traditionally correct in the famous old song by Lotti, "_Pur dicesti_,"
+where, it will be observed, one simple phrase, which occurs so
+frequently that it would be monotonous if unadorned, is made to yield a
+charming variety to the song by some elegant change at each recurrence.
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    quel so - a - ve ... car - o ...... si]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    quel ... so - a - ve car ... o - si]
+
+[Music: _Third time._
+
+    quel ... so - a - ve car - o - si]
+
+[Music: _Fourth time._
+
+    quel ... so - a - - ve car - - o si]
+
+[Music:_First time._
+
+    pia - cer .................
+    ................. il mio pia - cer]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    pia - cer .................
+    ................. il mio pia - cer]
+
+The following are from Handel:
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    While re - sign'd to Heav'n ... a - bove]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    While re - sign'd to ...... Heav'n ........ a - bove
+
+                                (_Guardian Angels._)]
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    Trees where you sit, &c.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+     Trees where you sit, &c.
+
+                              (_Where'er you walk._)]
+
+And of course the list might be almost indefinitely prolonged. Certain
+of these ornaments, once highly popular, have wisely been allowed to
+drop, and that is why I lay stress upon the importance of _accepted
+traditions_. You may get hold of copies of many songs of this kind which
+have the names of great singers attached to them, and yet give
+variations of the text which have never been accepted or generally
+approved. The great Braham himself was a terrible offender sometimes in
+this respect. For instance, in singing "_Comfort ye_," instead of the
+passage
+
+[Music:
+
+    that her in - i - qui - ty is par - don - ed]
+
+he would sing thus:
+
+[Music:
+
+    that her in - i - qui - ty is par - don - ed.]
+
+And I have seen an old copy of "_Holy, holy_," in which the melody is so
+overlaid with little black notes, semi-quavers, demi-semi-quavers, and
+semi-demi-semi-quavers, that it is difficult to distinguish the notes of
+Handel's music at all! The admissible changes are all very slight, and
+any elaborate cadenza, or considerable addition, is pretty sure to be
+wrong. Final high notes are a frequent snare to aspiring singers; the
+traditions of the old school of oratorio singing are not in favour of
+them, and they generally vulgarize a song if introduced where the
+composer has not clearly opened a way for them. I have heard a tenor
+singer conclude the famous "_Thou shalt break them_," thus:
+
+[Music:
+
+    pot - - - - ter's ves - sel]
+
+and a soprano finish off "_He shall feed His flock_," thus:
+
+[Music:
+
+    ye shall find rest ........ un - to your souls.]
+
+--both of them pieces of vulgar display, bringing the personality of the
+singer before the audience instead of the beauty of the music, the sense
+of the words, or the merit of the composer. No such abominations are
+permissible in good oratorio singing, the rule of which is utter
+submission to the composer's intentions, and a conscientious endeavour
+to interpret his mind clearly to the audience; a pure and chaste
+delivery of words and music alike; a sustained excellence throughout,
+avoiding an attempt to astonish by bursts of power or brilliancy; and an
+entire absence of all claptrap or vulgarities to please "the gallery."
+
+
+=Opera.=--A great deal of what has been said about oratorio singing
+applies also to operatic singing. But I strongly advise you against
+attempting opera music until you have studied the more severe and solid
+style of the oratorio. The declamatory passages in opera are doubtless
+more brilliantly impassioned, just as the florid airs are more
+startlingly elaborate, than in oratorio, and the recitatives less
+stately and sustained; but the style of good opera singing is only to be
+founded upon good oratorio study (or its equivalent), inasmuch as it
+was out of the oratorio that the opera grew. Operatic singing allows
+more license to the singer than does oratorio; but the singer should
+have been taught first by the severer style not to misuse that license.
+At the same time when (as is not infrequent in operas of a certain kind)
+the composer has introduced airs for the express purpose of showing off
+a singer's voice, a well-trained singer may be accepted as interpreting
+the composer's intention rightly, when he or she elaborates _fioriture_
+far beyond the limits of which any hint appears in the score.
+
+Even here, however, traditional usage must have its weight: cadenzas
+must be strictly in character, and only introduced in songs to which
+such passages are appropriate. I once heard a florid cadenza
+interpolated at the close of "_Spirto Gentil_," by an aspiring young
+tenor, too full of conceit and "modern" ideas to take a hint from
+Mario's marvellous rendering of that song.
+
+And it must be borne in mind that it is only in operas of the Bellini,
+Donizetti, and early Rossini and Verdi school that such extreme license
+is granted. No such tricks can be played with the operas of Mozart,
+Glück, Weber, or Meyerbeer, or with the later works of Rossini and
+Verdi, while the notion of altering a note, or omitting even a
+demi-semi-quaver rest, in those of Wagner, would be, to his admirers,
+flat heresy. In reality, the style of singing opera music is easily
+acquired by any one who is sufficiently advanced to be fit to attempt
+opera music at all. There are certain niceties to be acquired, and
+endless beauties of variety in the rendering of even small passages; but
+these things cannot be taught on paper.
+
+
+=Ballads.=--There is no greater mistake than to suppose that "any one can
+sing a simple ballad." Good ballad singing is one of the rarest
+accomplishments, and demands qualities in the singer which _may_ be
+wanting even in a person who can sing well both in opera and oratorio.
+To suppose that an untaught singer can do justice to any ballad that is
+worth the trouble of singing at all, is simply a mark of ignorance on
+the whole subject of singing.
+
+Ballads do not always require power or compass of voice, it is true, nor
+do they tax the singer on the score of flexibility or physical strength;
+but they are the severest test of enunciation, _mezzo-voce_ singing,
+neatness and readiness in producing tones of any gradation, and perfect
+control over the voice.
+
+To sing a ballad well demands a really cultivated taste, a certain
+dramatic power, suppressed it is true, but influencing the whole
+delivery; a sympathetic voice, and a manner which will enlist the
+interest and sympathy of the audience. Ballad singing is neither
+declamation nor recitative: there is no chance of surprising or
+astonishing your audience; but you _must_ contrive to please them, you
+must _touch_ them somehow; and, for an ordinary person in the costume of
+the nineteenth century, to "touch" others of the same species is not
+easy. Sometimes, no doubt, the words of a good song are in themselves so
+touching and charming that, so long as the music be not positively
+hideous or destructive of the sense of the words, the singer has only to
+let them be clearly heard, and the battle is won; but more frequently he
+has to trick his audience into interest in a song where the words in
+themselves are either hopelessly silly, or too obscure in sense for
+their full meaning to appear at a first hearing or reading. All that he
+can then do is to deliver it in such a way that they shall feel that
+there _is_ a meaning to it all, though they have not fully caught it
+yet, and so they may wish to hear it again. I do not, of course, mean
+any allusion to the ridiculous fashion of _encores_, but simply that the
+feeling at the end of such a song should be one of liking it
+sufficiently to wish to understand it entirely.
+
+Many songs would tell their own tale and produce their own effect well
+enough, if the singer would let them, and therefore the ballad singer
+must only be sufficiently self-conscious to keep himself out of the way.
+However good his singing, however original his reading of the song,
+_while he is singing_ it should all go to the credit of the song, and
+the hearers be charmed into forgetting _him_ till he is silent.
+
+
+=Recitative.=--Good recitative singing is of great importance, and
+requires careful attention and study. Recitative is midway between
+speaking and singing; it is a sort of modulated intoning, that is, that
+in delivering it the note and the word that belongs to it should be
+given with equal intention, and appear to belong to each other so
+completely that the musical sound should seem to be the natural
+intonation which the reciter would give to the word. Recitative is (_or
+was_) practically an attempt to express, in musical notation, the
+inflexions of the human voice in speaking; and how accurately, in some
+cases, musical notation can do this, will be seen at a glance by the
+following illustration:
+
+[Music:
+
+    Who   are you?]
+
+[Music:
+
+      Who are you?]
+
+[Music:
+
+    Who   are you?]
+
+--where the question is asked in the same words, but the musical notes
+express clearly three different sentiments, or degrees of sentiment.
+This should be taken into consideration by the student; and he should
+strive to give his recitative with as natural a delivery as he can,
+placing himself mentally in the position of a dramatic reciter.
+
+Steadiness of tone, clearness of enunciating consonants, and full round
+delivery of vowel-sounds are indispensable to good recitative singing.
+Every note must be distinct, and not the faintest suspicion of a "slur"
+or _portamento_ can be allowed.
+
+Recitative singing is not a thing which a student should try to teach
+himself, as he may not only waste his time, but gain notions which are
+erroneous and difficult to cure. For instance, take the recitatives in
+"_The Messiah_," as these are printed for the British public. Nothing
+could be more ludicrous than for a singer to appear in public and sing
+the recitatives faithfully as printed in the editions of this oratorio
+which are continually being disseminated throughout the land. Handel,
+let it be borne in mind, was _not_ well acquainted with the English
+language; and though he may have written good music, he was often very
+far from reaching good literary sense. Thus, as regards this latter,
+this specimen passage occurs in Handel's "_Acis and Galatea_,"
+
+[Music:
+
+    Where shall I seek the charm-ing fair?]
+
+Yet no one in his senses would think of rendering it other than
+
+[Music:
+
+    Where shall I seek the charm-ing fair?]
+
+inasmuch as there is some doubt of the chord 6/4 which forms the grace
+note being Handel's music, and because the sense of the words demands
+that no break shall be made between the words _seek_ and _the_. As
+Handel failed in his English, it is surely allowable to make good his
+deficiencies in this respect.
+
+The following paragraphs relate to certain minor details of style in
+singing, and apply to singing of every kind. They must be taken in
+conjunction with much that has already been said under the head of
+"Practice."
+
+
+=Slurring.=--Slurring up to a note is a very disagreeable and common evil
+to be guarded against. It matters not how far distant the note to be
+sung may be from the preceding tone; it should be attacked fearlessly
+and cheerfully, but _with an open throat_. The note to be attacked must
+not be prepared in the throat. The course should be this. The tone of
+the preceding note must not be moved, but the one required--say a very
+high one--must be obtained by the joint process of lowering the larynx,
+of sounding the note from exactly the same spot as the lower note, in a
+soft but fine tone, and thirdly, by getting such a ring in the note as
+it can only have in conjunction with the feeling that while the root or
+foundation of the note is in the chest, yet it owes much of its
+penetrating character and power to a sort of reflecting power which is
+given it from the extreme end of the spine bone, where it joins the
+head. Certainly no high note is properly _produced_, nor to be relied
+upon for a _crescendo_, unless the student has this feeling that it
+springs from the back of the neck; and, in rising to an upper note, the
+aim should be not at length to approach the upper note from beneath, as
+it were, but to "come down" upon it--to strike it from _above_ instead
+of from below.
+
+
+=Sentiment.=--Always try to convey the sentiment of what you may be
+singing through the tone of the voice. Love and anger cannot both be
+expressed with the same quality of voice. For the former, a delicate
+light tone well on the lips is desirable, while for the latter the voice
+should be produced lower in the stomach; yet the tone should still be
+kept on the lips; its character should be "darker," more round, and
+sonorous. "'_Tis this that racks my brain_": such words as these should
+never be sung in the same character of voice as "_Waft her, angels, to
+the skies_." It is good practice to take any piece and sing the melody
+on an open vowel throughout, with the object of showing the meaning of
+the song without the aid of words. Then, when this can be done, the
+words may be employed, and the result will be doubly happy.
+
+
+=Decision.=--Indecision is a very serious fault in singing. Do well and
+thoroughly whatever you decide upon attempting. If you have a _staccato_
+passage to sing, render it firmly in that style; if you have one that is
+_legato_, take care that this character is _strongly_ seen from your
+rendering. When you "slur," make it strong enough to be felt. If you
+bend as it were from one note to another, let your intention to do so be
+clearly apparent. Let a _forte_ passage be loud, and let a _piano_ one
+be really soft. Any half measures in singing are fatal. Precision and
+certainty are qualities which the student must always aim at attaining.
+Without them, singing becomes tame and unattractive, not to say
+tiresome.
+
+
+=Imitation.=--Imitation, which in many other arts becomes plagiary, in
+singing is most desirable; for singing, more than any other art, rests
+on tradition; there is even very little doubt that the peculiar charm
+and quality of a true tenor voice (for instance) is more due to
+imitation in a singer than to nature; that is to say, that it is the
+result of a transmitted culture--such imitation being the only means in
+which singers can reap the harvest of the experience of the great
+singers now to be heard no more, who have left their imitators to pass
+on to others what they themselves obtained by imitating and improving on
+_their_ predecessors. Therefore do not be afraid of being set down as a
+mere copyist, if you study and attempt to imitate the style of the best
+living singers. You will always have enough of your own merit or defect
+to distinguish your performance, if you are really a conscientious
+student, and you may learn a great deal by listening to the best public
+singers which can be taught you in no other way. Watch their stage
+deportment; their treatment of the weaker parts of their voices; their
+method of breathing; their manner towards the public;--in fact, every
+point which occurs to you,--and make some use of what you see and hear
+in your own studies.
+
+
+=Public Singing.=--If you have to sing in public, remember always to
+take a rapid but searching glance round your stage. This is a great
+point gained. As you step on to "the boards," notice (unobserved)
+the dimensions of the stage (if it happens to be new to you). Note
+the height of its ceiling, its surroundings, its draperies, its
+distance from your farthest auditor; then take up your position
+accordingly--bearing in mind that all your tone is wanted by your
+listeners, which requirement can never be met unless you yourself take
+the precaution to prevent the sound being held or carried back by the
+stage decorations. In a concert _salon_ or theatre, then, do not forget
+to get well to the front of the platform. At the same time you must not
+be _too_ close upon your stall occupants, or you may give them the very
+undesirable impression that at any moment you may fall over.
+
+
+="Holding" an Audience.=--The singer should carefully watch an audience so
+as to gauge its attention and sympathies. If it seems impatient,
+restless, and indifferent, the singer may be quite sure that he or she
+is exciting no interest. The best course then for one to do is to
+immediately change the style, alter the tone, give forth his or her best
+energies, and use every effort to become ingratiated into the good
+favour of the listeners. If such effects as these fail constantly in
+their turn, then the aspirant for vocal fame should give up, and devote
+both time and attention to further study, or to some other means of a
+livelihood; for a future great singer will not be failing constantly,
+and to be only a second-rate singer while there are so many is a thing
+_not_ to be devoutly desired.
+
+
+=Mistakes in Public.=--If you make a mistake in singing, do not add to the
+mischief by allowing it to alarm or disconcert you. Proceed onward as if
+nothing had happened. You may be quite sure that each one of your
+audience will not have detected the slip, for they cannot _all_ be
+critics. But bear in mind that such confidence as your adviser here
+suggests is not to be too often called into requisition. No great artist
+will ever make a serious mistake in public. How much more careful then
+should the young student be!
+
+
+
+
+ON TIME IN SINGING.
+
+
+I need perhaps scarcely remind my readers who are or who wish to be
+singers that _time_ concerns them quite as much as the conductor, the
+pianist, the violinist--in short, the whole orchestra. It behoves the
+student in singing to give early and careful attention to this important
+feature in his artistic training. You may have the voice of a Rubini,
+you may be a second Tamburini in quality and extent of voice, but unless
+you can sing in time yourself, and are able to do so with others, and
+with the counter-acting influences of an orchestra, you can never hope
+to rise in your profession. It may be argued that you have no desire to
+lay yourself out for a career on the lyric stage. Then, however, you
+shut yourself out from some of the largest prizes in the profession;
+beyond which there comes the question of oratorio business, and the
+growing taste for band accompaniments to songs. And if you restrict your
+ambition to a pianoforte accompaniment, time is needed even with that in
+order to produce anything like a satisfactory rendering of the piece you
+may be singing. The accompanyist may be a Sir Julius Benedict, or a
+Signor Randegger (than whom there is no better in this country, so
+neglected has this species of musical art-work become); but a perfect
+rendering depends not so much upon the pianist as the vocalist. If the
+singer flounders about with neither "rhyme nor reason," it is scarcely
+reasonable to expect the accompanyist, clever as he may be, to be always
+at his heels, like a cat after a mouse. I would therefore advise the
+student to invest his money in a Metronome--the most useful thing with
+which he could provide himself. They are not dear, bearing in mind their
+utility, and one will, I am sure, save the student much time and many a
+_fiasco_. Learn the working of this useful machine, and practise all
+your exercises with it. If you go to a good singing master, you should
+ask him to time your exercises to the pace at which you should sing
+them, and in this way you will not only be growing in a good habit, but
+your singing will be characterized by a crispness and a certainty of
+attack, which will be apparent to all musicians and amateurs with good
+taste. Your singing master will, no doubt, impress upon you the
+necessity of singing your songs in time, and especially of slightly
+accenting the first and third beats in the bar if it is common time, the
+first and fourth beats when it is compound common or 6/8 time, and the
+first beat when it is triple or 3/4 time. In this way there will be
+meaning given to your singing, and those who may be accompanying you
+will be able to feel where you are, and to keep time with you. In
+singing a passage like this from Cowen's charming song "Aubade,"--the
+master, if he knew his business, would instruct his pupil to slightly
+accent the words as I have indicated with the mark =V=, and to preserve
+_strict_ time throughout the passage, and especially in the taking up of
+the words after the long note on the word _sleep_. The accompanyist
+would, we may assume, do likewise with his pianoforte part, and in this
+way a perfect _ensemble_ would be secured.
+
+[Music:
+
+    Sleep, love, sleep,
+    the morn is wak - - ing,]
+
+With this brief introduction to the subject, I will proceed to give the
+student a few exercises in keeping and beating time, the assiduous
+practice of which will, I hope, soon place him in the desirable position
+of being able to sing in time.
+
+[Music: Ex. 1.
+
+Four beats in a bar.
+
+    Do Re Mi Fa Sol
+
+    La Si Do Do Si
+
+    La Sol Fa Mi Re Do]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2.
+
+    Do Do Re Re Mi Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 3.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 4.
+
+    Do Do Do Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5.
+
+    Do Do Re Re Mi Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7.
+
+    Do Do Do Re Re Re Mi Mi Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 9.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 10.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 11.
+
+     Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Mi &c.]
+
+These exercises may be timed as slow as you like on your metronome--the
+slower the better--but 76 is a good pace to begin with; when you have
+thoroughly mastered them at 76, take them a little quicker until you can
+sing them accurately up to a good brisk time.
+
+No 1 has but one note in the bar, and this must be held on steadily for
+four beats of the metronome--care being taken to leave each note in
+sufficient time to take a fresh breath, and attack the second note and
+syllable in precise time with the metronome beat. I need, perhaps,
+scarcely point out that much good will be obtained if the student can
+accustom himself to _feeling_ in his mind the rhythm and beating, so as
+not to acquire the habit of trusting to mechanical appliances, which are
+dispensed with at public performances. The sol-fa-ing must be strictly
+adhered to, and in Exercises 2, 3, etc., it will be seen that the
+syllable must be sounded twice and four times respectively. With
+Exercise 5 the dotted note comes in; but I will not stay to explain
+that, as I assume that my readers will have acquainted themselves with
+the elements of musical theory before taking up singing. Especial care
+should be given to Exercise 7, as that is the first step in the
+difficult matter of syncopation, carried out elaborately in Exercises 8
+and 9. With Exercise 11 the question of Rests comes in, but the same
+remark that I made as to the dotted notes applies here. Everything that
+it is necessary to know about them should be found in any elementary
+musical grammar.
+
+Having mastered the above exercises, the reader may take the following
+with two beats in the bar--taking the precaution to set them at a slow
+time on the metronome, say 76, not singing them quickly until he is
+thoroughly acquainted with them.
+
+[Music: Ex. 1. Two beats to a bar.
+
+    Do Do Re Re Mi Mi Fa Fa Sol Sol
+    La La Si Si Do Do Do Si Si
+    La La Sol Sol Fa Fa Mi Mi Re Re Do]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2.
+
+    Do Re Mi Fa Sol La
+    Si Do Do Do Si Si &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 3.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 4.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7.
+
+    Do Re Mi Fa Sol &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8.]
+
+After which he may take the following with three beats in the bar:--
+
+[Music: Ex. 1.
+
+Three beats in a bar.
+
+    1 2 3
+    Do    Re Mi Fa Sol
+    La    Si Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 3.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 4.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 9.]
+
+
+
+
+ON THE CHOICE OF MUSIC.
+
+    There are, of course, no _rules_ to be given to guide the student
+    in the choice of music, except the general ones, to choose good
+    music, pleasing music, and music suited to his voice and powers.
+    But those general rules touch incidentally on a few points on which
+    it may be well to offer a few remarks.
+
+
+=Music must suit the Voice.=--Your music must not only be appropriate for
+your voice in compass, but it must be such as has been written for a
+voice of your kind. This is a most important thing to remember. Nothing
+is more provoking to a person of good taste and musical knowledge than
+to hear songs composed for a voice of one class sung by a voice of a
+totally different character; and yet this is a vice which even good
+artists will sometimes weakly succumb to. The popular song of Gounod's,
+"_Quand tu chantes berçée_," for instance, has been sung to death by
+many soprani and contralti, in various keys. One would have thought that
+the words alone would have shown them the utter absurdity of what they
+were doing; but no, for the sake of producing an effect (upon an
+audience who naturally supposed that public singers of high standing
+knew what they were doing, and why they did it), these good ladies
+committed what I do not scruple to call a vulgar and inartistic blunder.
+The song is a man's song, and no woman should attempt it.
+
+This fault is one which amateurs are very apt to fall into, and a long
+list might be made of songs which have suffered this unfair treatment.
+Soprani sing tenor songs--(I have often, in the early days of the
+popularity of "_Il Trovatore_," heard a soprano sing "_Ah, che la
+Morte!_"--tenors, those written for soprano--(_e.g._, I know an amateur
+tenor whose "crack" song is Iphis' "Farewell" in "_Jephtha_"). Contralti
+and mezzo-soprani steal bass and barytone songs, as "But who may abide,"
+from the "_Messiah_," and basses and barytones return the compliment by
+appropriating "What tho' I trace," or "O rest in the Lord.")
+
+There is a reason, quite apart from the question of taste, which renders
+this practice objectionable. A composer of any skill writes his
+accompaniment as well as his melody with reference to the voice which he
+wishes to sing it. Now, if that voice be--we will say--a soprano, the
+accompaniment will be written for a voice of that _pitch_, as well as of
+that character and compass; the progressions of harmony will be written
+with due regard to the actual place of the vocal notes in the scale. But
+directly the song is sung by a tenor--a voice which pitches every note
+an octave lower than the soprano--the relation of the vocal notes to the
+accompaniment is changed; notes that were intended to be fourths above
+the accompaniment will become fifths below, and progressions which were
+correct in the composer's intention become wrong in the effect produced
+by the singer. That is an extreme case, I grant, but it is only a fair
+instance of the sort of result which follows on such changes, and it is
+sufficient to show that the rule rests on reason and not caprice.
+
+
+"=Original Keys.="--Do not bind yourself, as some think it necessary to
+do, always to sing your songs in the original keys. Remember that opera
+and oratorio music, and a large number of modern "ballads," were
+composed for performance in large buildings, theatres, and
+concert-rooms. The keys, therefore, were chosen with due reference to
+that fact, and to the (in many cases) exceptional voices of the singers.
+The raising of the pitch in later years also affects the question.
+
+Now, if you have to sing in a drawing-room, the pitch, volume of tone,
+and style of delivery must be appropriate to chamber music, and not to
+the stage of Covent Garden, and the keys which are necessary for due
+brilliancy and effect in a concert-room are frequently unsuited to a
+drawing-room, giving an appearance of strain and noisiness to the
+singing. A good deal of opera music is as unfit for singing in a
+drawing-room as would be a grand symphony for performance there; and an
+artistic singer should bear in mind this principle of fitness in his
+selection.
+
+At the same time, if it is considered desirable to transpose a song, let
+it be only for that reason, and let the aim be to produce the same
+effect, _relatively_, in the drawing-room, as the song in its original
+key is intended to produce in the concert-room. Do not transpose
+recklessly, merely to "suit your voice:" if you are a barytone, for
+instance, do not sing tenor songs a few notes lower; or, if you are a
+soprano, do not transpose contralto songs to suit your register. For the
+_character_ of the music (if the music is good) suits the voice for
+which it was intended, and there is a risk of destroying that character
+by giving it to a voice of another kind. This has been proved over and
+over again on the stage in several notable instances.
+
+
+=Execution.=--Do not be too ambitious in selecting florid songs for
+performance either in public or private. "Fireworks" in a drawing-room
+rarely please, while in a concert-room they must be very perfect and
+first-rate in execution to do so. Of course, if you are a professional
+artist you must include such work in your studies, and even for the
+amateur the practice of florid music, under a master, is most desirable
+as an exercise. But where the choice of a song for a concert rests with
+yourself, sacrifice ambition to prudence, unless your voice is naturally
+a very flexible one, and your training in that style of music very
+complete. I give, on this subject, a quotation from an old and
+experienced writer on music and singing:
+
+"Execution is certainly one of the most difficult parts of musical
+science. Young singers are desirous of attaining it without reflecting
+whether, from the formation of the throat and various physical causes,
+they may ever be able to accomplish their wishes. Few, indeed, possess
+the power of execution in a pre-eminent degree. It is in part a gift of
+nature: those who have ever delighted as well as astonished us by their
+rapid manner of running through divisions must have been naturally
+endowed with flexible organs.
+
+"... Some voices may be compared to gems which in their original state
+are dull, and, to those unacquainted with their worth, of no value....
+It frequently happens that singers, from timidity or want of proper
+knowledge in exercising their voices, remain ignorant of their own
+qualifications. The hinges of a door which have continued for years
+undisturbed, will, when the door is re-opened, grate harshly on the ear;
+but every effort renders the harshness more tolerable, until, from
+frequent use, they move easily. Thus it is with the voice: on the
+flexibility of the _uvula_ and the muscles connected with it depend both
+the perfectibility of the shake and execution. But still it must be
+acknowledged that acquired execution should never be exercised by the
+side of nature otherwise than sparingly, even where necessity requires
+it, for the latter possesses an easy velocity which can playfully sport
+with its subject at will; but, however gratifying the power of execution
+may be considered by those who possess it, I recommend them not to be
+indiscriminately lavish, lest they cloy by too great a profusion, and,
+as Voltaire remarks, 'shine in trills and divisions, at the expense of
+poetry and good sense.'"
+
+
+=Fashion.=--The songs which are "the rage" at any time are always great
+snares for amateurs. Aspiring young singers hear a ballad charmingly
+rendered by some great singer, and straightway go home, send for it, and
+on the first available opportunity treat their friends to their version
+of it. This is really unfair to themselves, as it throws them into
+unwise contrast with the public singer who has made the song popular,
+and whose well-known rendering of it forbids ordinary hearers to judge
+the rendering of an amateur on its own merits, or by any rule but that
+of comparison. Moreover, "popular" songs--I mean songs whose popularity
+is largely due to their having been sung by favourite public
+singers--are by no means always good in themselves; or, if fairly good,
+by no means easy; or if good and not difficult, by no means always
+sufficiently so to make it worth while for an amateur to spend time and
+study on them. In very many cases the public singer has to sing these
+songs because he is paid for doing so, and gets a "royalty" on every
+copy sold; it is simply one development of the hydra-headed art of
+advertising, and such productions are known by the vulgar name of
+"pot-boilers," _i.e._, compositions hastily thrown off to bring in a
+little money "_to keep the pot boiling_." If composers who are capable
+of better things are reduced to making money in this way, we may be
+sincerely sorry for them; but speaking from an artistic point of view,
+the practice is reprehensible, and "pot-boilers" are not the kind of
+music which a young singer, anxious to improve, should waste time or
+money upon. I am far from saying that there are no good songs to be
+found among new music, but I think they seldom lie on the top of the
+pile.
+
+
+=Forming a Repertoire.=--In gradually forming your _repertoire_, or
+collection of properly studied songs for drawing-room or concert
+singing, do not be in haste to make it a large one. It is better to know
+only a few songs and do them really well, than to sing a large number
+indifferently. If you are studying for the profession, there is a
+considerable number of songs which you will be expected to know as a
+matter of course, but over and above such, every singer should have a
+special repertoire of his or her own, and it is of this that I now
+speak. Your selection of songs, like your singing, should have the stamp
+of your own individuality upon it. You should have a little stock of
+songs, with which your singing is in a way identified, and which you
+must be able to sing in a manner that at once stamps those songs as your
+property, so that another person might say, "I could not sing that song
+before you, it is one of your own."
+
+To form such a repertoire, you may have to go a little out of the beaten
+track of what is best known at the time. If opera music suits you best,
+look at the operas, never performed now, of Glück, or the less known of
+Mozart's, or earlier works of Rossini, Auber, &c.; or else try and get
+hold of works not yet known in England, such as Macfarren's, Wallace's,
+Purcell's, and a few other such native dramatic composers. In a word, do
+not limit your notions of operatic music to what you hear year after
+year at Covent Garden or Her Majesty's.
+
+So, too, in oratorio: search in the less familiar oratorios of Handel,
+and such of his operas as you can get access to, and carry the same idea
+out in examining the works of other composers, ancient and modern. Good
+work has been done of late years by various publishers in publishing
+many works of this class, and there are plenty of these which are still
+unfamiliar and unhackneyed.
+
+The same with your songs and ballads: before you rush into the modern
+fashionable ballad, see if you cannot find a few that you can
+appropriate among the stores of old English music, or the detached songs
+of old Italian masters (many of which are magnificent as songs, and
+utterly unknown at present, except to the few).
+
+
+
+
+PHYSIOLOGICAL SURROUNDINGS.
+
+
+It is highly expedient that singers themselves, and intending students
+of the art, should make some acquaintance with the physiological
+surroundings which are brought into play in the process of voice
+production. A knowledge of the technical terms for the various organs
+directly involved is very essential, and the intelligent student will
+see the necessity not only for distinguishing such names as "larynx" and
+"diaphragm," but also of possessing some idea of their whereabouts in
+the human frame. No better course could be adopted for the acquirement
+of such a knowledge than attendance at the classes and lectures at the
+musical colleges and other institutions, which, from time to time,
+secure the assistance of qualified specialists to speak upon this very
+important branch of the singing art. No other mode of teaching is so
+well calculated to enlighten the uninitiated in the wondrous mechanism
+of the human voice, and to inspire him or her with an adequate sense of
+the watchful care and delicate treatment which a voice worthy of
+systematic training demands, as well as deserves, at the hands of
+students of both sexes. As a preliminary to a fuller inquiry into the
+subject, the following few notes may be fixed upon the mind:--
+
+
+=The Larynx= (λά�υγξ) constitutes the upper part of the
+wind-pipe. It is the seat of the voice, and essential parts of it are
+the "vocal cords" (_chordæ vocales_), two membranes in a horizontal
+position across the larynx. It is popularly called "Adam's apple"
+(_pomum Adami_), the protuberance so often recognizable in the throats
+of bass singers, but a more correct use of "_pomum Adami_" is when it is
+applied to a projection in the thyroid cartilage--a part of the
+laryngeal structure.
+
+=The Thyroid= (from Θυ�εός) is a shield-shaped cartilage, and that part
+of the larynx which, in the case of both sexes, develops suddenly at the
+period when they pass from youth to mature age. Other important
+cartilages are the cricoid (from κ�ίκος), a ring-shaped membrane; the
+arytenoids (from ��ύταινα a pitcher); the epiglottis (�πί-γλωττα),
+situated at the back of the mouth; and the cartilages of Santorini, or
+_cornicula laryngis_.
+
+The trachea, or wind-pipe, is capable of rising or falling, and thus is
+produced the perceptible movement of the larynx in the throat when
+speaking or singing. It is by lowering the larynx, and so commanding an
+expansion of the throat that the best tone is possible in the voice, and
+it is this open throat production which some teachers are aiming at when
+they charge their pupils to "sing from the chest." A more sensible
+request would be to "lower the larynx," since such a lowering of this
+organ places the throat in the most favourable position for emitting
+sound; as well as for enabling the lungs, or wind-chests, to act most
+advantageously upon the true vocal cords. Moreover, this lowered larynx
+production leads to the best results from the vocal cords themselves.
+The natural tendency is to sing as we talk, a process which involves a
+demand upon the upper fringes of the vocal ligaments only, but no
+long-sustained singing could be maintained by this means, nor does it
+requisition any art-knowledge or principle. Directly, however, we begin
+to utilize the lower edge of the vocal cords, we are verging upon the
+art of _producing_ the voice; _i.e._, creating a something which will
+not manifest itself without the first application of some art
+principles. Here lies the whole secret of singing, _viz._, the
+utilization of the lower portions of the membranous folds popularly
+called the "vocal cords," instead of working merely their topmost
+fringes, as do the innumerable tenors who sing "throaty," and as we all
+do up to a certain point, in the ordinary process of speaking. The
+singing voice and the speaking voice are two totally different
+productions, the former never to be acquired except at the hands of a
+capable master, who, himself, has been properly taught the principles of
+voice production.
+
+The lungs, or bellows, or air-chambers lie, as is well known, on each
+side of the chest, resting upon the diaphragm, and performing a very
+important function in singing. They supply the air which acts upon the
+vocal cords, and in true singing are the first organs for consideration
+by a vocalist, since so much depends upon the way the wind, or breath,
+is brought to bear upon the vocal cords. For this reason the abdominal
+method of breathing--the filling of the lungs from their bases--becomes
+the best method for inspiring the breath in singing. Doubtless, in
+breathing, the lungs are replenished from above downwards, but it
+requires something of the sensation of these air-supplying substances
+being filled from their bases in order to requisition the full help of
+the diaphragm, a great muscle which separates the lungs from the
+abdomen, and which may be called the fundamental basis on which all
+voice production rests.
+
+The Pharynx (φά�υγξ) is situated behind the mouth, between the tongue
+and the arch forming the circumference of the palate. Its province is to
+reflect the voice on its issue from the glottis. It is an elastic
+aperture, and may be well styled the reflecting organ of singing. It can
+take various forms, and bears a great part in giving character to the
+sounds originated in the larynx.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_The Voice--a Wind, Reed, or String Instrument?_ Much discussion has
+spent itself in settling the question of "family" to which the vocal
+instrument properly belongs. The vocal chords are known to be composed
+of a yellow elastic fibrous tissue in their anterior parts, the
+posterior portions consisting of a tougher muscle or cartilage. Many
+maintain them to belong to the "string" family, since the sounds
+generated are produced as on a violin--the higher notes by increased
+tension, the lower tones by a reduction of the strain. In this process,
+the muscle, popularly known as the epiglottis-cushion--a fat mucous
+membrane--presses on to the vocal cords, modifying their vibrating
+length. Thus, in an extreme high note, the cushion presses intensely
+upon the cords, considerably shortening their one inch length. In
+reverting to a low note, this tension becomes withdrawn, and the whole
+length of cord is at play to produce its lowest tones. An unfortunate
+objection to this theory--that the vocal cords can be styled a stringed
+instrument, is the fact that no string of the small extent of the vocal
+cords could be capable of sounding either so many, or such low notes;
+moreover, the mathematical treatment of their vibrations, as governed by
+the tension, is not correct, as they are in the case of a violin. It is
+a useful theory, and method of reasoning, however, for those teachers of
+singing who maintain that to get high notes, a light and thin style of
+singing, and the use of the upper fringe of the vocal cords (the
+production point), is preferable, in contradistinction to those who
+declare that no really good chest note with any telling power worth
+considering is possible, unless the vocalist sings deep in his chest and
+gains the idea, as he goes for his note, of requisitioning with all
+effort the lowest depth in the cord. Surely this point presents the
+greatest difficulty for singers with whom compass, especially at the top
+of the voice, is an imperative necessity, albeit that people go on
+talking to the contrary; and it is a matter which needs settling among
+voice specialists and singing masters. We are told, and it is generally
+known, that the tension of the epiglottis-cushion produces a higher note
+just as the shifting of the finger on the violin string affects its
+tone--a process which may produce falsetto sounds, but which surely is
+not the basis upon which great Italian singers of the Mongini and
+Tamberlik type secured the great chest Cs, which, with their resonance
+and brilliancy, were wont to make our opera houses ring again. Is it not
+a fact that in voices of this calibre, as well as in those trained on
+what is known as the broad lines of the true Italian production, the
+whole surfaces of the vocal cords become more or less requisitioned, and
+that they vibrate the whole of their length and breadth, not merely the
+sides, rather than that any upper portion is mainly utilized while the
+lower parts are resting? The answer to this question would seem to
+indicate that the human voice is of the nature of a reed instrument.
+These membraneous organs, which we term vocal cords, are such that their
+whole surfaces must vibrate when brought into contact with a current of
+air from the lungs. The voice reed, in fact, vibrates freely backwards
+and forwards, and so corresponds with what are known as "free," not
+"beating" reeds--such as are found in concertinas, and the like.
+
+That the voice is something of an organ pipe (a flue pipe) is an
+illusion only indulged in by writers and teachers prone to descriptive
+language, which they do not stay to inquire into, either for their own
+edification or for the enlightenment of other people. There is
+absolutely nothing to maintain such an idea.
+
+It is important that the nature of the _matériel_ of the vocal cords
+should become widely known, since such a knowledge, elementary as it
+might be, would, at the outset, enable students to get at once upon the
+right road to singing. To grasp the idea that the initial
+sound-producing means are these bits of semi-lunar membranes, acted upon
+by the breath from the lungs, and that they vibrate violently or orderly
+in proportion to the care with which the breath is brought to bear upon
+them, is to master the first great difficulty in singing. This once
+grasped, it is not hard to realize that the sound emitted is moulded and
+shaped, modified and beautified by other organs of the laryngeal machine
+and its surroundings, as well as by such variable conditions as the
+state of the human frame generally, and the particular condition of
+those organs of the body most directly concerned in supporting the work
+of the larynx may happen to be in. It will save the student much time
+if, before he (or she) begins to study singing, some first acquaintance
+be formed with the physiological surroundings of the human voice, and it
+is worse than useless to go to a master who teaches singing in blind
+ignorance of, and doubtless contempt for, these physiological
+principles. The student who has familiarized himself with the structure
+of the vocal organs will have made a much more intelligent progress in
+his art than the one who has not, and will be competent none the less
+readily to understand the instruction of a qualified master than to
+detect the shameful pretence and humbug of the quack.
+
+
+=Board Teachers' Laryngitis--Clergyman's Sore Throat--Throat Exhaustion,
+etc.=--Among the greatest evils of this competitive teaching age is the
+mischief arising from the constant and at the same time injurious use of
+the voice. All who use the voice constantly must learn how to breathe,
+and _produce_ the voice. Failing that, serious mischief, which even the
+specialist of throat hospitals cannot cope with, must inevitably follow.
+The only advice that can be given here is, immediately that voice
+exhaustion sets in, to consult not _a doctor_, but a throat or voice
+specialist. The best institution in the world for throat troubles is the
+Throat Hospital, Golden Square, London, W.
+
+
+
+
+EXERCISES.
+
+
+This first exercise is a most useful one in the uniting of notes and in
+gaining facility. The student should at first practise it very slowly,
+mastering four bars at a time. Although I have divided it into fifteen
+examples, it is really but one exercise, with a minim rest between each
+phrase of four bars; and it is in this example form that I wish the
+student ultimately to sing it with the metronome, at say 76, taking
+breath _only_ at the rest-mark, and making the _crescendo_--not, be it
+observed, by forcing the tone and breath, but by a gradual pressing down
+of the breath.[2]
+
+[2] The Exercise should be a crescendo from piano to forte.
+
+[Music: Ex. 1.]
+
+[Music: A.]
+
+[Music: B.]
+
+[Music: C.]
+
+[Music: D.]
+
+[Music: E.]
+
+[Music: F.]
+
+[Music: G.]
+
+[Music: H.]
+
+[Music: I.]
+
+[Music: J.]
+
+[Music: K.]
+
+[Music: L.]
+
+[Music: M.]
+
+[Music: N.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2 NAVA.]
+
+[Music]
+
+Exercise 2 is a further one for the practice of joining notes with the
+aid of the breath, without the least resemblance to a jerk with either
+the sound or the breath. To sing the exercise with advantage requires a
+very careful management of the respiratory organs, and its continuous
+practice is one of the best means of managing the breath. Having
+inspired the breath after the manner already indicated herein, proceed
+to sound the note F in a thin but firm and steady tone, which you must
+gradually swell, by pressing down the breath, as it were, into the
+following note G, which you will continue to hold steadily by keeping
+down the breath as long as you can. Though you raise your tone of voice
+in passing from F to G, you must dispel from your mind all notions of
+raising your breath or your _larynx_; it is just the reverse; you must
+lower these. Remember a golden rule--the higher your note the lower must
+it be generated in your chest, and your breath must be under the note
+supporting it, or there cannot possibly be any tone there. On reaching
+the highest limit of this exercise, the student will repeat the same
+operation down the scale, which I need scarcely say is less difficult.
+
+[Music: Ex. 3. NAVA.]
+
+[Music]
+
+[Music]
+
+Exercise 3 may be timed 76 on your metronome. It is a study to give
+freedom and flexibility to your voice. None of the notes should be
+forced, and the upper notes should be rendered with the mouth well open,
+and with a quality of tone as similar as possible to that of the lower
+notes. Breath should be taken (without losing time) at the rest-marks.
+There should be no break or jump in the tone, but rather it should be
+one unbroken stream of melody, as marked in the first phrase. The voice,
+in this exercise, should be constantly moving: no sooner should you be
+sounding the first note of the phrase than you should be moving to the
+second, from the second to the next, and so on. Be careful to sing the
+intervals exactly in time, and in descending to notes satisfy yourself
+that you are singing the exact tone, and that with certainty. Indecision
+is a grave fault in singing.
+
+[Music: Ex. 4. Intervals of thirds.
+
+     Do Re Mi Re Do Re Mi Fa Mi Re
+
+     Mi Fa Sol Fa Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5. Intervals of Fourths.
+
+* Here take breath.]
+
+[Music]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6. Intervals of Fifths.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7. Intervals of Sixths.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8. Intervals of Sevenths.]
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+     _Page_
+
+     Alto, 36
+
+
+     Bad Lessons, 50
+
+     Bad Masters, 50
+
+     Ballads, 80
+
+     Barytone, Basso-Cantante, 42
+
+     Bass, 44
+
+     Board Teachers' Laryngitis, 114
+
+     Books of Exercises, 51
+
+     Buffo, 48
+
+
+     Cathedral School, The, 72
+
+     Chest, Falsetto, and Head, 60
+
+     Chorus Singing, 69
+
+     Cleanliness, 13
+
+     Clearing the Throat, 59
+
+     Compass, 30
+
+     Consonants, 24
+
+     Contralto, 35
+
+
+     Decision, 84
+
+     Diet, 13
+
+     Dramatic Study, 27
+
+     Dress, 16
+
+     Duration of Practice, 67
+
+
+     Early Rising, 13
+
+     Education, General, 26
+
+     Emphasis, 25
+
+     English, 24
+
+     Execution, 105
+
+     Exercise, 15
+
+     Exercises, 115
+
+     Exercises, First, 62
+
+         "      Books of, 51
+
+         "      in Beating Time, 89
+
+     Expression, Facial, 54
+
+
+     Facial Expression, 54
+
+     Falsetto, 60
+
+     Fashion, 106
+
+     First Opinion, A, 44
+
+     Forming a Repertoire, 107
+
+     Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano, 60
+
+
+     General Education, 26
+
+        "    Musical Study, 70
+
+     German Lieder, Modern, 71
+
+
+     Hair, The, 14
+
+     Head, Singing in the, 58
+
+     High Notes, 59
+
+     "Holding" an Audience, 86
+
+     "How to Begin", 68
+
+     Humming, 69
+
+
+     Imitation, 70, 85
+
+     Individuality, 53
+
+     Institutions, 48
+
+
+     Larynx, The, 109
+
+     Late Hours, 19
+
+     Lessons, Bad, 50
+
+     Lips, Position of, 25
+
+
+     Masters, 48
+
+     Mezzo-Voce, 60
+
+     Mezzo-Contralto, 35
+
+     Mezzo-Soprano, 34
+
+     Mistakes in Public, 86
+
+     Modern German Lieder, 71
+
+     Morality, 19
+
+     Music to Suit the Voice, 103
+
+     Musical Study, General, 70
+
+
+     Names of Voices, 29
+
+     Nervousness, 21
+
+
+     Oratorio, 73
+
+     "Original Keys", 104
+
+     Opera, 79
+
+
+     Perseverance, 54
+
+     Physiological Surroundings, 109
+
+     Pharynx, The, 111
+
+     Position of Arms, 55
+
+            "    Body, 55
+
+            "    Hands, 56
+
+            "    Larynx, 57
+
+            "    Throat, 56
+
+            "    Tongue, 57
+
+     Pronunciation, 22
+
+     Public Singing, 85
+
+     Public, Mistakes in, 86
+
+
+     Qualities of the Voice, 45
+
+
+     Recitative, 81
+
+     Repertoire, Forming a, 107
+
+
+     Scale, The, 60
+
+       "    Practice, 62
+
+     "Schools" of Singing, 47
+
+     Self-Accompaniment, 55
+
+     Sentiment, 84
+
+     Singing in Tune, 67
+
+     Slurring, 83
+
+     Smoking, 18
+
+     Soprano, 32
+
+     Study of Songs, 20
+
+     Study of Words, 25
+
+     Styles, Traditional, 71
+
+
+     Teachers, Bad, 50
+
+     Teeth, The, 15
+
+     Tenore-Leggiero, 37
+
+     Tenore-Robusto, 39
+
+     Throatiness, 58
+
+     Thyroid, The, 110
+
+     Time in Singing, 87
+
+     Tone, 60
+
+     Traditional Styles, 71
+
+
+     Variety Indispensable, 68
+
+     Voices and their Names, 29
+
+     Voice, The; A Wind, Reed, or String Instrument, 111
+
+     Vowel-Sounds, 23
+
+
+     "Words," Study of, 25
+
+
+Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
+
+London & Edinburgh
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+Punctuation and formatting have been made consistent.
+
+Apparent printer's errors have been retained, unless stated below.
+
+Page 62, "disirable" changed to "desirable". (It cannot be too strongly
+impressed upon, or too frequently pointed out to, the singer (no matter
+what may be the stage of his or her artistic development) how desirable
+and advantageous it is to be constantly singing exercises and solfeggi
+in preference to songs.)
+
+Page 73 and 74, "shool" changed to "school". (You will find its good
+points equally insisted on in the oratorio school of singing, while its
+defects should be avoided in any.)
+
+Page 106, "divisious" changed to "divisions". (Those who have ever
+delighted as well as astonished us by their rapid manner of running
+through divisions must have been naturally endowed with flexible
+organs.)
+
+Page 109, "λα�υγξ" changed to "λά�υγξ".
+
+On page 110, "��ύταινα" was retained. This may be a typo for "ἀ�ύταινα".
+
+Page 111, "φά�υνξ" changed to "φά�υγξ".
+
+
+
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diff --git a/41013-0.zip b/41013-0.zip
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Advice to Singers, by Frederick James Crowest
+
+
+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: Advice to Singers
+
+
+Author: Frederick James Crowest
+
+
+
+Release Date: October 10, 2012  [eBook #41013]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVICE TO SINGERS***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Veronika Redfern, David Edwards, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images
+generously made available by Internet Archive (http://archive.org). Music
+for audio illustrations was transcribed by Anne Celnick, Sarah Thomson,
+and the DP Music Team.
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original lines of music and
+      audio illustrations.
+      See 41013-h.htm or 41013-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41013/41013-h/41013-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41013/41013-h.zip)
+
+
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive. See
+      http://archive.org/details/AdviceToSingers
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
+
+      Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=).
+
+      Text enclosed by plus signs is Greek transliteration
+      (example: +epi-glôtta+=).
+
+      Any ranges or simple exercises that have been depicted
+      on a staff in the original have been represented in this
+      volume using Scientific Pitch Notation. In this system,
+      C4 represents middle C and is set at 256 Hz.
+
+
+
+
+
+ADVICE TO SINGERS
+
+by
+
+FREDERICK J. CROWEST
+
+Author of "The Great Tone Poets" "Musical Groundwork"
+Editor of "The Master Musicians" Series, etc.
+
+      "Since singing is so good a thing
+      I wish all men would learn to sing"
+
+[Illustration: Publisher's Device]
+
+Seventeenth Thousand
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+London
+Frederick Warne and Co.
+and New York
+1904
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+Singing cannot be learnt from a book, and so far from attempting any
+such impossible feat as writing a book which might be called "_Singing
+without a Master_," the author's object--frequently insisted upon
+herein--is to point out the impossibility of overcoming the difficulties
+of singing without a teacher. At the same time, there are points upon
+which a master would not feel called upon to speak; nor would he
+(except, perhaps, in the course of a very long period of training) be
+likely to touch on many matters which, though closely connected with the
+life or business of an accomplished singer, yet lie rather outside the
+province of the voice-trainer.
+
+In a work consisting of detached paragraphs, and not being a continuous
+essay, it is not always possible to enter into full explanations of the
+reasons for certain statements; and (for the want of such explanation)
+one paragraph may _appear_ to contradict another. However, I can assure
+the reader that such paragraphs are only _apparent_ contradictions; and
+if he will take the trouble to think such points out for himself, he
+will find that they are easily reconcileable.
+
+There is no subject, perhaps, on which opinions are so divided, and
+prejudices run so high, as the proper method of training and using the
+voice; nor is there perhaps one more wrapped in mystery than is the art
+of singing. This is probably the result of that readiness with which
+almost every music teacher has hitherto undertaken to teach Singing.
+This book will not, I am sure, add to the mystery. A careful perusal of
+its contents should clear away many misconceptions, and place the
+student on the right road to that end which he or she has in view.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.
+
+
+That another large edition of this little Manual should be called for in
+so comparatively short a time is sufficiently encouraging testimony of
+the worth of the book and the favour it has found at the hands of
+students of singing and others--a result the more gratifying to the
+publishers since hitherto it has been issued with an anonymous
+title-page. Often has the authorship of the little volume been
+industriously defended and disputed--not by myself--both in this country
+and America; but, on the whole, the identity of its originator has been
+well maintained. For my part matters might have remained so, especially
+as I am not insensible to the fact that there is much "preaching"
+herein--as indeed there must be in such a work, and some of the advice
+is of such a nature that its giver runs the risk of being placed upon an
+exceeding high pinnacle of moral excellence, or of being accounted the
+personification of all the virtues--both of which distinctions might
+scarcely be merited. The appearance of my name upon the title-sheet is
+the result of no wish of mine, and I have consented to it only out of
+deference to the pressing request of the publishers.
+
+A chapter on the Physiological Surroundings of the Voice has been added
+to this edition.
+
+                                                   FREDERICK J. CROWEST.
+
+
+PREFACE TO THE SEVENTH EDITION.
+
+Once again my publishers have informed me of the necessity for
+reprinting this Manual, which has been so successful both here, in
+America, and in the Colonies. I have nothing to alter in the work, but I
+must express my thanks for the marked support that has been given to
+this straightforward advice. Did space permit, much might be said
+relative to that growing complaint, "Teachers' (or Board School)
+Laryngitis" as it is called. For some time past I have been authorized
+to make observations at the chief Throat Hospitals in connection with
+this constantly increasing mischief, arising from an injurious use of
+the voice in Teaching, and which only proper Voice Production will
+remedy. While I cannot give advice here, I shall be happy to answer any
+communications of sufferers from this complaint.
+
+                                                   FREDERICK J. CROWEST.
+
+     24 AMPTHILL SQUARE, LONDON, N.W.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                                  _Page_
+
+  PRELIMINARY REMARKS                                                  9
+
+  ON HABITS, DIET, &c.                                                13
+
+    Early Rising--Cleanliness--The Hair--The Teeth--Exercise--Dress--
+    Diet--Smoking--Late Hours--General Morality.
+
+  PRONUNCIATION AND STUDY OF WORDS                                    21
+
+    Nervousness--Pronunciation--Vowel-Sounds--Consonants--English--
+    Emphasis--Position of Lips--Study of "Words"--General
+    Education--Dramatic Study.
+
+  VOICES AND THEIR VARIOUS QUALITIES                                  28
+
+    Voices and their Names--Compass--Soprano--Mezzo-Soprano--
+    Mezzo-Contralto--Contralto--Alto--Tenore-Leggiero--Tenore-Robusto--
+    Barytone and Basso-Cantante--Bass--Buffo--Qualities of Voices.
+
+  INSTRUCTION, BOOKS AND MASTERS                                      47
+
+    Schools of Singing--Masters--Institutions--A First Opinion--Bad
+    Lessons--Bad Teachers--Books of Exercises.
+
+  PRACTICE                                                            53
+
+    Individuality--Perseverance--Facial Expression--Self-Accompaniment--
+    Position of Body, Arms, Hands, Throat, Tongue, Larynx--
+    Head-Singing--Throatiness--Clearing the Throat--High Notes--The
+    Scale--Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano--Tone--Chest, Falsetto, and
+    Head--Scale Practice--First Exercises (_with Examples_)--Duration
+    of Practice--Singing in Tune--How to Begin--Variety--Chorus
+    Singing--Humming--Studying Songs--Imitation--General Musical Study.
+
+  ON STYLE AND EXPRESSION                                             71
+
+    Traditional Styles--Modern German _Lieder_--"The Cathedral
+    School"--Oratorio (_with Examples_)--Opera--Ballads--Recitative
+    (_with Examples_)--Slurring--Sentiment--Decision--Imitation--Public
+    Singing--"Holding" an Audience--Mistakes in Public.
+
+  ON TIME IN SINGING                                                  87
+
+    The Metronome--Accent--Exercises: four beats to the bar; three
+    beats to the bar; two beats to the bar.
+
+  ON THE CHOICE OF MUSIC                                             103
+
+    Music to Suit the Voice--"Original Keys"--Execution--Fashion--
+    Forming a "Repertoire."
+
+  PHYSIOLOGICAL SURROUNDINGS                                         109
+
+    The Larynx--The Thyroid--The Pharynx--The Voice; A Wind, Reed,
+    or String Instrument.
+
+  EXERCISES                                                          115
+
+    Exercises 1, 2, for Uniting Notes--Exercise 3, for Flexibility,
+    &c.--Exercise 4, on Intervals of Thirds--Exercise 5, on Intervals
+    of Fourths--Exercise 6, on Intervals of Fifths--Exercise 7, on
+    Intervals of Sixths--Exercise 8, on Intervals of Sevenths.
+
+  INDEX                                                              126
+
+
+
+
+ADVICE TO SINGERS.
+
+
+
+
+PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
+
+
+Whatever be the actual difference between the professional and the
+amateur singer, if a person is worthy of the name of singer at all,
+there should be no difference in their views of Art, and in their
+devotion to practice. Singing is an art, and one of the most difficult
+of the arts to master; and any one who attempts to learn it must be
+prepared to give the same devotion to it as is demanded by the sister
+arts of painting and sculpture. I do not mean exactly devotion of the
+whole time and energy of life to it; because, however necessary that may
+be for the professional, who has to make his living by it, such entire
+devotion to an accomplishment or an amusement (for such singing is to
+the amateur) would, for a non-professional, be frequently impossible,
+and very often wrong, as it would lead to a neglect of the duties of
+life. But, while the entire devotion of time and energy of a
+professional singer is demanded to master the various styles, and the
+immense mass of music, with which he or she will have to deal in the
+exercise of the profession, the amateur should bear in mind that such
+time and energy as he can devote to singing must be firmly restricted to
+doing what he undertakes thoroughly well--as well, in fact, as a
+professional. The amateur's position, which forbids him to make singing
+the work of his life, limits the range of his work, not the quality of
+it. He cannot, even if he have the voice of a Rubini or a Braham, master
+the difficulties of opera, oratorio, and ballad alike. Circumstances
+forbid him to conquer the world, but there is no reason why he should
+not be a king in his own special realm. To be that he will have to
+follow the same rules as though he were able to attack the whole
+universe of vocal music; for he should feel that the only difference
+between him and the professional singer lies in the sphere of their
+work.
+
+The same remarks apply to many professionals. _Very_ few can excel in
+all styles, and few in more than one. To attempt all is a great mistake,
+and will probably lead to failure, or at least mediocrity in all.
+
+But the first point that I would insist upon is the necessity for
+earnest devotion and regular work, both in professional and amateur, so
+that the term _Artist_ may apply to both. I shall be at no great pains
+to avoid occasional repetitions of incidental remarks. In a book
+intended for constant reference rather than for one perusal, and one
+divided, as this is, into short paragraphs, words may attract attention
+in one place, while in another they may have been overlooked. If,
+therefore, I err in this respect, I shall do so deliberately, my sole
+aim being to help and impress the student as much as possible.
+
+Remember that the human voice is the most delicate of all instruments,
+susceptible to more and more varied influence than any other. The singer
+has to combine in himself the instrument and the performer; and while
+all the artistic and intellectual qualities necessary for the
+instrumentalist are required by him, he is compelled beyond that to
+realize that he is a living instrument, and to exercise over himself all
+the care--and indeed far more than all--that players exercise over their
+most cherished "weapons." He has not only to learn how to sing, but how
+to be and to remain fit for singing. He, more than any other musical
+artist, will find that he is affected by moral as well as physical and
+intellectual causes, and he must face this fact boldly.
+
+In writing down the brief hints which this little work offers to
+singers, I shall therefore take in a range of subjects and enter into
+many details which may seem to have little to do with the practice of
+_Do_, _Re_, _Mi_. I do this advisedly, and I believe that such hints as
+those on general culture and habits of living are by no means the least
+important part of my work. I do not profess to teach my readers how to
+sing--(any singer knows, and I should like the public to know too, that
+singing cannot be taught by a book)--but to give "hints to singers," and
+many of those hints are on such subjects as it would be an impertinence
+on the part of a singing master to allude to. If the student takes
+offence at the _book_, it happily does not reach the author.
+
+Following out the previous thought, I shall try to turn the intending
+singer's attention to several other subjects, before I touch upon that
+of strictly musical interest. And if I here seem to "preach"
+occasionally, I shall never do so without cause, and never, I trust, in
+any spirit but that of the warmest sympathy with the aspirations and the
+peculiar trials and difficulties of those who are still in full vigour
+of youth and health.
+
+Remember that I give _hints_, not _rules_. It is quite impossible to lay
+down rules of living which shall apply alike to male and female, or to
+variously constituted natures. But I hope I may trust to the common
+sense of every individual to draw sound conclusions, and to form his or
+her own rules, by the help of these hints, and, the rules once formed,
+to adhere to them resolutely. If singing is to be done at all, it is
+worth while to do it well, and to spare no pains to that end.
+
+There is a good deal to be done by the student of singing before he
+attacks the strictly musical part of his difficulties. General
+education, if deficient, must be attended to; habits of living must be
+formed and followed out; faults of character, such as laziness, ill
+temper, slovenliness, impatience, and want of perseverance, must be
+bravely fought; for the study of singing, perhaps more than of any other
+art, will test the character severely in these respects.
+
+The student must be prepared to exercise a good deal of self-denial; to
+put aside all notions of self-merit for a long time to come; and to be
+humble, and ready to take a hint from any source. Whatever merits he may
+have at starting are certainly not due to his own skill; they are simply
+natural gifts, and the better they are, the more is there for him to
+learn in doing justice to them. Let him not waste time in admiring what
+he is, or has done; but let him keep all his energy for what he may yet
+be and for what he yet has to accomplish.
+
+
+
+
+ON HABITS, DIET, &c.
+
+
+The following paragraphs contain hints on various matters apparently
+little connected with singing, yet all of more or less importance to the
+singer. The voice, and the power of using it, depend so greatly upon
+general health, and health is so easily affected by habits of living,
+that I offer no apology for entering into some details which, though
+easy enough to write down, and read when written, would be difficult for
+a singing master to allude to or suggest without giving offence.
+
+
+=Early Rising.=--Practise early rising, and, if possible, take a short
+walk before breakfast. This tends to keep the circulation of the blood
+in a good condition, and that is, of course, of great importance to the
+lungs, and all the organs which singing requires to tax somewhat
+severely.
+
+
+=Cleanliness.=--Strict cleanliness is of the greatest importance. Take a
+cold bath every morning directly you get out of bed. Do not stand
+"pottering about," or you may catch cold, but go to your bath while the
+skin is moist with the perspiration which the warmth of bed has drawn
+out. If you let the perspiration dry, and then plunge into cold water,
+you run a great risk of giving yourself a severe chill. Sponge yourself
+well, and rapidly, all over, especially the chest, throat, back of the
+neck, and all round the loins; and dry the body thoroughly and briskly
+with a rough towel. Let no fear of damaging the complexion deter young
+ladies from this most healthy and necessary operation.
+
+In winter, if the circulation is naturally sluggish, it is as well not
+to take the bath perfectly cold, but merely add enough hot water just to
+remove the extreme chill. The bath ought to feel cold to you, even
+though it be not the coldest possible.
+
+It is well to take a warm bath once a week--if possible, just before
+going to bed. Do not have it hot, but simply warm, and, of course, use
+soap with it. Do not dawdle over it, but "have it and have done with
+it," and then get to bed at once. If you find the effect of it to be
+enervating or relaxing, take it less warm in future. The object of it is
+simply to open and cleanse the pores of the skin--a matter of great
+importance.
+
+
+=The Hair.=--The same rule of extreme cleanliness applies to the hair, and
+for the same reason, viz., its intimate connection with the circulation
+of the blood and the pores of the skin. Keep the hair well brushed, and
+have it frequently cut and shampooed. Avoid "pomatums," washes, and
+greasy messes of every kind: their smell is objectionable and their
+effect is generally to dirty the head. Moreover, the public have the
+good taste to object to the appearance of an artist before them who is
+evidently "got up" with pains for the occasion. A person who is
+habitually as clean as he can be, need never fear to appear in public,
+and may spare himself the disgusting application of "grease" to his head
+to make himself fit to be seen.
+
+If a moustache is worn, let it be kept within bounds, and not allowed to
+fall over the mouth, where it would affect the tone of the voice. Do not
+cut it straight along the lip, but train it right and left, allowing it
+to grow naturally and uncut. The advantages of the moustache are two: it
+acts to a certain extent as a respirator, and protects the mouth and
+throat as the eyelash does the eye, and it helps to conceal any slight
+distortion of the mouth in singing. This, I confess, is a doubtful
+advantage:--there ought to be no distortion, and if any were seen, it
+might, perhaps, be corrected. However, I give the opinion for what it is
+worth.
+
+
+=The Teeth.=--The teeth play such an important part in the production of
+the voice that every care should be taken to preserve them sound and in
+good condition--to say nothing of the part which they play in facial
+expression, a point to which every singer should attend. A bad state of
+the teeth at once affects the stomach, and that again the voice, so that
+no apology is needed for drawing the student's attention to this matter.
+Clean the teeth the first thing in the morning, and the last thing at
+night. Use a moderately hard brush, better too soft than too hard, with
+cold water, or better still, just lukewarm. Avoid all "dentifrices" and
+advertised nastinesses in the way of powders and "fragrant" washes. A
+mixture of powdered (not "prepared") chalk and orris-root, in the
+proportion of about three to two, is the best thing to use, and any
+chemist will make that up for you. Remember to brush the teeth inside
+and along the top, as well as outside; and if you find this difficult
+with the ordinary-shaped brush, get one of those which are sold for the
+purpose. If you find, in spite of your care, that your teeth become
+discoloured, the cause is probably that your stomach is out of order. In
+that case, go straight to a doctor, for the consequence of such
+derangement is that "tartar" is formed on the teeth, and this grows, and
+pushes back the gums, altering the form of the cavity of the mouth, and
+so affecting the tone of the voice.
+
+
+=Exercise.=--Be as much as you can in the open air. Take moderate walking
+exercise, but of course do not tire yourself before singing or
+practising. For male singers, rowing, riding, football and cricket (but
+without the shouting so often incidental to these games), racquets or
+tennis, and above all an hour or two weekly in a gymnasium, are
+excellent things; while for ladies, walking, riding, lawn-tennis, "la
+grace," and calisthenics are equally useful. If you live in a town,
+always walk in preference to taking a conveyance, when time and weather
+permit it.
+
+Never breathe through your mouth in walking, especially at night, or on
+coming out into the open air after singing. Keep the lips closed, and
+inhale the air through the nostrils. This is easily acquired, and to be
+able to do this will be found of great service in taking breath for
+singing; but out of doors it is most important, for the immediate rush
+of cold or damp air to the delicate organs of the throat, especially
+when the latter have been excited by the exertion of singing, is
+dangerous. It is a good plan, and a profitable use of the time, to
+practise breathing when walking, by filling the lungs, and utilizing
+each inspiration for as long a distance as possible.
+
+
+=Dress.=--Nothing can be said in favour of our climate for singing. With
+proper precautions, however, a great deal of trouble arising from this
+cause may be averted. In summer, as well as in winter, for instance, the
+writer would strongly urge the wearing of moderately thick-soled boots
+or shoes. Then, again, the neck and chest should never be exposed alike
+to a June sun and a December frost; but, instead, it should be
+moderately and reasonably covered. Great care should be taken never to
+get wet, especially wet or damp feet.
+
+In going out of hot rooms into the open air much pains should be
+exercised to keep the chest and throat covered up with an overcoat or
+cloak--however warm the weather may be. In _very severe_ winter weather
+the singer will derive much comfort by wearing a flannel
+chest-protector. Sitting about in gardens, and on lawns, in the evenings
+on even the warmest days, is not a safe indulgence for the student who
+is in earnest in the pursuit of his art.
+
+One caution is necessary as to "wrapping up," however. Do not over-do
+it. The constant use of a "comforter" renders the throat delicate and
+susceptible. All you have to fear is damp, not cold, in the atmosphere.
+A comforter, closely wound round the throat, promotes perspiration, and
+the risk of chill in removing it is greater than in not wearing it at
+all. Common sense must guide every one. It is impossible to make a rule
+for all.
+
+
+=Diet.=--As to diet: avoid everything that is at all indigestible. Live
+well, and take plenty of varied nourishment. The singer's system _must_
+be well nourished. Chocolate and coffee are better than tea; the latter
+is too astringent, and affects the nerves too much, if taken in
+abundance. Sugar, in moderation, should always be used with those
+beverages, and they should never be taken very hot. Bread is better than
+toast, but avoid hot or very new bread. Eggs and butter are good. Meat
+should be plainly cooked and not too well done. Pork tries the digestion
+too severely to be a desirable food for a singer, and the same may be
+said of veal. Fish is good for the singer, and he should if possible let
+it form a part of his daily _menu_. Creams and pastry are simply poison,
+and cheese should only be taken in great moderation. Fruit is an
+excellent thing if judiciously used. But here, again, hard and fast
+rules are impossible, because constitutions vary. Only remember the old
+proverb, "We must eat to live, and not live to eat."
+
+Never practise or sing upon an empty stomach, or soon after a meal:
+either of these habits will unfairly tax your digestive organs, and in
+so doing damage your voice. After a meal, all the energy of the body is
+required for the stomach; in a healthy person the extremities will
+generally be cold after a full meal, and the reason is that the
+digestive organs are using all the heat and blood that the body can give
+for their special work. Nature thus points to a rest of every other
+organ at that time, and you must not fight against Nature by attempting
+any such severe physical strain as the practice of the voice demands.
+
+All acids and astringents are bad for a healthy throat and stomach.
+Vinegar, highly-flavoured sauces, almonds and raisins, nuts of every
+kind should be avoided. Some of these are useful as remedies in relaxed
+throat, or congestion of the throat, no doubt; but I am speaking simply
+of what is desirable for a person in a state of health. In cases of
+cold, hoarseness, or indisposition of any kind, my prescription is,
+"Don't doctor yourself, but (as Abernethy said) '_Take advice_.'" Be
+very careful and abstemious in the use of spirits. Brandy is decidedly
+injurious, it heats and inflames the throat, and tends to constipate the
+bowels. Gin or whiskey is the most wholesome spirit, but take as little
+as possible of either. If you drink beer or stout, take draught and not
+bottled, and always in great moderation. All effervescing liquors are
+objectionable; therefore eschew champagne, Moselle, bottled ale and
+stout, _et hoc genus omne_. The fluids called port and sherry are cruel
+foes to singing. A glass of _good_ port is a fair medicine in certain
+cases, and the same may be said of very dry Amontillado, but if
+you have nothing the matter with you, avoid port and (so-called)
+sherry--especially the hideous compound of alcohol and molasses known as
+"brown" sherry--as you would poison.
+
+The best drink for singers is claret, or any light wine, French, German,
+or Italian. I myself find the latter on the whole the best, and such
+wines as Barolo Secco or Chianté are pure and cheap, and contain all the
+properties necessary for a singer's beverage. But in this as in all
+else, _moderation_ is a _sine quâ non_. Fluids are apt to produce
+congestion or mucus in the throat and glands of the mouth, and that of
+course interferes with the free action of the muscles in singing.
+
+
+=Smoking.=--As a general rule it may be laid down that smoking is a bad
+habit for the singer, male or female (for there are females who are
+proud of being able to smoke cigarettes nowadays!). With many instances
+of great singers who have also been great smokers before us, it is
+impossible to say decidedly that singers must not smoke; but the habit
+is one to be very cautiously indulged in. If smoking in any case induces
+expectoration, it should at once be given up, for the habit of spitting,
+to which some smokers allow themselves (quite needlessly) to give way,
+is, in reality, the greatest evil of smoking; it weakens the throat,
+lungs, and chest. If a man can smoke without spitting or drinking, I
+confess that I am no great enemy to tobacco; but the "if" is a big one.
+
+A cigarette is certainly a safeguard against taking cold in coming out
+of a hot room into the open air, especially after singing; but strong
+cigars or strong tobacco in pipes are to be avoided, because of their
+effect on the nerves.
+
+
+=Late Hours.=--Avoid late hours. You require, not only a certain amount of
+sleep, but to take that sleep before the body and mind are at all
+overtaxed. From many causes, it is well known, the human frame is always
+at its lowest from about 2 a.m. till 5 a.m., and the nearer you approach
+those hours in going to bed, the less able are you to derive all the
+benefit which you require from sleep. Twelve o'clock is late enough for
+any one.
+
+Another reason why late hours are bad is connected not with physical
+facts so much as with morals. It is true, you may come to no actual
+harm, or get into no positive mischief, by being out late at night, but
+you place yourself in a position of risk--risk of cold, over-fatigue,
+inhaling vitiated atmosphere, &c., as well as risk to moral character,
+which latter, in its way as delicate as the voice, is injured not only
+by actual violation of right, but by all society, conversation, and
+literature which tend to dim its brightness, or (to use another
+metaphor) to spoil the purity of its outline by roughly knocking off its
+corners. At all events, as to the night side of "Life," you are better
+out of it.
+
+
+=Morality.=--Nothing can act more prejudicially upon a singer than those
+influences which are understood by that very inclusive term, a "fast"
+life. I would, therefore, urge upon the student the necessity of a
+religious avoidance of those influences. They dull the purity of thought
+which marks all true art; they deaden the intellect which art requires;
+and they injure the physical powers, without which all a singer's study
+may be suddenly rendered useless to him. All excess is bad, and
+self-restraint and self-control are of the greatest importance both to
+character and health. Many an anxious student has mastered the musical
+side of his art, but has failed under the rigid demands which the moral
+code makes upon an intending singer. It is of no use for a singer to be
+strong musically, and weak morally: the two preparations must go
+hand-in-hand; and while building up a structure of vocal greatness, his
+care must always be that the moral foundation will always support the
+weight of persistent study, and leave him favourably placed in the stern
+competition going on around him for a front place in the race for
+singing fame, and the inevitable honours. Keep these hints in mind,
+think them carefully over, and be your own moral doctor. That will be
+better than following any code of cut and dried rules. If you err at
+all, let it be on the side of self-denial, the hardest and probably the
+highest of all virtues.
+
+
+
+
+ON THE STUDY OF PRONUNCIATION AND "WORDS" IN SINGING, &c.
+
+
+The singer has to combine the arts of the musician, the public speaker,
+and, to a certain extent, the actor. Clearness of pronunciation and
+correctness of emphasis are included in the range of his study. Nor are
+these so easy of acquirement as many persons suppose. To a novice, the
+almost inevitable nervousness inseparable from the prominent position
+which a solo singer necessarily holds in the company, or before the
+audience to which he is singing, is very apt to render the enunciation
+less distinct and more rapid than is natural to him. His ear guides him
+less safely; and, in fact, every sense, influenced by the abnormal state
+of his nerves, is apt to play him more or less false. It is only by
+having carefully studied and mastered every detail of manner, posture,
+and speech, as well as of the music to be performed, that a singer can
+rise superior to the treachery of his nerves, in whatever form that
+treachery may show itself.
+
+
+=Nervousness.=--A few words as to nervousness. You will often hear persons
+boast that they are not the least nervous in public; and, perhaps, will
+feel inclined to envy them. Get rid of any such notion at once. If by
+"nervous" is meant "frightened," that is another thing altogether; and
+it is perfectly true that there are hundreds of persons who are not in
+the least afraid of appearing in public, nor affected by timidity when
+so appearing. But fear is only one form of nervousness. I firmly
+believe that it is impossible for a real artist ever to appear in public
+without being _nervous_. But the nerves act in many ways: the fervour of
+an eloquent speaker carried away by his subject; the "_abandon_" of a
+fine actor thoroughly entering into his part and identifying himself
+with it; the sustained energy of a declamatory singer; the faultless and
+unerring agility of a florid _soprano_, who astonishes her hearers by
+wonder on wonder of execution--all these things are due, in their subtle
+charm, to nervousness--_i.e._ to delicate nervous organization in active
+play. These artists are not frightened, it is true, but excited,
+stimulated, roused from the normal state of eating, walking, and
+sleeping; something of the spiritual kindles the mere physical forces in
+them--some breath of inspiration sustains that living power which so
+influences the hearers. In some way or other every great artist is
+always nervous; were it not so, the essence of their power would vanish.
+Persons of cold and phlegmatic temperament lack the very life-breath of
+art; and though they may train themselves into fair imitations of some
+great artists, they will generally be detected with ease, by any hearer
+of true sensibility, as imitations, not the real thing. Therefore do not
+be ashamed to admit that you are nervous, if it be so. Nerves are a
+cruel master, but a splendid servant; instead of letting them overcome
+you, force them to do your bidding; and instead of "nervousness" meaning
+"fear," you will find that it means courage and power to do your best.
+
+
+=Pronunciation.=--Study correctness of pronunciation and propriety of
+emphasis quite apart from singing. Remember that in speaking or singing
+in a large space and to a number of persons, every sound must have not
+only additional force, but additional volume. And that comes to mean
+that every vowel-sound in the words sung must be intensified, and every
+consonant be delivered with more accuracy than is necessary in ordinary
+speaking. If you were to pronounce the syllable "die" (for instance), in
+singing, _exactly_ as you do in speaking, you would produce on the
+notes or note to which that word belonged a thinness of tone which would
+be very ugly, and probably would not "carry" far. And the same with any
+vowel-sound--even "Ah," or "Oh,"--which, though not producing a thin
+tone, would certainly produce a coarse one, if sung exactly as spoken in
+ordinary conversation.
+
+
+=Vowel-Sounds.=--The reason of the need of this slight change is as
+follows. Every vowel-sound, like every musical sound (for vowel-sounds
+are nothing less than musical sounds) is composed of _two_ sounds.
+Combined with the prominent and chief sound which first attracts the ear
+is a second, which, though not prominent, lends point and force to the
+other. Thus our English vowel-sound "A" is really _Éh-é_; "E" is _E-é_;
+"I" is _Ah-é_; "O" is _O-óo_, or even _Aw-oo_; "U" is _Ée-óo_. Of
+course, I do not mean to say that those absurd-looking syllables really
+express exactly the sounds which we produce in speaking the vowels, for
+no combination of letters can do that, or can bring within reach of the
+eye the subtleties of sound in human speech; but if you attempt to
+pronounce those syllables, you will find that you are really pronouncing
+the vowels from which I "translated" them.
+
+Now, in conversation or rapid speaking, the subordinate sound of the
+vowel is scarcely noticeable, while the more prominent sound is heard
+for the short interval of time required. But in singing or public
+speaking, where the production of tone is more deliberate, the space to
+be filled with sound larger, or, in other words, the column of air to be
+set vibrating is greater and heavier, the _complex_ sound of the vowel
+must not be ignored. It is impossible to lay down any set of rules by
+which the student may overcome this difficulty; but every one, by
+bearing in mind the absolute necessity of attention to this point, may
+easily accustom himself to the slight change of pronunciation (as it
+will at first appear) which is required to give vowel-sounds when sung,
+or spoken "_ore rotundo_," the same tone, to the hearer's ear, as they
+have in ordinary speaking. As a general rule this is done by keeping
+the throat more open, the larynx (or "Adam's apple") as low down as
+possible, and the root of the tongue flat, depressed, even hollowed like
+the bowl of a spoon. The truth of all this may easily be tested by
+singing any short passage deliberately and distinctly, with the exact
+pronunciation of ordinary speaking, and then repeating it with attention
+to the above hints. In the first instance the result will be meagre,
+hard to be heard at a moderate distance, and very likely extremely
+ludicrous to the hearer. In the second, you will find that the tone of
+the notes gains in roundness and fulness, while the words are clearly
+heard in every part of the room with the exact effect belonging to them.
+I purposely refrain from attempting to write down the difference
+discernible in any words so sung, because, as I have already said,
+_letters_ cannot accurately express distinctions so delicate, yet so
+all-important to the singer, speaker, and hearer.
+
+
+=Consonants.=--In pronouncing consonants, be careful to give each its due
+value, but without exaggeration. Be especially particular to sound the
+_last_ letter of each word distinctly. But take care to avoid adding a
+slight sound (as of an _e_ mute) after the final letter: for instance,
+do not say "When other-_é_ lips," &c., or "bright-_é_ days," and so on.
+Do not over-aspirate the letter "_H_." "_N_," "_L_," "_M_," "_B_,"
+"_P_," and "_V_," are all letters requiring care in firm pronunciation.
+
+Avoid prefixing a slight sound of "_N_" to the first word of a song or
+passage in singing. It is a common trick with beginners to do this, and
+they frequently do it without being in the least conscious of it. It is
+produced by a kind of nervous feeling of the teeth with the tongue, as
+if to make sure that all is right for the start! I have heard an
+aspiring youth actually begin a well-known song thus: "_Nwaft her
+Rangels Nthrough the sky_," &c.
+
+
+=English Words.=--The English language is not the most suitable one under
+the sun for singing purposes; nevertheless, it is not nearly so
+intolerable and unfavourable an one as it is the fashion to make out.
+The grand old Scripture passages which Handel, Mendelssohn, and others
+have set to music testify to this. Yet musical care _is_ needed when
+singing English words, and especially in pronouncing the "sibilants," as
+_S_, &c. These "sibilants" must never be enunciated rapidly, or their
+ill effects will soon be found in a series of _hissings_. Let it be your
+study, then, to avoid this ill effect in singing English words, and to
+utter such sounds slowly and carefully, with the endeavour to produce a
+soft and agreeable effect; for it is, indeed, unpardonable to hear an
+English singer unable to render perfectly the words (if =not= the music)
+of his native country's songs and ballads.
+
+
+=Emphasis.=--Having accustomed yourself to carefulness over each letter in
+your pronunciation, the next thing is to study correctness of emphasis,
+&c. All this is apart from the strictly musical portion of your studies,
+and, while you can work at this without music, you will certainly spoil
+the effect of your singing (however good your voice and voice production
+may be), unless you do so study your "words." I should recommend you to
+practise reading aloud for not less than a quarter of an hour at a time,
+say once a day. Read _standing_; place your book on a desk, on a level
+with your eyes, and speak out deliberately, and with full tone of voice,
+and as much variety of intonation as the matter read requires.
+Shakespeare is your best author for this study. You will feel at first
+as if you were doing a very absurd thing, but never mind that--do it,
+and do it as well and as carefully as you can.
+
+
+=Position of the Lips.=--In speaking and reading aloud during your
+preliminary training for singing, be very careful that there be no
+change in the aperture of the mouth or position of the lips while
+uttering any one sound, however prolonged. If the lips move from their
+first position, however slightly, the tone immediately changes, and the
+pronunciation ceases to be pure and refined.
+
+
+=Study of Words.=--The words of a song are as much worthy of the singer's
+study as the music, that is, if the song is worth singing at all. I do
+not mean to say that in themselves they must necessarily be of equal
+merit, but that they require as much attention on the part of the singer
+to bring out their meaning. Study the text, therefore, apart from the
+music. Read the words aloud deliberately; master the sentiment of them,
+and note the prominent words and phrases, so as to be able to give them
+their due value when you have to combine them with the music. Avoid
+giving prominence to such words as "of," "for," "the," "and," "in," &c.,
+&c., but yet let each be distinctly pronounced, and not slurred over in
+an indefinite murmur. Learn the words of your song by memory. Master the
+text, and consider the whole from an elocutionist's point of view before
+you attack the musical side of the matter. A singer when singing in
+public should not be troubled with his words and music too.
+
+
+=General Education.=--An important branch of study is that of giving
+expression to the passions, and of communicating your conceptions and
+emotions to the minds of your listeners. No better training could a
+young singer have for forming such ideas than the earnest perusal of the
+works of Shakespeare, Dante, Goethe, Milton, Lytton, George Eliot, &c.;
+or in watching carefully and intelligently the acting of our best stage
+performers. For a singer to be successful, he or she must be in a
+position to express, and bring home to an audience, such emotions as
+love, hatred, anger, fear, grief, and pity; all these, and many other
+such feelings, have constantly to be transmitted by the singer, and it
+is to the most natural and faithful exposition of these, and that most
+consistent with the other equally important points of the art of
+singing, that the student's attention should for a long while be
+patiently and perseveringly directed.
+
+The singer should be a well-educated man, and he should know at least
+one other language beside his native tongue. He should be well read,
+too, in the best literature of these two languages. On questions of all
+the arts he should seek to make his views sound and true. He should seek
+to travel, and so enlarge his mind, for all this training will reflect
+itself in the work of an artist so liberally educated. An inferior
+education has been the bane of many a student, who has had the organ and
+all the necessary musical ability.
+
+
+=Dramatic Study.=--To be a successful public singer, even in the
+concert-room, one must be more or less an actor; and, therefore, the
+time and money bestowed in acquiring a sound knowledge of dramatic
+action and elocution will be well spent. For the lyric stage, such a
+study is imperative; but its utility to artists who aspire no higher
+than to ballad or oratorio singing cannot be too highly estimated.
+
+
+
+
+VOICES AND THEIR VARIOUS QUALITIES.
+
+
+The life of the singing voice is so comparatively short, that the study
+of singing is rendered more difficult than that of any other art. You
+may buy a violin or a pianoforte, ready-made and perfect, in your
+childhood, and nothing remains for you but to study the instrument
+diligently under a good master. But the vocal instrument cannot be said
+to exist at all, for purposes of singing study, before the age of
+eighteen or twenty in males, and (in our climate) sixteen in females.
+Even at those ages the organ is necessarily immature and undeveloped.
+Consequently the study of the art has to be carried on during the
+progress of the instrument to maturity.
+
+To counterbalance this disadvantage, however, we must bear in mind that
+that very study materially helps to perfect the instrument. Singing is
+by no means all "style," and the study of it includes the formation of
+the voice and production of a good tone, and it is, of course, easier to
+manipulate an unfinished article than a finished one--to educate youth
+and suppleness than to bring maturity and stiffness into subjection to
+new conditions.
+
+Therefore begin your study in the youth of your voice; but, recollecting
+that its life is the most short-lived of your faculties, let your study
+be most earnest and painstaking. Especially if singing is to be your
+profession, act upon the wise advice of Dr. Burney, and "Never go to bed
+till you have learned something which you did not know the previous
+night."
+
+
+=Voices.=--"What is your voice?" is a very common question, sometimes
+expressed in the rather less polite but more intelligent form, "What do
+you call your voice?" The answer almost invariably is either "Soprano,"
+"Contralto," "Tenor," "Bass," or "Barytone." Here is a warning for you
+at starting. Do not limit your notions of what voices are to those four
+or five generic names. Because choral music is generally written in four
+parts, for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, the non-musical public, and a
+great many musical people (some composers included) seem to think that
+those names are an inclusive description of every human voice.
+
+This would be of very little consequence if it were only a question of
+names; but it is of no use to say "What is in a name?" if the result of
+a wrong name is to lead to mischief. The misfortune of wrongly naming
+your voice is that it will lead you to practise wrongly, and to choose
+the wrong style of music for study and performance. For instance, a
+young lady may call herself a _soprano_ because she can "_sing up to
+C_," and may therefore fancy that the whole repertoire of a Tietjens or
+a Clara Novello is within her reach; and acting on this notion, she may
+fatally damage a naturally bright and pleasing voice by giving it work
+to do which belongs of right to a voice of totally different calibre,
+the _mezzo-soprano_.
+
+
+=Naming the Voice.=--Remember always that the character of a voice is
+determined not by compass or range of notes, but by quality, or body and
+_timbre_, of tone. Two ladies may have voices ranging from A to A--two
+octaves--and yet one might be a pure light soprano, and the other a
+genuine contralto; while in length of compass a mezzo-soprano may even
+beat them both. And so with male voices (the variety in which is even
+greater than in female), you may have a voice of pure tenor quality, and
+yet of such limited compass that your energetic barytone friend next
+door may make your life miserable with jealousy of the ease with which
+he bellows high Gs, G sharps, and even on great occasions an A or so.
+
+But compass has nothing whatever to do with the name of the voice: it
+may limit the quantity of music which can be performed, but it should
+have no influence on the choice of the style of music to be studied.
+This is a point of the greatest importance, therefore I repeat it
+briefly once more--_Your voice must be described and used with reference
+to its quality, or volume and timbre, and not with reference to the
+number of notes which you can sing._
+
+
+=Male and Female Voices.=--The actual varieties in tone and quality in
+different voices cannot, of course, be expressed on paper; but a careful
+use of your ears in listening to good public singers will soon teach you
+to discriminate. Female voices are of at least four kinds: soprano,
+mezzo-soprano, mezzo-contralto, and contralto. Male are of five or six,
+or even more. Alto; tenore-leggiero or light tenor; tenore-robusto or
+strong heavy-voiced tenor; barytone--basso-cantante (erroneously
+identified with the barytone by some persons); basso-profondo or bass.
+
+Beside all these divisions or species, voices must be again classed
+according to their power. Any one who has ever heard an opera singer in
+a moderate-sized private drawing-room, will readily appreciate the
+difference between a _voce di camera_, or "chamber voice," and a _voce
+di teatro_.
+
+
+=Compass.=--The respective compasses of the several voices may be roughly
+set down as follows, but it should be borne in mind that it is by no
+means a matter of course that a singer of any particular voice should
+possess or cultivate the whole range of notes supposed to belong to that
+voice. He or she may be none the less a tenor or a soprano because the
+one cannot produce an "_Ut de poitrine_," or the other "_F_ in _Alt_."
+There is a special individuality in every voice, as in every face, and
+therefore every voice must be treated, by a good teacher, on its own
+merits, as a thing in some respects unique.
+
+Perhaps it will be best, therefore, instead of saying that the compass
+of any given kind of voice is from ---- to ----, to say that music for
+such and such a voice is generally written between such and such limits.
+The range allotted by composers to the various voices is about two
+octaves to each--for solo work, of course--and is as follows, it being
+understood that the male voices are an octave lower in pitch than the
+female:--
+
+    _Soprano_, and _Tenore-Leggiero_, and in operatic music a certain
+    kind of _Tenore-Robusto_.
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: C4]
+    {to
+    {[Music: C6]
+
+    _Mezzo-Soprano_ and _Tenore-Robusto_
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: A3]
+    {to
+    {[Music: A5]
+
+    _Mezzo-Contralto_ and _Barytone_
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: G3]
+    {to
+    {[Music: G5]
+
+    _Contralto_ and _Bass_
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: E3]
+    {to
+    {[Music: E5]
+
+The basso-cantante is a low barytone, or high bass with a lighter
+quality of tone than the basso-profondo. The alto voice, or
+counter-tenor as it used to be called, is not a natural voice at all,
+but is artificially produced by training the _falsetto_ to the exclusion
+of the other parts of the voice. It is totally distinct from the
+contralto voice of a female, in quality, average compass, and the style
+of music best suited to it. It is of more use in part-singing and
+cathedral music than for solo work, although in some oratorios solo
+parts have been allotted to it. It is rarely pleasing when heard alone,
+for very few alto singers are able to avoid the appearance of singing
+with effort; and the whole performance, except in some instances,
+appears unnatural and forced. The alto voice ranges generally
+
+    from
+    [Music: G3]
+    to
+    [Music: C5]
+
+    but its best notes are confined to the octave of B flat.
+
+
+=Soprano.=--The soprano is generally clear, bright, and penetrating in
+tone; capable, if rightly produced, of "carrying" far without any
+appearance of force or effort. Its lower register is often weak and
+ineffective, and the forcing of those notes by a bad singer often
+damages the voice, and spoils the evenness of tone, which is of far more
+importance than power and noise in singing. Low notes, even if
+naturally weak, may be trained to take their proper share of the work of
+the voice, and every year will add to their natural power. Most soprano
+voices have a "break" on
+
+[Music: G4]
+
+and another, and more difficult one to deal with, on
+
+[Music: E5]
+
+or
+
+[Music: F5]
+
+The lower notes are the (so-called) "chest" register; the middle ones,
+between the breaks, the "falsetto," and the upper ones the "head" notes.
+I shall speak of these often-used and frequently-misapplied words
+presently; I merely mention them now for the sake of pointing out to
+soprani, what many young lady amateurs utterly ignore, that they have
+these "breaks," and possess "chest," "falsetto," and "head" notes, as
+well as male singers.
+
+Soprano voices are frequently capable of great flexibility, and passages
+are easy to them which tax the powers even of a light mezzo-soprano
+severely. The high notes, especially, are in many cases easily produced
+in a staccato manner, like notes of a piccolo flute, and an effect is
+thus made, which, though pretty and pleasing if judiciously employed,
+becomes a great snare to many singers, who for the sake of astonishing
+their audience work the upper part of their voices unfairly, and,
+neglecting steady use and practice of the lower registers, will very
+soon find that they have weakened the power and thinned the tone of the
+whole voice.
+
+But there are many voices of pure soprano tone which lack this
+flexibility: let the fair owners console themselves with the
+recollection that good _sostenuto_ singing is quite as pleasing, in the
+long run, as displays of vocal gymnastics. You may not be able to
+attempt the "_Dinorah_" Shadow Song, or the "Rejoice Greatly" in the
+"_Messiah_," but you will find that you have plenty of good work left
+for you in such music as "Dove Sono," "Deh vieni, non tardar"
+("_Figaro_"), or "Jerusalem" ("_St. Paul_").
+
+Moreover, you may possibly have what is a much rarer gift (in a pure
+soprano) than flexibility--you may have a tone of voice capable of
+executing declamatory music with fine effect. Music of this kind is
+generally appropriated by some mezzo-soprano of high compass, and more
+properly belongs to voices of that class; nevertheless, the effect of
+sustained declamatory music, well executed by a real soprano, is
+unrivalled in its way.
+
+
+=Mezzo-Soprano.=--The mezzo-soprano voice is perhaps the commonest of all
+female voices, and yet one of the rarest met with in perfection. It is
+fuller and rounder in quality than the soprano--less flexible, and more
+adapted to a _sostenuto_ or declamatory style. Mezzo-soprano voices vary
+so much that it is difficult to name any note on which the "break" will
+be found. Sometimes it is on the same notes as a soprano--sometimes on
+the same as a contralto--on the average, perhaps, nearer the former.
+Wherever it may be, however, a judicious teacher will soon point it out,
+and put the student into the way of rightly treating it. Teaching, and
+_good_ teaching, is especially necessary for voices of this class, for
+their fortunate possessors are generally ignorant of the value of the
+treasure which they possess in a good mezzo-soprano; and if it be of
+light quality, they fancy themselves soprani, and force the upper
+register of the voice in trying to "stretch their compass;" or if their
+low notes develop first, they think that "with practice" they are to be
+contralti; and by over-exercise and fondness for displaying those deep
+notes, they run the risk of widening the break, and rendering the
+quality of the whole voice hopelessly uneven.
+
+What lies within the sphere of a good mezzo-soprano has been shown in
+late years by a Grisi and a Tietjens, the latter of whom will live in
+the recollection of all who ever heard her, as the perfect model for
+every mezzo-soprano in the production of the pure tone and even quality.
+
+
+=Mezzo-Contralto.=--The name mezzo-contralto speaks for itself. It is by
+no means an uncommon voice, and if used with discrimination is an
+effective and useful one. Both in compass and quality it lies between
+the contralto and the mezzo-soprano. Heavier in tone, less resonant, and
+less flexible than the mezzo-soprano, it is yet lighter than the
+contralto. Pure contralto voices are so rare that many mezzo-contralto
+singers appear as exponents of contralto music, and by paying chief
+attention to the lower register of their voices, they become fair
+imitations, and more than passable substitutes, for the real article.
+The possessor of this voice must be guided by the advice of a good
+teacher as to the direction in which her voice should be trained.
+Sometimes the natural quality of the voice renders it advisable to
+attempt rivalry with the mezzo-soprano, rather than with the contralto;
+sometimes the reverse. It is a question for decision by a competent
+adviser in each individual case, and therefore I shall not attempt to
+lay down any decided rule, except my oft-repeated one, "GO TO A MASTER,
+AND A FIRST RATE-ONE,"--a point on which I shall have more to say
+further on. How impossible it is to lay down rules for a mezzo-contralto
+is shown by the fact that an eminent living "mezzo-contralto" is gladly
+accepted on our opera stage as a leading contralto, and yet succeeds
+admirably in such a part as Rossini wrote for a mezzo-soprano of the
+most florid kind--_Rosina_ in "_Il Barbiere_."
+
+
+=Contralto.=--The quality of a true contralto voice is so peculiar that it
+is impossible to mistake it for any other voice, although other voices
+may be mistaken for it. Of course, there are exceptional cases in which
+the contralto and mezzo-contralto are combined in one voice: the lower
+range being of full and pure contralto quality, while instead of the
+somewhat limited upper notes of the contralto, a rich mezzo-contralto
+range of notes may develop themselves; and in such a case careful
+training will be able to soften these two into each other, so that a
+complete voice of peculiar charm and great usefulness will result. But
+such cases, if not rare, are certainly the exception and not the rule,
+the deep and powerfully resonant tone of the true contralto being
+comparatively seldom met with. There is generally an awkward break
+between the low B and the D above it in this voice, and E flat or E
+are the highest notes within reach of the average contralto. Voices of
+this class are better adapted for a species of ballads, for solemn
+declamation, or music of a calm and flowing character, than for
+elaborate execution or lively melodies. But here again exceptions must
+be made in favour of those who have the physical means, as well as the
+artistic skill, to study such music as that of the _Page_ in "_Les
+Huguenots_," _Arsace_ in "_Semiramide_," or "_La Cenerentola_." For an
+average English contralto, however, the best line of study is in good
+songs and ballads, and, chief of all, oratorio music.
+
+
+=Alto.=--The alto, or counter-tenor voice, is said by a well-known English
+alto singer to be "simply a development of the _falsetto_--generally the
+_falsetto_ of an inferior bass voice." It is said to be almost peculiar
+to English singers, and to that fact is ascribed its extensive and
+effective use in the fine works of the English Cathedral School of
+composers. Of course, in a voice which is so artificial, there must be
+expected a worse "break" than usual--the break in this case being the
+point below which the falsetto cannot be extended, and where the natural
+"chest" quality of tone has to be used. This break generally lies near
+the same place as the contralto break--if anything, rather higher--say
+between C and E in the middle of the voice. The effective notes of an
+alto usually lie in the octave of B or B flat, and the repertoire of
+music for which this voice is suited is comparatively limited. That
+repertoire, however, includes the greater number of oratorios, a good
+deal of fine old Italian music, and a few old English songs; while a
+singer of cleverness and cultivation will find many ballads which he may
+make his own by the help of transposition and style of delivery.
+
+Great pains must be taken by the possessor of an alto voice in the
+formation and production of a good tone. The voice must be made to sound
+as _natural_ as possible; and, if necessary, power must unhesitatingly
+be sacrificed to sweetness. There is great danger of producing a harsh,
+reedy, or nasal tone, which, to the hearer, is simply distressing or
+offensive.
+
+Above all, let him be content to develop his own means, and to keep to
+music suited to or written for his voice. A good alto will make no
+effect, and will do his voice and style harm, if he "poaches on the
+preserves" of other voices--tenors, for instance, or basses--(singing
+the songs of the latter an octave higher). I once heard an alto--a fair
+singer so long as he stuck to his own work--make an absurd exhibition of
+himself by attempting the great song "Love Sounds the Alarm," in "_Acis
+and Galatea_," at a public concert!
+
+Let him also beware of the snare of contralto music. The alto in a man
+is totally distinct from the contralto in a woman. The tone is utterly
+different--the best notes of the one are certainly not the best notes of
+the other; and although in certain cases a contralto may sing with good
+effect music written for a male alto (_e.g._ in some oratorios), yet the
+converse is scarcely ever true. The low notes, which are so fine in a
+contralto, and so unlike any other tone except perhaps a few notes of
+some tenors, are utterly wanting in charm, and generally in power, in a
+male alto; while the sweet and ringing middle notes of the latter are
+far more effective in alto music than the (frequently) weak and
+uncertain middle notes of a contralto. Choose your music as you name
+your voice, by the quality of tone you can produce, and not by the range
+of notes.
+
+
+=Tenore-Leggiero.=--The _tenore-leggiero_ or "light tenor," is the male
+voice corresponding to the female soprano; it is perhaps the most
+delicate and difficult to manage of all human voices. In the present
+day, when fashion is all in favour of noise, it is difficult for any but
+the strong-minded to stand firm against the tendency to shout and bawl,
+which appears to be the highest aim of many singers, and the highest
+admiration of most audiences. Now for a light tenor to attempt this
+style of singing is simply suggestive of the old fable of the frog who
+tried to make himself as big as the bull, and burst in the attempt.
+There is a modern school of singing which, though it may be suitable
+enough for heavy voices such as basses and robust tenors, is fatal to
+light and delicate voices. The style of singing, and of music to be
+sung, by this voice, is quite different from that appropriate to strong
+and full organs; and, if you are the possessor of a light tenor, you
+must at once rid yourself of the common amateur fancy (a fancy, too, by
+no means confined to amateurs) that you must imitate a certain
+ever-popular living tenor, whose name has passed almost into a proverb
+as typical of the perfection of English singing. You _cannot_ be a
+"Reeves" or a "Braham," therefore it is only waste of time and strength
+for you to try. But there is a great deal of music which neither a
+"Reeves" nor a "Braham" could sing, which is well within your reach; and
+more than that, there is a great deal of excellent music which, though
+you cannot sing it _like_ them, you may render very effective in a
+totally different style. Very often a _pianissimo_ is quite as
+expressive as a _fortissimo_, and grace and sweetness are frequently an
+excellent substitute for power and force. You must be content to
+recognize that the latter are out of your reach, and that the effects
+which you can produce are to be attained by other means.
+
+However, while assuring you that power and force are not given to you, I
+do not mean to say that voices of your class need be at all inaudible in
+a space however large. The tone of a light tenor is generally clear,
+resonant, and penetrating; sometimes there is a metallic ring about it
+which is extremely pretty, if not forced. I have heard a light tenor,
+singing at the back of the Covent Garden stage, send his voice clearly
+out into the great theatre, with apparently more ease than his "robust"
+friend, who was shortly afterwards vociferating at the footlights.
+
+A light tenor must be careful not to force up the lower register of his
+voice beyond its natural and easy limit. The charm of the voice is in
+the perfect blending together of the lower, middle, and upper registers,
+and to do this the upper notes of each register should be equally at
+command, as the upper notes of that register or the lower notes of the
+one above it. In order to attain this, the change from one register to
+another should generally be made considerably lower than the place where
+the real "break" in the voice comes. For instance, supposing the "break"
+to be on E flat, the singer should be able to change his register as
+low as B or B flat, and to take all the notes between those two
+places, either in the upper or lower register, with equal effect.
+
+In voices of this character there is often one note which requires to be
+_made_--_i.e._, which is so naturally defective in tone and quality that
+it can only be produced effectively by imitating as nearly as possible
+the quality of the register above or below it. This note is generally E,
+F, F#, or (sometimes) G, between the middle and upper registers; and if
+you find that you unfortunately have such a refractory note, remember
+not to try and force the tone of it from the next note above or below;
+_e.g._, if your bad note is F, do not try to improve it by singing E
+well and then passing on to the F; but try and form the note from the
+fifth above or below (whichever it happens to resemble most in tone).
+Rounden the refractory note--give it a full tone in practising, and
+produce it well from the chest, letting the sound reverberate from the
+centre of the roof of the mouth--neither too far back towards the
+throat, nor too much on the teeth. Your teacher, if he knows his
+business, will soon put you into the way of this. Voices vary so much
+that these very general remarks must suffice here; but each voice, if it
+has its peculiar difficulties, has also, doubtless, its peculiar charm;
+and for light tenors, rich in both charms and difficulties, the rule is
+all-important: Do not try to imitate anybody else, but let your aim be
+to do the best that can be done with such natural gifts as you may have,
+aided by the best training that you can procure for them.
+
+
+=Tenore-Robusto.=--The robust or strong tenor is the male voice
+corresponding to the mezzo-soprano of a female. It is not an uncommon
+voice, but is rarely met with in anything like perfection. A robust
+tenor voice of large compass and round full tone is a treasure of the
+utmost value. The fact is, that too frequently the possessor of a good
+voice of this kind, instead of taking care of it and training it for the
+future, begins using it too soon, strains and forces it into coarseness,
+and spoils it for ever. People do not realize that a voice may be strong
+in quality and powerful in tone, and yet in itself be an excessively
+delicate thing to keep in order.
+
+Moreover, voices of this kind in their youth frequently resemble
+barytones, and their owners, fired with ambition to rival some popular
+barytone singer, mistake their vocation, and shout and bellow on the
+very part of the voice--the upper "chest" register--which requires the
+tenderest nursing to fit it for future difficulties. Consequently, when
+the voice develops with age, and the singer finds that barytone work is
+too heavy for the lower part of the voice, and that he can without much
+difficulty extend his compass beyond the barytone limits, he discovers
+that what he has been using as the top of his voice is nearer the middle
+of it, and that the mode of using those notes which he has practised is
+excessively difficult, if not impossible, with those which now lie above
+them. The result is either the creation of a very awkward "break," which
+even time and practice can never entirely remove, or else (and this is a
+commoner case) the same process of forcing which has been employed
+hitherto is applied to the upper notes, as far as strength can take it!
+This is the reason why so many tenor singers are utterly unable to
+produce the real tenor "tone," and sound like barytones forced up to a
+higher compass. There is no sweetness in the upper notes so
+produced--nothing but force and noise; while the hapless perpetrator of
+the howls which represent high notes turns scarlet in the face, and
+quivers all over with his exertions. I therefore give to tenors of this
+class exactly the same warning that I gave to soprani:--Do not ignore
+the fact that you have three, or at all events two, distinct registers
+of the voice, the (so-called) "chest," "throat," and "head." Do not
+suppose, when you hear a great singer produce on a high note exactly the
+same quality of tone as he produced on a low one, that he did it exactly
+the same way, or "got it from the same place," as some people say. The
+perfection of his training and the diligence of his practice have
+enabled him to assimilate the quality of one register to that of another
+so completely as to deceive your ear. The proof that this is true may be
+found in inspecting a great deal of music written for and sung by the
+most famous operatic tenors of the past--the singers of that pure
+Italian school of which so few disciples now remain.
+
+There are notes and passages in that music which no "chest" register
+could by any physical possibility execute, but some of which have been
+sung within the recollection even of the "rising generation" with all
+the effect intended, and with the very tone that critical slang calls
+"chest notes," (simply because it so closely resembles the tone of chest
+notes that few, if any, can detect that they are differently produced
+from the low notes.)
+
+For obvious reasons I abstain from mentioning the names of any living
+singers, but I can name one, not very long since dead, who attained the
+highest reputation here as a _tenore di forza_--whose "chest notes" were
+chronicled by the newspaper critics, and were the envy of aspiring
+youths--and yet who has ever been heard distinctly to deny that he ever
+produced those notes in the same way as the lower ones, and to laugh at
+the idea that such a thing was possible; and this was Mongini.
+
+I have entered into this at some length because it is a point which is
+more and more ignored by the singers and teachers of this generation. I
+might almost say that a school of singing exists the whole aim of which
+is to abolish the natural upper part of the voice, in order to stretch
+and force the one lower register up beyond its natural compass. I do not
+deny that in certain cases a voice results from this treatment which is
+powerful, effective, and capable of executing a good deal of music with
+much success and satisfaction to the performer; but for one case where
+this treatment so far succeeds, it fails in twenty to produce a voice
+both pleasing and useful; it is, moreover, in singers trained on this
+method that we most commonly hear the odious (and involuntary) trembling
+of the upper notes commonly called the _vibrato_.
+
+Therefore, to sum up those who find, when their voices begin to form,
+that the natural quality of their voice is lighter than that of a bass,
+had better make up their minds at once to give the voice fair play, and
+let it alone for a time; then consult a good master, or one really
+experienced in hearing singers, as to what the future of the voice is to
+be. It is by no means easy always to decide at that early period whether
+the permanent quality of the voice will be tenor or barytone, and
+therefore it is folly to try and settle the question for yourself by
+singing, in untaught style, music which may prove to have been all along
+unsuited to you. Your patience in waiting till the voice really declares
+itself will amply repay you afterwards by the absence of the
+difficulties which too early a use of the voice would have created for
+you to overcome.
+
+
+=Barytone and Basso-Cantante.=--The barytone voice is thus described in
+Stainer and Barrett's "Dictionary of Musical Terms:" "A voice of fuller
+quality than a tenor, and lighter than a bass, having a compass partly
+included in both.... This voice has only been distinguished by name as
+being of a separate character within the present century. Early writers
+indicate its existence by the use of its special clef. The term barytone
+is unmeaning unless it be looked upon as a corruption of barytenor; but
+it is quite possible it was borrowed from the instrument barytone or
+bardone, which occupied a place between the tenor and bass viols."
+
+The derivation of the name from "barytenor" is slightly absurd,
+considering that half that extraordinary word is Greek and the other
+half Latin; whereas the name barytone is a Greek word, used by
+Aristotle, and meaning "deep-sounding."
+
+The distinctive character which this voice has assumed within the
+present century is due, I believe, to the great change in the pitch of
+musical instruments which has taken place. In the last century the
+pitch was so much lower than that at present in use, that a "high
+barytone" was much the same as a "robust tenor." Consequently, music was
+not written exclusively for the barytone voice, its existence as a
+separate class of voice not being sufficiently recognized. Gradually, as
+the pitch was raised, the barytone separated itself clearly from other
+voices, and has now a repertoire of music and a style of singing of its
+own; and instead of appropriating tenor music, it, if anything, has
+stolen away some of the property of the bass; for the raising of the
+pitch which placed tenor music beyond the reach of a barytone has also
+rendered a good deal of music originally written for a bass far more
+suitable for a barytone, or at all events for a basso-cantante. I am
+well aware that by many musicians the basso-cantante is identified with
+the barytone. The distinction is so slight that it is not worth while to
+quarrel over names; but that the two voices are distinct I am persuaded.
+The basso-cantante is of fuller and rounder quality than the barytone
+proper; less flexible, less metallic in tone, and generally rather lower
+in compass. But the method of using both voices is the same, and for all
+purposes of amateur singers no distinction need be insisted upon.
+Professionals, however, who have to deal with heavy work on a large
+scale, will soon find that there is a good range of music more suited to
+the rich voice of greater volume and less flexibility (which I
+distinguished as the basso-cantante) than to the bright, flexible voice
+which has something of the tone of a full "tenore-robusto," and which is
+the barytone proper. Neither of these voices is much troubled with a
+"break," although there is a perceptible difference between the natural
+quality of the lower and upper octaves of the voice when quite
+uncultivated. This difference, however, which makes itself felt in the
+region of these notes, is got rid of in practice without any of the same
+difficulty which is encountered by tenors or contralti in managing the
+decided breaks in their voices. The possessors of barytone voices may
+therefore be looked upon as having comparatively "easy times of it."
+There is a large repertoire of music at their disposal, including much
+of the most popular ballad music of this century and the last; the voice
+is generally a favourite with an audience; the style of barytone singing
+is undisputed, and the singer will not find himself violently criticised
+by the partizans of a rival school of singing to that in which he
+himself has been trained, which is inevitably the fate of tenors!
+
+[Music: F3 G3 A3]
+
+Only let him avoid the temptation to shout, and to sing up to the very
+top of his compass at full pitch. Unfortunately, an English audience
+does like a noise, and appreciates plenty more than beauty of tone. It
+is tolerably easy for a barytone to be a showy singer, and therein lies
+the greatest danger to his chance of ever being a really good one. He
+must be content to go through his training quite as self-denyingly and
+perseveringly as any one else who is gifted with fewer natural
+advantages.
+
+
+=Bass.=--Of the bass voice less need be said here, not because it is a
+less important voice than any of the others, but because it is more
+generally known and better understood. A perfectly pure bass voice is,
+however, a rare thing. This voice has no upper register, properly
+speaking; the whole voice consisting of "chest" notes, and not admitting
+of even the process of developing upper notes of extraordinary quality,
+which is part of the training of a barytone or a basso-cantante. Power
+and richness are the chief qualities of charm in a bass, while
+flexibility and true intonation are the qualities most rarely found in
+that voice. The young singer who finds that he certainly is not meant by
+nature for a tenor, and also that with all his efforts the upper notes
+of a barytone are quite out of his reach, need not be discouraged by any
+lightness or thinness of quality in his voice from the hope that he may
+develop into a good bass. The full and rich quality of this voice is
+later in showing itself than is the case with any other voice, and the
+young singer must be content to study for some time with the compass of
+a bass and the quality of a kind of barytone, till Nature puts him in
+full possession of his powers. Only he must study bass music, and not
+try, because his voice is of barytone quality, to sing barytone music.
+Let him, on the contrary, avoid trying to extend the compass of his
+voice in the upper notes, and give his best attention to the lower ones.
+The upper ones will be well within his command in time, and if he will
+be content to let them alone at first, he may become a truly "celebrated
+bass;" but, if he persists in shouting at them now, he will never have
+anything but coarse upper tones, only fit to be heard behind a
+costermonger's barrow, or in "comic" songs at the Music Halls.
+
+
+=Buffo.=--The last remark reminds me that I have said nothing about a
+class of bass singers very useful in certain Italian and French
+operas--the _buffo_, or comic bass. The development of voice with these
+singers is of less consequence than the study of a peculiar style, a
+good deal of the point of their songs consisting in the entire
+elimination of anything like musical tone from many notes and passages.
+A clever and good buffo singer may very likely be able to sing other
+music well, but the style is so entirely dramatic and so utterly out of
+place anywhere except on the stage, that no amateur should ever attempt
+it, and no professional should appear _in a concert-room_ as the
+exponent of such music. Therefore, for those who wish to sing, any
+remarks on the peculiarities of a buffo bass would be superfluous; those
+who wish to study that line as a profession, for stage work, must learn
+all that they need from a regular dramatic teacher; while those who wish
+to execute English "comic" songs, may spare themselves any anxiety as to
+their voices: if they have any voice naturally, "comic" singing will
+soon destroy its charm, and that will not matter to them, for the last
+thing necessary to sing a "comic" song is the possession of a voice of
+any kind. Therefore, if you have a bass (or any other voice, indeed),
+avoid "comic" songs, and leave the "buffo" business to those who can do
+nothing better.
+
+
+=Qualities of Voice, Good and Bad.=--It may not be unwelcome to the
+student to have pointed out to him those qualities of voice which are to
+be aimed at or cultivated, and also those which are to be avoided or
+overcome.
+
+The charms of a voice are found among the following qualities:
+clearness, sweetness, evenness, flexibility, power, extent of compass,
+variety, brilliancy, firmness, persuasiveness.[1]
+
+[1] It used to be said of Rubini that "he had tears in his voice."
+
+On the opposite side must be ranked roughness, huskiness, feebleness (or
+want of power), shrillness (or want of depth), hardness and want of
+flexibility, dulness, or want of "ring," &c.
+
+It is, of course, impossible for any one voice to unite in itself all
+these merits or all these defects; and you cannot give yourself merits
+which Nature has withheld; but you may marvellously improve what natural
+merits you have, and do wonders in overcoming any difficulties which
+Nature has placed in your way.
+
+
+
+
+ON INSTRUCTION, MASTERS, AND "SINGING TUTORS."
+
+
+The voice, and how to use it, is a subject which has troubled many
+minds, and no doubt this will continue to be the case; but the difficult
+problem will not be solved by running to pettifogging teachers, who
+advertise to teach all that is known of singing, and a little more, in
+twelve easy lessons, without previous knowledge or practice at home, for
+the small fee of one guinea! Let it be stated once for all: singing
+cannot be taught in twelve easy lessons, and can scarcely be acquired in
+one hundred very severe lessons. Therefore distrust at once any one who
+holds out so tempting a bait to you; remember that there is no "royal
+road" to singing, any more than there is to the acquirement of any other
+art; and the person who tells you that he can teach you to do without
+trouble that which costs great artists the study of a lifetime,
+proclaims himself, _ipso facto_, to be a humbug.
+
+
+=Schools of Singing.=--There are several so-called Schools of Singing.
+There is a French School, which for any language but French is bad, and
+which very seldom turns out a pleasing singer. There is a German School,
+which is worse, being simply the production of coarse noise. Some people
+say that there is an English School. I hope there may be some day, but
+at present its existence is rather doubtful, unless those who talk of an
+English school of singing mean the Cathedral style--which for solo work
+is detestable--or the old school of Oratorio singing, with its
+Handelian traditions, which was not an English, but an Italian, and the
+best Italian, school.
+
+In fact, there is but one school of singing in the world, and that is
+the Italian. Whatever language you wish to sing in, whatever style of
+music you wish to study principally, you must train your voice, produce
+it, and learn to use it in the Italian method, if you hope ever to
+deserve the name of a singer.
+
+
+=Masters.=--Of course, in a work of this sort, it is impossible, and
+would be wrong if it were possible, to mention the names of living
+teachers: therefore I can only give general hints. If possible, study
+only under a master whom you know to have lived in Italy, and to have
+studied there for some years under some good master or in some good
+Conservatoire--Naples, Milan, and Florence generally supply the best.
+Possibly, for an English singer, an English master _who fulfils these
+conditions_ may be better than even an Italian, as he should understand
+better the peculiarities of English voices and temperaments, and would
+know at once where the chief difficulties would lie. Let me, however,
+correct a popular error. A good singer is not necessarily a good
+teacher, nor is it necessary for a first-class teacher to be able to
+sing at all. Nor need you necessarily look for your master among
+foreigners with fine sounding names. There are two or three good
+teachers of singing in this country who are foreigners; but there is
+also some native talent equally capable of teaching singing, as it is
+accepted in this country at the present time. These know the English
+style better than any foreigner can teach it, and after all, style is
+the chief consideration.
+
+
+=Institutions.=--As we have no real English School of singing, it is
+perhaps fortunate that we have no Conservatoire. There are, however,
+Institutions accessible to those who cannot afford to have masters at
+home or to place themselves under a private teacher. Of these, the chief
+is the Royal Academy of Music, in Tenterden Street, Hanover Square.
+There is also the National Training School of Music, the London Academy
+of Music, also the Guildhall School, and there is Trinity College,
+London, where I believe singing lessons may also be obtained. To all
+these establishments singing masters, more or less good, are attached,
+and it is open to any one to obtain admission to the concerts given from
+time to time at the institutions themselves, and to form some kind of
+opinion as to the teachers from the performances of the pupils. It would
+be well for an intending student to do this, for of course at any
+institution where there are several professors, one might suit you and
+another might not; it is even conceivable that one professor might do
+all for you that you could possibly require, while another professor
+might be an ignorant charlatan. Therefore, hear their pupils and judge
+for yourself, making inquiries at the same time of musical people who
+are qualified to express an opinion on singing. I must not, however,
+withhold from my readers my conviction that private lessons are better
+and more effectual than those taken in schools and academies. The terms
+at these public institutions are such that they preclude the possibility
+of more than twenty or thirty minutes being devoted to each pupil, and
+that is _not_ a sufficient time to bestow upon a lesson. Forty-five or
+sixty minutes are needed to give a good lesson; and the pupil who pays
+fifteen shillings or a guinea for this, does a wiser thing than the one
+who pays a fourth of that sum for, say, twenty minutes' attention.
+
+=A First Opinion.=--The actual successful teachers of singing in London
+may be counted on the fingers of one hand, and those who are qualified
+to teach singing, but who are not specially successful, may be found on
+the remaining five fingers. Each of these professors would probably not
+take less than one guinea the lesson, and it would, honestly, be far
+cheaper in the long run to pay this sum for one good lesson in singing
+than it would be to have fifty lessons founded upon wrong principles,
+even for nothing. And for this reason: teachers of this calibre will not
+trouble themselves about you or your guineas unless you have a promising
+voice, some general musical talent, and show signs of becoming, to some
+degree, a credit to your _teacher_, for to these men guinea pupils are
+very plentiful, and it is only reasonable that a guinea from a clever
+pupil should be worth considerably more to a sensitive artist than the
+same amount from a fool. Therefore, a first opinion from one such
+teacher may save your spending money, time, and energy on a pursuit in
+which you can never succeed.
+
+
+=Bad Lessons.=--Never take a bad singing lesson till you know how to sing.
+You may then do so (if you care to), and learn the "how not to do it" of
+singing. It is commonly supposed that the earliest singing lessons may
+be administered by any "dabbler," and the last touches given afterwards
+by a "finishing master." Never was there a greater error. Pay your
+guineas first, and your shillings afterwards. If you cannot afford to
+have good instruction in beginning to sing, you will be still less able
+to take it afterwards, for artistic reasons. Remember that every bad
+singing lesson which you take hardens old faults and creates new ones,
+and, moreover, takes you farther and farther away from your original
+starting-point. So, when you begin under the right man and the right
+method, you have to _undo_ all this that you have expended toil and
+money to acquire.
+
+
+=Bad Teachers.=--It is astonishing how much money is wasted by people who
+want to sing, through not going at once to the fountain-head for the
+necessary training. Because a man is a musician many people conclude
+that he must necessarily be able to teach singing! Such an idea is
+scarcely less monstrous than that of a man being a good physician and
+consequently competent to amputate a limb, or to take out and reset an
+eye. Do not follow this "multitude to do evil." Be as careful in
+inquiring about your singing master as you would be about your doctor.
+Both in London and in the country there are "professors" whose knowledge
+of singing stops at professing--the class of people who (very likely)
+keep a music-shop, tune your piano, play polkas and waltzes for your
+evening parties, and have a brass plate on their doors to this effect:
+
+MR. HANDEL MOSCHELES IGNAZIO JONES, PROFESSOR OF THE PIANOFORTE,
+HARMONY, THE VIOLIN, ITALIAN, AND SINGING.
+
+All honourable professions, no doubt; but to profess to combine them all
+is dishonourable, and insulting to the common sense of those who know
+anything of any one of the subjects professed. A singing master, if he
+is worth anything, must be a man of one trade--singing. For the teaching
+of singing is a "specialty," and the man who can teach it _properly_ is
+not likely to be a man of all (musical) work.
+
+
+=Books of Exercises, &c.=--There are numerous "Singing Tutors" published,
+giving rules, exercises, _solfeggi_, &c. Many of these are excellent,
+and some nearly perfect. But all alike are useless or worse than useless
+to the tyro, without a master. You might as well suppose that a child
+could learn to be a carpenter by having some fine wood and a box of good
+tools.
+
+I have before observed that voices vary as faces do; no two are exactly
+alike, each voice having its peculiar merit and its peculiar defect.
+Now, a good master will treat each voice on its own merit, and not place
+it at first on the Procrustean bed of a book of rules and exercises. He
+will probably write down his own exercises expressly for his pupil, and
+if not that, he will select certain exercises from the book, and forbid
+others to be attempted for a time. You must also let your master select
+such a book for you, so that you may have one in which the rules do not
+contradict those which he has already given you verbally, or else you
+will be perplexed with a multitude of counsellors.
+
+It is not till a certain stage in singing has been reached, under the
+training of a master, that any book of exercises can be of service to
+you. When that stage is reached, you will find such a work of great use
+in a part of your labours. Among such books may be named as especially
+good,--Concone's Exercises, Righini's, Guercia's, Nava's, Lablache's,
+and Lamperti's; but, again I say, do not choose for yourself. There are
+some excellent rules, as well as some good exercises, in an old work of
+the kind by Crivelli, and also in "Singing Exemplified," a work by T.
+Cooke. If you can meet with these, secure them--although I fear they may
+be long since out of print--for in the literature of singing the _new_
+is by no means certain to excel what was written in the days of our best
+composers and singers of operas and oratorios.
+
+
+
+
+ON THE PRACTICE OF SINGING.
+
+
+Remember that the voice is of all instruments the most difficult one to
+study, and to bring perfectly under control, especially for the first
+year or two. Do not attempt to cultivate it with the view to
+professional remuneration, unless you can set apart at least two hours
+daily for most careful study, and can also afford to wait at least eight
+or ten years for any _substantial_ pecuniary reward for your labours.
+
+
+=Individuality.=--It is of great importance to bear in mind that no two
+voices are exactly alike. To some singers is given quality of voice, to
+others quantity. And for each alike, steady, well-aimed, and
+well-ordered practice is indispensable. But, whatever you sing ought,
+like your voice, to have some touch of individuality: the song should
+seem to come naturally from you, and to be the spontaneous expression of
+your thoughts. At the same time you must not lose sight of the
+all-important guide which you have in the composer's intentions and
+wishes. Remember that a small and delicate voice may be made to go as
+far as, if not farther than, a voice of large volume and long compass.
+By judicious management, by touching expression of the softer feelings,
+by careful selection of music to be performed, the obstacles which are
+placed in a singer's way by want of power may be effectually removed,
+because the audience will irresistibly feel the influence of the
+singer's individuality. The difficulties of the singer who has the gift
+of quantity rather than quality of voice, are in some respects greater,
+because the necessity for thus impressing on his audience a sense of his
+own individuality is not so strongly forced on him by circumstances. Not
+only has he to labour to attain a good quality of tone, but he must also
+resist the temptation to fancy that "might is right," and that the
+"sensation" caused by a powerful voice is all that he need aim at. And
+here let me say, the way to get quality is to listen as often as
+possible to some leading singer of your own kind of voice. Try and
+imitate his tone; but above all practise with a medium tone--a
+_mezzo-voce_--listen for the beauty in your tone, and think of what you
+are doing when practising.
+
+
+=Perseverance.=--The surest means of improving and strengthening the voice
+is by constantly exercising and practising it. Just as the muscles and
+fibres of the legs of a pedestrian are increased and made capable of
+great exertion by careful training, so is it with the nerves and muscles
+of the throat. With judicious training, the compass of the voice is
+extended, its quality is improved, its tones grow rounder and firmer;
+and, if the master is a good one, and the pupil is willing to study
+patiently for some time, never resting content, but always aiming at
+further progress as year succeeds year, he may not unreasonably hope to
+attain a well-earned place in his profession, and its attendant reward.
+
+
+=Facial Expression.=--A looking-glass should form a part of the furniture
+of a singing student's study, for it is most important to watch the
+face--its features and expressions--when singing; and it is none the
+less useful for insuring the constant right position of the mouth. In
+respect to the facial expression when singing, there is a very great
+tendency to look too serious, too severe, and too hard when earnestly
+studying. Now, a cheerful and good-humoured expression does not
+necessarily imply carelessness, and it is far more agreeable to the
+audience than an anxious and troubled look. Some people look quite
+savage when singing; and when rendering passages of love and tenderness,
+their features are far more indicative of rage, revenge, and murder!
+And this very common fault is generally quite an unconscious habit. It
+is only to be remedied by constant care, and to this end practice before
+a looking-glass will be found very helpful.
+
+
+=Position of the Body.=--How to stand when singing has been explained by a
+great number of writers on the subject, and most of the explanations
+given have been chiefly remarkable as being entirely erroneous and
+false. The body should not be kept in a perfectly upright position, as
+it is (too popularly) believed that it should. The best position is when
+the body is well collected, with its chief weight upon the right leg and
+foot, with the head gently leaning forward, and the arms and, indeed,
+the whole carriage disposed in that manner which would indicate to the
+audience a sort of desire on your part to _persuade_ them and bring them
+over to your feelings and sentiments. When the right leg begins to tire
+with the weight of the body, the left leg can take its duty, when the
+right may be gracefully drawn back as in dancing. The best lesson on
+this subject, however, can be gleaned by carefully watching the _pose_
+of a good Italian singer during singing.
+
+
+=Self-Accompaniment.=--A sitting position is a very bad one in which to
+practise. All singing should be done in a standing position, and the
+student is strongly urged to adhere to this rule. Instead of sitting at
+the pianoforte, and accompanying an exercise or "solfeggio," it is far
+better to sound the first note of each passage therein, and master the
+same without any accompaniment. The advantages of this mode of
+practising must be obvious; but one of the most important is, that the
+attention is not divided between the pianoforte and the voice, while it
+leaves the singer free to give all his attention and care to the
+_production_ of the notes which he is endeavouring to sing artistically.
+
+
+=Position of the Arms.=--I would urge upon the student to hold a piece of
+music in his hands while he practises. There is a place for the hands
+when singing in public; but this place is neither the trouser-pockets,
+nor on the hips, nor behind the back, nor across the chest, but rather
+that position which is secured by _leisurely_ holding the music-sheet,
+not as if actually singing therefrom, but as though it were merely
+intended for reference, if required. This easy attitude not only gives
+the hands and arms their legitimate position, but also lends a grace and
+freedom to other parts of the body, all which points must be attended to
+in singing. Remember to keep the arms well away from the body. Some
+singers stick the elbows into the waist, as though to give support;
+instead of doing which, they hinder the free action of the lungs,
+besides giving an awkward look to the whole figure.
+
+
+=Position of the Hands.=--Do not let your hands hang down, but keep them
+well before you, in some position which allows of your turning the palms
+uppermost. In this way you (as it were) lock the joints of the
+shoulders, and put a check on the tendency to raise the shoulders, which
+is an invariable consequence of taking breath wrongly. Keep your
+shoulders well back, your elbows depressed, and your hands with the
+palms uppermost, and you will find it difficult, if not impossible, to
+indulge in the vice of heaving the chest and shoulders up and down, like
+the piston of a steam-engine!
+
+
+=Position of the Throat.=--One of the first conditions of singing well is
+to keep the throat open. To have the throat in its proper position the
+tongue must be kept down, and hollowed like the bowl of a spoon, its
+root being well depressed. Nor must the throat ever be allowed to screw
+itself up small, a common failing of many singers whenever they approach
+a high note. Most of my readers have yawned once or twice in their
+lives: if they will do it once more, in front of their looking-glass,
+and watch the inside of the mouth as they yawn, they will see and feel
+the exact position in which the throat should be during good singing. It
+will be useful to repeat this proceeding until the mind is thoroughly
+impressed and the memory familiarized with the feeling of the mouth and
+throat in this, the correct position for singing.
+
+
+=Position of the Throat, &c., in Soft Singing.=--When singing softly, or
+_piano_, as it is called, take great pains to keep your throat as open
+as you would for singing loudly, leaving it entirely to the mouth and
+lips to keep the tone soft, yet steady and firm. Do not forget, too,
+that in soft singing it is a great advantage to keep the mouth in a
+smiling position.
+
+
+=Position of the Tongue.=--The tongue, while being so useful, is
+nevertheless a very unruly member in singing. It has so great a tendency
+to get out of its place. Its legitimate office is to rest quite flat, or
+even hollow, in the bottom of the mouth, with its root well down, as
+this keeps the throat-passage clear, and with the tip of it just
+touching the lower teeth. Get a looking-glass, and continually watch the
+position of the tongue. Never allow it to roll up or turn about when
+singing, or the effect produced will be scarcely worth repeating. The
+tongue should occupy the least possible space in the mouth, and this is
+the case when the directions here given are carried out.
+
+
+=Position of the Larynx.=--The larynx, or upper part of the wind-pipe,
+plays a most important part in singing. Upon it depends all the beauty,
+and quality, and richness of the voice. The singer will do well to
+constantly think about the larynx, to watch it, to feel that it is well
+down below the mouth before commencing the first note of a song, which
+note must, under such circumstances, be rich, round, and penetrating.
+Then the larynx must never be allowed to rise above this fixed point. It
+may be deepened, and must be, for the higher notes, but it must never
+ascend, or nearly approach the roof of the mouth, or the sound-passage
+is closed, and the sounds become at once impure, vitiated, and without
+body or foundation.
+
+Try and guard against the bad habit of pushing forward the chin when
+singing, otherwise the tone cannot fail to be faulty. The chin should be
+well down on the chest, and the larynx quite low, to lead to an easy
+and pure production of tone. To be constantly moving both the jaws for
+every note, continually displaces the larynx, impairs the purity of the
+tone, spoils the articulation of the words, and, what is worse than all,
+produces a hideous expression of the features, which latter fault would
+alone be sufficient to prejudice seriously the chances of any singing
+artists. The lower parts of the jaws, not the upper ones, should do the
+work; and when a high passage or note is before the singer, the lower
+parts of the jaws should be exercised to drop as the notes increase in
+height. The singer's face should be controlled, if no other member can
+be so regulated.
+
+
+=Singing in the Head.=--There is, in all beginners, a tendency to sing too
+much in the head, that is, to have the foundation of the tones too high
+up in the throat. This fault is due to the difficulty experienced by
+beginners in keeping the larynx sufficiently below the mouth. The
+fulness of tone, the rich, round, and mellow quality which is so much
+admired in all good singers, is almost entirely owing to the voice being
+pitched low down, and not high up in the throat, towards the back of the
+head (as it _appears_ to be).
+
+A few trials of this will soon convince the student of the vast
+difference in the character and _timbre_ of the tones of these two ways,
+and also of the economy of the plan here recommended, so far as regards
+the wear and tear of the voice in practice.
+
+
+=Throatiness.=--Throatiness, or singing in the throat, is the common enemy
+of all English singers. Our language is the chief cause of this
+disagreeable habit, which we begin to acquire as soon as we learn to
+talk. Still, by diligence, the evil can be cured, and no better plan can
+be followed than to constantly practise singing the vowel-sounds Ah, A,
+E, O, throughout the compass of the voice, taking every possible
+care--and this is the point--never to allow the _tone_ to vary, nor to
+leave the teeth, and not to screw up the throat, especially in high
+notes. It is impossible to produce a "throaty" quality of voice if the
+throat is well open, and the tone is firmly directed, and kept on the
+upper teeth and front of the mouth. On the other hand, if the student
+screws up the throat, rolls the tongue, or practises singing without
+being constantly on the look-out for the "voice on the teeth," the
+result must be a "throatiness," which is most disagreeable to all people
+who have any real knowledge of what singing should be.
+
+
+=Clearing the Throat.=--Singers, good and bad, are often troubled with an
+apparent stoppage in the throat, and this inconvenience seems to be at
+its worst just at that moment when they wish to sing. To displace or to
+cure this stoppage, they begin hacking and coughing ("clearing the
+throat" as it is called), which proceeding, however, only makes bad
+worse for the time being, and finally grows into a habit, till at last
+such people cannot venture to open their mouths without first subjecting
+the throat to a series of these irritating "hacks." A good master will
+soon cure this complaint by refusing to continue the lesson whenever the
+pupil gives way to the bad habit. It is in many cases simply a nervous
+trick, and if the singer will accustom himself to _swallow_ instead of
+coughing, whenever he feels the sensation of which we are speaking, he
+will soon get rid of it. If it results in any case from real weakness of
+the throat, it may be beneficial to gargle three or four times a day
+with moderately strong salt and water, especially before singing. This
+does no harm to the voice, and by bracing and strengthening the muscles
+of the throat renders them more obedient to the singer's will.
+
+
+=High Notes.=--Many people find great difficulty in counting, with any
+degree of certainty, upon the top notes of their register. I know of no
+greater assistance towards bringing these out than that of well
+contracting the mouth and lips at the beginning of the passage in which
+these high notes occur, dropping the lower jaws, and securing a good
+play of the mouth as the highest note is reached, at the same time
+keeping the throat as open as possible, ejecting the sound to the
+audience with as much "lip-force" as can be secured, being careful that
+the tone is safe "on the teeth" before the note is "opened."
+
+
+=The Scale.=--There can be no doubt whatever that the grand groundwork of
+all singing is the diatonic scale. On it is built all the graceful forms
+and figures which belong to the great artist. Yet how few seem to know
+and to appreciate this fact! To excel, the diatonic scale must be
+practised most seriously and assiduously in its plain and simple form;
+nor must it be left until the student can sing every note therein
+purely, without wavering or flutter, and with precision, in the soft,
+medium, and loud voices.
+
+
+=Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano.=--The singer will derive much advantage by
+bearing in mind that the voice has three main gradations which the
+Italians class as the _forte_, the _mezzo di voce_, and the _piano_. The
+management of these three is of vital importance, and the singer should
+certainly practise the scales in all three voices, and have each at
+command for every exercise and passage which he studies.
+
+
+=Tone.=--The tone of the voice must never be vitiated or rendered impure
+from any cause whatever. There is always a danger of this in passages of
+great energy and passion, but it should be remembered that whatever be
+the effect aimed at, it cannot be attained by any means which involves a
+change in the tone of the voice. The first and chief consideration must
+always be to produce a good tone in the right manner. If the tone be not
+good, the singing cannot be agreeable; and if it be not produced in the
+right manner, you have no security that it will be equally good
+throughout the voice, or in passages of all kinds.
+
+
+=Chest, Falsetto, and Head Voice.=--I have already said that there is a
+good deal of confusion existing as to the use of the terms "chest,"
+"falsetto," and "head voice." And this is scarcely to be wondered at,
+seeing that nobody has yet decided _how_ the three qualities of sound
+are produced, while everybody knows that the names are so far
+misleading, in that no sound whatever is really made in the _chest_ or
+in the _head_, but that all are due to the passage of air through the
+larynx, in which are placed the vocal cords upon which the air plays.
+The changes of sound which are spoken of as "chest," "falsetto," and
+"head" voices are due to changes in the position of the larynx and its
+surroundings, and in the action of the vocal cords. What those changes
+are, and how or why they cause the results which we hear, has yet to be
+discovered: there are several theories, but no one has yet ventured to
+claim the certainty of truth for any one of them. There is an excellent
+article on "The Larynx" in Stainer and Barrett's "Dictionary of Musical
+Terms," to which I would refer those who wish to understand these
+various theories. For my present purpose it is sufficient to point out
+that each of the names is an utter misnomer. The "chest" voice is
+probably so called because the vibrations of the notes in that register
+may be distinctly felt in the chest; and because the breath passes
+directly from the chest, as it seems, without any opposition in the
+throat, producing the sound on its way. The "falsetto," or range of
+notes above the chest, is so called (and rightly so) because in that
+register of voice the tone _feigns_, or imitates, the tone of the
+"chest" notes below, although it is certain that the sounds are not
+produced in the same way, for the position of the vocal cords and their
+attendant parts is different, and changes suddenly on the passage of the
+voice from the chest to the upper register. A falsetto, rightly trained
+and used, is one, therefore, which is true to its name, and so well
+imitates the "chest," that the hearer cannot distinguish the "false"
+from the real "chest tone." The "head voice," which many people persist
+in confusing with the falsetto, is so called because to the singer it
+feels as though the notes so produced came from the head. This is due to
+the larynx itself rising up in the throat and approaching the back of
+the head. It comprises, in reality, _all_ that part of the voice which
+lies above the "chest" register, all the lower part of it being shared
+by the "falsetto," exactly as the falsetto shares the greater part of
+the chest register. The falsetto, therefore, belongs to both, and its
+use is to carry, by its power of imitation, the tone of the lower or
+chest register into the upper or head register, so combining them that
+no audible change of quality, or "break," is perceptible.
+
+
+=Scale Practice.=--It cannot be too strongly impressed upon, or too
+frequently pointed out to, the singer (no matter what may be the stage
+of his or her artistic development) how desirable and advantageous it is
+to be constantly singing exercises and solfeggi in preference to songs.
+It is a popular fallacy, especially among amateurs, that the practice of
+scales and intervals should be left behind as soon as possible. Pray do
+not be mistaken. The never-failing daily practice of singing open chords
+in solfeggi, scales, and exercises, is fraught with advantages which
+cannot be gained by the study of yards, or even miles, of song tunes. As
+an instance of how much may be done in the study of scale practice, the
+writer would point out that this particular exercise should not be left
+until the student can sing the diatonic scales throughout the whole
+extent of the voice in one unbroken breath, and with one quality,
+character, and volume of voice. When this point has been reached, its
+peculiar efficacy will be so apparent as not to require any
+recommendation or advice for its daily continuance.
+
+
+=First Exercises.=--This is a book of advice, not of exercises, nor do I
+profess to teach you, but only to point out to you, how you must prepare
+to be taught. I cannot too often repeat that no book by itself can teach
+you singing, and my object is not to supersede a master, but to induce
+you to place yourself under a good one. However, it may happen that
+circumstances of time, place, or pocket prevent your doing so as soon as
+you would wish, and it is far better even to learn from a book what you
+can in the way of rules and exercises, than to go on singing by the
+light of nature, or under a cheap and inefficient master, or working at
+exercises too advanced for a beginner (which is as bad as not working at
+any at all). I therefore give here a few simple but most important
+exercises, which you may work at until you are able to place yourself
+under the care of a good master. Bear in mind, first, all that has
+already been said here about taking your breath, the position of
+standing, the form of your mouth, and place of throat, tongue, teeth,
+&c., and study the following exercises daily say to the extent of thirty
+minutes three times a day, with full attention to all the above points:
+
+[Music: C major scale, beginning at C4, in semibreves]
+
+Sing this fully and firmly. It should be begun and ended with the same
+quality and "thickness" of sound, as suggested by the even line over
+each note. You should be able to hold each note out in one breath for
+twenty seconds without the slightest alteration being perceptible in the
+tone, any more than there would be if it was a note proceeding from an
+organ-pipe. Practise it on each of the following sounds consecutively:
+"A" in "Bard," "A" in "Fate," "E" in "Steel," "I" in "Life," "O" in
+"Pole," "U" in "Rule," prefixing each sound by L, and so singing Lah,
+Lay, Lee, Li, Lo, Loo. In singing this first exercise, which for basses
+and barytones will be, of course, an octave lower, be careful not to
+force the lower notes, and do not seek to get a powerful tone thereupon.
+The tone does not need to be full and heavy on these notes, but rather
+should be a WELL-PRODUCED, light, and thin quality of note. The way to
+proceed is: (1) To inspire the breath from the bottom of the lungs as it
+were--not raising the shoulders. (2) Steady the breath for a second or
+so in the chest while you THINK the note you are about to sing, and
+while you prepare your throat and mouth for singing by lowering the
+larynx and opening the throat. (3) Then begin to sound the note--not
+from the back of the mouth, but from the tip of the tongue and the front
+teeth--thus taking the whole of the tone out of the mouth, which is what
+is required to be done. Sustain the note till you have only a little
+breath left--then finish off in a clean manner, and allow the remaining
+breath to leave the lungs and body in an orderly way.--Repeat the same
+operation for _every_ note, and if you desire to make progress, give a
+minute's attention of this kind to every single note.
+
+[Music: 2--Broken C major triad in semibreves beginning and ending on
+C4, then raising a semitone to continue the pattern.]
+
+and so on, rising by semitones until you come to this:
+
+[Music: Broken G major triad in semibreves beginning and ending on G4.]
+
+which is certainly the highest that you ought to attempt at present.
+
+Exercise No. 2 is a first step towards joining notes, and is another
+difficulty in the matter of _production_. The object to be aimed at is
+to sing the two notes which are bound (or tied) together with the same
+breath, and the same body and quality of tone. To step from C to E, the
+first movement in the exercise is to raise the voice a major third; but
+the student must pass from his mind any notion of raising the throat in
+order to sound the higher third. As the note E is higher than the C, the
+tone of the former must be generated lower in the chest than had been
+the case with the C. The higher the note to be sung, the lower must be
+its generating-point in the chest. This is the only way to OPEN the
+voice, and I need scarcely say that it produces an entirely different
+tone and method than are secured by the common habit of screwing and
+tightening the throat, in proportion as the notes ascend in pitch.
+
+Another good exercise which may be combined with the last-given is the
+following:
+
+[Music: 3--Broken C Major Triad in semibreves beginning and ending on
+C4, followed by a broken F Major Triad in semibreves beginning and
+ending on C4. Broken G minor triad in semibreves beginning and ending on
+C4, followed by a broken A minor triad in semibreves beginning and
+ending on C4.]
+
+This exercise (3) must be sung in the same manner as indicated with No.
+2, care being taken as each note gets higher to pass _under_ the
+preceding note, and not as it were to generate a high note over a lower
+one.
+
+After which you may take this:
+
+[Music: 4--C major arpeggio in semibreves, beginning on C4 and landing
+on C5. C5 is held for six beats prior to descending in crotchets in a C
+major scale, and holding the bottom C4 for four beats.]
+
+but sing it very slowly and deliberately, bearing in mind the production
+of the high notes.
+
+As you begin to get all these notes firm and round, you may take these
+same exercises in D, D flat, and E flat, but be very careful not
+to force the upper notes.
+
+[Music: 5--Interval practice by holding C4 for four beats and slurring
+to D4. After breathing, slur C4 to E4. After breathing, slur C4 to F4.
+After breathing, slur C4 to G4. Continue this pattern until C5 is
+reached. Then, begin on C5 and slur to B4. After breathing, slur from C5
+to A4. Continue this pattern until C4 is reached.]
+
+Exercise 5 is one where the question of the breath and its proper
+management becomes of vital importance. The reader will observe the
+notes are bound together, and the student's attention should be turned
+towards passing from one note to the other, without any appreciable
+difference in the _quality_--I do not say pitch--of the tone. Having
+inspired in the manner already explained, the singer will sound the
+_Do_ with a pure, sympathetic, not harsh or forced sound; and by
+_pressing down_ the breath, will _lift_ the voice on to the _Re_. When
+he has succeeded with the step of a second, he can go on to the step of
+a third, fourth, &c. The care must be to utilize the breath, always
+supporting the tone with the breath. If the sound wavers, then there is
+something wrong with the breath. You are either singing with too little,
+or are forcing the breath.
+
+[Music: 6--Beginning on C4 and holding each note for two beats, go up by
+semitones until E4 is reached and held for four beats. Begin pattern
+again, but begin on D4 flat. Continue until A is reached.]
+
+And so on.
+
+[Music: 7--Beginning on C5 and holding each note for two beats, go down
+by semitones until A4 flat is reached and held for four beats. Begin
+pattern again, but begin on a B4. Continue until G4 flat is reached.]
+
+And so on, descending the scale by semitones.
+
+[Music: 8--In minims, sing C4, E4, G4, C5, B4, G4, F4, D4. Begin the
+pattern again starting a semitone higher on D4 flat.]
+
+Practise No. 8 slowly and steadily, with perfectly even tone throughout,
+without any crescendo or diminuendo.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Let all the above exercises be taken successively, _forte_, _a
+mezzo-voce_, and _piano_, preserving exactly the same amount of tone
+throughout each passage, and holding the notes with the same force with
+which you attack them steadily to the end, not letting them die away.
+The trick of letting notes die away is easily learnt afterwards, but at
+present you have to master the far greater difficulty of holding notes
+firmly with unvarying tone. Practise these exercises on all the
+vowel-sounds already given. All such exercises are of course only
+variations of the diatonic and chromatic scales, so arranged as to
+prepare the voice for executing those scales evenly and perfectly, with
+equality of tone on every note; for till you can sing scales, you are
+not fit to sing songs of any kind.
+
+
+=Duration of Practice.=--Always guard against over-straining and
+over-working the voice. Do not sing or practise for a longer time than
+half an hour without allowing the voice rest for some time. If you have
+three hours at your disposal daily to devote to singing, the most
+economical use of the time is to divide it equally between the morning,
+afternoon, and evening.
+
+
+=Singing in Tune=.--Correct intonation is of the greatest possible
+importance in singing. Every singer should pay especial attention to
+this point. The heavier the voice, the more necessary becomes such
+attention, and therefore contralti and basses are strongly advised to
+lose no time in facing this (to them) considerable difficulty. Deep
+basses, indeed, are rarely perfectly in tune for any long time together,
+and some of the most famous bass singers have left behind them
+recollections of this painful defect. Therefore, whatever be your voice,
+do not take for granted that even the possession of a good ear will
+always ensure your singing in tune. Sometimes excellent singers, and
+good musicians too, will sing out of tune, perfectly aware that they
+are doing so, but, for a time, unable to prevent it from physical
+causes--relaxation of the throat, fatigue, indisposition, &c., under
+which conditions the muscles are unable to obey the will as usual. Do
+not, then, make too light of this matter, because you may think yourself
+quite incapable of singing out of tune; it is at all events wiser to be
+on the safe side. Therefore, never practise (nor sing, if you can help
+it) with a pianoforte which is not well in tune and well "up to pitch."
+And be very constant in practising intervals, such as major and minor
+sixths and sevenths, so as to be able to strike them as perfectly in
+tune and as unvarying in quality as the notes of an organ diapason.
+
+
+=How to Begin.=--Many people never make a good start when beginning to
+sing any piece. Now a very good remedy for a part of this evil is not to
+prepare yourself too soon. Use the bar immediately preceding that in
+which your part commences to gather up your faculties, and, to use a
+common phrase, "to pull yourself together;" then let the muscles of the
+body gently settle down. The ease and freedom acquired by this momentary
+call upon the system is very remarkable; and for the singer especially
+the hint cannot be too often acted upon.
+
+
+=Variety Indispensable.=--An unchanging volume of sound is very soon
+wearying to the ear; and therefore a singer who scarcely ever varies the
+pitch of his voice will find that however loudly he may sing, his
+audience will have a feeling of dissatisfaction, as though they could
+not hear him distinctly--the fact being that their ears, being fatigued
+with the uniformity of the noise, cannot do their proper work, and the
+attention therefore flags. One great secret of being agreeably heard by
+an audience is to vary the body of tone (not the _quality_ of it,
+observe). As a rule singers are left tolerably free to do as they like
+in this respect. Composers of songs rarely give them any help in the
+matter. In fact, nowadays so many people compose "vocal music" without
+knowing anything about the vocal instrument for which they compose, that
+it is not wonderful that they ignore their power of helping the singer
+by properly combining duly marked _forte_, _piano_, and _mezzo-voce_
+passages, so as to ensure a variety of effect. Therefore, in most modern
+music, a singer has to take his own "reading" of a song, and to make it
+as effective as he can by varying the power of his voice. It might even
+be taken as a rule that every _forte_ passage should be succeeded by a
+soft one. The voice should rise and fall, and be varied in its
+inflexions in that agreeable manner which is so marked in good orators
+and dramatic elocutionists.
+
+
+=Chorus Singing.=--If you are studying seriously for solo singing, you
+must discontinue all chorus singing, especially during training. Singing
+in church choirs and choral societies must be abandoned. And this not
+because there is no good to be learned there, but because the little
+good is by no means commensurate with the great amount of harm which is
+acquired along with the good. To enumerate here all the evil habits so
+easily learnt would be impossible. Not the least of them, however, is
+the tendency to shout louder than your neighbour, to use yourself to the
+bad habits of those on each side of you; to produce a bad tone; to
+"chop" the passages instead of phrasing them; to attack notes
+carelessly; to sing coarsely; to depend on others; to get into a
+machine-like regularity of rendering the music. All these evil habits
+are the result of chorus singing; and while many of them are detrimental
+to the voice itself, it may be safely said that any one of these habits
+is fatal to good solo singing.
+
+
+=Humming.=--Some people have a wretched habit of continually humming
+tunes. Pray do not get into this habit of singing unconsciously--than
+which nothing is more prejudicial to the voice. You should never sound a
+note without being perfectly aware of what you are doing, and that it is
+being done in the right manner. The faults acquired by "humming over,"
+as it is called, are of the worst kind, and, moreover, they are far
+sooner acquired than eradicated.
+
+
+=Studying Songs.=--Be careful, in studying a new song, not to waste either
+time or strength by a trifling and superficial treatment of it.
+"Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well." First of all,
+_sol-fa_ the melody a few times in a full _mezzo-voce_. Then study it
+with rather stronger tone, paying attention to lights and shades, yet at
+the same time being chiefly occupied with the melody itself. Then make
+your breath-marks, and adhere to the same unfailingly. Then sing the
+melody once throughout, in order to find the weak places; having found
+which, you need no more practise the whole of the melody, but give all
+the attention to these latter phrases. Having mastered these, the melody
+will be complete. It will then be necessary to determine where the notes
+shall be made to _bend_ into each other, to add the _nuances_, a few
+graceful figures and effects which belong alone to the true artist.
+
+
+=Imitation.=--By no means the worst lesson which you can have will be
+gained by imitation of some acknowledged first-rate singer, whose voice
+is of the same kind as your own. Before going to a concert at which any
+such artist is announced to sing, procure copies of his songs (if
+possible), and make yourself acquainted with the compositions first of
+all. Then go and hear how those works are rendered by the singer who is
+to be your model; listen with your copy in your hand; make notes of any
+points which strike you, and while the impression made upon you is still
+fresh, go home and imitate them as closely as you can.
+
+
+=General Musical Study.=--If you want to be a good singing artist, many
+more things besides singing should be studied. You should be
+sufficiently acquainted with the pianoforte to play your own
+accompaniments, even of the most difficult songs, well enough to get an
+idea of them. Then a knowledge of harmony, counterpoint, and
+orchestration is of the greatest value. The study of the best scores,
+orchestral and vocal, should not be neglected, and further, the student
+should make himself or herself otherwise familiar with the rise and
+progress of the art, by reading all the best books on the subject,
+whether historical, critical, or biographical.
+
+
+
+
+ON STYLE, EXPRESSION, &c.
+
+
+The study of language, articulation, and deportment, the gradual
+formation and building-up of the singing voice, and the incessant
+practice of scales and exercises, are in reality only the necessary
+preliminaries to singing itself. Singing, or the proper use of the voice
+combined with the due enunciation and expression of the words, is
+nothing unless due attention be also paid to style, to the fit and
+effective execution of the music selected, due regard being paid both to
+taste and tradition.
+
+
+=Traditional Styles.=--Although the groundwork of all good singing is the
+same, the music to be sung varies greatly in style. There is church
+music, oratorio music, and opera music, as well as ballad music; and a
+certain nondescript--half recitative, half declamation--which is of
+modern growth, gives pleasure to many people (both performers and
+audience), and comprises the greater number of modern German "songs."
+
+
+=Modern German Lieder.=--This latest development of vocal performances, of
+which I desire to speak with all due respect, has no traditions
+whatever, but it has a style, decided, though (in my opinion) bad. It
+has, however, one merit: it imperatively demands that the singer should
+understand the meaning both of words and music, for the whole thing
+depends on expression and modulation. The composers of these works
+generally do their part fully in the way of modulations and
+accompaniment; but as they frequently forget to supply anything in the
+shape of a melody, the singer must do his best to touch or move his
+audience by his expressive delivery of the words in the musical
+inflections which (with this class of composers) occupy the place of a
+"tune." However, if you admire this kind of music, and have been
+properly taught to sing before you attempt to execute it, I have not a
+word to say against it: so long as you use your voice legitimately, this
+style of music can do you no harm, and if you study dramatic expression
+and elocution properly, you may doubtless produce an effect very
+pleasing to others who admire it. But the danger of such music to the
+untrained voice and untaught singer is very great indeed; and I do not
+hesitate to say that the frequent performance of it by such an one
+_must_ result in the ruin both of voice and style.
+
+
+=The Cathedral School.=--The one point in music wherein England has just
+reason to boast of her past, is the existence of a distinct class of
+music composed for her church service, and that music of a high order of
+merit. Distinctive in character, this church music--"services" and
+"anthems"--has created for itself a distinct school of singers, and, by
+tradition, demands a distinct style of performance. I have elsewhere
+stated that the "Cathedral School" of singing is "detestable for solo
+work," and so it is for any solo work except cathedral solo work, where
+the operatic or oratorio style of singing would seem to us, who have
+always been familiar with the traditional and one accepted style, out of
+place, and irreverently suggestive of the concert-room. It is difficult
+to describe upon paper the peculiarity of this style of singing, and it
+could only be learnt by imitation in its own home, the cathedral. Its
+chief characteristics are a sort of passionless "statuesqueness," a
+steadiness of tone akin to the notes of the organ, which is its only fit
+accompaniment, an absence of all attempt at personal display on the part
+of the singer. Its faulty tendencies are towards deficiency of
+expression and slowness of "attack;" these are apparent, generally, when
+a "cathedral" singer appears in the concert-room; but in church, the
+pervadingly reverent character of the performance takes off the
+impression of coldness and tameness in the individual singer, while the
+ear, accustomed to the slight difference in time with which the various
+organ-stops "answer," does not notice in the singer that want of
+"crispness" in the time which the accompaniment of an orchestra reveals
+at once.
+
+Unless you are really intending to sing professionally in a church or
+cathedral choir, the study of this style will not be of much use to you;
+you will find its good points equally insisted on in the oratorio school
+of singing, while its defects should be avoided in any. For =English
+part-singing= there is, however, no training so good, its traditions
+being exactly those of the finest old English secular part-music--the
+madrigals of Wilbye, Weekes, and Purcell, &c.
+
+
+=Oratorio.=--By oratorio singing--speaking of it as a distinct style--I
+may say at once that I mean the school of Handelian singing, of which
+the traditions are distinct, and which has only been slightly modified
+to suit the more modern oratorios of other composers. Of course,
+Mendelssohn cannot be sung exactly like Handel or Bach, but the general
+style of delivery should be the same, and till you can sing Handel, you
+cannot hope to be able to sing Mendelssohn. The ability to sing Handel,
+Bach, and Glück, I believe to be the sole foundation for a pure style of
+singing either in opera or ballad music: the music is such that it
+cannot be trifled with--the difficulties cannot be evaded, but must be
+mastered--while the exquisitely smooth and vocal character of these
+great masters' music trains the singer to an evenness and solidity of
+style which is most valuable in any music that may be afterwards
+attempted. Moreover, the songs of Handel form an admirable school for
+the training of individual taste and judgment in the introduction of
+ornaments, the variety of phrasing, and other minute details of finish.
+Not that you may exercise your individual taste in introducing ornaments
+into Handel or Bach--far from it; but the songs are written with the
+express intention that certain ornaments should be introduced in
+particular places, and the style (and in many cases the notes) of these
+ornaments has been accurately handed down to us; therefore, in learning
+this traditional manner of singing such music, the student is trained to
+a knowledge of the appropriate place for the introduction of
+ornamentation and "grace"--the appropriate character of such
+embellishments, and the appropriate opportunities for introducing them.
+For instance, most of Handel's songs commence with a movement which is
+intended to be repeated at the close of the song, the middle part being
+generally a movement in some relative key, which is not repeated. The
+traditional style of giving such songs is to reserve ornamentation for
+this repeated first part, and thus to avoid the effect of sameness which
+would result from adhering in the "repeat" to exactly the same rendering
+of the music with which the singer gave it at first. Such ornamentations
+were taken for granted by the composer, and it was only because of a
+tasteless abuse of this privilege of adornment on the part of foolish
+singers, an abuse which became an unbearable nuisance, that in after
+years Rossini adopted the plan of writing into his music florid passages
+which should supply the singer with ornaments which were good of their
+kind and which were put in in appropriate places, rather then trust his
+airs to the mercy of inartistic "decorators." Handel, and the composers
+of earlier times than Rossini, omitted the ornamentation, so as not to
+hamper the singer, for, as has been well said by an old writer on the
+subject: "The same execution that would from one singer afford pleasure,
+might from another excite disgust: the compositions of old masters have
+no written cadences to a repeated passage, for this very reason, no
+doubt. But it is understood, and indeed expected, that the singer of
+talent should display his own taste by the introduction of such fanciful
+and graceful ornaments as may be best calculated to exhibit his voice to
+advantage, and thereby heighten, instead of lessen, the effect of the
+composition."
+
+The same writer, in explaining the reason for the introduction of such
+ornaments and changes, goes on to remark: "In conversation, though we
+frequently repeat words and even sentences, in expressing any particular
+subject, yet we might as naturally expect to see a person laugh without
+a smile, as give such repetitions without some variation in voice and
+manner.
+
+"The first part of an air is often written to be repeated. In justice to
+the author, when that is the case, simplicity of style should be
+inviolably preserved; but, on repeating the strain, free scope may be
+given to the imagination, taking it for granted that no person would be
+vain enough to attempt the introduction of his own fanciful graces,
+unless sufficiently master of the science to feel the propriety of going
+so far and no farther."
+
+Perhaps I may make the meaning of all this clearer by giving a few
+specimens of these traditionally accepted adornments in repeated
+passages.
+
+[Music:_First time._
+
+    ri - mem - - bran - za, Puoi di nuo - vo, &c.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    ri - mem - bran - za, Puoi di nuo - vo, &c.]
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    dol - ce ri - mem - bran - za, &c.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    dol - ce ri - mem - bran - - za, &c.]
+
+[Music:_First time._
+
+    Puoi di nuo - vo, di nuo - vo av - ve - len
+    ar ................... mi.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    Puoi - di nuo - vo di nuo - vo av - ve - len
+    ar ................... mi.]
+
+The above are taken from a fine song by Cesti (1660), "_Tu mancavi a
+tormentarmi_."
+
+The following are the adornments taught in the Paris Conservatoire, as
+traditionally correct in the famous old song by Lotti, "_Pur dicesti_,"
+where, it will be observed, one simple phrase, which occurs so
+frequently that it would be monotonous if unadorned, is made to yield a
+charming variety to the song by some elegant change at each recurrence.
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    quel so - a - ve ... car - o ...... si]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    quel ... so - a - ve car ... o - si]
+
+[Music: _Third time._
+
+    quel ... so - a - ve car - o - si]
+
+[Music: _Fourth time._
+
+    quel ... so - a - - ve car - - o si]
+
+[Music:_First time._
+
+    pia - cer .................
+    ................. il mio pia - cer]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    pia - cer .................
+    ................. il mio pia - cer]
+
+The following are from Handel:
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    While re - sign'd to Heav'n ... a - bove]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    While re - sign'd to ...... Heav'n ........ a - bove
+
+                                (_Guardian Angels._)]
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    Trees where you sit, &c.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+     Trees where you sit, &c.
+
+                              (_Where'er you walk._)]
+
+And of course the list might be almost indefinitely prolonged. Certain
+of these ornaments, once highly popular, have wisely been allowed to
+drop, and that is why I lay stress upon the importance of _accepted
+traditions_. You may get hold of copies of many songs of this kind which
+have the names of great singers attached to them, and yet give
+variations of the text which have never been accepted or generally
+approved. The great Braham himself was a terrible offender sometimes in
+this respect. For instance, in singing "_Comfort ye_," instead of the
+passage
+
+[Music:
+
+    that her in - i - qui - ty is par - don - ed]
+
+he would sing thus:
+
+[Music:
+
+    that her in - i - qui - ty is par - don - ed.]
+
+And I have seen an old copy of "_Holy, holy_," in which the melody is so
+overlaid with little black notes, semi-quavers, demi-semi-quavers, and
+semi-demi-semi-quavers, that it is difficult to distinguish the notes of
+Handel's music at all! The admissible changes are all very slight, and
+any elaborate cadenza, or considerable addition, is pretty sure to be
+wrong. Final high notes are a frequent snare to aspiring singers; the
+traditions of the old school of oratorio singing are not in favour of
+them, and they generally vulgarize a song if introduced where the
+composer has not clearly opened a way for them. I have heard a tenor
+singer conclude the famous "_Thou shalt break them_," thus:
+
+[Music:
+
+    pot - - - - ter's ves - sel]
+
+and a soprano finish off "_He shall feed His flock_," thus:
+
+[Music:
+
+    ye shall find rest ........ un - to your souls.]
+
+--both of them pieces of vulgar display, bringing the personality of the
+singer before the audience instead of the beauty of the music, the sense
+of the words, or the merit of the composer. No such abominations are
+permissible in good oratorio singing, the rule of which is utter
+submission to the composer's intentions, and a conscientious endeavour
+to interpret his mind clearly to the audience; a pure and chaste
+delivery of words and music alike; a sustained excellence throughout,
+avoiding an attempt to astonish by bursts of power or brilliancy; and an
+entire absence of all claptrap or vulgarities to please "the gallery."
+
+
+=Opera.=--A great deal of what has been said about oratorio singing
+applies also to operatic singing. But I strongly advise you against
+attempting opera music until you have studied the more severe and solid
+style of the oratorio. The declamatory passages in opera are doubtless
+more brilliantly impassioned, just as the florid airs are more
+startlingly elaborate, than in oratorio, and the recitatives less
+stately and sustained; but the style of good opera singing is only to be
+founded upon good oratorio study (or its equivalent), inasmuch as it
+was out of the oratorio that the opera grew. Operatic singing allows
+more license to the singer than does oratorio; but the singer should
+have been taught first by the severer style not to misuse that license.
+At the same time when (as is not infrequent in operas of a certain kind)
+the composer has introduced airs for the express purpose of showing off
+a singer's voice, a well-trained singer may be accepted as interpreting
+the composer's intention rightly, when he or she elaborates _fioriture_
+far beyond the limits of which any hint appears in the score.
+
+Even here, however, traditional usage must have its weight: cadenzas
+must be strictly in character, and only introduced in songs to which
+such passages are appropriate. I once heard a florid cadenza
+interpolated at the close of "_Spirto Gentil_," by an aspiring young
+tenor, too full of conceit and "modern" ideas to take a hint from
+Mario's marvellous rendering of that song.
+
+And it must be borne in mind that it is only in operas of the Bellini,
+Donizetti, and early Rossini and Verdi school that such extreme license
+is granted. No such tricks can be played with the operas of Mozart,
+Glück, Weber, or Meyerbeer, or with the later works of Rossini and
+Verdi, while the notion of altering a note, or omitting even a
+demi-semi-quaver rest, in those of Wagner, would be, to his admirers,
+flat heresy. In reality, the style of singing opera music is easily
+acquired by any one who is sufficiently advanced to be fit to attempt
+opera music at all. There are certain niceties to be acquired, and
+endless beauties of variety in the rendering of even small passages; but
+these things cannot be taught on paper.
+
+
+=Ballads.=--There is no greater mistake than to suppose that "any one can
+sing a simple ballad." Good ballad singing is one of the rarest
+accomplishments, and demands qualities in the singer which _may_ be
+wanting even in a person who can sing well both in opera and oratorio.
+To suppose that an untaught singer can do justice to any ballad that is
+worth the trouble of singing at all, is simply a mark of ignorance on
+the whole subject of singing.
+
+Ballads do not always require power or compass of voice, it is true, nor
+do they tax the singer on the score of flexibility or physical strength;
+but they are the severest test of enunciation, _mezzo-voce_ singing,
+neatness and readiness in producing tones of any gradation, and perfect
+control over the voice.
+
+To sing a ballad well demands a really cultivated taste, a certain
+dramatic power, suppressed it is true, but influencing the whole
+delivery; a sympathetic voice, and a manner which will enlist the
+interest and sympathy of the audience. Ballad singing is neither
+declamation nor recitative: there is no chance of surprising or
+astonishing your audience; but you _must_ contrive to please them, you
+must _touch_ them somehow; and, for an ordinary person in the costume of
+the nineteenth century, to "touch" others of the same species is not
+easy. Sometimes, no doubt, the words of a good song are in themselves so
+touching and charming that, so long as the music be not positively
+hideous or destructive of the sense of the words, the singer has only to
+let them be clearly heard, and the battle is won; but more frequently he
+has to trick his audience into interest in a song where the words in
+themselves are either hopelessly silly, or too obscure in sense for
+their full meaning to appear at a first hearing or reading. All that he
+can then do is to deliver it in such a way that they shall feel that
+there _is_ a meaning to it all, though they have not fully caught it
+yet, and so they may wish to hear it again. I do not, of course, mean
+any allusion to the ridiculous fashion of _encores_, but simply that the
+feeling at the end of such a song should be one of liking it
+sufficiently to wish to understand it entirely.
+
+Many songs would tell their own tale and produce their own effect well
+enough, if the singer would let them, and therefore the ballad singer
+must only be sufficiently self-conscious to keep himself out of the way.
+However good his singing, however original his reading of the song,
+_while he is singing_ it should all go to the credit of the song, and
+the hearers be charmed into forgetting _him_ till he is silent.
+
+
+=Recitative.=--Good recitative singing is of great importance, and
+requires careful attention and study. Recitative is midway between
+speaking and singing; it is a sort of modulated intoning, that is, that
+in delivering it the note and the word that belongs to it should be
+given with equal intention, and appear to belong to each other so
+completely that the musical sound should seem to be the natural
+intonation which the reciter would give to the word. Recitative is (_or
+was_) practically an attempt to express, in musical notation, the
+inflexions of the human voice in speaking; and how accurately, in some
+cases, musical notation can do this, will be seen at a glance by the
+following illustration:
+
+[Music:
+
+    Who   are you?]
+
+[Music:
+
+      Who are you?]
+
+[Music:
+
+    Who   are you?]
+
+--where the question is asked in the same words, but the musical notes
+express clearly three different sentiments, or degrees of sentiment.
+This should be taken into consideration by the student; and he should
+strive to give his recitative with as natural a delivery as he can,
+placing himself mentally in the position of a dramatic reciter.
+
+Steadiness of tone, clearness of enunciating consonants, and full round
+delivery of vowel-sounds are indispensable to good recitative singing.
+Every note must be distinct, and not the faintest suspicion of a "slur"
+or _portamento_ can be allowed.
+
+Recitative singing is not a thing which a student should try to teach
+himself, as he may not only waste his time, but gain notions which are
+erroneous and difficult to cure. For instance, take the recitatives in
+"_The Messiah_," as these are printed for the British public. Nothing
+could be more ludicrous than for a singer to appear in public and sing
+the recitatives faithfully as printed in the editions of this oratorio
+which are continually being disseminated throughout the land. Handel,
+let it be borne in mind, was _not_ well acquainted with the English
+language; and though he may have written good music, he was often very
+far from reaching good literary sense. Thus, as regards this latter,
+this specimen passage occurs in Handel's "_Acis and Galatea_,"
+
+[Music:
+
+    Where shall I seek the charm-ing fair?]
+
+Yet no one in his senses would think of rendering it other than
+
+[Music:
+
+    Where shall I seek the charm-ing fair?]
+
+inasmuch as there is some doubt of the chord 6/4 which forms the grace
+note being Handel's music, and because the sense of the words demands
+that no break shall be made between the words _seek_ and _the_. As
+Handel failed in his English, it is surely allowable to make good his
+deficiencies in this respect.
+
+The following paragraphs relate to certain minor details of style in
+singing, and apply to singing of every kind. They must be taken in
+conjunction with much that has already been said under the head of
+"Practice."
+
+
+=Slurring.=--Slurring up to a note is a very disagreeable and common evil
+to be guarded against. It matters not how far distant the note to be
+sung may be from the preceding tone; it should be attacked fearlessly
+and cheerfully, but _with an open throat_. The note to be attacked must
+not be prepared in the throat. The course should be this. The tone of
+the preceding note must not be moved, but the one required--say a very
+high one--must be obtained by the joint process of lowering the larynx,
+of sounding the note from exactly the same spot as the lower note, in a
+soft but fine tone, and thirdly, by getting such a ring in the note as
+it can only have in conjunction with the feeling that while the root or
+foundation of the note is in the chest, yet it owes much of its
+penetrating character and power to a sort of reflecting power which is
+given it from the extreme end of the spine bone, where it joins the
+head. Certainly no high note is properly _produced_, nor to be relied
+upon for a _crescendo_, unless the student has this feeling that it
+springs from the back of the neck; and, in rising to an upper note, the
+aim should be not at length to approach the upper note from beneath, as
+it were, but to "come down" upon it--to strike it from _above_ instead
+of from below.
+
+
+=Sentiment.=--Always try to convey the sentiment of what you may be
+singing through the tone of the voice. Love and anger cannot both be
+expressed with the same quality of voice. For the former, a delicate
+light tone well on the lips is desirable, while for the latter the voice
+should be produced lower in the stomach; yet the tone should still be
+kept on the lips; its character should be "darker," more round, and
+sonorous. "'_Tis this that racks my brain_": such words as these should
+never be sung in the same character of voice as "_Waft her, angels, to
+the skies_." It is good practice to take any piece and sing the melody
+on an open vowel throughout, with the object of showing the meaning of
+the song without the aid of words. Then, when this can be done, the
+words may be employed, and the result will be doubly happy.
+
+
+=Decision.=--Indecision is a very serious fault in singing. Do well and
+thoroughly whatever you decide upon attempting. If you have a _staccato_
+passage to sing, render it firmly in that style; if you have one that is
+_legato_, take care that this character is _strongly_ seen from your
+rendering. When you "slur," make it strong enough to be felt. If you
+bend as it were from one note to another, let your intention to do so be
+clearly apparent. Let a _forte_ passage be loud, and let a _piano_ one
+be really soft. Any half measures in singing are fatal. Precision and
+certainty are qualities which the student must always aim at attaining.
+Without them, singing becomes tame and unattractive, not to say
+tiresome.
+
+
+=Imitation.=--Imitation, which in many other arts becomes plagiary, in
+singing is most desirable; for singing, more than any other art, rests
+on tradition; there is even very little doubt that the peculiar charm
+and quality of a true tenor voice (for instance) is more due to
+imitation in a singer than to nature; that is to say, that it is the
+result of a transmitted culture--such imitation being the only means in
+which singers can reap the harvest of the experience of the great
+singers now to be heard no more, who have left their imitators to pass
+on to others what they themselves obtained by imitating and improving on
+_their_ predecessors. Therefore do not be afraid of being set down as a
+mere copyist, if you study and attempt to imitate the style of the best
+living singers. You will always have enough of your own merit or defect
+to distinguish your performance, if you are really a conscientious
+student, and you may learn a great deal by listening to the best public
+singers which can be taught you in no other way. Watch their stage
+deportment; their treatment of the weaker parts of their voices; their
+method of breathing; their manner towards the public;--in fact, every
+point which occurs to you,--and make some use of what you see and hear
+in your own studies.
+
+
+=Public Singing.=--If you have to sing in public, remember always to
+take a rapid but searching glance round your stage. This is a great
+point gained. As you step on to "the boards," notice (unobserved)
+the dimensions of the stage (if it happens to be new to you). Note
+the height of its ceiling, its surroundings, its draperies, its
+distance from your farthest auditor; then take up your position
+accordingly--bearing in mind that all your tone is wanted by your
+listeners, which requirement can never be met unless you yourself take
+the precaution to prevent the sound being held or carried back by the
+stage decorations. In a concert _salon_ or theatre, then, do not forget
+to get well to the front of the platform. At the same time you must not
+be _too_ close upon your stall occupants, or you may give them the very
+undesirable impression that at any moment you may fall over.
+
+
+="Holding" an Audience.=--The singer should carefully watch an audience so
+as to gauge its attention and sympathies. If it seems impatient,
+restless, and indifferent, the singer may be quite sure that he or she
+is exciting no interest. The best course then for one to do is to
+immediately change the style, alter the tone, give forth his or her best
+energies, and use every effort to become ingratiated into the good
+favour of the listeners. If such effects as these fail constantly in
+their turn, then the aspirant for vocal fame should give up, and devote
+both time and attention to further study, or to some other means of a
+livelihood; for a future great singer will not be failing constantly,
+and to be only a second-rate singer while there are so many is a thing
+_not_ to be devoutly desired.
+
+
+=Mistakes in Public.=--If you make a mistake in singing, do not add to the
+mischief by allowing it to alarm or disconcert you. Proceed onward as if
+nothing had happened. You may be quite sure that each one of your
+audience will not have detected the slip, for they cannot _all_ be
+critics. But bear in mind that such confidence as your adviser here
+suggests is not to be too often called into requisition. No great artist
+will ever make a serious mistake in public. How much more careful then
+should the young student be!
+
+
+
+
+ON TIME IN SINGING.
+
+
+I need perhaps scarcely remind my readers who are or who wish to be
+singers that _time_ concerns them quite as much as the conductor, the
+pianist, the violinist--in short, the whole orchestra. It behoves the
+student in singing to give early and careful attention to this important
+feature in his artistic training. You may have the voice of a Rubini,
+you may be a second Tamburini in quality and extent of voice, but unless
+you can sing in time yourself, and are able to do so with others, and
+with the counter-acting influences of an orchestra, you can never hope
+to rise in your profession. It may be argued that you have no desire to
+lay yourself out for a career on the lyric stage. Then, however, you
+shut yourself out from some of the largest prizes in the profession;
+beyond which there comes the question of oratorio business, and the
+growing taste for band accompaniments to songs. And if you restrict your
+ambition to a pianoforte accompaniment, time is needed even with that in
+order to produce anything like a satisfactory rendering of the piece you
+may be singing. The accompanyist may be a Sir Julius Benedict, or a
+Signor Randegger (than whom there is no better in this country, so
+neglected has this species of musical art-work become); but a perfect
+rendering depends not so much upon the pianist as the vocalist. If the
+singer flounders about with neither "rhyme nor reason," it is scarcely
+reasonable to expect the accompanyist, clever as he may be, to be always
+at his heels, like a cat after a mouse. I would therefore advise the
+student to invest his money in a Metronome--the most useful thing with
+which he could provide himself. They are not dear, bearing in mind their
+utility, and one will, I am sure, save the student much time and many a
+_fiasco_. Learn the working of this useful machine, and practise all
+your exercises with it. If you go to a good singing master, you should
+ask him to time your exercises to the pace at which you should sing
+them, and in this way you will not only be growing in a good habit, but
+your singing will be characterized by a crispness and a certainty of
+attack, which will be apparent to all musicians and amateurs with good
+taste. Your singing master will, no doubt, impress upon you the
+necessity of singing your songs in time, and especially of slightly
+accenting the first and third beats in the bar if it is common time, the
+first and fourth beats when it is compound common or 6/8 time, and the
+first beat when it is triple or 3/4 time. In this way there will be
+meaning given to your singing, and those who may be accompanying you
+will be able to feel where you are, and to keep time with you. In
+singing a passage like this from Cowen's charming song "Aubade,"--the
+master, if he knew his business, would instruct his pupil to slightly
+accent the words as I have indicated with the mark =V=, and to preserve
+_strict_ time throughout the passage, and especially in the taking up of
+the words after the long note on the word _sleep_. The accompanyist
+would, we may assume, do likewise with his pianoforte part, and in this
+way a perfect _ensemble_ would be secured.
+
+[Music:
+
+    Sleep, love, sleep,
+    the morn is wak - - ing,]
+
+With this brief introduction to the subject, I will proceed to give the
+student a few exercises in keeping and beating time, the assiduous
+practice of which will, I hope, soon place him in the desirable position
+of being able to sing in time.
+
+[Music: Ex. 1.
+
+Four beats in a bar.
+
+    Do Re Mi Fa Sol
+
+    La Si Do Do Si
+
+    La Sol Fa Mi Re Do]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2.
+
+    Do Do Re Re Mi Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 3.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 4.
+
+    Do Do Do Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5.
+
+    Do Do Re Re Mi Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7.
+
+    Do Do Do Re Re Re Mi Mi Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 9.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 10.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 11.
+
+     Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Mi &c.]
+
+These exercises may be timed as slow as you like on your metronome--the
+slower the better--but 76 is a good pace to begin with; when you have
+thoroughly mastered them at 76, take them a little quicker until you can
+sing them accurately up to a good brisk time.
+
+No 1 has but one note in the bar, and this must be held on steadily for
+four beats of the metronome--care being taken to leave each note in
+sufficient time to take a fresh breath, and attack the second note and
+syllable in precise time with the metronome beat. I need, perhaps,
+scarcely point out that much good will be obtained if the student can
+accustom himself to _feeling_ in his mind the rhythm and beating, so as
+not to acquire the habit of trusting to mechanical appliances, which are
+dispensed with at public performances. The sol-fa-ing must be strictly
+adhered to, and in Exercises 2, 3, etc., it will be seen that the
+syllable must be sounded twice and four times respectively. With
+Exercise 5 the dotted note comes in; but I will not stay to explain
+that, as I assume that my readers will have acquainted themselves with
+the elements of musical theory before taking up singing. Especial care
+should be given to Exercise 7, as that is the first step in the
+difficult matter of syncopation, carried out elaborately in Exercises 8
+and 9. With Exercise 11 the question of Rests comes in, but the same
+remark that I made as to the dotted notes applies here. Everything that
+it is necessary to know about them should be found in any elementary
+musical grammar.
+
+Having mastered the above exercises, the reader may take the following
+with two beats in the bar--taking the precaution to set them at a slow
+time on the metronome, say 76, not singing them quickly until he is
+thoroughly acquainted with them.
+
+[Music: Ex. 1. Two beats to a bar.
+
+    Do Do Re Re Mi Mi Fa Fa Sol Sol
+    La La Si Si Do Do Do Si Si
+    La La Sol Sol Fa Fa Mi Mi Re Re Do]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2.
+
+    Do Re Mi Fa Sol La
+    Si Do Do Do Si Si &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 3.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 4.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7.
+
+    Do Re Mi Fa Sol &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8.]
+
+After which he may take the following with three beats in the bar:--
+
+[Music: Ex. 1.
+
+Three beats in a bar.
+
+    1 2 3
+    Do    Re Mi Fa Sol
+    La    Si Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 3.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 4.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 9.]
+
+
+
+
+ON THE CHOICE OF MUSIC.
+
+    There are, of course, no _rules_ to be given to guide the student
+    in the choice of music, except the general ones, to choose good
+    music, pleasing music, and music suited to his voice and powers.
+    But those general rules touch incidentally on a few points on which
+    it may be well to offer a few remarks.
+
+
+=Music must suit the Voice.=--Your music must not only be appropriate for
+your voice in compass, but it must be such as has been written for a
+voice of your kind. This is a most important thing to remember. Nothing
+is more provoking to a person of good taste and musical knowledge than
+to hear songs composed for a voice of one class sung by a voice of a
+totally different character; and yet this is a vice which even good
+artists will sometimes weakly succumb to. The popular song of Gounod's,
+"_Quand tu chantes berçée_," for instance, has been sung to death by
+many soprani and contralti, in various keys. One would have thought that
+the words alone would have shown them the utter absurdity of what they
+were doing; but no, for the sake of producing an effect (upon an
+audience who naturally supposed that public singers of high standing
+knew what they were doing, and why they did it), these good ladies
+committed what I do not scruple to call a vulgar and inartistic blunder.
+The song is a man's song, and no woman should attempt it.
+
+This fault is one which amateurs are very apt to fall into, and a long
+list might be made of songs which have suffered this unfair treatment.
+Soprani sing tenor songs--(I have often, in the early days of the
+popularity of "_Il Trovatore_," heard a soprano sing "_Ah, che la
+Morte!_"--tenors, those written for soprano--(_e.g._, I know an amateur
+tenor whose "crack" song is Iphis' "Farewell" in "_Jephtha_"). Contralti
+and mezzo-soprani steal bass and barytone songs, as "But who may abide,"
+from the "_Messiah_," and basses and barytones return the compliment by
+appropriating "What tho' I trace," or "O rest in the Lord.")
+
+There is a reason, quite apart from the question of taste, which renders
+this practice objectionable. A composer of any skill writes his
+accompaniment as well as his melody with reference to the voice which he
+wishes to sing it. Now, if that voice be--we will say--a soprano, the
+accompaniment will be written for a voice of that _pitch_, as well as of
+that character and compass; the progressions of harmony will be written
+with due regard to the actual place of the vocal notes in the scale. But
+directly the song is sung by a tenor--a voice which pitches every note
+an octave lower than the soprano--the relation of the vocal notes to the
+accompaniment is changed; notes that were intended to be fourths above
+the accompaniment will become fifths below, and progressions which were
+correct in the composer's intention become wrong in the effect produced
+by the singer. That is an extreme case, I grant, but it is only a fair
+instance of the sort of result which follows on such changes, and it is
+sufficient to show that the rule rests on reason and not caprice.
+
+
+"=Original Keys.="--Do not bind yourself, as some think it necessary to
+do, always to sing your songs in the original keys. Remember that opera
+and oratorio music, and a large number of modern "ballads," were
+composed for performance in large buildings, theatres, and
+concert-rooms. The keys, therefore, were chosen with due reference to
+that fact, and to the (in many cases) exceptional voices of the singers.
+The raising of the pitch in later years also affects the question.
+
+Now, if you have to sing in a drawing-room, the pitch, volume of tone,
+and style of delivery must be appropriate to chamber music, and not to
+the stage of Covent Garden, and the keys which are necessary for due
+brilliancy and effect in a concert-room are frequently unsuited to a
+drawing-room, giving an appearance of strain and noisiness to the
+singing. A good deal of opera music is as unfit for singing in a
+drawing-room as would be a grand symphony for performance there; and an
+artistic singer should bear in mind this principle of fitness in his
+selection.
+
+At the same time, if it is considered desirable to transpose a song, let
+it be only for that reason, and let the aim be to produce the same
+effect, _relatively_, in the drawing-room, as the song in its original
+key is intended to produce in the concert-room. Do not transpose
+recklessly, merely to "suit your voice:" if you are a barytone, for
+instance, do not sing tenor songs a few notes lower; or, if you are a
+soprano, do not transpose contralto songs to suit your register. For the
+_character_ of the music (if the music is good) suits the voice for
+which it was intended, and there is a risk of destroying that character
+by giving it to a voice of another kind. This has been proved over and
+over again on the stage in several notable instances.
+
+
+=Execution.=--Do not be too ambitious in selecting florid songs for
+performance either in public or private. "Fireworks" in a drawing-room
+rarely please, while in a concert-room they must be very perfect and
+first-rate in execution to do so. Of course, if you are a professional
+artist you must include such work in your studies, and even for the
+amateur the practice of florid music, under a master, is most desirable
+as an exercise. But where the choice of a song for a concert rests with
+yourself, sacrifice ambition to prudence, unless your voice is naturally
+a very flexible one, and your training in that style of music very
+complete. I give, on this subject, a quotation from an old and
+experienced writer on music and singing:
+
+"Execution is certainly one of the most difficult parts of musical
+science. Young singers are desirous of attaining it without reflecting
+whether, from the formation of the throat and various physical causes,
+they may ever be able to accomplish their wishes. Few, indeed, possess
+the power of execution in a pre-eminent degree. It is in part a gift of
+nature: those who have ever delighted as well as astonished us by their
+rapid manner of running through divisions must have been naturally
+endowed with flexible organs.
+
+"... Some voices may be compared to gems which in their original state
+are dull, and, to those unacquainted with their worth, of no value....
+It frequently happens that singers, from timidity or want of proper
+knowledge in exercising their voices, remain ignorant of their own
+qualifications. The hinges of a door which have continued for years
+undisturbed, will, when the door is re-opened, grate harshly on the ear;
+but every effort renders the harshness more tolerable, until, from
+frequent use, they move easily. Thus it is with the voice: on the
+flexibility of the _uvula_ and the muscles connected with it depend both
+the perfectibility of the shake and execution. But still it must be
+acknowledged that acquired execution should never be exercised by the
+side of nature otherwise than sparingly, even where necessity requires
+it, for the latter possesses an easy velocity which can playfully sport
+with its subject at will; but, however gratifying the power of execution
+may be considered by those who possess it, I recommend them not to be
+indiscriminately lavish, lest they cloy by too great a profusion, and,
+as Voltaire remarks, 'shine in trills and divisions, at the expense of
+poetry and good sense.'"
+
+
+=Fashion.=--The songs which are "the rage" at any time are always great
+snares for amateurs. Aspiring young singers hear a ballad charmingly
+rendered by some great singer, and straightway go home, send for it, and
+on the first available opportunity treat their friends to their version
+of it. This is really unfair to themselves, as it throws them into
+unwise contrast with the public singer who has made the song popular,
+and whose well-known rendering of it forbids ordinary hearers to judge
+the rendering of an amateur on its own merits, or by any rule but that
+of comparison. Moreover, "popular" songs--I mean songs whose popularity
+is largely due to their having been sung by favourite public
+singers--are by no means always good in themselves; or, if fairly good,
+by no means easy; or if good and not difficult, by no means always
+sufficiently so to make it worth while for an amateur to spend time and
+study on them. In very many cases the public singer has to sing these
+songs because he is paid for doing so, and gets a "royalty" on every
+copy sold; it is simply one development of the hydra-headed art of
+advertising, and such productions are known by the vulgar name of
+"pot-boilers," _i.e._, compositions hastily thrown off to bring in a
+little money "_to keep the pot boiling_." If composers who are capable
+of better things are reduced to making money in this way, we may be
+sincerely sorry for them; but speaking from an artistic point of view,
+the practice is reprehensible, and "pot-boilers" are not the kind of
+music which a young singer, anxious to improve, should waste time or
+money upon. I am far from saying that there are no good songs to be
+found among new music, but I think they seldom lie on the top of the
+pile.
+
+
+=Forming a Repertoire.=--In gradually forming your _repertoire_, or
+collection of properly studied songs for drawing-room or concert
+singing, do not be in haste to make it a large one. It is better to know
+only a few songs and do them really well, than to sing a large number
+indifferently. If you are studying for the profession, there is a
+considerable number of songs which you will be expected to know as a
+matter of course, but over and above such, every singer should have a
+special repertoire of his or her own, and it is of this that I now
+speak. Your selection of songs, like your singing, should have the stamp
+of your own individuality upon it. You should have a little stock of
+songs, with which your singing is in a way identified, and which you
+must be able to sing in a manner that at once stamps those songs as your
+property, so that another person might say, "I could not sing that song
+before you, it is one of your own."
+
+To form such a repertoire, you may have to go a little out of the beaten
+track of what is best known at the time. If opera music suits you best,
+look at the operas, never performed now, of Glück, or the less known of
+Mozart's, or earlier works of Rossini, Auber, &c.; or else try and get
+hold of works not yet known in England, such as Macfarren's, Wallace's,
+Purcell's, and a few other such native dramatic composers. In a word, do
+not limit your notions of operatic music to what you hear year after
+year at Covent Garden or Her Majesty's.
+
+So, too, in oratorio: search in the less familiar oratorios of Handel,
+and such of his operas as you can get access to, and carry the same idea
+out in examining the works of other composers, ancient and modern. Good
+work has been done of late years by various publishers in publishing
+many works of this class, and there are plenty of these which are still
+unfamiliar and unhackneyed.
+
+The same with your songs and ballads: before you rush into the modern
+fashionable ballad, see if you cannot find a few that you can
+appropriate among the stores of old English music, or the detached songs
+of old Italian masters (many of which are magnificent as songs, and
+utterly unknown at present, except to the few).
+
+
+
+
+PHYSIOLOGICAL SURROUNDINGS.
+
+
+It is highly expedient that singers themselves, and intending students
+of the art, should make some acquaintance with the physiological
+surroundings which are brought into play in the process of voice
+production. A knowledge of the technical terms for the various organs
+directly involved is very essential, and the intelligent student will
+see the necessity not only for distinguishing such names as "larynx" and
+"diaphragm," but also of possessing some idea of their whereabouts in
+the human frame. No better course could be adopted for the acquirement
+of such a knowledge than attendance at the classes and lectures at the
+musical colleges and other institutions, which, from time to time,
+secure the assistance of qualified specialists to speak upon this very
+important branch of the singing art. No other mode of teaching is so
+well calculated to enlighten the uninitiated in the wondrous mechanism
+of the human voice, and to inspire him or her with an adequate sense of
+the watchful care and delicate treatment which a voice worthy of
+systematic training demands, as well as deserves, at the hands of
+students of both sexes. As a preliminary to a fuller inquiry into the
+subject, the following few notes may be fixed upon the mind:--
+
+
+=The Larynx= (+larynx+) constitutes the upper part of the wind-pipe. It
+is the seat of the voice, and essential parts of it are the "vocal
+cords" (_chordæ vocales_), two membranes in a horizontal position across
+the larynx. It is popularly called "Adam's apple" (_pomum Adami_), the
+protuberance so often recognizable in the throats of bass singers, but a
+more correct use of "_pomum Adami_" is when it is applied to a
+projection in the thyroid cartilage--a part of the laryngeal structure.
+
+=The Thyroid= (from +Thyreos+) is a shield-shaped cartilage, and that
+part of the larynx which, in the case of both sexes, develops suddenly
+at the period when they pass from youth to mature age. Other important
+cartilages are the cricoid (from +krikos+), a ring-shaped membrane; the
+arytenoids (from +harytaina+ a pitcher); the epiglottis (+epi-glôtta+),
+situated at the back of the mouth; and the cartilages of Santorini, or
+_cornicula laryngis_.
+
+The trachea, or wind-pipe, is capable of rising or falling, and thus is
+produced the perceptible movement of the larynx in the throat when
+speaking or singing. It is by lowering the larynx, and so commanding an
+expansion of the throat that the best tone is possible in the voice, and
+it is this open throat production which some teachers are aiming at when
+they charge their pupils to "sing from the chest." A more sensible
+request would be to "lower the larynx," since such a lowering of this
+organ places the throat in the most favourable position for emitting
+sound; as well as for enabling the lungs, or wind-chests, to act most
+advantageously upon the true vocal cords. Moreover, this lowered larynx
+production leads to the best results from the vocal cords themselves.
+The natural tendency is to sing as we talk, a process which involves a
+demand upon the upper fringes of the vocal ligaments only, but no
+long-sustained singing could be maintained by this means, nor does it
+requisition any art-knowledge or principle. Directly, however, we begin
+to utilize the lower edge of the vocal cords, we are verging upon the
+art of _producing_ the voice; _i.e._, creating a something which will
+not manifest itself without the first application of some art
+principles. Here lies the whole secret of singing, _viz._, the
+utilization of the lower portions of the membranous folds popularly
+called the "vocal cords," instead of working merely their topmost
+fringes, as do the innumerable tenors who sing "throaty," and as we all
+do up to a certain point, in the ordinary process of speaking. The
+singing voice and the speaking voice are two totally different
+productions, the former never to be acquired except at the hands of a
+capable master, who, himself, has been properly taught the principles of
+voice production.
+
+The lungs, or bellows, or air-chambers lie, as is well known, on each
+side of the chest, resting upon the diaphragm, and performing a very
+important function in singing. They supply the air which acts upon the
+vocal cords, and in true singing are the first organs for consideration
+by a vocalist, since so much depends upon the way the wind, or breath,
+is brought to bear upon the vocal cords. For this reason the abdominal
+method of breathing--the filling of the lungs from their bases--becomes
+the best method for inspiring the breath in singing. Doubtless, in
+breathing, the lungs are replenished from above downwards, but it
+requires something of the sensation of these air-supplying substances
+being filled from their bases in order to requisition the full help of
+the diaphragm, a great muscle which separates the lungs from the
+abdomen, and which may be called the fundamental basis on which all
+voice production rests.
+
+The Pharynx (+pharynx+) is situated behind the mouth, between the tongue
+and the arch forming the circumference of the palate. Its province is to
+reflect the voice on its issue from the glottis. It is an elastic
+aperture, and may be well styled the reflecting organ of singing. It can
+take various forms, and bears a great part in giving character to the
+sounds originated in the larynx.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_The Voice--a Wind, Reed, or String Instrument?_ Much discussion has
+spent itself in settling the question of "family" to which the vocal
+instrument properly belongs. The vocal chords are known to be composed
+of a yellow elastic fibrous tissue in their anterior parts, the
+posterior portions consisting of a tougher muscle or cartilage. Many
+maintain them to belong to the "string" family, since the sounds
+generated are produced as on a violin--the higher notes by increased
+tension, the lower tones by a reduction of the strain. In this process,
+the muscle, popularly known as the epiglottis-cushion--a fat mucous
+membrane--presses on to the vocal cords, modifying their vibrating
+length. Thus, in an extreme high note, the cushion presses intensely
+upon the cords, considerably shortening their one inch length. In
+reverting to a low note, this tension becomes withdrawn, and the whole
+length of cord is at play to produce its lowest tones. An unfortunate
+objection to this theory--that the vocal cords can be styled a stringed
+instrument, is the fact that no string of the small extent of the vocal
+cords could be capable of sounding either so many, or such low notes;
+moreover, the mathematical treatment of their vibrations, as governed by
+the tension, is not correct, as they are in the case of a violin. It is
+a useful theory, and method of reasoning, however, for those teachers of
+singing who maintain that to get high notes, a light and thin style of
+singing, and the use of the upper fringe of the vocal cords (the
+production point), is preferable, in contradistinction to those who
+declare that no really good chest note with any telling power worth
+considering is possible, unless the vocalist sings deep in his chest and
+gains the idea, as he goes for his note, of requisitioning with all
+effort the lowest depth in the cord. Surely this point presents the
+greatest difficulty for singers with whom compass, especially at the top
+of the voice, is an imperative necessity, albeit that people go on
+talking to the contrary; and it is a matter which needs settling among
+voice specialists and singing masters. We are told, and it is generally
+known, that the tension of the epiglottis-cushion produces a higher note
+just as the shifting of the finger on the violin string affects its
+tone--a process which may produce falsetto sounds, but which surely is
+not the basis upon which great Italian singers of the Mongini and
+Tamberlik type secured the great chest Cs, which, with their resonance
+and brilliancy, were wont to make our opera houses ring again. Is it not
+a fact that in voices of this calibre, as well as in those trained on
+what is known as the broad lines of the true Italian production, the
+whole surfaces of the vocal cords become more or less requisitioned, and
+that they vibrate the whole of their length and breadth, not merely the
+sides, rather than that any upper portion is mainly utilized while the
+lower parts are resting? The answer to this question would seem to
+indicate that the human voice is of the nature of a reed instrument.
+These membraneous organs, which we term vocal cords, are such that their
+whole surfaces must vibrate when brought into contact with a current of
+air from the lungs. The voice reed, in fact, vibrates freely backwards
+and forwards, and so corresponds with what are known as "free," not
+"beating" reeds--such as are found in concertinas, and the like.
+
+That the voice is something of an organ pipe (a flue pipe) is an
+illusion only indulged in by writers and teachers prone to descriptive
+language, which they do not stay to inquire into, either for their own
+edification or for the enlightenment of other people. There is
+absolutely nothing to maintain such an idea.
+
+It is important that the nature of the _matériel_ of the vocal cords
+should become widely known, since such a knowledge, elementary as it
+might be, would, at the outset, enable students to get at once upon the
+right road to singing. To grasp the idea that the initial
+sound-producing means are these bits of semi-lunar membranes, acted upon
+by the breath from the lungs, and that they vibrate violently or orderly
+in proportion to the care with which the breath is brought to bear upon
+them, is to master the first great difficulty in singing. This once
+grasped, it is not hard to realize that the sound emitted is moulded and
+shaped, modified and beautified by other organs of the laryngeal machine
+and its surroundings, as well as by such variable conditions as the
+state of the human frame generally, and the particular condition of
+those organs of the body most directly concerned in supporting the work
+of the larynx may happen to be in. It will save the student much time
+if, before he (or she) begins to study singing, some first acquaintance
+be formed with the physiological surroundings of the human voice, and it
+is worse than useless to go to a master who teaches singing in blind
+ignorance of, and doubtless contempt for, these physiological
+principles. The student who has familiarized himself with the structure
+of the vocal organs will have made a much more intelligent progress in
+his art than the one who has not, and will be competent none the less
+readily to understand the instruction of a qualified master than to
+detect the shameful pretence and humbug of the quack.
+
+
+=Board Teachers' Laryngitis--Clergyman's Sore Throat--Throat Exhaustion,
+etc.=--Among the greatest evils of this competitive teaching age is the
+mischief arising from the constant and at the same time injurious use of
+the voice. All who use the voice constantly must learn how to breathe,
+and _produce_ the voice. Failing that, serious mischief, which even the
+specialist of throat hospitals cannot cope with, must inevitably follow.
+The only advice that can be given here is, immediately that voice
+exhaustion sets in, to consult not _a doctor_, but a throat or voice
+specialist. The best institution in the world for throat troubles is the
+Throat Hospital, Golden Square, London, W.
+
+
+
+
+EXERCISES.
+
+
+This first exercise is a most useful one in the uniting of notes and in
+gaining facility. The student should at first practise it very slowly,
+mastering four bars at a time. Although I have divided it into fifteen
+examples, it is really but one exercise, with a minim rest between each
+phrase of four bars; and it is in this example form that I wish the
+student ultimately to sing it with the metronome, at say 76, taking
+breath _only_ at the rest-mark, and making the _crescendo_--not, be it
+observed, by forcing the tone and breath, but by a gradual pressing down
+of the breath.[2]
+
+[2] The Exercise should be a crescendo from piano to forte.
+
+[Music: Ex. 1.]
+
+[Music: A.]
+
+[Music: B.]
+
+[Music: C.]
+
+[Music: D.]
+
+[Music: E.]
+
+[Music: F.]
+
+[Music: G.]
+
+[Music: H.]
+
+[Music: I.]
+
+[Music: J.]
+
+[Music: K.]
+
+[Music: L.]
+
+[Music: M.]
+
+[Music: N.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2 NAVA.]
+
+[Music]
+
+Exercise 2 is a further one for the practice of joining notes with the
+aid of the breath, without the least resemblance to a jerk with either
+the sound or the breath. To sing the exercise with advantage requires a
+very careful management of the respiratory organs, and its continuous
+practice is one of the best means of managing the breath. Having
+inspired the breath after the manner already indicated herein, proceed
+to sound the note F in a thin but firm and steady tone, which you must
+gradually swell, by pressing down the breath, as it were, into the
+following note G, which you will continue to hold steadily by keeping
+down the breath as long as you can. Though you raise your tone of voice
+in passing from F to G, you must dispel from your mind all notions of
+raising your breath or your _larynx_; it is just the reverse; you must
+lower these. Remember a golden rule--the higher your note the lower must
+it be generated in your chest, and your breath must be under the note
+supporting it, or there cannot possibly be any tone there. On reaching
+the highest limit of this exercise, the student will repeat the same
+operation down the scale, which I need scarcely say is less difficult.
+
+[Music: Ex. 3. NAVA.]
+
+[Music]
+
+[Music]
+
+Exercise 3 may be timed 76 on your metronome. It is a study to give
+freedom and flexibility to your voice. None of the notes should be
+forced, and the upper notes should be rendered with the mouth well open,
+and with a quality of tone as similar as possible to that of the lower
+notes. Breath should be taken (without losing time) at the rest-marks.
+There should be no break or jump in the tone, but rather it should be
+one unbroken stream of melody, as marked in the first phrase. The voice,
+in this exercise, should be constantly moving: no sooner should you be
+sounding the first note of the phrase than you should be moving to the
+second, from the second to the next, and so on. Be careful to sing the
+intervals exactly in time, and in descending to notes satisfy yourself
+that you are singing the exact tone, and that with certainty. Indecision
+is a grave fault in singing.
+
+[Music: Ex. 4. Intervals of thirds.
+
+     Do Re Mi Re Do Re Mi Fa Mi Re
+
+     Mi Fa Sol Fa Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5. Intervals of Fourths.
+
+* Here take breath.]
+
+[Music]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6. Intervals of Fifths.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7. Intervals of Sixths.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8. Intervals of Sevenths.]
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+     _Page_
+
+     Alto, 36
+
+
+     Bad Lessons, 50
+
+     Bad Masters, 50
+
+     Ballads, 80
+
+     Barytone, Basso-Cantante, 42
+
+     Bass, 44
+
+     Board Teachers' Laryngitis, 114
+
+     Books of Exercises, 51
+
+     Buffo, 48
+
+
+     Cathedral School, The, 72
+
+     Chest, Falsetto, and Head, 60
+
+     Chorus Singing, 69
+
+     Cleanliness, 13
+
+     Clearing the Throat, 59
+
+     Compass, 30
+
+     Consonants, 24
+
+     Contralto, 35
+
+
+     Decision, 84
+
+     Diet, 13
+
+     Dramatic Study, 27
+
+     Dress, 16
+
+     Duration of Practice, 67
+
+
+     Early Rising, 13
+
+     Education, General, 26
+
+     Emphasis, 25
+
+     English, 24
+
+     Execution, 105
+
+     Exercise, 15
+
+     Exercises, 115
+
+     Exercises, First, 62
+
+         "      Books of, 51
+
+         "      in Beating Time, 89
+
+     Expression, Facial, 54
+
+
+     Facial Expression, 54
+
+     Falsetto, 60
+
+     Fashion, 106
+
+     First Opinion, A, 44
+
+     Forming a Repertoire, 107
+
+     Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano, 60
+
+
+     General Education, 26
+
+        "    Musical Study, 70
+
+     German Lieder, Modern, 71
+
+
+     Hair, The, 14
+
+     Head, Singing in the, 58
+
+     High Notes, 59
+
+     "Holding" an Audience, 86
+
+     "How to Begin", 68
+
+     Humming, 69
+
+
+     Imitation, 70, 85
+
+     Individuality, 53
+
+     Institutions, 48
+
+
+     Larynx, The, 109
+
+     Late Hours, 19
+
+     Lessons, Bad, 50
+
+     Lips, Position of, 25
+
+
+     Masters, 48
+
+     Mezzo-Voce, 60
+
+     Mezzo-Contralto, 35
+
+     Mezzo-Soprano, 34
+
+     Mistakes in Public, 86
+
+     Modern German Lieder, 71
+
+     Morality, 19
+
+     Music to Suit the Voice, 103
+
+     Musical Study, General, 70
+
+
+     Names of Voices, 29
+
+     Nervousness, 21
+
+
+     Oratorio, 73
+
+     "Original Keys", 104
+
+     Opera, 79
+
+
+     Perseverance, 54
+
+     Physiological Surroundings, 109
+
+     Pharynx, The, 111
+
+     Position of Arms, 55
+
+         "       Body, 55
+
+         "       Hands, 56
+
+         "       Larynx, 57
+
+         "       Throat, 56
+
+         "       Tongue, 57
+
+     Pronunciation, 22
+
+     Public Singing, 85
+
+     Public, Mistakes in, 86
+
+
+     Qualities of the Voice, 45
+
+
+     Recitative, 81
+
+     Repertoire, Forming a, 107
+
+
+     Scale, The, 60
+
+       "    Practice, 62
+
+     "Schools" of Singing, 47
+
+     Self-Accompaniment, 55
+
+     Sentiment, 84
+
+     Singing in Tune, 67
+
+     Slurring, 83
+
+     Smoking, 18
+
+     Soprano, 32
+
+     Study of Songs, 20
+
+     Study of Words, 25
+
+     Styles, Traditional, 71
+
+
+     Teachers, Bad, 50
+
+     Teeth, The, 15
+
+     Tenore-Leggiero, 37
+
+     Tenore-Robusto, 39
+
+     Throatiness, 58
+
+     Thyroid, The, 110
+
+     Time in Singing, 87
+
+     Tone, 60
+
+     Traditional Styles, 71
+
+
+     Variety Indispensable, 68
+
+     Voices and their Names, 29
+
+     Voice, The; A Wind, Reed, or String Instrument, 111
+
+     Vowel-Sounds, 23
+
+
+     "Words," Study of, 25
+
+
+Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
+
+London & Edinburgh
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+Punctuation and formatting have been made consistent.
+
+Apparent printer's errors have been retained, unless stated below.
+
+Page 62, "disirable" changed to "desirable". (It cannot be too strongly
+impressed upon, or too frequently pointed out to, the singer (no matter
+what may be the stage of his or her artistic development) how desirable
+and advantageous it is to be constantly singing exercises and solfeggi
+in preference to songs.)
+
+Page 73 and 74, "shool" changed to "school". (You will find its good
+points equally insisted on in the oratorio school of singing, while its
+defects should be avoided in any.)
+
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+<body>
+<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Advice to Singers, by Frederick James Crowest</h1>
+<p>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 <a
+href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></p>
+<p>Title: Advice to Singers</p>
+<p>Author: Frederick James Crowest</p>
+<p>Release Date: October 10, 2012  [eBook #41013]</p>
+<p>Language: English</p>
+<p>Character set encoding: UTF-8</p>
+<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVICE TO SINGERS***</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h4>E-text prepared by Veronika Redfern, David Edwards,<br />
+    and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br />
+    (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br />
+    from page images generously made available by<br />
+    Internet Archive<br />
+    (<a href="http://archive.org">http://archive.org</a>).<br />
+    Music for audio illustrations was transcribed by<br />
+    Anne Celnick, Sarah Thomson, and the DP Music Team.</h4>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10">
+  <tr>
+    <td valign="top">
+      Note:
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive. See
+      <a href="http://archive.org/details/AdviceToSingers">
+      http://archive.org/details/AdviceToSingers</a>
+	</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="transnote">
+This e-text contains UTF-8 (unicode) characters that might not display properly in
+your browser or font, such as the flat music symbol and words in Greek.<span class="hide-link">
+Hover the cursor over such text and an explanation might appear. For example:
+C<span lang="en" title="flat">&#9837;</span>.<br /><br />
+
+Many musical excerpts appear throughout the book, along with links to
+audio files [Listen] directly below each excerpt. If the excerpt has
+lyrics, they appear below the music and the link to the midi file.<br /><br />
+
+Compilations of the exercises have been made available in PDF form. These
+can be found at the beginning of groups of exercises and are marked with
+a [Exercises in PDF] link. The PDFs provided have been compiled for the
+reader's convenience to facilitate printing of the exercises for practice.
+The music has been re-engraved for clarity. Please note that due
+to limitations, the beaming is not always true to the original.</span><br /><br />
+
+For additional Transcriber's Notes, <a href="#Transcribers_Note">click here</a>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 265px;">
+<a href="images/cover.jpg"><img src="images/th_cover.jpg" id="coverpage" width="265" height="400" alt="Advice to Singers, by Frederick J. Crowest, Author of &quot;The Great Tone Poets.&quot;" title="Cover" /></a>
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<table class="chapter-beginning" border="1" cellpadding="20" summary="Front Matter.">
+<tr>
+<td>
+<h1><span class="bigger"><a name="ADVICE_TO_SINGERS" id="ADVICE_TO_SINGERS">ADVICE TO SINGERS</a></span></h1>
+
+<br />
+
+<p class="center">BY<br /><br />
+
+<span class="bigger">FREDERICK J. CROWEST</span><br /><br />
+<span class="small">AUTHOR OF "THE GREAT TONE POETS" "MUSICAL GROUNDWORK"<br />
+EDITOR OF "THE MASTER MUSICIANS" SERIES, ETC.</span></p>
+
+<br /><br />
+
+<p class="center">"Since singing is so good a thing<br />
+<span style="padding-left:1.5em;">I wish all men would learn to sing"</span></p>
+
+<br /><br />
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 150px;">
+<img src="images/003.png" width="150" height="135" alt="Publisher's Device" title="Publisher's Device" />
+</div>
+<br />
+<p class="center big"><i>SEVENTEENTH THOUSAND</i></p>
+
+<br /><br />
+
+<p class="center big">LONDON<br />
+<span class="gesperrt bigger">FREDERICK WARNE AND CO.</span><br />
+AND NEW YORK<br />
+1904</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE">PREFACE.</a></h2>
+
+
+<div>
+  <img class="drop-cap" src="images/005.png" width="75" height="75" alt="S" title="S" />
+</div>
+<p class="drop-cap">SINGING cannot be learnt from a book, and so far
+from attempting any such impossible feat as writing
+a book which might be called "<i>Singing without a
+Master</i>," the author's object&mdash;frequently insisted upon herein&mdash;is
+to point out the impossibility of overcoming the difficulties
+of singing without a teacher. At the same time, there
+are points upon which a master would not feel called upon to
+speak; nor would he (except, perhaps, in the course of a very
+long period of training) be likely to touch on many matters
+which, though closely connected with the life or business of
+an accomplished singer, yet lie rather outside the province of
+the voice-trainer.</p>
+
+<p>In a work consisting of detached paragraphs, and not being
+a continuous essay, it is not always possible to enter into full
+explanations of the reasons for certain statements; and (for
+the want of such explanation) one paragraph may <i>appear</i> to
+contradict another. However, I can assure the reader that
+such paragraphs are only <i>apparent</i> contradictions; and if he
+will take the trouble to think such points out for himself, he
+will find that they are easily reconcileable.</p>
+
+<p>There is no subject, perhaps, on which opinions are so
+divided, and prejudices run so high, as the proper method of
+training and using the voice; nor is there perhaps one more
+wrapped in mystery than is the art of singing. This is probably
+the result of that readiness with which almost every
+music teacher has hitherto undertaken to teach Singing.
+This book will not, I am sure, add to the mystery. A careful
+perusal of its contents should clear away many misconceptions,
+and place the student on the right road to that end
+which he or she has in view.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h3>PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.</h3>
+
+
+<p>That another large edition of this little Manual should
+be called for in so comparatively short a time is sufficiently
+encouraging testimony of the worth of the book and the
+favour it has found at the hands of students of singing and
+others&mdash;a result the more gratifying to the publishers since
+hitherto it has been issued with an anonymous title-page.
+Often has the authorship of the little volume been industriously
+defended and disputed&mdash;not by myself&mdash;both in this
+country and America; but, on the whole, the identity of its
+originator has been well maintained. For my part matters
+might have remained so, especially as I am not insensible to
+the fact that there is much "preaching" herein&mdash;as indeed
+there must be in such a work, and some of the advice is of
+such a nature that its giver runs the risk of being placed
+upon an exceeding high pinnacle of moral excellence, or of
+being accounted the personification of all the virtues&mdash;both
+of which distinctions might scarcely be merited. The appearance
+of my name upon the title-sheet is the result of no
+wish of mine, and I have consented to it only out of deference
+to the pressing request of the publishers.</p>
+
+<p>A chapter on the Physiological Surroundings of the Voice
+has been added to this edition.</p>
+
+<p class="right">FREDERICK J. CROWEST.</p>
+
+<h3>PREFACE TO THE SEVENTH EDITION.</h3>
+
+<p>Once again my publishers have informed me of the
+necessity for reprinting this Manual, which has been so
+successful both here, in America, and in the Colonies. I
+have nothing to alter in the work, but I must express my
+thanks for the marked support that has been given to this
+straightforward advice. Did space permit, much might be
+said relative to that growing complaint, "Teachers' (or Board
+School) Laryngitis" as it is called. For some time past
+I have been authorized to make observations at the chief
+Throat Hospitals in connection with this constantly increasing
+mischief, arising from an injurious use of the voice
+in Teaching, and which only proper Voice Production will
+remedy. While I cannot give advice here, I shall be happy
+to answer any communications of sufferers from this complaint.</p>
+
+<p class="right">FREDERICK J. CROWEST.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">24 Ampthill Square, London, N.W.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS.</a></h2>
+
+<table width="90%" border="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Contents">
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td style="width:7%;" class="right"><i>Page</i></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Preliminary Remarks</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#PRELIMINARY_REMARKS">9</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">On Habits, Diet,</span> &amp;<span class="smcap">c.</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#ON_HABITS">13</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td style="width:5%;">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>  Early Rising&mdash;Cleanliness&mdash;The Hair&mdash;The Teeth&mdash;Exercise&mdash;Dress&mdash;Diet&mdash;Smoking&mdash;Late Hours&mdash;General Morality.</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Pronunciation and Study of Words</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#PRONUNCIATION">21</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>Nervousness&mdash;Pronunciation&mdash;Vowel-Sounds&mdash;Consonants&mdash;English&mdash;Emphasis&mdash;Position of Lips&mdash;Study of "Words"&mdash;General Education&mdash;Dramatic Study.</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Voices and their Various Qualities</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#VOICE_QUALITY">28</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>Voices and their Names&mdash;Compass&mdash;Soprano&mdash;Mezzo-Soprano&mdash;Mezzo-Contralto&mdash;Contralto&mdash;Alto&mdash;Tenore-Leggiero&mdash;Tenore-Robusto&mdash;Barytone and Basso-Cantante&mdash;Bass&mdash;Buffo&mdash;Qualities of Voices.</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Instruction, Books and Masters</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#INSTRUCTION">47</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>Schools of Singing&mdash;Masters&mdash;Institutions&mdash;A First Opinion&mdash;Bad Lessons&mdash;Bad Teachers&mdash;Books of Exercises.</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Practice</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#ON_THE_PRACTICE_OF_SINGING">53</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>Individuality&mdash;Perseverance&mdash;Facial Expression&mdash;Self-Accompaniment&mdash;Position of Body, Arms, Hands, Throat, Tongue, Larynx&mdash;Head-Singing&mdash;Throatiness&mdash;Clearing the Throat&mdash;High Notes&mdash;The Scale&mdash;Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano&mdash;Tone&mdash;Chest, Falsetto, and Head&mdash;Scale Practice&mdash;First Exercises (<i>with Examples</i>)&mdash;Duration of Practice&mdash;Singing in Tune&mdash;How to Begin&mdash;Variety&mdash;Chorus Singing&mdash;Humming&mdash;Studying Songs&mdash;Imitation&mdash;General Musical Study.</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span></p>
+<table width="90%" border="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Contents">
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">On Style and Expression</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#ON_STYLE">71</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td style="width:5%;">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>Traditional Styles&mdash;Modern German <i>Lieder</i>&mdash;"The Cathedral School"&mdash;Oratorio (<i>with Examples</i>)&mdash;Opera&mdash;Ballads&mdash;Recitative (<i>with Examples</i>)&mdash;Slurring&mdash;Sentiment&mdash;Decision&mdash;Imitation&mdash;Public Singing&mdash;"Holding" an Audience&mdash;Mistakes in Public.</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">On Time in Singing</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#ON_TIME_IN_SINGING">87</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>The Metronome&mdash;Accent&mdash;Exercises: four beats to the bar; three beats to the bar; two beats to the bar.</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">On the Choice of Music</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#ON_THE_CHOICE_OF_MUSIC">103</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>Music to Suit the Voice&mdash;"Original Keys"&mdash;Execution&mdash;Fashion&mdash;Forming a "Repertoire."</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Physiological Surroundings</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#PHYSIOLOGICAL_SURROUNDINGS">109</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>The Larynx&mdash;The Thyroid&mdash;The Pharynx&mdash;The Voice; A Wind, Reed, or String Instrument.</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Exercises</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#EXERCISES">115</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>Exercises 1, 2, for Uniting Notes&mdash;Exercise 3, for Flexibility, &amp;c.&mdash;Exercise 4, on Intervals of Thirds&mdash;Exercise 5, on Intervals of Fourths&mdash;Exercise 6, on Intervals of Fifths&mdash;Exercise 7, on Intervals of Sixths&mdash;Exercise 8, on Intervals of Sevenths.</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Index</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#INDEX">126</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Transcriber's Note</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#Transcribers_Note">129</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="center xbig"><b>ADVICE TO SINGERS.</b></p>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+
+<h2><a name="PRELIMINARY_REMARKS" id="PRELIMINARY_REMARKS">PRELIMINARY REMARKS.</a></h2>
+
+
+<div>
+  <img class="drop-cap" src="images/009.png" width="75" height="75" alt="W" title="W" />
+</div>
+<p class="drop-cap2">WHATEVER be the actual difference between the
+professional and the amateur singer, if a person
+is worthy of the name of singer at all, there
+should be no difference in their views of Art,
+and in their devotion to practice. Singing is an art, and
+one of the most difficult of the arts to master; and any
+one who attempts to learn it must be prepared to give the
+same devotion to it as is demanded by the sister arts of
+painting and sculpture. I do not mean exactly devotion
+of the whole time and energy of life to it; because, however
+necessary that may be for the professional, who has
+to make his living by it, such entire devotion to an accomplishment
+or an amusement (for such singing is to
+the amateur) would, for a non-professional, be frequently
+impossible, and very often wrong, as it would lead to a
+neglect of the duties of life. But, while the entire devotion
+of time and energy of a professional singer is
+demanded to master the various styles, and the immense
+mass of music, with which he or she will have to deal
+in the exercise of the profession, the amateur should bear
+in mind that such time and energy as he can devote to
+singing must be firmly restricted to doing what he undertakes
+thoroughly well&mdash;as well, in fact, as a professional.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>
+The amateur's position, which forbids him to make singing
+the work of his life, limits the range of his work, not the
+quality of it. He cannot, even if he have the voice of
+a Rubini or a Braham, master the difficulties of opera,
+oratorio, and ballad alike. Circumstances forbid him to
+conquer the world, but there is no reason why he should
+not be a king in his own special realm. To be that he
+will have to follow the same rules as though he were able
+to attack the whole universe of vocal music; for he should
+feel that the only difference between him and the professional
+singer lies in the sphere of their work.</p>
+
+<p>The same remarks apply to many professionals. <i>Very</i>
+few can excel in all styles, and few in more than one. To
+attempt all is a great mistake, and will probably lead to
+failure, or at least mediocrity in all.</p>
+
+<p>But the first point that I would insist upon is the necessity
+for earnest devotion and regular work, both in
+professional and amateur, so that the term <i>Artist</i> may
+apply to both. I shall be at no great pains to avoid
+occasional repetitions of incidental remarks. In a book
+intended for constant reference rather than for one perusal,
+and one divided, as this is, into short paragraphs,
+words may attract attention in one place, while in another
+they may have been overlooked. If, therefore, I err in
+this respect, I shall do so deliberately, my sole aim being
+to help and impress the student as much as possible.</p>
+
+<p>Remember that the human voice is the most delicate
+of all instruments, susceptible to more and more varied
+influence than any other. The singer has to combine in
+himself the instrument and the performer; and while all
+the artistic and intellectual qualities necessary for the instrumentalist
+are required by him, he is compelled beyond
+that to realize that he is a living instrument, and to exercise
+over himself all the care&mdash;and indeed far more than all&mdash;that
+players exercise over their most cherished "weapons."
+He has not only to learn how to sing, but how to be and
+to remain fit for singing. He, more than any other musical
+artist, will find that he is affected by moral as well as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>
+physical and intellectual causes, and he must face this
+fact boldly.</p>
+
+<p>In writing down the brief hints which this little work
+offers to singers, I shall therefore take in a range of subjects
+and enter into many details which may seem to have
+little to do with the practice of <i>Do</i>, <i>Re</i>, <i>Mi</i>. I do this
+advisedly, and I believe that such hints as those on general
+culture and habits of living are by no means the least important
+part of my work. I do not profess to teach my
+readers how to sing&mdash;(any singer knows, and I should like
+the public to know too, that singing cannot be taught by a
+book)&mdash;but to give "hints to singers," and many of those
+hints are on such subjects as it would be an impertinence
+on the part of a singing master to allude to. If the
+student takes offence at the <i>book</i>, it happily does not
+reach the author.</p>
+
+<p>Following out the previous thought, I shall try to turn
+the intending singer's attention to several other subjects,
+before I touch upon that of strictly musical interest. And
+if I here seem to "preach" occasionally, I shall never do
+so without cause, and never, I trust, in any spirit but that
+of the warmest sympathy with the aspirations and the
+peculiar trials and difficulties of those who are still in full
+vigour of youth and health.</p>
+
+<p>Remember that I give <i>hints</i>, not <i>rules</i>. It is quite impossible
+to lay down rules of living which shall apply alike
+to male and female, or to variously constituted natures.
+But I hope I may trust to the common sense of every
+individual to draw sound conclusions, and to form his or
+her own rules, by the help of these hints, and, the rules
+once formed, to adhere to them resolutely. If singing
+is to be done at all, it is worth while to do it well, and to
+spare no pains to that end.</p>
+
+<p>There is a good deal to be done by the student of singing
+before he attacks the strictly musical part of his difficulties.
+General education, if deficient, must be attended<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>
+to; habits of living must be formed and followed out;
+faults of character, such as laziness, ill temper, slovenliness,
+impatience, and want of perseverance, must be bravely
+fought; for the study of singing, perhaps more than of any
+other art, will test the character severely in these respects.</p>
+
+<p>The student must be prepared to exercise a good deal
+of self-denial; to put aside all notions of self-merit for a
+long time to come; and to be humble, and ready to take
+a hint from any source. Whatever merits he may have
+at starting are certainly not due to his own skill; they are
+simply natural gifts, and the better they are, the more is
+there for him to learn in doing justice to them. Let him
+not waste time in admiring what he is, or has done; but
+let him keep all his energy for what he may yet be and for
+what he yet has to accomplish.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ON_HABITS" id="ON_HABITS">ON HABITS, DIET, &amp;c.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>The following paragraphs contain hints on various matters
+apparently little connected with singing, yet all of more
+or less importance to the singer. The voice, and the power
+of using it, depend so greatly upon general health, and
+health is so easily affected by habits of living, that I offer
+no apology for entering into some details which, though
+easy enough to write down, and read when written, would
+be difficult for a singing master to allude to or suggest
+without giving offence.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Early Rising.</b>&mdash;Practise early rising, and, if possible,
+take a short walk before breakfast. This tends to keep the
+circulation of the blood in a good condition, and that is,
+of course, of great importance to the lungs, and all the
+organs which singing requires to tax somewhat severely.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Cleanliness.</b>&mdash;Strict cleanliness is of the greatest importance.
+Take a cold bath every morning directly you
+get out of bed. Do not stand "pottering about," or you
+may catch cold, but go to your bath while the skin is moist
+with the perspiration which the warmth of bed has drawn
+out. If you let the perspiration dry, and then plunge into
+cold water, you run a great risk of giving yourself a severe
+chill. Sponge yourself well, and rapidly, all over, especially
+the chest, throat, back of the neck, and all round the loins;
+and dry the body thoroughly and briskly with a rough<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>
+towel. Let no fear of damaging the complexion deter
+young ladies from this most healthy and necessary operation.</p>
+
+<p>In winter, if the circulation is naturally sluggish, it is
+as well not to take the bath perfectly cold, but merely add
+enough hot water just to remove the extreme chill. The
+bath ought to feel cold to you, even though it be not the
+coldest possible.</p>
+
+<p>It is well to take a warm bath once a week&mdash;if possible,
+just before going to bed. Do not have it hot, but simply
+warm, and, of course, use soap with it. Do not dawdle
+over it, but "have it and have done with it," and then
+get to bed at once. If you find the effect of it to be enervating
+or relaxing, take it less warm in future. The object
+of it is simply to open and cleanse the pores of the skin&mdash;a
+matter of great importance.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>The Hair.</b>&mdash;The same rule of extreme cleanliness
+applies to the hair, and for the same reason, viz., its intimate
+connection with the circulation of the blood and
+the pores of the skin. Keep the hair well brushed, and
+have it frequently cut and shampooed. Avoid "pomatums,"
+washes, and greasy messes of every kind: their
+smell is objectionable and their effect is generally to dirty
+the head. Moreover, the public have the good taste to
+object to the appearance of an artist before them who is
+evidently "got up" with pains for the occasion. A person
+who is habitually as clean as he can be, need never
+fear to appear in public, and may spare himself the disgusting
+application of "grease" to his head to make himself
+fit to be seen.</p>
+
+<p>If a moustache is worn, let it be kept within bounds,
+and not allowed to fall over the mouth, where it would
+affect the tone of the voice. Do not cut it straight along
+the lip, but train it right and left, allowing it to grow
+naturally and uncut. The advantages of the moustache
+are two: it acts to a certain extent as a respirator, and
+protects the mouth and throat as the eyelash does the
+eye, and it helps to conceal any slight distortion of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>
+mouth in singing. This, I confess, is a doubtful advantage:&mdash;there
+ought to be no distortion, and if any were
+seen, it might, perhaps, be corrected. However, I give
+the opinion for what it is worth.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>The Teeth.</b>&mdash;The teeth play such an important part
+in the production of the voice that every care should be
+taken to preserve them sound and in good condition&mdash;to
+say nothing of the part which they play in facial expression,
+a point to which every singer should attend. A bad state
+of the teeth at once affects the stomach, and that again the
+voice, so that no apology is needed for drawing the student's
+attention to this matter. Clean the teeth the first
+thing in the morning, and the last thing at night. Use a
+moderately hard brush, better too soft than too hard, with
+cold water, or better still, just lukewarm. Avoid all "dentifrices"
+and advertised nastinesses in the way of powders
+and "fragrant" washes. A mixture of powdered (not "prepared")
+chalk and orris-root, in the proportion of about
+three to two, is the best thing to use, and any chemist will
+make that up for you. Remember to brush the teeth inside
+and along the top, as well as outside; and if you find
+this difficult with the ordinary-shaped brush, get one of
+those which are sold for the purpose. If you find, in spite
+of your care, that your teeth become discoloured, the cause
+is probably that your stomach is out of order. In that case,
+go straight to a doctor, for the consequence of such derangement
+is that "tartar" is formed on the teeth, and
+this grows, and pushes back the gums, altering the form
+of the cavity of the mouth, and so affecting the tone of
+the voice.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Exercise.</b>&mdash;Be as much as you can in the open air.
+Take moderate walking exercise, but of course do not tire
+yourself before singing or practising. For male singers,
+rowing, riding, football and cricket (but without the shouting
+so often incidental to these games), racquets or tennis,
+and above all an hour or two weekly in a gymnasium, are
+excellent things; while for ladies, walking, riding, lawn-tennis,
+"la grace," and calisthenics are equally useful. If<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>
+you live in a town, always walk in preference to taking a
+conveyance, when time and weather permit it.</p>
+
+<p>Never breathe through your mouth in walking, especially
+at night, or on coming out into the open air after singing.
+Keep the lips closed, and inhale the air through the
+nostrils. This is easily acquired, and to be able to do this
+will be found of great service in taking breath for singing;
+but out of doors it is most important, for the immediate
+rush of cold or damp air to the delicate organs of the
+throat, especially when the latter have been excited by the
+exertion of singing, is dangerous. It is a good plan, and
+a profitable use of the time, to practise breathing when
+walking, by filling the lungs, and utilizing each inspiration
+for as long a distance as possible.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Dress.</b>&mdash;Nothing can be said in favour of our climate
+for singing. With proper precautions, however, a great
+deal of trouble arising from this cause may be averted. In
+summer, as well as in winter, for instance, the writer would
+strongly urge the wearing of moderately thick-soled boots
+or shoes. Then, again, the neck and chest should never be
+exposed alike to a June sun and a December frost; but,
+instead, it should be moderately and reasonably covered.
+Great care should be taken never to get wet, especially
+wet or damp feet.</p>
+
+<p>In going out of hot rooms into the open air much pains
+should be exercised to keep the chest and throat covered
+up with an overcoat or cloak&mdash;however warm the weather
+may be. In <i>very severe</i> winter weather the singer will
+derive much comfort by wearing a flannel chest-protector.
+Sitting about in gardens, and on lawns, in the evenings
+on even the warmest days, is not a safe indulgence for the
+student who is in earnest in the pursuit of his art.</p>
+
+<p>One caution is necessary as to "wrapping up," however.
+Do not over-do it. The constant use of a "comforter"
+renders the throat delicate and susceptible. All you have
+to fear is damp, not cold, in the atmosphere. A comforter,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>
+closely wound round the throat, promotes perspiration,
+and the risk of chill in removing it is greater than in not
+wearing it at all. Common sense must guide every one.
+It is impossible to make a rule for all.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Diet.</b>&mdash;As to diet: avoid everything that is at all indigestible.
+Live well, and take plenty of varied nourishment.
+The singer's system <i>must</i> be well nourished. Chocolate
+and coffee are better than tea; the latter is too astringent,
+and affects the nerves too much, if taken in abundance.
+Sugar, in moderation, should always be used with those
+beverages, and they should never be taken very hot. Bread
+is better than toast, but avoid hot or very new bread. Eggs
+and butter are good. Meat should be plainly cooked and
+not too well done. Pork tries the digestion too severely
+to be a desirable food for a singer, and the same may be
+said of veal. Fish is good for the singer, and he should if
+possible let it form a part of his daily <i>menu</i>. Creams and
+pastry are simply poison, and cheese should only be taken in
+great moderation. Fruit is an excellent thing if judiciously
+used. But here, again, hard and fast rules are impossible,
+because constitutions vary. Only remember the old proverb,
+"We must eat to live, and not live to eat."</p>
+
+<p>Never practise or sing upon an empty stomach, or soon
+after a meal: either of these habits will unfairly tax your
+digestive organs, and in so doing damage your voice.
+After a meal, all the energy of the body is required for
+the stomach; in a healthy person the extremities will generally
+be cold after a full meal, and the reason is that the
+digestive organs are using all the heat and blood that the
+body can give for their special work. Nature thus points
+to a rest of every other organ at that time, and you must
+not fight against Nature by attempting any such severe
+physical strain as the practice of the voice demands.</p>
+
+<p>All acids and astringents are bad for a healthy throat
+and stomach. Vinegar, highly-flavoured sauces, almonds
+and raisins, nuts of every kind should be avoided. Some
+of these are useful as remedies in relaxed throat, or congestion<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>
+of the throat, no doubt; but I am speaking simply
+of what is desirable for a person in a state of health. In
+cases of cold, hoarseness, or indisposition of any kind, my
+prescription is, "Don't doctor yourself, but (as Abernethy
+said) '<i>Take advice</i>.'" Be very careful and abstemious in
+the use of spirits. Brandy is decidedly injurious, it heats
+and inflames the throat, and tends to constipate the bowels.
+Gin or whiskey is the most wholesome spirit, but take as
+little as possible of either. If you drink beer or stout, take
+draught and not bottled, and always in great moderation.
+All effervescing liquors are objectionable; therefore eschew
+champagne, Moselle, bottled ale and stout, <i>et hoc genus
+omne</i>. The fluids called port and sherry are cruel foes to
+singing. A glass of <i>good</i> port is a fair medicine in certain
+cases, and the same may be said of very dry Amontillado,
+but if you have nothing the matter with you, avoid port
+and (so-called) sherry&mdash;especially the hideous compound
+of alcohol and molasses known as "brown" sherry&mdash;as you
+would poison.</p>
+
+<p>The best drink for singers is claret, or any light wine,
+French, German, or Italian. I myself find the latter on
+the whole the best, and such wines as Barolo Secco or
+Chianté are pure and cheap, and contain all the properties
+necessary for a singer's beverage. But in this as in all
+else, <i>moderation</i> is a <i>sine quâ non</i>. Fluids are apt to produce
+congestion or mucus in the throat and glands of the
+mouth, and that of course interferes with the free action
+of the muscles in singing.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Smoking.</b>&mdash;As a general rule it may be laid down that
+smoking is a bad habit for the singer, male or female (for
+there are females who are proud of being able to smoke
+cigarettes nowadays!). With many instances of great
+singers who have also been great smokers before us, it is
+impossible to say decidedly that singers must not smoke;
+but the habit is one to be very cautiously indulged in. If
+smoking in any case induces expectoration, it should at
+once be given up, for the habit of spitting, to which some
+smokers allow themselves (quite needlessly) to give way,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>
+is, in reality, the greatest evil of smoking; it weakens the
+throat, lungs, and chest. If a man can smoke without
+spitting or drinking, I confess that I am no great enemy
+to tobacco; but the "if" is a big one.</p>
+
+<p>A cigarette is certainly a safeguard against taking cold
+in coming out of a hot room into the open air, especially
+after singing; but strong cigars or strong tobacco in pipes
+are to be avoided, because of their effect on the nerves.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Late Hours.</b>&mdash;Avoid late hours. You require, not
+only a certain amount of sleep, but to take that sleep before
+the body and mind are at all overtaxed. From many causes,
+it is well known, the human frame is always at its lowest
+from about 2 a.m. till 5 a.m., and the nearer you approach
+those hours in going to bed, the less able are you to derive
+all the benefit which you require from sleep. Twelve
+o'clock is late enough for any one.</p>
+
+<p>Another reason why late hours are bad is connected
+not with physical facts so much as with morals. It is true,
+you may come to no actual harm, or get into no positive
+mischief, by being out late at night, but you place yourself
+in a position of risk&mdash;risk of cold, over-fatigue, inhaling
+vitiated atmosphere, &amp;c., as well as risk to moral character,
+which latter, in its way as delicate as the voice, is injured
+not only by actual violation of right, but by all society,
+conversation, and literature which tend to dim its brightness,
+or (to use another metaphor) to spoil the purity of
+its outline by roughly knocking off its corners. At all
+events, as to the night side of "Life," you are better out
+of it.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Morality.</b>&mdash;Nothing can act more prejudicially upon
+a singer than those influences which are understood by
+that very inclusive term, a "fast" life. I would, therefore,
+urge upon the student the necessity of a religious avoidance
+of those influences. They dull the purity of thought which
+marks all true art; they deaden the intellect which art
+requires; and they injure the physical powers, without
+which all a singer's study may be suddenly rendered useless
+to him. All excess is bad, and self-restraint and self-control<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>
+are of the greatest importance both to character and health.
+Many an anxious student has mastered the musical side
+of his art, but has failed under the rigid demands which
+the moral code makes upon an intending singer. It is
+of no use for a singer to be strong musically, and weak
+morally: the two preparations must go hand-in-hand; and
+while building up a structure of vocal greatness, his care
+must always be that the moral foundation will always
+support the weight of persistent study, and leave him
+favourably placed in the stern competition going on around
+him for a front place in the race for singing fame, and the
+inevitable honours. Keep these hints in mind, think them
+carefully over, and be your own moral doctor. That will
+be better than following any code of cut and dried rules.
+If you err at all, let it be on the side of self-denial, the
+hardest and probably the highest of all virtues.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="PRONUNCIATION" id="PRONUNCIATION">ON THE STUDY OF PRONUNCIATION
+AND "WORDS" IN SINGING, &amp;c.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>The singer has to combine the arts of the musician, the
+public speaker, and, to a certain extent, the actor.
+Clearness of pronunciation and correctness of emphasis
+are included in the range of his study. Nor are these so
+easy of acquirement as many persons suppose. To a
+novice, the almost inevitable nervousness inseparable from
+the prominent position which a solo singer necessarily
+holds in the company, or before the audience to which he
+is singing, is very apt to render the enunciation less
+distinct and more rapid than is natural to him. His ear
+guides him less safely; and, in fact, every sense, influenced
+by the abnormal state of his nerves, is apt to play him
+more or less false. It is only by having carefully studied
+and mastered every detail of manner, posture, and speech,
+as well as of the music to be performed, that a singer can
+rise superior to the treachery of his nerves, in whatever
+form that treachery may show itself.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Nervousness.</b>&mdash;A few words as to nervousness.
+You will often hear persons boast that they are not the
+least nervous in public; and, perhaps, will feel inclined
+to envy them. Get rid of any such notion at once. If
+by "nervous" is meant "frightened," that is another thing
+altogether; and it is perfectly true that there are hundreds
+of persons who are not in the least afraid of appearing in
+public, nor affected by timidity when so appearing. But<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>
+fear is only one form of nervousness. I firmly believe
+that it is impossible for a real artist ever to appear in
+public without being <i>nervous</i>. But the nerves act in
+many ways: the fervour of an eloquent speaker carried
+away by his subject; the "<i>abandon</i>" of a fine actor
+thoroughly entering into his part and identifying himself
+with it; the sustained energy of a declamatory singer;
+the faultless and unerring agility of a florid <i>soprano</i>, who
+astonishes her hearers by wonder on wonder of execution&mdash;all
+these things are due, in their subtle charm, to
+nervousness&mdash;<i>i.e.</i> to delicate nervous organization in active
+play. These artists are not frightened, it is true, but excited,
+stimulated, roused from the normal state of eating,
+walking, and sleeping; something of the spiritual kindles
+the mere physical forces in them&mdash;some breath of inspiration
+sustains that living power which so influences
+the hearers. In some way or other every great artist is
+always nervous; were it not so, the essence of their power
+would vanish. Persons of cold and phlegmatic temperament
+lack the very life-breath of art; and though they
+may train themselves into fair imitations of some great
+artists, they will generally be detected with ease, by any
+hearer of true sensibility, as imitations, not the real thing.
+Therefore do not be ashamed to admit that you are
+nervous, if it be so. Nerves are a cruel master, but a
+splendid servant; instead of letting them overcome you,
+force them to do your bidding; and instead of "nervousness"
+meaning "fear," you will find that it means courage
+and power to do your best.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Pronunciation.</b>&mdash;Study correctness of pronunciation
+and propriety of emphasis quite apart from singing.
+Remember that in speaking or singing in a large space
+and to a number of persons, every sound must have not
+only additional force, but additional volume. And that
+comes to mean that every vowel-sound in the words sung
+must be intensified, and every consonant be delivered
+with more accuracy than is necessary in ordinary speaking.
+If you were to pronounce the syllable "die" (for instance),
+in singing, <i>exactly</i> as you do in speaking, you would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>
+produce on the notes or note to which that word belonged
+a thinness of tone which would be very ugly, and probably
+would not "carry" far. And the same with any vowel-sound&mdash;even
+"Ah," or "Oh,"&mdash;which, though not producing
+a thin tone, would certainly produce a coarse one,
+if sung exactly as spoken in ordinary conversation.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Vowel-Sounds.</b>&mdash;The reason of the need of this
+slight change is as follows. Every vowel-sound, like
+every musical sound (for vowel-sounds are nothing less
+than musical sounds) is composed of <i>two</i> sounds. Combined
+with the prominent and chief sound which first
+attracts the ear is a second, which, though not prominent,
+lends point and force to the other. Thus our English
+vowel-sound "A" is really <i>&#201;h-é</i>; "E" is <i>E-é</i>; "I" is
+<i>Ah-é</i>; "O" is <i>O-óo</i>, or even <i>Aw-oo</i>; "U" is <i>&#201;e-óo</i>. Of
+course, I do not mean to say that those absurd-looking
+syllables really express exactly the sounds which we produce
+in speaking the vowels, for no combination of letters
+can do that, or can bring within reach of the eye the
+subtleties of sound in human speech; but if you attempt
+to pronounce those syllables, you will find that you are
+really pronouncing the vowels from which I "translated"
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Now, in conversation or rapid speaking, the subordinate
+sound of the vowel is scarcely noticeable, while the
+more prominent sound is heard for the short interval of
+time required. But in singing or public speaking, where
+the production of tone is more deliberate, the space to be
+filled with sound larger, or, in other words, the column of
+air to be set vibrating is greater and heavier, the <i>complex</i>
+sound of the vowel must not be ignored. It is impossible
+to lay down any set of rules by which the student may
+overcome this difficulty; but every one, by bearing in
+mind the absolute necessity of attention to this point,
+may easily accustom himself to the slight change of pronunciation
+(as it will at first appear) which is required to
+give vowel-sounds when sung, or spoken "<i>ore rotundo</i>,"
+the same tone, to the hearer's ear, as they have in ordinary
+speaking. As a general rule this is done by keeping the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>
+throat more open, the larynx (or "Adam's apple") as low
+down as possible, and the root of the tongue flat, depressed,
+even hollowed like the bowl of a spoon. The truth of all
+this may easily be tested by singing any short passage
+deliberately and distinctly, with the exact pronunciation
+of ordinary speaking, and then repeating it with attention
+to the above hints. In the first instance the result will
+be meagre, hard to be heard at a moderate distance, and
+very likely extremely ludicrous to the hearer. In the
+second, you will find that the tone of the notes gains in
+roundness and fulness, while the words are clearly heard
+in every part of the room with the exact effect belonging
+to them. I purposely refrain from attempting to write
+down the difference discernible in any words so sung,
+because, as I have already said, <i>letters</i> cannot accurately
+express distinctions so delicate, yet so all-important to the
+singer, speaker, and hearer.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Consonants.</b>&mdash;In pronouncing consonants, be careful
+to give each its due value, but without exaggeration. Be
+especially particular to sound the <i>last</i> letter of each word
+distinctly. But take care to avoid adding a slight sound
+(as of an <i>e</i> mute) after the final letter: for instance, do
+not say "When other-<i>é</i> lips," &amp;c., or "bright-<i>é</i> days,"
+and so on. Do not over-aspirate the letter "<i>H</i>." "<i>N</i>,"
+"<i>L</i>," "<i>M</i>," "<i>B</i>," "<i>P</i>," and "<i>V</i>," are all letters requiring
+care in firm pronunciation.</p>
+
+<p>Avoid prefixing a slight sound of "<i>N</i>" to the first word
+of a song or passage in singing. It is a common trick with
+beginners to do this, and they frequently do it without
+being in the least conscious of it. It is produced by a
+kind of nervous feeling of the teeth with the tongue, as if
+to make sure that all is right for the start! I have heard
+an aspiring youth actually begin a well-known song thus:
+"<i>Nwaft her Rangels Nthrough the sky</i>," &amp;c.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>English Words.</b>&mdash;The English language is not the
+most suitable one under the sun for singing purposes;
+nevertheless, it is not nearly so intolerable and unfavourable
+an one as it is the fashion to make out. The grand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>
+old Scripture passages which Handel, Mendelssohn, and
+others have set to music testify to this. Yet musical care
+<i>is</i> needed when singing English words, and especially in
+pronouncing the "sibilants," as <i>S</i>, &amp;c. These "sibilants"
+must never be enunciated rapidly, or their ill effects will
+soon be found in a series of <i>hissings</i>. Let it be your study,
+then, to avoid this ill effect in singing English words, and
+to utter such sounds slowly and carefully, with the endeavour
+to produce a soft and agreeable effect; for it is,
+indeed, unpardonable to hear an English singer unable to
+render perfectly the words (if <b>not</b> the music) of his native
+country's songs and ballads.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Emphasis.</b>&mdash;Having accustomed yourself to carefulness
+over each letter in your pronunciation, the next thing
+is to study correctness of emphasis, &amp;c. All this is apart
+from the strictly musical portion of your studies, and, while
+you can work at this without music, you will certainly spoil
+the effect of your singing (however good your voice and
+voice production may be), unless you do so study your
+"words." I should recommend you to practise reading
+aloud for not less than a quarter of an hour at a time, say
+once a day. Read <i>standing</i>; place your book on a desk,
+on a level with your eyes, and speak out deliberately, and
+with full tone of voice, and as much variety of intonation
+as the matter read requires. Shakespeare is your best
+author for this study. You will feel at first as if you were
+doing a very absurd thing, but never mind that&mdash;do it, and
+do it as well and as carefully as you can.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Position of the Lips.</b>&mdash;In speaking and reading
+aloud during your preliminary training for singing, be very
+careful that there be no change in the aperture of the mouth
+or position of the lips while uttering any one sound, however
+prolonged. If the lips move from their first position,
+however slightly, the tone immediately changes, and the
+pronunciation ceases to be pure and refined.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Study of Words.</b>&mdash;The words of a song are as much
+worthy of the singer's study as the music, that is, if the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>
+song is worth singing at all. I do not mean to say that
+in themselves they must necessarily be of equal merit, but
+that they require as much attention on the part of the
+singer to bring out their meaning. Study the text, therefore,
+apart from the music. Read the words aloud deliberately;
+master the sentiment of them, and note the prominent
+words and phrases, so as to be able to give them
+their due value when you have to combine them with the
+music. Avoid giving prominence to such words as "of,"
+"for," "the," "and," "in," &amp;c., &amp;c., but yet let each be
+distinctly pronounced, and not slurred over in an indefinite
+murmur. Learn the words of your song by memory.
+Master the text, and consider the whole from an elocutionist's
+point of view before you attack the musical side of the
+matter. A singer when singing in public should not be
+troubled with his words and music too.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>General Education.</b>&mdash;An important branch of study
+is that of giving expression to the passions, and of communicating
+your conceptions and emotions to the minds
+of your listeners. No better training could a young singer
+have for forming such ideas than the earnest perusal of
+the works of Shakespeare, Dante, Goethe, Milton, Lytton,
+George Eliot, &amp;c.; or in watching carefully and intelligently
+the acting of our best stage performers. For a
+singer to be successful, he or she must be in a position to
+express, and bring home to an audience, such emotions
+as love, hatred, anger, fear, grief, and pity; all these, and
+many other such feelings, have constantly to be transmitted
+by the singer, and it is to the most natural and
+faithful exposition of these, and that most consistent with
+the other equally important points of the art of singing,
+that the student's attention should for a long while be
+patiently and perseveringly directed.</p>
+
+<p>The singer should be a well-educated man, and he
+should know at least one other language beside his native
+tongue. He should be well read, too, in the best literature
+of these two languages. On questions of all the arts
+he should seek to make his views sound and true. He
+should seek to travel, and so enlarge his mind, for all this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>
+training will reflect itself in the work of an artist so liberally
+educated. An inferior education has been the bane of
+many a student, who has had the organ and all the necessary
+musical ability.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Dramatic Study.</b>&mdash;To be a successful public singer,
+even in the concert-room, one must be more or less an
+actor; and, therefore, the time and money bestowed in
+acquiring a sound knowledge of dramatic action and
+elocution will be well spent. For the lyric stage, such
+a study is imperative; but its utility to artists who aspire
+no higher than to ballad or oratorio singing cannot be
+too highly estimated.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="VOICE_QUALITY" id="VOICE_QUALITY">VOICES AND THEIR VARIOUS
+QUALITIES.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>The life of the singing voice is so comparatively short,
+that the study of singing is rendered more difficult than
+that of any other art. You may buy a violin or a pianoforte,
+ready-made and perfect, in your childhood, and nothing
+remains for you but to study the instrument diligently
+under a good master. But the vocal instrument cannot
+be said to exist at all, for purposes of singing study, before
+the age of eighteen or twenty in males, and (in our climate)
+sixteen in females. Even at those ages the organ is necessarily
+immature and undeveloped. Consequently the
+study of the art has to be carried on during the progress
+of the instrument to maturity.</p>
+
+<p>To counterbalance this disadvantage, however, we must
+bear in mind that that very study materially helps to perfect
+the instrument. Singing is by no means all "style,"
+and the study of it includes the formation of the voice and
+production of a good tone, and it is, of course, easier to
+manipulate an unfinished article than a finished one&mdash;to
+educate youth and suppleness than to bring maturity and
+stiffness into subjection to new conditions.</p>
+
+<p>Therefore begin your study in the youth of your voice;
+but, recollecting that its life is the most short-lived of your
+faculties, let your study be most earnest and painstaking.
+Especially if singing is to be your profession, act upon the
+wise advice of Dr. Burney, and "Never go to bed till you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>
+have learned something which you did not know the
+previous night."</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Voices.</b>&mdash;"What is your voice?" is a very common
+question, sometimes expressed in the rather less polite but
+more intelligent form, "What do you call your voice?"
+The answer almost invariably is either "Soprano," "Contralto,"
+"Tenor," "Bass," or "Barytone." Here is a warning
+for you at starting. Do not limit your notions of what
+voices are to those four or five generic names. Because
+choral music is generally written in four parts, for soprano,
+alto, tenor, and bass, the non-musical public, and a great
+many musical people (some composers included) seem to
+think that those names are an inclusive description of
+every human voice.</p>
+
+<p>This would be of very little consequence if it were only
+a question of names; but it is of no use to say "What is
+in a name?" if the result of a wrong name is to lead to
+mischief. The misfortune of wrongly naming your voice
+is that it will lead you to practise wrongly, and to choose
+the wrong style of music for study and performance. For
+instance, a young lady may call herself a <i>soprano</i> because
+she can "<i>sing up to C</i>," and may therefore fancy that the
+whole repertoire of a Tietjens or a Clara Novello is within
+her reach; and acting on this notion, she may fatally
+damage a naturally bright and pleasing voice by giving it
+work to do which belongs of right to a voice of totally
+different calibre, the <i>mezzo-soprano</i>.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Naming the Voice.</b>&mdash;Remember always that the
+character of a voice is determined not by compass or range
+of notes, but by quality, or body and <i>timbre</i>, of tone. Two
+ladies may have voices ranging from A to A&mdash;two octaves&mdash;and
+yet one might be a pure light soprano, and the
+other a genuine contralto; while in length of compass a
+mezzo-soprano may even beat them both. And so with
+male voices (the variety in which is even greater than in
+female), you may have a voice of pure tenor quality, and
+yet of such limited compass that your energetic barytone
+friend next door may make your life miserable with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>
+jealousy of the ease with which he bellows high Gs, G
+sharps, and even on great occasions an A or so.</p>
+
+<p>But compass has nothing whatever to do with the name
+of the voice: it may limit the quantity of music which can
+be performed, but it should have no influence on the choice
+of the style of music to be studied. This is a point of the
+greatest importance, therefore I repeat it briefly once more&mdash;<i>Your
+voice must be described and used with reference to its
+quality, or volume and timbre, and not with reference to the
+number of notes which you can sing.</i></p>
+
+
+<p><b>Male and Female Voices.</b>&mdash;The actual varieties
+in tone and quality in different voices cannot, of course,
+be expressed on paper; but a careful use of your ears in
+listening to good public singers will soon teach you to
+discriminate. Female voices are of at least four kinds:
+soprano, mezzo-soprano, mezzo-contralto, and contralto.
+Male are of five or six, or even more. Alto; tenore-leggiero
+or light tenor; tenore-robusto or strong heavy-voiced
+tenor; barytone&mdash;basso-cantante (erroneously
+identified with the barytone by some persons); basso-profondo
+or bass.</p>
+
+<p>Beside all these divisions or species, voices must be
+again classed according to their power. Any one who has
+ever heard an opera singer in a moderate-sized private
+drawing-room, will readily appreciate the difference between
+a <i>voce di camera</i>, or "chamber voice," and a <i>voce
+di teatro</i>.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Compass.</b>&mdash;The respective compasses of the several
+voices may be roughly set down as follows, but it should
+be borne in mind that it is by no means a matter of course
+that a singer of any particular voice should possess or cultivate
+the whole range of notes supposed to belong to
+that voice. He or she may be none the less a tenor or
+a soprano because the one cannot produce an "<i>Ut de
+poitrine</i>," or the other "<i>F</i> in <i>Alt</i>." There is a special individuality
+in every voice, as in every face, and therefore
+every voice must be treated, by a good teacher, on its
+own merits, as a thing in some respects unique.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Perhaps it will be best, therefore, instead of saying that
+the compass of any given kind of voice is from &mdash;&mdash; to &mdash;&mdash;,
+to say that music for such and such a voice is generally
+written between such and such limits. The range allotted
+by composers to the various voices is about two octaves
+to each&mdash;for solo work, of course&mdash;and is as follows, it
+being understood that the male voices are an octave lower
+in pitch than the female:&mdash;</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Vocal Ranges">
+  <tr>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="vam"><i>Soprano</i>, and <i>Tenore-Leggiero</i>, and<br />in operatic music a certain kind<br />of <i>Tenore-Robusto</i>.</td>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="center">
+<img src="images/brace-200.png" width="30" height="200" alt="Curly Brace" title="Curly Brace" />
+</td>
+    <td>from</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/031a.png" class="vam" width="116" height="75" alt="C4" title="C4" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/031a.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>to</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/031b.png" class="vam" width="113" height="90" alt="C6" title="C6" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/031b.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+</td>
+  </tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>&nbsp;</td>
+  <td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>  <tr>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="vam"><i>Mezzo-Soprano</i> and <i>Tenore-Robusto</i></td>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="center">
+<img src="images/brace-200.png" width="30" height="200" alt="Curly Brace" title="Curly Brace" />
+</td>
+    <td>from</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/031c.png" class="vam" width="117" height="85" alt="A3" title="A3" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/031c.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>to</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/031d.png" class="vam" width="118" height="82" alt="A5" title="A5" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/031d.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+</td>
+  </tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>&nbsp;</td>
+  <td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="vam"><i>Mezzo-Contralto</i> and <i>Barytone</i></td>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="center">
+<img src="images/brace-200.png" width="30" height="200" alt="Curly Brace" title="Curly Brace" />
+</td>
+    <td>from</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/031e.png" class="vam" width="118" height="90" alt="G3" title="G3" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/031e.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>to</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/031f.png" class="vam" width="116" height="77" alt="G5" title="G5" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/031f.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+</td>
+  </tr>
+<tr>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="vam"><i>Contralto</i> and <i>Bass</i></td>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="center">
+<img src="images/brace-200.png" width="30" height="200" alt="Curly Brace" title="Curly Brace" />
+</td>
+    <td>from</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/032a.png" class="vam" width="118" height="102" alt="E3" title="E3" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/032a.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>to</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/032b.png" class="vam" width="117" height="77" alt="E5" title="E5" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/032b.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+  </td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The basso-cantante is a low barytone, or high bass with
+a lighter quality of tone than the basso-profondo. The
+alto voice, or counter-tenor as it used to be called, is not
+a natural voice at all, but is artificially produced by training
+the <i>falsetto</i> to the exclusion of the other parts of the
+voice. It is totally distinct from the contralto voice of a
+female, in quality, average compass, and the style of music
+best suited to it. It is of more use in part-singing and
+cathedral music than for solo work, although in some
+oratorios solo parts have been allotted to it. It is rarely
+pleasing when heard alone, for very few alto singers are
+able to avoid the appearance of singing with effort; and
+the whole performance, except in some instances, appears
+unnatural and forced. The alto voice ranges generally</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Alto Range">
+<tr>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="vab">but its best notes are confined to<br />the octave of B flat.</td>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="center">
+<img src="images/brace-170.png" width="30" height="170" alt="Curly Brace" title="Curly Brace" />
+</td>
+    <td>from</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/032c.png" class="vam" width="117" height="49" alt="G3" title="G3" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/032c.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>to</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/032d.png" class="vam" width="116" height="77" alt="C5" title="C5" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/032d.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+  </td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><b>Soprano.</b>&mdash;The soprano is generally clear, bright, and
+penetrating in tone; capable, if rightly produced, of
+"carrying" far without any appearance of force or effort.
+Its lower register is often weak and ineffective, and the
+forcing of those notes by a bad singer often damages the
+voice, and spoils the evenness of tone, which is of far more
+importance than power and noise in singing. Low notes,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>
+even if naturally weak, may be trained to take their proper
+share of the work of the voice, and every year will add
+to their natural power. Most soprano voices have a
+"break" on</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 118px;">
+<img src="images/033a.png" width="118" height="77" alt="G4" title="G4" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/033a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>and another, and more difficult one to deal with, on</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 116px;">
+<img src="images/033b.png" width="116" height="77" alt="E5" title="E5" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/033b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">or</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 118px;">
+<img src="images/033c.png" width="118" height="77" alt="F5" title="F5" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/033c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The lower notes are the (so-called) "chest" register; the
+middle ones, between the breaks, the "falsetto," and the
+upper ones the "head" notes. I shall speak of these
+often-used and frequently-misapplied words presently; I
+merely mention them now for the sake of pointing out to
+soprani, what many young lady amateurs utterly ignore,
+that they have these "breaks," and possess "chest,"
+"falsetto," and "head" notes, as well as male singers.</p>
+
+<p>Soprano voices are frequently capable of great flexibility,
+and passages are easy to them which tax the powers even
+of a light mezzo-soprano severely. The high notes, especially,
+are in many cases easily produced in a staccato
+manner, like notes of a piccolo flute, and an effect is thus
+made, which, though pretty and pleasing if judiciously
+employed, becomes a great snare to many singers, who
+for the sake of astonishing their audience work the upper
+part of their voices unfairly, and, neglecting steady use
+and practice of the lower registers, will very soon find that
+they have weakened the power and thinned the tone of
+the whole voice.</p>
+
+<p>But there are many voices of pure soprano tone which
+lack this flexibility: let the fair owners console themselves
+with the recollection that good <i>sostenuto</i> singing is quite<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>
+as pleasing, in the long run, as displays of vocal gymnastics.
+You may not be able to attempt the "<i>Dinorah</i>" Shadow
+Song, or the "Rejoice Greatly" in the "<i>Messiah</i>," but you
+will find that you have plenty of good work left for you
+in such music as "Dove Sono," "Deh vieni, non tardar"
+("<i>Figaro</i>"), or "Jerusalem" ("<i>St. Paul</i>").</p>
+
+<p>Moreover, you may possibly have what is a much rarer
+gift (in a pure soprano) than flexibility&mdash;you may have a
+tone of voice capable of executing declamatory music with
+fine effect. Music of this kind is generally appropriated
+by some mezzo-soprano of high compass, and more properly
+belongs to voices of that class; nevertheless, the
+effect of sustained declamatory music, well executed by a
+real soprano, is unrivalled in its way.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Mezzo-Soprano.</b>&mdash;The mezzo-soprano voice is perhaps
+the commonest of all female voices, and yet one of the
+rarest met with in perfection. It is fuller and rounder in
+quality than the soprano&mdash;less flexible, and more adapted
+to a <i>sostenuto</i> or declamatory style. Mezzo-soprano voices
+vary so much that it is difficult to name any note on which
+the "break" will be found. Sometimes it is on the same
+notes as a soprano&mdash;sometimes on the same as a contralto&mdash;on
+the average, perhaps, nearer the former. Wherever
+it may be, however, a judicious teacher will soon point
+it out, and put the student into the way of rightly treating
+it. Teaching, and <i>good</i> teaching, is especially necessary
+for voices of this class, for their fortunate possessors are
+generally ignorant of the value of the treasure which they
+possess in a good mezzo-soprano; and if it be of light
+quality, they fancy themselves soprani, and force the upper
+register of the voice in trying to "stretch their compass;"
+or if their low notes develop first, they think that "with
+practice" they are to be contralti; and by over-exercise
+and fondness for displaying those deep notes, they run the
+risk of widening the break, and rendering the quality of
+the whole voice hopelessly uneven.</p>
+
+<p>What lies within the sphere of a good mezzo-soprano
+has been shown in late years by a Grisi and a Tietjens,
+the latter of whom will live in the recollection of all who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>
+ever heard her, as the perfect model for every mezzo-soprano
+in the production of the pure tone and even quality.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Mezzo-Contralto.</b>&mdash;The name mezzo-contralto
+speaks for itself. It is by no means an uncommon voice,
+and if used with discrimination is an effective and useful
+one. Both in compass and quality it lies between the
+contralto and the mezzo-soprano. Heavier in tone, less
+resonant, and less flexible than the mezzo-soprano, it is
+yet lighter than the contralto. Pure contralto voices are so
+rare that many mezzo-contralto singers appear as exponents
+of contralto music, and by paying chief attention to the
+lower register of their voices, they become fair imitations,
+and more than passable substitutes, for the real article.
+The possessor of this voice must be guided by the advice
+of a good teacher as to the direction in which her voice
+should be trained. Sometimes the natural quality of the
+voice renders it advisable to attempt rivalry with the mezzo-soprano,
+rather than with the contralto; sometimes the reverse.
+It is a question for decision by a competent adviser
+in each individual case, and therefore I shall not attempt
+to lay down any decided rule, except my oft-repeated one,
+"<span class="smcap">Go to a master, and a first rate-one</span>,"&mdash;a point on
+which I shall have more to say further on. How impossible
+it is to lay down rules for a mezzo-contralto is shown by
+the fact that an eminent living "mezzo-contralto" is gladly
+accepted on our opera stage as a leading contralto, and
+yet succeeds admirably in such a part as Rossini wrote for
+a mezzo-soprano of the most florid kind&mdash;<i>Rosina</i> in "<i>Il
+Barbiere</i>."</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Contralto.</b>&mdash;The quality of a true contralto voice is
+so peculiar that it is impossible to mistake it for any other
+voice, although other voices may be mistaken for it. Of
+course, there are exceptional cases in which the contralto
+and mezzo-contralto are combined in one voice: the lower
+range being of full and pure contralto quality, while instead
+of the somewhat limited upper notes of the contralto,
+a rich mezzo-contralto range of notes may develop
+themselves; and in such a case careful training will be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>
+able to soften these two into each other, so that a complete
+voice of peculiar charm and great usefulness will result.
+But such cases, if not rare, are certainly the exception
+and not the rule, the deep and powerfully resonant tone
+of the true contralto being comparatively seldom met
+with. There is generally an awkward break between the
+low B and the D above it in this voice, and E<span lang="en" title="flat">&#9837;</span> or E are
+the highest notes within reach of the average contralto.
+Voices of this class are better adapted for a species of
+ballads, for solemn declamation, or music of a calm and
+flowing character, than for elaborate execution or lively
+melodies. But here again exceptions must be made in
+favour of those who have the physical means, as well as
+the artistic skill, to study such music as that of the <i>Page</i>
+in "<i>Les Huguenots</i>," <i>Arsace</i> in "<i>Semiramide</i>," or "<i>La
+Cenerentola</i>." For an average English contralto, however,
+the best line of study is in good songs and ballads, and,
+chief of all, oratorio music.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Alto.</b>&mdash;The alto, or counter-tenor voice, is said by a
+well-known English alto singer to be "simply a development
+of the <i>falsetto</i>&mdash;generally the <i>falsetto</i> of an inferior
+bass voice." It is said to be almost peculiar to English
+singers, and to that fact is ascribed its extensive and
+effective use in the fine works of the English Cathedral
+School of composers. Of course, in a voice which is so
+artificial, there must be expected a worse "break" than
+usual&mdash;the break in this case being the point below which
+the falsetto cannot be extended, and where the natural
+"chest" quality of tone has to be used. This break
+generally lies near the same place as the contralto break&mdash;if
+anything, rather higher&mdash;say between C and E in
+the middle of the voice. The effective notes of an alto
+usually lie in the octave of B or B<span lang="en" title="flat">&#9837;</span>, and the repertoire
+of music for which this voice is suited is comparatively
+limited. That repertoire, however, includes the greater
+number of oratorios, a good deal of fine old Italian music,
+and a few old English songs; while a singer of cleverness
+and cultivation will find many ballads which he may make
+his own by the help of transposition and style of delivery.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Great pains must be taken by the possessor of an alto
+voice in the formation and production of a good tone.
+The voice must be made to sound as <i>natural</i> as possible;
+and, if necessary, power must unhesitatingly be sacrificed
+to sweetness. There is great danger of producing a
+harsh, reedy, or nasal tone, which, to the hearer, is simply
+distressing or offensive.</p>
+
+<p>Above all, let him be content to develop his own means,
+and to keep to music suited to or written for his voice. A
+good alto will make no effect, and will do his voice and
+style harm, if he "poaches on the preserves" of other
+voices&mdash;tenors, for instance, or basses&mdash;(singing the songs
+of the latter an octave higher). I once heard an alto&mdash;a
+fair singer so long as he stuck to his own work&mdash;make an
+absurd exhibition of himself by attempting the great song
+"Love Sounds the Alarm," in "<i>Acis and Galatea</i>," at a
+public concert!</p>
+
+<p>Let him also beware of the snare of contralto music.
+The alto in a man is totally distinct from the contralto in
+a woman. The tone is utterly different&mdash;the best notes of
+the one are certainly not the best notes of the other; and
+although in certain cases a contralto may sing with good
+effect music written for a male alto (<i>e.g.</i> in some oratorios),
+yet the converse is scarcely ever true. The low notes,
+which are so fine in a contralto, and so unlike any other
+tone except perhaps a few notes of some tenors, are utterly
+wanting in charm, and generally in power, in a male alto;
+while the sweet and ringing middle notes of the latter are
+far more effective in alto music than the (frequently) weak
+and uncertain middle notes of a contralto. Choose your
+music as you name your voice, by the quality of tone you
+can produce, and not by the range of notes.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Tenore-Leggiero.</b>&mdash;The <i>tenore-leggiero</i> or "light
+tenor," is the male voice corresponding to the female
+soprano; it is perhaps the most delicate and difficult to
+manage of all human voices. In the present day, when
+fashion is all in favour of noise, it is difficult for any but
+the strong-minded to stand firm against the tendency to
+shout and bawl, which appears to be the highest aim of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>
+many singers, and the highest admiration of most audiences.
+Now for a light tenor to attempt this style of
+singing is simply suggestive of the old fable of the frog
+who tried to make himself as big as the bull, and burst
+in the attempt. There is a modern school of singing
+which, though it may be suitable enough for heavy voices
+such as basses and robust tenors, is fatal to light and
+delicate voices. The style of singing, and of music to be
+sung, by this voice, is quite different from that appropriate
+to strong and full organs; and, if you are the possessor
+of a light tenor, you must at once rid yourself of the
+common amateur fancy (a fancy, too, by no means confined
+to amateurs) that you must imitate a certain ever-popular
+living tenor, whose name has passed almost into
+a proverb as typical of the perfection of English singing.
+You <i>cannot</i> be a "Reeves" or a "Braham," therefore it
+is only waste of time and strength for you to try. But
+there is a great deal of music which neither a "Reeves"
+nor a "Braham" could sing, which is well within your
+reach; and more than that, there is a great deal of
+excellent music which, though you cannot sing it <i>like</i>
+them, you may render very effective in a totally different
+style. Very often a <i>pianissimo</i> is quite as expressive as a
+<i>fortissimo</i>, and grace and sweetness are frequently an
+excellent substitute for power and force. You must be
+content to recognize that the latter are out of your reach,
+and that the effects which you can produce are to be
+attained by other means.</p>
+
+<p>However, while assuring you that power and force are
+not given to you, I do not mean to say that voices of your
+class need be at all inaudible in a space however large.
+The tone of a light tenor is generally clear, resonant, and
+penetrating; sometimes there is a metallic ring about it
+which is extremely pretty, if not forced. I have heard a
+light tenor, singing at the back of the Covent Garden
+stage, send his voice clearly out into the great theatre,
+with apparently more ease than his "robust" friend, who
+was shortly afterwards vociferating at the footlights.</p>
+
+<p>A light tenor must be careful not to force up the lower
+register of his voice beyond its natural and easy limit.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>
+The charm of the voice is in the perfect blending together
+of the lower, middle, and upper registers, and to do this
+the upper notes of each register should be equally at
+command, as the upper notes of that register or the lower
+notes of the one above it. In order to attain this, the
+change from one register to another should generally be
+made considerably lower than the place where the real
+"break" in the voice comes. For instance, supposing
+the "break" to be on E<span lang="en" title="flat">&#9837;</span>, the singer should be able to
+change his register as low as B or B<span lang="en" title="flat">&#9837;</span>, and to take all the
+notes between those two places, either in the upper or
+lower register, with equal effect.</p>
+
+<p>In voices of this character there is often one note
+which requires to be <i>made</i>&mdash;<i>i.e.</i>, which is so naturally
+defective in tone and quality that it can only be produced
+effectively by imitating as nearly as possible the quality of
+the register above or below it. This note is generally E,
+F, F&#x266f;, or (sometimes) G, between the middle and upper
+registers; and if you find that you unfortunately have
+such a refractory note, remember not to try and force the
+tone of it from the next note above or below; <i>e.g.</i>, if your
+bad note is F, do not try to improve it by singing E well
+and then passing on to the F; but try and form the note
+from the fifth above or below (whichever it happens to
+resemble most in tone). Rounden the refractory note&mdash;give
+it a full tone in practising, and produce it well from
+the chest, letting the sound reverberate from the centre of
+the roof of the mouth&mdash;neither too far back towards the
+throat, nor too much on the teeth. Your teacher, if he
+knows his business, will soon put you into the way of
+this. Voices vary so much that these very general remarks
+must suffice here; but each voice, if it has its peculiar
+difficulties, has also, doubtless, its peculiar charm;
+and for light tenors, rich in both charms and difficulties,
+the rule is all-important: Do not try to imitate anybody
+else, but let your aim be to do the best that can be done
+with such natural gifts as you may have, aided by the
+best training that you can procure for them.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Tenore-Robusto.</b>&mdash;The robust or strong tenor is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>
+the male voice corresponding to the mezzo-soprano of a
+female. It is not an uncommon voice, but is rarely met
+with in anything like perfection. A robust tenor voice
+of large compass and round full tone is a treasure of the
+utmost value. The fact is, that too frequently the possessor
+of a good voice of this kind, instead of taking care
+of it and training it for the future, begins using it too soon,
+strains and forces it into coarseness, and spoils it for ever.
+People do not realize that a voice may be strong in quality
+and powerful in tone, and yet in itself be an excessively
+delicate thing to keep in order.</p>
+
+<p>Moreover, voices of this kind in their youth frequently
+resemble barytones, and their owners, fired with ambition
+to rival some popular barytone singer, mistake their vocation,
+and shout and bellow on the very part of the voice&mdash;the
+upper "chest" register&mdash;which requires the tenderest
+nursing to fit it for future difficulties. Consequently,
+when the voice develops with age, and the singer finds
+that barytone work is too heavy for the lower part of the
+voice, and that he can without much difficulty extend his
+compass beyond the barytone limits, he discovers that
+what he has been using as the top of his voice is nearer
+the middle of it, and that the mode of using those notes
+which he has practised is excessively difficult, if not impossible,
+with those which now lie above them. The result
+is either the creation of a very awkward "break," which
+even time and practice can never entirely remove, or else
+(and this is a commoner case) the same process of forcing
+which has been employed hitherto is applied to the upper
+notes, as far as strength can take it! This is the reason
+why so many tenor singers are utterly unable to produce
+the real tenor "tone," and sound like barytones forced up
+to a higher compass. There is no sweetness in the upper
+notes so produced&mdash;nothing but force and noise; while
+the hapless perpetrator of the howls which represent high
+notes turns scarlet in the face, and quivers all over with
+his exertions. I therefore give to tenors of this class exactly
+the same warning that I gave to soprani:&mdash;Do not
+ignore the fact that you have three, or at all events two,
+distinct registers of the voice, the (so-called) "chest,"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>
+"throat," and "head." Do not suppose, when you hear
+a great singer produce on a high note exactly the same
+quality of tone as he produced on a low one, that he did
+it exactly the same way, or "got it from the same place,"
+as some people say. The perfection of his training and
+the diligence of his practice have enabled him to assimilate
+the quality of one register to that of another so completely
+as to deceive your ear. The proof that this is true
+may be found in inspecting a great deal of music written
+for and sung by the most famous operatic tenors of the
+past&mdash;the singers of that pure Italian school of which so
+few disciples now remain.</p>
+
+<p>There are notes and passages in that music which no
+"chest" register could by any physical possibility execute,
+but some of which have been sung within the recollection
+even of the "rising generation" with all the effect intended,
+and with the very tone that critical slang calls "chest
+notes," (simply because it so closely resembles the tone
+of chest notes that few, if any, can detect that they are
+differently produced from the low notes.)</p>
+
+<p>For obvious reasons I abstain from mentioning the
+names of any living singers, but I can name one, not very
+long since dead, who attained the highest reputation here
+as a <i>tenore di forza</i>&mdash;whose "chest notes" were chronicled
+by the newspaper critics, and were the envy of aspiring
+youths&mdash;and yet who has ever been heard distinctly to
+deny that he ever produced those notes in the same way as
+the lower ones, and to laugh at the idea that such a thing
+was possible; and this was Mongini.</p>
+
+<p>I have entered into this at some length because it is a
+point which is more and more ignored by the singers and
+teachers of this generation. I might almost say that a
+school of singing exists the whole aim of which is to
+abolish the natural upper part of the voice, in order to
+stretch and force the one lower register up beyond its
+natural compass. I do not deny that in certain cases a
+voice results from this treatment which is powerful,
+effective, and capable of executing a good deal of music
+with much success and satisfaction to the performer; but
+for one case where this treatment so far succeeds, it fails<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>
+in twenty to produce a voice both pleasing and useful; it
+is, moreover, in singers trained on this method that we
+most commonly hear the odious (and involuntary) trembling
+of the upper notes commonly called the <i>vibrato</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Therefore, to sum up those who find, when their voices
+begin to form, that the natural quality of their voice is
+lighter than that of a bass, had better make up their minds
+at once to give the voice fair play, and let it alone for a
+time; then consult a good master, or one really experienced
+in hearing singers, as to what the future of the
+voice is to be. It is by no means easy always to decide
+at that early period whether the permanent quality of the
+voice will be tenor or barytone, and therefore it is folly
+to try and settle the question for yourself by singing, in
+untaught style, music which may prove to have been all
+along unsuited to you. Your patience in waiting till the
+voice really declares itself will amply repay you afterwards
+by the absence of the difficulties which too early a use of
+the voice would have created for you to overcome.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Barytone and Basso-Cantante.</b>&mdash;The barytone
+voice is thus described in Stainer and Barrett's "Dictionary
+of Musical Terms:" "A voice of fuller quality than a
+tenor, and lighter than a bass, having a compass partly
+included in both.... This voice has only been
+distinguished by name as being of a separate character
+within the present century. Early writers indicate its
+existence by the use of its special clef. The term barytone
+is unmeaning unless it be looked upon as a corruption
+of barytenor; but it is quite possible it was borrowed from
+the instrument barytone or bardone, which occupied a
+place between the tenor and bass viols."</p>
+
+<p>The derivation of the name from "barytenor" is slightly
+absurd, considering that half that extraordinary word is
+Greek and the other half Latin; whereas the name barytone
+is a Greek word, used by Aristotle, and meaning
+"deep-sounding."</p>
+
+<p>The distinctive character which this voice has assumed
+within the present century is due, I believe, to the great
+change in the pitch of musical instruments which has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>
+taken place. In the last century the pitch was so much
+lower than that at present in use, that a "high barytone"
+was much the same as a "robust tenor." Consequently,
+music was not written exclusively for the barytone voice,
+its existence as a separate class of voice not being sufficiently
+recognized. Gradually, as the pitch was raised,
+the barytone separated itself clearly from other voices,
+and has now a repertoire of music and a style of singing
+of its own; and instead of appropriating tenor music, it,
+if anything, has stolen away some of the property of the
+bass; for the raising of the pitch which placed tenor
+music beyond the reach of a barytone has also rendered
+a good deal of music originally written for a bass far more
+suitable for a barytone, or at all events for a basso-cantante.
+I am well aware that by many musicians the basso-cantante
+is identified with the barytone. The distinction is
+so slight that it is not worth while to quarrel over names;
+but that the two voices are distinct I am persuaded. The
+basso-cantante is of fuller and rounder quality than the
+barytone proper; less flexible, less metallic in tone, and
+generally rather lower in compass. But the method of
+using both voices is the same, and for all purposes of
+amateur singers no distinction need be insisted upon.
+Professionals, however, who have to deal with heavy work
+on a large scale, will soon find that there is a good range
+of music more suited to the rich voice of greater volume
+and less flexibility (which I distinguished as the basso-cantante)
+than to the bright, flexible voice which has
+something of the tone of a full "tenore-robusto," and
+which is the barytone proper. Neither of these voices
+is much troubled with a "break," although there is a
+perceptible difference between the natural quality of the
+lower and upper octaves of the voice when quite uncultivated.
+This difference, however, which makes itself felt
+<span class="figleft" style="width: 219px;">
+<img src="images/043.png" width="219" height="52" alt="F3 G3 A3" title="F3 G3 A3" />
+<span class="hide-link"><a href="music/043.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+</span>
+in the region of these notes, is got
+rid of in practice without any of
+the same difficulty which is encountered
+by tenors or contralti in managing the decided
+breaks in their voices. The possessors of barytone voices
+may therefore be looked upon as having comparatively<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>
+"easy times of it." There is a large repertoire of music
+at their disposal, including much of the most popular
+ballad music of this century and the last; the voice is generally
+a favourite with an audience; the style of barytone
+singing is undisputed, and the singer will not find himself
+violently criticised by the partizans of a rival school of
+singing to that in which he himself has been trained, which
+is inevitably the fate of tenors!</p>
+
+<p>Only let him avoid the temptation to shout, and to sing
+up to the very top of his compass at full pitch. Unfortunately,
+an English audience does like a noise, and appreciates
+plenty more than beauty of tone. It is tolerably
+easy for a barytone to be a showy singer, and therein lies
+the greatest danger to his chance of ever being a really
+good one. He must be content to go through his training
+quite as self-denyingly and perseveringly as any one
+else who is gifted with fewer natural advantages.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Bass.</b>&mdash;Of the bass voice less need be said here, not
+because it is a less important voice than any of the others,
+but because it is more generally known and better understood.
+A perfectly pure bass voice is, however, a rare
+thing. This voice has no upper register, properly speaking;
+the whole voice consisting of "chest" notes, and not
+admitting of even the process of developing upper notes
+of extraordinary quality, which is part of the training of a
+barytone or a basso-cantante. Power and richness are the
+chief qualities of charm in a bass, while flexibility and true
+intonation are the qualities most rarely found in that voice.
+The young singer who finds that he certainly is not meant
+by nature for a tenor, and also that with all his efforts the
+upper notes of a barytone are quite out of his reach, need
+not be discouraged by any lightness or thinness of quality
+in his voice from the hope that he may develop into a good
+bass. The full and rich quality of this voice is later in
+showing itself than is the case with any other voice, and
+the young singer must be content to study for some time
+with the compass of a bass and the quality of a kind of
+barytone, till Nature puts him in full possession of his
+powers. Only he must study bass music, and not try,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>
+because his voice is of barytone quality, to sing barytone
+music. Let him, on the contrary, avoid trying to extend
+the compass of his voice in the upper notes, and give his
+best attention to the lower ones. The upper ones will be
+well within his command in time, and if he will be content
+to let them alone at first, he may become a truly "celebrated
+bass;" but, if he persists in shouting at them now, he will
+never have anything but coarse upper tones, only fit to be
+heard behind a costermonger's barrow, or in "comic"
+songs at the Music Halls.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Buffo.</b>&mdash;The last remark reminds me that I have said
+nothing about a class of bass singers very useful in certain
+Italian and French operas&mdash;the <i>buffo</i>, or comic bass.
+The development of voice with these singers is of less consequence
+than the study of a peculiar style, a good deal
+of the point of their songs consisting in the entire elimination
+of anything like musical tone from many notes and
+passages. A clever and good buffo singer may very likely
+be able to sing other music well, but the style is so entirely
+dramatic and so utterly out of place anywhere except on
+the stage, that no amateur should ever attempt it, and no
+professional should appear <i>in a concert-room</i> as the exponent
+of such music. Therefore, for those who wish to sing, any
+remarks on the peculiarities of a buffo bass would be superfluous;
+those who wish to study that line as a profession,
+for stage work, must learn all that they need from a regular
+dramatic teacher; while those who wish to execute English
+"comic" songs, may spare themselves any anxiety as to
+their voices: if they have any voice naturally, "comic"
+singing will soon destroy its charm, and that will not
+matter to them, for the last thing necessary to sing a
+"comic" song is the possession of a voice of any kind.
+Therefore, if you have a bass (or any other voice, indeed),
+avoid "comic" songs, and leave the "buffo" business to
+those who can do nothing better.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Qualities of Voice, Good and Bad.</b>&mdash;It may not
+be unwelcome to the student to have pointed out to him
+those qualities of voice which are to be aimed at or cultivated,
+and also those which are to be avoided or overcome.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The charms of a voice are found among the following
+qualities: clearness, sweetness, evenness, flexibility, power,
+extent of compass, variety, brilliancy, firmness, persuasiveness.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p>
+
+<p>On the opposite side must be ranked roughness, huskiness,
+feebleness (or want of power), shrillness (or want of
+depth), hardness and want of flexibility, dulness, or want
+of "ring," &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>It is, of course, impossible for any one voice to unite in
+itself all these merits or all these defects; and you cannot
+give yourself merits which Nature has withheld; but you
+may marvellously improve what natural merits you have,
+and do wonders in overcoming any difficulties which
+Nature has placed in your way.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="INSTRUCTION" id="INSTRUCTION">ON INSTRUCTION, MASTERS, AND
+"SINGING TUTORS."</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>The voice, and how to use it, is a subject which has troubled
+many minds, and no doubt this will continue to be the
+case; but the difficult problem will not be solved by running
+to pettifogging teachers, who advertise to teach all
+that is known of singing, and a little more, in twelve easy
+lessons, without previous knowledge or practice at home,
+for the small fee of one guinea! Let it be stated once
+for all: singing cannot be taught in twelve easy lessons,
+and can scarcely be acquired in one hundred very severe
+lessons. Therefore distrust at once any one who holds
+out so tempting a bait to you; remember that there is no
+"royal road" to singing, any more than there is to the
+acquirement of any other art; and the person who tells
+you that he can teach you to do without trouble that which
+costs great artists the study of a lifetime, proclaims himself,
+<i>ipso facto</i>, to be a humbug.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Schools of Singing.</b>&mdash;There are several so-called
+Schools of Singing. There is a French School, which for
+any language but French is bad, and which very seldom
+turns out a pleasing singer. There is a German School,
+which is worse, being simply the production of coarse noise.
+Some people say that there is an English School. I hope
+there may be some day, but at present its existence is
+rather doubtful, unless those who talk of an English school
+of singing mean the Cathedral style&mdash;which for solo work
+is detestable&mdash;or the old school of Oratorio singing, with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>
+its Handelian traditions, which was not an English, but
+an Italian, and the best Italian, school.</p>
+
+<p>In fact, there is but one school of singing in the world,
+and that is the Italian. Whatever language you wish to
+sing in, whatever style of music you wish to study principally,
+you must train your voice, produce it, and learn to
+use it in the Italian method, if you hope ever to deserve
+the name of a singer.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Masters.</b>&mdash;Of course, in a work of this sort, it is impossible,
+and would be wrong if it were possible, to mention
+the names of living teachers: therefore I can only
+give general hints. If possible, study only under a master
+whom you know to have lived in Italy, and to have studied
+there for some years under some good master or in some
+good Conservatoire&mdash;Naples, Milan, and Florence generally
+supply the best. Possibly, for an English singer, an
+English master <i>who fulfils these conditions</i> may be better
+than even an Italian, as he should understand better the
+peculiarities of English voices and temperaments, and
+would know at once where the chief difficulties would lie.
+Let me, however, correct a popular error. A good singer
+is not necessarily a good teacher, nor is it necessary for
+a first-class teacher to be able to sing at all. Nor need
+you necessarily look for your master among foreigners
+with fine sounding names. There are two or three good
+teachers of singing in this country who are foreigners;
+but there is also some native talent equally capable of
+teaching singing, as it is accepted in this country at the
+present time. These know the English style better than
+any foreigner can teach it, and after all, style is the chief
+consideration.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Institutions.</b>&mdash;As we have no real English School of
+singing, it is perhaps fortunate that we have no Conservatoire.
+There are, however, Institutions accessible to those
+who cannot afford to have masters at home or to place
+themselves under a private teacher. Of these, the chief
+is the Royal Academy of Music, in Tenterden Street,
+Hanover Square. There is also the National Training<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>
+School of Music, the London Academy of Music, also the
+Guildhall School, and there is Trinity College, London,
+where I believe singing lessons may also be obtained. To
+all these establishments singing masters, more or less
+good, are attached, and it is open to any one to obtain
+admission to the concerts given from time to time at the
+institutions themselves, and to form some kind of opinion
+as to the teachers from the performances of the pupils. It
+would be well for an intending student to do this, for of
+course at any institution where there are several professors,
+one might suit you and another might not; it is even conceivable
+that one professor might do all for you that you
+could possibly require, while another professor might be
+an ignorant charlatan. Therefore, hear their pupils and
+judge for yourself, making inquiries at the same time of
+musical people who are qualified to express an opinion
+on singing. I must not, however, withhold from my
+readers my conviction that private lessons are better and
+more effectual than those taken in schools and academies.
+The terms at these public institutions are such that they
+preclude the possibility of more than twenty or thirty
+minutes being devoted to each pupil, and that is <i>not</i> a
+sufficient time to bestow upon a lesson. Forty-five or
+sixty minutes are needed to give a good lesson; and the
+pupil who pays fifteen shillings or a guinea for this, does
+a wiser thing than the one who pays a fourth of that sum
+for, say, twenty minutes' attention.</p>
+
+<p><b>A First Opinion.</b>&mdash;The actual successful teachers of
+singing in London may be counted on the fingers of one
+hand, and those who are qualified to teach singing, but who
+are not specially successful, may be found on the remaining
+five fingers. Each of these professors would probably
+not take less than one guinea the lesson, and it would,
+honestly, be far cheaper in the long run to pay this sum
+for one good lesson in singing than it would be to have
+fifty lessons founded upon wrong principles, even for nothing.
+And for this reason: teachers of this calibre will
+not trouble themselves about you or your guineas unless
+you have a promising voice, some general musical talent,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>
+and show signs of becoming, to some degree, a credit to
+your <i>teacher</i>, for to these men guinea pupils are very plentiful,
+and it is only reasonable that a guinea from a clever
+pupil should be worth considerably more to a sensitive
+artist than the same amount from a fool. Therefore, a
+first opinion from one such teacher may save your spending
+money, time, and energy on a pursuit in which you
+can never succeed.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Bad Lessons.</b>&mdash;Never take a bad singing lesson till
+you know how to sing. You may then do so (if you care
+to), and learn the "how not to do it" of singing. It is
+commonly supposed that the earliest singing lessons may
+be administered by any "dabbler," and the last touches
+given afterwards by a "finishing master." Never was there
+a greater error. Pay your guineas first, and your shillings
+afterwards. If you cannot afford to have good instruction
+in beginning to sing, you will be still less able to take it
+afterwards, for artistic reasons. Remember that every bad
+singing lesson which you take hardens old faults and
+creates new ones, and, moreover, takes you farther and
+farther away from your original starting-point. So, when
+you begin under the right man and the right method, you
+have to <i>undo</i> all this that you have expended toil and
+money to acquire.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Bad Teachers.</b>&mdash;It is astonishing how much money
+is wasted by people who want to sing, through not going
+at once to the fountain-head for the necessary training.
+Because a man is a musician many people conclude that
+he must necessarily be able to teach singing! Such an
+idea is scarcely less monstrous than that of a man being a
+good physician and consequently competent to amputate
+a limb, or to take out and reset an eye. Do not follow this
+"multitude to do evil." Be as careful in inquiring about
+your singing master as you would be about your doctor.
+Both in London and in the country there are "professors"
+whose knowledge of singing stops at professing&mdash;the class
+of people who (very likely) keep a music-shop, tune your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>
+piano, play polkas and waltzes for your evening parties,
+and have a brass plate on their doors to this effect:</p>
+
+<table border="1" cellpadding="15" summary="Brass Plate">
+  <tr>
+    <td class="center">
+      <span class="smcap big">Mr. Handel Moscheles Ignazio Jones,<br />
+      professor of the pianoforte, harmony,<br />
+      the violin, italian, and singing.</span>
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>All honourable professions, no doubt; but to profess to
+combine them all is dishonourable, and insulting to the
+common sense of those who know anything of any one of
+the subjects professed. A singing master, if he is worth
+anything, must be a man of one trade&mdash;singing. For the
+teaching of singing is a "specialty," and the man who can
+teach it <i>properly</i> is not likely to be a man of all (musical)
+work.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Books of Exercises, &amp;c.</b>&mdash;There are numerous
+"Singing Tutors" published, giving rules, exercises, <i>solfeggi</i>,
+&amp;c. Many of these are excellent, and some nearly
+perfect. But all alike are useless or worse than useless to
+the tyro, without a master. You might as well suppose
+that a child could learn to be a carpenter by having some
+fine wood and a box of good tools.</p>
+
+<p>I have before observed that voices vary as faces do; no
+two are exactly alike, each voice having its peculiar merit
+and its peculiar defect. Now, a good master will treat
+each voice on its own merit, and not place it at first on
+the Procrustean bed of a book of rules and exercises. He
+will probably write down his own exercises expressly for
+his pupil, and if not that, he will select certain exercises
+from the book, and forbid others to be attempted for a
+time. You must also let your master select such a book
+for you, so that you may have one in which the rules do
+not contradict those which he has already given you
+verbally, or else you will be perplexed with a multitude
+of counsellors.</p>
+
+<p>It is not till a certain stage in singing has been reached,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>
+under the training of a master, that any book of exercises
+can be of service to you. When that stage is reached, you
+will find such a work of great use in a part of your labours.
+Among such books may be named as especially good,&mdash;Concone's
+Exercises, Righini's, Guercia's, Nava's,
+Lablache's, and Lamperti's; but, again I say, do not
+choose for yourself. There are some excellent rules, as
+well as some good exercises, in an old work of the kind
+by Crivelli, and also in "Singing Exemplified," a work
+by T. Cooke. If you can meet with these, secure them&mdash;although
+I fear they may be long since out of print&mdash;for
+in the literature of singing the <i>new</i> is by no means
+certain to excel what was written in the days of our best
+composers and singers of operas and oratorios.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ON_THE_PRACTICE_OF_SINGING" id="ON_THE_PRACTICE_OF_SINGING">ON THE PRACTICE OF SINGING.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>Remember that the voice is of all instruments the most
+difficult one to study, and to bring perfectly under control,
+especially for the first year or two. Do not attempt to
+cultivate it with the view to professional remuneration,
+unless you can set apart at least two hours daily for most
+careful study, and can also afford to wait at least eight or
+ten years for any <i>substantial</i> pecuniary reward for your
+labours.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Individuality.</b>&mdash;It is of great importance to bear in
+mind that no two voices are exactly alike. To some
+singers is given quality of voice, to others quantity. And
+for each alike, steady, well-aimed, and well-ordered practice
+is indispensable. But, whatever you sing ought, like your
+voice, to have some touch of individuality: the song should
+seem to come naturally from you, and to be the spontaneous
+expression of your thoughts. At the same time
+you must not lose sight of the all-important guide which
+you have in the composer's intentions and wishes. Remember
+that a small and delicate voice may be made to
+go as far as, if not farther than, a voice of large volume
+and long compass. By judicious management, by touching
+expression of the softer feelings, by careful selection of
+music to be performed, the obstacles which are placed in
+a singer's way by want of power may be effectually removed,
+because the audience will irresistibly feel the
+influence of the singer's individuality. The difficulties of
+the singer who has the gift of quantity rather than quality<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>
+of voice, are in some respects greater, because the necessity
+for thus impressing on his audience a sense of his own
+individuality is not so strongly forced on him by circumstances.
+Not only has he to labour to attain a good quality
+of tone, but he must also resist the temptation to fancy
+that "might is right," and that the "sensation" caused by
+a powerful voice is all that he need aim at. And here let
+me say, the way to get quality is to listen as often as
+possible to some leading singer of your own kind of voice.
+Try and imitate his tone; but above all practise with a
+medium tone&mdash;a <i>mezzo-voce</i>&mdash;listen for the beauty in your
+tone, and think of what you are doing when practising.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Perseverance.</b>&mdash;The surest means of improving and
+strengthening the voice is by constantly exercising and
+practising it. Just as the muscles and fibres of the legs
+of a pedestrian are increased and made capable of great
+exertion by careful training, so is it with the nerves and
+muscles of the throat. With judicious training, the compass
+of the voice is extended, its quality is improved, its
+tones grow rounder and firmer; and, if the master is a
+good one, and the pupil is willing to study patiently for
+some time, never resting content, but always aiming at
+further progress as year succeeds year, he may not unreasonably
+hope to attain a well-earned place in his profession,
+and its attendant reward.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Facial Expression.</b>&mdash;A looking-glass should form a
+part of the furniture of a singing student's study, for it is
+most important to watch the face&mdash;its features and expressions&mdash;when
+singing; and it is none the less useful for
+insuring the constant right position of the mouth. In
+respect to the facial expression when singing, there is a
+very great tendency to look too serious, too severe, and
+too hard when earnestly studying. Now, a cheerful and
+good-humoured expression does not necessarily imply
+carelessness, and it is far more agreeable to the audience
+than an anxious and troubled look. Some people look
+quite savage when singing; and when rendering passages
+of love and tenderness, their features are far more indicative<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>
+of rage, revenge, and murder! And this very common
+fault is generally quite an unconscious habit. It is only
+to be remedied by constant care, and to this end practice
+before a looking-glass will be found very helpful.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Position of the Body.</b>&mdash;How to stand when
+singing has been explained by a great number of writers
+on the subject, and most of the explanations given have
+been chiefly remarkable as being entirely erroneous and
+false. The body should not be kept in a perfectly upright
+position, as it is (too popularly) believed that it should.
+The best position is when the body is well collected,
+with its chief weight upon the right leg and foot, with
+the head gently leaning forward, and the arms and, indeed,
+the whole carriage disposed in that manner which would
+indicate to the audience a sort of desire on your part to
+<i>persuade</i> them and bring them over to your feelings and
+sentiments. When the right leg begins to tire with the
+weight of the body, the left leg can take its duty, when
+the right may be gracefully drawn back as in dancing.
+The best lesson on this subject, however, can be gleaned
+by carefully watching the <i>pose</i> of a good Italian singer
+during singing.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Self-Accompaniment.</b>&mdash;A sitting position is a very
+bad one in which to practise. All singing should be done
+in a standing position, and the student is strongly urged
+to adhere to this rule. Instead of sitting at the pianoforte,
+and accompanying an exercise or "solfeggio," it is
+far better to sound the first note of each passage therein,
+and master the same without any accompaniment. The
+advantages of this mode of practising must be obvious;
+but one of the most important is, that the attention is not
+divided between the pianoforte and the voice, while it
+leaves the singer free to give all his attention and care to
+the <i>production</i> of the notes which he is endeavouring to
+sing artistically.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Position of the Arms.</b>&mdash;I would urge upon the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>
+student to hold a piece of music in his hands while he
+practises. There is a place for the hands when singing
+in public; but this place is neither the trouser-pockets,
+nor on the hips, nor behind the back, nor across the
+chest, but rather that position which is secured by
+<i>leisurely</i> holding the music-sheet, not as if actually singing
+therefrom, but as though it were merely intended for
+reference, if required. This easy attitude not only gives
+the hands and arms their legitimate position, but also
+lends a grace and freedom to other parts of the body, all
+which points must be attended to in singing. Remember
+to keep the arms well away from the body. Some singers
+stick the elbows into the waist, as though to give support;
+instead of doing which, they hinder the free action of the
+lungs, besides giving an awkward look to the whole figure.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Position of the Hands.</b>&mdash;Do not let your hands
+hang down, but keep them well before you, in some position
+which allows of your turning the palms uppermost. In
+this way you (as it were) lock the joints of the shoulders,
+and put a check on the tendency to raise the shoulders,
+which is an invariable consequence of taking breath
+wrongly. Keep your shoulders well back, your elbows
+depressed, and your hands with the palms uppermost, and
+you will find it difficult, if not impossible, to indulge in
+the vice of heaving the chest and shoulders up and down,
+like the piston of a steam-engine!</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Position of the Throat.</b>&mdash;One of the first conditions
+of singing well is to keep the throat open. To have
+the throat in its proper position the tongue must be kept
+down, and hollowed like the bowl of a spoon, its root being
+well depressed. Nor must the throat ever be allowed to
+screw itself up small, a common failing of many singers
+whenever they approach a high note. Most of my readers
+have yawned once or twice in their lives: if they will do
+it once more, in front of their looking-glass, and watch the
+inside of the mouth as they yawn, they will see and feel
+the exact position in which the throat should be during
+good singing. It will be useful to repeat this proceeding<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>
+until the mind is thoroughly impressed and the memory
+familiarized with the feeling of the mouth and throat in
+this, the correct position for singing.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Position of the Throat, &amp;c., in Soft Singing.</b>&mdash;When
+singing softly, or <i>piano</i>, as it is called, take great
+pains to keep your throat as open as you would for singing
+loudly, leaving it entirely to the mouth and lips to
+keep the tone soft, yet steady and firm. Do not forget,
+too, that in soft singing it is a great advantage to keep the
+mouth in a smiling position.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Position of the Tongue.</b>&mdash;The tongue, while being
+so useful, is nevertheless a very unruly member in singing.
+It has so great a tendency to get out of its place. Its legitimate
+office is to rest quite flat, or even hollow, in the
+bottom of the mouth, with its root well down, as this keeps
+the throat-passage clear, and with the tip of it just touching
+the lower teeth. Get a looking-glass, and continually
+watch the position of the tongue. Never allow it to roll
+up or turn about when singing, or the effect produced
+will be scarcely worth repeating. The tongue should
+occupy the least possible space in the mouth, and this is
+the case when the directions here given are carried out.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Position of the Larynx.</b>&mdash;The larynx, or upper part
+of the wind-pipe, plays a most important part in singing.
+Upon it depends all the beauty, and quality, and richness
+of the voice. The singer will do well to constantly think
+about the larynx, to watch it, to feel that it is well down
+below the mouth before commencing the first note of a
+song, which note must, under such circumstances, be rich,
+round, and penetrating. Then the larynx must never be
+allowed to rise above this fixed point. It may be deepened,
+and must be, for the higher notes, but it must never ascend,
+or nearly approach the roof of the mouth, or the sound-passage
+is closed, and the sounds become at once impure,
+vitiated, and without body or foundation.</p>
+
+<p>Try and guard against the bad habit of pushing forward
+the chin when singing, otherwise the tone cannot fail to
+be faulty. The chin should be well down on the chest,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>
+and the larynx quite low, to lead to an easy and pure production
+of tone. To be constantly moving both the jaws
+for every note, continually displaces the larynx, impairs
+the purity of the tone, spoils the articulation of the words,
+and, what is worse than all, produces a hideous expression
+of the features, which latter fault would alone be sufficient
+to prejudice seriously the chances of any singing artists.
+The lower parts of the jaws, not the upper ones, should
+do the work; and when a high passage or note is before
+the singer, the lower parts of the jaws should be exercised
+to drop as the notes increase in height. The singer's face
+should be controlled, if no other member can be so regulated.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Singing in the Head.</b>&mdash;There is, in all beginners,
+a tendency to sing too much in the head, that is, to have
+the foundation of the tones too high up in the throat.
+This fault is due to the difficulty experienced by beginners
+in keeping the larynx sufficiently below the mouth. The
+fulness of tone, the rich, round, and mellow quality which
+is so much admired in all good singers, is almost entirely
+owing to the voice being pitched low down, and not high
+up in the throat, towards the back of the head (as it <i>appears</i>
+to be).</p>
+
+<p>A few trials of this will soon convince the student of
+the vast difference in the character and <i>timbre</i> of the tones
+of these two ways, and also of the economy of the plan
+here recommended, so far as regards the wear and tear
+of the voice in practice.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Throatiness.</b>&mdash;Throatiness, or singing in the throat,
+is the common enemy of all English singers. Our language
+is the chief cause of this disagreeable habit, which
+we begin to acquire as soon as we learn to talk. Still, by
+diligence, the evil can be cured, and no better plan can
+be followed than to constantly practise singing the vowel-sounds
+Ah, A, E, O, throughout the compass of the voice,
+taking every possible care&mdash;and this is the point&mdash;never
+to allow the <i>tone</i> to vary, nor to leave the teeth, and not
+to screw up the throat, especially in high notes. It is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>
+impossible to produce a "throaty" quality of voice if the
+throat is well open, and the tone is firmly directed, and
+kept on the upper teeth and front of the mouth. On the
+other hand, if the student screws up the throat, rolls the
+tongue, or practises singing without being constantly on
+the look-out for the "voice on the teeth," the result must
+be a "throatiness," which is most disagreeable to all people
+who have any real knowledge of what singing should be.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Clearing the Throat.</b>&mdash;Singers, good and bad, are
+often troubled with an apparent stoppage in the throat,
+and this inconvenience seems to be at its worst just at
+that moment when they wish to sing. To displace or to
+cure this stoppage, they begin hacking and coughing
+("clearing the throat" as it is called), which proceeding,
+however, only makes bad worse for the time being, and
+finally grows into a habit, till at last such people cannot
+venture to open their mouths without first subjecting the
+throat to a series of these irritating "hacks." A good
+master will soon cure this complaint by refusing to continue
+the lesson whenever the pupil gives way to the bad
+habit. It is in many cases simply a nervous trick, and if the
+singer will accustom himself to <i>swallow</i> instead of coughing,
+whenever he feels the sensation of which we are
+speaking, he will soon get rid of it. If it results in any
+case from real weakness of the throat, it may be beneficial
+to gargle three or four times a day with moderately strong
+salt and water, especially before singing. This does no
+harm to the voice, and by bracing and strengthening the
+muscles of the throat renders them more obedient to the
+singer's will.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>High Notes.</b>&mdash;Many people find great difficulty in
+counting, with any degree of certainty, upon the top notes
+of their register. I know of no greater assistance towards
+bringing these out than that of well contracting the mouth
+and lips at the beginning of the passage in which these
+high notes occur, dropping the lower jaws, and securing
+a good play of the mouth as the highest note is reached,
+at the same time keeping the throat as open as possible,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>
+ejecting the sound to the audience with as much "lip-force"
+as can be secured, being careful that the tone is safe "on
+the teeth" before the note is "opened."</p>
+
+
+<p><b>The Scale.</b>&mdash;There can be no doubt whatever that
+the grand groundwork of all singing is the diatonic scale.
+On it is built all the graceful forms and figures which belong
+to the great artist. Yet how few seem to know and
+to appreciate this fact! To excel, the diatonic scale must
+be practised most seriously and assiduously in its plain
+and simple form; nor must it be left until the student
+can sing every note therein purely, without wavering or
+flutter, and with precision, in the soft, medium, and loud
+voices.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano.</b>&mdash;The singer will
+derive much advantage by bearing in mind that the voice
+has three main gradations which the Italians class as the
+<i>forte</i>, the <i>mezzo di voce</i>, and the <i>piano</i>. The management
+of these three is of vital importance, and the singer should
+certainly practise the scales in all three voices, and have
+each at command for every exercise and passage which
+he studies.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Tone.</b>&mdash;The tone of the voice must never be vitiated
+or rendered impure from any cause whatever. There is
+always a danger of this in passages of great energy and
+passion, but it should be remembered that whatever be the
+effect aimed at, it cannot be attained by any means which
+involves a change in the tone of the voice. The first and
+chief consideration must always be to produce a good tone
+in the right manner. If the tone be not good, the singing
+cannot be agreeable; and if it be not produced in the
+right manner, you have no security that it will be equally
+good throughout the voice, or in passages of all kinds.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Chest, Falsetto, and Head Voice.</b>&mdash;I have already
+said that there is a good deal of confusion existing
+as to the use of the terms "chest," "falsetto," and "head
+voice." And this is scarcely to be wondered at, seeing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>
+that nobody has yet decided <i>how</i> the three qualities of
+sound are produced, while everybody knows that the names
+are so far misleading, in that no sound whatever is really
+made in the <i>chest</i> or in the <i>head</i>, but that all are due to the
+passage of air through the larynx, in which are placed the
+vocal cords upon which the air plays. The changes of
+sound which are spoken of as "chest," "falsetto," and
+"head" voices are due to changes in the position of the
+larynx and its surroundings, and in the action of the vocal
+cords. What those changes are, and how or why they
+cause the results which we hear, has yet to be discovered:
+there are several theories, but no one has yet ventured to
+claim the certainty of truth for any one of them. There
+is an excellent article on "The Larynx" in Stainer and
+Barrett's "Dictionary of Musical Terms," to which I would
+refer those who wish to understand these various theories.
+For my present purpose it is sufficient to point out that
+each of the names is an utter misnomer. The "chest"
+voice is probably so called because the vibrations of the
+notes in that register may be distinctly felt in the chest;
+and because the breath passes directly from the chest, as it
+seems, without any opposition in the throat, producing the
+sound on its way. The "falsetto," or range of notes above
+the chest, is so called (and rightly so) because in that register
+of voice the tone <i>feigns</i>, or imitates, the tone of the
+"chest" notes below, although it is certain that the sounds
+are not produced in the same way, for the position of the
+vocal cords and their attendant parts is different, and
+changes suddenly on the passage of the voice from the
+chest to the upper register. A falsetto, rightly trained
+and used, is one, therefore, which is true to its name, and
+so well imitates the "chest," that the hearer cannot distinguish
+the "false" from the real "chest tone." The
+"head voice," which many people persist in confusing with
+the falsetto, is so called because to the singer it feels as
+though the notes so produced came from the head. This
+is due to the larynx itself rising up in the throat and approaching
+the back of the head. It comprises, in reality,
+<i>all</i> that part of the voice which lies above the "chest"
+register, all the lower part of it being shared by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>
+"falsetto," exactly as the falsetto shares the greater part of
+the chest register. The falsetto, therefore, belongs to both,
+and its use is to carry, by its power of imitation, the tone
+of the lower or chest register into the upper or head
+register, so combining them that no audible change of
+quality, or "break," is perceptible.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Scale Practice.</b>&mdash;It cannot be too strongly impressed
+upon, or too frequently pointed out to, the singer (no
+matter what may be the stage of his or her artistic development)
+how desirable and advantageous it is to be constantly
+singing exercises and solfeggi in preference to songs.
+It is a popular fallacy, especially among amateurs, that
+the practice of scales and intervals should be left behind
+as soon as possible. Pray do not be mistaken. The never-failing
+daily practice of singing open chords in solfeggi,
+scales, and exercises, is fraught with advantages which
+cannot be gained by the study of yards, or even miles, of
+song tunes. As an instance of how much may be done in
+the study of scale practice, the writer would point out that
+this particular exercise should not be left until the student
+can sing the diatonic scales throughout the whole extent of
+the voice in one unbroken breath, and with one quality,
+character, and volume of voice. When this point has been
+reached, its peculiar efficacy will be so apparent as not to
+require any recommendation or advice for its daily continuance.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>First Exercises.</b>&mdash;This is a book of advice, not of
+exercises, nor do I profess to teach you, but only to point
+out to you, how you must prepare to be taught. I cannot
+too often repeat that no book by itself can teach you singing,
+and my object is not to supersede a master, but to induce
+you to place yourself under a good one. However,
+it may happen that circumstances of time, place, or pocket
+prevent your doing so as soon as you would wish, and it
+is far better even to learn from a book what you can in the
+way of rules and exercises, than to go on singing by the
+light of nature, or under a cheap and inefficient master, or
+working at exercises too advanced for a beginner (which
+is as bad as not working at any at all). I therefore give<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>
+here a few simple but most important exercises, which you
+may work at until you are able to place yourself under the
+care of a good master. Bear in mind, first, all that has
+already been said here about taking your breath, the position
+of standing, the form of your mouth, and place of
+throat, tongue, teeth, &amp;c., and study the following exercises
+daily say to the extent of thirty minutes three times a day,
+with full attention to all the above points:</p>
+
+<div class="hide-link"><p class="center"><a href="music/practice.pdf">[Exercises in PDF]</a></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 591px;">
+<img src="images/063.png" width="591" height="100" alt="Exercise 1" title="Exercise 1" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/063.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Sing this fully and firmly. It should be begun and
+ended with the same quality and "thickness" of sound, as
+suggested by the even line over each note. You should
+be able to hold each note out in one breath for twenty
+seconds without the slightest alteration being perceptible
+in the tone, any more than there would be if it was a note
+proceeding from an organ-pipe. Practise it on each of the
+following sounds consecutively: "A" in "Bard," "A"
+in "Fate," "E" in "Steel," "I" in "Life," "O" in
+"Pole," "U" in "Rule," prefixing each sound by L, and
+so singing Lah, Lay, Lee, Li, Lo, Loo. In singing this
+first exercise, which for basses and barytones will be, of
+course, an octave lower, be careful not to force the lower
+notes, and do not seek to get a powerful tone thereupon.
+The tone does not need to be full and heavy on these
+notes, but rather should be a <span class="smcap">well-produced</span>, light, and
+thin quality of note. The way to proceed is: (1) To inspire
+the breath from the bottom of the lungs as it were&mdash;not
+raising the shoulders. (2) Steady the breath for a second
+or so in the chest while you THINK the note you are
+about to sing, and while you prepare your throat and
+mouth for singing by lowering the larynx and opening the
+throat. (3) Then begin to sound the note&mdash;not from the
+back of the mouth, but from the tip of the tongue and
+the front teeth&mdash;thus taking the whole of the tone out of
+the mouth, which is what is required to be done. Sustain
+the note till you have only a little breath left&mdash;then finish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>
+off in a clean manner, and allow the remaining breath to
+leave the lungs and body in an orderly way.&mdash;Repeat the
+same operation for <i>every</i> note, and if you desire to make
+progress, give a minute's attention of this kind to every
+single note.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 586px;">
+<img src="images/064a.png" width="586" height="96" alt="Exercise 2" title="Exercise 2" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/064a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>and so on, rising by semitones until you come to this:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<img src="images/064b.png" width="582" height="81" alt="Exercise 2, continued" title="Exercise 2, continued" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/064b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>which is certainly the highest that you ought to attempt at
+present.</p>
+
+<p>Exercise No. 2 is a first step towards joining notes, and
+is another difficulty in the matter of <i>production</i>. The
+object to be aimed at is to sing the two notes which are
+bound (or tied) together with the same breath, and the
+same body and quality of tone. To step from C to E,
+the first movement in the exercise is to raise the voice a
+major third; but the student must pass from his mind
+any notion of raising the throat in order to sound the
+higher third. As the note E is higher than the C, the
+tone of the former must be generated lower in the chest
+than had been the case with the C. The higher the note
+to be sung, the lower must be its generating-point in the
+chest. This is the only way to <span class="smcap">open</span> the voice, and I need
+scarcely say that it produces an entirely different tone and
+method than are secured by the common habit of screwing
+and tightening the throat, in proportion as the notes
+ascend in pitch.</p>
+
+<p>Another good exercise which may be combined with the
+last-given is the following:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 580px;">
+<img src="images/064c.png" width="580" height="204" alt="Exercise 3" title="Exercise 3" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/064c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span></p>
+<p>This exercise (3) must be sung in the same manner as
+indicated with No. 2, care being taken as each note gets
+higher to pass <i>under</i> the preceding note, and not as it
+were to generate a high note over a lower one.</p>
+
+<p>After which you may take this:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 592px;">
+<img src="images/065a.png" width="592" height="100" alt="Exercise 4" title="Exercise 4" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/065a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>but sing it very slowly and deliberately, bearing in mind
+the production of the high notes.</p>
+
+<p>As you begin to get all these notes firm and round, you
+may take these same exercises in D, D<span lang="en" title="flat">&#9837;</span>, and E<span lang="en" title="flat">&#9837;</span>, but be
+very careful not to force the upper notes.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 580px;">
+<img src="images/065b.png" width="580" height="307" alt="Exercise 5" title="Exercise 5" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/065b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Exercise 5 is one where the question of the breath and
+its proper management becomes of vital importance.
+The reader will observe the notes are bound together, and
+the student's attention should be turned towards passing
+from one note to the other, without any appreciable difference
+in the <i>quality</i>&mdash;I do not say pitch&mdash;of the tone.
+Having inspired in the manner already explained, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>
+singer will sound the <i>Do</i> with a pure, sympathetic, not
+harsh or forced sound; and by <i>pressing down</i> the breath,
+will <i>lift</i> the voice on to the <i>Re</i>. When he has succeeded
+with the step of a second, he can go on to the step of a
+third, fourth, &amp;c. The care must be to utilize the breath,
+always supporting the tone with the breath. If the sound
+wavers, then there is something wrong with the breath.
+You are either singing with too little, or are forcing the
+breath.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<img src="images/066a.png" width="582" height="264" alt="Exercise 6" title="Exercise 6" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/066a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>And so on.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<img src="images/066b.png" width="582" height="182" alt="Exercise 7" title="Exercise 7" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/066b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>And so on, descending the scale by semitones.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<img src="images/066c.png" width="582" height="187" alt="Exercise 8" title="Exercise 8" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/066c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Practise No. 8 slowly and steadily, with perfectly even
+tone throughout, without any crescendo or diminuendo.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p>Let all the above exercises be taken successively, <i>forte</i>,
+<i>a mezzo-voce</i>, and <i>piano</i>, preserving exactly the same amount
+of tone throughout each passage, and holding the notes
+with the same force with which you attack them steadily
+to the end, not letting them die away. The trick of letting
+notes die away is easily learnt afterwards, but at present
+you have to master the far greater difficulty of holding
+notes firmly with unvarying tone. Practise these exercises
+on all the vowel-sounds already given. All such exercises
+are of course only variations of the diatonic and chromatic
+scales, so arranged as to prepare the voice for executing
+those scales evenly and perfectly, with equality of tone on
+every note; for till you can sing scales, you are not fit to
+sing songs of any kind.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Duration of Practice.</b>&mdash;Always guard against over-straining
+and over-working the voice. Do not sing or
+practise for a longer time than half an hour without allowing
+the voice rest for some time. If you have three hours
+at your disposal daily to devote to singing, the most
+economical use of the time is to divide it equally between
+the morning, afternoon, and evening.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Singing in Tune</b>.&mdash;Correct intonation is of the
+greatest possible importance in singing. Every singer
+should pay especial attention to this point. The heavier
+the voice, the more necessary becomes such attention,
+and therefore contralti and basses are strongly advised to
+lose no time in facing this (to them) considerable difficulty.
+Deep basses, indeed, are rarely perfectly in tune for any
+long time together, and some of the most famous bass
+singers have left behind them recollections of this painful
+defect. Therefore, whatever be your voice, do not take
+for granted that even the possession of a good ear will
+always ensure your singing in tune. Sometimes excellent
+singers, and good musicians too, will sing out of tune,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>
+perfectly aware that they are doing so, but, for a time,
+unable to prevent it from physical causes&mdash;relaxation of
+the throat, fatigue, indisposition, &amp;c., under which conditions
+the muscles are unable to obey the will as usual.
+Do not, then, make too light of this matter, because you
+may think yourself quite incapable of singing out of tune;
+it is at all events wiser to be on the safe side. Therefore,
+never practise (nor sing, if you can help it) with a pianoforte
+which is not well in tune and well "up to pitch."
+And be very constant in practising intervals, such as major
+and minor sixths and sevenths, so as to be able to strike
+them as perfectly in tune and as unvarying in quality as
+the notes of an organ diapason.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>How to Begin.</b>&mdash;Many people never make a good
+start when beginning to sing any piece. Now a very good
+remedy for a part of this evil is not to prepare yourself
+too soon. Use the bar immediately preceding that in
+which your part commences to gather up your faculties,
+and, to use a common phrase, "to pull yourself together;"
+then let the muscles of the body gently settle down. The
+ease and freedom acquired by this momentary call upon
+the system is very remarkable; and for the singer especially
+the hint cannot be too often acted upon.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Variety Indispensable.</b>&mdash;An unchanging volume of
+sound is very soon wearying to the ear; and therefore a
+singer who scarcely ever varies the pitch of his voice will
+find that however loudly he may sing, his audience will
+have a feeling of dissatisfaction, as though they could not
+hear him distinctly&mdash;the fact being that their ears, being
+fatigued with the uniformity of the noise, cannot do their
+proper work, and the attention therefore flags. One great
+secret of being agreeably heard by an audience is to vary
+the body of tone (not the <i>quality</i> of it, observe). As a
+rule singers are left tolerably free to do as they like in this
+respect. Composers of songs rarely give them any help
+in the matter. In fact, nowadays so many people compose
+"vocal music" without knowing anything about the vocal
+instrument for which they compose, that it is not wonderful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>
+that they ignore their power of helping the singer by
+properly combining duly marked <i>forte</i>, <i>piano</i>, and <i>mezzo-voce</i>
+passages, so as to ensure a variety of effect. Therefore,
+in most modern music, a singer has to take his own
+"reading" of a song, and to make it as effective as he
+can by varying the power of his voice. It might even be
+taken as a rule that every <i>forte</i> passage should be succeeded
+by a soft one. The voice should rise and fall, and be
+varied in its inflexions in that agreeable manner which is
+so marked in good orators and dramatic elocutionists.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Chorus Singing.</b>&mdash;If you are studying seriously for
+solo singing, you must discontinue all chorus singing,
+especially during training. Singing in church choirs and
+choral societies must be abandoned. And this not because
+there is no good to be learned there, but because the little
+good is by no means commensurate with the great amount
+of harm which is acquired along with the good. To
+enumerate here all the evil habits so easily learnt would
+be impossible. Not the least of them, however, is the
+tendency to shout louder than your neighbour, to use
+yourself to the bad habits of those on each side of you;
+to produce a bad tone; to "chop" the passages instead
+of phrasing them; to attack notes carelessly; to sing
+coarsely; to depend on others; to get into a machine-like
+regularity of rendering the music. All these evil
+habits are the result of chorus singing; and while many
+of them are detrimental to the voice itself, it may be
+safely said that any one of these habits is fatal to good
+solo singing.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Humming.</b>&mdash;Some people have a wretched habit of
+continually humming tunes. Pray do not get into this
+habit of singing unconsciously&mdash;than which nothing is
+more prejudicial to the voice. You should never sound a
+note without being perfectly aware of what you are doing,
+and that it is being done in the right manner. The faults
+acquired by "humming over," as it is called, are of the
+worst kind, and, moreover, they are far sooner acquired
+than eradicated.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p><b>Studying Songs.</b>&mdash;Be careful, in studying a new song,
+not to waste either time or strength by a trifling and superficial
+treatment of it. "Whatever is worth doing at all,
+is worth doing well." First of all, <i>sol-fa</i> the melody a
+few times in a full <i>mezzo-voce</i>. Then study it with rather
+stronger tone, paying attention to lights and shades, yet
+at the same time being chiefly occupied with the melody
+itself. Then make your breath-marks, and adhere to the
+same unfailingly. Then sing the melody once throughout,
+in order to find the weak places; having found which,
+you need no more practise the whole of the melody, but
+give all the attention to these latter phrases. Having
+mastered these, the melody will be complete. It will then
+be necessary to determine where the notes shall be made
+to <i>bend</i> into each other, to add the <i>nuances</i>, a few graceful
+figures and effects which belong alone to the true artist.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Imitation.</b>&mdash;By no means the worst lesson which you
+can have will be gained by imitation of some acknowledged
+first-rate singer, whose voice is of the same kind as your
+own. Before going to a concert at which any such artist
+is announced to sing, procure copies of his songs (if possible),
+and make yourself acquainted with the compositions
+first of all. Then go and hear how those works are rendered
+by the singer who is to be your model; listen with
+your copy in your hand; make notes of any points which
+strike you, and while the impression made upon you is
+still fresh, go home and imitate them as closely as you can.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>General Musical Study.</b>&mdash;If you want to be a good
+singing artist, many more things besides singing should be
+studied. You should be sufficiently acquainted with the
+pianoforte to play your own accompaniments, even of the
+most difficult songs, well enough to get an idea of them.
+Then a knowledge of harmony, counterpoint, and orchestration
+is of the greatest value. The study of the best
+scores, orchestral and vocal, should not be neglected, and
+further, the student should make himself or herself otherwise
+familiar with the rise and progress of the art, by
+reading all the best books on the subject, whether historical,
+critical, or biographical.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ON_STYLE" id="ON_STYLE">ON STYLE, EXPRESSION, &amp;c.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>The study of language, articulation, and deportment, the
+gradual formation and building-up of the singing voice,
+and the incessant practice of scales and exercises, are in
+reality only the necessary preliminaries to singing itself.
+Singing, or the proper use of the voice combined with the
+due enunciation and expression of the words, is nothing
+unless due attention be also paid to style, to the fit and
+effective execution of the music selected, due regard being
+paid both to taste and tradition.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Traditional Styles.</b>&mdash;Although the groundwork of
+all good singing is the same, the music to be sung varies
+greatly in style. There is church music, oratorio music,
+and opera music, as well as ballad music; and a certain
+nondescript&mdash;half recitative, half declamation&mdash;which is
+of modern growth, gives pleasure to many people (both
+performers and audience), and comprises the greater
+number of modern German "songs."</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Modern German Lieder.</b>&mdash;This latest development
+of vocal performances, of which I desire to speak
+with all due respect, has no traditions whatever, but it has
+a style, decided, though (in my opinion) bad. It has,
+however, one merit: it imperatively demands that the
+singer should understand the meaning both of words and
+music, for the whole thing depends on expression and
+modulation. The composers of these works generally do
+their part fully in the way of modulations and accompaniment;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>
+but as they frequently forget to supply anything in
+the shape of a melody, the singer must do his best to
+touch or move his audience by his expressive delivery of
+the words in the musical inflections which (with this class
+of composers) occupy the place of a "tune." However,
+if you admire this kind of music, and have been properly
+taught to sing before you attempt to execute it, I have
+not a word to say against it: so long as you use your voice
+legitimately, this style of music can do you no harm, and
+if you study dramatic expression and elocution properly,
+you may doubtless produce an effect very pleasing to
+others who admire it. But the danger of such music to
+the untrained voice and untaught singer is very great
+indeed; and I do not hesitate to say that the frequent
+performance of it by such an one <i>must</i> result in the ruin
+both of voice and style.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>The Cathedral School.</b>&mdash;The one point in music
+wherein England has just reason to boast of her past, is
+the existence of a distinct class of music composed for
+her church service, and that music of a high order of merit.
+Distinctive in character, this church music&mdash;"services"
+and "anthems"&mdash;has created for itself a distinct school
+of singers, and, by tradition, demands a distinct style of
+performance. I have elsewhere stated that the "Cathedral
+School" of singing is "detestable for solo work," and
+so it is for any solo work except cathedral solo work, where
+the operatic or oratorio style of singing would seem to us,
+who have always been familiar with the traditional and
+one accepted style, out of place, and irreverently suggestive
+of the concert-room. It is difficult to describe upon paper
+the peculiarity of this style of singing, and it could only
+be learnt by imitation in its own home, the cathedral. Its
+chief characteristics are a sort of passionless "statuesqueness,"
+a steadiness of tone akin to the notes of the organ,
+which is its only fit accompaniment, an absence of all
+attempt at personal display on the part of the singer. Its
+faulty tendencies are towards deficiency of expression and
+slowness of "attack;" these are apparent, generally, when
+a "cathedral" singer appears in the concert-room; but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>
+in church, the pervadingly reverent character of the performance
+takes off the impression of coldness and tameness
+in the individual singer, while the ear, accustomed
+to the slight difference in time with which the various
+organ-stops "answer," does not notice in the singer that
+want of "crispness" in the time which the accompaniment
+of an orchestra reveals at once.</p>
+
+<p>Unless you are really intending to sing professionally in
+a church or cathedral choir, the study of this style will
+not be of much use to you; you will find its good points
+equally insisted on in the oratorio school of singing, while
+its defects should be avoided in any. For <b>English part-singing</b>
+there is, however, no training so good, its traditions
+being exactly those of the finest old English secular part-music&mdash;the
+madrigals of Wilbye, Weekes, and Purcell, &amp;c.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Oratorio.</b>&mdash;By oratorio singing&mdash;speaking of it as a
+distinct style&mdash;I may say at once that I mean the school
+of Handelian singing, of which the traditions are distinct,
+and which has only been slightly modified to suit the more
+modern oratorios of other composers. Of course, Mendelssohn
+cannot be sung exactly like Handel or Bach, but
+the general style of delivery should be the same, and till
+you can sing Handel, you cannot hope to be able to sing
+Mendelssohn. The ability to sing Handel, Bach, and
+Glück, I believe to be the sole foundation for a pure style
+of singing either in opera or ballad music: the music is
+such that it cannot be trifled with&mdash;the difficulties cannot
+be evaded, but must be mastered&mdash;while the exquisitely
+smooth and vocal character of these great masters' music
+trains the singer to an evenness and solidity of style which
+is most valuable in any music that may be afterwards attempted.
+Moreover, the songs of Handel form an admirable
+school for the training of individual taste and judgment
+in the introduction of ornaments, the variety of phrasing,
+and other minute details of finish. Not that you may
+exercise your individual taste in introducing ornaments
+into Handel or Bach&mdash;far from it; but the songs are
+written with the express intention that certain ornaments
+should be introduced in particular places, and the style<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>
+(and in many cases the notes) of these ornaments has
+been accurately handed down to us; therefore, in learning
+this traditional manner of singing such music, the student
+is trained to a knowledge of the appropriate place for the
+introduction of ornamentation and "grace"&mdash;the appropriate
+character of such embellishments, and the appropriate
+opportunities for introducing them. For instance,
+most of Handel's songs commence with a movement which
+is intended to be repeated at the close of the song, the
+middle part being generally a movement in some relative
+key, which is not repeated. The traditional style of giving
+such songs is to reserve ornamentation for this repeated
+first part, and thus to avoid the effect of sameness which
+would result from adhering in the "repeat" to exactly the
+same rendering of the music with which the singer gave it
+at first. Such ornamentations were taken for granted by
+the composer, and it was only because of a tasteless abuse
+of this privilege of adornment on the part of foolish singers,
+an abuse which became an unbearable nuisance, that in
+after years Rossini adopted the plan of writing into his
+music florid passages which should supply the singer with
+ornaments which were good of their kind and which were
+put in in appropriate places, rather then trust his airs to
+the mercy of inartistic "decorators." Handel, and the
+composers of earlier times than Rossini, omitted the ornamentation,
+so as not to hamper the singer, for, as has been
+well said by an old writer on the subject: "The same execution
+that would from one singer afford pleasure, might
+from another excite disgust: the compositions of old masters
+have no written cadences to a repeated passage, for this
+very reason, no doubt. But it is understood, and indeed
+expected, that the singer of talent should display his own
+taste by the introduction of such fanciful and graceful
+ornaments as may be best calculated to exhibit his voice
+to advantage, and thereby heighten, instead of lessen, the
+effect of the composition."</p>
+
+<p>The same writer, in explaining the reason for the introduction
+of such ornaments and changes, goes on to remark:
+"In conversation, though we frequently repeat words and
+even sentences, in expressing any particular subject, yet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>
+we might as naturally expect to see a person laugh without
+a smile, as give such repetitions without some variation in
+voice and manner.</p>
+
+<p>"The first part of an air is often written to be repeated.
+In justice to the author, when that is the case, simplicity
+of style should be inviolably preserved; but, on repeating
+the strain, free scope may be given to the imagination,
+taking it for granted that no person would be vain enough
+to attempt the introduction of his own fanciful graces, unless
+sufficiently master of the science to feel the propriety
+of going so far and no farther."</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps I may make the meaning of all this clearer by
+giving a few specimens of these traditionally accepted
+adornments in repeated passages.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 593px;">
+<img src="images/075a.png" width="593" height="118" alt="Music" title="First time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/075a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">ri - mem - - bran - za, Puoi di nuo-vo, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 594px;">
+<img src="images/075b.png" width="594" height="109" alt="Music" title="Second time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/075b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">ri - mem - bran - za, Puoi di - nuo-vo, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 594px;">
+<img src="images/075c.png" width="594" height="127" alt="Music" title="First time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/075c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">dol - ce ri - mem - bran - za, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 594px;">
+<img src="images/075d.png" width="594" height="120" alt="Music" title="Second time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/075d.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">dol - ce ri - mem - - bran - za, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 593px;">
+<img src="images/075e.png" width="593" height="240" alt="Music" title="First time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/075e.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Puoi di nuo - vo, di nuo - vo av - ve-len<br />
+<span style="padding-right:7.9em;">ar ................... mi.</span></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 587px;">
+<img src="images/076a.png" width="587" height="236" alt="Music" title="Second time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/076a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Puoi - di nuo - vo di nuo - vo av-ve-len<br />
+<span style="padding-right:7.8em;">ar ................... mi.</span></p>
+
+<p>The above are taken from a fine song by Cesti (1660),
+"<i>Tu mancavi a tormentarmi</i>."</p>
+
+<p>The following are the adornments taught in the Paris
+Conservatoire, as traditionally correct in the famous old
+song by Lotti, "<i>Pur dicesti</i>," where, it will be observed,
+one simple phrase, which occurs so frequently that it would
+be monotonous if unadorned, is made to yield a charming
+variety to the song by some elegant change at each recurrence.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/076b.png" width="588" height="119" alt="Music" title="First time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/076b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">quel so - a - ve ... car - o ...... si</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/076c.png" width="588" height="119" alt="Music" title="Second time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/076c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">quel ... so - a - ve car ... o - si</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 592px;">
+<img src="images/076d.png" width="592" height="120" alt="Music" title="Third time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/076d.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">quel ... so - a - ve car - o - si</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 590px;">
+<img src="images/077a.png" width="590" height="140" alt="Music" title="Fourth time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/077a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">quel.... so - a - - ve car - - o si</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 586px;">
+<img src="images/077b.png" width="586" height="248" alt="Music" title="First time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/077b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">pia - cer .....................<br />
+............ il mio pia - cer</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 587px;">
+<img src="images/077c.png" width="587" height="249" alt="Music" title="Second time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/077c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">pia - cer .....................<br />
+............ il mio pia - cer</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 581px;">
+<img src="images/077hr.png" width="581" height="13" alt="Horizontal Rule" />
+</div>
+
+<p>The following are from Handel:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 586px;">
+<img src="images/077d.png" width="586" height="110" alt="Music" title="First time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/077d.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">While re - sign'd to Heav'n... a - bove</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 585px;">
+<img src="images/077e.png" width="585" height="138" alt="Music" title="Second time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/077e.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">While re - sign'd to.... Heav'n........... a - bove</p>
+<p class="right" style="padding-right:10%;">(<i>Guardian Angels.</i>)</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 581px;">
+<img src="images/077hr.png" width="581" height="13" alt="Horizontal Rule" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 581px;">
+<img src="images/078a.png" width="581" height="118" alt="Music" title="First time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/078a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Trees where you sit, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/078b.png" width="583" height="153" alt="Music" title="Second time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/078b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Trees where you sit, &amp;c.</p>
+<p class="right" style="padding-right:10%;">(<i>Where'er you walk.</i>)</p>
+
+<p>And of course the list might be almost indefinitely prolonged.
+Certain of these ornaments, once highly popular,
+have wisely been allowed to drop, and that is why I lay
+stress upon the importance of <i>accepted traditions</i>. You
+may get hold of copies of many songs of this kind which
+have the names of great singers attached to them, and yet
+give variations of the text which have never been accepted
+or generally approved. The great Braham himself was a
+terrible offender sometimes in this respect. For instance,
+in singing "<i>Comfort ye</i>," instead of the passage</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 580px;">
+<img src="images/078c.png" width="580" height="103" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/078c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">that her in - i - qui - ty is par - don - ed</p>
+
+<p>he would sing thus:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 580px;">
+<img src="images/078d.png" width="580" height="107" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/078d.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">that her in - i - qui - ty is par - don - ed.</p>
+
+<p>And I have seen an old copy of "<i>Holy, holy</i>," in which
+the melody is so overlaid with little black notes, semi-quavers,
+demi-semi-quavers, and semi-demi-semi-quavers,
+that it is difficult to distinguish the notes of Handel's
+music at all! The admissible changes are all very slight,
+and any elaborate cadenza, or considerable addition, is
+pretty sure to be wrong. Final high notes are a frequent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>
+snare to aspiring singers; the traditions of the old school
+of oratorio singing are not in favour of them, and they
+generally vulgarize a song if introduced where the composer
+has not clearly opened a way for them. I have
+heard a tenor singer conclude the famous "<i>Thou shalt
+break them</i>," thus:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/079a.png" width="583" height="114" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/079a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">pot - - - - - - - - - - - ter's ves - sel</p>
+
+<p>and a soprano finish off "<i>He shall feed His flock</i>," thus:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/079b.png" width="583" height="119" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/079b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">ye shall find rest ............... un - to your souls.</p>
+
+<p>&mdash;both of them pieces of vulgar display, bringing the personality
+of the singer before the audience instead of the
+beauty of the music, the sense of the words, or the merit
+of the composer. No such abominations are permissible
+in good oratorio singing, the rule of which is utter submission
+to the composer's intentions, and a conscientious
+endeavour to interpret his mind clearly to the audience;
+a pure and chaste delivery of words and music alike; a
+sustained excellence throughout, avoiding an attempt to
+astonish by bursts of power or brilliancy; and an entire
+absence of all claptrap or vulgarities to please "the
+gallery."</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Opera.</b>&mdash;A great deal of what has been said about
+oratorio singing applies also to operatic singing. But I
+strongly advise you against attempting opera music until
+you have studied the more severe and solid style of the
+oratorio. The declamatory passages in opera are doubtless
+more brilliantly impassioned, just as the florid airs are
+more startlingly elaborate, than in oratorio, and the recitatives
+less stately and sustained; but the style of good
+opera singing is only to be founded upon good oratorio<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>
+study (or its equivalent), inasmuch as it was out of the
+oratorio that the opera grew. Operatic singing allows
+more license to the singer than does oratorio; but the
+singer should have been taught first by the severer style
+not to misuse that license. At the same time when (as is
+not infrequent in operas of a certain kind) the composer
+has introduced airs for the express purpose of showing off
+a singer's voice, a well-trained singer may be accepted as
+interpreting the composer's intention rightly, when he or
+she elaborates <i>fioriture</i> far beyond the limits of which any
+hint appears in the score.</p>
+
+<p>Even here, however, traditional usage must have its
+weight: cadenzas must be strictly in character, and only
+introduced in songs to which such passages are appropriate.
+I once heard a florid cadenza interpolated at the close of
+"<i>Spirto Gentil</i>," by an aspiring young tenor, too full of
+conceit and "modern" ideas to take a hint from Mario's
+marvellous rendering of that song.</p>
+
+<p>And it must be borne in mind that it is only in operas
+of the Bellini, Donizetti, and early Rossini and Verdi
+school that such extreme license is granted. No such
+tricks can be played with the operas of Mozart, Glück,
+Weber, or Meyerbeer, or with the later works of Rossini
+and Verdi, while the notion of altering a note, or omitting
+even a demi-semi-quaver rest, in those of Wagner, would
+be, to his admirers, flat heresy. In reality, the style of
+singing opera music is easily acquired by any one who is
+sufficiently advanced to be fit to attempt opera music at
+all. There are certain niceties to be acquired, and endless
+beauties of variety in the rendering of even small passages;
+but these things cannot be taught on paper.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Ballads.</b>&mdash;There is no greater mistake than to suppose
+that "any one can sing a simple ballad." Good ballad
+singing is one of the rarest accomplishments, and demands
+qualities in the singer which <i>may</i> be wanting even in a
+person who can sing well both in opera and oratorio. To
+suppose that an untaught singer can do justice to any
+ballad that is worth the trouble of singing at all, is simply
+a mark of ignorance on the whole subject of singing.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Ballads do not always require power or compass of voice,
+it is true, nor do they tax the singer on the score of flexibility
+or physical strength; but they are the severest test
+of enunciation, <i>mezzo-voce</i> singing, neatness and readiness
+in producing tones of any gradation, and perfect control
+over the voice.</p>
+
+<p>To sing a ballad well demands a really cultivated taste,
+a certain dramatic power, suppressed it is true, but influencing
+the whole delivery; a sympathetic voice, and a
+manner which will enlist the interest and sympathy of the
+audience. Ballad singing is neither declamation nor recitative:
+there is no chance of surprising or astonishing your
+audience; but you <i>must</i> contrive to please them, you must
+<i>touch</i> them somehow; and, for an ordinary person in the
+costume of the nineteenth century, to "touch" others of
+the same species is not easy. Sometimes, no doubt, the
+words of a good song are in themselves so touching and
+charming that, so long as the music be not positively hideous
+or destructive of the sense of the words, the singer has
+only to let them be clearly heard, and the battle is won;
+but more frequently he has to trick his audience into
+interest in a song where the words in themselves are either
+hopelessly silly, or too obscure in sense for their full meaning
+to appear at a first hearing or reading. All that he can
+then do is to deliver it in such a way that they shall feel
+that there <i>is</i> a meaning to it all, though they have not fully
+caught it yet, and so they may wish to hear it again. I do
+not, of course, mean any allusion to the ridiculous fashion
+of <i>encores</i>, but simply that the feeling at the end of such a
+song should be one of liking it sufficiently to wish to understand
+it entirely.</p>
+
+<p>Many songs would tell their own tale and produce their
+own effect well enough, if the singer would let them, and
+therefore the ballad singer must only be sufficiently self-conscious
+to keep himself out of the way. However good
+his singing, however original his reading of the song, <i>while
+he is singing</i> it should all go to the credit of the song, and
+the hearers be charmed into forgetting <i>him</i> till he is silent.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Recitative.</b>&mdash;Good recitative singing is of great importance,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>
+and requires careful attention and study. Recitative
+is midway between speaking and singing; it is a
+sort of modulated intoning, that is, that in delivering it
+the note and the word that belongs to it should be given
+with equal intention, and appear to belong to each other
+so completely that the musical sound should seem to be
+the natural intonation which the reciter would give to the
+word. Recitative is (<i>or was</i>) practically an attempt to express,
+in musical notation, the inflexions of the human
+voice in speaking; and how accurately, in some cases,
+musical notation can do this, will be seen at a glance by
+the following illustration:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 344px;">
+<img src="images/082a.png" width="344" height="95" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/082a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Who are you?</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 344px;">
+<img src="images/082b.png" width="344" height="94" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/082b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Who are you?</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 343px;">
+<img src="images/082c.png" width="343" height="95" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/082c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Who are you?</p>
+
+<p>&mdash;where the question is asked in the same words, but the
+musical notes express clearly three different sentiments, or
+degrees of sentiment. This should be taken into consideration
+by the student; and he should strive to give
+his recitative with as natural a delivery as he can, placing
+himself mentally in the position of a dramatic reciter.</p>
+
+<p>Steadiness of tone, clearness of enunciating consonants,
+and full round delivery of vowel-sounds are indispensable
+to good recitative singing. Every note must be distinct,
+and not the faintest suspicion of a "slur" or <i>portamento</i>
+can be allowed.</p>
+
+<p>Recitative singing is not a thing which a student should
+try to teach himself, as he may not only waste his time,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>
+but gain notions which are erroneous and difficult to cure.
+For instance, take the recitatives in "<i>The Messiah</i>," as
+these are printed for the British public. Nothing could
+be more ludicrous than for a singer to appear in public
+and sing the recitatives faithfully as printed in the editions
+of this oratorio which are continually being disseminated
+throughout the land. Handel, let it be borne in mind,
+was <i>not</i> well acquainted with the English language; and
+though he may have written good music, he was often
+very far from reaching good literary sense. Thus, as regards
+this latter, this specimen passage occurs in Handel's
+"<i>Acis and Galatea</i>,"</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 584px;">
+<img src="images/083a.png" width="584" height="112" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/083a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Where shall I seek the charm-ing fair?</p>
+
+<p>Yet no one in his senses would think of rendering it other than</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/083b.png" width="583" height="101" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/083b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Where shall I seek the charm-ing fair?</p>
+
+<p>inasmuch as there is some doubt of the chord 6/4 which
+forms the grace note being Handel's music, and because
+the sense of the words demands that no break shall be
+made between the words <i>seek</i> and <i>the</i>. As Handel failed
+in his English, it is surely allowable to make good his
+deficiencies in this respect.</p>
+
+<p>The following paragraphs relate to certain minor details
+of style in singing, and apply to singing of every kind.
+They must be taken in conjunction with much that has
+already been said under the head of "Practice."</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Slurring.</b>&mdash;Slurring up to a note is a very disagreeable
+and common evil to be guarded against. It matters not
+how far distant the note to be sung may be from the preceding
+tone; it should be attacked fearlessly and cheerfully,
+but <i>with an open throat</i>. The note to be attacked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>
+must not be prepared in the throat. The course should
+be this. The tone of the preceding note must not be
+moved, but the one required&mdash;say a very high one&mdash;must
+be obtained by the joint process of lowering the larynx,
+of sounding the note from exactly the same spot as the
+lower note, in a soft but fine tone, and thirdly, by getting
+such a ring in the note as it can only have in conjunction
+with the feeling that while the root or foundation of the
+note is in the chest, yet it owes much of its penetrating
+character and power to a sort of reflecting power which is
+given it from the extreme end of the spine bone, where
+it joins the head. Certainly no high note is properly
+<i>produced</i>, nor to be relied upon for a <i>crescendo</i>, unless the
+student has this feeling that it springs from the back of
+the neck; and, in rising to an upper note, the aim should
+be not at length to approach the upper note from beneath,
+as it were, but to "come down" upon it&mdash;to strike it from
+<i>above</i> instead of from below.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Sentiment.</b>&mdash;Always try to convey the sentiment of
+what you may be singing through the tone of the voice.
+Love and anger cannot both be expressed with the same
+quality of voice. For the former, a delicate light tone
+well on the lips is desirable, while for the latter the voice
+should be produced lower in the stomach; yet the tone
+should still be kept on the lips; its character should be
+"darker," more round, and sonorous. "'<i>Tis this that
+racks my brain</i>"" such words as these should never be
+sung in the same character of voice as "<i>Waft her, angels,
+to the skies</i>." It is good practice to take any piece and
+sing the melody on an open vowel throughout, with the
+object of showing the meaning of the song without the
+aid of words. Then, when this can be done, the words
+may be employed, and the result will be doubly happy.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Decision.</b>&mdash;Indecision is a very serious fault in singing.
+Do well and thoroughly whatever you decide upon
+attempting. If you have a <i>staccato</i> passage to sing, render
+it firmly in that style; if you have one that is <i>legato</i>, take
+care that this character is <i>strongly</i> seen from your rendering.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>
+When you "slur," make it strong enough to be felt.
+If you bend as it were from one note to another, let your
+intention to do so be clearly apparent. Let a <i>forte</i> passage
+be loud, and let a <i>piano</i> one be really soft. Any half
+measures in singing are fatal. Precision and certainty are
+qualities which the student must always aim at attaining.
+Without them, singing becomes tame and unattractive,
+not to say tiresome.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Imitation.</b>&mdash;Imitation, which in many other arts becomes
+plagiary, in singing is most desirable; for singing,
+more than any other art, rests on tradition; there is even
+very little doubt that the peculiar charm and quality of a
+true tenor voice (for instance) is more due to imitation in
+a singer than to nature; that is to say, that it is the result
+of a transmitted culture&mdash;such imitation being the only
+means in which singers can reap the harvest of the experience
+of the great singers now to be heard no more, who
+have left their imitators to pass on to others what they
+themselves obtained by imitating and improving on <i>their</i>
+predecessors. Therefore do not be afraid of being set
+down as a mere copyist, if you study and attempt to imitate
+the style of the best living singers. You will always
+have enough of your own merit or defect to distinguish
+your performance, if you are really a conscientious student,
+and you may learn a great deal by listening to the best
+public singers which can be taught you in no other way.
+Watch their stage deportment; their treatment of the
+weaker parts of their voices; their method of breathing;
+their manner towards the public;&mdash;in fact, every point
+which occurs to you,&mdash;and make some use of what you
+see and hear in your own studies.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Public Singing.</b>&mdash;If you have to sing in public, remember
+always to take a rapid but searching glance round
+your stage. This is a great point gained. As you step
+on to "the boards," notice (unobserved) the dimensions
+of the stage (if it happens to be new to you). Note the
+height of its ceiling, its surroundings, its draperies, its distance
+from your farthest auditor; then take up your position<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>
+accordingly&mdash;bearing in mind that all your tone is
+wanted by your listeners, which requirement can never be
+met unless you yourself take the precaution to prevent
+the sound being held or carried back by the stage decorations.
+In a concert <i>salon</i> or theatre, then, do not forget
+to get well to the front of the platform. At the same time
+you must not be <i>too</i> close upon your stall occupants, or
+you may give them the very undesirable impression that at
+any moment you may fall over.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>"Holding" an Audience.</b>&mdash;The singer should carefully
+watch an audience so as to gauge its attention and
+sympathies. If it seems impatient, restless, and indifferent,
+the singer may be quite sure that he or she is exciting no
+interest. The best course then for one to do is to immediately
+change the style, alter the tone, give forth his or her
+best energies, and use every effort to become ingratiated
+into the good favour of the listeners. If such effects as these
+fail constantly in their turn, then the aspirant for vocal fame
+should give up, and devote both time and attention to further
+study, or to some other means of a livelihood; for a
+future great singer will not be failing constantly, and to be
+only a second-rate singer while there are so many is a thing
+<i>not</i> to be devoutly desired.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Mistakes in Public.</b>&mdash;If you make a mistake in singing,
+do not add to the mischief by allowing it to alarm or
+disconcert you. Proceed onward as if nothing had happened.
+You may be quite sure that each one of your
+audience will not have detected the slip, for they cannot
+<i>all</i> be critics. But bear in mind that such confidence as
+your adviser here suggests is not to be too often called
+into requisition. No great artist will ever make a serious
+mistake in public. How much more careful then should
+the young student be!</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ON_TIME_IN_SINGING" id="ON_TIME_IN_SINGING">ON TIME IN SINGING.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>I need perhaps scarcely remind my readers who are or
+who wish to be singers that <i>time</i> concerns them quite as
+much as the conductor, the pianist, the violinist&mdash;in short,
+the whole orchestra. It behoves the student in singing
+to give early and careful attention to this important feature
+in his artistic training. You may have the voice of a
+Rubini, you may be a second Tamburini in quality and
+extent of voice, but unless you can sing in time yourself,
+and are able to do so with others, and with the counter-acting
+influences of an orchestra, you can never hope to
+rise in your profession. It may be argued that you have
+no desire to lay yourself out for a career on the lyric stage.
+Then, however, you shut yourself out from some of the
+largest prizes in the profession; beyond which there comes
+the question of oratorio business, and the growing taste
+for band accompaniments to songs. And if you restrict
+your ambition to a pianoforte accompaniment, time is
+needed even with that in order to produce anything like a
+satisfactory rendering of the piece you may be singing. The
+accompanyist may be a Sir Julius Benedict, or a Signor
+Randegger (than whom there is no better in this country,
+so neglected has this species of musical art-work become);
+but a perfect rendering depends not so much upon the
+pianist as the vocalist. If the singer flounders about with
+neither "rhyme nor reason," it is scarcely reasonable to
+expect the accompanyist, clever as he may be, to be always
+at his heels, like a cat after a mouse. I would therefore
+advise the student to invest his money in a Metronome&mdash;the
+most useful thing with which he could provide himself.
+They are not dear, bearing in mind their utility,
+and one will, I am sure, save the student much time and
+many a <i>fiasco</i>. Learn the working of this useful machine,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>
+and practise all your exercises with it. If you go to a
+good singing master, you should ask him to time your
+exercises to the pace at which you should sing them, and
+in this way you will not only be growing in a good habit,
+but your singing will be characterized by a crispness and
+a certainty of attack, which will be apparent to all musicians
+and amateurs with good taste. Your singing
+master will, no doubt, impress upon you the necessity of
+singing your songs in time, and especially of slightly accenting
+the first and third beats in the bar if it is common
+time, the first and fourth beats when it is compound common
+or 6/8 time, and the first beat when it is triple or 3/4 time.
+In this way there will be meaning given to your singing,
+and those who may be accompanying you will be able to
+feel where you are, and to keep time with you. In singing
+a passage like this from Cowen's charming song "Aubade,"&mdash;the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>master, if he knew his business, would instruct his
+pupil to slightly accent the words as I have indicated with
+the mark <img src="images/088-v.png" width="12" height="13" title="V for accented words" alt="V" />, and to preserve <i>strict</i> time throughout the passage,
+and especially in the taking up of the words after the
+long note on the word <i>sleep</i>. The accompanyist would, we
+may assume, do likewise with his pianoforte part, and in
+this way a perfect <i>ensemble</i> would be secured.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 573px;">
+<img src="images/088a.png" width="573" height="635" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/088a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Sleep, love, sleep,<br />
+<span style="padding-left:5em;">the morn is wak - - ing,</span></p>
+
+<p>With this brief introduction to the subject, I will proceed
+to give the student a few exercises in keeping and beating
+time, the assiduous practice of which will, I hope, soon
+place him in the desirable position of being able to sing
+in time.</p>
+
+<div class="hide-link"><p class="center"><a href="music/time4.pdf">[Exercises in PDF]</a></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 589px;">
+<img src="images/089a.png" width="589" height="350" alt="Music" title="Ex. 1. Four beats in a bar." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/089a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics"><span style="padding-left:0.8em;">Do Re Mi Fa Sol</span><br />
+La Si Do Do Si<br />
+<span style="padding-left:2em;">La Sol Fa Mi Re Do</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 587px;">
+<img src="images/089b.png" width="587" height="400" alt="Music" title="Ex. 2." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/089b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Re Re Mi Mi &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 578px;">
+<img src="images/090a.png" width="578" height="492" alt="Music" title="Ex. 3." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/090a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 581px;">
+<img src="images/090b.png" width="581" height="398" alt="Music" title="Ex. 4." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/090b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do Re Re Re &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/091a.png" width="583" height="305" alt="Music" title="Ex. 5." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/091a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Re Re Mi Mi &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 586px;">
+<img src="images/091b.png" width="586" height="687" alt="Music" title="Ex. 6." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/091b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re Re &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 580px;">
+<img src="images/092a.png" width="580" height="370" alt="Music" title="Ex. 7." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/092a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do Re Re Re Mi Mi Mi &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<img src="images/092b.png" width="582" height="777" alt="Music" title="Ex. 8." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/092b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/093a.png" width="588" height="536" alt="Music" title="Ex. 9." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/093a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 587px;">
+<img src="images/093b.png" width="587" height="281" alt="Music" title="Ex. 10." />
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 590px;">
+<img src="images/093b2.png" width="590" height="374" alt="Music" title="Ex. 10, continued." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/093b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re Re &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/094a.png" width="583" height="596" alt="Music" title="Ex. 11." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/094a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Mi &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>These exercises may be timed as slow as you like on
+your metronome&mdash;the slower the better&mdash;but 76 is a good
+pace to begin with; when you have thoroughly mastered
+them at 76, take them a little quicker until you can sing
+them accurately up to a good brisk time.</p>
+
+<p>No 1 has but one note in the bar, and this must be held
+on steadily for four beats of the metronome&mdash;care being
+taken to leave each note in sufficient time to take a fresh
+breath, and attack the second note and syllable in precise
+time with the metronome beat. I need, perhaps, scarcely
+point out that much good will be obtained if the student
+can accustom himself to <i>feeling</i> in his mind the rhythm and
+beating, so as not to acquire the habit of trusting to mechanical
+appliances, which are dispensed with at public
+performances. The sol-fa-ing must be strictly adhered to,
+and in Exercises 2, 3, etc., it will be seen that the syllable
+must be sounded twice and four times respectively. With
+Exercise 5 the dotted note comes in; but I will not stay
+to explain that, as I assume that my readers will have acquainted
+themselves with the elements of musical theory
+before taking up singing. Especial care should be given
+to Exercise 7, as that is the first step in the difficult matter
+of syncopation, carried out elaborately in Exercises 8 and
+9. With Exercise 11 the question of Rests comes in, but
+the same remark that I made as to the dotted notes applies
+here. Everything that it is necessary to know about them
+should be found in any elementary musical grammar.</p>
+
+<p>Having mastered the above exercises, the reader may
+take the following with two beats in the bar&mdash;taking the
+precaution to set them at a slow time on the metronome,
+say 76, not singing them quickly until he is thoroughly
+acquainted with them.</p>
+
+<div class="hide-link"><p class="center"><a href="music/time2.pdf">[Exercises in PDF]</a></p></div>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 569px;">
+<img src="images/095a.png" width="569" height="294" alt="Music" title="Ex. 1. Two beats to a bar." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/095a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics"><span style="padding-left:2.75em;">Do Do Re Re Mi Mi Fa Fa Sol Sol</span><br />
+La La Si Si Do Do Do Si Si<br />
+<span style="padding-left:3.9em;">La La Sol Sol Fa Fa Mi Mi Re Re Do</span></p>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/096a.png" width="583" height="295" alt="Music" title="Ex. 2." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/096a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Re Mi Fa Sol La<br />
+<span style="padding-left:0.9em;">Si Do Do Do Si Si &amp;c.</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/096b.png" width="583" height="434" alt="Music" title="Ex. 3." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/096b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 581px;">
+<img src="images/096c.png" width="581" height="387" alt="Music" title="Ex. 4." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/096c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/097a.png" width="588" height="390" alt="Music" title="Ex. 5." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/097a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/097b.png" width="588" height="289" alt="Music" title="Ex. 6." />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<img src="images/097b2.png" width="582" height="162" alt="Music" title="Ex. 6." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/097b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/098a.png" width="583" height="306" alt="Music" title="Ex. 7." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/098a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Re Mi Fa Sol &amp;c.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/098b.png" width="583" height="423" alt="Music" title="Ex. 8." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/098b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>After which he may take the following with three beats
+in the bar:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="hide-link"><p class="center"><a href="music/time3.pdf">[Exercises in PDF]</a></p></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<img src="images/099a.png" width="582" height="341" alt="Music" title="Ex. 1. Three beats in a bar." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/099a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Re Mi Fa Sol<br /><span style="padding-left:1.4em;">La Si Do Do Do &amp;c.</span></p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 581px;">
+<img src="images/099b.png" width="581" height="349" alt="Music" title="Ex. 2." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/099b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 581px;">
+<img src="images/099c.png" width="581" height="403" alt="Music" title="Ex. 3." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/099c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 576px;">
+<img src="images/100a.png" width="576" height="414" alt="Music" title="Ex. 4." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/100a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 589px;">
+<img src="images/100b.png" width="589" height="410" alt="Music" title="Ex. 5." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/100b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 584px;">
+<img src="images/101a.png" width="584" height="503" alt="Music" title="Ex. 6." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/101a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/101b.png" width="588" height="474" alt="Music" title="Ex. 7." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/101b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 589px;">
+<img src="images/102a.png" width="589" height="491" alt="Music" title="Ex. 8." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/102a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 587px;">
+<img src="images/102b.png" width="587" height="504" alt="Music" title="Ex. 9." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/102b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ON_THE_CHOICE_OF_MUSIC" id="ON_THE_CHOICE_OF_MUSIC">ON THE CHOICE OF MUSIC.</a></h2>
+
+<p class="blockquot">There are, of course, no <i>rules</i> to be given to guide the
+student in the choice of music, except the general ones, to
+choose good music, pleasing music, and music suited to
+his voice and powers. But those general rules touch incidentally
+on a few points on which it may be well to offer
+a few remarks.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Music must suit the Voice.</b>&mdash;Your music must
+not only be appropriate for your voice in compass, but it
+must be such as has been written for a voice of your kind.
+This is a most important thing to remember. Nothing is
+more provoking to a person of good taste and musical
+knowledge than to hear songs composed for a voice of one
+class sung by a voice of a totally different character; and
+yet this is a vice which even good artists will sometimes
+weakly succumb to. The popular song of Gounod's,
+"<i>Quand tu chantes berçée</i>," for instance, has been sung to
+death by many soprani and contralti, in various keys. One
+would have thought that the words alone would have shown
+them the utter absurdity of what they were doing; but no,
+for the sake of producing an effect (upon an audience who
+naturally supposed that public singers of high standing
+knew what they were doing, and why they did it), these
+good ladies committed what I do not scruple to call a
+vulgar and inartistic blunder. The song is a man's song,
+and no woman should attempt it.</p>
+
+<p>This fault is one which amateurs are very apt to fall into,
+and a long list might be made of songs which have suffered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>
+this unfair treatment. Soprani sing tenor songs&mdash;(I have
+often, in the early days of the popularity of "<i>Il Trovatore</i>,"
+heard a soprano sing "<i>Ah, che la Morte!</i>"&mdash;tenors, those
+written for soprano&mdash;(<i>e.g.</i>, I know an amateur tenor whose
+"crack" song is Iphis' "Farewell" in "<i>Jephtha</i>"). Contralti
+and mezzo-soprani steal bass and barytone songs, as "But
+who may abide," from the "<i>Messiah</i>," and basses and
+barytones return the compliment by appropriating "What
+tho' I trace," or "O rest in the Lord.")</p>
+
+<p>There is a reason, quite apart from the question of taste,
+which renders this practice objectionable. A composer of
+any skill writes his accompaniment as well as his melody
+with reference to the voice which he wishes to sing it.
+Now, if that voice be&mdash;we will say&mdash;a soprano, the accompaniment
+will be written for a voice of that <i>pitch</i>, as
+well as of that character and compass; the progressions
+of harmony will be written with due regard to the actual
+place of the vocal notes in the scale. But directly the
+song is sung by a tenor&mdash;a voice which pitches every note
+an octave lower than the soprano&mdash;the relation of the
+vocal notes to the accompaniment is changed; notes that
+were intended to be fourths above the accompaniment
+will become fifths below, and progressions which were
+correct in the composer's intention become wrong in the
+effect produced by the singer. That is an extreme case, I
+grant, but it is only a fair instance of the sort of result
+which follows on such changes, and it is sufficient to show
+that the rule rests on reason and not caprice.</p>
+
+
+<p>"<b>Original Keys.</b>"&mdash;Do not bind yourself, as some
+think it necessary to do, always to sing your songs in the
+original keys. Remember that opera and oratorio music,
+and a large number of modern "ballads," were composed
+for performance in large buildings, theatres, and concert-rooms.
+The keys, therefore, were chosen with due reference
+to that fact, and to the (in many cases) exceptional
+voices of the singers. The raising of the pitch in later
+years also affects the question.</p>
+
+<p>Now, if you have to sing in a drawing-room, the pitch,
+volume of tone, and style of delivery must be appropriate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>
+to chamber music, and not to the stage of Covent Garden,
+and the keys which are necessary for due brilliancy and
+effect in a concert-room are frequently unsuited to a drawing-room,
+giving an appearance of strain and noisiness to
+the singing. A good deal of opera music is as unfit for
+singing in a drawing-room as would be a grand symphony
+for performance there; and an artistic singer should bear
+in mind this principle of fitness in his selection.</p>
+
+<p>At the same time, if it is considered desirable to transpose
+a song, let it be only for that reason, and let the aim
+be to produce the same effect, <i>relatively</i>, in the drawing-room,
+as the song in its original key is intended to produce
+in the concert-room. Do not transpose recklessly, merely
+to "suit your voice:" if you are a barytone, for instance,
+do not sing tenor songs a few notes lower; or, if you are
+a soprano, do not transpose contralto songs to suit your
+register. For the <i>character</i> of the music (if the music is
+good) suits the voice for which it was intended, and there
+is a risk of destroying that character by giving it to a voice
+of another kind. This has been proved over and over again
+on the stage in several notable instances.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Execution.</b>&mdash;Do not be too ambitious in selecting
+florid songs for performance either in public or private.
+"Fireworks" in a drawing-room rarely please, while in a
+concert-room they must be very perfect and first-rate in
+execution to do so. Of course, if you are a professional
+artist you must include such work in your studies, and even
+for the amateur the practice of florid music, under a master,
+is most desirable as an exercise. But where the choice of
+a song for a concert rests with yourself, sacrifice ambition
+to prudence, unless your voice is naturally a very flexible
+one, and your training in that style of music very complete.
+I give, on this subject, a quotation from an old and experienced
+writer on music and singing:</p>
+
+<p>"Execution is certainly one of the most difficult parts
+of musical science. Young singers are desirous of attaining
+it without reflecting whether, from the formation of
+the throat and various physical causes, they may ever be
+able to accomplish their wishes. Few, indeed, possess the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>
+power of execution in a pre-eminent degree. It is in part
+a gift of nature: those who have ever delighted as well as
+astonished us by their rapid manner of running through
+divisions must have been naturally endowed with flexible
+organs.</p>
+
+<p>"... Some voices may be compared to gems
+which in their original state are dull, and, to those unacquainted
+with their worth, of no value.... It
+frequently happens that singers, from timidity or want of
+proper knowledge in exercising their voices, remain ignorant
+of their own qualifications. The hinges of a door
+which have continued for years undisturbed, will, when
+the door is re-opened, grate harshly on the ear; but every
+effort renders the harshness more tolerable, until, from
+frequent use, they move easily. Thus it is with the voice:
+on the flexibility of the <i>uvula</i> and the muscles connected
+with it depend both the perfectibility of the shake and
+execution. But still it must be acknowledged that acquired
+execution should never be exercised by the side of nature
+otherwise than sparingly, even where necessity requires it,
+for the latter possesses an easy velocity which can playfully
+sport with its subject at will; but, however gratifying the
+power of execution may be considered by those who possess
+it, I recommend them not to be indiscriminately lavish,
+lest they cloy by too great a profusion, and, as Voltaire
+remarks, 'shine in trills and divisions, at the expense of
+poetry and good sense.'"</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Fashion.</b>&mdash;The songs which are "the rage" at any
+time are always great snares for amateurs. Aspiring
+young singers hear a ballad charmingly rendered by some
+great singer, and straightway go home, send for it, and
+on the first available opportunity treat their friends to
+their version of it. This is really unfair to themselves,
+as it throws them into unwise contrast with the public
+singer who has made the song popular, and whose well-known
+rendering of it forbids ordinary hearers to judge
+the rendering of an amateur on its own merits, or by any
+rule but that of comparison. Moreover, "popular" songs&mdash;I
+mean songs whose popularity is largely due to their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>
+having been sung by favourite public singers&mdash;are by no
+means always good in themselves; or, if fairly good, by
+no means easy; or if good and not difficult, by no means
+always sufficiently so to make it worth while for an amateur
+to spend time and study on them. In very many cases
+the public singer has to sing these songs because he is
+paid for doing so, and gets a "royalty" on every copy
+sold; it is simply one development of the hydra-headed
+art of advertising, and such productions are known by the
+vulgar name of "pot-boilers," <i>i.e.</i>, compositions hastily
+thrown off to bring in a little money "<i>to keep the pot
+boiling</i>." If composers who are capable of better things
+are reduced to making money in this way, we may be
+sincerely sorry for them; but speaking from an artistic
+point of view, the practice is reprehensible, and "pot-boilers"
+are not the kind of music which a young singer,
+anxious to improve, should waste time or money upon.
+I am far from saying that there are no good songs to be
+found among new music, but I think they seldom lie on
+the top of the pile.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Forming a Repertoire.</b>&mdash;In gradually forming your
+<i>repertoire</i>, or collection of properly studied songs for drawing-room
+or concert singing, do not be in haste to make
+it a large one. It is better to know only a few songs and
+do them really well, than to sing a large number indifferently.
+If you are studying for the profession, there is a
+considerable number of songs which you will be expected
+to know as a matter of course, but over and above such,
+every singer should have a special repertoire of his or her
+own, and it is of this that I now speak. Your selection
+of songs, like your singing, should have the stamp of your
+own individuality upon it. You should have a little stock
+of songs, with which your singing is in a way identified, and
+which you must be able to sing in a manner that at once
+stamps those songs as your property, so that another person
+might say, "I could not sing that song before you, it
+is one of your own."</p>
+
+<p>To form such a repertoire, you may have to go a little
+out of the beaten track of what is best known at the time.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>
+If opera music suits you best, look at the operas, never
+performed now, of Glück, or the less known of Mozart's,
+or earlier works of Rossini, Auber, &amp;c.; or else try and
+get hold of works not yet known in England, such as
+Macfarren's, Wallace's, Purcell's, and a few other such
+native dramatic composers. In a word, do not limit
+your notions of operatic music to what you hear year
+after year at Covent Garden or Her Majesty's.</p>
+
+<p>So, too, in oratorio: search in the less familiar oratorios
+of Handel, and such of his operas as you can get access
+to, and carry the same idea out in examining the works
+of other composers, ancient and modern. Good work
+has been done of late years by various publishers in publishing
+many works of this class, and there are plenty of
+these which are still unfamiliar and unhackneyed.</p>
+
+<p>The same with your songs and ballads: before you rush
+into the modern fashionable ballad, see if you cannot find
+a few that you can appropriate among the stores of old
+English music, or the detached songs of old Italian masters
+(many of which are magnificent as songs, and utterly unknown
+at present, except to the few).</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="PHYSIOLOGICAL_SURROUNDINGS" id="PHYSIOLOGICAL_SURROUNDINGS">PHYSIOLOGICAL SURROUNDINGS.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>It is highly expedient that singers themselves, and intending
+students of the art, should make some acquaintance
+with the physiological surroundings which are
+brought into play in the process of voice production. A
+knowledge of the technical terms for the various organs
+directly involved is very essential, and the intelligent
+student will see the necessity not only for distinguishing
+such names as "larynx" and "diaphragm," but also of
+possessing some idea of their whereabouts in the human
+frame. No better course could be adopted for the acquirement
+of such a knowledge than attendance at the
+classes and lectures at the musical colleges and other institutions,
+which, from time to time, secure the assistance
+of qualified specialists to speak upon this very important
+branch of the singing art. No other mode of teaching is
+so well calculated to enlighten the uninitiated in the wondrous
+mechanism of the human voice, and to inspire him
+or her with an adequate sense of the watchful care and
+delicate treatment which a voice worthy of systematic
+training demands, as well as deserves, at the hands of
+students of both sexes. As a preliminary to a fuller inquiry
+into the subject, the following few notes may be
+fixed upon the mind:&mdash;</p>
+
+
+<p><b>The Larynx</b> (<span lang="el" title="larynx">&lambda;&#8049;&rho;&upsilon;&gamma;&xi;</span>) constitutes the upper part of the
+wind-pipe. It is the seat of the voice, and essential parts
+of it are the "vocal cords" (<i>chordæ vocales</i>), two membranes
+in a horizontal position across the larynx. It is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>
+popularly called "Adam's apple" (<i>pomum Adami</i>), the
+protuberance so often recognizable in the throats of bass
+singers, but a more correct use of "<i>pomum Adami</i>" is when
+it is applied to a projection in the thyroid cartilage&mdash;a
+part of the laryngeal structure.</p>
+
+<p><b>The Thyroid</b> (from <span lang="el" title="Thyreos">&Theta;&upsilon;&rho;&epsilon;á½¹&sigmaf;</span>) is a shield-shaped cartilage,
+and that part of the larynx which, in the case of
+both sexes, develops suddenly at the period when they
+pass from youth to mature age. Other important cartilages
+are the cricoid (from <span lang="el" title="krikos">&kappa;&rho;á½·&kappa;&omicron;&sigmaf;</span>), a ring-shaped membrane;
+the arytenoids (from <span lang="el" title="harytaina">&#7937;&rho;&#8059;&tau;&alpha;&iota;&nu;&alpha;</span> a pitcher); the epiglottis
+(<span lang="el" title="epi-glôtta">&#7952;&pi;ί-&gamma;&lambda;&omega;&tau;&tau;&alpha;</span>), situated at the back of the mouth; and
+the cartilages of Santorini, or <i>cornicula laryngis</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The trachea, or wind-pipe, is capable of rising or falling,
+and thus is produced the perceptible movement of the
+larynx in the throat when speaking or singing. It is by
+lowering the larynx, and so commanding an expansion of
+the throat that the best tone is possible in the voice, and
+it is this open throat production which some teachers are
+aiming at when they charge their pupils to "sing from the
+chest." A more sensible request would be to "lower
+the larynx," since such a lowering of this organ places the
+throat in the most favourable position for emitting sound;
+as well as for enabling the lungs, or wind-chests, to act
+most advantageously upon the true vocal cords. Moreover,
+this lowered larynx production leads to the best
+results from the vocal cords themselves. The natural
+tendency is to sing as we talk, a process which involves a
+demand upon the upper fringes of the vocal ligaments
+only, but no long-sustained singing could be maintained
+by this means, nor does it requisition any art-knowledge
+or principle. Directly, however, we begin to utilize the
+lower edge of the vocal cords, we are verging upon the
+art of <i>producing</i> the voice; <i>i.e.</i>, creating a something which
+will not manifest itself without the first application of
+some art principles. Here lies the whole secret of
+singing, <i>viz.</i>, the utilization of the lower portions of the
+membranous folds popularly called the "vocal cords,"
+instead of working merely their topmost fringes, as do the
+innumerable tenors who sing "throaty," and as we all do<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>
+up to a certain point, in the ordinary process of speaking.
+The singing voice and the speaking voice are two totally
+different productions, the former never to be acquired
+except at the hands of a capable master, who, himself,
+has been properly taught the principles of voice production.</p>
+
+<p>The lungs, or bellows, or air-chambers lie, as is well
+known, on each side of the chest, resting upon the diaphragm,
+and performing a very important function in
+singing. They supply the air which acts upon the vocal
+cords, and in true singing are the first organs for consideration
+by a vocalist, since so much depends upon the
+way the wind, or breath, is brought to bear upon the
+vocal cords. For this reason the abdominal method of
+breathing&mdash;the filling of the lungs from their bases&mdash;becomes
+the best method for inspiring the breath in
+singing. Doubtless, in breathing, the lungs are replenished
+from above downwards, but it requires something
+of the sensation of these air-supplying substances
+being filled from their bases in order to requisition the
+full help of the diaphragm, a great muscle which separates
+the lungs from the abdomen, and which may be called
+the fundamental basis on which all voice production
+rests.</p>
+
+<p>The Pharynx (<span lang="el" title="pharynx">&phi;&#8049;&rho;&upsilon;&gamma;&xi;</span>) is situated behind the mouth,
+between the tongue and the arch forming the circumference
+of the palate. Its province is to reflect the voice
+on its issue from the glottis. It is an elastic aperture,
+and may be well styled the reflecting organ of singing.
+It can take various forms, and bears a great part in giving
+character to the sounds originated in the larynx.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p><i>The Voice&mdash;a Wind, Reed, or String Instrument?</i> Much
+discussion has spent itself in settling the question of
+"family" to which the vocal instrument properly belongs.
+The vocal chords are known to be composed of a yellow
+elastic fibrous tissue in their anterior parts, the posterior
+portions consisting of a tougher muscle or cartilage.
+Many maintain them to belong to the "string" family,
+since the sounds generated are produced as on a violin&mdash;the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>
+higher notes by increased tension, the lower tones by
+a reduction of the strain. In this process, the muscle,
+popularly known as the epiglottis-cushion&mdash;a fat mucous
+membrane&mdash;presses on to the vocal cords, modifying
+their vibrating length. Thus, in an extreme high note,
+the cushion presses intensely upon the cords, considerably
+shortening their one inch length. In reverting to a low
+note, this tension becomes withdrawn, and the whole length
+of cord is at play to produce its lowest tones. An unfortunate
+objection to this theory&mdash;that the vocal cords can
+be styled a stringed instrument, is the fact that no string of
+the small extent of the vocal cords could be capable of
+sounding either so many, or such low notes; moreover,
+the mathematical treatment of their vibrations, as
+governed by the tension, is not correct, as they are in the
+case of a violin. It is a useful theory, and method of
+reasoning, however, for those teachers of singing who
+maintain that to get high notes, a light and thin style
+of singing, and the use of the upper fringe of the vocal
+cords (the production point), is preferable, in contradistinction
+to those who declare that no really good chest
+note with any telling power worth considering is possible,
+unless the vocalist sings deep in his chest and gains the
+idea, as he goes for his note, of requisitioning with all effort
+the lowest depth in the cord. Surely this point presents
+the greatest difficulty for singers with whom compass,
+especially at the top of the voice, is an imperative necessity,
+albeit that people go on talking to the contrary; and it is
+a matter which needs settling among voice specialists and
+singing masters. We are told, and it is generally known,
+that the tension of the epiglottis-cushion produces a
+higher note just as the shifting of the finger on the violin
+string affects its tone&mdash;a process which may produce
+falsetto sounds, but which surely is not the basis upon
+which great Italian singers of the Mongini and Tamberlik
+type secured the great chest Cs, which, with their
+resonance and brilliancy, were wont to make our opera
+houses ring again. Is it not a fact that in voices of
+this calibre, as well as in those trained on what is known
+as the broad lines of the true Italian production, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>
+whole surfaces of the vocal cords become more or less requisitioned,
+and that they vibrate the whole of their
+length and breadth, not merely the sides, rather than that
+any upper portion is mainly utilized while the lower parts
+are resting? The answer to this question would seem
+to indicate that the human voice is of the nature of a reed
+instrument. These membraneous organs, which we term
+vocal cords, are such that their whole surfaces must vibrate
+when brought into contact with a current of air from the
+lungs. The voice reed, in fact, vibrates freely backwards
+and forwards, and so corresponds with what are known
+as "free," not "beating" reeds&mdash;such as are found in
+concertinas, and the like.</p>
+
+<p>That the voice is something of an organ pipe (a flue
+pipe) is an illusion only indulged in by writers and teachers
+prone to descriptive language, which they do not stay to
+inquire into, either for their own edification or for the
+enlightenment of other people. There is absolutely nothing
+to maintain such an idea.</p>
+
+<p>It is important that the nature of the <i>matériel</i> of the
+vocal cords should become widely known, since such a
+knowledge, elementary as it might be, would, at the outset,
+enable students to get at once upon the right road to
+singing. To grasp the idea that the initial sound-producing
+means are these bits of semi-lunar membranes, acted
+upon by the breath from the lungs, and that they vibrate
+violently or orderly in proportion to the care with which
+the breath is brought to bear upon them, is to master
+the first great difficulty in singing. This once grasped,
+it is not hard to realize that the sound emitted is moulded
+and shaped, modified and beautified by other organs of
+the laryngeal machine and its surroundings, as well as by
+such variable conditions as the state of the human frame
+generally, and the particular condition of those organs of
+the body most directly concerned in supporting the work
+of the larynx may happen to be in. It will save the student
+much time if, before he (or she) begins to study singing,
+some first acquaintance be formed with the physiological
+surroundings of the human voice, and it is worse than
+useless to go to a master who teaches singing in blind<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>
+ignorance of, and doubtless contempt for, these physiological
+principles. The student who has familiarized
+himself with the structure of the vocal organs will have
+made a much more intelligent progress in his art than
+the one who has not, and will be competent none the
+less readily to understand the instruction of a qualified
+master than to detect the shameful pretence and humbug
+of the quack.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Board Teachers' Laryngitis&mdash;Clergyman's
+Sore Throat&mdash;Throat Exhaustion, etc.</b>&mdash;Among
+the greatest evils of this competitive teaching age is the
+mischief arising from the constant and at the same
+time injurious use of the voice. All who use the voice
+constantly must learn how to breathe, and <i>produce</i> the
+voice. Failing that, serious mischief, which even the
+specialist of throat hospitals cannot cope with, must
+inevitably follow. The only advice that can be given
+here is, immediately that voice exhaustion sets in, to
+consult not <i>a doctor</i>, but a throat or voice specialist.
+The best institution in the world for throat troubles is
+the Throat Hospital, Golden Square, London, W.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="EXERCISES" id="EXERCISES">EXERCISES.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>This first exercise is a most useful one in the uniting
+of notes and in gaining facility. The student should at
+first practise it very slowly, mastering four bars at a time.
+Although I have divided it into fifteen examples, it is really
+but one exercise, with a minim rest between each phrase
+of four bars; and it is in this example form that I wish the
+student ultimately to sing it with the metronome, at say
+76, taking breath <i>only</i> at the rest-mark, and making the
+<i>crescendo</i>&mdash;not, be it observed, by forcing the tone and
+breath, but by a gradual pressing down of the breath.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p>
+
+<div class="hide-link"><p class="center"><a href="music/exercises.pdf">[Exercises in PDF]</a></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 585px;">
+<img src="images/115a.png" width="585" height="218" alt="Music" title="Ex. 1." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/115a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 584px;">
+<img src="images/115b.png" width="584" height="179" alt="Music" title="A." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/115b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/116a.png" width="588" height="179" alt="Music" title="B." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/116a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 587px;">
+<img src="images/116b.png" width="587" height="178" alt="Music" title="C." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/116b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/116c.png" width="588" height="180" alt="Music" title="D." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/116c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 586px;">
+<img src="images/116d.png" width="586" height="201" alt="Music" title="E." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/116d.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/116e.png" width="588" height="201" alt="Music" title="F." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/116e.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 584px;">
+<img src="images/117a.png" width="584" height="189" alt="Music" title="G." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/117a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 585px;">
+<img src="images/117b.png" width="585" height="187" alt="Music" title="H." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/117b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 585px;">
+<img src="images/117c.png" width="585" height="203" alt="Music" title="I." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/117c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 586px;">
+<img src="images/117d.png" width="586" height="188" alt="Music" title="J." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/117d.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 584px;">
+<img src="images/117e.png" width="584" height="193" alt="Music" title="K." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/117e.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 574px;">
+<img src="images/118a.png" width="574" height="194" alt="Music" title="L." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/118a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 574px;">
+<img src="images/118b.png" width="574" height="192" alt="Music" title="M." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/118b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 574px;">
+<img src="images/118c.png" width="574" height="203" alt="Music" title="N." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/118c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 593px;">
+<img src="images/118d.png" width="593" height="294" alt="Music" title="Ex. 2 , by Nava." />
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 603px;">
+<img src="images/119a.png" width="603" height="658" alt="Music" title="Ex. 2, continued." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/118d.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Exercise 2 is a further one for the practice of joining notes
+with the aid of the breath, without the least resemblance
+to a jerk with either the sound or the breath. To sing
+the exercise with advantage requires a very careful management
+of the respiratory organs, and its continuous practice
+is one of the best means of managing the breath. Having
+inspired the breath after the manner already indicated
+herein, proceed to sound the note F in a thin but firm and
+steady tone, which you must gradually swell, by pressing
+down the breath, as it were, into the following note G, which
+you will continue to hold steadily by keeping down the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>
+breath as long as you can. Though you raise your tone
+of voice in passing from F to G, you must dispel from your
+mind all notions of raising your breath or your <i>larynx</i>; it
+is just the reverse; you must lower these. Remember a
+golden rule&mdash;the higher your note the lower must it be
+generated in your chest, and your breath must be under
+the note supporting it, or there cannot possibly be any tone
+there. On reaching the highest limit of this exercise, the
+student will repeat the same operation down the scale,
+which I need scarcely say is less difficult.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 604px;">
+<img src="images/120a.png" width="604" height="694" alt="Music" title="Ex. 3., by Nava." />
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 601px;">
+<img src="images/121a.png" width="601" height="284" alt="" title="Ex. 3, Part 2." />
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 602px;">
+<img src="images/121b.png" width="602" height="287" alt="" title="Ex. 3, Part 3." />
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 602px;">
+<img src="images/121c.png" width="602" height="276" alt="" title="Ex. 3, Part 4." />
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 595px;">
+<img src="images/122a.png" width="595" height="266" alt="Music" title="Ex. 3, Part 5." />
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 596px;">
+<img src="images/122b.png" width="596" height="290" alt="Music" title="Ex. 3, Part 5." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/120a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Exercise 3 may be timed 76 on your metronome. It
+is a study to give freedom and flexibility to your voice.
+None of the notes should be forced, and the upper notes
+should be rendered with the mouth well open, and with a
+quality of tone as similar as possible to that of the lower
+notes. Breath should be taken (without losing time) at
+the rest-marks. There should be no break or jump in the
+tone, but rather it should be one unbroken stream of
+melody, as marked in the first phrase. The voice, in this
+exercise, should be constantly moving: no sooner should
+you be sounding the first note of the phrase than you should
+be moving to the second, from the second to the next, and
+so on. Be careful to sing the intervals exactly in time,
+and in descending to notes satisfy yourself that you are
+singing the exact tone, and that with certainty. Indecision
+is a grave fault in singing.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<img src="images/123a.png" width="582" height="629" alt="Music" title="Ex. 4. Intervals of thirds." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/123a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics"><span style="padding-left:5em;">Do Re Mi Re Do Re Mi Fa Mi Re</span><br />
+Mi Fa Sol Fa Mi &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<img src="images/123b.png" width="582" height="569" alt="Music" title="Ex. 5. Intervals of Fourths." />
+<p class="blockquot">* Here take breath.</p>
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/123b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 589px;">
+<img src="images/124a.png" width="589" height="678" alt="Music" title="Ex. 6. Intervals of Fifths." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/124a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/125a.png" width="588" height="302" alt="Music" title="Ex. 7. Intervals of Sixths." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/125a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/125b.png" width="588" height="390" alt="Music" title="Ex. 8. Intervals of Sevenths." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/125b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX">INDEX.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p class="center"><a href="#INDEX_A">A</a> <a href="#INDEX_B">B</a> <a href="#INDEX_C">C</a> <a href="#INDEX_D">D</a> <a href="#INDEX_E">E</a> <a href="#INDEX_F">F</a> <a href="#INDEX_G">G</a> <a href="#INDEX_H">H</a> <a href="#INDEX_I">I</a> <a href="#INDEX_L">L</a> <a href="#INDEX_M">M</a> <a href="#INDEX_N">N</a> <a href="#INDEX_O">O</a> <a href="#INDEX_P">P</a> <a href="#INDEX_Q">Q</a> <a href="#INDEX_R">R</a> <a href="#INDEX_S">S</a> <a href="#INDEX_T">T</a> <a href="#INDEX_V">V</a> <a href="#INDEX_W">W</a> </p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_A" id="INDEX_A"></a>A.</h3>
+<p>
+Alto, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_B" id="INDEX_B"></a>B.</h3>
+<p>
+Bad Lessons, <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br />
+Bad Masters, <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br />
+Ballads, <a href="#Page_80">80</a><br />
+Barytone, Basso-Cantante, <a href="#Page_42">42</a><br />
+Bass, <a href="#Page_44">44</a><br />
+Board Teachers' Laryngitis, <a href="#Page_114">114</a><br />
+Books of Exercises, <a href="#Page_51">51</a><br />
+Buffo, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_C" id="INDEX_C"></a>C.</h3>
+<p>
+Cathedral School, The, <a href="#Page_72">72</a><br />
+Chest, Falsetto, and Head, <a href="#Page_60">60</a><br />
+Chorus Singing, <a href="#Page_69">69</a><br />
+Cleanliness, <a href="#Page_13">13</a><br />
+Clearing the Throat, <a href="#Page_59">59</a><br />
+Compass, <a href="#Page_30">30</a><br />
+Consonants, <a href="#Page_24">24</a><br />
+Contralto, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_D" id="INDEX_D"></a>D.</h3>
+<p>
+Decision, <a href="#Page_84">84</a><br />
+Diet, <a href="#Page_13">13</a><br />
+Dramatic Study, <a href="#Page_27">27</a><br />
+Dress, <a href="#Page_16">16</a><br />
+Duration of Practice, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_E" id="INDEX_E"></a>E.</h3>
+<p>
+Early Rising, <a href="#Page_13">13</a><br />
+Education, General, <a href="#Page_26">26</a><br />
+Emphasis, <a href="#Page_25">25</a><br />
+English, <a href="#Page_24">24</a><br />
+Execution, <a href="#Page_105">105</a><br />
+Exercise, <a href="#Page_15">15</a><br />
+Exercises, <a href="#Page_115">115</a><br />
+Exercises, First, <a href="#Page_62">62</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Books of, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; in Beating Time, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></span><br />
+Expression, Facial, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>
+</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_F" id="INDEX_F"></a>F.</h3>
+<p>
+Facial Expression, <a href="#Page_54">54</a><br />
+Falsetto, <a href="#Page_60">60</a><br />
+Fashion, <a href="#Page_106">106</a><br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span><br />
+First Opinion, A, <a href="#Page_44">44</a><br />
+Forming a Repertoire, <a href="#Page_107">107</a><br />
+Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>
+</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_G" id="INDEX_G"></a>G.</h3>
+<p>
+General Education, <a href="#Page_26">26</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Musical Study, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></span><br />
+German Lieder, Modern, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_H" id="INDEX_H"></a>H.</h3>
+<p>
+Hair, The, <a href="#Page_14">14</a><br />
+Head, Singing in the, <a href="#Page_58">58</a><br />
+High Notes, <a href="#Page_59">59</a><br />
+"Holding" an Audience, <a href="#Page_86">86</a><br />
+"How to Begin", <a href="#Page_68">68</a><br />
+Humming, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_I" id="INDEX_I"></a>I.</h3>
+<p>
+Imitation, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a><br />
+Individuality, <a href="#Page_53">53</a><br />
+Institutions, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_L" id="INDEX_L"></a>L.</h3>
+<p>
+Larynx, The, <a href="#Page_109">109</a><br />
+Late Hours, <a href="#Page_19">19</a><br />
+Lessons, Bad, <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br />
+Lips, Position of, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_M" id="INDEX_M"></a>M.</h3>
+<p>
+Masters, <a href="#Page_48">48</a><br />
+Mezzo-Voce, <a href="#Page_60">60</a><br />
+Mezzo-Contralto, <a href="#Page_35">35</a><br />
+Mezzo-Soprano, <a href="#Page_34">34</a><br />
+Mistakes in Public, <a href="#Page_86">86</a><br />
+Modern German Lieder, <a href="#Page_71">71</a><br />
+Morality, <a href="#Page_19">19</a><br />
+Music to Suit the Voice, <a href="#Page_103">103</a><br />
+Musical Study, General, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>
+</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_N" id="INDEX_N"></a>N.</h3>
+<p>
+Names of Voices, <a href="#Page_29">29</a><br />
+Nervousness, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_O" id="INDEX_O"></a>O.</h3>
+<p>
+Oratorio, <a href="#Page_73">73</a><br />
+"Original Keys", <a href="#Page_104">104</a><br />
+Opera, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_P" id="INDEX_P"></a>P.</h3>
+<p>
+Perseverance, <a href="#Page_54">54</a><br />
+Physiological Surroundings, <a href="#Page_109">109</a><br />
+Pharynx, The, <a href="#Page_111">111</a><br />
+Position of Arms, <a href="#Page_55">55</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; "&nbsp; Body, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; "&nbsp; Hands, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; "&nbsp; Larynx, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; "&nbsp; Throat, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; "&nbsp; Tongue, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></span><br />
+Pronunciation, <a href="#Page_22">22</a><br />
+Public Singing, <a href="#Page_85">85</a><br />
+Public, Mistakes in, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_Q" id="INDEX_Q"></a>Q.</h3>
+<p>
+Qualities of the Voice, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>
+</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p>
+<h3><a name="INDEX_R" id="INDEX_R"></a>R.</h3>
+<p>
+Recitative, <a href="#Page_81">81</a><br />
+Repertoire, Forming a, <a href="#Page_107">107</a><br />
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_S" id="INDEX_S"></a>S.</h3>
+<p>
+Scale, The, <a href="#Page_60">60</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">" &nbsp; &nbsp; Practice, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></span><br />
+"Schools" of Singing, <a href="#Page_47">47</a><br />
+Self-Accompaniment, <a href="#Page_55">55</a><br />
+Sentiment, <a href="#Page_84">84</a><br />
+Singing in Tune, <a href="#Page_67">67</a><br />
+Slurring, <a href="#Page_83">83</a><br />
+Smoking, <a href="#Page_18">18</a><br />
+Soprano, <a href="#Page_32">32</a><br />
+Study of Songs, <a href="#Page_20">20</a><br />
+Study of Words, <a href="#Page_25">25</a><br />
+Styles, Traditional, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_T" id="INDEX_T"></a>T.</h3>
+<p>
+Teachers, Bad, <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br />
+Teeth, The, <a href="#Page_15">15</a><br />
+Tenore-Leggiero, <a href="#Page_37">37</a><br />
+Tenore-Robusto, <a href="#Page_39">39</a><br />
+Throatiness, <a href="#Page_58">58</a><br />
+Thyroid, The, <a href="#Page_110">110</a><br />
+Time in Singing, <a href="#Page_87">87</a><br />
+Tone, <a href="#Page_60">60</a><br />
+Traditional Styles, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_V" id="INDEX_V"></a>V.</h3>
+<p>
+Variety Indispensable, <a href="#Page_68">68</a><br />
+Voices and their Names, <a href="#Page_29">29</a><br />
+Voice, The; A Wind, Reed, or String Instrument, <a href="#Page_111">111</a><br />
+Vowel-Sounds, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_W" id="INDEX_W"></a>W.</h3>
+<p>
+"Words," Study of, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="center">Printed by <span class="smcap">Ballantyne, Hanson &amp; Co.</span></p>
+<p class="center">London &amp; Edinburgh</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+<h2><a name="Footnotes" id="Footnotes">FOOTNOTES</a></h2>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> It used to be said of Rubini that "he had tears in his voice."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> The Exercise should be a crescendo from piano to forte.</p></div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="transnote">
+<h2><a name="Transcribers_Note" id="Transcribers_Note">TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>Punctuation and formatting markup have been made consistent.</p>
+
+<p>Apparent printer's errors have been retained, unless stated below.</p>
+
+<p>Page <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, "disirable" changed to "desirable". (It cannot be too strongly
+impressed upon, or too frequently pointed out to, the singer (no matter
+what may be the stage of his or her artistic development) how desirable
+and advantageous it is to be constantly singing exercises and solfeggi
+in preference to songs.)</p>
+
+<div class="hide-link"><p>In Exercise 8 on Page <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, the top D in the third
+measure has been changed to sound as a D<span lang="en" title="flat">&#9837;</span>, in belief that the note
+was affected by the flat at the beginning of the measure, and to stay in
+character with the rest of the exercises.</p></div>
+
+<p>Page <a href="#Page_73">73</a> and <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, "shool" changed to "school". (You will find its good
+points equally insisted on in the oratorio school of singing, while its
+defects should be avoided in any.)</p>
+
+<p>In Exercise 11 on Page <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, the twelfth bar in the the original image
+began with a quaver. To retain rhythmic integrity, this has been
+edited to read as a crotchet.</p>
+
+<p>In Exercise 6 on Page <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, the tenth and eleventh bar in the the original
+image were reversed. For consistency, these bars have been corrected.</p>
+
+<p>Page <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, "divisious" changed to "divisions". (Those who have ever
+delighted as well as astonished us by their rapid manner of running
+through divisions must have been naturally endowed with flexible
+organs.)</p>
+
+<p>Page <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, "<span lang="el" title="larynx">&lambda;&alpha;&rho;&upsilon;&gamma;&xi;</span>" changed to "<span lang="el" title="l&#8049;rynx">&lambda;&#8049;&rho;&upsilon;&gamma;&xi;</span>".</p>
+
+<p>On page <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, "<span lang="el" title="harytaina">&#7937;&rho;&#8059;&tau;&alpha;&iota;&nu;&alpha;</span>" was intentionally retained.
+This may be a typo for "<span lang="el" title="arytaina">&#7936;&rho;&#8059;&tau;&alpha;&iota;&nu;&alpha;</span>".</p>
+
+<p>Page <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, "<span lang="el" title="pharynx">&phi;&#8049;&rho;&upsilon;&nu;&xi;</span>" changed to "<span lang="el" title="pharynx">&phi;&#8049;&rho;&upsilon;&gamma;&xi;</span>".</p>
+
+<p>In Exercise 4 on Page <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, the seventh bar in the the original image
+began with an E. In order to maintain the pattern, this has been
+edited to read as an F.</p>
+
+<p>In Exercise 5 on Page <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, the twelfth bar in the the original image
+contained four beats. The first note of the measure, which was a minim,
+has been changed to a crotchet.</p>
+
+<p>In Exercise 7 on Page <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, the last measure
+contained three beats. The last note of the exercise, which was printed as
+a dotted minim, has been changed to a semibreve.</p>
+
+<p>In Exercise 8 on Page <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, the rhythm in the measure was originally
+written as a crotchet, two quavers,
+a crotchet, two quavers, and a crotchet, making five beats in the
+measure of common time. The measure has been edited to read as a single
+crotchet, followed by six quavers in order to retain four beats
+in each measure.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVICE TO SINGERS***</p>
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Advice to Singers, by Frederick James Crowest
+
+
+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: Advice to Singers
+
+
+Author: Frederick James Crowest
+
+
+
+Release Date: October 10, 2012  [eBook #41013]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVICE TO SINGERS***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Veronika Redfern, David Edwards, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images
+generously made available by Internet Archive (http://archive.org). Music
+for audio illustrations was transcribed by Anne Celnick, Sarah Thomson,
+and the DP Music Team.
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original lines of music and
+      audio illustrations.
+      See 41013-h.htm or 41013-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41013/41013-h/41013-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41013/41013-h.zip)
+
+
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive. See
+      http://archive.org/details/AdviceToSingers
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
+
+      Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=).
+
+      Text enclosed by plus signs is Greek transliteration
+      (example: +epi-glotta+=).
+
+      Any ranges or simple exercises that have been depicted
+      on a staff in the original have been represented in this
+      volume using Scientific Pitch Notation. In this system,
+      C4 represents middle C and is set at 256 Hz.
+
+
+
+
+
+ADVICE TO SINGERS
+
+by
+
+FREDERICK J. CROWEST
+
+Author of "The Great Tone Poets" "Musical Groundwork"
+Editor of "The Master Musicians" Series, etc.
+
+      "Since singing is so good a thing
+      I wish all men would learn to sing"
+
+[Illustration: Publisher's Device]
+
+Seventeenth Thousand
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+London
+Frederick Warne and Co.
+and New York
+1904
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+Singing cannot be learnt from a book, and so far from attempting any
+such impossible feat as writing a book which might be called "_Singing
+without a Master_," the author's object--frequently insisted upon
+herein--is to point out the impossibility of overcoming the difficulties
+of singing without a teacher. At the same time, there are points upon
+which a master would not feel called upon to speak; nor would he
+(except, perhaps, in the course of a very long period of training) be
+likely to touch on many matters which, though closely connected with the
+life or business of an accomplished singer, yet lie rather outside the
+province of the voice-trainer.
+
+In a work consisting of detached paragraphs, and not being a continuous
+essay, it is not always possible to enter into full explanations of the
+reasons for certain statements; and (for the want of such explanation)
+one paragraph may _appear_ to contradict another. However, I can assure
+the reader that such paragraphs are only _apparent_ contradictions; and
+if he will take the trouble to think such points out for himself, he
+will find that they are easily reconcileable.
+
+There is no subject, perhaps, on which opinions are so divided, and
+prejudices run so high, as the proper method of training and using the
+voice; nor is there perhaps one more wrapped in mystery than is the art
+of singing. This is probably the result of that readiness with which
+almost every music teacher has hitherto undertaken to teach Singing.
+This book will not, I am sure, add to the mystery. A careful perusal of
+its contents should clear away many misconceptions, and place the
+student on the right road to that end which he or she has in view.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.
+
+
+That another large edition of this little Manual should be called for in
+so comparatively short a time is sufficiently encouraging testimony of
+the worth of the book and the favour it has found at the hands of
+students of singing and others--a result the more gratifying to the
+publishers since hitherto it has been issued with an anonymous
+title-page. Often has the authorship of the little volume been
+industriously defended and disputed--not by myself--both in this country
+and America; but, on the whole, the identity of its originator has been
+well maintained. For my part matters might have remained so, especially
+as I am not insensible to the fact that there is much "preaching"
+herein--as indeed there must be in such a work, and some of the advice
+is of such a nature that its giver runs the risk of being placed upon an
+exceeding high pinnacle of moral excellence, or of being accounted the
+personification of all the virtues--both of which distinctions might
+scarcely be merited. The appearance of my name upon the title-sheet is
+the result of no wish of mine, and I have consented to it only out of
+deference to the pressing request of the publishers.
+
+A chapter on the Physiological Surroundings of the Voice has been added
+to this edition.
+
+                                                   FREDERICK J. CROWEST.
+
+
+PREFACE TO THE SEVENTH EDITION.
+
+Once again my publishers have informed me of the necessity for
+reprinting this Manual, which has been so successful both here, in
+America, and in the Colonies. I have nothing to alter in the work, but I
+must express my thanks for the marked support that has been given to
+this straightforward advice. Did space permit, much might be said
+relative to that growing complaint, "Teachers' (or Board School)
+Laryngitis" as it is called. For some time past I have been authorized
+to make observations at the chief Throat Hospitals in connection with
+this constantly increasing mischief, arising from an injurious use of
+the voice in Teaching, and which only proper Voice Production will
+remedy. While I cannot give advice here, I shall be happy to answer any
+communications of sufferers from this complaint.
+
+                                                   FREDERICK J. CROWEST.
+
+     24 AMPTHILL SQUARE, LONDON, N.W.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                                  _Page_
+
+  PRELIMINARY REMARKS                                                  9
+
+  ON HABITS, DIET, &c.                                                13
+
+    Early Rising--Cleanliness--The Hair--The Teeth--Exercise--Dress--
+    Diet--Smoking--Late Hours--General Morality.
+
+  PRONUNCIATION AND STUDY OF WORDS                                    21
+
+    Nervousness--Pronunciation--Vowel-Sounds--Consonants--English--
+    Emphasis--Position of Lips--Study of "Words"--General
+    Education--Dramatic Study.
+
+  VOICES AND THEIR VARIOUS QUALITIES                                  28
+
+    Voices and their Names--Compass--Soprano--Mezzo-Soprano--
+    Mezzo-Contralto--Contralto--Alto--Tenore-Leggiero--Tenore-Robusto--
+    Barytone and Basso-Cantante--Bass--Buffo--Qualities of Voices.
+
+  INSTRUCTION, BOOKS AND MASTERS                                      47
+
+    Schools of Singing--Masters--Institutions--A First Opinion--Bad
+    Lessons--Bad Teachers--Books of Exercises.
+
+  PRACTICE                                                            53
+
+    Individuality--Perseverance--Facial Expression--Self-Accompaniment--
+    Position of Body, Arms, Hands, Throat, Tongue, Larynx--
+    Head-Singing--Throatiness--Clearing the Throat--High Notes--The
+    Scale--Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano--Tone--Chest, Falsetto, and
+    Head--Scale Practice--First Exercises (_with Examples_)--Duration
+    of Practice--Singing in Tune--How to Begin--Variety--Chorus
+    Singing--Humming--Studying Songs--Imitation--General Musical Study.
+
+  ON STYLE AND EXPRESSION                                             71
+
+    Traditional Styles--Modern German _Lieder_--"The Cathedral
+    School"--Oratorio (_with Examples_)--Opera--Ballads--Recitative
+    (_with Examples_)--Slurring--Sentiment--Decision--Imitation--Public
+    Singing--"Holding" an Audience--Mistakes in Public.
+
+  ON TIME IN SINGING                                                  87
+
+    The Metronome--Accent--Exercises: four beats to the bar; three
+    beats to the bar; two beats to the bar.
+
+  ON THE CHOICE OF MUSIC                                             103
+
+    Music to Suit the Voice--"Original Keys"--Execution--Fashion--
+    Forming a "Repertoire."
+
+  PHYSIOLOGICAL SURROUNDINGS                                         109
+
+    The Larynx--The Thyroid--The Pharynx--The Voice; A Wind, Reed,
+    or String Instrument.
+
+  EXERCISES                                                          115
+
+    Exercises 1, 2, for Uniting Notes--Exercise 3, for Flexibility,
+    &c.--Exercise 4, on Intervals of Thirds--Exercise 5, on Intervals
+    of Fourths--Exercise 6, on Intervals of Fifths--Exercise 7, on
+    Intervals of Sixths--Exercise 8, on Intervals of Sevenths.
+
+  INDEX                                                              126
+
+
+
+
+ADVICE TO SINGERS.
+
+
+
+
+PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
+
+
+Whatever be the actual difference between the professional and the
+amateur singer, if a person is worthy of the name of singer at all,
+there should be no difference in their views of Art, and in their
+devotion to practice. Singing is an art, and one of the most difficult
+of the arts to master; and any one who attempts to learn it must be
+prepared to give the same devotion to it as is demanded by the sister
+arts of painting and sculpture. I do not mean exactly devotion of the
+whole time and energy of life to it; because, however necessary that may
+be for the professional, who has to make his living by it, such entire
+devotion to an accomplishment or an amusement (for such singing is to
+the amateur) would, for a non-professional, be frequently impossible,
+and very often wrong, as it would lead to a neglect of the duties of
+life. But, while the entire devotion of time and energy of a
+professional singer is demanded to master the various styles, and the
+immense mass of music, with which he or she will have to deal in the
+exercise of the profession, the amateur should bear in mind that such
+time and energy as he can devote to singing must be firmly restricted to
+doing what he undertakes thoroughly well--as well, in fact, as a
+professional. The amateur's position, which forbids him to make singing
+the work of his life, limits the range of his work, not the quality of
+it. He cannot, even if he have the voice of a Rubini or a Braham, master
+the difficulties of opera, oratorio, and ballad alike. Circumstances
+forbid him to conquer the world, but there is no reason why he should
+not be a king in his own special realm. To be that he will have to
+follow the same rules as though he were able to attack the whole
+universe of vocal music; for he should feel that the only difference
+between him and the professional singer lies in the sphere of their
+work.
+
+The same remarks apply to many professionals. _Very_ few can excel in
+all styles, and few in more than one. To attempt all is a great mistake,
+and will probably lead to failure, or at least mediocrity in all.
+
+But the first point that I would insist upon is the necessity for
+earnest devotion and regular work, both in professional and amateur, so
+that the term _Artist_ may apply to both. I shall be at no great pains
+to avoid occasional repetitions of incidental remarks. In a book
+intended for constant reference rather than for one perusal, and one
+divided, as this is, into short paragraphs, words may attract attention
+in one place, while in another they may have been overlooked. If,
+therefore, I err in this respect, I shall do so deliberately, my sole
+aim being to help and impress the student as much as possible.
+
+Remember that the human voice is the most delicate of all instruments,
+susceptible to more and more varied influence than any other. The singer
+has to combine in himself the instrument and the performer; and while
+all the artistic and intellectual qualities necessary for the
+instrumentalist are required by him, he is compelled beyond that to
+realize that he is a living instrument, and to exercise over himself all
+the care--and indeed far more than all--that players exercise over their
+most cherished "weapons." He has not only to learn how to sing, but how
+to be and to remain fit for singing. He, more than any other musical
+artist, will find that he is affected by moral as well as physical and
+intellectual causes, and he must face this fact boldly.
+
+In writing down the brief hints which this little work offers to
+singers, I shall therefore take in a range of subjects and enter into
+many details which may seem to have little to do with the practice of
+_Do_, _Re_, _Mi_. I do this advisedly, and I believe that such hints as
+those on general culture and habits of living are by no means the least
+important part of my work. I do not profess to teach my readers how to
+sing--(any singer knows, and I should like the public to know too, that
+singing cannot be taught by a book)--but to give "hints to singers," and
+many of those hints are on such subjects as it would be an impertinence
+on the part of a singing master to allude to. If the student takes
+offence at the _book_, it happily does not reach the author.
+
+Following out the previous thought, I shall try to turn the intending
+singer's attention to several other subjects, before I touch upon that
+of strictly musical interest. And if I here seem to "preach"
+occasionally, I shall never do so without cause, and never, I trust, in
+any spirit but that of the warmest sympathy with the aspirations and the
+peculiar trials and difficulties of those who are still in full vigour
+of youth and health.
+
+Remember that I give _hints_, not _rules_. It is quite impossible to lay
+down rules of living which shall apply alike to male and female, or to
+variously constituted natures. But I hope I may trust to the common
+sense of every individual to draw sound conclusions, and to form his or
+her own rules, by the help of these hints, and, the rules once formed,
+to adhere to them resolutely. If singing is to be done at all, it is
+worth while to do it well, and to spare no pains to that end.
+
+There is a good deal to be done by the student of singing before he
+attacks the strictly musical part of his difficulties. General
+education, if deficient, must be attended to; habits of living must be
+formed and followed out; faults of character, such as laziness, ill
+temper, slovenliness, impatience, and want of perseverance, must be
+bravely fought; for the study of singing, perhaps more than of any other
+art, will test the character severely in these respects.
+
+The student must be prepared to exercise a good deal of self-denial; to
+put aside all notions of self-merit for a long time to come; and to be
+humble, and ready to take a hint from any source. Whatever merits he may
+have at starting are certainly not due to his own skill; they are simply
+natural gifts, and the better they are, the more is there for him to
+learn in doing justice to them. Let him not waste time in admiring what
+he is, or has done; but let him keep all his energy for what he may yet
+be and for what he yet has to accomplish.
+
+
+
+
+ON HABITS, DIET, &c.
+
+
+The following paragraphs contain hints on various matters apparently
+little connected with singing, yet all of more or less importance to the
+singer. The voice, and the power of using it, depend so greatly upon
+general health, and health is so easily affected by habits of living,
+that I offer no apology for entering into some details which, though
+easy enough to write down, and read when written, would be difficult for
+a singing master to allude to or suggest without giving offence.
+
+
+=Early Rising.=--Practise early rising, and, if possible, take a short
+walk before breakfast. This tends to keep the circulation of the blood
+in a good condition, and that is, of course, of great importance to the
+lungs, and all the organs which singing requires to tax somewhat
+severely.
+
+
+=Cleanliness.=--Strict cleanliness is of the greatest importance. Take a
+cold bath every morning directly you get out of bed. Do not stand
+"pottering about," or you may catch cold, but go to your bath while the
+skin is moist with the perspiration which the warmth of bed has drawn
+out. If you let the perspiration dry, and then plunge into cold water,
+you run a great risk of giving yourself a severe chill. Sponge yourself
+well, and rapidly, all over, especially the chest, throat, back of the
+neck, and all round the loins; and dry the body thoroughly and briskly
+with a rough towel. Let no fear of damaging the complexion deter young
+ladies from this most healthy and necessary operation.
+
+In winter, if the circulation is naturally sluggish, it is as well not
+to take the bath perfectly cold, but merely add enough hot water just to
+remove the extreme chill. The bath ought to feel cold to you, even
+though it be not the coldest possible.
+
+It is well to take a warm bath once a week--if possible, just before
+going to bed. Do not have it hot, but simply warm, and, of course, use
+soap with it. Do not dawdle over it, but "have it and have done with
+it," and then get to bed at once. If you find the effect of it to be
+enervating or relaxing, take it less warm in future. The object of it is
+simply to open and cleanse the pores of the skin--a matter of great
+importance.
+
+
+=The Hair.=--The same rule of extreme cleanliness applies to the hair, and
+for the same reason, viz., its intimate connection with the circulation
+of the blood and the pores of the skin. Keep the hair well brushed, and
+have it frequently cut and shampooed. Avoid "pomatums," washes, and
+greasy messes of every kind: their smell is objectionable and their
+effect is generally to dirty the head. Moreover, the public have the
+good taste to object to the appearance of an artist before them who is
+evidently "got up" with pains for the occasion. A person who is
+habitually as clean as he can be, need never fear to appear in public,
+and may spare himself the disgusting application of "grease" to his head
+to make himself fit to be seen.
+
+If a moustache is worn, let it be kept within bounds, and not allowed to
+fall over the mouth, where it would affect the tone of the voice. Do not
+cut it straight along the lip, but train it right and left, allowing it
+to grow naturally and uncut. The advantages of the moustache are two: it
+acts to a certain extent as a respirator, and protects the mouth and
+throat as the eyelash does the eye, and it helps to conceal any slight
+distortion of the mouth in singing. This, I confess, is a doubtful
+advantage:--there ought to be no distortion, and if any were seen, it
+might, perhaps, be corrected. However, I give the opinion for what it is
+worth.
+
+
+=The Teeth.=--The teeth play such an important part in the production of
+the voice that every care should be taken to preserve them sound and in
+good condition--to say nothing of the part which they play in facial
+expression, a point to which every singer should attend. A bad state of
+the teeth at once affects the stomach, and that again the voice, so that
+no apology is needed for drawing the student's attention to this matter.
+Clean the teeth the first thing in the morning, and the last thing at
+night. Use a moderately hard brush, better too soft than too hard, with
+cold water, or better still, just lukewarm. Avoid all "dentifrices" and
+advertised nastinesses in the way of powders and "fragrant" washes. A
+mixture of powdered (not "prepared") chalk and orris-root, in the
+proportion of about three to two, is the best thing to use, and any
+chemist will make that up for you. Remember to brush the teeth inside
+and along the top, as well as outside; and if you find this difficult
+with the ordinary-shaped brush, get one of those which are sold for the
+purpose. If you find, in spite of your care, that your teeth become
+discoloured, the cause is probably that your stomach is out of order. In
+that case, go straight to a doctor, for the consequence of such
+derangement is that "tartar" is formed on the teeth, and this grows, and
+pushes back the gums, altering the form of the cavity of the mouth, and
+so affecting the tone of the voice.
+
+
+=Exercise.=--Be as much as you can in the open air. Take moderate walking
+exercise, but of course do not tire yourself before singing or
+practising. For male singers, rowing, riding, football and cricket (but
+without the shouting so often incidental to these games), racquets or
+tennis, and above all an hour or two weekly in a gymnasium, are
+excellent things; while for ladies, walking, riding, lawn-tennis, "la
+grace," and calisthenics are equally useful. If you live in a town,
+always walk in preference to taking a conveyance, when time and weather
+permit it.
+
+Never breathe through your mouth in walking, especially at night, or on
+coming out into the open air after singing. Keep the lips closed, and
+inhale the air through the nostrils. This is easily acquired, and to be
+able to do this will be found of great service in taking breath for
+singing; but out of doors it is most important, for the immediate rush
+of cold or damp air to the delicate organs of the throat, especially
+when the latter have been excited by the exertion of singing, is
+dangerous. It is a good plan, and a profitable use of the time, to
+practise breathing when walking, by filling the lungs, and utilizing
+each inspiration for as long a distance as possible.
+
+
+=Dress.=--Nothing can be said in favour of our climate for singing. With
+proper precautions, however, a great deal of trouble arising from this
+cause may be averted. In summer, as well as in winter, for instance, the
+writer would strongly urge the wearing of moderately thick-soled boots
+or shoes. Then, again, the neck and chest should never be exposed alike
+to a June sun and a December frost; but, instead, it should be
+moderately and reasonably covered. Great care should be taken never to
+get wet, especially wet or damp feet.
+
+In going out of hot rooms into the open air much pains should be
+exercised to keep the chest and throat covered up with an overcoat or
+cloak--however warm the weather may be. In _very severe_ winter weather
+the singer will derive much comfort by wearing a flannel
+chest-protector. Sitting about in gardens, and on lawns, in the evenings
+on even the warmest days, is not a safe indulgence for the student who
+is in earnest in the pursuit of his art.
+
+One caution is necessary as to "wrapping up," however. Do not over-do
+it. The constant use of a "comforter" renders the throat delicate and
+susceptible. All you have to fear is damp, not cold, in the atmosphere.
+A comforter, closely wound round the throat, promotes perspiration, and
+the risk of chill in removing it is greater than in not wearing it at
+all. Common sense must guide every one. It is impossible to make a rule
+for all.
+
+
+=Diet.=--As to diet: avoid everything that is at all indigestible. Live
+well, and take plenty of varied nourishment. The singer's system _must_
+be well nourished. Chocolate and coffee are better than tea; the latter
+is too astringent, and affects the nerves too much, if taken in
+abundance. Sugar, in moderation, should always be used with those
+beverages, and they should never be taken very hot. Bread is better than
+toast, but avoid hot or very new bread. Eggs and butter are good. Meat
+should be plainly cooked and not too well done. Pork tries the digestion
+too severely to be a desirable food for a singer, and the same may be
+said of veal. Fish is good for the singer, and he should if possible let
+it form a part of his daily _menu_. Creams and pastry are simply poison,
+and cheese should only be taken in great moderation. Fruit is an
+excellent thing if judiciously used. But here, again, hard and fast
+rules are impossible, because constitutions vary. Only remember the old
+proverb, "We must eat to live, and not live to eat."
+
+Never practise or sing upon an empty stomach, or soon after a meal:
+either of these habits will unfairly tax your digestive organs, and in
+so doing damage your voice. After a meal, all the energy of the body is
+required for the stomach; in a healthy person the extremities will
+generally be cold after a full meal, and the reason is that the
+digestive organs are using all the heat and blood that the body can give
+for their special work. Nature thus points to a rest of every other
+organ at that time, and you must not fight against Nature by attempting
+any such severe physical strain as the practice of the voice demands.
+
+All acids and astringents are bad for a healthy throat and stomach.
+Vinegar, highly-flavoured sauces, almonds and raisins, nuts of every
+kind should be avoided. Some of these are useful as remedies in relaxed
+throat, or congestion of the throat, no doubt; but I am speaking simply
+of what is desirable for a person in a state of health. In cases of
+cold, hoarseness, or indisposition of any kind, my prescription is,
+"Don't doctor yourself, but (as Abernethy said) '_Take advice_.'" Be
+very careful and abstemious in the use of spirits. Brandy is decidedly
+injurious, it heats and inflames the throat, and tends to constipate the
+bowels. Gin or whiskey is the most wholesome spirit, but take as little
+as possible of either. If you drink beer or stout, take draught and not
+bottled, and always in great moderation. All effervescing liquors are
+objectionable; therefore eschew champagne, Moselle, bottled ale and
+stout, _et hoc genus omne_. The fluids called port and sherry are cruel
+foes to singing. A glass of _good_ port is a fair medicine in certain
+cases, and the same may be said of very dry Amontillado, but if
+you have nothing the matter with you, avoid port and (so-called)
+sherry--especially the hideous compound of alcohol and molasses known as
+"brown" sherry--as you would poison.
+
+The best drink for singers is claret, or any light wine, French, German,
+or Italian. I myself find the latter on the whole the best, and such
+wines as Barolo Secco or Chiante are pure and cheap, and contain all the
+properties necessary for a singer's beverage. But in this as in all
+else, _moderation_ is a _sine qua non_. Fluids are apt to produce
+congestion or mucus in the throat and glands of the mouth, and that of
+course interferes with the free action of the muscles in singing.
+
+
+=Smoking.=--As a general rule it may be laid down that smoking is a bad
+habit for the singer, male or female (for there are females who are
+proud of being able to smoke cigarettes nowadays!). With many instances
+of great singers who have also been great smokers before us, it is
+impossible to say decidedly that singers must not smoke; but the habit
+is one to be very cautiously indulged in. If smoking in any case induces
+expectoration, it should at once be given up, for the habit of spitting,
+to which some smokers allow themselves (quite needlessly) to give way,
+is, in reality, the greatest evil of smoking; it weakens the throat,
+lungs, and chest. If a man can smoke without spitting or drinking, I
+confess that I am no great enemy to tobacco; but the "if" is a big one.
+
+A cigarette is certainly a safeguard against taking cold in coming out
+of a hot room into the open air, especially after singing; but strong
+cigars or strong tobacco in pipes are to be avoided, because of their
+effect on the nerves.
+
+
+=Late Hours.=--Avoid late hours. You require, not only a certain amount of
+sleep, but to take that sleep before the body and mind are at all
+overtaxed. From many causes, it is well known, the human frame is always
+at its lowest from about 2 a.m. till 5 a.m., and the nearer you approach
+those hours in going to bed, the less able are you to derive all the
+benefit which you require from sleep. Twelve o'clock is late enough for
+any one.
+
+Another reason why late hours are bad is connected not with physical
+facts so much as with morals. It is true, you may come to no actual
+harm, or get into no positive mischief, by being out late at night, but
+you place yourself in a position of risk--risk of cold, over-fatigue,
+inhaling vitiated atmosphere, &c., as well as risk to moral character,
+which latter, in its way as delicate as the voice, is injured not only
+by actual violation of right, but by all society, conversation, and
+literature which tend to dim its brightness, or (to use another
+metaphor) to spoil the purity of its outline by roughly knocking off its
+corners. At all events, as to the night side of "Life," you are better
+out of it.
+
+
+=Morality.=--Nothing can act more prejudicially upon a singer than those
+influences which are understood by that very inclusive term, a "fast"
+life. I would, therefore, urge upon the student the necessity of a
+religious avoidance of those influences. They dull the purity of thought
+which marks all true art; they deaden the intellect which art requires;
+and they injure the physical powers, without which all a singer's study
+may be suddenly rendered useless to him. All excess is bad, and
+self-restraint and self-control are of the greatest importance both to
+character and health. Many an anxious student has mastered the musical
+side of his art, but has failed under the rigid demands which the moral
+code makes upon an intending singer. It is of no use for a singer to be
+strong musically, and weak morally: the two preparations must go
+hand-in-hand; and while building up a structure of vocal greatness, his
+care must always be that the moral foundation will always support the
+weight of persistent study, and leave him favourably placed in the stern
+competition going on around him for a front place in the race for
+singing fame, and the inevitable honours. Keep these hints in mind,
+think them carefully over, and be your own moral doctor. That will be
+better than following any code of cut and dried rules. If you err at
+all, let it be on the side of self-denial, the hardest and probably the
+highest of all virtues.
+
+
+
+
+ON THE STUDY OF PRONUNCIATION AND "WORDS" IN SINGING, &c.
+
+
+The singer has to combine the arts of the musician, the public speaker,
+and, to a certain extent, the actor. Clearness of pronunciation and
+correctness of emphasis are included in the range of his study. Nor are
+these so easy of acquirement as many persons suppose. To a novice, the
+almost inevitable nervousness inseparable from the prominent position
+which a solo singer necessarily holds in the company, or before the
+audience to which he is singing, is very apt to render the enunciation
+less distinct and more rapid than is natural to him. His ear guides him
+less safely; and, in fact, every sense, influenced by the abnormal state
+of his nerves, is apt to play him more or less false. It is only by
+having carefully studied and mastered every detail of manner, posture,
+and speech, as well as of the music to be performed, that a singer can
+rise superior to the treachery of his nerves, in whatever form that
+treachery may show itself.
+
+
+=Nervousness.=--A few words as to nervousness. You will often hear persons
+boast that they are not the least nervous in public; and, perhaps, will
+feel inclined to envy them. Get rid of any such notion at once. If by
+"nervous" is meant "frightened," that is another thing altogether; and
+it is perfectly true that there are hundreds of persons who are not in
+the least afraid of appearing in public, nor affected by timidity when
+so appearing. But fear is only one form of nervousness. I firmly
+believe that it is impossible for a real artist ever to appear in public
+without being _nervous_. But the nerves act in many ways: the fervour of
+an eloquent speaker carried away by his subject; the "_abandon_" of a
+fine actor thoroughly entering into his part and identifying himself
+with it; the sustained energy of a declamatory singer; the faultless and
+unerring agility of a florid _soprano_, who astonishes her hearers by
+wonder on wonder of execution--all these things are due, in their subtle
+charm, to nervousness--_i.e._ to delicate nervous organization in active
+play. These artists are not frightened, it is true, but excited,
+stimulated, roused from the normal state of eating, walking, and
+sleeping; something of the spiritual kindles the mere physical forces in
+them--some breath of inspiration sustains that living power which so
+influences the hearers. In some way or other every great artist is
+always nervous; were it not so, the essence of their power would vanish.
+Persons of cold and phlegmatic temperament lack the very life-breath of
+art; and though they may train themselves into fair imitations of some
+great artists, they will generally be detected with ease, by any hearer
+of true sensibility, as imitations, not the real thing. Therefore do not
+be ashamed to admit that you are nervous, if it be so. Nerves are a
+cruel master, but a splendid servant; instead of letting them overcome
+you, force them to do your bidding; and instead of "nervousness" meaning
+"fear," you will find that it means courage and power to do your best.
+
+
+=Pronunciation.=--Study correctness of pronunciation and propriety of
+emphasis quite apart from singing. Remember that in speaking or singing
+in a large space and to a number of persons, every sound must have not
+only additional force, but additional volume. And that comes to mean
+that every vowel-sound in the words sung must be intensified, and every
+consonant be delivered with more accuracy than is necessary in ordinary
+speaking. If you were to pronounce the syllable "die" (for instance), in
+singing, _exactly_ as you do in speaking, you would produce on the
+notes or note to which that word belonged a thinness of tone which would
+be very ugly, and probably would not "carry" far. And the same with any
+vowel-sound--even "Ah," or "Oh,"--which, though not producing a thin
+tone, would certainly produce a coarse one, if sung exactly as spoken in
+ordinary conversation.
+
+
+=Vowel-Sounds.=--The reason of the need of this slight change is as
+follows. Every vowel-sound, like every musical sound (for vowel-sounds
+are nothing less than musical sounds) is composed of _two_ sounds.
+Combined with the prominent and chief sound which first attracts the ear
+is a second, which, though not prominent, lends point and force to the
+other. Thus our English vowel-sound "A" is really _Eh-e_; "E" is _E-e_;
+"I" is _Ah-e_; "O" is _O-oo_, or even _Aw-oo_; "U" is _Ee-oo_. Of
+course, I do not mean to say that those absurd-looking syllables really
+express exactly the sounds which we produce in speaking the vowels, for
+no combination of letters can do that, or can bring within reach of the
+eye the subtleties of sound in human speech; but if you attempt to
+pronounce those syllables, you will find that you are really pronouncing
+the vowels from which I "translated" them.
+
+Now, in conversation or rapid speaking, the subordinate sound of the
+vowel is scarcely noticeable, while the more prominent sound is heard
+for the short interval of time required. But in singing or public
+speaking, where the production of tone is more deliberate, the space to
+be filled with sound larger, or, in other words, the column of air to be
+set vibrating is greater and heavier, the _complex_ sound of the vowel
+must not be ignored. It is impossible to lay down any set of rules by
+which the student may overcome this difficulty; but every one, by
+bearing in mind the absolute necessity of attention to this point, may
+easily accustom himself to the slight change of pronunciation (as it
+will at first appear) which is required to give vowel-sounds when sung,
+or spoken "_ore rotundo_," the same tone, to the hearer's ear, as they
+have in ordinary speaking. As a general rule this is done by keeping
+the throat more open, the larynx (or "Adam's apple") as low down as
+possible, and the root of the tongue flat, depressed, even hollowed like
+the bowl of a spoon. The truth of all this may easily be tested by
+singing any short passage deliberately and distinctly, with the exact
+pronunciation of ordinary speaking, and then repeating it with attention
+to the above hints. In the first instance the result will be meagre,
+hard to be heard at a moderate distance, and very likely extremely
+ludicrous to the hearer. In the second, you will find that the tone of
+the notes gains in roundness and fulness, while the words are clearly
+heard in every part of the room with the exact effect belonging to them.
+I purposely refrain from attempting to write down the difference
+discernible in any words so sung, because, as I have already said,
+_letters_ cannot accurately express distinctions so delicate, yet so
+all-important to the singer, speaker, and hearer.
+
+
+=Consonants.=--In pronouncing consonants, be careful to give each its due
+value, but without exaggeration. Be especially particular to sound the
+_last_ letter of each word distinctly. But take care to avoid adding a
+slight sound (as of an _e_ mute) after the final letter: for instance,
+do not say "When other-_e_ lips," &c., or "bright-_e_ days," and so on.
+Do not over-aspirate the letter "_H_." "_N_," "_L_," "_M_," "_B_,"
+"_P_," and "_V_," are all letters requiring care in firm pronunciation.
+
+Avoid prefixing a slight sound of "_N_" to the first word of a song or
+passage in singing. It is a common trick with beginners to do this, and
+they frequently do it without being in the least conscious of it. It is
+produced by a kind of nervous feeling of the teeth with the tongue, as
+if to make sure that all is right for the start! I have heard an
+aspiring youth actually begin a well-known song thus: "_Nwaft her
+Rangels Nthrough the sky_," &c.
+
+
+=English Words.=--The English language is not the most suitable one under
+the sun for singing purposes; nevertheless, it is not nearly so
+intolerable and unfavourable an one as it is the fashion to make out.
+The grand old Scripture passages which Handel, Mendelssohn, and others
+have set to music testify to this. Yet musical care _is_ needed when
+singing English words, and especially in pronouncing the "sibilants," as
+_S_, &c. These "sibilants" must never be enunciated rapidly, or their
+ill effects will soon be found in a series of _hissings_. Let it be your
+study, then, to avoid this ill effect in singing English words, and to
+utter such sounds slowly and carefully, with the endeavour to produce a
+soft and agreeable effect; for it is, indeed, unpardonable to hear an
+English singer unable to render perfectly the words (if =not= the music)
+of his native country's songs and ballads.
+
+
+=Emphasis.=--Having accustomed yourself to carefulness over each letter in
+your pronunciation, the next thing is to study correctness of emphasis,
+&c. All this is apart from the strictly musical portion of your studies,
+and, while you can work at this without music, you will certainly spoil
+the effect of your singing (however good your voice and voice production
+may be), unless you do so study your "words." I should recommend you to
+practise reading aloud for not less than a quarter of an hour at a time,
+say once a day. Read _standing_; place your book on a desk, on a level
+with your eyes, and speak out deliberately, and with full tone of voice,
+and as much variety of intonation as the matter read requires.
+Shakespeare is your best author for this study. You will feel at first
+as if you were doing a very absurd thing, but never mind that--do it,
+and do it as well and as carefully as you can.
+
+
+=Position of the Lips.=--In speaking and reading aloud during your
+preliminary training for singing, be very careful that there be no
+change in the aperture of the mouth or position of the lips while
+uttering any one sound, however prolonged. If the lips move from their
+first position, however slightly, the tone immediately changes, and the
+pronunciation ceases to be pure and refined.
+
+
+=Study of Words.=--The words of a song are as much worthy of the singer's
+study as the music, that is, if the song is worth singing at all. I do
+not mean to say that in themselves they must necessarily be of equal
+merit, but that they require as much attention on the part of the singer
+to bring out their meaning. Study the text, therefore, apart from the
+music. Read the words aloud deliberately; master the sentiment of them,
+and note the prominent words and phrases, so as to be able to give them
+their due value when you have to combine them with the music. Avoid
+giving prominence to such words as "of," "for," "the," "and," "in," &c.,
+&c., but yet let each be distinctly pronounced, and not slurred over in
+an indefinite murmur. Learn the words of your song by memory. Master the
+text, and consider the whole from an elocutionist's point of view before
+you attack the musical side of the matter. A singer when singing in
+public should not be troubled with his words and music too.
+
+
+=General Education.=--An important branch of study is that of giving
+expression to the passions, and of communicating your conceptions and
+emotions to the minds of your listeners. No better training could a
+young singer have for forming such ideas than the earnest perusal of the
+works of Shakespeare, Dante, Goethe, Milton, Lytton, George Eliot, &c.;
+or in watching carefully and intelligently the acting of our best stage
+performers. For a singer to be successful, he or she must be in a
+position to express, and bring home to an audience, such emotions as
+love, hatred, anger, fear, grief, and pity; all these, and many other
+such feelings, have constantly to be transmitted by the singer, and it
+is to the most natural and faithful exposition of these, and that most
+consistent with the other equally important points of the art of
+singing, that the student's attention should for a long while be
+patiently and perseveringly directed.
+
+The singer should be a well-educated man, and he should know at least
+one other language beside his native tongue. He should be well read,
+too, in the best literature of these two languages. On questions of all
+the arts he should seek to make his views sound and true. He should seek
+to travel, and so enlarge his mind, for all this training will reflect
+itself in the work of an artist so liberally educated. An inferior
+education has been the bane of many a student, who has had the organ and
+all the necessary musical ability.
+
+
+=Dramatic Study.=--To be a successful public singer, even in the
+concert-room, one must be more or less an actor; and, therefore, the
+time and money bestowed in acquiring a sound knowledge of dramatic
+action and elocution will be well spent. For the lyric stage, such a
+study is imperative; but its utility to artists who aspire no higher
+than to ballad or oratorio singing cannot be too highly estimated.
+
+
+
+
+VOICES AND THEIR VARIOUS QUALITIES.
+
+
+The life of the singing voice is so comparatively short, that the study
+of singing is rendered more difficult than that of any other art. You
+may buy a violin or a pianoforte, ready-made and perfect, in your
+childhood, and nothing remains for you but to study the instrument
+diligently under a good master. But the vocal instrument cannot be said
+to exist at all, for purposes of singing study, before the age of
+eighteen or twenty in males, and (in our climate) sixteen in females.
+Even at those ages the organ is necessarily immature and undeveloped.
+Consequently the study of the art has to be carried on during the
+progress of the instrument to maturity.
+
+To counterbalance this disadvantage, however, we must bear in mind that
+that very study materially helps to perfect the instrument. Singing is
+by no means all "style," and the study of it includes the formation of
+the voice and production of a good tone, and it is, of course, easier to
+manipulate an unfinished article than a finished one--to educate youth
+and suppleness than to bring maturity and stiffness into subjection to
+new conditions.
+
+Therefore begin your study in the youth of your voice; but, recollecting
+that its life is the most short-lived of your faculties, let your study
+be most earnest and painstaking. Especially if singing is to be your
+profession, act upon the wise advice of Dr. Burney, and "Never go to bed
+till you have learned something which you did not know the previous
+night."
+
+
+=Voices.=--"What is your voice?" is a very common question, sometimes
+expressed in the rather less polite but more intelligent form, "What do
+you call your voice?" The answer almost invariably is either "Soprano,"
+"Contralto," "Tenor," "Bass," or "Barytone." Here is a warning for you
+at starting. Do not limit your notions of what voices are to those four
+or five generic names. Because choral music is generally written in four
+parts, for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, the non-musical public, and a
+great many musical people (some composers included) seem to think that
+those names are an inclusive description of every human voice.
+
+This would be of very little consequence if it were only a question of
+names; but it is of no use to say "What is in a name?" if the result of
+a wrong name is to lead to mischief. The misfortune of wrongly naming
+your voice is that it will lead you to practise wrongly, and to choose
+the wrong style of music for study and performance. For instance, a
+young lady may call herself a _soprano_ because she can "_sing up to
+C_," and may therefore fancy that the whole repertoire of a Tietjens or
+a Clara Novello is within her reach; and acting on this notion, she may
+fatally damage a naturally bright and pleasing voice by giving it work
+to do which belongs of right to a voice of totally different calibre,
+the _mezzo-soprano_.
+
+
+=Naming the Voice.=--Remember always that the character of a voice is
+determined not by compass or range of notes, but by quality, or body and
+_timbre_, of tone. Two ladies may have voices ranging from A to A--two
+octaves--and yet one might be a pure light soprano, and the other a
+genuine contralto; while in length of compass a mezzo-soprano may even
+beat them both. And so with male voices (the variety in which is even
+greater than in female), you may have a voice of pure tenor quality, and
+yet of such limited compass that your energetic barytone friend next
+door may make your life miserable with jealousy of the ease with which
+he bellows high Gs, G sharps, and even on great occasions an A or so.
+
+But compass has nothing whatever to do with the name of the voice: it
+may limit the quantity of music which can be performed, but it should
+have no influence on the choice of the style of music to be studied.
+This is a point of the greatest importance, therefore I repeat it
+briefly once more--_Your voice must be described and used with reference
+to its quality, or volume and timbre, and not with reference to the
+number of notes which you can sing._
+
+
+=Male and Female Voices.=--The actual varieties in tone and quality in
+different voices cannot, of course, be expressed on paper; but a careful
+use of your ears in listening to good public singers will soon teach you
+to discriminate. Female voices are of at least four kinds: soprano,
+mezzo-soprano, mezzo-contralto, and contralto. Male are of five or six,
+or even more. Alto; tenore-leggiero or light tenor; tenore-robusto or
+strong heavy-voiced tenor; barytone--basso-cantante (erroneously
+identified with the barytone by some persons); basso-profondo or bass.
+
+Beside all these divisions or species, voices must be again classed
+according to their power. Any one who has ever heard an opera singer in
+a moderate-sized private drawing-room, will readily appreciate the
+difference between a _voce di camera_, or "chamber voice," and a _voce
+di teatro_.
+
+
+=Compass.=--The respective compasses of the several voices may be roughly
+set down as follows, but it should be borne in mind that it is by no
+means a matter of course that a singer of any particular voice should
+possess or cultivate the whole range of notes supposed to belong to that
+voice. He or she may be none the less a tenor or a soprano because the
+one cannot produce an "_Ut de poitrine_," or the other "_F_ in _Alt_."
+There is a special individuality in every voice, as in every face, and
+therefore every voice must be treated, by a good teacher, on its own
+merits, as a thing in some respects unique.
+
+Perhaps it will be best, therefore, instead of saying that the compass
+of any given kind of voice is from ---- to ----, to say that music for
+such and such a voice is generally written between such and such limits.
+The range allotted by composers to the various voices is about two
+octaves to each--for solo work, of course--and is as follows, it being
+understood that the male voices are an octave lower in pitch than the
+female:--
+
+    _Soprano_, and _Tenore-Leggiero_, and in operatic music a certain
+    kind of _Tenore-Robusto_.
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: C4]
+    {to
+    {[Music: C6]
+
+    _Mezzo-Soprano_ and _Tenore-Robusto_
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: A3]
+    {to
+    {[Music: A5]
+
+    _Mezzo-Contralto_ and _Barytone_
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: G3]
+    {to
+    {[Music: G5]
+
+    _Contralto_ and _Bass_
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: E3]
+    {to
+    {[Music: E5]
+
+The basso-cantante is a low barytone, or high bass with a lighter
+quality of tone than the basso-profondo. The alto voice, or
+counter-tenor as it used to be called, is not a natural voice at all,
+but is artificially produced by training the _falsetto_ to the exclusion
+of the other parts of the voice. It is totally distinct from the
+contralto voice of a female, in quality, average compass, and the style
+of music best suited to it. It is of more use in part-singing and
+cathedral music than for solo work, although in some oratorios solo
+parts have been allotted to it. It is rarely pleasing when heard alone,
+for very few alto singers are able to avoid the appearance of singing
+with effort; and the whole performance, except in some instances,
+appears unnatural and forced. The alto voice ranges generally
+
+    from
+    [Music: G3]
+    to
+    [Music: C5]
+
+    but its best notes are confined to the octave of B flat.
+
+
+=Soprano.=--The soprano is generally clear, bright, and penetrating in
+tone; capable, if rightly produced, of "carrying" far without any
+appearance of force or effort. Its lower register is often weak and
+ineffective, and the forcing of those notes by a bad singer often
+damages the voice, and spoils the evenness of tone, which is of far more
+importance than power and noise in singing. Low notes, even if
+naturally weak, may be trained to take their proper share of the work of
+the voice, and every year will add to their natural power. Most soprano
+voices have a "break" on
+
+[Music: G4]
+
+and another, and more difficult one to deal with, on
+
+[Music: E5]
+
+or
+
+[Music: F5]
+
+The lower notes are the (so-called) "chest" register; the middle ones,
+between the breaks, the "falsetto," and the upper ones the "head" notes.
+I shall speak of these often-used and frequently-misapplied words
+presently; I merely mention them now for the sake of pointing out to
+soprani, what many young lady amateurs utterly ignore, that they have
+these "breaks," and possess "chest," "falsetto," and "head" notes, as
+well as male singers.
+
+Soprano voices are frequently capable of great flexibility, and passages
+are easy to them which tax the powers even of a light mezzo-soprano
+severely. The high notes, especially, are in many cases easily produced
+in a staccato manner, like notes of a piccolo flute, and an effect is
+thus made, which, though pretty and pleasing if judiciously employed,
+becomes a great snare to many singers, who for the sake of astonishing
+their audience work the upper part of their voices unfairly, and,
+neglecting steady use and practice of the lower registers, will very
+soon find that they have weakened the power and thinned the tone of the
+whole voice.
+
+But there are many voices of pure soprano tone which lack this
+flexibility: let the fair owners console themselves with the
+recollection that good _sostenuto_ singing is quite as pleasing, in the
+long run, as displays of vocal gymnastics. You may not be able to
+attempt the "_Dinorah_" Shadow Song, or the "Rejoice Greatly" in the
+"_Messiah_," but you will find that you have plenty of good work left
+for you in such music as "Dove Sono," "Deh vieni, non tardar"
+("_Figaro_"), or "Jerusalem" ("_St. Paul_").
+
+Moreover, you may possibly have what is a much rarer gift (in a pure
+soprano) than flexibility--you may have a tone of voice capable of
+executing declamatory music with fine effect. Music of this kind is
+generally appropriated by some mezzo-soprano of high compass, and more
+properly belongs to voices of that class; nevertheless, the effect of
+sustained declamatory music, well executed by a real soprano, is
+unrivalled in its way.
+
+
+=Mezzo-Soprano.=--The mezzo-soprano voice is perhaps the commonest of all
+female voices, and yet one of the rarest met with in perfection. It is
+fuller and rounder in quality than the soprano--less flexible, and more
+adapted to a _sostenuto_ or declamatory style. Mezzo-soprano voices vary
+so much that it is difficult to name any note on which the "break" will
+be found. Sometimes it is on the same notes as a soprano--sometimes on
+the same as a contralto--on the average, perhaps, nearer the former.
+Wherever it may be, however, a judicious teacher will soon point it out,
+and put the student into the way of rightly treating it. Teaching, and
+_good_ teaching, is especially necessary for voices of this class, for
+their fortunate possessors are generally ignorant of the value of the
+treasure which they possess in a good mezzo-soprano; and if it be of
+light quality, they fancy themselves soprani, and force the upper
+register of the voice in trying to "stretch their compass;" or if their
+low notes develop first, they think that "with practice" they are to be
+contralti; and by over-exercise and fondness for displaying those deep
+notes, they run the risk of widening the break, and rendering the
+quality of the whole voice hopelessly uneven.
+
+What lies within the sphere of a good mezzo-soprano has been shown in
+late years by a Grisi and a Tietjens, the latter of whom will live in
+the recollection of all who ever heard her, as the perfect model for
+every mezzo-soprano in the production of the pure tone and even quality.
+
+
+=Mezzo-Contralto.=--The name mezzo-contralto speaks for itself. It is by
+no means an uncommon voice, and if used with discrimination is an
+effective and useful one. Both in compass and quality it lies between
+the contralto and the mezzo-soprano. Heavier in tone, less resonant, and
+less flexible than the mezzo-soprano, it is yet lighter than the
+contralto. Pure contralto voices are so rare that many mezzo-contralto
+singers appear as exponents of contralto music, and by paying chief
+attention to the lower register of their voices, they become fair
+imitations, and more than passable substitutes, for the real article.
+The possessor of this voice must be guided by the advice of a good
+teacher as to the direction in which her voice should be trained.
+Sometimes the natural quality of the voice renders it advisable to
+attempt rivalry with the mezzo-soprano, rather than with the contralto;
+sometimes the reverse. It is a question for decision by a competent
+adviser in each individual case, and therefore I shall not attempt to
+lay down any decided rule, except my oft-repeated one, "GO TO A MASTER,
+AND A FIRST RATE-ONE,"--a point on which I shall have more to say
+further on. How impossible it is to lay down rules for a mezzo-contralto
+is shown by the fact that an eminent living "mezzo-contralto" is gladly
+accepted on our opera stage as a leading contralto, and yet succeeds
+admirably in such a part as Rossini wrote for a mezzo-soprano of the
+most florid kind--_Rosina_ in "_Il Barbiere_."
+
+
+=Contralto.=--The quality of a true contralto voice is so peculiar that it
+is impossible to mistake it for any other voice, although other voices
+may be mistaken for it. Of course, there are exceptional cases in which
+the contralto and mezzo-contralto are combined in one voice: the lower
+range being of full and pure contralto quality, while instead of the
+somewhat limited upper notes of the contralto, a rich mezzo-contralto
+range of notes may develop themselves; and in such a case careful
+training will be able to soften these two into each other, so that a
+complete voice of peculiar charm and great usefulness will result. But
+such cases, if not rare, are certainly the exception and not the rule,
+the deep and powerfully resonant tone of the true contralto being
+comparatively seldom met with. There is generally an awkward break
+between the low B and the D above it in this voice, and E flat or E
+are the highest notes within reach of the average contralto. Voices of
+this class are better adapted for a species of ballads, for solemn
+declamation, or music of a calm and flowing character, than for
+elaborate execution or lively melodies. But here again exceptions must
+be made in favour of those who have the physical means, as well as the
+artistic skill, to study such music as that of the _Page_ in "_Les
+Huguenots_," _Arsace_ in "_Semiramide_," or "_La Cenerentola_." For an
+average English contralto, however, the best line of study is in good
+songs and ballads, and, chief of all, oratorio music.
+
+
+=Alto.=--The alto, or counter-tenor voice, is said by a well-known English
+alto singer to be "simply a development of the _falsetto_--generally the
+_falsetto_ of an inferior bass voice." It is said to be almost peculiar
+to English singers, and to that fact is ascribed its extensive and
+effective use in the fine works of the English Cathedral School of
+composers. Of course, in a voice which is so artificial, there must be
+expected a worse "break" than usual--the break in this case being the
+point below which the falsetto cannot be extended, and where the natural
+"chest" quality of tone has to be used. This break generally lies near
+the same place as the contralto break--if anything, rather higher--say
+between C and E in the middle of the voice. The effective notes of an
+alto usually lie in the octave of B or B flat, and the repertoire of
+music for which this voice is suited is comparatively limited. That
+repertoire, however, includes the greater number of oratorios, a good
+deal of fine old Italian music, and a few old English songs; while a
+singer of cleverness and cultivation will find many ballads which he may
+make his own by the help of transposition and style of delivery.
+
+Great pains must be taken by the possessor of an alto voice in the
+formation and production of a good tone. The voice must be made to sound
+as _natural_ as possible; and, if necessary, power must unhesitatingly
+be sacrificed to sweetness. There is great danger of producing a harsh,
+reedy, or nasal tone, which, to the hearer, is simply distressing or
+offensive.
+
+Above all, let him be content to develop his own means, and to keep to
+music suited to or written for his voice. A good alto will make no
+effect, and will do his voice and style harm, if he "poaches on the
+preserves" of other voices--tenors, for instance, or basses--(singing
+the songs of the latter an octave higher). I once heard an alto--a fair
+singer so long as he stuck to his own work--make an absurd exhibition of
+himself by attempting the great song "Love Sounds the Alarm," in "_Acis
+and Galatea_," at a public concert!
+
+Let him also beware of the snare of contralto music. The alto in a man
+is totally distinct from the contralto in a woman. The tone is utterly
+different--the best notes of the one are certainly not the best notes of
+the other; and although in certain cases a contralto may sing with good
+effect music written for a male alto (_e.g._ in some oratorios), yet the
+converse is scarcely ever true. The low notes, which are so fine in a
+contralto, and so unlike any other tone except perhaps a few notes of
+some tenors, are utterly wanting in charm, and generally in power, in a
+male alto; while the sweet and ringing middle notes of the latter are
+far more effective in alto music than the (frequently) weak and
+uncertain middle notes of a contralto. Choose your music as you name
+your voice, by the quality of tone you can produce, and not by the range
+of notes.
+
+
+=Tenore-Leggiero.=--The _tenore-leggiero_ or "light tenor," is the male
+voice corresponding to the female soprano; it is perhaps the most
+delicate and difficult to manage of all human voices. In the present
+day, when fashion is all in favour of noise, it is difficult for any but
+the strong-minded to stand firm against the tendency to shout and bawl,
+which appears to be the highest aim of many singers, and the highest
+admiration of most audiences. Now for a light tenor to attempt this
+style of singing is simply suggestive of the old fable of the frog who
+tried to make himself as big as the bull, and burst in the attempt.
+There is a modern school of singing which, though it may be suitable
+enough for heavy voices such as basses and robust tenors, is fatal to
+light and delicate voices. The style of singing, and of music to be
+sung, by this voice, is quite different from that appropriate to strong
+and full organs; and, if you are the possessor of a light tenor, you
+must at once rid yourself of the common amateur fancy (a fancy, too, by
+no means confined to amateurs) that you must imitate a certain
+ever-popular living tenor, whose name has passed almost into a proverb
+as typical of the perfection of English singing. You _cannot_ be a
+"Reeves" or a "Braham," therefore it is only waste of time and strength
+for you to try. But there is a great deal of music which neither a
+"Reeves" nor a "Braham" could sing, which is well within your reach; and
+more than that, there is a great deal of excellent music which, though
+you cannot sing it _like_ them, you may render very effective in a
+totally different style. Very often a _pianissimo_ is quite as
+expressive as a _fortissimo_, and grace and sweetness are frequently an
+excellent substitute for power and force. You must be content to
+recognize that the latter are out of your reach, and that the effects
+which you can produce are to be attained by other means.
+
+However, while assuring you that power and force are not given to you, I
+do not mean to say that voices of your class need be at all inaudible in
+a space however large. The tone of a light tenor is generally clear,
+resonant, and penetrating; sometimes there is a metallic ring about it
+which is extremely pretty, if not forced. I have heard a light tenor,
+singing at the back of the Covent Garden stage, send his voice clearly
+out into the great theatre, with apparently more ease than his "robust"
+friend, who was shortly afterwards vociferating at the footlights.
+
+A light tenor must be careful not to force up the lower register of his
+voice beyond its natural and easy limit. The charm of the voice is in
+the perfect blending together of the lower, middle, and upper registers,
+and to do this the upper notes of each register should be equally at
+command, as the upper notes of that register or the lower notes of the
+one above it. In order to attain this, the change from one register to
+another should generally be made considerably lower than the place where
+the real "break" in the voice comes. For instance, supposing the "break"
+to be on E flat, the singer should be able to change his register as
+low as B or B flat, and to take all the notes between those two
+places, either in the upper or lower register, with equal effect.
+
+In voices of this character there is often one note which requires to be
+_made_--_i.e._, which is so naturally defective in tone and quality that
+it can only be produced effectively by imitating as nearly as possible
+the quality of the register above or below it. This note is generally E,
+F, F#, or (sometimes) G, between the middle and upper registers; and if
+you find that you unfortunately have such a refractory note, remember
+not to try and force the tone of it from the next note above or below;
+_e.g._, if your bad note is F, do not try to improve it by singing E
+well and then passing on to the F; but try and form the note from the
+fifth above or below (whichever it happens to resemble most in tone).
+Rounden the refractory note--give it a full tone in practising, and
+produce it well from the chest, letting the sound reverberate from the
+centre of the roof of the mouth--neither too far back towards the
+throat, nor too much on the teeth. Your teacher, if he knows his
+business, will soon put you into the way of this. Voices vary so much
+that these very general remarks must suffice here; but each voice, if it
+has its peculiar difficulties, has also, doubtless, its peculiar charm;
+and for light tenors, rich in both charms and difficulties, the rule is
+all-important: Do not try to imitate anybody else, but let your aim be
+to do the best that can be done with such natural gifts as you may have,
+aided by the best training that you can procure for them.
+
+
+=Tenore-Robusto.=--The robust or strong tenor is the male voice
+corresponding to the mezzo-soprano of a female. It is not an uncommon
+voice, but is rarely met with in anything like perfection. A robust
+tenor voice of large compass and round full tone is a treasure of the
+utmost value. The fact is, that too frequently the possessor of a good
+voice of this kind, instead of taking care of it and training it for the
+future, begins using it too soon, strains and forces it into coarseness,
+and spoils it for ever. People do not realize that a voice may be strong
+in quality and powerful in tone, and yet in itself be an excessively
+delicate thing to keep in order.
+
+Moreover, voices of this kind in their youth frequently resemble
+barytones, and their owners, fired with ambition to rival some popular
+barytone singer, mistake their vocation, and shout and bellow on the
+very part of the voice--the upper "chest" register--which requires the
+tenderest nursing to fit it for future difficulties. Consequently, when
+the voice develops with age, and the singer finds that barytone work is
+too heavy for the lower part of the voice, and that he can without much
+difficulty extend his compass beyond the barytone limits, he discovers
+that what he has been using as the top of his voice is nearer the middle
+of it, and that the mode of using those notes which he has practised is
+excessively difficult, if not impossible, with those which now lie above
+them. The result is either the creation of a very awkward "break," which
+even time and practice can never entirely remove, or else (and this is a
+commoner case) the same process of forcing which has been employed
+hitherto is applied to the upper notes, as far as strength can take it!
+This is the reason why so many tenor singers are utterly unable to
+produce the real tenor "tone," and sound like barytones forced up to a
+higher compass. There is no sweetness in the upper notes so
+produced--nothing but force and noise; while the hapless perpetrator of
+the howls which represent high notes turns scarlet in the face, and
+quivers all over with his exertions. I therefore give to tenors of this
+class exactly the same warning that I gave to soprani:--Do not ignore
+the fact that you have three, or at all events two, distinct registers
+of the voice, the (so-called) "chest," "throat," and "head." Do not
+suppose, when you hear a great singer produce on a high note exactly the
+same quality of tone as he produced on a low one, that he did it exactly
+the same way, or "got it from the same place," as some people say. The
+perfection of his training and the diligence of his practice have
+enabled him to assimilate the quality of one register to that of another
+so completely as to deceive your ear. The proof that this is true may be
+found in inspecting a great deal of music written for and sung by the
+most famous operatic tenors of the past--the singers of that pure
+Italian school of which so few disciples now remain.
+
+There are notes and passages in that music which no "chest" register
+could by any physical possibility execute, but some of which have been
+sung within the recollection even of the "rising generation" with all
+the effect intended, and with the very tone that critical slang calls
+"chest notes," (simply because it so closely resembles the tone of chest
+notes that few, if any, can detect that they are differently produced
+from the low notes.)
+
+For obvious reasons I abstain from mentioning the names of any living
+singers, but I can name one, not very long since dead, who attained the
+highest reputation here as a _tenore di forza_--whose "chest notes" were
+chronicled by the newspaper critics, and were the envy of aspiring
+youths--and yet who has ever been heard distinctly to deny that he ever
+produced those notes in the same way as the lower ones, and to laugh at
+the idea that such a thing was possible; and this was Mongini.
+
+I have entered into this at some length because it is a point which is
+more and more ignored by the singers and teachers of this generation. I
+might almost say that a school of singing exists the whole aim of which
+is to abolish the natural upper part of the voice, in order to stretch
+and force the one lower register up beyond its natural compass. I do not
+deny that in certain cases a voice results from this treatment which is
+powerful, effective, and capable of executing a good deal of music with
+much success and satisfaction to the performer; but for one case where
+this treatment so far succeeds, it fails in twenty to produce a voice
+both pleasing and useful; it is, moreover, in singers trained on this
+method that we most commonly hear the odious (and involuntary) trembling
+of the upper notes commonly called the _vibrato_.
+
+Therefore, to sum up those who find, when their voices begin to form,
+that the natural quality of their voice is lighter than that of a bass,
+had better make up their minds at once to give the voice fair play, and
+let it alone for a time; then consult a good master, or one really
+experienced in hearing singers, as to what the future of the voice is to
+be. It is by no means easy always to decide at that early period whether
+the permanent quality of the voice will be tenor or barytone, and
+therefore it is folly to try and settle the question for yourself by
+singing, in untaught style, music which may prove to have been all along
+unsuited to you. Your patience in waiting till the voice really declares
+itself will amply repay you afterwards by the absence of the
+difficulties which too early a use of the voice would have created for
+you to overcome.
+
+
+=Barytone and Basso-Cantante.=--The barytone voice is thus described in
+Stainer and Barrett's "Dictionary of Musical Terms:" "A voice of fuller
+quality than a tenor, and lighter than a bass, having a compass partly
+included in both.... This voice has only been distinguished by name as
+being of a separate character within the present century. Early writers
+indicate its existence by the use of its special clef. The term barytone
+is unmeaning unless it be looked upon as a corruption of barytenor; but
+it is quite possible it was borrowed from the instrument barytone or
+bardone, which occupied a place between the tenor and bass viols."
+
+The derivation of the name from "barytenor" is slightly absurd,
+considering that half that extraordinary word is Greek and the other
+half Latin; whereas the name barytone is a Greek word, used by
+Aristotle, and meaning "deep-sounding."
+
+The distinctive character which this voice has assumed within the
+present century is due, I believe, to the great change in the pitch of
+musical instruments which has taken place. In the last century the
+pitch was so much lower than that at present in use, that a "high
+barytone" was much the same as a "robust tenor." Consequently, music was
+not written exclusively for the barytone voice, its existence as a
+separate class of voice not being sufficiently recognized. Gradually, as
+the pitch was raised, the barytone separated itself clearly from other
+voices, and has now a repertoire of music and a style of singing of its
+own; and instead of appropriating tenor music, it, if anything, has
+stolen away some of the property of the bass; for the raising of the
+pitch which placed tenor music beyond the reach of a barytone has also
+rendered a good deal of music originally written for a bass far more
+suitable for a barytone, or at all events for a basso-cantante. I am
+well aware that by many musicians the basso-cantante is identified with
+the barytone. The distinction is so slight that it is not worth while to
+quarrel over names; but that the two voices are distinct I am persuaded.
+The basso-cantante is of fuller and rounder quality than the barytone
+proper; less flexible, less metallic in tone, and generally rather lower
+in compass. But the method of using both voices is the same, and for all
+purposes of amateur singers no distinction need be insisted upon.
+Professionals, however, who have to deal with heavy work on a large
+scale, will soon find that there is a good range of music more suited to
+the rich voice of greater volume and less flexibility (which I
+distinguished as the basso-cantante) than to the bright, flexible voice
+which has something of the tone of a full "tenore-robusto," and which is
+the barytone proper. Neither of these voices is much troubled with a
+"break," although there is a perceptible difference between the natural
+quality of the lower and upper octaves of the voice when quite
+uncultivated. This difference, however, which makes itself felt in the
+region of these notes, is got rid of in practice without any of the same
+difficulty which is encountered by tenors or contralti in managing the
+decided breaks in their voices. The possessors of barytone voices may
+therefore be looked upon as having comparatively "easy times of it."
+There is a large repertoire of music at their disposal, including much
+of the most popular ballad music of this century and the last; the voice
+is generally a favourite with an audience; the style of barytone singing
+is undisputed, and the singer will not find himself violently criticised
+by the partizans of a rival school of singing to that in which he
+himself has been trained, which is inevitably the fate of tenors!
+
+[Music: F3 G3 A3]
+
+Only let him avoid the temptation to shout, and to sing up to the very
+top of his compass at full pitch. Unfortunately, an English audience
+does like a noise, and appreciates plenty more than beauty of tone. It
+is tolerably easy for a barytone to be a showy singer, and therein lies
+the greatest danger to his chance of ever being a really good one. He
+must be content to go through his training quite as self-denyingly and
+perseveringly as any one else who is gifted with fewer natural
+advantages.
+
+
+=Bass.=--Of the bass voice less need be said here, not because it is a
+less important voice than any of the others, but because it is more
+generally known and better understood. A perfectly pure bass voice is,
+however, a rare thing. This voice has no upper register, properly
+speaking; the whole voice consisting of "chest" notes, and not admitting
+of even the process of developing upper notes of extraordinary quality,
+which is part of the training of a barytone or a basso-cantante. Power
+and richness are the chief qualities of charm in a bass, while
+flexibility and true intonation are the qualities most rarely found in
+that voice. The young singer who finds that he certainly is not meant by
+nature for a tenor, and also that with all his efforts the upper notes
+of a barytone are quite out of his reach, need not be discouraged by any
+lightness or thinness of quality in his voice from the hope that he may
+develop into a good bass. The full and rich quality of this voice is
+later in showing itself than is the case with any other voice, and the
+young singer must be content to study for some time with the compass of
+a bass and the quality of a kind of barytone, till Nature puts him in
+full possession of his powers. Only he must study bass music, and not
+try, because his voice is of barytone quality, to sing barytone music.
+Let him, on the contrary, avoid trying to extend the compass of his
+voice in the upper notes, and give his best attention to the lower ones.
+The upper ones will be well within his command in time, and if he will
+be content to let them alone at first, he may become a truly "celebrated
+bass;" but, if he persists in shouting at them now, he will never have
+anything but coarse upper tones, only fit to be heard behind a
+costermonger's barrow, or in "comic" songs at the Music Halls.
+
+
+=Buffo.=--The last remark reminds me that I have said nothing about a
+class of bass singers very useful in certain Italian and French
+operas--the _buffo_, or comic bass. The development of voice with these
+singers is of less consequence than the study of a peculiar style, a
+good deal of the point of their songs consisting in the entire
+elimination of anything like musical tone from many notes and passages.
+A clever and good buffo singer may very likely be able to sing other
+music well, but the style is so entirely dramatic and so utterly out of
+place anywhere except on the stage, that no amateur should ever attempt
+it, and no professional should appear _in a concert-room_ as the
+exponent of such music. Therefore, for those who wish to sing, any
+remarks on the peculiarities of a buffo bass would be superfluous; those
+who wish to study that line as a profession, for stage work, must learn
+all that they need from a regular dramatic teacher; while those who wish
+to execute English "comic" songs, may spare themselves any anxiety as to
+their voices: if they have any voice naturally, "comic" singing will
+soon destroy its charm, and that will not matter to them, for the last
+thing necessary to sing a "comic" song is the possession of a voice of
+any kind. Therefore, if you have a bass (or any other voice, indeed),
+avoid "comic" songs, and leave the "buffo" business to those who can do
+nothing better.
+
+
+=Qualities of Voice, Good and Bad.=--It may not be unwelcome to the
+student to have pointed out to him those qualities of voice which are to
+be aimed at or cultivated, and also those which are to be avoided or
+overcome.
+
+The charms of a voice are found among the following qualities:
+clearness, sweetness, evenness, flexibility, power, extent of compass,
+variety, brilliancy, firmness, persuasiveness.[1]
+
+[1] It used to be said of Rubini that "he had tears in his voice."
+
+On the opposite side must be ranked roughness, huskiness, feebleness (or
+want of power), shrillness (or want of depth), hardness and want of
+flexibility, dulness, or want of "ring," &c.
+
+It is, of course, impossible for any one voice to unite in itself all
+these merits or all these defects; and you cannot give yourself merits
+which Nature has withheld; but you may marvellously improve what natural
+merits you have, and do wonders in overcoming any difficulties which
+Nature has placed in your way.
+
+
+
+
+ON INSTRUCTION, MASTERS, AND "SINGING TUTORS."
+
+
+The voice, and how to use it, is a subject which has troubled many
+minds, and no doubt this will continue to be the case; but the difficult
+problem will not be solved by running to pettifogging teachers, who
+advertise to teach all that is known of singing, and a little more, in
+twelve easy lessons, without previous knowledge or practice at home, for
+the small fee of one guinea! Let it be stated once for all: singing
+cannot be taught in twelve easy lessons, and can scarcely be acquired in
+one hundred very severe lessons. Therefore distrust at once any one who
+holds out so tempting a bait to you; remember that there is no "royal
+road" to singing, any more than there is to the acquirement of any other
+art; and the person who tells you that he can teach you to do without
+trouble that which costs great artists the study of a lifetime,
+proclaims himself, _ipso facto_, to be a humbug.
+
+
+=Schools of Singing.=--There are several so-called Schools of Singing.
+There is a French School, which for any language but French is bad, and
+which very seldom turns out a pleasing singer. There is a German School,
+which is worse, being simply the production of coarse noise. Some people
+say that there is an English School. I hope there may be some day, but
+at present its existence is rather doubtful, unless those who talk of an
+English school of singing mean the Cathedral style--which for solo work
+is detestable--or the old school of Oratorio singing, with its
+Handelian traditions, which was not an English, but an Italian, and the
+best Italian, school.
+
+In fact, there is but one school of singing in the world, and that is
+the Italian. Whatever language you wish to sing in, whatever style of
+music you wish to study principally, you must train your voice, produce
+it, and learn to use it in the Italian method, if you hope ever to
+deserve the name of a singer.
+
+
+=Masters.=--Of course, in a work of this sort, it is impossible, and
+would be wrong if it were possible, to mention the names of living
+teachers: therefore I can only give general hints. If possible, study
+only under a master whom you know to have lived in Italy, and to have
+studied there for some years under some good master or in some good
+Conservatoire--Naples, Milan, and Florence generally supply the best.
+Possibly, for an English singer, an English master _who fulfils these
+conditions_ may be better than even an Italian, as he should understand
+better the peculiarities of English voices and temperaments, and would
+know at once where the chief difficulties would lie. Let me, however,
+correct a popular error. A good singer is not necessarily a good
+teacher, nor is it necessary for a first-class teacher to be able to
+sing at all. Nor need you necessarily look for your master among
+foreigners with fine sounding names. There are two or three good
+teachers of singing in this country who are foreigners; but there is
+also some native talent equally capable of teaching singing, as it is
+accepted in this country at the present time. These know the English
+style better than any foreigner can teach it, and after all, style is
+the chief consideration.
+
+
+=Institutions.=--As we have no real English School of singing, it is
+perhaps fortunate that we have no Conservatoire. There are, however,
+Institutions accessible to those who cannot afford to have masters at
+home or to place themselves under a private teacher. Of these, the chief
+is the Royal Academy of Music, in Tenterden Street, Hanover Square.
+There is also the National Training School of Music, the London Academy
+of Music, also the Guildhall School, and there is Trinity College,
+London, where I believe singing lessons may also be obtained. To all
+these establishments singing masters, more or less good, are attached,
+and it is open to any one to obtain admission to the concerts given from
+time to time at the institutions themselves, and to form some kind of
+opinion as to the teachers from the performances of the pupils. It would
+be well for an intending student to do this, for of course at any
+institution where there are several professors, one might suit you and
+another might not; it is even conceivable that one professor might do
+all for you that you could possibly require, while another professor
+might be an ignorant charlatan. Therefore, hear their pupils and judge
+for yourself, making inquiries at the same time of musical people who
+are qualified to express an opinion on singing. I must not, however,
+withhold from my readers my conviction that private lessons are better
+and more effectual than those taken in schools and academies. The terms
+at these public institutions are such that they preclude the possibility
+of more than twenty or thirty minutes being devoted to each pupil, and
+that is _not_ a sufficient time to bestow upon a lesson. Forty-five or
+sixty minutes are needed to give a good lesson; and the pupil who pays
+fifteen shillings or a guinea for this, does a wiser thing than the one
+who pays a fourth of that sum for, say, twenty minutes' attention.
+
+=A First Opinion.=--The actual successful teachers of singing in London
+may be counted on the fingers of one hand, and those who are qualified
+to teach singing, but who are not specially successful, may be found on
+the remaining five fingers. Each of these professors would probably not
+take less than one guinea the lesson, and it would, honestly, be far
+cheaper in the long run to pay this sum for one good lesson in singing
+than it would be to have fifty lessons founded upon wrong principles,
+even for nothing. And for this reason: teachers of this calibre will not
+trouble themselves about you or your guineas unless you have a promising
+voice, some general musical talent, and show signs of becoming, to some
+degree, a credit to your _teacher_, for to these men guinea pupils are
+very plentiful, and it is only reasonable that a guinea from a clever
+pupil should be worth considerably more to a sensitive artist than the
+same amount from a fool. Therefore, a first opinion from one such
+teacher may save your spending money, time, and energy on a pursuit in
+which you can never succeed.
+
+
+=Bad Lessons.=--Never take a bad singing lesson till you know how to sing.
+You may then do so (if you care to), and learn the "how not to do it" of
+singing. It is commonly supposed that the earliest singing lessons may
+be administered by any "dabbler," and the last touches given afterwards
+by a "finishing master." Never was there a greater error. Pay your
+guineas first, and your shillings afterwards. If you cannot afford to
+have good instruction in beginning to sing, you will be still less able
+to take it afterwards, for artistic reasons. Remember that every bad
+singing lesson which you take hardens old faults and creates new ones,
+and, moreover, takes you farther and farther away from your original
+starting-point. So, when you begin under the right man and the right
+method, you have to _undo_ all this that you have expended toil and
+money to acquire.
+
+
+=Bad Teachers.=--It is astonishing how much money is wasted by people who
+want to sing, through not going at once to the fountain-head for the
+necessary training. Because a man is a musician many people conclude
+that he must necessarily be able to teach singing! Such an idea is
+scarcely less monstrous than that of a man being a good physician and
+consequently competent to amputate a limb, or to take out and reset an
+eye. Do not follow this "multitude to do evil." Be as careful in
+inquiring about your singing master as you would be about your doctor.
+Both in London and in the country there are "professors" whose knowledge
+of singing stops at professing--the class of people who (very likely)
+keep a music-shop, tune your piano, play polkas and waltzes for your
+evening parties, and have a brass plate on their doors to this effect:
+
+MR. HANDEL MOSCHELES IGNAZIO JONES, PROFESSOR OF THE PIANOFORTE,
+HARMONY, THE VIOLIN, ITALIAN, AND SINGING.
+
+All honourable professions, no doubt; but to profess to combine them all
+is dishonourable, and insulting to the common sense of those who know
+anything of any one of the subjects professed. A singing master, if he
+is worth anything, must be a man of one trade--singing. For the teaching
+of singing is a "specialty," and the man who can teach it _properly_ is
+not likely to be a man of all (musical) work.
+
+
+=Books of Exercises, &c.=--There are numerous "Singing Tutors" published,
+giving rules, exercises, _solfeggi_, &c. Many of these are excellent,
+and some nearly perfect. But all alike are useless or worse than useless
+to the tyro, without a master. You might as well suppose that a child
+could learn to be a carpenter by having some fine wood and a box of good
+tools.
+
+I have before observed that voices vary as faces do; no two are exactly
+alike, each voice having its peculiar merit and its peculiar defect.
+Now, a good master will treat each voice on its own merit, and not place
+it at first on the Procrustean bed of a book of rules and exercises. He
+will probably write down his own exercises expressly for his pupil, and
+if not that, he will select certain exercises from the book, and forbid
+others to be attempted for a time. You must also let your master select
+such a book for you, so that you may have one in which the rules do not
+contradict those which he has already given you verbally, or else you
+will be perplexed with a multitude of counsellors.
+
+It is not till a certain stage in singing has been reached, under the
+training of a master, that any book of exercises can be of service to
+you. When that stage is reached, you will find such a work of great use
+in a part of your labours. Among such books may be named as especially
+good,--Concone's Exercises, Righini's, Guercia's, Nava's, Lablache's,
+and Lamperti's; but, again I say, do not choose for yourself. There are
+some excellent rules, as well as some good exercises, in an old work of
+the kind by Crivelli, and also in "Singing Exemplified," a work by T.
+Cooke. If you can meet with these, secure them--although I fear they may
+be long since out of print--for in the literature of singing the _new_
+is by no means certain to excel what was written in the days of our best
+composers and singers of operas and oratorios.
+
+
+
+
+ON THE PRACTICE OF SINGING.
+
+
+Remember that the voice is of all instruments the most difficult one to
+study, and to bring perfectly under control, especially for the first
+year or two. Do not attempt to cultivate it with the view to
+professional remuneration, unless you can set apart at least two hours
+daily for most careful study, and can also afford to wait at least eight
+or ten years for any _substantial_ pecuniary reward for your labours.
+
+
+=Individuality.=--It is of great importance to bear in mind that no two
+voices are exactly alike. To some singers is given quality of voice, to
+others quantity. And for each alike, steady, well-aimed, and
+well-ordered practice is indispensable. But, whatever you sing ought,
+like your voice, to have some touch of individuality: the song should
+seem to come naturally from you, and to be the spontaneous expression of
+your thoughts. At the same time you must not lose sight of the
+all-important guide which you have in the composer's intentions and
+wishes. Remember that a small and delicate voice may be made to go as
+far as, if not farther than, a voice of large volume and long compass.
+By judicious management, by touching expression of the softer feelings,
+by careful selection of music to be performed, the obstacles which are
+placed in a singer's way by want of power may be effectually removed,
+because the audience will irresistibly feel the influence of the
+singer's individuality. The difficulties of the singer who has the gift
+of quantity rather than quality of voice, are in some respects greater,
+because the necessity for thus impressing on his audience a sense of his
+own individuality is not so strongly forced on him by circumstances. Not
+only has he to labour to attain a good quality of tone, but he must also
+resist the temptation to fancy that "might is right," and that the
+"sensation" caused by a powerful voice is all that he need aim at. And
+here let me say, the way to get quality is to listen as often as
+possible to some leading singer of your own kind of voice. Try and
+imitate his tone; but above all practise with a medium tone--a
+_mezzo-voce_--listen for the beauty in your tone, and think of what you
+are doing when practising.
+
+
+=Perseverance.=--The surest means of improving and strengthening the voice
+is by constantly exercising and practising it. Just as the muscles and
+fibres of the legs of a pedestrian are increased and made capable of
+great exertion by careful training, so is it with the nerves and muscles
+of the throat. With judicious training, the compass of the voice is
+extended, its quality is improved, its tones grow rounder and firmer;
+and, if the master is a good one, and the pupil is willing to study
+patiently for some time, never resting content, but always aiming at
+further progress as year succeeds year, he may not unreasonably hope to
+attain a well-earned place in his profession, and its attendant reward.
+
+
+=Facial Expression.=--A looking-glass should form a part of the furniture
+of a singing student's study, for it is most important to watch the
+face--its features and expressions--when singing; and it is none the
+less useful for insuring the constant right position of the mouth. In
+respect to the facial expression when singing, there is a very great
+tendency to look too serious, too severe, and too hard when earnestly
+studying. Now, a cheerful and good-humoured expression does not
+necessarily imply carelessness, and it is far more agreeable to the
+audience than an anxious and troubled look. Some people look quite
+savage when singing; and when rendering passages of love and tenderness,
+their features are far more indicative of rage, revenge, and murder!
+And this very common fault is generally quite an unconscious habit. It
+is only to be remedied by constant care, and to this end practice before
+a looking-glass will be found very helpful.
+
+
+=Position of the Body.=--How to stand when singing has been explained by a
+great number of writers on the subject, and most of the explanations
+given have been chiefly remarkable as being entirely erroneous and
+false. The body should not be kept in a perfectly upright position, as
+it is (too popularly) believed that it should. The best position is when
+the body is well collected, with its chief weight upon the right leg and
+foot, with the head gently leaning forward, and the arms and, indeed,
+the whole carriage disposed in that manner which would indicate to the
+audience a sort of desire on your part to _persuade_ them and bring them
+over to your feelings and sentiments. When the right leg begins to tire
+with the weight of the body, the left leg can take its duty, when the
+right may be gracefully drawn back as in dancing. The best lesson on
+this subject, however, can be gleaned by carefully watching the _pose_
+of a good Italian singer during singing.
+
+
+=Self-Accompaniment.=--A sitting position is a very bad one in which to
+practise. All singing should be done in a standing position, and the
+student is strongly urged to adhere to this rule. Instead of sitting at
+the pianoforte, and accompanying an exercise or "solfeggio," it is far
+better to sound the first note of each passage therein, and master the
+same without any accompaniment. The advantages of this mode of
+practising must be obvious; but one of the most important is, that the
+attention is not divided between the pianoforte and the voice, while it
+leaves the singer free to give all his attention and care to the
+_production_ of the notes which he is endeavouring to sing artistically.
+
+
+=Position of the Arms.=--I would urge upon the student to hold a piece of
+music in his hands while he practises. There is a place for the hands
+when singing in public; but this place is neither the trouser-pockets,
+nor on the hips, nor behind the back, nor across the chest, but rather
+that position which is secured by _leisurely_ holding the music-sheet,
+not as if actually singing therefrom, but as though it were merely
+intended for reference, if required. This easy attitude not only gives
+the hands and arms their legitimate position, but also lends a grace and
+freedom to other parts of the body, all which points must be attended to
+in singing. Remember to keep the arms well away from the body. Some
+singers stick the elbows into the waist, as though to give support;
+instead of doing which, they hinder the free action of the lungs,
+besides giving an awkward look to the whole figure.
+
+
+=Position of the Hands.=--Do not let your hands hang down, but keep them
+well before you, in some position which allows of your turning the palms
+uppermost. In this way you (as it were) lock the joints of the
+shoulders, and put a check on the tendency to raise the shoulders, which
+is an invariable consequence of taking breath wrongly. Keep your
+shoulders well back, your elbows depressed, and your hands with the
+palms uppermost, and you will find it difficult, if not impossible, to
+indulge in the vice of heaving the chest and shoulders up and down, like
+the piston of a steam-engine!
+
+
+=Position of the Throat.=--One of the first conditions of singing well is
+to keep the throat open. To have the throat in its proper position the
+tongue must be kept down, and hollowed like the bowl of a spoon, its
+root being well depressed. Nor must the throat ever be allowed to screw
+itself up small, a common failing of many singers whenever they approach
+a high note. Most of my readers have yawned once or twice in their
+lives: if they will do it once more, in front of their looking-glass,
+and watch the inside of the mouth as they yawn, they will see and feel
+the exact position in which the throat should be during good singing. It
+will be useful to repeat this proceeding until the mind is thoroughly
+impressed and the memory familiarized with the feeling of the mouth and
+throat in this, the correct position for singing.
+
+
+=Position of the Throat, &c., in Soft Singing.=--When singing softly, or
+_piano_, as it is called, take great pains to keep your throat as open
+as you would for singing loudly, leaving it entirely to the mouth and
+lips to keep the tone soft, yet steady and firm. Do not forget, too,
+that in soft singing it is a great advantage to keep the mouth in a
+smiling position.
+
+
+=Position of the Tongue.=--The tongue, while being so useful, is
+nevertheless a very unruly member in singing. It has so great a tendency
+to get out of its place. Its legitimate office is to rest quite flat, or
+even hollow, in the bottom of the mouth, with its root well down, as
+this keeps the throat-passage clear, and with the tip of it just
+touching the lower teeth. Get a looking-glass, and continually watch the
+position of the tongue. Never allow it to roll up or turn about when
+singing, or the effect produced will be scarcely worth repeating. The
+tongue should occupy the least possible space in the mouth, and this is
+the case when the directions here given are carried out.
+
+
+=Position of the Larynx.=--The larynx, or upper part of the wind-pipe,
+plays a most important part in singing. Upon it depends all the beauty,
+and quality, and richness of the voice. The singer will do well to
+constantly think about the larynx, to watch it, to feel that it is well
+down below the mouth before commencing the first note of a song, which
+note must, under such circumstances, be rich, round, and penetrating.
+Then the larynx must never be allowed to rise above this fixed point. It
+may be deepened, and must be, for the higher notes, but it must never
+ascend, or nearly approach the roof of the mouth, or the sound-passage
+is closed, and the sounds become at once impure, vitiated, and without
+body or foundation.
+
+Try and guard against the bad habit of pushing forward the chin when
+singing, otherwise the tone cannot fail to be faulty. The chin should be
+well down on the chest, and the larynx quite low, to lead to an easy
+and pure production of tone. To be constantly moving both the jaws for
+every note, continually displaces the larynx, impairs the purity of the
+tone, spoils the articulation of the words, and, what is worse than all,
+produces a hideous expression of the features, which latter fault would
+alone be sufficient to prejudice seriously the chances of any singing
+artists. The lower parts of the jaws, not the upper ones, should do the
+work; and when a high passage or note is before the singer, the lower
+parts of the jaws should be exercised to drop as the notes increase in
+height. The singer's face should be controlled, if no other member can
+be so regulated.
+
+
+=Singing in the Head.=--There is, in all beginners, a tendency to sing too
+much in the head, that is, to have the foundation of the tones too high
+up in the throat. This fault is due to the difficulty experienced by
+beginners in keeping the larynx sufficiently below the mouth. The
+fulness of tone, the rich, round, and mellow quality which is so much
+admired in all good singers, is almost entirely owing to the voice being
+pitched low down, and not high up in the throat, towards the back of the
+head (as it _appears_ to be).
+
+A few trials of this will soon convince the student of the vast
+difference in the character and _timbre_ of the tones of these two ways,
+and also of the economy of the plan here recommended, so far as regards
+the wear and tear of the voice in practice.
+
+
+=Throatiness.=--Throatiness, or singing in the throat, is the common enemy
+of all English singers. Our language is the chief cause of this
+disagreeable habit, which we begin to acquire as soon as we learn to
+talk. Still, by diligence, the evil can be cured, and no better plan can
+be followed than to constantly practise singing the vowel-sounds Ah, A,
+E, O, throughout the compass of the voice, taking every possible
+care--and this is the point--never to allow the _tone_ to vary, nor to
+leave the teeth, and not to screw up the throat, especially in high
+notes. It is impossible to produce a "throaty" quality of voice if the
+throat is well open, and the tone is firmly directed, and kept on the
+upper teeth and front of the mouth. On the other hand, if the student
+screws up the throat, rolls the tongue, or practises singing without
+being constantly on the look-out for the "voice on the teeth," the
+result must be a "throatiness," which is most disagreeable to all people
+who have any real knowledge of what singing should be.
+
+
+=Clearing the Throat.=--Singers, good and bad, are often troubled with an
+apparent stoppage in the throat, and this inconvenience seems to be at
+its worst just at that moment when they wish to sing. To displace or to
+cure this stoppage, they begin hacking and coughing ("clearing the
+throat" as it is called), which proceeding, however, only makes bad
+worse for the time being, and finally grows into a habit, till at last
+such people cannot venture to open their mouths without first subjecting
+the throat to a series of these irritating "hacks." A good master will
+soon cure this complaint by refusing to continue the lesson whenever the
+pupil gives way to the bad habit. It is in many cases simply a nervous
+trick, and if the singer will accustom himself to _swallow_ instead of
+coughing, whenever he feels the sensation of which we are speaking, he
+will soon get rid of it. If it results in any case from real weakness of
+the throat, it may be beneficial to gargle three or four times a day
+with moderately strong salt and water, especially before singing. This
+does no harm to the voice, and by bracing and strengthening the muscles
+of the throat renders them more obedient to the singer's will.
+
+
+=High Notes.=--Many people find great difficulty in counting, with any
+degree of certainty, upon the top notes of their register. I know of no
+greater assistance towards bringing these out than that of well
+contracting the mouth and lips at the beginning of the passage in which
+these high notes occur, dropping the lower jaws, and securing a good
+play of the mouth as the highest note is reached, at the same time
+keeping the throat as open as possible, ejecting the sound to the
+audience with as much "lip-force" as can be secured, being careful that
+the tone is safe "on the teeth" before the note is "opened."
+
+
+=The Scale.=--There can be no doubt whatever that the grand groundwork of
+all singing is the diatonic scale. On it is built all the graceful forms
+and figures which belong to the great artist. Yet how few seem to know
+and to appreciate this fact! To excel, the diatonic scale must be
+practised most seriously and assiduously in its plain and simple form;
+nor must it be left until the student can sing every note therein
+purely, without wavering or flutter, and with precision, in the soft,
+medium, and loud voices.
+
+
+=Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano.=--The singer will derive much advantage by
+bearing in mind that the voice has three main gradations which the
+Italians class as the _forte_, the _mezzo di voce_, and the _piano_. The
+management of these three is of vital importance, and the singer should
+certainly practise the scales in all three voices, and have each at
+command for every exercise and passage which he studies.
+
+
+=Tone.=--The tone of the voice must never be vitiated or rendered impure
+from any cause whatever. There is always a danger of this in passages of
+great energy and passion, but it should be remembered that whatever be
+the effect aimed at, it cannot be attained by any means which involves a
+change in the tone of the voice. The first and chief consideration must
+always be to produce a good tone in the right manner. If the tone be not
+good, the singing cannot be agreeable; and if it be not produced in the
+right manner, you have no security that it will be equally good
+throughout the voice, or in passages of all kinds.
+
+
+=Chest, Falsetto, and Head Voice.=--I have already said that there is a
+good deal of confusion existing as to the use of the terms "chest,"
+"falsetto," and "head voice." And this is scarcely to be wondered at,
+seeing that nobody has yet decided _how_ the three qualities of sound
+are produced, while everybody knows that the names are so far
+misleading, in that no sound whatever is really made in the _chest_ or
+in the _head_, but that all are due to the passage of air through the
+larynx, in which are placed the vocal cords upon which the air plays.
+The changes of sound which are spoken of as "chest," "falsetto," and
+"head" voices are due to changes in the position of the larynx and its
+surroundings, and in the action of the vocal cords. What those changes
+are, and how or why they cause the results which we hear, has yet to be
+discovered: there are several theories, but no one has yet ventured to
+claim the certainty of truth for any one of them. There is an excellent
+article on "The Larynx" in Stainer and Barrett's "Dictionary of Musical
+Terms," to which I would refer those who wish to understand these
+various theories. For my present purpose it is sufficient to point out
+that each of the names is an utter misnomer. The "chest" voice is
+probably so called because the vibrations of the notes in that register
+may be distinctly felt in the chest; and because the breath passes
+directly from the chest, as it seems, without any opposition in the
+throat, producing the sound on its way. The "falsetto," or range of
+notes above the chest, is so called (and rightly so) because in that
+register of voice the tone _feigns_, or imitates, the tone of the
+"chest" notes below, although it is certain that the sounds are not
+produced in the same way, for the position of the vocal cords and their
+attendant parts is different, and changes suddenly on the passage of the
+voice from the chest to the upper register. A falsetto, rightly trained
+and used, is one, therefore, which is true to its name, and so well
+imitates the "chest," that the hearer cannot distinguish the "false"
+from the real "chest tone." The "head voice," which many people persist
+in confusing with the falsetto, is so called because to the singer it
+feels as though the notes so produced came from the head. This is due to
+the larynx itself rising up in the throat and approaching the back of
+the head. It comprises, in reality, _all_ that part of the voice which
+lies above the "chest" register, all the lower part of it being shared
+by the "falsetto," exactly as the falsetto shares the greater part of
+the chest register. The falsetto, therefore, belongs to both, and its
+use is to carry, by its power of imitation, the tone of the lower or
+chest register into the upper or head register, so combining them that
+no audible change of quality, or "break," is perceptible.
+
+
+=Scale Practice.=--It cannot be too strongly impressed upon, or too
+frequently pointed out to, the singer (no matter what may be the stage
+of his or her artistic development) how desirable and advantageous it is
+to be constantly singing exercises and solfeggi in preference to songs.
+It is a popular fallacy, especially among amateurs, that the practice of
+scales and intervals should be left behind as soon as possible. Pray do
+not be mistaken. The never-failing daily practice of singing open chords
+in solfeggi, scales, and exercises, is fraught with advantages which
+cannot be gained by the study of yards, or even miles, of song tunes. As
+an instance of how much may be done in the study of scale practice, the
+writer would point out that this particular exercise should not be left
+until the student can sing the diatonic scales throughout the whole
+extent of the voice in one unbroken breath, and with one quality,
+character, and volume of voice. When this point has been reached, its
+peculiar efficacy will be so apparent as not to require any
+recommendation or advice for its daily continuance.
+
+
+=First Exercises.=--This is a book of advice, not of exercises, nor do I
+profess to teach you, but only to point out to you, how you must prepare
+to be taught. I cannot too often repeat that no book by itself can teach
+you singing, and my object is not to supersede a master, but to induce
+you to place yourself under a good one. However, it may happen that
+circumstances of time, place, or pocket prevent your doing so as soon as
+you would wish, and it is far better even to learn from a book what you
+can in the way of rules and exercises, than to go on singing by the
+light of nature, or under a cheap and inefficient master, or working at
+exercises too advanced for a beginner (which is as bad as not working at
+any at all). I therefore give here a few simple but most important
+exercises, which you may work at until you are able to place yourself
+under the care of a good master. Bear in mind, first, all that has
+already been said here about taking your breath, the position of
+standing, the form of your mouth, and place of throat, tongue, teeth,
+&c., and study the following exercises daily say to the extent of thirty
+minutes three times a day, with full attention to all the above points:
+
+[Music: C major scale, beginning at C4, in semibreves]
+
+Sing this fully and firmly. It should be begun and ended with the same
+quality and "thickness" of sound, as suggested by the even line over
+each note. You should be able to hold each note out in one breath for
+twenty seconds without the slightest alteration being perceptible in the
+tone, any more than there would be if it was a note proceeding from an
+organ-pipe. Practise it on each of the following sounds consecutively:
+"A" in "Bard," "A" in "Fate," "E" in "Steel," "I" in "Life," "O" in
+"Pole," "U" in "Rule," prefixing each sound by L, and so singing Lah,
+Lay, Lee, Li, Lo, Loo. In singing this first exercise, which for basses
+and barytones will be, of course, an octave lower, be careful not to
+force the lower notes, and do not seek to get a powerful tone thereupon.
+The tone does not need to be full and heavy on these notes, but rather
+should be a WELL-PRODUCED, light, and thin quality of note. The way to
+proceed is: (1) To inspire the breath from the bottom of the lungs as it
+were--not raising the shoulders. (2) Steady the breath for a second or
+so in the chest while you THINK the note you are about to sing, and
+while you prepare your throat and mouth for singing by lowering the
+larynx and opening the throat. (3) Then begin to sound the note--not
+from the back of the mouth, but from the tip of the tongue and the front
+teeth--thus taking the whole of the tone out of the mouth, which is what
+is required to be done. Sustain the note till you have only a little
+breath left--then finish off in a clean manner, and allow the remaining
+breath to leave the lungs and body in an orderly way.--Repeat the same
+operation for _every_ note, and if you desire to make progress, give a
+minute's attention of this kind to every single note.
+
+[Music: 2--Broken C major triad in semibreves beginning and ending on
+C4, then raising a semitone to continue the pattern.]
+
+and so on, rising by semitones until you come to this:
+
+[Music: Broken G major triad in semibreves beginning and ending on G4.]
+
+which is certainly the highest that you ought to attempt at present.
+
+Exercise No. 2 is a first step towards joining notes, and is another
+difficulty in the matter of _production_. The object to be aimed at is
+to sing the two notes which are bound (or tied) together with the same
+breath, and the same body and quality of tone. To step from C to E, the
+first movement in the exercise is to raise the voice a major third; but
+the student must pass from his mind any notion of raising the throat in
+order to sound the higher third. As the note E is higher than the C, the
+tone of the former must be generated lower in the chest than had been
+the case with the C. The higher the note to be sung, the lower must be
+its generating-point in the chest. This is the only way to OPEN the
+voice, and I need scarcely say that it produces an entirely different
+tone and method than are secured by the common habit of screwing and
+tightening the throat, in proportion as the notes ascend in pitch.
+
+Another good exercise which may be combined with the last-given is the
+following:
+
+[Music: 3--Broken C Major Triad in semibreves beginning and ending on
+C4, followed by a broken F Major Triad in semibreves beginning and
+ending on C4. Broken G minor triad in semibreves beginning and ending on
+C4, followed by a broken A minor triad in semibreves beginning and
+ending on C4.]
+
+This exercise (3) must be sung in the same manner as indicated with No.
+2, care being taken as each note gets higher to pass _under_ the
+preceding note, and not as it were to generate a high note over a lower
+one.
+
+After which you may take this:
+
+[Music: 4--C major arpeggio in semibreves, beginning on C4 and landing
+on C5. C5 is held for six beats prior to descending in crotchets in a C
+major scale, and holding the bottom C4 for four beats.]
+
+but sing it very slowly and deliberately, bearing in mind the production
+of the high notes.
+
+As you begin to get all these notes firm and round, you may take these
+same exercises in D, D flat, and E flat, but be very careful not
+to force the upper notes.
+
+[Music: 5--Interval practice by holding C4 for four beats and slurring
+to D4. After breathing, slur C4 to E4. After breathing, slur C4 to F4.
+After breathing, slur C4 to G4. Continue this pattern until C5 is
+reached. Then, begin on C5 and slur to B4. After breathing, slur from C5
+to A4. Continue this pattern until C4 is reached.]
+
+Exercise 5 is one where the question of the breath and its proper
+management becomes of vital importance. The reader will observe the
+notes are bound together, and the student's attention should be turned
+towards passing from one note to the other, without any appreciable
+difference in the _quality_--I do not say pitch--of the tone. Having
+inspired in the manner already explained, the singer will sound the
+_Do_ with a pure, sympathetic, not harsh or forced sound; and by
+_pressing down_ the breath, will _lift_ the voice on to the _Re_. When
+he has succeeded with the step of a second, he can go on to the step of
+a third, fourth, &c. The care must be to utilize the breath, always
+supporting the tone with the breath. If the sound wavers, then there is
+something wrong with the breath. You are either singing with too little,
+or are forcing the breath.
+
+[Music: 6--Beginning on C4 and holding each note for two beats, go up by
+semitones until E4 is reached and held for four beats. Begin pattern
+again, but begin on D4 flat. Continue until A is reached.]
+
+And so on.
+
+[Music: 7--Beginning on C5 and holding each note for two beats, go down
+by semitones until A4 flat is reached and held for four beats. Begin
+pattern again, but begin on a B4. Continue until G4 flat is reached.]
+
+And so on, descending the scale by semitones.
+
+[Music: 8--In minims, sing C4, E4, G4, C5, B4, G4, F4, D4. Begin the
+pattern again starting a semitone higher on D4 flat.]
+
+Practise No. 8 slowly and steadily, with perfectly even tone throughout,
+without any crescendo or diminuendo.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Let all the above exercises be taken successively, _forte_, _a
+mezzo-voce_, and _piano_, preserving exactly the same amount of tone
+throughout each passage, and holding the notes with the same force with
+which you attack them steadily to the end, not letting them die away.
+The trick of letting notes die away is easily learnt afterwards, but at
+present you have to master the far greater difficulty of holding notes
+firmly with unvarying tone. Practise these exercises on all the
+vowel-sounds already given. All such exercises are of course only
+variations of the diatonic and chromatic scales, so arranged as to
+prepare the voice for executing those scales evenly and perfectly, with
+equality of tone on every note; for till you can sing scales, you are
+not fit to sing songs of any kind.
+
+
+=Duration of Practice.=--Always guard against over-straining and
+over-working the voice. Do not sing or practise for a longer time than
+half an hour without allowing the voice rest for some time. If you have
+three hours at your disposal daily to devote to singing, the most
+economical use of the time is to divide it equally between the morning,
+afternoon, and evening.
+
+
+=Singing in Tune=.--Correct intonation is of the greatest possible
+importance in singing. Every singer should pay especial attention to
+this point. The heavier the voice, the more necessary becomes such
+attention, and therefore contralti and basses are strongly advised to
+lose no time in facing this (to them) considerable difficulty. Deep
+basses, indeed, are rarely perfectly in tune for any long time together,
+and some of the most famous bass singers have left behind them
+recollections of this painful defect. Therefore, whatever be your voice,
+do not take for granted that even the possession of a good ear will
+always ensure your singing in tune. Sometimes excellent singers, and
+good musicians too, will sing out of tune, perfectly aware that they
+are doing so, but, for a time, unable to prevent it from physical
+causes--relaxation of the throat, fatigue, indisposition, &c., under
+which conditions the muscles are unable to obey the will as usual. Do
+not, then, make too light of this matter, because you may think yourself
+quite incapable of singing out of tune; it is at all events wiser to be
+on the safe side. Therefore, never practise (nor sing, if you can help
+it) with a pianoforte which is not well in tune and well "up to pitch."
+And be very constant in practising intervals, such as major and minor
+sixths and sevenths, so as to be able to strike them as perfectly in
+tune and as unvarying in quality as the notes of an organ diapason.
+
+
+=How to Begin.=--Many people never make a good start when beginning to
+sing any piece. Now a very good remedy for a part of this evil is not to
+prepare yourself too soon. Use the bar immediately preceding that in
+which your part commences to gather up your faculties, and, to use a
+common phrase, "to pull yourself together;" then let the muscles of the
+body gently settle down. The ease and freedom acquired by this momentary
+call upon the system is very remarkable; and for the singer especially
+the hint cannot be too often acted upon.
+
+
+=Variety Indispensable.=--An unchanging volume of sound is very soon
+wearying to the ear; and therefore a singer who scarcely ever varies the
+pitch of his voice will find that however loudly he may sing, his
+audience will have a feeling of dissatisfaction, as though they could
+not hear him distinctly--the fact being that their ears, being fatigued
+with the uniformity of the noise, cannot do their proper work, and the
+attention therefore flags. One great secret of being agreeably heard by
+an audience is to vary the body of tone (not the _quality_ of it,
+observe). As a rule singers are left tolerably free to do as they like
+in this respect. Composers of songs rarely give them any help in the
+matter. In fact, nowadays so many people compose "vocal music" without
+knowing anything about the vocal instrument for which they compose, that
+it is not wonderful that they ignore their power of helping the singer
+by properly combining duly marked _forte_, _piano_, and _mezzo-voce_
+passages, so as to ensure a variety of effect. Therefore, in most modern
+music, a singer has to take his own "reading" of a song, and to make it
+as effective as he can by varying the power of his voice. It might even
+be taken as a rule that every _forte_ passage should be succeeded by a
+soft one. The voice should rise and fall, and be varied in its
+inflexions in that agreeable manner which is so marked in good orators
+and dramatic elocutionists.
+
+
+=Chorus Singing.=--If you are studying seriously for solo singing, you
+must discontinue all chorus singing, especially during training. Singing
+in church choirs and choral societies must be abandoned. And this not
+because there is no good to be learned there, but because the little
+good is by no means commensurate with the great amount of harm which is
+acquired along with the good. To enumerate here all the evil habits so
+easily learnt would be impossible. Not the least of them, however, is
+the tendency to shout louder than your neighbour, to use yourself to the
+bad habits of those on each side of you; to produce a bad tone; to
+"chop" the passages instead of phrasing them; to attack notes
+carelessly; to sing coarsely; to depend on others; to get into a
+machine-like regularity of rendering the music. All these evil habits
+are the result of chorus singing; and while many of them are detrimental
+to the voice itself, it may be safely said that any one of these habits
+is fatal to good solo singing.
+
+
+=Humming.=--Some people have a wretched habit of continually humming
+tunes. Pray do not get into this habit of singing unconsciously--than
+which nothing is more prejudicial to the voice. You should never sound a
+note without being perfectly aware of what you are doing, and that it is
+being done in the right manner. The faults acquired by "humming over,"
+as it is called, are of the worst kind, and, moreover, they are far
+sooner acquired than eradicated.
+
+
+=Studying Songs.=--Be careful, in studying a new song, not to waste either
+time or strength by a trifling and superficial treatment of it.
+"Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well." First of all,
+_sol-fa_ the melody a few times in a full _mezzo-voce_. Then study it
+with rather stronger tone, paying attention to lights and shades, yet at
+the same time being chiefly occupied with the melody itself. Then make
+your breath-marks, and adhere to the same unfailingly. Then sing the
+melody once throughout, in order to find the weak places; having found
+which, you need no more practise the whole of the melody, but give all
+the attention to these latter phrases. Having mastered these, the melody
+will be complete. It will then be necessary to determine where the notes
+shall be made to _bend_ into each other, to add the _nuances_, a few
+graceful figures and effects which belong alone to the true artist.
+
+
+=Imitation.=--By no means the worst lesson which you can have will be
+gained by imitation of some acknowledged first-rate singer, whose voice
+is of the same kind as your own. Before going to a concert at which any
+such artist is announced to sing, procure copies of his songs (if
+possible), and make yourself acquainted with the compositions first of
+all. Then go and hear how those works are rendered by the singer who is
+to be your model; listen with your copy in your hand; make notes of any
+points which strike you, and while the impression made upon you is still
+fresh, go home and imitate them as closely as you can.
+
+
+=General Musical Study.=--If you want to be a good singing artist, many
+more things besides singing should be studied. You should be
+sufficiently acquainted with the pianoforte to play your own
+accompaniments, even of the most difficult songs, well enough to get an
+idea of them. Then a knowledge of harmony, counterpoint, and
+orchestration is of the greatest value. The study of the best scores,
+orchestral and vocal, should not be neglected, and further, the student
+should make himself or herself otherwise familiar with the rise and
+progress of the art, by reading all the best books on the subject,
+whether historical, critical, or biographical.
+
+
+
+
+ON STYLE, EXPRESSION, &c.
+
+
+The study of language, articulation, and deportment, the gradual
+formation and building-up of the singing voice, and the incessant
+practice of scales and exercises, are in reality only the necessary
+preliminaries to singing itself. Singing, or the proper use of the voice
+combined with the due enunciation and expression of the words, is
+nothing unless due attention be also paid to style, to the fit and
+effective execution of the music selected, due regard being paid both to
+taste and tradition.
+
+
+=Traditional Styles.=--Although the groundwork of all good singing is the
+same, the music to be sung varies greatly in style. There is church
+music, oratorio music, and opera music, as well as ballad music; and a
+certain nondescript--half recitative, half declamation--which is of
+modern growth, gives pleasure to many people (both performers and
+audience), and comprises the greater number of modern German "songs."
+
+
+=Modern German Lieder.=--This latest development of vocal performances, of
+which I desire to speak with all due respect, has no traditions
+whatever, but it has a style, decided, though (in my opinion) bad. It
+has, however, one merit: it imperatively demands that the singer should
+understand the meaning both of words and music, for the whole thing
+depends on expression and modulation. The composers of these works
+generally do their part fully in the way of modulations and
+accompaniment; but as they frequently forget to supply anything in the
+shape of a melody, the singer must do his best to touch or move his
+audience by his expressive delivery of the words in the musical
+inflections which (with this class of composers) occupy the place of a
+"tune." However, if you admire this kind of music, and have been
+properly taught to sing before you attempt to execute it, I have not a
+word to say against it: so long as you use your voice legitimately, this
+style of music can do you no harm, and if you study dramatic expression
+and elocution properly, you may doubtless produce an effect very
+pleasing to others who admire it. But the danger of such music to the
+untrained voice and untaught singer is very great indeed; and I do not
+hesitate to say that the frequent performance of it by such an one
+_must_ result in the ruin both of voice and style.
+
+
+=The Cathedral School.=--The one point in music wherein England has just
+reason to boast of her past, is the existence of a distinct class of
+music composed for her church service, and that music of a high order of
+merit. Distinctive in character, this church music--"services" and
+"anthems"--has created for itself a distinct school of singers, and, by
+tradition, demands a distinct style of performance. I have elsewhere
+stated that the "Cathedral School" of singing is "detestable for solo
+work," and so it is for any solo work except cathedral solo work, where
+the operatic or oratorio style of singing would seem to us, who have
+always been familiar with the traditional and one accepted style, out of
+place, and irreverently suggestive of the concert-room. It is difficult
+to describe upon paper the peculiarity of this style of singing, and it
+could only be learnt by imitation in its own home, the cathedral. Its
+chief characteristics are a sort of passionless "statuesqueness," a
+steadiness of tone akin to the notes of the organ, which is its only fit
+accompaniment, an absence of all attempt at personal display on the part
+of the singer. Its faulty tendencies are towards deficiency of
+expression and slowness of "attack;" these are apparent, generally, when
+a "cathedral" singer appears in the concert-room; but in church, the
+pervadingly reverent character of the performance takes off the
+impression of coldness and tameness in the individual singer, while the
+ear, accustomed to the slight difference in time with which the various
+organ-stops "answer," does not notice in the singer that want of
+"crispness" in the time which the accompaniment of an orchestra reveals
+at once.
+
+Unless you are really intending to sing professionally in a church or
+cathedral choir, the study of this style will not be of much use to you;
+you will find its good points equally insisted on in the oratorio school
+of singing, while its defects should be avoided in any. For =English
+part-singing= there is, however, no training so good, its traditions
+being exactly those of the finest old English secular part-music--the
+madrigals of Wilbye, Weekes, and Purcell, &c.
+
+
+=Oratorio.=--By oratorio singing--speaking of it as a distinct style--I
+may say at once that I mean the school of Handelian singing, of which
+the traditions are distinct, and which has only been slightly modified
+to suit the more modern oratorios of other composers. Of course,
+Mendelssohn cannot be sung exactly like Handel or Bach, but the general
+style of delivery should be the same, and till you can sing Handel, you
+cannot hope to be able to sing Mendelssohn. The ability to sing Handel,
+Bach, and Glueck, I believe to be the sole foundation for a pure style of
+singing either in opera or ballad music: the music is such that it
+cannot be trifled with--the difficulties cannot be evaded, but must be
+mastered--while the exquisitely smooth and vocal character of these
+great masters' music trains the singer to an evenness and solidity of
+style which is most valuable in any music that may be afterwards
+attempted. Moreover, the songs of Handel form an admirable school for
+the training of individual taste and judgment in the introduction of
+ornaments, the variety of phrasing, and other minute details of finish.
+Not that you may exercise your individual taste in introducing ornaments
+into Handel or Bach--far from it; but the songs are written with the
+express intention that certain ornaments should be introduced in
+particular places, and the style (and in many cases the notes) of these
+ornaments has been accurately handed down to us; therefore, in learning
+this traditional manner of singing such music, the student is trained to
+a knowledge of the appropriate place for the introduction of
+ornamentation and "grace"--the appropriate character of such
+embellishments, and the appropriate opportunities for introducing them.
+For instance, most of Handel's songs commence with a movement which is
+intended to be repeated at the close of the song, the middle part being
+generally a movement in some relative key, which is not repeated. The
+traditional style of giving such songs is to reserve ornamentation for
+this repeated first part, and thus to avoid the effect of sameness which
+would result from adhering in the "repeat" to exactly the same rendering
+of the music with which the singer gave it at first. Such ornamentations
+were taken for granted by the composer, and it was only because of a
+tasteless abuse of this privilege of adornment on the part of foolish
+singers, an abuse which became an unbearable nuisance, that in after
+years Rossini adopted the plan of writing into his music florid passages
+which should supply the singer with ornaments which were good of their
+kind and which were put in in appropriate places, rather then trust his
+airs to the mercy of inartistic "decorators." Handel, and the composers
+of earlier times than Rossini, omitted the ornamentation, so as not to
+hamper the singer, for, as has been well said by an old writer on the
+subject: "The same execution that would from one singer afford pleasure,
+might from another excite disgust: the compositions of old masters have
+no written cadences to a repeated passage, for this very reason, no
+doubt. But it is understood, and indeed expected, that the singer of
+talent should display his own taste by the introduction of such fanciful
+and graceful ornaments as may be best calculated to exhibit his voice to
+advantage, and thereby heighten, instead of lessen, the effect of the
+composition."
+
+The same writer, in explaining the reason for the introduction of such
+ornaments and changes, goes on to remark: "In conversation, though we
+frequently repeat words and even sentences, in expressing any particular
+subject, yet we might as naturally expect to see a person laugh without
+a smile, as give such repetitions without some variation in voice and
+manner.
+
+"The first part of an air is often written to be repeated. In justice to
+the author, when that is the case, simplicity of style should be
+inviolably preserved; but, on repeating the strain, free scope may be
+given to the imagination, taking it for granted that no person would be
+vain enough to attempt the introduction of his own fanciful graces,
+unless sufficiently master of the science to feel the propriety of going
+so far and no farther."
+
+Perhaps I may make the meaning of all this clearer by giving a few
+specimens of these traditionally accepted adornments in repeated
+passages.
+
+[Music:_First time._
+
+    ri - mem - - bran - za, Puoi di nuo - vo, &c.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    ri - mem - bran - za, Puoi di nuo - vo, &c.]
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    dol - ce ri - mem - bran - za, &c.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    dol - ce ri - mem - bran - - za, &c.]
+
+[Music:_First time._
+
+    Puoi di nuo - vo, di nuo - vo av - ve - len
+    ar ................... mi.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    Puoi - di nuo - vo di nuo - vo av - ve - len
+    ar ................... mi.]
+
+The above are taken from a fine song by Cesti (1660), "_Tu mancavi a
+tormentarmi_."
+
+The following are the adornments taught in the Paris Conservatoire, as
+traditionally correct in the famous old song by Lotti, "_Pur dicesti_,"
+where, it will be observed, one simple phrase, which occurs so
+frequently that it would be monotonous if unadorned, is made to yield a
+charming variety to the song by some elegant change at each recurrence.
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    quel so - a - ve ... car - o ...... si]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    quel ... so - a - ve car ... o - si]
+
+[Music: _Third time._
+
+    quel ... so - a - ve car - o - si]
+
+[Music: _Fourth time._
+
+    quel ... so - a - - ve car - - o si]
+
+[Music:_First time._
+
+    pia - cer .................
+    ................. il mio pia - cer]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    pia - cer .................
+    ................. il mio pia - cer]
+
+The following are from Handel:
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    While re - sign'd to Heav'n ... a - bove]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    While re - sign'd to ...... Heav'n ........ a - bove
+
+                                (_Guardian Angels._)]
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    Trees where you sit, &c.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+     Trees where you sit, &c.
+
+                              (_Where'er you walk._)]
+
+And of course the list might be almost indefinitely prolonged. Certain
+of these ornaments, once highly popular, have wisely been allowed to
+drop, and that is why I lay stress upon the importance of _accepted
+traditions_. You may get hold of copies of many songs of this kind which
+have the names of great singers attached to them, and yet give
+variations of the text which have never been accepted or generally
+approved. The great Braham himself was a terrible offender sometimes in
+this respect. For instance, in singing "_Comfort ye_," instead of the
+passage
+
+[Music:
+
+    that her in - i - qui - ty is par - don - ed]
+
+he would sing thus:
+
+[Music:
+
+    that her in - i - qui - ty is par - don - ed.]
+
+And I have seen an old copy of "_Holy, holy_," in which the melody is so
+overlaid with little black notes, semi-quavers, demi-semi-quavers, and
+semi-demi-semi-quavers, that it is difficult to distinguish the notes of
+Handel's music at all! The admissible changes are all very slight, and
+any elaborate cadenza, or considerable addition, is pretty sure to be
+wrong. Final high notes are a frequent snare to aspiring singers; the
+traditions of the old school of oratorio singing are not in favour of
+them, and they generally vulgarize a song if introduced where the
+composer has not clearly opened a way for them. I have heard a tenor
+singer conclude the famous "_Thou shalt break them_," thus:
+
+[Music:
+
+    pot - - - - ter's ves - sel]
+
+and a soprano finish off "_He shall feed His flock_," thus:
+
+[Music:
+
+    ye shall find rest ........ un - to your souls.]
+
+--both of them pieces of vulgar display, bringing the personality of the
+singer before the audience instead of the beauty of the music, the sense
+of the words, or the merit of the composer. No such abominations are
+permissible in good oratorio singing, the rule of which is utter
+submission to the composer's intentions, and a conscientious endeavour
+to interpret his mind clearly to the audience; a pure and chaste
+delivery of words and music alike; a sustained excellence throughout,
+avoiding an attempt to astonish by bursts of power or brilliancy; and an
+entire absence of all claptrap or vulgarities to please "the gallery."
+
+
+=Opera.=--A great deal of what has been said about oratorio singing
+applies also to operatic singing. But I strongly advise you against
+attempting opera music until you have studied the more severe and solid
+style of the oratorio. The declamatory passages in opera are doubtless
+more brilliantly impassioned, just as the florid airs are more
+startlingly elaborate, than in oratorio, and the recitatives less
+stately and sustained; but the style of good opera singing is only to be
+founded upon good oratorio study (or its equivalent), inasmuch as it
+was out of the oratorio that the opera grew. Operatic singing allows
+more license to the singer than does oratorio; but the singer should
+have been taught first by the severer style not to misuse that license.
+At the same time when (as is not infrequent in operas of a certain kind)
+the composer has introduced airs for the express purpose of showing off
+a singer's voice, a well-trained singer may be accepted as interpreting
+the composer's intention rightly, when he or she elaborates _fioriture_
+far beyond the limits of which any hint appears in the score.
+
+Even here, however, traditional usage must have its weight: cadenzas
+must be strictly in character, and only introduced in songs to which
+such passages are appropriate. I once heard a florid cadenza
+interpolated at the close of "_Spirto Gentil_," by an aspiring young
+tenor, too full of conceit and "modern" ideas to take a hint from
+Mario's marvellous rendering of that song.
+
+And it must be borne in mind that it is only in operas of the Bellini,
+Donizetti, and early Rossini and Verdi school that such extreme license
+is granted. No such tricks can be played with the operas of Mozart,
+Glueck, Weber, or Meyerbeer, or with the later works of Rossini and
+Verdi, while the notion of altering a note, or omitting even a
+demi-semi-quaver rest, in those of Wagner, would be, to his admirers,
+flat heresy. In reality, the style of singing opera music is easily
+acquired by any one who is sufficiently advanced to be fit to attempt
+opera music at all. There are certain niceties to be acquired, and
+endless beauties of variety in the rendering of even small passages; but
+these things cannot be taught on paper.
+
+
+=Ballads.=--There is no greater mistake than to suppose that "any one can
+sing a simple ballad." Good ballad singing is one of the rarest
+accomplishments, and demands qualities in the singer which _may_ be
+wanting even in a person who can sing well both in opera and oratorio.
+To suppose that an untaught singer can do justice to any ballad that is
+worth the trouble of singing at all, is simply a mark of ignorance on
+the whole subject of singing.
+
+Ballads do not always require power or compass of voice, it is true, nor
+do they tax the singer on the score of flexibility or physical strength;
+but they are the severest test of enunciation, _mezzo-voce_ singing,
+neatness and readiness in producing tones of any gradation, and perfect
+control over the voice.
+
+To sing a ballad well demands a really cultivated taste, a certain
+dramatic power, suppressed it is true, but influencing the whole
+delivery; a sympathetic voice, and a manner which will enlist the
+interest and sympathy of the audience. Ballad singing is neither
+declamation nor recitative: there is no chance of surprising or
+astonishing your audience; but you _must_ contrive to please them, you
+must _touch_ them somehow; and, for an ordinary person in the costume of
+the nineteenth century, to "touch" others of the same species is not
+easy. Sometimes, no doubt, the words of a good song are in themselves so
+touching and charming that, so long as the music be not positively
+hideous or destructive of the sense of the words, the singer has only to
+let them be clearly heard, and the battle is won; but more frequently he
+has to trick his audience into interest in a song where the words in
+themselves are either hopelessly silly, or too obscure in sense for
+their full meaning to appear at a first hearing or reading. All that he
+can then do is to deliver it in such a way that they shall feel that
+there _is_ a meaning to it all, though they have not fully caught it
+yet, and so they may wish to hear it again. I do not, of course, mean
+any allusion to the ridiculous fashion of _encores_, but simply that the
+feeling at the end of such a song should be one of liking it
+sufficiently to wish to understand it entirely.
+
+Many songs would tell their own tale and produce their own effect well
+enough, if the singer would let them, and therefore the ballad singer
+must only be sufficiently self-conscious to keep himself out of the way.
+However good his singing, however original his reading of the song,
+_while he is singing_ it should all go to the credit of the song, and
+the hearers be charmed into forgetting _him_ till he is silent.
+
+
+=Recitative.=--Good recitative singing is of great importance, and
+requires careful attention and study. Recitative is midway between
+speaking and singing; it is a sort of modulated intoning, that is, that
+in delivering it the note and the word that belongs to it should be
+given with equal intention, and appear to belong to each other so
+completely that the musical sound should seem to be the natural
+intonation which the reciter would give to the word. Recitative is (_or
+was_) practically an attempt to express, in musical notation, the
+inflexions of the human voice in speaking; and how accurately, in some
+cases, musical notation can do this, will be seen at a glance by the
+following illustration:
+
+[Music:
+
+    Who   are you?]
+
+[Music:
+
+      Who are you?]
+
+[Music:
+
+    Who   are you?]
+
+--where the question is asked in the same words, but the musical notes
+express clearly three different sentiments, or degrees of sentiment.
+This should be taken into consideration by the student; and he should
+strive to give his recitative with as natural a delivery as he can,
+placing himself mentally in the position of a dramatic reciter.
+
+Steadiness of tone, clearness of enunciating consonants, and full round
+delivery of vowel-sounds are indispensable to good recitative singing.
+Every note must be distinct, and not the faintest suspicion of a "slur"
+or _portamento_ can be allowed.
+
+Recitative singing is not a thing which a student should try to teach
+himself, as he may not only waste his time, but gain notions which are
+erroneous and difficult to cure. For instance, take the recitatives in
+"_The Messiah_," as these are printed for the British public. Nothing
+could be more ludicrous than for a singer to appear in public and sing
+the recitatives faithfully as printed in the editions of this oratorio
+which are continually being disseminated throughout the land. Handel,
+let it be borne in mind, was _not_ well acquainted with the English
+language; and though he may have written good music, he was often very
+far from reaching good literary sense. Thus, as regards this latter,
+this specimen passage occurs in Handel's "_Acis and Galatea_,"
+
+[Music:
+
+    Where shall I seek the charm-ing fair?]
+
+Yet no one in his senses would think of rendering it other than
+
+[Music:
+
+    Where shall I seek the charm-ing fair?]
+
+inasmuch as there is some doubt of the chord 6/4 which forms the grace
+note being Handel's music, and because the sense of the words demands
+that no break shall be made between the words _seek_ and _the_. As
+Handel failed in his English, it is surely allowable to make good his
+deficiencies in this respect.
+
+The following paragraphs relate to certain minor details of style in
+singing, and apply to singing of every kind. They must be taken in
+conjunction with much that has already been said under the head of
+"Practice."
+
+
+=Slurring.=--Slurring up to a note is a very disagreeable and common evil
+to be guarded against. It matters not how far distant the note to be
+sung may be from the preceding tone; it should be attacked fearlessly
+and cheerfully, but _with an open throat_. The note to be attacked must
+not be prepared in the throat. The course should be this. The tone of
+the preceding note must not be moved, but the one required--say a very
+high one--must be obtained by the joint process of lowering the larynx,
+of sounding the note from exactly the same spot as the lower note, in a
+soft but fine tone, and thirdly, by getting such a ring in the note as
+it can only have in conjunction with the feeling that while the root or
+foundation of the note is in the chest, yet it owes much of its
+penetrating character and power to a sort of reflecting power which is
+given it from the extreme end of the spine bone, where it joins the
+head. Certainly no high note is properly _produced_, nor to be relied
+upon for a _crescendo_, unless the student has this feeling that it
+springs from the back of the neck; and, in rising to an upper note, the
+aim should be not at length to approach the upper note from beneath, as
+it were, but to "come down" upon it--to strike it from _above_ instead
+of from below.
+
+
+=Sentiment.=--Always try to convey the sentiment of what you may be
+singing through the tone of the voice. Love and anger cannot both be
+expressed with the same quality of voice. For the former, a delicate
+light tone well on the lips is desirable, while for the latter the voice
+should be produced lower in the stomach; yet the tone should still be
+kept on the lips; its character should be "darker," more round, and
+sonorous. "'_Tis this that racks my brain_": such words as these should
+never be sung in the same character of voice as "_Waft her, angels, to
+the skies_." It is good practice to take any piece and sing the melody
+on an open vowel throughout, with the object of showing the meaning of
+the song without the aid of words. Then, when this can be done, the
+words may be employed, and the result will be doubly happy.
+
+
+=Decision.=--Indecision is a very serious fault in singing. Do well and
+thoroughly whatever you decide upon attempting. If you have a _staccato_
+passage to sing, render it firmly in that style; if you have one that is
+_legato_, take care that this character is _strongly_ seen from your
+rendering. When you "slur," make it strong enough to be felt. If you
+bend as it were from one note to another, let your intention to do so be
+clearly apparent. Let a _forte_ passage be loud, and let a _piano_ one
+be really soft. Any half measures in singing are fatal. Precision and
+certainty are qualities which the student must always aim at attaining.
+Without them, singing becomes tame and unattractive, not to say
+tiresome.
+
+
+=Imitation.=--Imitation, which in many other arts becomes plagiary, in
+singing is most desirable; for singing, more than any other art, rests
+on tradition; there is even very little doubt that the peculiar charm
+and quality of a true tenor voice (for instance) is more due to
+imitation in a singer than to nature; that is to say, that it is the
+result of a transmitted culture--such imitation being the only means in
+which singers can reap the harvest of the experience of the great
+singers now to be heard no more, who have left their imitators to pass
+on to others what they themselves obtained by imitating and improving on
+_their_ predecessors. Therefore do not be afraid of being set down as a
+mere copyist, if you study and attempt to imitate the style of the best
+living singers. You will always have enough of your own merit or defect
+to distinguish your performance, if you are really a conscientious
+student, and you may learn a great deal by listening to the best public
+singers which can be taught you in no other way. Watch their stage
+deportment; their treatment of the weaker parts of their voices; their
+method of breathing; their manner towards the public;--in fact, every
+point which occurs to you,--and make some use of what you see and hear
+in your own studies.
+
+
+=Public Singing.=--If you have to sing in public, remember always to
+take a rapid but searching glance round your stage. This is a great
+point gained. As you step on to "the boards," notice (unobserved)
+the dimensions of the stage (if it happens to be new to you). Note
+the height of its ceiling, its surroundings, its draperies, its
+distance from your farthest auditor; then take up your position
+accordingly--bearing in mind that all your tone is wanted by your
+listeners, which requirement can never be met unless you yourself take
+the precaution to prevent the sound being held or carried back by the
+stage decorations. In a concert _salon_ or theatre, then, do not forget
+to get well to the front of the platform. At the same time you must not
+be _too_ close upon your stall occupants, or you may give them the very
+undesirable impression that at any moment you may fall over.
+
+
+="Holding" an Audience.=--The singer should carefully watch an audience so
+as to gauge its attention and sympathies. If it seems impatient,
+restless, and indifferent, the singer may be quite sure that he or she
+is exciting no interest. The best course then for one to do is to
+immediately change the style, alter the tone, give forth his or her best
+energies, and use every effort to become ingratiated into the good
+favour of the listeners. If such effects as these fail constantly in
+their turn, then the aspirant for vocal fame should give up, and devote
+both time and attention to further study, or to some other means of a
+livelihood; for a future great singer will not be failing constantly,
+and to be only a second-rate singer while there are so many is a thing
+_not_ to be devoutly desired.
+
+
+=Mistakes in Public.=--If you make a mistake in singing, do not add to the
+mischief by allowing it to alarm or disconcert you. Proceed onward as if
+nothing had happened. You may be quite sure that each one of your
+audience will not have detected the slip, for they cannot _all_ be
+critics. But bear in mind that such confidence as your adviser here
+suggests is not to be too often called into requisition. No great artist
+will ever make a serious mistake in public. How much more careful then
+should the young student be!
+
+
+
+
+ON TIME IN SINGING.
+
+
+I need perhaps scarcely remind my readers who are or who wish to be
+singers that _time_ concerns them quite as much as the conductor, the
+pianist, the violinist--in short, the whole orchestra. It behoves the
+student in singing to give early and careful attention to this important
+feature in his artistic training. You may have the voice of a Rubini,
+you may be a second Tamburini in quality and extent of voice, but unless
+you can sing in time yourself, and are able to do so with others, and
+with the counter-acting influences of an orchestra, you can never hope
+to rise in your profession. It may be argued that you have no desire to
+lay yourself out for a career on the lyric stage. Then, however, you
+shut yourself out from some of the largest prizes in the profession;
+beyond which there comes the question of oratorio business, and the
+growing taste for band accompaniments to songs. And if you restrict your
+ambition to a pianoforte accompaniment, time is needed even with that in
+order to produce anything like a satisfactory rendering of the piece you
+may be singing. The accompanyist may be a Sir Julius Benedict, or a
+Signor Randegger (than whom there is no better in this country, so
+neglected has this species of musical art-work become); but a perfect
+rendering depends not so much upon the pianist as the vocalist. If the
+singer flounders about with neither "rhyme nor reason," it is scarcely
+reasonable to expect the accompanyist, clever as he may be, to be always
+at his heels, like a cat after a mouse. I would therefore advise the
+student to invest his money in a Metronome--the most useful thing with
+which he could provide himself. They are not dear, bearing in mind their
+utility, and one will, I am sure, save the student much time and many a
+_fiasco_. Learn the working of this useful machine, and practise all
+your exercises with it. If you go to a good singing master, you should
+ask him to time your exercises to the pace at which you should sing
+them, and in this way you will not only be growing in a good habit, but
+your singing will be characterized by a crispness and a certainty of
+attack, which will be apparent to all musicians and amateurs with good
+taste. Your singing master will, no doubt, impress upon you the
+necessity of singing your songs in time, and especially of slightly
+accenting the first and third beats in the bar if it is common time, the
+first and fourth beats when it is compound common or 6/8 time, and the
+first beat when it is triple or 3/4 time. In this way there will be
+meaning given to your singing, and those who may be accompanying you
+will be able to feel where you are, and to keep time with you. In
+singing a passage like this from Cowen's charming song "Aubade,"--the
+master, if he knew his business, would instruct his pupil to slightly
+accent the words as I have indicated with the mark =V=, and to preserve
+_strict_ time throughout the passage, and especially in the taking up of
+the words after the long note on the word _sleep_. The accompanyist
+would, we may assume, do likewise with his pianoforte part, and in this
+way a perfect _ensemble_ would be secured.
+
+[Music:
+
+    Sleep, love, sleep,
+    the morn is wak - - ing,]
+
+With this brief introduction to the subject, I will proceed to give the
+student a few exercises in keeping and beating time, the assiduous
+practice of which will, I hope, soon place him in the desirable position
+of being able to sing in time.
+
+[Music: Ex. 1.
+
+Four beats in a bar.
+
+    Do Re Mi Fa Sol
+
+    La Si Do Do Si
+
+    La Sol Fa Mi Re Do]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2.
+
+    Do Do Re Re Mi Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 3.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 4.
+
+    Do Do Do Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5.
+
+    Do Do Re Re Mi Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7.
+
+    Do Do Do Re Re Re Mi Mi Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 9.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 10.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 11.
+
+     Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Mi &c.]
+
+These exercises may be timed as slow as you like on your metronome--the
+slower the better--but 76 is a good pace to begin with; when you have
+thoroughly mastered them at 76, take them a little quicker until you can
+sing them accurately up to a good brisk time.
+
+No 1 has but one note in the bar, and this must be held on steadily for
+four beats of the metronome--care being taken to leave each note in
+sufficient time to take a fresh breath, and attack the second note and
+syllable in precise time with the metronome beat. I need, perhaps,
+scarcely point out that much good will be obtained if the student can
+accustom himself to _feeling_ in his mind the rhythm and beating, so as
+not to acquire the habit of trusting to mechanical appliances, which are
+dispensed with at public performances. The sol-fa-ing must be strictly
+adhered to, and in Exercises 2, 3, etc., it will be seen that the
+syllable must be sounded twice and four times respectively. With
+Exercise 5 the dotted note comes in; but I will not stay to explain
+that, as I assume that my readers will have acquainted themselves with
+the elements of musical theory before taking up singing. Especial care
+should be given to Exercise 7, as that is the first step in the
+difficult matter of syncopation, carried out elaborately in Exercises 8
+and 9. With Exercise 11 the question of Rests comes in, but the same
+remark that I made as to the dotted notes applies here. Everything that
+it is necessary to know about them should be found in any elementary
+musical grammar.
+
+Having mastered the above exercises, the reader may take the following
+with two beats in the bar--taking the precaution to set them at a slow
+time on the metronome, say 76, not singing them quickly until he is
+thoroughly acquainted with them.
+
+[Music: Ex. 1. Two beats to a bar.
+
+    Do Do Re Re Mi Mi Fa Fa Sol Sol
+    La La Si Si Do Do Do Si Si
+    La La Sol Sol Fa Fa Mi Mi Re Re Do]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2.
+
+    Do Re Mi Fa Sol La
+    Si Do Do Do Si Si &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 3.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 4.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7.
+
+    Do Re Mi Fa Sol &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8.]
+
+After which he may take the following with three beats in the bar:--
+
+[Music: Ex. 1.
+
+Three beats in a bar.
+
+    1 2 3
+    Do    Re Mi Fa Sol
+    La    Si Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 3.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 4.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 9.]
+
+
+
+
+ON THE CHOICE OF MUSIC.
+
+    There are, of course, no _rules_ to be given to guide the student
+    in the choice of music, except the general ones, to choose good
+    music, pleasing music, and music suited to his voice and powers.
+    But those general rules touch incidentally on a few points on which
+    it may be well to offer a few remarks.
+
+
+=Music must suit the Voice.=--Your music must not only be appropriate for
+your voice in compass, but it must be such as has been written for a
+voice of your kind. This is a most important thing to remember. Nothing
+is more provoking to a person of good taste and musical knowledge than
+to hear songs composed for a voice of one class sung by a voice of a
+totally different character; and yet this is a vice which even good
+artists will sometimes weakly succumb to. The popular song of Gounod's,
+"_Quand tu chantes bercee_," for instance, has been sung to death by
+many soprani and contralti, in various keys. One would have thought that
+the words alone would have shown them the utter absurdity of what they
+were doing; but no, for the sake of producing an effect (upon an
+audience who naturally supposed that public singers of high standing
+knew what they were doing, and why they did it), these good ladies
+committed what I do not scruple to call a vulgar and inartistic blunder.
+The song is a man's song, and no woman should attempt it.
+
+This fault is one which amateurs are very apt to fall into, and a long
+list might be made of songs which have suffered this unfair treatment.
+Soprani sing tenor songs--(I have often, in the early days of the
+popularity of "_Il Trovatore_," heard a soprano sing "_Ah, che la
+Morte!_"--tenors, those written for soprano--(_e.g._, I know an amateur
+tenor whose "crack" song is Iphis' "Farewell" in "_Jephtha_"). Contralti
+and mezzo-soprani steal bass and barytone songs, as "But who may abide,"
+from the "_Messiah_," and basses and barytones return the compliment by
+appropriating "What tho' I trace," or "O rest in the Lord.")
+
+There is a reason, quite apart from the question of taste, which renders
+this practice objectionable. A composer of any skill writes his
+accompaniment as well as his melody with reference to the voice which he
+wishes to sing it. Now, if that voice be--we will say--a soprano, the
+accompaniment will be written for a voice of that _pitch_, as well as of
+that character and compass; the progressions of harmony will be written
+with due regard to the actual place of the vocal notes in the scale. But
+directly the song is sung by a tenor--a voice which pitches every note
+an octave lower than the soprano--the relation of the vocal notes to the
+accompaniment is changed; notes that were intended to be fourths above
+the accompaniment will become fifths below, and progressions which were
+correct in the composer's intention become wrong in the effect produced
+by the singer. That is an extreme case, I grant, but it is only a fair
+instance of the sort of result which follows on such changes, and it is
+sufficient to show that the rule rests on reason and not caprice.
+
+
+"=Original Keys.="--Do not bind yourself, as some think it necessary to
+do, always to sing your songs in the original keys. Remember that opera
+and oratorio music, and a large number of modern "ballads," were
+composed for performance in large buildings, theatres, and
+concert-rooms. The keys, therefore, were chosen with due reference to
+that fact, and to the (in many cases) exceptional voices of the singers.
+The raising of the pitch in later years also affects the question.
+
+Now, if you have to sing in a drawing-room, the pitch, volume of tone,
+and style of delivery must be appropriate to chamber music, and not to
+the stage of Covent Garden, and the keys which are necessary for due
+brilliancy and effect in a concert-room are frequently unsuited to a
+drawing-room, giving an appearance of strain and noisiness to the
+singing. A good deal of opera music is as unfit for singing in a
+drawing-room as would be a grand symphony for performance there; and an
+artistic singer should bear in mind this principle of fitness in his
+selection.
+
+At the same time, if it is considered desirable to transpose a song, let
+it be only for that reason, and let the aim be to produce the same
+effect, _relatively_, in the drawing-room, as the song in its original
+key is intended to produce in the concert-room. Do not transpose
+recklessly, merely to "suit your voice:" if you are a barytone, for
+instance, do not sing tenor songs a few notes lower; or, if you are a
+soprano, do not transpose contralto songs to suit your register. For the
+_character_ of the music (if the music is good) suits the voice for
+which it was intended, and there is a risk of destroying that character
+by giving it to a voice of another kind. This has been proved over and
+over again on the stage in several notable instances.
+
+
+=Execution.=--Do not be too ambitious in selecting florid songs for
+performance either in public or private. "Fireworks" in a drawing-room
+rarely please, while in a concert-room they must be very perfect and
+first-rate in execution to do so. Of course, if you are a professional
+artist you must include such work in your studies, and even for the
+amateur the practice of florid music, under a master, is most desirable
+as an exercise. But where the choice of a song for a concert rests with
+yourself, sacrifice ambition to prudence, unless your voice is naturally
+a very flexible one, and your training in that style of music very
+complete. I give, on this subject, a quotation from an old and
+experienced writer on music and singing:
+
+"Execution is certainly one of the most difficult parts of musical
+science. Young singers are desirous of attaining it without reflecting
+whether, from the formation of the throat and various physical causes,
+they may ever be able to accomplish their wishes. Few, indeed, possess
+the power of execution in a pre-eminent degree. It is in part a gift of
+nature: those who have ever delighted as well as astonished us by their
+rapid manner of running through divisions must have been naturally
+endowed with flexible organs.
+
+"... Some voices may be compared to gems which in their original state
+are dull, and, to those unacquainted with their worth, of no value....
+It frequently happens that singers, from timidity or want of proper
+knowledge in exercising their voices, remain ignorant of their own
+qualifications. The hinges of a door which have continued for years
+undisturbed, will, when the door is re-opened, grate harshly on the ear;
+but every effort renders the harshness more tolerable, until, from
+frequent use, they move easily. Thus it is with the voice: on the
+flexibility of the _uvula_ and the muscles connected with it depend both
+the perfectibility of the shake and execution. But still it must be
+acknowledged that acquired execution should never be exercised by the
+side of nature otherwise than sparingly, even where necessity requires
+it, for the latter possesses an easy velocity which can playfully sport
+with its subject at will; but, however gratifying the power of execution
+may be considered by those who possess it, I recommend them not to be
+indiscriminately lavish, lest they cloy by too great a profusion, and,
+as Voltaire remarks, 'shine in trills and divisions, at the expense of
+poetry and good sense.'"
+
+
+=Fashion.=--The songs which are "the rage" at any time are always great
+snares for amateurs. Aspiring young singers hear a ballad charmingly
+rendered by some great singer, and straightway go home, send for it, and
+on the first available opportunity treat their friends to their version
+of it. This is really unfair to themselves, as it throws them into
+unwise contrast with the public singer who has made the song popular,
+and whose well-known rendering of it forbids ordinary hearers to judge
+the rendering of an amateur on its own merits, or by any rule but that
+of comparison. Moreover, "popular" songs--I mean songs whose popularity
+is largely due to their having been sung by favourite public
+singers--are by no means always good in themselves; or, if fairly good,
+by no means easy; or if good and not difficult, by no means always
+sufficiently so to make it worth while for an amateur to spend time and
+study on them. In very many cases the public singer has to sing these
+songs because he is paid for doing so, and gets a "royalty" on every
+copy sold; it is simply one development of the hydra-headed art of
+advertising, and such productions are known by the vulgar name of
+"pot-boilers," _i.e._, compositions hastily thrown off to bring in a
+little money "_to keep the pot boiling_." If composers who are capable
+of better things are reduced to making money in this way, we may be
+sincerely sorry for them; but speaking from an artistic point of view,
+the practice is reprehensible, and "pot-boilers" are not the kind of
+music which a young singer, anxious to improve, should waste time or
+money upon. I am far from saying that there are no good songs to be
+found among new music, but I think they seldom lie on the top of the
+pile.
+
+
+=Forming a Repertoire.=--In gradually forming your _repertoire_, or
+collection of properly studied songs for drawing-room or concert
+singing, do not be in haste to make it a large one. It is better to know
+only a few songs and do them really well, than to sing a large number
+indifferently. If you are studying for the profession, there is a
+considerable number of songs which you will be expected to know as a
+matter of course, but over and above such, every singer should have a
+special repertoire of his or her own, and it is of this that I now
+speak. Your selection of songs, like your singing, should have the stamp
+of your own individuality upon it. You should have a little stock of
+songs, with which your singing is in a way identified, and which you
+must be able to sing in a manner that at once stamps those songs as your
+property, so that another person might say, "I could not sing that song
+before you, it is one of your own."
+
+To form such a repertoire, you may have to go a little out of the beaten
+track of what is best known at the time. If opera music suits you best,
+look at the operas, never performed now, of Glueck, or the less known of
+Mozart's, or earlier works of Rossini, Auber, &c.; or else try and get
+hold of works not yet known in England, such as Macfarren's, Wallace's,
+Purcell's, and a few other such native dramatic composers. In a word, do
+not limit your notions of operatic music to what you hear year after
+year at Covent Garden or Her Majesty's.
+
+So, too, in oratorio: search in the less familiar oratorios of Handel,
+and such of his operas as you can get access to, and carry the same idea
+out in examining the works of other composers, ancient and modern. Good
+work has been done of late years by various publishers in publishing
+many works of this class, and there are plenty of these which are still
+unfamiliar and unhackneyed.
+
+The same with your songs and ballads: before you rush into the modern
+fashionable ballad, see if you cannot find a few that you can
+appropriate among the stores of old English music, or the detached songs
+of old Italian masters (many of which are magnificent as songs, and
+utterly unknown at present, except to the few).
+
+
+
+
+PHYSIOLOGICAL SURROUNDINGS.
+
+
+It is highly expedient that singers themselves, and intending students
+of the art, should make some acquaintance with the physiological
+surroundings which are brought into play in the process of voice
+production. A knowledge of the technical terms for the various organs
+directly involved is very essential, and the intelligent student will
+see the necessity not only for distinguishing such names as "larynx" and
+"diaphragm," but also of possessing some idea of their whereabouts in
+the human frame. No better course could be adopted for the acquirement
+of such a knowledge than attendance at the classes and lectures at the
+musical colleges and other institutions, which, from time to time,
+secure the assistance of qualified specialists to speak upon this very
+important branch of the singing art. No other mode of teaching is so
+well calculated to enlighten the uninitiated in the wondrous mechanism
+of the human voice, and to inspire him or her with an adequate sense of
+the watchful care and delicate treatment which a voice worthy of
+systematic training demands, as well as deserves, at the hands of
+students of both sexes. As a preliminary to a fuller inquiry into the
+subject, the following few notes may be fixed upon the mind:--
+
+
+=The Larynx= (+larynx+) constitutes the upper part of the wind-pipe. It
+is the seat of the voice, and essential parts of it are the "vocal
+cords" (_chordae vocales_), two membranes in a horizontal position across
+the larynx. It is popularly called "Adam's apple" (_pomum Adami_), the
+protuberance so often recognizable in the throats of bass singers, but a
+more correct use of "_pomum Adami_" is when it is applied to a
+projection in the thyroid cartilage--a part of the laryngeal structure.
+
+=The Thyroid= (from +Thyreos+) is a shield-shaped cartilage, and that
+part of the larynx which, in the case of both sexes, develops suddenly
+at the period when they pass from youth to mature age. Other important
+cartilages are the cricoid (from +krikos+), a ring-shaped membrane; the
+arytenoids (from +harytaina+ a pitcher); the epiglottis (+epi-glotta+),
+situated at the back of the mouth; and the cartilages of Santorini, or
+_cornicula laryngis_.
+
+The trachea, or wind-pipe, is capable of rising or falling, and thus is
+produced the perceptible movement of the larynx in the throat when
+speaking or singing. It is by lowering the larynx, and so commanding an
+expansion of the throat that the best tone is possible in the voice, and
+it is this open throat production which some teachers are aiming at when
+they charge their pupils to "sing from the chest." A more sensible
+request would be to "lower the larynx," since such a lowering of this
+organ places the throat in the most favourable position for emitting
+sound; as well as for enabling the lungs, or wind-chests, to act most
+advantageously upon the true vocal cords. Moreover, this lowered larynx
+production leads to the best results from the vocal cords themselves.
+The natural tendency is to sing as we talk, a process which involves a
+demand upon the upper fringes of the vocal ligaments only, but no
+long-sustained singing could be maintained by this means, nor does it
+requisition any art-knowledge or principle. Directly, however, we begin
+to utilize the lower edge of the vocal cords, we are verging upon the
+art of _producing_ the voice; _i.e._, creating a something which will
+not manifest itself without the first application of some art
+principles. Here lies the whole secret of singing, _viz._, the
+utilization of the lower portions of the membranous folds popularly
+called the "vocal cords," instead of working merely their topmost
+fringes, as do the innumerable tenors who sing "throaty," and as we all
+do up to a certain point, in the ordinary process of speaking. The
+singing voice and the speaking voice are two totally different
+productions, the former never to be acquired except at the hands of a
+capable master, who, himself, has been properly taught the principles of
+voice production.
+
+The lungs, or bellows, or air-chambers lie, as is well known, on each
+side of the chest, resting upon the diaphragm, and performing a very
+important function in singing. They supply the air which acts upon the
+vocal cords, and in true singing are the first organs for consideration
+by a vocalist, since so much depends upon the way the wind, or breath,
+is brought to bear upon the vocal cords. For this reason the abdominal
+method of breathing--the filling of the lungs from their bases--becomes
+the best method for inspiring the breath in singing. Doubtless, in
+breathing, the lungs are replenished from above downwards, but it
+requires something of the sensation of these air-supplying substances
+being filled from their bases in order to requisition the full help of
+the diaphragm, a great muscle which separates the lungs from the
+abdomen, and which may be called the fundamental basis on which all
+voice production rests.
+
+The Pharynx (+pharynx+) is situated behind the mouth, between the tongue
+and the arch forming the circumference of the palate. Its province is to
+reflect the voice on its issue from the glottis. It is an elastic
+aperture, and may be well styled the reflecting organ of singing. It can
+take various forms, and bears a great part in giving character to the
+sounds originated in the larynx.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_The Voice--a Wind, Reed, or String Instrument?_ Much discussion has
+spent itself in settling the question of "family" to which the vocal
+instrument properly belongs. The vocal chords are known to be composed
+of a yellow elastic fibrous tissue in their anterior parts, the
+posterior portions consisting of a tougher muscle or cartilage. Many
+maintain them to belong to the "string" family, since the sounds
+generated are produced as on a violin--the higher notes by increased
+tension, the lower tones by a reduction of the strain. In this process,
+the muscle, popularly known as the epiglottis-cushion--a fat mucous
+membrane--presses on to the vocal cords, modifying their vibrating
+length. Thus, in an extreme high note, the cushion presses intensely
+upon the cords, considerably shortening their one inch length. In
+reverting to a low note, this tension becomes withdrawn, and the whole
+length of cord is at play to produce its lowest tones. An unfortunate
+objection to this theory--that the vocal cords can be styled a stringed
+instrument, is the fact that no string of the small extent of the vocal
+cords could be capable of sounding either so many, or such low notes;
+moreover, the mathematical treatment of their vibrations, as governed by
+the tension, is not correct, as they are in the case of a violin. It is
+a useful theory, and method of reasoning, however, for those teachers of
+singing who maintain that to get high notes, a light and thin style of
+singing, and the use of the upper fringe of the vocal cords (the
+production point), is preferable, in contradistinction to those who
+declare that no really good chest note with any telling power worth
+considering is possible, unless the vocalist sings deep in his chest and
+gains the idea, as he goes for his note, of requisitioning with all
+effort the lowest depth in the cord. Surely this point presents the
+greatest difficulty for singers with whom compass, especially at the top
+of the voice, is an imperative necessity, albeit that people go on
+talking to the contrary; and it is a matter which needs settling among
+voice specialists and singing masters. We are told, and it is generally
+known, that the tension of the epiglottis-cushion produces a higher note
+just as the shifting of the finger on the violin string affects its
+tone--a process which may produce falsetto sounds, but which surely is
+not the basis upon which great Italian singers of the Mongini and
+Tamberlik type secured the great chest Cs, which, with their resonance
+and brilliancy, were wont to make our opera houses ring again. Is it not
+a fact that in voices of this calibre, as well as in those trained on
+what is known as the broad lines of the true Italian production, the
+whole surfaces of the vocal cords become more or less requisitioned, and
+that they vibrate the whole of their length and breadth, not merely the
+sides, rather than that any upper portion is mainly utilized while the
+lower parts are resting? The answer to this question would seem to
+indicate that the human voice is of the nature of a reed instrument.
+These membraneous organs, which we term vocal cords, are such that their
+whole surfaces must vibrate when brought into contact with a current of
+air from the lungs. The voice reed, in fact, vibrates freely backwards
+and forwards, and so corresponds with what are known as "free," not
+"beating" reeds--such as are found in concertinas, and the like.
+
+That the voice is something of an organ pipe (a flue pipe) is an
+illusion only indulged in by writers and teachers prone to descriptive
+language, which they do not stay to inquire into, either for their own
+edification or for the enlightenment of other people. There is
+absolutely nothing to maintain such an idea.
+
+It is important that the nature of the _materiel_ of the vocal cords
+should become widely known, since such a knowledge, elementary as it
+might be, would, at the outset, enable students to get at once upon the
+right road to singing. To grasp the idea that the initial
+sound-producing means are these bits of semi-lunar membranes, acted upon
+by the breath from the lungs, and that they vibrate violently or orderly
+in proportion to the care with which the breath is brought to bear upon
+them, is to master the first great difficulty in singing. This once
+grasped, it is not hard to realize that the sound emitted is moulded and
+shaped, modified and beautified by other organs of the laryngeal machine
+and its surroundings, as well as by such variable conditions as the
+state of the human frame generally, and the particular condition of
+those organs of the body most directly concerned in supporting the work
+of the larynx may happen to be in. It will save the student much time
+if, before he (or she) begins to study singing, some first acquaintance
+be formed with the physiological surroundings of the human voice, and it
+is worse than useless to go to a master who teaches singing in blind
+ignorance of, and doubtless contempt for, these physiological
+principles. The student who has familiarized himself with the structure
+of the vocal organs will have made a much more intelligent progress in
+his art than the one who has not, and will be competent none the less
+readily to understand the instruction of a qualified master than to
+detect the shameful pretence and humbug of the quack.
+
+
+=Board Teachers' Laryngitis--Clergyman's Sore Throat--Throat Exhaustion,
+etc.=--Among the greatest evils of this competitive teaching age is the
+mischief arising from the constant and at the same time injurious use of
+the voice. All who use the voice constantly must learn how to breathe,
+and _produce_ the voice. Failing that, serious mischief, which even the
+specialist of throat hospitals cannot cope with, must inevitably follow.
+The only advice that can be given here is, immediately that voice
+exhaustion sets in, to consult not _a doctor_, but a throat or voice
+specialist. The best institution in the world for throat troubles is the
+Throat Hospital, Golden Square, London, W.
+
+
+
+
+EXERCISES.
+
+
+This first exercise is a most useful one in the uniting of notes and in
+gaining facility. The student should at first practise it very slowly,
+mastering four bars at a time. Although I have divided it into fifteen
+examples, it is really but one exercise, with a minim rest between each
+phrase of four bars; and it is in this example form that I wish the
+student ultimately to sing it with the metronome, at say 76, taking
+breath _only_ at the rest-mark, and making the _crescendo_--not, be it
+observed, by forcing the tone and breath, but by a gradual pressing down
+of the breath.[2]
+
+[2] The Exercise should be a crescendo from piano to forte.
+
+[Music: Ex. 1.]
+
+[Music: A.]
+
+[Music: B.]
+
+[Music: C.]
+
+[Music: D.]
+
+[Music: E.]
+
+[Music: F.]
+
+[Music: G.]
+
+[Music: H.]
+
+[Music: I.]
+
+[Music: J.]
+
+[Music: K.]
+
+[Music: L.]
+
+[Music: M.]
+
+[Music: N.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2 NAVA.]
+
+[Music]
+
+Exercise 2 is a further one for the practice of joining notes with the
+aid of the breath, without the least resemblance to a jerk with either
+the sound or the breath. To sing the exercise with advantage requires a
+very careful management of the respiratory organs, and its continuous
+practice is one of the best means of managing the breath. Having
+inspired the breath after the manner already indicated herein, proceed
+to sound the note F in a thin but firm and steady tone, which you must
+gradually swell, by pressing down the breath, as it were, into the
+following note G, which you will continue to hold steadily by keeping
+down the breath as long as you can. Though you raise your tone of voice
+in passing from F to G, you must dispel from your mind all notions of
+raising your breath or your _larynx_; it is just the reverse; you must
+lower these. Remember a golden rule--the higher your note the lower must
+it be generated in your chest, and your breath must be under the note
+supporting it, or there cannot possibly be any tone there. On reaching
+the highest limit of this exercise, the student will repeat the same
+operation down the scale, which I need scarcely say is less difficult.
+
+[Music: Ex. 3. NAVA.]
+
+[Music]
+
+[Music]
+
+Exercise 3 may be timed 76 on your metronome. It is a study to give
+freedom and flexibility to your voice. None of the notes should be
+forced, and the upper notes should be rendered with the mouth well open,
+and with a quality of tone as similar as possible to that of the lower
+notes. Breath should be taken (without losing time) at the rest-marks.
+There should be no break or jump in the tone, but rather it should be
+one unbroken stream of melody, as marked in the first phrase. The voice,
+in this exercise, should be constantly moving: no sooner should you be
+sounding the first note of the phrase than you should be moving to the
+second, from the second to the next, and so on. Be careful to sing the
+intervals exactly in time, and in descending to notes satisfy yourself
+that you are singing the exact tone, and that with certainty. Indecision
+is a grave fault in singing.
+
+[Music: Ex. 4. Intervals of thirds.
+
+     Do Re Mi Re Do Re Mi Fa Mi Re
+
+     Mi Fa Sol Fa Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5. Intervals of Fourths.
+
+* Here take breath.]
+
+[Music]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6. Intervals of Fifths.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7. Intervals of Sixths.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8. Intervals of Sevenths.]
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+     _Page_
+
+     Alto, 36
+
+
+     Bad Lessons, 50
+
+     Bad Masters, 50
+
+     Ballads, 80
+
+     Barytone, Basso-Cantante, 42
+
+     Bass, 44
+
+     Board Teachers' Laryngitis, 114
+
+     Books of Exercises, 51
+
+     Buffo, 48
+
+
+     Cathedral School, The, 72
+
+     Chest, Falsetto, and Head, 60
+
+     Chorus Singing, 69
+
+     Cleanliness, 13
+
+     Clearing the Throat, 59
+
+     Compass, 30
+
+     Consonants, 24
+
+     Contralto, 35
+
+
+     Decision, 84
+
+     Diet, 13
+
+     Dramatic Study, 27
+
+     Dress, 16
+
+     Duration of Practice, 67
+
+
+     Early Rising, 13
+
+     Education, General, 26
+
+     Emphasis, 25
+
+     English, 24
+
+     Execution, 105
+
+     Exercise, 15
+
+     Exercises, 115
+
+     Exercises, First, 62
+
+         "      Books of, 51
+
+         "      in Beating Time, 89
+
+     Expression, Facial, 54
+
+
+     Facial Expression, 54
+
+     Falsetto, 60
+
+     Fashion, 106
+
+     First Opinion, A, 44
+
+     Forming a Repertoire, 107
+
+     Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano, 60
+
+
+     General Education, 26
+
+        "    Musical Study, 70
+
+     German Lieder, Modern, 71
+
+
+     Hair, The, 14
+
+     Head, Singing in the, 58
+
+     High Notes, 59
+
+     "Holding" an Audience, 86
+
+     "How to Begin", 68
+
+     Humming, 69
+
+
+     Imitation, 70, 85
+
+     Individuality, 53
+
+     Institutions, 48
+
+
+     Larynx, The, 109
+
+     Late Hours, 19
+
+     Lessons, Bad, 50
+
+     Lips, Position of, 25
+
+
+     Masters, 48
+
+     Mezzo-Voce, 60
+
+     Mezzo-Contralto, 35
+
+     Mezzo-Soprano, 34
+
+     Mistakes in Public, 86
+
+     Modern German Lieder, 71
+
+     Morality, 19
+
+     Music to Suit the Voice, 103
+
+     Musical Study, General, 70
+
+
+     Names of Voices, 29
+
+     Nervousness, 21
+
+
+     Oratorio, 73
+
+     "Original Keys", 104
+
+     Opera, 79
+
+
+     Perseverance, 54
+
+     Physiological Surroundings, 109
+
+     Pharynx, The, 111
+
+     Position of Arms, 55
+
+         "       Body, 55
+
+         "       Hands, 56
+
+         "       Larynx, 57
+
+         "       Throat, 56
+
+         "       Tongue, 57
+
+     Pronunciation, 22
+
+     Public Singing, 85
+
+     Public, Mistakes in, 86
+
+
+     Qualities of the Voice, 45
+
+
+     Recitative, 81
+
+     Repertoire, Forming a, 107
+
+
+     Scale, The, 60
+
+       "    Practice, 62
+
+     "Schools" of Singing, 47
+
+     Self-Accompaniment, 55
+
+     Sentiment, 84
+
+     Singing in Tune, 67
+
+     Slurring, 83
+
+     Smoking, 18
+
+     Soprano, 32
+
+     Study of Songs, 20
+
+     Study of Words, 25
+
+     Styles, Traditional, 71
+
+
+     Teachers, Bad, 50
+
+     Teeth, The, 15
+
+     Tenore-Leggiero, 37
+
+     Tenore-Robusto, 39
+
+     Throatiness, 58
+
+     Thyroid, The, 110
+
+     Time in Singing, 87
+
+     Tone, 60
+
+     Traditional Styles, 71
+
+
+     Variety Indispensable, 68
+
+     Voices and their Names, 29
+
+     Voice, The; A Wind, Reed, or String Instrument, 111
+
+     Vowel-Sounds, 23
+
+
+     "Words," Study of, 25
+
+
+Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
+
+London & Edinburgh
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+Punctuation and formatting have been made consistent.
+
+Apparent printer's errors have been retained, unless stated below.
+
+Page 62, "disirable" changed to "desirable". (It cannot be too strongly
+impressed upon, or too frequently pointed out to, the singer (no matter
+what may be the stage of his or her artistic development) how desirable
+and advantageous it is to be constantly singing exercises and solfeggi
+in preference to songs.)
+
+Page 73 and 74, "shool" changed to "school". (You will find its good
+points equally insisted on in the oratorio school of singing, while its
+defects should be avoided in any.)
+
+Page 106, "divisious" changed to "divisions". (Those who have ever
+delighted as well as astonished us by their rapid manner of running
+through divisions must have been naturally endowed with flexible
+organs.)
+
+
+
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diff --git a/41013.zip b/41013.zip
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #41013 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41013)
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Advice to Singers, by Frederick James Crowest
+
+
+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: Advice to Singers
+
+
+Author: Frederick James Crowest
+
+
+
+Release Date: October 10, 2012  [eBook #41013]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVICE TO SINGERS***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Veronika Redfern, David Edwards, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images
+generously made available by Internet Archive (http://archive.org). Music
+for audio illustrations was transcribed by Anne Celnick, Sarah Thomson,
+and the DP Music Team.
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original lines of music and
+      audio illustrations.
+      See 41013-h.htm or 41013-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41013/41013-h/41013-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41013/41013-h.zip)
+
+
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive. See
+      http://archive.org/details/AdviceToSingers
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
+
+      Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=).
+
+      Any ranges or simple exercises that have been depicted
+      on a staff in the original have been represented in this
+      volume using Scientific Pitch Notation. In this system,
+      C4 represents middle C and is set at 256 Hz.
+
+
+
+
+
+ADVICE TO SINGERS
+
+by
+
+FREDERICK J. CROWEST
+
+Author of "The Great Tone Poets" "Musical Groundwork"
+Editor of "The Master Musicians" Series, etc.
+
+      "Since singing is so good a thing
+      I wish all men would learn to sing"
+
+[Illustration: Publisher's Device]
+
+Seventeenth Thousand
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+London
+Frederick Warne and Co.
+and New York
+1904
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+Singing cannot be learnt from a book, and so far from attempting any
+such impossible feat as writing a book which might be called "_Singing
+without a Master_," the author's object--frequently insisted upon
+herein--is to point out the impossibility of overcoming the difficulties
+of singing without a teacher. At the same time, there are points upon
+which a master would not feel called upon to speak; nor would he
+(except, perhaps, in the course of a very long period of training) be
+likely to touch on many matters which, though closely connected with the
+life or business of an accomplished singer, yet lie rather outside the
+province of the voice-trainer.
+
+In a work consisting of detached paragraphs, and not being a continuous
+essay, it is not always possible to enter into full explanations of the
+reasons for certain statements; and (for the want of such explanation)
+one paragraph may _appear_ to contradict another. However, I can assure
+the reader that such paragraphs are only _apparent_ contradictions; and
+if he will take the trouble to think such points out for himself, he
+will find that they are easily reconcileable.
+
+There is no subject, perhaps, on which opinions are so divided, and
+prejudices run so high, as the proper method of training and using the
+voice; nor is there perhaps one more wrapped in mystery than is the art
+of singing. This is probably the result of that readiness with which
+almost every music teacher has hitherto undertaken to teach Singing.
+This book will not, I am sure, add to the mystery. A careful perusal of
+its contents should clear away many misconceptions, and place the
+student on the right road to that end which he or she has in view.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.
+
+
+That another large edition of this little Manual should be called for in
+so comparatively short a time is sufficiently encouraging testimony of
+the worth of the book and the favour it has found at the hands of
+students of singing and others--a result the more gratifying to the
+publishers since hitherto it has been issued with an anonymous
+title-page. Often has the authorship of the little volume been
+industriously defended and disputed--not by myself--both in this country
+and America; but, on the whole, the identity of its originator has been
+well maintained. For my part matters might have remained so, especially
+as I am not insensible to the fact that there is much "preaching"
+herein--as indeed there must be in such a work, and some of the advice
+is of such a nature that its giver runs the risk of being placed upon an
+exceeding high pinnacle of moral excellence, or of being accounted the
+personification of all the virtues--both of which distinctions might
+scarcely be merited. The appearance of my name upon the title-sheet is
+the result of no wish of mine, and I have consented to it only out of
+deference to the pressing request of the publishers.
+
+A chapter on the Physiological Surroundings of the Voice has been added
+to this edition.
+
+                                                   FREDERICK J. CROWEST.
+
+
+PREFACE TO THE SEVENTH EDITION.
+
+Once again my publishers have informed me of the necessity for
+reprinting this Manual, which has been so successful both here, in
+America, and in the Colonies. I have nothing to alter in the work, but I
+must express my thanks for the marked support that has been given to
+this straightforward advice. Did space permit, much might be said
+relative to that growing complaint, "Teachers' (or Board School)
+Laryngitis" as it is called. For some time past I have been authorized
+to make observations at the chief Throat Hospitals in connection with
+this constantly increasing mischief, arising from an injurious use of
+the voice in Teaching, and which only proper Voice Production will
+remedy. While I cannot give advice here, I shall be happy to answer any
+communications of sufferers from this complaint.
+
+                                                   FREDERICK J. CROWEST.
+
+     24 AMPTHILL SQUARE, LONDON, N.W.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                                  _Page_
+
+  PRELIMINARY REMARKS                                                  9
+
+  ON HABITS, DIET, &c.                                                13
+
+    Early Rising--Cleanliness--The Hair--The Teeth--Exercise--Dress--
+    Diet--Smoking--Late Hours--General Morality.
+
+  PRONUNCIATION AND STUDY OF WORDS                                    21
+
+    Nervousness--Pronunciation--Vowel-Sounds--Consonants--English--
+    Emphasis--Position of Lips--Study of "Words"--General
+    Education--Dramatic Study.
+
+  VOICES AND THEIR VARIOUS QUALITIES                                  28
+
+    Voices and their Names--Compass--Soprano--Mezzo-Soprano--
+    Mezzo-Contralto--Contralto--Alto--Tenore-Leggiero--Tenore-Robusto--
+    Barytone and Basso-Cantante--Bass--Buffo--Qualities of Voices.
+
+  INSTRUCTION, BOOKS AND MASTERS                                      47
+
+    Schools of Singing--Masters--Institutions--A First Opinion--Bad
+    Lessons--Bad Teachers--Books of Exercises.
+
+  PRACTICE                                                            53
+
+    Individuality--Perseverance--Facial Expression--Self-Accompaniment--
+    Position of Body, Arms, Hands, Throat, Tongue, Larynx--
+    Head-Singing--Throatiness--Clearing the Throat--High Notes--The
+    Scale--Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano--Tone--Chest, Falsetto, and
+    Head--Scale Practice--First Exercises (_with Examples_)--Duration
+    of Practice--Singing in Tune--How to Begin--Variety--Chorus
+    Singing--Humming--Studying Songs--Imitation--General Musical Study.
+
+  ON STYLE AND EXPRESSION                                             71
+
+    Traditional Styles--Modern German _Lieder_--"The Cathedral
+    School"--Oratorio (_with Examples_)--Opera--Ballads--Recitative
+    (_with Examples_)--Slurring--Sentiment--Decision--Imitation--Public
+    Singing--"Holding" an Audience--Mistakes in Public.
+
+  ON TIME IN SINGING                                                  87
+
+    The Metronome--Accent--Exercises: four beats to the bar; three
+    beats to the bar; two beats to the bar.
+
+  ON THE CHOICE OF MUSIC                                             103
+
+    Music to Suit the Voice--"Original Keys"--Execution--Fashion--
+    Forming a "Repertoire."
+
+  PHYSIOLOGICAL SURROUNDINGS                                         109
+
+    The Larynx--The Thyroid--The Pharynx--The Voice; A Wind, Reed,
+    or String Instrument.
+
+  EXERCISES                                                          115
+
+    Exercises 1, 2, for Uniting Notes--Exercise 3, for Flexibility,
+    &c.--Exercise 4, on Intervals of Thirds--Exercise 5, on Intervals
+    of Fourths--Exercise 6, on Intervals of Fifths--Exercise 7, on
+    Intervals of Sixths--Exercise 8, on Intervals of Sevenths.
+
+  INDEX                                                              126
+
+
+
+
+ADVICE TO SINGERS.
+
+
+
+
+PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
+
+
+Whatever be the actual difference between the professional and the
+amateur singer, if a person is worthy of the name of singer at all,
+there should be no difference in their views of Art, and in their
+devotion to practice. Singing is an art, and one of the most difficult
+of the arts to master; and any one who attempts to learn it must be
+prepared to give the same devotion to it as is demanded by the sister
+arts of painting and sculpture. I do not mean exactly devotion of the
+whole time and energy of life to it; because, however necessary that may
+be for the professional, who has to make his living by it, such entire
+devotion to an accomplishment or an amusement (for such singing is to
+the amateur) would, for a non-professional, be frequently impossible,
+and very often wrong, as it would lead to a neglect of the duties of
+life. But, while the entire devotion of time and energy of a
+professional singer is demanded to master the various styles, and the
+immense mass of music, with which he or she will have to deal in the
+exercise of the profession, the amateur should bear in mind that such
+time and energy as he can devote to singing must be firmly restricted to
+doing what he undertakes thoroughly well--as well, in fact, as a
+professional. The amateur's position, which forbids him to make singing
+the work of his life, limits the range of his work, not the quality of
+it. He cannot, even if he have the voice of a Rubini or a Braham, master
+the difficulties of opera, oratorio, and ballad alike. Circumstances
+forbid him to conquer the world, but there is no reason why he should
+not be a king in his own special realm. To be that he will have to
+follow the same rules as though he were able to attack the whole
+universe of vocal music; for he should feel that the only difference
+between him and the professional singer lies in the sphere of their
+work.
+
+The same remarks apply to many professionals. _Very_ few can excel in
+all styles, and few in more than one. To attempt all is a great mistake,
+and will probably lead to failure, or at least mediocrity in all.
+
+But the first point that I would insist upon is the necessity for
+earnest devotion and regular work, both in professional and amateur, so
+that the term _Artist_ may apply to both. I shall be at no great pains
+to avoid occasional repetitions of incidental remarks. In a book
+intended for constant reference rather than for one perusal, and one
+divided, as this is, into short paragraphs, words may attract attention
+in one place, while in another they may have been overlooked. If,
+therefore, I err in this respect, I shall do so deliberately, my sole
+aim being to help and impress the student as much as possible.
+
+Remember that the human voice is the most delicate of all instruments,
+susceptible to more and more varied influence than any other. The singer
+has to combine in himself the instrument and the performer; and while
+all the artistic and intellectual qualities necessary for the
+instrumentalist are required by him, he is compelled beyond that to
+realize that he is a living instrument, and to exercise over himself all
+the care--and indeed far more than all--that players exercise over their
+most cherished "weapons." He has not only to learn how to sing, but how
+to be and to remain fit for singing. He, more than any other musical
+artist, will find that he is affected by moral as well as physical and
+intellectual causes, and he must face this fact boldly.
+
+In writing down the brief hints which this little work offers to
+singers, I shall therefore take in a range of subjects and enter into
+many details which may seem to have little to do with the practice of
+_Do_, _Re_, _Mi_. I do this advisedly, and I believe that such hints as
+those on general culture and habits of living are by no means the least
+important part of my work. I do not profess to teach my readers how to
+sing--(any singer knows, and I should like the public to know too, that
+singing cannot be taught by a book)--but to give "hints to singers," and
+many of those hints are on such subjects as it would be an impertinence
+on the part of a singing master to allude to. If the student takes
+offence at the _book_, it happily does not reach the author.
+
+Following out the previous thought, I shall try to turn the intending
+singer's attention to several other subjects, before I touch upon that
+of strictly musical interest. And if I here seem to "preach"
+occasionally, I shall never do so without cause, and never, I trust, in
+any spirit but that of the warmest sympathy with the aspirations and the
+peculiar trials and difficulties of those who are still in full vigour
+of youth and health.
+
+Remember that I give _hints_, not _rules_. It is quite impossible to lay
+down rules of living which shall apply alike to male and female, or to
+variously constituted natures. But I hope I may trust to the common
+sense of every individual to draw sound conclusions, and to form his or
+her own rules, by the help of these hints, and, the rules once formed,
+to adhere to them resolutely. If singing is to be done at all, it is
+worth while to do it well, and to spare no pains to that end.
+
+There is a good deal to be done by the student of singing before he
+attacks the strictly musical part of his difficulties. General
+education, if deficient, must be attended to; habits of living must be
+formed and followed out; faults of character, such as laziness, ill
+temper, slovenliness, impatience, and want of perseverance, must be
+bravely fought; for the study of singing, perhaps more than of any other
+art, will test the character severely in these respects.
+
+The student must be prepared to exercise a good deal of self-denial; to
+put aside all notions of self-merit for a long time to come; and to be
+humble, and ready to take a hint from any source. Whatever merits he may
+have at starting are certainly not due to his own skill; they are simply
+natural gifts, and the better they are, the more is there for him to
+learn in doing justice to them. Let him not waste time in admiring what
+he is, or has done; but let him keep all his energy for what he may yet
+be and for what he yet has to accomplish.
+
+
+
+
+ON HABITS, DIET, &c.
+
+
+The following paragraphs contain hints on various matters apparently
+little connected with singing, yet all of more or less importance to the
+singer. The voice, and the power of using it, depend so greatly upon
+general health, and health is so easily affected by habits of living,
+that I offer no apology for entering into some details which, though
+easy enough to write down, and read when written, would be difficult for
+a singing master to allude to or suggest without giving offence.
+
+
+=Early Rising.=--Practise early rising, and, if possible, take a short
+walk before breakfast. This tends to keep the circulation of the blood
+in a good condition, and that is, of course, of great importance to the
+lungs, and all the organs which singing requires to tax somewhat
+severely.
+
+
+=Cleanliness.=--Strict cleanliness is of the greatest importance. Take a
+cold bath every morning directly you get out of bed. Do not stand
+"pottering about," or you may catch cold, but go to your bath while the
+skin is moist with the perspiration which the warmth of bed has drawn
+out. If you let the perspiration dry, and then plunge into cold water,
+you run a great risk of giving yourself a severe chill. Sponge yourself
+well, and rapidly, all over, especially the chest, throat, back of the
+neck, and all round the loins; and dry the body thoroughly and briskly
+with a rough towel. Let no fear of damaging the complexion deter young
+ladies from this most healthy and necessary operation.
+
+In winter, if the circulation is naturally sluggish, it is as well not
+to take the bath perfectly cold, but merely add enough hot water just to
+remove the extreme chill. The bath ought to feel cold to you, even
+though it be not the coldest possible.
+
+It is well to take a warm bath once a week--if possible, just before
+going to bed. Do not have it hot, but simply warm, and, of course, use
+soap with it. Do not dawdle over it, but "have it and have done with
+it," and then get to bed at once. If you find the effect of it to be
+enervating or relaxing, take it less warm in future. The object of it is
+simply to open and cleanse the pores of the skin--a matter of great
+importance.
+
+
+=The Hair.=--The same rule of extreme cleanliness applies to the hair, and
+for the same reason, viz., its intimate connection with the circulation
+of the blood and the pores of the skin. Keep the hair well brushed, and
+have it frequently cut and shampooed. Avoid "pomatums," washes, and
+greasy messes of every kind: their smell is objectionable and their
+effect is generally to dirty the head. Moreover, the public have the
+good taste to object to the appearance of an artist before them who is
+evidently "got up" with pains for the occasion. A person who is
+habitually as clean as he can be, need never fear to appear in public,
+and may spare himself the disgusting application of "grease" to his head
+to make himself fit to be seen.
+
+If a moustache is worn, let it be kept within bounds, and not allowed to
+fall over the mouth, where it would affect the tone of the voice. Do not
+cut it straight along the lip, but train it right and left, allowing it
+to grow naturally and uncut. The advantages of the moustache are two: it
+acts to a certain extent as a respirator, and protects the mouth and
+throat as the eyelash does the eye, and it helps to conceal any slight
+distortion of the mouth in singing. This, I confess, is a doubtful
+advantage:--there ought to be no distortion, and if any were seen, it
+might, perhaps, be corrected. However, I give the opinion for what it is
+worth.
+
+
+=The Teeth.=--The teeth play such an important part in the production of
+the voice that every care should be taken to preserve them sound and in
+good condition--to say nothing of the part which they play in facial
+expression, a point to which every singer should attend. A bad state of
+the teeth at once affects the stomach, and that again the voice, so that
+no apology is needed for drawing the student's attention to this matter.
+Clean the teeth the first thing in the morning, and the last thing at
+night. Use a moderately hard brush, better too soft than too hard, with
+cold water, or better still, just lukewarm. Avoid all "dentifrices" and
+advertised nastinesses in the way of powders and "fragrant" washes. A
+mixture of powdered (not "prepared") chalk and orris-root, in the
+proportion of about three to two, is the best thing to use, and any
+chemist will make that up for you. Remember to brush the teeth inside
+and along the top, as well as outside; and if you find this difficult
+with the ordinary-shaped brush, get one of those which are sold for the
+purpose. If you find, in spite of your care, that your teeth become
+discoloured, the cause is probably that your stomach is out of order. In
+that case, go straight to a doctor, for the consequence of such
+derangement is that "tartar" is formed on the teeth, and this grows, and
+pushes back the gums, altering the form of the cavity of the mouth, and
+so affecting the tone of the voice.
+
+
+=Exercise.=--Be as much as you can in the open air. Take moderate walking
+exercise, but of course do not tire yourself before singing or
+practising. For male singers, rowing, riding, football and cricket (but
+without the shouting so often incidental to these games), racquets or
+tennis, and above all an hour or two weekly in a gymnasium, are
+excellent things; while for ladies, walking, riding, lawn-tennis, "la
+grace," and calisthenics are equally useful. If you live in a town,
+always walk in preference to taking a conveyance, when time and weather
+permit it.
+
+Never breathe through your mouth in walking, especially at night, or on
+coming out into the open air after singing. Keep the lips closed, and
+inhale the air through the nostrils. This is easily acquired, and to be
+able to do this will be found of great service in taking breath for
+singing; but out of doors it is most important, for the immediate rush
+of cold or damp air to the delicate organs of the throat, especially
+when the latter have been excited by the exertion of singing, is
+dangerous. It is a good plan, and a profitable use of the time, to
+practise breathing when walking, by filling the lungs, and utilizing
+each inspiration for as long a distance as possible.
+
+
+=Dress.=--Nothing can be said in favour of our climate for singing. With
+proper precautions, however, a great deal of trouble arising from this
+cause may be averted. In summer, as well as in winter, for instance, the
+writer would strongly urge the wearing of moderately thick-soled boots
+or shoes. Then, again, the neck and chest should never be exposed alike
+to a June sun and a December frost; but, instead, it should be
+moderately and reasonably covered. Great care should be taken never to
+get wet, especially wet or damp feet.
+
+In going out of hot rooms into the open air much pains should be
+exercised to keep the chest and throat covered up with an overcoat or
+cloak--however warm the weather may be. In _very severe_ winter weather
+the singer will derive much comfort by wearing a flannel
+chest-protector. Sitting about in gardens, and on lawns, in the evenings
+on even the warmest days, is not a safe indulgence for the student who
+is in earnest in the pursuit of his art.
+
+One caution is necessary as to "wrapping up," however. Do not over-do
+it. The constant use of a "comforter" renders the throat delicate and
+susceptible. All you have to fear is damp, not cold, in the atmosphere.
+A comforter, closely wound round the throat, promotes perspiration, and
+the risk of chill in removing it is greater than in not wearing it at
+all. Common sense must guide every one. It is impossible to make a rule
+for all.
+
+
+=Diet.=--As to diet: avoid everything that is at all indigestible. Live
+well, and take plenty of varied nourishment. The singer's system _must_
+be well nourished. Chocolate and coffee are better than tea; the latter
+is too astringent, and affects the nerves too much, if taken in
+abundance. Sugar, in moderation, should always be used with those
+beverages, and they should never be taken very hot. Bread is better than
+toast, but avoid hot or very new bread. Eggs and butter are good. Meat
+should be plainly cooked and not too well done. Pork tries the digestion
+too severely to be a desirable food for a singer, and the same may be
+said of veal. Fish is good for the singer, and he should if possible let
+it form a part of his daily _menu_. Creams and pastry are simply poison,
+and cheese should only be taken in great moderation. Fruit is an
+excellent thing if judiciously used. But here, again, hard and fast
+rules are impossible, because constitutions vary. Only remember the old
+proverb, "We must eat to live, and not live to eat."
+
+Never practise or sing upon an empty stomach, or soon after a meal:
+either of these habits will unfairly tax your digestive organs, and in
+so doing damage your voice. After a meal, all the energy of the body is
+required for the stomach; in a healthy person the extremities will
+generally be cold after a full meal, and the reason is that the
+digestive organs are using all the heat and blood that the body can give
+for their special work. Nature thus points to a rest of every other
+organ at that time, and you must not fight against Nature by attempting
+any such severe physical strain as the practice of the voice demands.
+
+All acids and astringents are bad for a healthy throat and stomach.
+Vinegar, highly-flavoured sauces, almonds and raisins, nuts of every
+kind should be avoided. Some of these are useful as remedies in relaxed
+throat, or congestion of the throat, no doubt; but I am speaking simply
+of what is desirable for a person in a state of health. In cases of
+cold, hoarseness, or indisposition of any kind, my prescription is,
+"Don't doctor yourself, but (as Abernethy said) '_Take advice_.'" Be
+very careful and abstemious in the use of spirits. Brandy is decidedly
+injurious, it heats and inflames the throat, and tends to constipate the
+bowels. Gin or whiskey is the most wholesome spirit, but take as little
+as possible of either. If you drink beer or stout, take draught and not
+bottled, and always in great moderation. All effervescing liquors are
+objectionable; therefore eschew champagne, Moselle, bottled ale and
+stout, _et hoc genus omne_. The fluids called port and sherry are cruel
+foes to singing. A glass of _good_ port is a fair medicine in certain
+cases, and the same may be said of very dry Amontillado, but if
+you have nothing the matter with you, avoid port and (so-called)
+sherry--especially the hideous compound of alcohol and molasses known as
+"brown" sherry--as you would poison.
+
+The best drink for singers is claret, or any light wine, French, German,
+or Italian. I myself find the latter on the whole the best, and such
+wines as Barolo Secco or Chianté are pure and cheap, and contain all the
+properties necessary for a singer's beverage. But in this as in all
+else, _moderation_ is a _sine quâ non_. Fluids are apt to produce
+congestion or mucus in the throat and glands of the mouth, and that of
+course interferes with the free action of the muscles in singing.
+
+
+=Smoking.=--As a general rule it may be laid down that smoking is a bad
+habit for the singer, male or female (for there are females who are
+proud of being able to smoke cigarettes nowadays!). With many instances
+of great singers who have also been great smokers before us, it is
+impossible to say decidedly that singers must not smoke; but the habit
+is one to be very cautiously indulged in. If smoking in any case induces
+expectoration, it should at once be given up, for the habit of spitting,
+to which some smokers allow themselves (quite needlessly) to give way,
+is, in reality, the greatest evil of smoking; it weakens the throat,
+lungs, and chest. If a man can smoke without spitting or drinking, I
+confess that I am no great enemy to tobacco; but the "if" is a big one.
+
+A cigarette is certainly a safeguard against taking cold in coming out
+of a hot room into the open air, especially after singing; but strong
+cigars or strong tobacco in pipes are to be avoided, because of their
+effect on the nerves.
+
+
+=Late Hours.=--Avoid late hours. You require, not only a certain amount of
+sleep, but to take that sleep before the body and mind are at all
+overtaxed. From many causes, it is well known, the human frame is always
+at its lowest from about 2 a.m. till 5 a.m., and the nearer you approach
+those hours in going to bed, the less able are you to derive all the
+benefit which you require from sleep. Twelve o'clock is late enough for
+any one.
+
+Another reason why late hours are bad is connected not with physical
+facts so much as with morals. It is true, you may come to no actual
+harm, or get into no positive mischief, by being out late at night, but
+you place yourself in a position of risk--risk of cold, over-fatigue,
+inhaling vitiated atmosphere, &c., as well as risk to moral character,
+which latter, in its way as delicate as the voice, is injured not only
+by actual violation of right, but by all society, conversation, and
+literature which tend to dim its brightness, or (to use another
+metaphor) to spoil the purity of its outline by roughly knocking off its
+corners. At all events, as to the night side of "Life," you are better
+out of it.
+
+
+=Morality.=--Nothing can act more prejudicially upon a singer than those
+influences which are understood by that very inclusive term, a "fast"
+life. I would, therefore, urge upon the student the necessity of a
+religious avoidance of those influences. They dull the purity of thought
+which marks all true art; they deaden the intellect which art requires;
+and they injure the physical powers, without which all a singer's study
+may be suddenly rendered useless to him. All excess is bad, and
+self-restraint and self-control are of the greatest importance both to
+character and health. Many an anxious student has mastered the musical
+side of his art, but has failed under the rigid demands which the moral
+code makes upon an intending singer. It is of no use for a singer to be
+strong musically, and weak morally: the two preparations must go
+hand-in-hand; and while building up a structure of vocal greatness, his
+care must always be that the moral foundation will always support the
+weight of persistent study, and leave him favourably placed in the stern
+competition going on around him for a front place in the race for
+singing fame, and the inevitable honours. Keep these hints in mind,
+think them carefully over, and be your own moral doctor. That will be
+better than following any code of cut and dried rules. If you err at
+all, let it be on the side of self-denial, the hardest and probably the
+highest of all virtues.
+
+
+
+
+ON THE STUDY OF PRONUNCIATION AND "WORDS" IN SINGING, &c.
+
+
+The singer has to combine the arts of the musician, the public speaker,
+and, to a certain extent, the actor. Clearness of pronunciation and
+correctness of emphasis are included in the range of his study. Nor are
+these so easy of acquirement as many persons suppose. To a novice, the
+almost inevitable nervousness inseparable from the prominent position
+which a solo singer necessarily holds in the company, or before the
+audience to which he is singing, is very apt to render the enunciation
+less distinct and more rapid than is natural to him. His ear guides him
+less safely; and, in fact, every sense, influenced by the abnormal state
+of his nerves, is apt to play him more or less false. It is only by
+having carefully studied and mastered every detail of manner, posture,
+and speech, as well as of the music to be performed, that a singer can
+rise superior to the treachery of his nerves, in whatever form that
+treachery may show itself.
+
+
+=Nervousness.=--A few words as to nervousness. You will often hear persons
+boast that they are not the least nervous in public; and, perhaps, will
+feel inclined to envy them. Get rid of any such notion at once. If by
+"nervous" is meant "frightened," that is another thing altogether; and
+it is perfectly true that there are hundreds of persons who are not in
+the least afraid of appearing in public, nor affected by timidity when
+so appearing. But fear is only one form of nervousness. I firmly
+believe that it is impossible for a real artist ever to appear in public
+without being _nervous_. But the nerves act in many ways: the fervour of
+an eloquent speaker carried away by his subject; the "_abandon_" of a
+fine actor thoroughly entering into his part and identifying himself
+with it; the sustained energy of a declamatory singer; the faultless and
+unerring agility of a florid _soprano_, who astonishes her hearers by
+wonder on wonder of execution--all these things are due, in their subtle
+charm, to nervousness--_i.e._ to delicate nervous organization in active
+play. These artists are not frightened, it is true, but excited,
+stimulated, roused from the normal state of eating, walking, and
+sleeping; something of the spiritual kindles the mere physical forces in
+them--some breath of inspiration sustains that living power which so
+influences the hearers. In some way or other every great artist is
+always nervous; were it not so, the essence of their power would vanish.
+Persons of cold and phlegmatic temperament lack the very life-breath of
+art; and though they may train themselves into fair imitations of some
+great artists, they will generally be detected with ease, by any hearer
+of true sensibility, as imitations, not the real thing. Therefore do not
+be ashamed to admit that you are nervous, if it be so. Nerves are a
+cruel master, but a splendid servant; instead of letting them overcome
+you, force them to do your bidding; and instead of "nervousness" meaning
+"fear," you will find that it means courage and power to do your best.
+
+
+=Pronunciation.=--Study correctness of pronunciation and propriety of
+emphasis quite apart from singing. Remember that in speaking or singing
+in a large space and to a number of persons, every sound must have not
+only additional force, but additional volume. And that comes to mean
+that every vowel-sound in the words sung must be intensified, and every
+consonant be delivered with more accuracy than is necessary in ordinary
+speaking. If you were to pronounce the syllable "die" (for instance), in
+singing, _exactly_ as you do in speaking, you would produce on the
+notes or note to which that word belonged a thinness of tone which would
+be very ugly, and probably would not "carry" far. And the same with any
+vowel-sound--even "Ah," or "Oh,"--which, though not producing a thin
+tone, would certainly produce a coarse one, if sung exactly as spoken in
+ordinary conversation.
+
+
+=Vowel-Sounds.=--The reason of the need of this slight change is as
+follows. Every vowel-sound, like every musical sound (for vowel-sounds
+are nothing less than musical sounds) is composed of _two_ sounds.
+Combined with the prominent and chief sound which first attracts the ear
+is a second, which, though not prominent, lends point and force to the
+other. Thus our English vowel-sound "A" is really _Éh-é_; "E" is _E-é_;
+"I" is _Ah-é_; "O" is _O-óo_, or even _Aw-oo_; "U" is _Ée-óo_. Of
+course, I do not mean to say that those absurd-looking syllables really
+express exactly the sounds which we produce in speaking the vowels, for
+no combination of letters can do that, or can bring within reach of the
+eye the subtleties of sound in human speech; but if you attempt to
+pronounce those syllables, you will find that you are really pronouncing
+the vowels from which I "translated" them.
+
+Now, in conversation or rapid speaking, the subordinate sound of the
+vowel is scarcely noticeable, while the more prominent sound is heard
+for the short interval of time required. But in singing or public
+speaking, where the production of tone is more deliberate, the space to
+be filled with sound larger, or, in other words, the column of air to be
+set vibrating is greater and heavier, the _complex_ sound of the vowel
+must not be ignored. It is impossible to lay down any set of rules by
+which the student may overcome this difficulty; but every one, by
+bearing in mind the absolute necessity of attention to this point, may
+easily accustom himself to the slight change of pronunciation (as it
+will at first appear) which is required to give vowel-sounds when sung,
+or spoken "_ore rotundo_," the same tone, to the hearer's ear, as they
+have in ordinary speaking. As a general rule this is done by keeping
+the throat more open, the larynx (or "Adam's apple") as low down as
+possible, and the root of the tongue flat, depressed, even hollowed like
+the bowl of a spoon. The truth of all this may easily be tested by
+singing any short passage deliberately and distinctly, with the exact
+pronunciation of ordinary speaking, and then repeating it with attention
+to the above hints. In the first instance the result will be meagre,
+hard to be heard at a moderate distance, and very likely extremely
+ludicrous to the hearer. In the second, you will find that the tone of
+the notes gains in roundness and fulness, while the words are clearly
+heard in every part of the room with the exact effect belonging to them.
+I purposely refrain from attempting to write down the difference
+discernible in any words so sung, because, as I have already said,
+_letters_ cannot accurately express distinctions so delicate, yet so
+all-important to the singer, speaker, and hearer.
+
+
+=Consonants.=--In pronouncing consonants, be careful to give each its due
+value, but without exaggeration. Be especially particular to sound the
+_last_ letter of each word distinctly. But take care to avoid adding a
+slight sound (as of an _e_ mute) after the final letter: for instance,
+do not say "When other-_é_ lips," &c., or "bright-_é_ days," and so on.
+Do not over-aspirate the letter "_H_." "_N_," "_L_," "_M_," "_B_,"
+"_P_," and "_V_," are all letters requiring care in firm pronunciation.
+
+Avoid prefixing a slight sound of "_N_" to the first word of a song or
+passage in singing. It is a common trick with beginners to do this, and
+they frequently do it without being in the least conscious of it. It is
+produced by a kind of nervous feeling of the teeth with the tongue, as
+if to make sure that all is right for the start! I have heard an
+aspiring youth actually begin a well-known song thus: "_Nwaft her
+Rangels Nthrough the sky_," &c.
+
+
+=English Words.=--The English language is not the most suitable one under
+the sun for singing purposes; nevertheless, it is not nearly so
+intolerable and unfavourable an one as it is the fashion to make out.
+The grand old Scripture passages which Handel, Mendelssohn, and others
+have set to music testify to this. Yet musical care _is_ needed when
+singing English words, and especially in pronouncing the "sibilants," as
+_S_, &c. These "sibilants" must never be enunciated rapidly, or their
+ill effects will soon be found in a series of _hissings_. Let it be your
+study, then, to avoid this ill effect in singing English words, and to
+utter such sounds slowly and carefully, with the endeavour to produce a
+soft and agreeable effect; for it is, indeed, unpardonable to hear an
+English singer unable to render perfectly the words (if =not= the music)
+of his native country's songs and ballads.
+
+
+=Emphasis.=--Having accustomed yourself to carefulness over each letter in
+your pronunciation, the next thing is to study correctness of emphasis,
+&c. All this is apart from the strictly musical portion of your studies,
+and, while you can work at this without music, you will certainly spoil
+the effect of your singing (however good your voice and voice production
+may be), unless you do so study your "words." I should recommend you to
+practise reading aloud for not less than a quarter of an hour at a time,
+say once a day. Read _standing_; place your book on a desk, on a level
+with your eyes, and speak out deliberately, and with full tone of voice,
+and as much variety of intonation as the matter read requires.
+Shakespeare is your best author for this study. You will feel at first
+as if you were doing a very absurd thing, but never mind that--do it,
+and do it as well and as carefully as you can.
+
+
+=Position of the Lips.=--In speaking and reading aloud during your
+preliminary training for singing, be very careful that there be no
+change in the aperture of the mouth or position of the lips while
+uttering any one sound, however prolonged. If the lips move from their
+first position, however slightly, the tone immediately changes, and the
+pronunciation ceases to be pure and refined.
+
+
+=Study of Words.=--The words of a song are as much worthy of the singer's
+study as the music, that is, if the song is worth singing at all. I do
+not mean to say that in themselves they must necessarily be of equal
+merit, but that they require as much attention on the part of the singer
+to bring out their meaning. Study the text, therefore, apart from the
+music. Read the words aloud deliberately; master the sentiment of them,
+and note the prominent words and phrases, so as to be able to give them
+their due value when you have to combine them with the music. Avoid
+giving prominence to such words as "of," "for," "the," "and," "in," &c.,
+&c., but yet let each be distinctly pronounced, and not slurred over in
+an indefinite murmur. Learn the words of your song by memory. Master the
+text, and consider the whole from an elocutionist's point of view before
+you attack the musical side of the matter. A singer when singing in
+public should not be troubled with his words and music too.
+
+
+=General Education.=--An important branch of study is that of giving
+expression to the passions, and of communicating your conceptions and
+emotions to the minds of your listeners. No better training could a
+young singer have for forming such ideas than the earnest perusal of the
+works of Shakespeare, Dante, Goethe, Milton, Lytton, George Eliot, &c.;
+or in watching carefully and intelligently the acting of our best stage
+performers. For a singer to be successful, he or she must be in a
+position to express, and bring home to an audience, such emotions as
+love, hatred, anger, fear, grief, and pity; all these, and many other
+such feelings, have constantly to be transmitted by the singer, and it
+is to the most natural and faithful exposition of these, and that most
+consistent with the other equally important points of the art of
+singing, that the student's attention should for a long while be
+patiently and perseveringly directed.
+
+The singer should be a well-educated man, and he should know at least
+one other language beside his native tongue. He should be well read,
+too, in the best literature of these two languages. On questions of all
+the arts he should seek to make his views sound and true. He should seek
+to travel, and so enlarge his mind, for all this training will reflect
+itself in the work of an artist so liberally educated. An inferior
+education has been the bane of many a student, who has had the organ and
+all the necessary musical ability.
+
+
+=Dramatic Study.=--To be a successful public singer, even in the
+concert-room, one must be more or less an actor; and, therefore, the
+time and money bestowed in acquiring a sound knowledge of dramatic
+action and elocution will be well spent. For the lyric stage, such a
+study is imperative; but its utility to artists who aspire no higher
+than to ballad or oratorio singing cannot be too highly estimated.
+
+
+
+
+VOICES AND THEIR VARIOUS QUALITIES.
+
+
+The life of the singing voice is so comparatively short, that the study
+of singing is rendered more difficult than that of any other art. You
+may buy a violin or a pianoforte, ready-made and perfect, in your
+childhood, and nothing remains for you but to study the instrument
+diligently under a good master. But the vocal instrument cannot be said
+to exist at all, for purposes of singing study, before the age of
+eighteen or twenty in males, and (in our climate) sixteen in females.
+Even at those ages the organ is necessarily immature and undeveloped.
+Consequently the study of the art has to be carried on during the
+progress of the instrument to maturity.
+
+To counterbalance this disadvantage, however, we must bear in mind that
+that very study materially helps to perfect the instrument. Singing is
+by no means all "style," and the study of it includes the formation of
+the voice and production of a good tone, and it is, of course, easier to
+manipulate an unfinished article than a finished one--to educate youth
+and suppleness than to bring maturity and stiffness into subjection to
+new conditions.
+
+Therefore begin your study in the youth of your voice; but, recollecting
+that its life is the most short-lived of your faculties, let your study
+be most earnest and painstaking. Especially if singing is to be your
+profession, act upon the wise advice of Dr. Burney, and "Never go to bed
+till you have learned something which you did not know the previous
+night."
+
+
+=Voices.=--"What is your voice?" is a very common question, sometimes
+expressed in the rather less polite but more intelligent form, "What do
+you call your voice?" The answer almost invariably is either "Soprano,"
+"Contralto," "Tenor," "Bass," or "Barytone." Here is a warning for you
+at starting. Do not limit your notions of what voices are to those four
+or five generic names. Because choral music is generally written in four
+parts, for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, the non-musical public, and a
+great many musical people (some composers included) seem to think that
+those names are an inclusive description of every human voice.
+
+This would be of very little consequence if it were only a question of
+names; but it is of no use to say "What is in a name?" if the result of
+a wrong name is to lead to mischief. The misfortune of wrongly naming
+your voice is that it will lead you to practise wrongly, and to choose
+the wrong style of music for study and performance. For instance, a
+young lady may call herself a _soprano_ because she can "_sing up to
+C_," and may therefore fancy that the whole repertoire of a Tietjens or
+a Clara Novello is within her reach; and acting on this notion, she may
+fatally damage a naturally bright and pleasing voice by giving it work
+to do which belongs of right to a voice of totally different calibre,
+the _mezzo-soprano_.
+
+
+=Naming the Voice.=--Remember always that the character of a voice is
+determined not by compass or range of notes, but by quality, or body and
+_timbre_, of tone. Two ladies may have voices ranging from A to A--two
+octaves--and yet one might be a pure light soprano, and the other a
+genuine contralto; while in length of compass a mezzo-soprano may even
+beat them both. And so with male voices (the variety in which is even
+greater than in female), you may have a voice of pure tenor quality, and
+yet of such limited compass that your energetic barytone friend next
+door may make your life miserable with jealousy of the ease with which
+he bellows high Gs, G sharps, and even on great occasions an A or so.
+
+But compass has nothing whatever to do with the name of the voice: it
+may limit the quantity of music which can be performed, but it should
+have no influence on the choice of the style of music to be studied.
+This is a point of the greatest importance, therefore I repeat it
+briefly once more--_Your voice must be described and used with reference
+to its quality, or volume and timbre, and not with reference to the
+number of notes which you can sing._
+
+
+=Male and Female Voices.=--The actual varieties in tone and quality in
+different voices cannot, of course, be expressed on paper; but a careful
+use of your ears in listening to good public singers will soon teach you
+to discriminate. Female voices are of at least four kinds: soprano,
+mezzo-soprano, mezzo-contralto, and contralto. Male are of five or six,
+or even more. Alto; tenore-leggiero or light tenor; tenore-robusto or
+strong heavy-voiced tenor; barytone--basso-cantante (erroneously
+identified with the barytone by some persons); basso-profondo or bass.
+
+Beside all these divisions or species, voices must be again classed
+according to their power. Any one who has ever heard an opera singer in
+a moderate-sized private drawing-room, will readily appreciate the
+difference between a _voce di camera_, or "chamber voice," and a _voce
+di teatro_.
+
+
+=Compass.=--The respective compasses of the several voices may be roughly
+set down as follows, but it should be borne in mind that it is by no
+means a matter of course that a singer of any particular voice should
+possess or cultivate the whole range of notes supposed to belong to that
+voice. He or she may be none the less a tenor or a soprano because the
+one cannot produce an "_Ut de poitrine_," or the other "_F_ in _Alt_."
+There is a special individuality in every voice, as in every face, and
+therefore every voice must be treated, by a good teacher, on its own
+merits, as a thing in some respects unique.
+
+Perhaps it will be best, therefore, instead of saying that the compass
+of any given kind of voice is from ---- to ----, to say that music for
+such and such a voice is generally written between such and such limits.
+The range allotted by composers to the various voices is about two
+octaves to each--for solo work, of course--and is as follows, it being
+understood that the male voices are an octave lower in pitch than the
+female:--
+
+    _Soprano_, and _Tenore-Leggiero_, and in operatic music a certain
+    kind of _Tenore-Robusto_.
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: C4]
+    {to
+    {[Music: C6]
+
+    _Mezzo-Soprano_ and _Tenore-Robusto_
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: A3]
+    {to
+    {[Music: A5]
+
+    _Mezzo-Contralto_ and _Barytone_
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: G3]
+    {to
+    {[Music: G5]
+
+    _Contralto_ and _Bass_
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: E3]
+    {to
+    {[Music: E5]
+
+The basso-cantante is a low barytone, or high bass with a lighter
+quality of tone than the basso-profondo. The alto voice, or
+counter-tenor as it used to be called, is not a natural voice at all,
+but is artificially produced by training the _falsetto_ to the exclusion
+of the other parts of the voice. It is totally distinct from the
+contralto voice of a female, in quality, average compass, and the style
+of music best suited to it. It is of more use in part-singing and
+cathedral music than for solo work, although in some oratorios solo
+parts have been allotted to it. It is rarely pleasing when heard alone,
+for very few alto singers are able to avoid the appearance of singing
+with effort; and the whole performance, except in some instances,
+appears unnatural and forced. The alto voice ranges generally
+
+    from
+    [Music: G3]
+    to
+    [Music: C5]
+
+    but its best notes are confined to the octave of B flat.
+
+
+=Soprano.=--The soprano is generally clear, bright, and penetrating in
+tone; capable, if rightly produced, of "carrying" far without any
+appearance of force or effort. Its lower register is often weak and
+ineffective, and the forcing of those notes by a bad singer often
+damages the voice, and spoils the evenness of tone, which is of far more
+importance than power and noise in singing. Low notes, even if
+naturally weak, may be trained to take their proper share of the work of
+the voice, and every year will add to their natural power. Most soprano
+voices have a "break" on
+
+[Music: G4]
+
+and another, and more difficult one to deal with, on
+
+[Music: E5]
+
+or
+
+[Music: F5]
+
+The lower notes are the (so-called) "chest" register; the middle ones,
+between the breaks, the "falsetto," and the upper ones the "head" notes.
+I shall speak of these often-used and frequently-misapplied words
+presently; I merely mention them now for the sake of pointing out to
+soprani, what many young lady amateurs utterly ignore, that they have
+these "breaks," and possess "chest," "falsetto," and "head" notes, as
+well as male singers.
+
+Soprano voices are frequently capable of great flexibility, and passages
+are easy to them which tax the powers even of a light mezzo-soprano
+severely. The high notes, especially, are in many cases easily produced
+in a staccato manner, like notes of a piccolo flute, and an effect is
+thus made, which, though pretty and pleasing if judiciously employed,
+becomes a great snare to many singers, who for the sake of astonishing
+their audience work the upper part of their voices unfairly, and,
+neglecting steady use and practice of the lower registers, will very
+soon find that they have weakened the power and thinned the tone of the
+whole voice.
+
+But there are many voices of pure soprano tone which lack this
+flexibility: let the fair owners console themselves with the
+recollection that good _sostenuto_ singing is quite as pleasing, in the
+long run, as displays of vocal gymnastics. You may not be able to
+attempt the "_Dinorah_" Shadow Song, or the "Rejoice Greatly" in the
+"_Messiah_," but you will find that you have plenty of good work left
+for you in such music as "Dove Sono," "Deh vieni, non tardar"
+("_Figaro_"), or "Jerusalem" ("_St. Paul_").
+
+Moreover, you may possibly have what is a much rarer gift (in a pure
+soprano) than flexibility--you may have a tone of voice capable of
+executing declamatory music with fine effect. Music of this kind is
+generally appropriated by some mezzo-soprano of high compass, and more
+properly belongs to voices of that class; nevertheless, the effect of
+sustained declamatory music, well executed by a real soprano, is
+unrivalled in its way.
+
+
+=Mezzo-Soprano.=--The mezzo-soprano voice is perhaps the commonest of all
+female voices, and yet one of the rarest met with in perfection. It is
+fuller and rounder in quality than the soprano--less flexible, and more
+adapted to a _sostenuto_ or declamatory style. Mezzo-soprano voices vary
+so much that it is difficult to name any note on which the "break" will
+be found. Sometimes it is on the same notes as a soprano--sometimes on
+the same as a contralto--on the average, perhaps, nearer the former.
+Wherever it may be, however, a judicious teacher will soon point it out,
+and put the student into the way of rightly treating it. Teaching, and
+_good_ teaching, is especially necessary for voices of this class, for
+their fortunate possessors are generally ignorant of the value of the
+treasure which they possess in a good mezzo-soprano; and if it be of
+light quality, they fancy themselves soprani, and force the upper
+register of the voice in trying to "stretch their compass;" or if their
+low notes develop first, they think that "with practice" they are to be
+contralti; and by over-exercise and fondness for displaying those deep
+notes, they run the risk of widening the break, and rendering the
+quality of the whole voice hopelessly uneven.
+
+What lies within the sphere of a good mezzo-soprano has been shown in
+late years by a Grisi and a Tietjens, the latter of whom will live in
+the recollection of all who ever heard her, as the perfect model for
+every mezzo-soprano in the production of the pure tone and even quality.
+
+
+=Mezzo-Contralto.=--The name mezzo-contralto speaks for itself. It is by
+no means an uncommon voice, and if used with discrimination is an
+effective and useful one. Both in compass and quality it lies between
+the contralto and the mezzo-soprano. Heavier in tone, less resonant, and
+less flexible than the mezzo-soprano, it is yet lighter than the
+contralto. Pure contralto voices are so rare that many mezzo-contralto
+singers appear as exponents of contralto music, and by paying chief
+attention to the lower register of their voices, they become fair
+imitations, and more than passable substitutes, for the real article.
+The possessor of this voice must be guided by the advice of a good
+teacher as to the direction in which her voice should be trained.
+Sometimes the natural quality of the voice renders it advisable to
+attempt rivalry with the mezzo-soprano, rather than with the contralto;
+sometimes the reverse. It is a question for decision by a competent
+adviser in each individual case, and therefore I shall not attempt to
+lay down any decided rule, except my oft-repeated one, "GO TO A MASTER,
+AND A FIRST RATE-ONE,"--a point on which I shall have more to say
+further on. How impossible it is to lay down rules for a mezzo-contralto
+is shown by the fact that an eminent living "mezzo-contralto" is gladly
+accepted on our opera stage as a leading contralto, and yet succeeds
+admirably in such a part as Rossini wrote for a mezzo-soprano of the
+most florid kind--_Rosina_ in "_Il Barbiere_."
+
+
+=Contralto.=--The quality of a true contralto voice is so peculiar that it
+is impossible to mistake it for any other voice, although other voices
+may be mistaken for it. Of course, there are exceptional cases in which
+the contralto and mezzo-contralto are combined in one voice: the lower
+range being of full and pure contralto quality, while instead of the
+somewhat limited upper notes of the contralto, a rich mezzo-contralto
+range of notes may develop themselves; and in such a case careful
+training will be able to soften these two into each other, so that a
+complete voice of peculiar charm and great usefulness will result. But
+such cases, if not rare, are certainly the exception and not the rule,
+the deep and powerfully resonant tone of the true contralto being
+comparatively seldom met with. There is generally an awkward break
+between the low B and the D above it in this voice, and Eâ™­ or E
+are the highest notes within reach of the average contralto. Voices of
+this class are better adapted for a species of ballads, for solemn
+declamation, or music of a calm and flowing character, than for
+elaborate execution or lively melodies. But here again exceptions must
+be made in favour of those who have the physical means, as well as the
+artistic skill, to study such music as that of the _Page_ in "_Les
+Huguenots_," _Arsace_ in "_Semiramide_," or "_La Cenerentola_." For an
+average English contralto, however, the best line of study is in good
+songs and ballads, and, chief of all, oratorio music.
+
+
+=Alto.=--The alto, or counter-tenor voice, is said by a well-known English
+alto singer to be "simply a development of the _falsetto_--generally the
+_falsetto_ of an inferior bass voice." It is said to be almost peculiar
+to English singers, and to that fact is ascribed its extensive and
+effective use in the fine works of the English Cathedral School of
+composers. Of course, in a voice which is so artificial, there must be
+expected a worse "break" than usual--the break in this case being the
+point below which the falsetto cannot be extended, and where the natural
+"chest" quality of tone has to be used. This break generally lies near
+the same place as the contralto break--if anything, rather higher--say
+between C and E in the middle of the voice. The effective notes of an
+alto usually lie in the octave of B or Bâ™­he repertoire of
+music for which this voice is suited is comparatively limited. That
+repertoire, however, includes the greater number of oratorios, a good
+deal of fine old Italian music, and a few old English songs; while a
+singer of cleverness and cultivation will find many ballads which he may
+make his own by the help of transposition and style of delivery.
+
+Great pains must be taken by the possessor of an alto voice in the
+formation and production of a good tone. The voice must be made to sound
+as _natural_ as possible; and, if necessary, power must unhesitatingly
+be sacrificed to sweetness. There is great danger of producing a harsh,
+reedy, or nasal tone, which, to the hearer, is simply distressing or
+offensive.
+
+Above all, let him be content to develop his own means, and to keep to
+music suited to or written for his voice. A good alto will make no
+effect, and will do his voice and style harm, if he "poaches on the
+preserves" of other voices--tenors, for instance, or basses--(singing
+the songs of the latter an octave higher). I once heard an alto--a fair
+singer so long as he stuck to his own work--make an absurd exhibition of
+himself by attempting the great song "Love Sounds the Alarm," in "_Acis
+and Galatea_," at a public concert!
+
+Let him also beware of the snare of contralto music. The alto in a man
+is totally distinct from the contralto in a woman. The tone is utterly
+different--the best notes of the one are certainly not the best notes of
+the other; and although in certain cases a contralto may sing with good
+effect music written for a male alto (_e.g._ in some oratorios), yet the
+converse is scarcely ever true. The low notes, which are so fine in a
+contralto, and so unlike any other tone except perhaps a few notes of
+some tenors, are utterly wanting in charm, and generally in power, in a
+male alto; while the sweet and ringing middle notes of the latter are
+far more effective in alto music than the (frequently) weak and
+uncertain middle notes of a contralto. Choose your music as you name
+your voice, by the quality of tone you can produce, and not by the range
+of notes.
+
+
+=Tenore-Leggiero.=--The _tenore-leggiero_ or "light tenor," is the male
+voice corresponding to the female soprano; it is perhaps the most
+delicate and difficult to manage of all human voices. In the present
+day, when fashion is all in favour of noise, it is difficult for any but
+the strong-minded to stand firm against the tendency to shout and bawl,
+which appears to be the highest aim of many singers, and the highest
+admiration of most audiences. Now for a light tenor to attempt this
+style of singing is simply suggestive of the old fable of the frog who
+tried to make himself as big as the bull, and burst in the attempt.
+There is a modern school of singing which, though it may be suitable
+enough for heavy voices such as basses and robust tenors, is fatal to
+light and delicate voices. The style of singing, and of music to be
+sung, by this voice, is quite different from that appropriate to strong
+and full organs; and, if you are the possessor of a light tenor, you
+must at once rid yourself of the common amateur fancy (a fancy, too, by
+no means confined to amateurs) that you must imitate a certain
+ever-popular living tenor, whose name has passed almost into a proverb
+as typical of the perfection of English singing. You _cannot_ be a
+"Reeves" or a "Braham," therefore it is only waste of time and strength
+for you to try. But there is a great deal of music which neither a
+"Reeves" nor a "Braham" could sing, which is well within your reach; and
+more than that, there is a great deal of excellent music which, though
+you cannot sing it _like_ them, you may render very effective in a
+totally different style. Very often a _pianissimo_ is quite as
+expressive as a _fortissimo_, and grace and sweetness are frequently an
+excellent substitute for power and force. You must be content to
+recognize that the latter are out of your reach, and that the effects
+which you can produce are to be attained by other means.
+
+However, while assuring you that power and force are not given to you, I
+do not mean to say that voices of your class need be at all inaudible in
+a space however large. The tone of a light tenor is generally clear,
+resonant, and penetrating; sometimes there is a metallic ring about it
+which is extremely pretty, if not forced. I have heard a light tenor,
+singing at the back of the Covent Garden stage, send his voice clearly
+out into the great theatre, with apparently more ease than his "robust"
+friend, who was shortly afterwards vociferating at the footlights.
+
+A light tenor must be careful not to force up the lower register of his
+voice beyond its natural and easy limit. The charm of the voice is in
+the perfect blending together of the lower, middle, and upper registers,
+and to do this the upper notes of each register should be equally at
+command, as the upper notes of that register or the lower notes of the
+one above it. In order to attain this, the change from one register to
+another should generally be made considerably lower than the place where
+the real "break" in the voice comes. For instance, supposing the "break"
+to be on Eâ™­, the singer should be able to change his register as
+low as B or Bâ™­, and to take all the notes between those two
+places, either in the upper or lower register, with equal effect.
+
+In voices of this character there is often one note which requires to be
+_made_--_i.e._, which is so naturally defective in tone and quality that
+it can only be produced effectively by imitating as nearly as possible
+the quality of the register above or below it. This note is generally E,
+F, F♯, or (sometimes) G, between the middle and upper registers; and if
+you find that you unfortunately have such a refractory note, remember
+not to try and force the tone of it from the next note above or below;
+_e.g._, if your bad note is F, do not try to improve it by singing E
+well and then passing on to the F; but try and form the note from the
+fifth above or below (whichever it happens to resemble most in tone).
+Rounden the refractory note--give it a full tone in practising, and
+produce it well from the chest, letting the sound reverberate from the
+centre of the roof of the mouth--neither too far back towards the
+throat, nor too much on the teeth. Your teacher, if he knows his
+business, will soon put you into the way of this. Voices vary so much
+that these very general remarks must suffice here; but each voice, if it
+has its peculiar difficulties, has also, doubtless, its peculiar charm;
+and for light tenors, rich in both charms and difficulties, the rule is
+all-important: Do not try to imitate anybody else, but let your aim be
+to do the best that can be done with such natural gifts as you may have,
+aided by the best training that you can procure for them.
+
+
+=Tenore-Robusto.=--The robust or strong tenor is the male voice
+corresponding to the mezzo-soprano of a female. It is not an uncommon
+voice, but is rarely met with in anything like perfection. A robust
+tenor voice of large compass and round full tone is a treasure of the
+utmost value. The fact is, that too frequently the possessor of a good
+voice of this kind, instead of taking care of it and training it for the
+future, begins using it too soon, strains and forces it into coarseness,
+and spoils it for ever. People do not realize that a voice may be strong
+in quality and powerful in tone, and yet in itself be an excessively
+delicate thing to keep in order.
+
+Moreover, voices of this kind in their youth frequently resemble
+barytones, and their owners, fired with ambition to rival some popular
+barytone singer, mistake their vocation, and shout and bellow on the
+very part of the voice--the upper "chest" register--which requires the
+tenderest nursing to fit it for future difficulties. Consequently, when
+the voice develops with age, and the singer finds that barytone work is
+too heavy for the lower part of the voice, and that he can without much
+difficulty extend his compass beyond the barytone limits, he discovers
+that what he has been using as the top of his voice is nearer the middle
+of it, and that the mode of using those notes which he has practised is
+excessively difficult, if not impossible, with those which now lie above
+them. The result is either the creation of a very awkward "break," which
+even time and practice can never entirely remove, or else (and this is a
+commoner case) the same process of forcing which has been employed
+hitherto is applied to the upper notes, as far as strength can take it!
+This is the reason why so many tenor singers are utterly unable to
+produce the real tenor "tone," and sound like barytones forced up to a
+higher compass. There is no sweetness in the upper notes so
+produced--nothing but force and noise; while the hapless perpetrator of
+the howls which represent high notes turns scarlet in the face, and
+quivers all over with his exertions. I therefore give to tenors of this
+class exactly the same warning that I gave to soprani:--Do not ignore
+the fact that you have three, or at all events two, distinct registers
+of the voice, the (so-called) "chest," "throat," and "head." Do not
+suppose, when you hear a great singer produce on a high note exactly the
+same quality of tone as he produced on a low one, that he did it exactly
+the same way, or "got it from the same place," as some people say. The
+perfection of his training and the diligence of his practice have
+enabled him to assimilate the quality of one register to that of another
+so completely as to deceive your ear. The proof that this is true may be
+found in inspecting a great deal of music written for and sung by the
+most famous operatic tenors of the past--the singers of that pure
+Italian school of which so few disciples now remain.
+
+There are notes and passages in that music which no "chest" register
+could by any physical possibility execute, but some of which have been
+sung within the recollection even of the "rising generation" with all
+the effect intended, and with the very tone that critical slang calls
+"chest notes," (simply because it so closely resembles the tone of chest
+notes that few, if any, can detect that they are differently produced
+from the low notes.)
+
+For obvious reasons I abstain from mentioning the names of any living
+singers, but I can name one, not very long since dead, who attained the
+highest reputation here as a _tenore di forza_--whose "chest notes" were
+chronicled by the newspaper critics, and were the envy of aspiring
+youths--and yet who has ever been heard distinctly to deny that he ever
+produced those notes in the same way as the lower ones, and to laugh at
+the idea that such a thing was possible; and this was Mongini.
+
+I have entered into this at some length because it is a point which is
+more and more ignored by the singers and teachers of this generation. I
+might almost say that a school of singing exists the whole aim of which
+is to abolish the natural upper part of the voice, in order to stretch
+and force the one lower register up beyond its natural compass. I do not
+deny that in certain cases a voice results from this treatment which is
+powerful, effective, and capable of executing a good deal of music with
+much success and satisfaction to the performer; but for one case where
+this treatment so far succeeds, it fails in twenty to produce a voice
+both pleasing and useful; it is, moreover, in singers trained on this
+method that we most commonly hear the odious (and involuntary) trembling
+of the upper notes commonly called the _vibrato_.
+
+Therefore, to sum up those who find, when their voices begin to form,
+that the natural quality of their voice is lighter than that of a bass,
+had better make up their minds at once to give the voice fair play, and
+let it alone for a time; then consult a good master, or one really
+experienced in hearing singers, as to what the future of the voice is to
+be. It is by no means easy always to decide at that early period whether
+the permanent quality of the voice will be tenor or barytone, and
+therefore it is folly to try and settle the question for yourself by
+singing, in untaught style, music which may prove to have been all along
+unsuited to you. Your patience in waiting till the voice really declares
+itself will amply repay you afterwards by the absence of the
+difficulties which too early a use of the voice would have created for
+you to overcome.
+
+
+=Barytone and Basso-Cantante.=--The barytone voice is thus described in
+Stainer and Barrett's "Dictionary of Musical Terms:" "A voice of fuller
+quality than a tenor, and lighter than a bass, having a compass partly
+included in both.... This voice has only been distinguished by name as
+being of a separate character within the present century. Early writers
+indicate its existence by the use of its special clef. The term barytone
+is unmeaning unless it be looked upon as a corruption of barytenor; but
+it is quite possible it was borrowed from the instrument barytone or
+bardone, which occupied a place between the tenor and bass viols."
+
+The derivation of the name from "barytenor" is slightly absurd,
+considering that half that extraordinary word is Greek and the other
+half Latin; whereas the name barytone is a Greek word, used by
+Aristotle, and meaning "deep-sounding."
+
+The distinctive character which this voice has assumed within the
+present century is due, I believe, to the great change in the pitch of
+musical instruments which has taken place. In the last century the
+pitch was so much lower than that at present in use, that a "high
+barytone" was much the same as a "robust tenor." Consequently, music was
+not written exclusively for the barytone voice, its existence as a
+separate class of voice not being sufficiently recognized. Gradually, as
+the pitch was raised, the barytone separated itself clearly from other
+voices, and has now a repertoire of music and a style of singing of its
+own; and instead of appropriating tenor music, it, if anything, has
+stolen away some of the property of the bass; for the raising of the
+pitch which placed tenor music beyond the reach of a barytone has also
+rendered a good deal of music originally written for a bass far more
+suitable for a barytone, or at all events for a basso-cantante. I am
+well aware that by many musicians the basso-cantante is identified with
+the barytone. The distinction is so slight that it is not worth while to
+quarrel over names; but that the two voices are distinct I am persuaded.
+The basso-cantante is of fuller and rounder quality than the barytone
+proper; less flexible, less metallic in tone, and generally rather lower
+in compass. But the method of using both voices is the same, and for all
+purposes of amateur singers no distinction need be insisted upon.
+Professionals, however, who have to deal with heavy work on a large
+scale, will soon find that there is a good range of music more suited to
+the rich voice of greater volume and less flexibility (which I
+distinguished as the basso-cantante) than to the bright, flexible voice
+which has something of the tone of a full "tenore-robusto," and which is
+the barytone proper. Neither of these voices is much troubled with a
+"break," although there is a perceptible difference between the natural
+quality of the lower and upper octaves of the voice when quite
+uncultivated. This difference, however, which makes itself felt in the
+region of these notes, is got rid of in practice without any of the same
+difficulty which is encountered by tenors or contralti in managing the
+decided breaks in their voices. The possessors of barytone voices may
+therefore be looked upon as having comparatively "easy times of it."
+There is a large repertoire of music at their disposal, including much
+of the most popular ballad music of this century and the last; the voice
+is generally a favourite with an audience; the style of barytone singing
+is undisputed, and the singer will not find himself violently criticised
+by the partizans of a rival school of singing to that in which he
+himself has been trained, which is inevitably the fate of tenors!
+
+[Music: F3 G3 A3]
+
+Only let him avoid the temptation to shout, and to sing up to the very
+top of his compass at full pitch. Unfortunately, an English audience
+does like a noise, and appreciates plenty more than beauty of tone. It
+is tolerably easy for a barytone to be a showy singer, and therein lies
+the greatest danger to his chance of ever being a really good one. He
+must be content to go through his training quite as self-denyingly and
+perseveringly as any one else who is gifted with fewer natural
+advantages.
+
+
+=Bass.=--Of the bass voice less need be said here, not because it is a
+less important voice than any of the others, but because it is more
+generally known and better understood. A perfectly pure bass voice is,
+however, a rare thing. This voice has no upper register, properly
+speaking; the whole voice consisting of "chest" notes, and not admitting
+of even the process of developing upper notes of extraordinary quality,
+which is part of the training of a barytone or a basso-cantante. Power
+and richness are the chief qualities of charm in a bass, while
+flexibility and true intonation are the qualities most rarely found in
+that voice. The young singer who finds that he certainly is not meant by
+nature for a tenor, and also that with all his efforts the upper notes
+of a barytone are quite out of his reach, need not be discouraged by any
+lightness or thinness of quality in his voice from the hope that he may
+develop into a good bass. The full and rich quality of this voice is
+later in showing itself than is the case with any other voice, and the
+young singer must be content to study for some time with the compass of
+a bass and the quality of a kind of barytone, till Nature puts him in
+full possession of his powers. Only he must study bass music, and not
+try, because his voice is of barytone quality, to sing barytone music.
+Let him, on the contrary, avoid trying to extend the compass of his
+voice in the upper notes, and give his best attention to the lower ones.
+The upper ones will be well within his command in time, and if he will
+be content to let them alone at first, he may become a truly "celebrated
+bass;" but, if he persists in shouting at them now, he will never have
+anything but coarse upper tones, only fit to be heard behind a
+costermonger's barrow, or in "comic" songs at the Music Halls.
+
+
+=Buffo.=--The last remark reminds me that I have said nothing about a
+class of bass singers very useful in certain Italian and French
+operas--the _buffo_, or comic bass. The development of voice with these
+singers is of less consequence than the study of a peculiar style, a
+good deal of the point of their songs consisting in the entire
+elimination of anything like musical tone from many notes and passages.
+A clever and good buffo singer may very likely be able to sing other
+music well, but the style is so entirely dramatic and so utterly out of
+place anywhere except on the stage, that no amateur should ever attempt
+it, and no professional should appear _in a concert-room_ as the
+exponent of such music. Therefore, for those who wish to sing, any
+remarks on the peculiarities of a buffo bass would be superfluous; those
+who wish to study that line as a profession, for stage work, must learn
+all that they need from a regular dramatic teacher; while those who wish
+to execute English "comic" songs, may spare themselves any anxiety as to
+their voices: if they have any voice naturally, "comic" singing will
+soon destroy its charm, and that will not matter to them, for the last
+thing necessary to sing a "comic" song is the possession of a voice of
+any kind. Therefore, if you have a bass (or any other voice, indeed),
+avoid "comic" songs, and leave the "buffo" business to those who can do
+nothing better.
+
+
+=Qualities of Voice, Good and Bad.=--It may not be unwelcome to the
+student to have pointed out to him those qualities of voice which are to
+be aimed at or cultivated, and also those which are to be avoided or
+overcome.
+
+The charms of a voice are found among the following qualities:
+clearness, sweetness, evenness, flexibility, power, extent of compass,
+variety, brilliancy, firmness, persuasiveness.[1]
+
+[1] It used to be said of Rubini that "he had tears in his voice."
+
+On the opposite side must be ranked roughness, huskiness, feebleness (or
+want of power), shrillness (or want of depth), hardness and want of
+flexibility, dulness, or want of "ring," &c.
+
+It is, of course, impossible for any one voice to unite in itself all
+these merits or all these defects; and you cannot give yourself merits
+which Nature has withheld; but you may marvellously improve what natural
+merits you have, and do wonders in overcoming any difficulties which
+Nature has placed in your way.
+
+
+
+
+ON INSTRUCTION, MASTERS, AND "SINGING TUTORS."
+
+
+The voice, and how to use it, is a subject which has troubled many
+minds, and no doubt this will continue to be the case; but the difficult
+problem will not be solved by running to pettifogging teachers, who
+advertise to teach all that is known of singing, and a little more, in
+twelve easy lessons, without previous knowledge or practice at home, for
+the small fee of one guinea! Let it be stated once for all: singing
+cannot be taught in twelve easy lessons, and can scarcely be acquired in
+one hundred very severe lessons. Therefore distrust at once any one who
+holds out so tempting a bait to you; remember that there is no "royal
+road" to singing, any more than there is to the acquirement of any other
+art; and the person who tells you that he can teach you to do without
+trouble that which costs great artists the study of a lifetime,
+proclaims himself, _ipso facto_, to be a humbug.
+
+
+=Schools of Singing.=--There are several so-called Schools of Singing.
+There is a French School, which for any language but French is bad, and
+which very seldom turns out a pleasing singer. There is a German School,
+which is worse, being simply the production of coarse noise. Some people
+say that there is an English School. I hope there may be some day, but
+at present its existence is rather doubtful, unless those who talk of an
+English school of singing mean the Cathedral style--which for solo work
+is detestable--or the old school of Oratorio singing, with its
+Handelian traditions, which was not an English, but an Italian, and the
+best Italian, school.
+
+In fact, there is but one school of singing in the world, and that is
+the Italian. Whatever language you wish to sing in, whatever style of
+music you wish to study principally, you must train your voice, produce
+it, and learn to use it in the Italian method, if you hope ever to
+deserve the name of a singer.
+
+
+=Masters.=--Of course, in a work of this sort, it is impossible, and
+would be wrong if it were possible, to mention the names of living
+teachers: therefore I can only give general hints. If possible, study
+only under a master whom you know to have lived in Italy, and to have
+studied there for some years under some good master or in some good
+Conservatoire--Naples, Milan, and Florence generally supply the best.
+Possibly, for an English singer, an English master _who fulfils these
+conditions_ may be better than even an Italian, as he should understand
+better the peculiarities of English voices and temperaments, and would
+know at once where the chief difficulties would lie. Let me, however,
+correct a popular error. A good singer is not necessarily a good
+teacher, nor is it necessary for a first-class teacher to be able to
+sing at all. Nor need you necessarily look for your master among
+foreigners with fine sounding names. There are two or three good
+teachers of singing in this country who are foreigners; but there is
+also some native talent equally capable of teaching singing, as it is
+accepted in this country at the present time. These know the English
+style better than any foreigner can teach it, and after all, style is
+the chief consideration.
+
+
+=Institutions.=--As we have no real English School of singing, it is
+perhaps fortunate that we have no Conservatoire. There are, however,
+Institutions accessible to those who cannot afford to have masters at
+home or to place themselves under a private teacher. Of these, the chief
+is the Royal Academy of Music, in Tenterden Street, Hanover Square.
+There is also the National Training School of Music, the London Academy
+of Music, also the Guildhall School, and there is Trinity College,
+London, where I believe singing lessons may also be obtained. To all
+these establishments singing masters, more or less good, are attached,
+and it is open to any one to obtain admission to the concerts given from
+time to time at the institutions themselves, and to form some kind of
+opinion as to the teachers from the performances of the pupils. It would
+be well for an intending student to do this, for of course at any
+institution where there are several professors, one might suit you and
+another might not; it is even conceivable that one professor might do
+all for you that you could possibly require, while another professor
+might be an ignorant charlatan. Therefore, hear their pupils and judge
+for yourself, making inquiries at the same time of musical people who
+are qualified to express an opinion on singing. I must not, however,
+withhold from my readers my conviction that private lessons are better
+and more effectual than those taken in schools and academies. The terms
+at these public institutions are such that they preclude the possibility
+of more than twenty or thirty minutes being devoted to each pupil, and
+that is _not_ a sufficient time to bestow upon a lesson. Forty-five or
+sixty minutes are needed to give a good lesson; and the pupil who pays
+fifteen shillings or a guinea for this, does a wiser thing than the one
+who pays a fourth of that sum for, say, twenty minutes' attention.
+
+=A First Opinion.=--The actual successful teachers of singing in London
+may be counted on the fingers of one hand, and those who are qualified
+to teach singing, but who are not specially successful, may be found on
+the remaining five fingers. Each of these professors would probably not
+take less than one guinea the lesson, and it would, honestly, be far
+cheaper in the long run to pay this sum for one good lesson in singing
+than it would be to have fifty lessons founded upon wrong principles,
+even for nothing. And for this reason: teachers of this calibre will not
+trouble themselves about you or your guineas unless you have a promising
+voice, some general musical talent, and show signs of becoming, to some
+degree, a credit to your _teacher_, for to these men guinea pupils are
+very plentiful, and it is only reasonable that a guinea from a clever
+pupil should be worth considerably more to a sensitive artist than the
+same amount from a fool. Therefore, a first opinion from one such
+teacher may save your spending money, time, and energy on a pursuit in
+which you can never succeed.
+
+
+=Bad Lessons.=--Never take a bad singing lesson till you know how to sing.
+You may then do so (if you care to), and learn the "how not to do it" of
+singing. It is commonly supposed that the earliest singing lessons may
+be administered by any "dabbler," and the last touches given afterwards
+by a "finishing master." Never was there a greater error. Pay your
+guineas first, and your shillings afterwards. If you cannot afford to
+have good instruction in beginning to sing, you will be still less able
+to take it afterwards, for artistic reasons. Remember that every bad
+singing lesson which you take hardens old faults and creates new ones,
+and, moreover, takes you farther and farther away from your original
+starting-point. So, when you begin under the right man and the right
+method, you have to _undo_ all this that you have expended toil and
+money to acquire.
+
+
+=Bad Teachers.=--It is astonishing how much money is wasted by people who
+want to sing, through not going at once to the fountain-head for the
+necessary training. Because a man is a musician many people conclude
+that he must necessarily be able to teach singing! Such an idea is
+scarcely less monstrous than that of a man being a good physician and
+consequently competent to amputate a limb, or to take out and reset an
+eye. Do not follow this "multitude to do evil." Be as careful in
+inquiring about your singing master as you would be about your doctor.
+Both in London and in the country there are "professors" whose knowledge
+of singing stops at professing--the class of people who (very likely)
+keep a music-shop, tune your piano, play polkas and waltzes for your
+evening parties, and have a brass plate on their doors to this effect:
+
+MR. HANDEL MOSCHELES IGNAZIO JONES, PROFESSOR OF THE PIANOFORTE,
+HARMONY, THE VIOLIN, ITALIAN, AND SINGING.
+
+All honourable professions, no doubt; but to profess to combine them all
+is dishonourable, and insulting to the common sense of those who know
+anything of any one of the subjects professed. A singing master, if he
+is worth anything, must be a man of one trade--singing. For the teaching
+of singing is a "specialty," and the man who can teach it _properly_ is
+not likely to be a man of all (musical) work.
+
+
+=Books of Exercises, &c.=--There are numerous "Singing Tutors" published,
+giving rules, exercises, _solfeggi_, &c. Many of these are excellent,
+and some nearly perfect. But all alike are useless or worse than useless
+to the tyro, without a master. You might as well suppose that a child
+could learn to be a carpenter by having some fine wood and a box of good
+tools.
+
+I have before observed that voices vary as faces do; no two are exactly
+alike, each voice having its peculiar merit and its peculiar defect.
+Now, a good master will treat each voice on its own merit, and not place
+it at first on the Procrustean bed of a book of rules and exercises. He
+will probably write down his own exercises expressly for his pupil, and
+if not that, he will select certain exercises from the book, and forbid
+others to be attempted for a time. You must also let your master select
+such a book for you, so that you may have one in which the rules do not
+contradict those which he has already given you verbally, or else you
+will be perplexed with a multitude of counsellors.
+
+It is not till a certain stage in singing has been reached, under the
+training of a master, that any book of exercises can be of service to
+you. When that stage is reached, you will find such a work of great use
+in a part of your labours. Among such books may be named as especially
+good,--Concone's Exercises, Righini's, Guercia's, Nava's, Lablache's,
+and Lamperti's; but, again I say, do not choose for yourself. There are
+some excellent rules, as well as some good exercises, in an old work of
+the kind by Crivelli, and also in "Singing Exemplified," a work by T.
+Cooke. If you can meet with these, secure them--although I fear they may
+be long since out of print--for in the literature of singing the _new_
+is by no means certain to excel what was written in the days of our best
+composers and singers of operas and oratorios.
+
+
+
+
+ON THE PRACTICE OF SINGING.
+
+
+Remember that the voice is of all instruments the most difficult one to
+study, and to bring perfectly under control, especially for the first
+year or two. Do not attempt to cultivate it with the view to
+professional remuneration, unless you can set apart at least two hours
+daily for most careful study, and can also afford to wait at least eight
+or ten years for any _substantial_ pecuniary reward for your labours.
+
+
+=Individuality.=--It is of great importance to bear in mind that no two
+voices are exactly alike. To some singers is given quality of voice, to
+others quantity. And for each alike, steady, well-aimed, and
+well-ordered practice is indispensable. But, whatever you sing ought,
+like your voice, to have some touch of individuality: the song should
+seem to come naturally from you, and to be the spontaneous expression of
+your thoughts. At the same time you must not lose sight of the
+all-important guide which you have in the composer's intentions and
+wishes. Remember that a small and delicate voice may be made to go as
+far as, if not farther than, a voice of large volume and long compass.
+By judicious management, by touching expression of the softer feelings,
+by careful selection of music to be performed, the obstacles which are
+placed in a singer's way by want of power may be effectually removed,
+because the audience will irresistibly feel the influence of the
+singer's individuality. The difficulties of the singer who has the gift
+of quantity rather than quality of voice, are in some respects greater,
+because the necessity for thus impressing on his audience a sense of his
+own individuality is not so strongly forced on him by circumstances. Not
+only has he to labour to attain a good quality of tone, but he must also
+resist the temptation to fancy that "might is right," and that the
+"sensation" caused by a powerful voice is all that he need aim at. And
+here let me say, the way to get quality is to listen as often as
+possible to some leading singer of your own kind of voice. Try and
+imitate his tone; but above all practise with a medium tone--a
+_mezzo-voce_--listen for the beauty in your tone, and think of what you
+are doing when practising.
+
+
+=Perseverance.=--The surest means of improving and strengthening the voice
+is by constantly exercising and practising it. Just as the muscles and
+fibres of the legs of a pedestrian are increased and made capable of
+great exertion by careful training, so is it with the nerves and muscles
+of the throat. With judicious training, the compass of the voice is
+extended, its quality is improved, its tones grow rounder and firmer;
+and, if the master is a good one, and the pupil is willing to study
+patiently for some time, never resting content, but always aiming at
+further progress as year succeeds year, he may not unreasonably hope to
+attain a well-earned place in his profession, and its attendant reward.
+
+
+=Facial Expression.=--A looking-glass should form a part of the furniture
+of a singing student's study, for it is most important to watch the
+face--its features and expressions--when singing; and it is none the
+less useful for insuring the constant right position of the mouth. In
+respect to the facial expression when singing, there is a very great
+tendency to look too serious, too severe, and too hard when earnestly
+studying. Now, a cheerful and good-humoured expression does not
+necessarily imply carelessness, and it is far more agreeable to the
+audience than an anxious and troubled look. Some people look quite
+savage when singing; and when rendering passages of love and tenderness,
+their features are far more indicative of rage, revenge, and murder!
+And this very common fault is generally quite an unconscious habit. It
+is only to be remedied by constant care, and to this end practice before
+a looking-glass will be found very helpful.
+
+
+=Position of the Body.=--How to stand when singing has been explained by a
+great number of writers on the subject, and most of the explanations
+given have been chiefly remarkable as being entirely erroneous and
+false. The body should not be kept in a perfectly upright position, as
+it is (too popularly) believed that it should. The best position is when
+the body is well collected, with its chief weight upon the right leg and
+foot, with the head gently leaning forward, and the arms and, indeed,
+the whole carriage disposed in that manner which would indicate to the
+audience a sort of desire on your part to _persuade_ them and bring them
+over to your feelings and sentiments. When the right leg begins to tire
+with the weight of the body, the left leg can take its duty, when the
+right may be gracefully drawn back as in dancing. The best lesson on
+this subject, however, can be gleaned by carefully watching the _pose_
+of a good Italian singer during singing.
+
+
+=Self-Accompaniment.=--A sitting position is a very bad one in which to
+practise. All singing should be done in a standing position, and the
+student is strongly urged to adhere to this rule. Instead of sitting at
+the pianoforte, and accompanying an exercise or "solfeggio," it is far
+better to sound the first note of each passage therein, and master the
+same without any accompaniment. The advantages of this mode of
+practising must be obvious; but one of the most important is, that the
+attention is not divided between the pianoforte and the voice, while it
+leaves the singer free to give all his attention and care to the
+_production_ of the notes which he is endeavouring to sing artistically.
+
+
+=Position of the Arms.=--I would urge upon the student to hold a piece of
+music in his hands while he practises. There is a place for the hands
+when singing in public; but this place is neither the trouser-pockets,
+nor on the hips, nor behind the back, nor across the chest, but rather
+that position which is secured by _leisurely_ holding the music-sheet,
+not as if actually singing therefrom, but as though it were merely
+intended for reference, if required. This easy attitude not only gives
+the hands and arms their legitimate position, but also lends a grace and
+freedom to other parts of the body, all which points must be attended to
+in singing. Remember to keep the arms well away from the body. Some
+singers stick the elbows into the waist, as though to give support;
+instead of doing which, they hinder the free action of the lungs,
+besides giving an awkward look to the whole figure.
+
+
+=Position of the Hands.=--Do not let your hands hang down, but keep them
+well before you, in some position which allows of your turning the palms
+uppermost. In this way you (as it were) lock the joints of the
+shoulders, and put a check on the tendency to raise the shoulders, which
+is an invariable consequence of taking breath wrongly. Keep your
+shoulders well back, your elbows depressed, and your hands with the
+palms uppermost, and you will find it difficult, if not impossible, to
+indulge in the vice of heaving the chest and shoulders up and down, like
+the piston of a steam-engine!
+
+
+=Position of the Throat.=--One of the first conditions of singing well is
+to keep the throat open. To have the throat in its proper position the
+tongue must be kept down, and hollowed like the bowl of a spoon, its
+root being well depressed. Nor must the throat ever be allowed to screw
+itself up small, a common failing of many singers whenever they approach
+a high note. Most of my readers have yawned once or twice in their
+lives: if they will do it once more, in front of their looking-glass,
+and watch the inside of the mouth as they yawn, they will see and feel
+the exact position in which the throat should be during good singing. It
+will be useful to repeat this proceeding until the mind is thoroughly
+impressed and the memory familiarized with the feeling of the mouth and
+throat in this, the correct position for singing.
+
+
+=Position of the Throat, &c., in Soft Singing.=--When singing softly, or
+_piano_, as it is called, take great pains to keep your throat as open
+as you would for singing loudly, leaving it entirely to the mouth and
+lips to keep the tone soft, yet steady and firm. Do not forget, too,
+that in soft singing it is a great advantage to keep the mouth in a
+smiling position.
+
+
+=Position of the Tongue.=--The tongue, while being so useful, is
+nevertheless a very unruly member in singing. It has so great a tendency
+to get out of its place. Its legitimate office is to rest quite flat, or
+even hollow, in the bottom of the mouth, with its root well down, as
+this keeps the throat-passage clear, and with the tip of it just
+touching the lower teeth. Get a looking-glass, and continually watch the
+position of the tongue. Never allow it to roll up or turn about when
+singing, or the effect produced will be scarcely worth repeating. The
+tongue should occupy the least possible space in the mouth, and this is
+the case when the directions here given are carried out.
+
+
+=Position of the Larynx.=--The larynx, or upper part of the wind-pipe,
+plays a most important part in singing. Upon it depends all the beauty,
+and quality, and richness of the voice. The singer will do well to
+constantly think about the larynx, to watch it, to feel that it is well
+down below the mouth before commencing the first note of a song, which
+note must, under such circumstances, be rich, round, and penetrating.
+Then the larynx must never be allowed to rise above this fixed point. It
+may be deepened, and must be, for the higher notes, but it must never
+ascend, or nearly approach the roof of the mouth, or the sound-passage
+is closed, and the sounds become at once impure, vitiated, and without
+body or foundation.
+
+Try and guard against the bad habit of pushing forward the chin when
+singing, otherwise the tone cannot fail to be faulty. The chin should be
+well down on the chest, and the larynx quite low, to lead to an easy
+and pure production of tone. To be constantly moving both the jaws for
+every note, continually displaces the larynx, impairs the purity of the
+tone, spoils the articulation of the words, and, what is worse than all,
+produces a hideous expression of the features, which latter fault would
+alone be sufficient to prejudice seriously the chances of any singing
+artists. The lower parts of the jaws, not the upper ones, should do the
+work; and when a high passage or note is before the singer, the lower
+parts of the jaws should be exercised to drop as the notes increase in
+height. The singer's face should be controlled, if no other member can
+be so regulated.
+
+
+=Singing in the Head.=--There is, in all beginners, a tendency to sing too
+much in the head, that is, to have the foundation of the tones too high
+up in the throat. This fault is due to the difficulty experienced by
+beginners in keeping the larynx sufficiently below the mouth. The
+fulness of tone, the rich, round, and mellow quality which is so much
+admired in all good singers, is almost entirely owing to the voice being
+pitched low down, and not high up in the throat, towards the back of the
+head (as it _appears_ to be).
+
+A few trials of this will soon convince the student of the vast
+difference in the character and _timbre_ of the tones of these two ways,
+and also of the economy of the plan here recommended, so far as regards
+the wear and tear of the voice in practice.
+
+
+=Throatiness.=--Throatiness, or singing in the throat, is the common enemy
+of all English singers. Our language is the chief cause of this
+disagreeable habit, which we begin to acquire as soon as we learn to
+talk. Still, by diligence, the evil can be cured, and no better plan can
+be followed than to constantly practise singing the vowel-sounds Ah, A,
+E, O, throughout the compass of the voice, taking every possible
+care--and this is the point--never to allow the _tone_ to vary, nor to
+leave the teeth, and not to screw up the throat, especially in high
+notes. It is impossible to produce a "throaty" quality of voice if the
+throat is well open, and the tone is firmly directed, and kept on the
+upper teeth and front of the mouth. On the other hand, if the student
+screws up the throat, rolls the tongue, or practises singing without
+being constantly on the look-out for the "voice on the teeth," the
+result must be a "throatiness," which is most disagreeable to all people
+who have any real knowledge of what singing should be.
+
+
+=Clearing the Throat.=--Singers, good and bad, are often troubled with an
+apparent stoppage in the throat, and this inconvenience seems to be at
+its worst just at that moment when they wish to sing. To displace or to
+cure this stoppage, they begin hacking and coughing ("clearing the
+throat" as it is called), which proceeding, however, only makes bad
+worse for the time being, and finally grows into a habit, till at last
+such people cannot venture to open their mouths without first subjecting
+the throat to a series of these irritating "hacks." A good master will
+soon cure this complaint by refusing to continue the lesson whenever the
+pupil gives way to the bad habit. It is in many cases simply a nervous
+trick, and if the singer will accustom himself to _swallow_ instead of
+coughing, whenever he feels the sensation of which we are speaking, he
+will soon get rid of it. If it results in any case from real weakness of
+the throat, it may be beneficial to gargle three or four times a day
+with moderately strong salt and water, especially before singing. This
+does no harm to the voice, and by bracing and strengthening the muscles
+of the throat renders them more obedient to the singer's will.
+
+
+=High Notes.=--Many people find great difficulty in counting, with any
+degree of certainty, upon the top notes of their register. I know of no
+greater assistance towards bringing these out than that of well
+contracting the mouth and lips at the beginning of the passage in which
+these high notes occur, dropping the lower jaws, and securing a good
+play of the mouth as the highest note is reached, at the same time
+keeping the throat as open as possible, ejecting the sound to the
+audience with as much "lip-force" as can be secured, being careful that
+the tone is safe "on the teeth" before the note is "opened."
+
+
+=The Scale.=--There can be no doubt whatever that the grand groundwork of
+all singing is the diatonic scale. On it is built all the graceful forms
+and figures which belong to the great artist. Yet how few seem to know
+and to appreciate this fact! To excel, the diatonic scale must be
+practised most seriously and assiduously in its plain and simple form;
+nor must it be left until the student can sing every note therein
+purely, without wavering or flutter, and with precision, in the soft,
+medium, and loud voices.
+
+
+=Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano.=--The singer will derive much advantage by
+bearing in mind that the voice has three main gradations which the
+Italians class as the _forte_, the _mezzo di voce_, and the _piano_. The
+management of these three is of vital importance, and the singer should
+certainly practise the scales in all three voices, and have each at
+command for every exercise and passage which he studies.
+
+
+=Tone.=--The tone of the voice must never be vitiated or rendered impure
+from any cause whatever. There is always a danger of this in passages of
+great energy and passion, but it should be remembered that whatever be
+the effect aimed at, it cannot be attained by any means which involves a
+change in the tone of the voice. The first and chief consideration must
+always be to produce a good tone in the right manner. If the tone be not
+good, the singing cannot be agreeable; and if it be not produced in the
+right manner, you have no security that it will be equally good
+throughout the voice, or in passages of all kinds.
+
+
+=Chest, Falsetto, and Head Voice.=--I have already said that there is a
+good deal of confusion existing as to the use of the terms "chest,"
+"falsetto," and "head voice." And this is scarcely to be wondered at,
+seeing that nobody has yet decided _how_ the three qualities of sound
+are produced, while everybody knows that the names are so far
+misleading, in that no sound whatever is really made in the _chest_ or
+in the _head_, but that all are due to the passage of air through the
+larynx, in which are placed the vocal cords upon which the air plays.
+The changes of sound which are spoken of as "chest," "falsetto," and
+"head" voices are due to changes in the position of the larynx and its
+surroundings, and in the action of the vocal cords. What those changes
+are, and how or why they cause the results which we hear, has yet to be
+discovered: there are several theories, but no one has yet ventured to
+claim the certainty of truth for any one of them. There is an excellent
+article on "The Larynx" in Stainer and Barrett's "Dictionary of Musical
+Terms," to which I would refer those who wish to understand these
+various theories. For my present purpose it is sufficient to point out
+that each of the names is an utter misnomer. The "chest" voice is
+probably so called because the vibrations of the notes in that register
+may be distinctly felt in the chest; and because the breath passes
+directly from the chest, as it seems, without any opposition in the
+throat, producing the sound on its way. The "falsetto," or range of
+notes above the chest, is so called (and rightly so) because in that
+register of voice the tone _feigns_, or imitates, the tone of the
+"chest" notes below, although it is certain that the sounds are not
+produced in the same way, for the position of the vocal cords and their
+attendant parts is different, and changes suddenly on the passage of the
+voice from the chest to the upper register. A falsetto, rightly trained
+and used, is one, therefore, which is true to its name, and so well
+imitates the "chest," that the hearer cannot distinguish the "false"
+from the real "chest tone." The "head voice," which many people persist
+in confusing with the falsetto, is so called because to the singer it
+feels as though the notes so produced came from the head. This is due to
+the larynx itself rising up in the throat and approaching the back of
+the head. It comprises, in reality, _all_ that part of the voice which
+lies above the "chest" register, all the lower part of it being shared
+by the "falsetto," exactly as the falsetto shares the greater part of
+the chest register. The falsetto, therefore, belongs to both, and its
+use is to carry, by its power of imitation, the tone of the lower or
+chest register into the upper or head register, so combining them that
+no audible change of quality, or "break," is perceptible.
+
+
+=Scale Practice.=--It cannot be too strongly impressed upon, or too
+frequently pointed out to, the singer (no matter what may be the stage
+of his or her artistic development) how desirable and advantageous it is
+to be constantly singing exercises and solfeggi in preference to songs.
+It is a popular fallacy, especially among amateurs, that the practice of
+scales and intervals should be left behind as soon as possible. Pray do
+not be mistaken. The never-failing daily practice of singing open chords
+in solfeggi, scales, and exercises, is fraught with advantages which
+cannot be gained by the study of yards, or even miles, of song tunes. As
+an instance of how much may be done in the study of scale practice, the
+writer would point out that this particular exercise should not be left
+until the student can sing the diatonic scales throughout the whole
+extent of the voice in one unbroken breath, and with one quality,
+character, and volume of voice. When this point has been reached, its
+peculiar efficacy will be so apparent as not to require any
+recommendation or advice for its daily continuance.
+
+
+=First Exercises.=--This is a book of advice, not of exercises, nor do I
+profess to teach you, but only to point out to you, how you must prepare
+to be taught. I cannot too often repeat that no book by itself can teach
+you singing, and my object is not to supersede a master, but to induce
+you to place yourself under a good one. However, it may happen that
+circumstances of time, place, or pocket prevent your doing so as soon as
+you would wish, and it is far better even to learn from a book what you
+can in the way of rules and exercises, than to go on singing by the
+light of nature, or under a cheap and inefficient master, or working at
+exercises too advanced for a beginner (which is as bad as not working at
+any at all). I therefore give here a few simple but most important
+exercises, which you may work at until you are able to place yourself
+under the care of a good master. Bear in mind, first, all that has
+already been said here about taking your breath, the position of
+standing, the form of your mouth, and place of throat, tongue, teeth,
+&c., and study the following exercises daily say to the extent of thirty
+minutes three times a day, with full attention to all the above points:
+
+[Music: C major scale, beginning at C4, in semibreves]
+
+Sing this fully and firmly. It should be begun and ended with the same
+quality and "thickness" of sound, as suggested by the even line over
+each note. You should be able to hold each note out in one breath for
+twenty seconds without the slightest alteration being perceptible in the
+tone, any more than there would be if it was a note proceeding from an
+organ-pipe. Practise it on each of the following sounds consecutively:
+"A" in "Bard," "A" in "Fate," "E" in "Steel," "I" in "Life," "O" in
+"Pole," "U" in "Rule," prefixing each sound by L, and so singing Lah,
+Lay, Lee, Li, Lo, Loo. In singing this first exercise, which for basses
+and barytones will be, of course, an octave lower, be careful not to
+force the lower notes, and do not seek to get a powerful tone thereupon.
+The tone does not need to be full and heavy on these notes, but rather
+should be a WELL-PRODUCED, light, and thin quality of note. The way to
+proceed is: (1) To inspire the breath from the bottom of the lungs as it
+were--not raising the shoulders. (2) Steady the breath for a second or
+so in the chest while you THINK the note you are about to sing, and
+while you prepare your throat and mouth for singing by lowering the
+larynx and opening the throat. (3) Then begin to sound the note--not
+from the back of the mouth, but from the tip of the tongue and the front
+teeth--thus taking the whole of the tone out of the mouth, which is what
+is required to be done. Sustain the note till you have only a little
+breath left--then finish off in a clean manner, and allow the remaining
+breath to leave the lungs and body in an orderly way.--Repeat the same
+operation for _every_ note, and if you desire to make progress, give a
+minute's attention of this kind to every single note.
+
+[Music: 2--Broken C major triad in semibreves beginning and ending on
+C4, then raising a semitone to continue the pattern.]
+
+and so on, rising by semitones until you come to this:
+
+[Music: Broken G major triad in semibreves beginning and ending on G4.]
+
+which is certainly the highest that you ought to attempt at present.
+
+Exercise No. 2 is a first step towards joining notes, and is another
+difficulty in the matter of _production_. The object to be aimed at is
+to sing the two notes which are bound (or tied) together with the same
+breath, and the same body and quality of tone. To step from C to E, the
+first movement in the exercise is to raise the voice a major third; but
+the student must pass from his mind any notion of raising the throat in
+order to sound the higher third. As the note E is higher than the C, the
+tone of the former must be generated lower in the chest than had been
+the case with the C. The higher the note to be sung, the lower must be
+its generating-point in the chest. This is the only way to OPEN the
+voice, and I need scarcely say that it produces an entirely different
+tone and method than are secured by the common habit of screwing and
+tightening the throat, in proportion as the notes ascend in pitch.
+
+Another good exercise which may be combined with the last-given is the
+following:
+
+[Music: 3--Broken C Major Triad in semibreve beginning and ending on
+C4, followed by a broken F Major Triad in semibreves beginning and
+ending on C4. Broken G minor triad in semibreves beginning and ending on
+C4, followed by a broken A minor triad in semibreves beginning and
+ending on C4.]
+
+This exercise (3) must be sung in the same manner as indicated with No.
+2, care being taken as each note gets higher to pass _under_ the
+preceding note, and not as it were to generate a high note over a lower
+one.
+
+After which you may take this:
+
+[Music: 4--C major arpeggio in semibreves, beginning on C4 and landing
+on C5. C5 is held for six beats prior to descending in crotchets in a C
+major scale, and holding the bottom C4 for four beats.]
+
+but sing it very slowly and deliberately, bearing in mind the production
+of the high notes.
+
+As you begin to get all these notes firm and round, you may take these
+same exercises in D, Dâ™­, and Eâ™­, but be very careful not
+to force the upper notes.
+
+[Music: 5--Interval practice by holding C4 for four beats and slurring
+to D4. After breathing, slur C4 to E4. After breathing, slur C4 to F4.
+After breathing, slur C4 to G4. Continue this pattern until C5 is
+reached. Then, begin on C5 and slur to B4. After breathing, slur from C5
+to A4. Continue this pattern until C4 is reached.]
+
+Exercise 5 is one where the question of the breath and its proper
+management becomes of vital importance. The reader will observe the
+notes are bound together, and the student's attention should be turned
+towards passing from one note to the other, without any appreciable
+difference in the _quality_--I do not say pitch--of the tone. Having
+inspired in the manner already explained, the singer will sound the
+_Do_ with a pure, sympathetic, not harsh or forced sound; and by
+_pressing down_ the breath, will _lift_ the voice on to the _Re_. When
+he has succeeded with the step of a second, he can go on to the step of
+a third, fourth, &c. The care must be to utilize the breath, always
+supporting the tone with the breath. If the sound wavers, then there is
+something wrong with the breath. You are either singing with too little,
+or are forcing the breath.
+
+[Music: 6--Beginning on C4 and holding each note for two beats, go up by
+semitones until E4 is reached and held for four beats. Begin pattern
+again, but begin on D4â™­. Continue until A is reached.]
+
+And so on.
+
+[Music: 7--Beginning on C5 and holding each note for two beats, go down
+by semitones until A4â™­ is reached and held for four beats. Begin
+pattern again, but begin on a B4. Continue until G4â™­ is reached.]
+
+And so on, descending the scale by semitones.
+
+[Music: 8--In minims, sing C4, E4, G4, C5, B4, G4, F4, D4. Begin the
+pattern again starting a semitone higher on D4â™­.]
+
+Practise No. 8 slowly and steadily, with perfectly even tone throughout,
+without any crescendo or diminuendo.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Let all the above exercises be taken successively, _forte_, _a
+mezzo-voce_, and _piano_, preserving exactly the same amount of tone
+throughout each passage, and holding the notes with the same force with
+which you attack them steadily to the end, not letting them die away.
+The trick of letting notes die away is easily learnt afterwards, but at
+present you have to master the far greater difficulty of holding notes
+firmly with unvarying tone. Practise these exercises on all the
+vowel-sounds already given. All such exercises are of course only
+variations of the diatonic and chromatic scales, so arranged as to
+prepare the voice for executing those scales evenly and perfectly, with
+equality of tone on every note; for till you can sing scales, you are
+not fit to sing songs of any kind.
+
+
+=Duration of Practice.=--Always guard against over-straining and
+over-working the voice. Do not sing or practise for a longer time than
+half an hour without allowing the voice rest for some time. If you have
+three hours at your disposal daily to devote to singing, the most
+economical use of the time is to divide it equally between the morning,
+afternoon, and evening.
+
+
+=Singing in Tune=.--Correct intonation is of the greatest possible
+importance in singing. Every singer should pay especial attention to
+this point. The heavier the voice, the more necessary becomes such
+attention, and therefore contralti and basses are strongly advised to
+lose no time in facing this (to them) considerable difficulty. Deep
+basses, indeed, are rarely perfectly in tune for any long time together,
+and some of the most famous bass singers have left behind them
+recollections of this painful defect. Therefore, whatever be your voice,
+do not take for granted that even the possession of a good ear will
+always ensure your singing in tune. Sometimes excellent singers, and
+good musicians too, will sing out of tune, perfectly aware that they
+are doing so, but, for a time, unable to prevent it from physical
+causes--relaxation of the throat, fatigue, indisposition, &c., under
+which conditions the muscles are unable to obey the will as usual. Do
+not, then, make too light of this matter, because you may think yourself
+quite incapable of singing out of tune; it is at all events wiser to be
+on the safe side. Therefore, never practise (nor sing, if you can help
+it) with a pianoforte which is not well in tune and well "up to pitch."
+And be very constant in practising intervals, such as major and minor
+sixths and sevenths, so as to be able to strike them as perfectly in
+tune and as unvarying in quality as the notes of an organ diapason.
+
+
+=How to Begin.=--Many people never make a good start when beginning to
+sing any piece. Now a very good remedy for a part of this evil is not to
+prepare yourself too soon. Use the bar immediately preceding that in
+which your part commences to gather up your faculties, and, to use a
+common phrase, "to pull yourself together;" then let the muscles of the
+body gently settle down. The ease and freedom acquired by this momentary
+call upon the system is very remarkable; and for the singer especially
+the hint cannot be too often acted upon.
+
+
+=Variety Indispensable.=--An unchanging volume of sound is very soon
+wearying to the ear; and therefore a singer who scarcely ever varies the
+pitch of his voice will find that however loudly he may sing, his
+audience will have a feeling of dissatisfaction, as though they could
+not hear him distinctly--the fact being that their ears, being fatigued
+with the uniformity of the noise, cannot do their proper work, and the
+attention therefore flags. One great secret of being agreeably heard by
+an audience is to vary the body of tone (not the _quality_ of it,
+observe). As a rule singers are left tolerably free to do as they like
+in this respect. Composers of songs rarely give them any help in the
+matter. In fact, nowadays so many people compose "vocal music" without
+knowing anything about the vocal instrument for which they compose, that
+it is not wonderful that they ignore their power of helping the singer
+by properly combining duly marked _forte_, _piano_, and _mezzo-voce_
+passages, so as to ensure a variety of effect. Therefore, in most modern
+music, a singer has to take his own "reading" of a song, and to make it
+as effective as he can by varying the power of his voice. It might even
+be taken as a rule that every _forte_ passage should be succeeded by a
+soft one. The voice should rise and fall, and be varied in its
+inflexions in that agreeable manner which is so marked in good orators
+and dramatic elocutionists.
+
+
+=Chorus Singing.=--If you are studying seriously for solo singing, you
+must discontinue all chorus singing, especially during training. Singing
+in church choirs and choral societies must be abandoned. And this not
+because there is no good to be learned there, but because the little
+good is by no means commensurate with the great amount of harm which is
+acquired along with the good. To enumerate here all the evil habits so
+easily learnt would be impossible. Not the least of them, however, is
+the tendency to shout louder than your neighbour, to use yourself to the
+bad habits of those on each side of you; to produce a bad tone; to
+"chop" the passages instead of phrasing them; to attack notes
+carelessly; to sing coarsely; to depend on others; to get into a
+machine-like regularity of rendering the music. All these evil habits
+are the result of chorus singing; and while many of them are detrimental
+to the voice itself, it may be safely said that any one of these habits
+is fatal to good solo singing.
+
+
+=Humming.=--Some people have a wretched habit of continually humming
+tunes. Pray do not get into this habit of singing unconsciously--than
+which nothing is more prejudicial to the voice. You should never sound a
+note without being perfectly aware of what you are doing, and that it is
+being done in the right manner. The faults acquired by "humming over,"
+as it is called, are of the worst kind, and, moreover, they are far
+sooner acquired than eradicated.
+
+
+=Studying Songs.=--Be careful, in studying a new song, not to waste either
+time or strength by a trifling and superficial treatment of it.
+"Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well." First of all,
+_sol-fa_ the melody a few times in a full _mezzo-voce_. Then study it
+with rather stronger tone, paying attention to lights and shades, yet at
+the same time being chiefly occupied with the melody itself. Then make
+your breath-marks, and adhere to the same unfailingly. Then sing the
+melody once throughout, in order to find the weak places; having found
+which, you need no more practise the whole of the melody, but give all
+the attention to these latter phrases. Having mastered these, the melody
+will be complete. It will then be necessary to determine where the notes
+shall be made to _bend_ into each other, to add the _nuances_, a few
+graceful figures and effects which belong alone to the true artist.
+
+
+=Imitation.=--By no means the worst lesson which you can have will be
+gained by imitation of some acknowledged first-rate singer, whose voice
+is of the same kind as your own. Before going to a concert at which any
+such artist is announced to sing, procure copies of his songs (if
+possible), and make yourself acquainted with the compositions first of
+all. Then go and hear how those works are rendered by the singer who is
+to be your model; listen with your copy in your hand; make notes of any
+points which strike you, and while the impression made upon you is still
+fresh, go home and imitate them as closely as you can.
+
+
+=General Musical Study.=--If you want to be a good singing artist, many
+more things besides singing should be studied. You should be
+sufficiently acquainted with the pianoforte to play your own
+accompaniments, even of the most difficult songs, well enough to get an
+idea of them. Then a knowledge of harmony, counterpoint, and
+orchestration is of the greatest value. The study of the best scores,
+orchestral and vocal, should not be neglected, and further, the student
+should make himself or herself otherwise familiar with the rise and
+progress of the art, by reading all the best books on the subject,
+whether historical, critical, or biographical.
+
+
+
+
+ON STYLE, EXPRESSION, &c.
+
+
+The study of language, articulation, and deportment, the gradual
+formation and building-up of the singing voice, and the incessant
+practice of scales and exercises, are in reality only the necessary
+preliminaries to singing itself. Singing, or the proper use of the voice
+combined with the due enunciation and expression of the words, is
+nothing unless due attention be also paid to style, to the fit and
+effective execution of the music selected, due regard being paid both to
+taste and tradition.
+
+
+=Traditional Styles.=--Although the groundwork of all good singing is the
+same, the music to be sung varies greatly in style. There is church
+music, oratorio music, and opera music, as well as ballad music; and a
+certain nondescript--half recitative, half declamation--which is of
+modern growth, gives pleasure to many people (both performers and
+audience), and comprises the greater number of modern German "songs."
+
+
+=Modern German Lieder.=--This latest development of vocal performances, of
+which I desire to speak with all due respect, has no traditions
+whatever, but it has a style, decided, though (in my opinion) bad. It
+has, however, one merit: it imperatively demands that the singer should
+understand the meaning both of words and music, for the whole thing
+depends on expression and modulation. The composers of these works
+generally do their part fully in the way of modulations and
+accompaniment; but as they frequently forget to supply anything in the
+shape of a melody, the singer must do his best to touch or move his
+audience by his expressive delivery of the words in the musical
+inflections which (with this class of composers) occupy the place of a
+"tune." However, if you admire this kind of music, and have been
+properly taught to sing before you attempt to execute it, I have not a
+word to say against it: so long as you use your voice legitimately, this
+style of music can do you no harm, and if you study dramatic expression
+and elocution properly, you may doubtless produce an effect very
+pleasing to others who admire it. But the danger of such music to the
+untrained voice and untaught singer is very great indeed; and I do not
+hesitate to say that the frequent performance of it by such an one
+_must_ result in the ruin both of voice and style.
+
+
+=The Cathedral School.=--The one point in music wherein England has just
+reason to boast of her past, is the existence of a distinct class of
+music composed for her church service, and that music of a high order of
+merit. Distinctive in character, this church music--"services" and
+"anthems"--has created for itself a distinct school of singers, and, by
+tradition, demands a distinct style of performance. I have elsewhere
+stated that the "Cathedral School" of singing is "detestable for solo
+work," and so it is for any solo work except cathedral solo work, where
+the operatic or oratorio style of singing would seem to us, who have
+always been familiar with the traditional and one accepted style, out of
+place, and irreverently suggestive of the concert-room. It is difficult
+to describe upon paper the peculiarity of this style of singing, and it
+could only be learnt by imitation in its own home, the cathedral. Its
+chief characteristics are a sort of passionless "statuesqueness," a
+steadiness of tone akin to the notes of the organ, which is its only fit
+accompaniment, an absence of all attempt at personal display on the part
+of the singer. Its faulty tendencies are towards deficiency of
+expression and slowness of "attack;" these are apparent, generally, when
+a "cathedral" singer appears in the concert-room; but in church, the
+pervadingly reverent character of the performance takes off the
+impression of coldness and tameness in the individual singer, while the
+ear, accustomed to the slight difference in time with which the various
+organ-stops "answer," does not notice in the singer that want of
+"crispness" in the time which the accompaniment of an orchestra reveals
+at once.
+
+Unless you are really intending to sing professionally in a church or
+cathedral choir, the study of this style will not be of much use to you;
+you will find its good points equally insisted on in the oratorio school
+of singing, while its defects should be avoided in any. For =English
+part-singing= there is, however, no training so good, its traditions
+being exactly those of the finest old English secular part-music--the
+madrigals of Wilbye, Weekes, and Purcell, &c.
+
+
+=Oratorio.=--By oratorio singing--speaking of it as a distinct style--I
+may say at once that I mean the school of Handelian singing, of which
+the traditions are distinct, and which has only been slightly modified
+to suit the more modern oratorios of other composers. Of course,
+Mendelssohn cannot be sung exactly like Handel or Bach, but the general
+style of delivery should be the same, and till you can sing Handel, you
+cannot hope to be able to sing Mendelssohn. The ability to sing Handel,
+Bach, and Glück, I believe to be the sole foundation for a pure style of
+singing either in opera or ballad music: the music is such that it
+cannot be trifled with--the difficulties cannot be evaded, but must be
+mastered--while the exquisitely smooth and vocal character of these
+great masters' music trains the singer to an evenness and solidity of
+style which is most valuable in any music that may be afterwards
+attempted. Moreover, the songs of Handel form an admirable school for
+the training of individual taste and judgment in the introduction of
+ornaments, the variety of phrasing, and other minute details of finish.
+Not that you may exercise your individual taste in introducing ornaments
+into Handel or Bach--far from it; but the songs are written with the
+express intention that certain ornaments should be introduced in
+particular places, and the style (and in many cases the notes) of these
+ornaments has been accurately handed down to us; therefore, in learning
+this traditional manner of singing such music, the student is trained to
+a knowledge of the appropriate place for the introduction of
+ornamentation and "grace"--the appropriate character of such
+embellishments, and the appropriate opportunities for introducing them.
+For instance, most of Handel's songs commence with a movement which is
+intended to be repeated at the close of the song, the middle part being
+generally a movement in some relative key, which is not repeated. The
+traditional style of giving such songs is to reserve ornamentation for
+this repeated first part, and thus to avoid the effect of sameness which
+would result from adhering in the "repeat" to exactly the same rendering
+of the music with which the singer gave it at first. Such ornamentations
+were taken for granted by the composer, and it was only because of a
+tasteless abuse of this privilege of adornment on the part of foolish
+singers, an abuse which became an unbearable nuisance, that in after
+years Rossini adopted the plan of writing into his music florid passages
+which should supply the singer with ornaments which were good of their
+kind and which were put in in appropriate places, rather then trust his
+airs to the mercy of inartistic "decorators." Handel, and the composers
+of earlier times than Rossini, omitted the ornamentation, so as not to
+hamper the singer, for, as has been well said by an old writer on the
+subject: "The same execution that would from one singer afford pleasure,
+might from another excite disgust: the compositions of old masters have
+no written cadences to a repeated passage, for this very reason, no
+doubt. But it is understood, and indeed expected, that the singer of
+talent should display his own taste by the introduction of such fanciful
+and graceful ornaments as may be best calculated to exhibit his voice to
+advantage, and thereby heighten, instead of lessen, the effect of the
+composition."
+
+The same writer, in explaining the reason for the introduction of such
+ornaments and changes, goes on to remark: "In conversation, though we
+frequently repeat words and even sentences, in expressing any particular
+subject, yet we might as naturally expect to see a person laugh without
+a smile, as give such repetitions without some variation in voice and
+manner.
+
+"The first part of an air is often written to be repeated. In justice to
+the author, when that is the case, simplicity of style should be
+inviolably preserved; but, on repeating the strain, free scope may be
+given to the imagination, taking it for granted that no person would be
+vain enough to attempt the introduction of his own fanciful graces,
+unless sufficiently master of the science to feel the propriety of going
+so far and no farther."
+
+Perhaps I may make the meaning of all this clearer by giving a few
+specimens of these traditionally accepted adornments in repeated
+passages.
+
+[Music:_First time._
+
+    ri - mem - - bran - za, Puoi di nuo - vo, &c.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    ri - mem - bran - za, Puoi di nuo - vo, &c.]
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    dol - ce ri - mem - bran - za, &c.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    dol - ce ri - mem - bran - - za, &c.]
+
+[Music:_First time._
+
+    Puoi di nuo - vo, di nuo - vo av - ve - len
+    ar ................... mi.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    Puoi - di nuo - vo di nuo - vo av - ve - len
+    ar ................... mi.]
+
+The above are taken from a fine song by Cesti (1660), "_Tu mancavi a
+tormentarmi_."
+
+The following are the adornments taught in the Paris Conservatoire, as
+traditionally correct in the famous old song by Lotti, "_Pur dicesti_,"
+where, it will be observed, one simple phrase, which occurs so
+frequently that it would be monotonous if unadorned, is made to yield a
+charming variety to the song by some elegant change at each recurrence.
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    quel so - a - ve ... car - o ...... si]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    quel ... so - a - ve car ... o - si]
+
+[Music: _Third time._
+
+    quel ... so - a - ve car - o - si]
+
+[Music: _Fourth time._
+
+    quel ... so - a - - ve car - - o si]
+
+[Music:_First time._
+
+    pia - cer .................
+    ................. il mio pia - cer]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    pia - cer .................
+    ................. il mio pia - cer]
+
+The following are from Handel:
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    While re - sign'd to Heav'n ... a - bove]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    While re - sign'd to ...... Heav'n ........ a - bove
+
+                                (_Guardian Angels._)]
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    Trees where you sit, &c.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+     Trees where you sit, &c.
+
+                              (_Where'er you walk._)]
+
+And of course the list might be almost indefinitely prolonged. Certain
+of these ornaments, once highly popular, have wisely been allowed to
+drop, and that is why I lay stress upon the importance of _accepted
+traditions_. You may get hold of copies of many songs of this kind which
+have the names of great singers attached to them, and yet give
+variations of the text which have never been accepted or generally
+approved. The great Braham himself was a terrible offender sometimes in
+this respect. For instance, in singing "_Comfort ye_," instead of the
+passage
+
+[Music:
+
+    that her in - i - qui - ty is par - don - ed]
+
+he would sing thus:
+
+[Music:
+
+    that her in - i - qui - ty is par - don - ed.]
+
+And I have seen an old copy of "_Holy, holy_," in which the melody is so
+overlaid with little black notes, semi-quavers, demi-semi-quavers, and
+semi-demi-semi-quavers, that it is difficult to distinguish the notes of
+Handel's music at all! The admissible changes are all very slight, and
+any elaborate cadenza, or considerable addition, is pretty sure to be
+wrong. Final high notes are a frequent snare to aspiring singers; the
+traditions of the old school of oratorio singing are not in favour of
+them, and they generally vulgarize a song if introduced where the
+composer has not clearly opened a way for them. I have heard a tenor
+singer conclude the famous "_Thou shalt break them_," thus:
+
+[Music:
+
+    pot - - - - ter's ves - sel]
+
+and a soprano finish off "_He shall feed His flock_," thus:
+
+[Music:
+
+    ye shall find rest ........ un - to your souls.]
+
+--both of them pieces of vulgar display, bringing the personality of the
+singer before the audience instead of the beauty of the music, the sense
+of the words, or the merit of the composer. No such abominations are
+permissible in good oratorio singing, the rule of which is utter
+submission to the composer's intentions, and a conscientious endeavour
+to interpret his mind clearly to the audience; a pure and chaste
+delivery of words and music alike; a sustained excellence throughout,
+avoiding an attempt to astonish by bursts of power or brilliancy; and an
+entire absence of all claptrap or vulgarities to please "the gallery."
+
+
+=Opera.=--A great deal of what has been said about oratorio singing
+applies also to operatic singing. But I strongly advise you against
+attempting opera music until you have studied the more severe and solid
+style of the oratorio. The declamatory passages in opera are doubtless
+more brilliantly impassioned, just as the florid airs are more
+startlingly elaborate, than in oratorio, and the recitatives less
+stately and sustained; but the style of good opera singing is only to be
+founded upon good oratorio study (or its equivalent), inasmuch as it
+was out of the oratorio that the opera grew. Operatic singing allows
+more license to the singer than does oratorio; but the singer should
+have been taught first by the severer style not to misuse that license.
+At the same time when (as is not infrequent in operas of a certain kind)
+the composer has introduced airs for the express purpose of showing off
+a singer's voice, a well-trained singer may be accepted as interpreting
+the composer's intention rightly, when he or she elaborates _fioriture_
+far beyond the limits of which any hint appears in the score.
+
+Even here, however, traditional usage must have its weight: cadenzas
+must be strictly in character, and only introduced in songs to which
+such passages are appropriate. I once heard a florid cadenza
+interpolated at the close of "_Spirto Gentil_," by an aspiring young
+tenor, too full of conceit and "modern" ideas to take a hint from
+Mario's marvellous rendering of that song.
+
+And it must be borne in mind that it is only in operas of the Bellini,
+Donizetti, and early Rossini and Verdi school that such extreme license
+is granted. No such tricks can be played with the operas of Mozart,
+Glück, Weber, or Meyerbeer, or with the later works of Rossini and
+Verdi, while the notion of altering a note, or omitting even a
+demi-semi-quaver rest, in those of Wagner, would be, to his admirers,
+flat heresy. In reality, the style of singing opera music is easily
+acquired by any one who is sufficiently advanced to be fit to attempt
+opera music at all. There are certain niceties to be acquired, and
+endless beauties of variety in the rendering of even small passages; but
+these things cannot be taught on paper.
+
+
+=Ballads.=--There is no greater mistake than to suppose that "any one can
+sing a simple ballad." Good ballad singing is one of the rarest
+accomplishments, and demands qualities in the singer which _may_ be
+wanting even in a person who can sing well both in opera and oratorio.
+To suppose that an untaught singer can do justice to any ballad that is
+worth the trouble of singing at all, is simply a mark of ignorance on
+the whole subject of singing.
+
+Ballads do not always require power or compass of voice, it is true, nor
+do they tax the singer on the score of flexibility or physical strength;
+but they are the severest test of enunciation, _mezzo-voce_ singing,
+neatness and readiness in producing tones of any gradation, and perfect
+control over the voice.
+
+To sing a ballad well demands a really cultivated taste, a certain
+dramatic power, suppressed it is true, but influencing the whole
+delivery; a sympathetic voice, and a manner which will enlist the
+interest and sympathy of the audience. Ballad singing is neither
+declamation nor recitative: there is no chance of surprising or
+astonishing your audience; but you _must_ contrive to please them, you
+must _touch_ them somehow; and, for an ordinary person in the costume of
+the nineteenth century, to "touch" others of the same species is not
+easy. Sometimes, no doubt, the words of a good song are in themselves so
+touching and charming that, so long as the music be not positively
+hideous or destructive of the sense of the words, the singer has only to
+let them be clearly heard, and the battle is won; but more frequently he
+has to trick his audience into interest in a song where the words in
+themselves are either hopelessly silly, or too obscure in sense for
+their full meaning to appear at a first hearing or reading. All that he
+can then do is to deliver it in such a way that they shall feel that
+there _is_ a meaning to it all, though they have not fully caught it
+yet, and so they may wish to hear it again. I do not, of course, mean
+any allusion to the ridiculous fashion of _encores_, but simply that the
+feeling at the end of such a song should be one of liking it
+sufficiently to wish to understand it entirely.
+
+Many songs would tell their own tale and produce their own effect well
+enough, if the singer would let them, and therefore the ballad singer
+must only be sufficiently self-conscious to keep himself out of the way.
+However good his singing, however original his reading of the song,
+_while he is singing_ it should all go to the credit of the song, and
+the hearers be charmed into forgetting _him_ till he is silent.
+
+
+=Recitative.=--Good recitative singing is of great importance, and
+requires careful attention and study. Recitative is midway between
+speaking and singing; it is a sort of modulated intoning, that is, that
+in delivering it the note and the word that belongs to it should be
+given with equal intention, and appear to belong to each other so
+completely that the musical sound should seem to be the natural
+intonation which the reciter would give to the word. Recitative is (_or
+was_) practically an attempt to express, in musical notation, the
+inflexions of the human voice in speaking; and how accurately, in some
+cases, musical notation can do this, will be seen at a glance by the
+following illustration:
+
+[Music:
+
+    Who   are you?]
+
+[Music:
+
+      Who are you?]
+
+[Music:
+
+    Who   are you?]
+
+--where the question is asked in the same words, but the musical notes
+express clearly three different sentiments, or degrees of sentiment.
+This should be taken into consideration by the student; and he should
+strive to give his recitative with as natural a delivery as he can,
+placing himself mentally in the position of a dramatic reciter.
+
+Steadiness of tone, clearness of enunciating consonants, and full round
+delivery of vowel-sounds are indispensable to good recitative singing.
+Every note must be distinct, and not the faintest suspicion of a "slur"
+or _portamento_ can be allowed.
+
+Recitative singing is not a thing which a student should try to teach
+himself, as he may not only waste his time, but gain notions which are
+erroneous and difficult to cure. For instance, take the recitatives in
+"_The Messiah_," as these are printed for the British public. Nothing
+could be more ludicrous than for a singer to appear in public and sing
+the recitatives faithfully as printed in the editions of this oratorio
+which are continually being disseminated throughout the land. Handel,
+let it be borne in mind, was _not_ well acquainted with the English
+language; and though he may have written good music, he was often very
+far from reaching good literary sense. Thus, as regards this latter,
+this specimen passage occurs in Handel's "_Acis and Galatea_,"
+
+[Music:
+
+    Where shall I seek the charm-ing fair?]
+
+Yet no one in his senses would think of rendering it other than
+
+[Music:
+
+    Where shall I seek the charm-ing fair?]
+
+inasmuch as there is some doubt of the chord 6/4 which forms the grace
+note being Handel's music, and because the sense of the words demands
+that no break shall be made between the words _seek_ and _the_. As
+Handel failed in his English, it is surely allowable to make good his
+deficiencies in this respect.
+
+The following paragraphs relate to certain minor details of style in
+singing, and apply to singing of every kind. They must be taken in
+conjunction with much that has already been said under the head of
+"Practice."
+
+
+=Slurring.=--Slurring up to a note is a very disagreeable and common evil
+to be guarded against. It matters not how far distant the note to be
+sung may be from the preceding tone; it should be attacked fearlessly
+and cheerfully, but _with an open throat_. The note to be attacked must
+not be prepared in the throat. The course should be this. The tone of
+the preceding note must not be moved, but the one required--say a very
+high one--must be obtained by the joint process of lowering the larynx,
+of sounding the note from exactly the same spot as the lower note, in a
+soft but fine tone, and thirdly, by getting such a ring in the note as
+it can only have in conjunction with the feeling that while the root or
+foundation of the note is in the chest, yet it owes much of its
+penetrating character and power to a sort of reflecting power which is
+given it from the extreme end of the spine bone, where it joins the
+head. Certainly no high note is properly _produced_, nor to be relied
+upon for a _crescendo_, unless the student has this feeling that it
+springs from the back of the neck; and, in rising to an upper note, the
+aim should be not at length to approach the upper note from beneath, as
+it were, but to "come down" upon it--to strike it from _above_ instead
+of from below.
+
+
+=Sentiment.=--Always try to convey the sentiment of what you may be
+singing through the tone of the voice. Love and anger cannot both be
+expressed with the same quality of voice. For the former, a delicate
+light tone well on the lips is desirable, while for the latter the voice
+should be produced lower in the stomach; yet the tone should still be
+kept on the lips; its character should be "darker," more round, and
+sonorous. "'_Tis this that racks my brain_": such words as these should
+never be sung in the same character of voice as "_Waft her, angels, to
+the skies_." It is good practice to take any piece and sing the melody
+on an open vowel throughout, with the object of showing the meaning of
+the song without the aid of words. Then, when this can be done, the
+words may be employed, and the result will be doubly happy.
+
+
+=Decision.=--Indecision is a very serious fault in singing. Do well and
+thoroughly whatever you decide upon attempting. If you have a _staccato_
+passage to sing, render it firmly in that style; if you have one that is
+_legato_, take care that this character is _strongly_ seen from your
+rendering. When you "slur," make it strong enough to be felt. If you
+bend as it were from one note to another, let your intention to do so be
+clearly apparent. Let a _forte_ passage be loud, and let a _piano_ one
+be really soft. Any half measures in singing are fatal. Precision and
+certainty are qualities which the student must always aim at attaining.
+Without them, singing becomes tame and unattractive, not to say
+tiresome.
+
+
+=Imitation.=--Imitation, which in many other arts becomes plagiary, in
+singing is most desirable; for singing, more than any other art, rests
+on tradition; there is even very little doubt that the peculiar charm
+and quality of a true tenor voice (for instance) is more due to
+imitation in a singer than to nature; that is to say, that it is the
+result of a transmitted culture--such imitation being the only means in
+which singers can reap the harvest of the experience of the great
+singers now to be heard no more, who have left their imitators to pass
+on to others what they themselves obtained by imitating and improving on
+_their_ predecessors. Therefore do not be afraid of being set down as a
+mere copyist, if you study and attempt to imitate the style of the best
+living singers. You will always have enough of your own merit or defect
+to distinguish your performance, if you are really a conscientious
+student, and you may learn a great deal by listening to the best public
+singers which can be taught you in no other way. Watch their stage
+deportment; their treatment of the weaker parts of their voices; their
+method of breathing; their manner towards the public;--in fact, every
+point which occurs to you,--and make some use of what you see and hear
+in your own studies.
+
+
+=Public Singing.=--If you have to sing in public, remember always to
+take a rapid but searching glance round your stage. This is a great
+point gained. As you step on to "the boards," notice (unobserved)
+the dimensions of the stage (if it happens to be new to you). Note
+the height of its ceiling, its surroundings, its draperies, its
+distance from your farthest auditor; then take up your position
+accordingly--bearing in mind that all your tone is wanted by your
+listeners, which requirement can never be met unless you yourself take
+the precaution to prevent the sound being held or carried back by the
+stage decorations. In a concert _salon_ or theatre, then, do not forget
+to get well to the front of the platform. At the same time you must not
+be _too_ close upon your stall occupants, or you may give them the very
+undesirable impression that at any moment you may fall over.
+
+
+="Holding" an Audience.=--The singer should carefully watch an audience so
+as to gauge its attention and sympathies. If it seems impatient,
+restless, and indifferent, the singer may be quite sure that he or she
+is exciting no interest. The best course then for one to do is to
+immediately change the style, alter the tone, give forth his or her best
+energies, and use every effort to become ingratiated into the good
+favour of the listeners. If such effects as these fail constantly in
+their turn, then the aspirant for vocal fame should give up, and devote
+both time and attention to further study, or to some other means of a
+livelihood; for a future great singer will not be failing constantly,
+and to be only a second-rate singer while there are so many is a thing
+_not_ to be devoutly desired.
+
+
+=Mistakes in Public.=--If you make a mistake in singing, do not add to the
+mischief by allowing it to alarm or disconcert you. Proceed onward as if
+nothing had happened. You may be quite sure that each one of your
+audience will not have detected the slip, for they cannot _all_ be
+critics. But bear in mind that such confidence as your adviser here
+suggests is not to be too often called into requisition. No great artist
+will ever make a serious mistake in public. How much more careful then
+should the young student be!
+
+
+
+
+ON TIME IN SINGING.
+
+
+I need perhaps scarcely remind my readers who are or who wish to be
+singers that _time_ concerns them quite as much as the conductor, the
+pianist, the violinist--in short, the whole orchestra. It behoves the
+student in singing to give early and careful attention to this important
+feature in his artistic training. You may have the voice of a Rubini,
+you may be a second Tamburini in quality and extent of voice, but unless
+you can sing in time yourself, and are able to do so with others, and
+with the counter-acting influences of an orchestra, you can never hope
+to rise in your profession. It may be argued that you have no desire to
+lay yourself out for a career on the lyric stage. Then, however, you
+shut yourself out from some of the largest prizes in the profession;
+beyond which there comes the question of oratorio business, and the
+growing taste for band accompaniments to songs. And if you restrict your
+ambition to a pianoforte accompaniment, time is needed even with that in
+order to produce anything like a satisfactory rendering of the piece you
+may be singing. The accompanyist may be a Sir Julius Benedict, or a
+Signor Randegger (than whom there is no better in this country, so
+neglected has this species of musical art-work become); but a perfect
+rendering depends not so much upon the pianist as the vocalist. If the
+singer flounders about with neither "rhyme nor reason," it is scarcely
+reasonable to expect the accompanyist, clever as he may be, to be always
+at his heels, like a cat after a mouse. I would therefore advise the
+student to invest his money in a Metronome--the most useful thing with
+which he could provide himself. They are not dear, bearing in mind their
+utility, and one will, I am sure, save the student much time and many a
+_fiasco_. Learn the working of this useful machine, and practise all
+your exercises with it. If you go to a good singing master, you should
+ask him to time your exercises to the pace at which you should sing
+them, and in this way you will not only be growing in a good habit, but
+your singing will be characterized by a crispness and a certainty of
+attack, which will be apparent to all musicians and amateurs with good
+taste. Your singing master will, no doubt, impress upon you the
+necessity of singing your songs in time, and especially of slightly
+accenting the first and third beats in the bar if it is common time, the
+first and fourth beats when it is compound common or 6/8 time, and the
+first beat when it is triple or 3/4 time. In this way there will be
+meaning given to your singing, and those who may be accompanying you
+will be able to feel where you are, and to keep time with you. In
+singing a passage like this from Cowen's charming song "Aubade,"--the
+master, if he knew his business, would instruct his pupil to slightly
+accent the words as I have indicated with the mark =V=, and to preserve
+_strict_ time throughout the passage, and especially in the taking up of
+the words after the long note on the word _sleep_. The accompanyist
+would, we may assume, do likewise with his pianoforte part, and in this
+way a perfect _ensemble_ would be secured.
+
+[Music:
+
+    Sleep, love, sleep,
+    the morn is wak - - ing,]
+
+With this brief introduction to the subject, I will proceed to give the
+student a few exercises in keeping and beating time, the assiduous
+practice of which will, I hope, soon place him in the desirable position
+of being able to sing in time.
+
+[Music: Ex. 1.
+
+Four beats in a bar.
+
+    Do Re Mi Fa Sol
+
+    La Si Do Do Si
+
+    La Sol Fa Mi Re Do]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2.
+
+    Do Do Re Re Mi Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 3.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 4.
+
+    Do Do Do Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5.
+
+    Do Do Re Re Mi Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7.
+
+    Do Do Do Re Re Re Mi Mi Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 9.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 10.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 11.
+
+     Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Mi &c.]
+
+These exercises may be timed as slow as you like on your metronome--the
+slower the better--but 76 is a good pace to begin with; when you have
+thoroughly mastered them at 76, take them a little quicker until you can
+sing them accurately up to a good brisk time.
+
+No 1 has but one note in the bar, and this must be held on steadily for
+four beats of the metronome--care being taken to leave each note in
+sufficient time to take a fresh breath, and attack the second note and
+syllable in precise time with the metronome beat. I need, perhaps,
+scarcely point out that much good will be obtained if the student can
+accustom himself to _feeling_ in his mind the rhythm and beating, so as
+not to acquire the habit of trusting to mechanical appliances, which are
+dispensed with at public performances. The sol-fa-ing must be strictly
+adhered to, and in Exercises 2, 3, etc., it will be seen that the
+syllable must be sounded twice and four times respectively. With
+Exercise 5 the dotted note comes in; but I will not stay to explain
+that, as I assume that my readers will have acquainted themselves with
+the elements of musical theory before taking up singing. Especial care
+should be given to Exercise 7, as that is the first step in the
+difficult matter of syncopation, carried out elaborately in Exercises 8
+and 9. With Exercise 11 the question of Rests comes in, but the same
+remark that I made as to the dotted notes applies here. Everything that
+it is necessary to know about them should be found in any elementary
+musical grammar.
+
+Having mastered the above exercises, the reader may take the following
+with two beats in the bar--taking the precaution to set them at a slow
+time on the metronome, say 76, not singing them quickly until he is
+thoroughly acquainted with them.
+
+[Music: Ex. 1. Two beats to a bar.
+
+    Do Do Re Re Mi Mi Fa Fa Sol Sol
+    La La Si Si Do Do Do Si Si
+    La La Sol Sol Fa Fa Mi Mi Re Re Do]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2.
+
+    Do Re Mi Fa Sol La
+    Si Do Do Do Si Si &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 3.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 4.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7.
+
+    Do Re Mi Fa Sol &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8.]
+
+After which he may take the following with three beats in the bar:--
+
+[Music: Ex. 1.
+
+Three beats in a bar.
+
+    1 2 3
+    Do    Re Mi Fa Sol
+    La    Si Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 3.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 4.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 9.]
+
+
+
+
+ON THE CHOICE OF MUSIC.
+
+    There are, of course, no _rules_ to be given to guide the student
+    in the choice of music, except the general ones, to choose good
+    music, pleasing music, and music suited to his voice and powers.
+    But those general rules touch incidentally on a few points on which
+    it may be well to offer a few remarks.
+
+
+=Music must suit the Voice.=--Your music must not only be appropriate for
+your voice in compass, but it must be such as has been written for a
+voice of your kind. This is a most important thing to remember. Nothing
+is more provoking to a person of good taste and musical knowledge than
+to hear songs composed for a voice of one class sung by a voice of a
+totally different character; and yet this is a vice which even good
+artists will sometimes weakly succumb to. The popular song of Gounod's,
+"_Quand tu chantes berçée_," for instance, has been sung to death by
+many soprani and contralti, in various keys. One would have thought that
+the words alone would have shown them the utter absurdity of what they
+were doing; but no, for the sake of producing an effect (upon an
+audience who naturally supposed that public singers of high standing
+knew what they were doing, and why they did it), these good ladies
+committed what I do not scruple to call a vulgar and inartistic blunder.
+The song is a man's song, and no woman should attempt it.
+
+This fault is one which amateurs are very apt to fall into, and a long
+list might be made of songs which have suffered this unfair treatment.
+Soprani sing tenor songs--(I have often, in the early days of the
+popularity of "_Il Trovatore_," heard a soprano sing "_Ah, che la
+Morte!_"--tenors, those written for soprano--(_e.g._, I know an amateur
+tenor whose "crack" song is Iphis' "Farewell" in "_Jephtha_"). Contralti
+and mezzo-soprani steal bass and barytone songs, as "But who may abide,"
+from the "_Messiah_," and basses and barytones return the compliment by
+appropriating "What tho' I trace," or "O rest in the Lord.")
+
+There is a reason, quite apart from the question of taste, which renders
+this practice objectionable. A composer of any skill writes his
+accompaniment as well as his melody with reference to the voice which he
+wishes to sing it. Now, if that voice be--we will say--a soprano, the
+accompaniment will be written for a voice of that _pitch_, as well as of
+that character and compass; the progressions of harmony will be written
+with due regard to the actual place of the vocal notes in the scale. But
+directly the song is sung by a tenor--a voice which pitches every note
+an octave lower than the soprano--the relation of the vocal notes to the
+accompaniment is changed; notes that were intended to be fourths above
+the accompaniment will become fifths below, and progressions which were
+correct in the composer's intention become wrong in the effect produced
+by the singer. That is an extreme case, I grant, but it is only a fair
+instance of the sort of result which follows on such changes, and it is
+sufficient to show that the rule rests on reason and not caprice.
+
+
+"=Original Keys.="--Do not bind yourself, as some think it necessary to
+do, always to sing your songs in the original keys. Remember that opera
+and oratorio music, and a large number of modern "ballads," were
+composed for performance in large buildings, theatres, and
+concert-rooms. The keys, therefore, were chosen with due reference to
+that fact, and to the (in many cases) exceptional voices of the singers.
+The raising of the pitch in later years also affects the question.
+
+Now, if you have to sing in a drawing-room, the pitch, volume of tone,
+and style of delivery must be appropriate to chamber music, and not to
+the stage of Covent Garden, and the keys which are necessary for due
+brilliancy and effect in a concert-room are frequently unsuited to a
+drawing-room, giving an appearance of strain and noisiness to the
+singing. A good deal of opera music is as unfit for singing in a
+drawing-room as would be a grand symphony for performance there; and an
+artistic singer should bear in mind this principle of fitness in his
+selection.
+
+At the same time, if it is considered desirable to transpose a song, let
+it be only for that reason, and let the aim be to produce the same
+effect, _relatively_, in the drawing-room, as the song in its original
+key is intended to produce in the concert-room. Do not transpose
+recklessly, merely to "suit your voice:" if you are a barytone, for
+instance, do not sing tenor songs a few notes lower; or, if you are a
+soprano, do not transpose contralto songs to suit your register. For the
+_character_ of the music (if the music is good) suits the voice for
+which it was intended, and there is a risk of destroying that character
+by giving it to a voice of another kind. This has been proved over and
+over again on the stage in several notable instances.
+
+
+=Execution.=--Do not be too ambitious in selecting florid songs for
+performance either in public or private. "Fireworks" in a drawing-room
+rarely please, while in a concert-room they must be very perfect and
+first-rate in execution to do so. Of course, if you are a professional
+artist you must include such work in your studies, and even for the
+amateur the practice of florid music, under a master, is most desirable
+as an exercise. But where the choice of a song for a concert rests with
+yourself, sacrifice ambition to prudence, unless your voice is naturally
+a very flexible one, and your training in that style of music very
+complete. I give, on this subject, a quotation from an old and
+experienced writer on music and singing:
+
+"Execution is certainly one of the most difficult parts of musical
+science. Young singers are desirous of attaining it without reflecting
+whether, from the formation of the throat and various physical causes,
+they may ever be able to accomplish their wishes. Few, indeed, possess
+the power of execution in a pre-eminent degree. It is in part a gift of
+nature: those who have ever delighted as well as astonished us by their
+rapid manner of running through divisions must have been naturally
+endowed with flexible organs.
+
+"... Some voices may be compared to gems which in their original state
+are dull, and, to those unacquainted with their worth, of no value....
+It frequently happens that singers, from timidity or want of proper
+knowledge in exercising their voices, remain ignorant of their own
+qualifications. The hinges of a door which have continued for years
+undisturbed, will, when the door is re-opened, grate harshly on the ear;
+but every effort renders the harshness more tolerable, until, from
+frequent use, they move easily. Thus it is with the voice: on the
+flexibility of the _uvula_ and the muscles connected with it depend both
+the perfectibility of the shake and execution. But still it must be
+acknowledged that acquired execution should never be exercised by the
+side of nature otherwise than sparingly, even where necessity requires
+it, for the latter possesses an easy velocity which can playfully sport
+with its subject at will; but, however gratifying the power of execution
+may be considered by those who possess it, I recommend them not to be
+indiscriminately lavish, lest they cloy by too great a profusion, and,
+as Voltaire remarks, 'shine in trills and divisions, at the expense of
+poetry and good sense.'"
+
+
+=Fashion.=--The songs which are "the rage" at any time are always great
+snares for amateurs. Aspiring young singers hear a ballad charmingly
+rendered by some great singer, and straightway go home, send for it, and
+on the first available opportunity treat their friends to their version
+of it. This is really unfair to themselves, as it throws them into
+unwise contrast with the public singer who has made the song popular,
+and whose well-known rendering of it forbids ordinary hearers to judge
+the rendering of an amateur on its own merits, or by any rule but that
+of comparison. Moreover, "popular" songs--I mean songs whose popularity
+is largely due to their having been sung by favourite public
+singers--are by no means always good in themselves; or, if fairly good,
+by no means easy; or if good and not difficult, by no means always
+sufficiently so to make it worth while for an amateur to spend time and
+study on them. In very many cases the public singer has to sing these
+songs because he is paid for doing so, and gets a "royalty" on every
+copy sold; it is simply one development of the hydra-headed art of
+advertising, and such productions are known by the vulgar name of
+"pot-boilers," _i.e._, compositions hastily thrown off to bring in a
+little money "_to keep the pot boiling_." If composers who are capable
+of better things are reduced to making money in this way, we may be
+sincerely sorry for them; but speaking from an artistic point of view,
+the practice is reprehensible, and "pot-boilers" are not the kind of
+music which a young singer, anxious to improve, should waste time or
+money upon. I am far from saying that there are no good songs to be
+found among new music, but I think they seldom lie on the top of the
+pile.
+
+
+=Forming a Repertoire.=--In gradually forming your _repertoire_, or
+collection of properly studied songs for drawing-room or concert
+singing, do not be in haste to make it a large one. It is better to know
+only a few songs and do them really well, than to sing a large number
+indifferently. If you are studying for the profession, there is a
+considerable number of songs which you will be expected to know as a
+matter of course, but over and above such, every singer should have a
+special repertoire of his or her own, and it is of this that I now
+speak. Your selection of songs, like your singing, should have the stamp
+of your own individuality upon it. You should have a little stock of
+songs, with which your singing is in a way identified, and which you
+must be able to sing in a manner that at once stamps those songs as your
+property, so that another person might say, "I could not sing that song
+before you, it is one of your own."
+
+To form such a repertoire, you may have to go a little out of the beaten
+track of what is best known at the time. If opera music suits you best,
+look at the operas, never performed now, of Glück, or the less known of
+Mozart's, or earlier works of Rossini, Auber, &c.; or else try and get
+hold of works not yet known in England, such as Macfarren's, Wallace's,
+Purcell's, and a few other such native dramatic composers. In a word, do
+not limit your notions of operatic music to what you hear year after
+year at Covent Garden or Her Majesty's.
+
+So, too, in oratorio: search in the less familiar oratorios of Handel,
+and such of his operas as you can get access to, and carry the same idea
+out in examining the works of other composers, ancient and modern. Good
+work has been done of late years by various publishers in publishing
+many works of this class, and there are plenty of these which are still
+unfamiliar and unhackneyed.
+
+The same with your songs and ballads: before you rush into the modern
+fashionable ballad, see if you cannot find a few that you can
+appropriate among the stores of old English music, or the detached songs
+of old Italian masters (many of which are magnificent as songs, and
+utterly unknown at present, except to the few).
+
+
+
+
+PHYSIOLOGICAL SURROUNDINGS.
+
+
+It is highly expedient that singers themselves, and intending students
+of the art, should make some acquaintance with the physiological
+surroundings which are brought into play in the process of voice
+production. A knowledge of the technical terms for the various organs
+directly involved is very essential, and the intelligent student will
+see the necessity not only for distinguishing such names as "larynx" and
+"diaphragm," but also of possessing some idea of their whereabouts in
+the human frame. No better course could be adopted for the acquirement
+of such a knowledge than attendance at the classes and lectures at the
+musical colleges and other institutions, which, from time to time,
+secure the assistance of qualified specialists to speak upon this very
+important branch of the singing art. No other mode of teaching is so
+well calculated to enlighten the uninitiated in the wondrous mechanism
+of the human voice, and to inspire him or her with an adequate sense of
+the watchful care and delicate treatment which a voice worthy of
+systematic training demands, as well as deserves, at the hands of
+students of both sexes. As a preliminary to a fuller inquiry into the
+subject, the following few notes may be fixed upon the mind:--
+
+
+=The Larynx= (λά�υγξ) constitutes the upper part of the
+wind-pipe. It is the seat of the voice, and essential parts of it are
+the "vocal cords" (_chordæ vocales_), two membranes in a horizontal
+position across the larynx. It is popularly called "Adam's apple"
+(_pomum Adami_), the protuberance so often recognizable in the throats
+of bass singers, but a more correct use of "_pomum Adami_" is when it is
+applied to a projection in the thyroid cartilage--a part of the
+laryngeal structure.
+
+=The Thyroid= (from Θυ�εός) is a shield-shaped cartilage, and that part
+of the larynx which, in the case of both sexes, develops suddenly at the
+period when they pass from youth to mature age. Other important
+cartilages are the cricoid (from κ�ίκος), a ring-shaped membrane; the
+arytenoids (from ��ύταινα a pitcher); the epiglottis (�πί-γλωττα),
+situated at the back of the mouth; and the cartilages of Santorini, or
+_cornicula laryngis_.
+
+The trachea, or wind-pipe, is capable of rising or falling, and thus is
+produced the perceptible movement of the larynx in the throat when
+speaking or singing. It is by lowering the larynx, and so commanding an
+expansion of the throat that the best tone is possible in the voice, and
+it is this open throat production which some teachers are aiming at when
+they charge their pupils to "sing from the chest." A more sensible
+request would be to "lower the larynx," since such a lowering of this
+organ places the throat in the most favourable position for emitting
+sound; as well as for enabling the lungs, or wind-chests, to act most
+advantageously upon the true vocal cords. Moreover, this lowered larynx
+production leads to the best results from the vocal cords themselves.
+The natural tendency is to sing as we talk, a process which involves a
+demand upon the upper fringes of the vocal ligaments only, but no
+long-sustained singing could be maintained by this means, nor does it
+requisition any art-knowledge or principle. Directly, however, we begin
+to utilize the lower edge of the vocal cords, we are verging upon the
+art of _producing_ the voice; _i.e._, creating a something which will
+not manifest itself without the first application of some art
+principles. Here lies the whole secret of singing, _viz._, the
+utilization of the lower portions of the membranous folds popularly
+called the "vocal cords," instead of working merely their topmost
+fringes, as do the innumerable tenors who sing "throaty," and as we all
+do up to a certain point, in the ordinary process of speaking. The
+singing voice and the speaking voice are two totally different
+productions, the former never to be acquired except at the hands of a
+capable master, who, himself, has been properly taught the principles of
+voice production.
+
+The lungs, or bellows, or air-chambers lie, as is well known, on each
+side of the chest, resting upon the diaphragm, and performing a very
+important function in singing. They supply the air which acts upon the
+vocal cords, and in true singing are the first organs for consideration
+by a vocalist, since so much depends upon the way the wind, or breath,
+is brought to bear upon the vocal cords. For this reason the abdominal
+method of breathing--the filling of the lungs from their bases--becomes
+the best method for inspiring the breath in singing. Doubtless, in
+breathing, the lungs are replenished from above downwards, but it
+requires something of the sensation of these air-supplying substances
+being filled from their bases in order to requisition the full help of
+the diaphragm, a great muscle which separates the lungs from the
+abdomen, and which may be called the fundamental basis on which all
+voice production rests.
+
+The Pharynx (φά�υγξ) is situated behind the mouth, between the tongue
+and the arch forming the circumference of the palate. Its province is to
+reflect the voice on its issue from the glottis. It is an elastic
+aperture, and may be well styled the reflecting organ of singing. It can
+take various forms, and bears a great part in giving character to the
+sounds originated in the larynx.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_The Voice--a Wind, Reed, or String Instrument?_ Much discussion has
+spent itself in settling the question of "family" to which the vocal
+instrument properly belongs. The vocal chords are known to be composed
+of a yellow elastic fibrous tissue in their anterior parts, the
+posterior portions consisting of a tougher muscle or cartilage. Many
+maintain them to belong to the "string" family, since the sounds
+generated are produced as on a violin--the higher notes by increased
+tension, the lower tones by a reduction of the strain. In this process,
+the muscle, popularly known as the epiglottis-cushion--a fat mucous
+membrane--presses on to the vocal cords, modifying their vibrating
+length. Thus, in an extreme high note, the cushion presses intensely
+upon the cords, considerably shortening their one inch length. In
+reverting to a low note, this tension becomes withdrawn, and the whole
+length of cord is at play to produce its lowest tones. An unfortunate
+objection to this theory--that the vocal cords can be styled a stringed
+instrument, is the fact that no string of the small extent of the vocal
+cords could be capable of sounding either so many, or such low notes;
+moreover, the mathematical treatment of their vibrations, as governed by
+the tension, is not correct, as they are in the case of a violin. It is
+a useful theory, and method of reasoning, however, for those teachers of
+singing who maintain that to get high notes, a light and thin style of
+singing, and the use of the upper fringe of the vocal cords (the
+production point), is preferable, in contradistinction to those who
+declare that no really good chest note with any telling power worth
+considering is possible, unless the vocalist sings deep in his chest and
+gains the idea, as he goes for his note, of requisitioning with all
+effort the lowest depth in the cord. Surely this point presents the
+greatest difficulty for singers with whom compass, especially at the top
+of the voice, is an imperative necessity, albeit that people go on
+talking to the contrary; and it is a matter which needs settling among
+voice specialists and singing masters. We are told, and it is generally
+known, that the tension of the epiglottis-cushion produces a higher note
+just as the shifting of the finger on the violin string affects its
+tone--a process which may produce falsetto sounds, but which surely is
+not the basis upon which great Italian singers of the Mongini and
+Tamberlik type secured the great chest Cs, which, with their resonance
+and brilliancy, were wont to make our opera houses ring again. Is it not
+a fact that in voices of this calibre, as well as in those trained on
+what is known as the broad lines of the true Italian production, the
+whole surfaces of the vocal cords become more or less requisitioned, and
+that they vibrate the whole of their length and breadth, not merely the
+sides, rather than that any upper portion is mainly utilized while the
+lower parts are resting? The answer to this question would seem to
+indicate that the human voice is of the nature of a reed instrument.
+These membraneous organs, which we term vocal cords, are such that their
+whole surfaces must vibrate when brought into contact with a current of
+air from the lungs. The voice reed, in fact, vibrates freely backwards
+and forwards, and so corresponds with what are known as "free," not
+"beating" reeds--such as are found in concertinas, and the like.
+
+That the voice is something of an organ pipe (a flue pipe) is an
+illusion only indulged in by writers and teachers prone to descriptive
+language, which they do not stay to inquire into, either for their own
+edification or for the enlightenment of other people. There is
+absolutely nothing to maintain such an idea.
+
+It is important that the nature of the _matériel_ of the vocal cords
+should become widely known, since such a knowledge, elementary as it
+might be, would, at the outset, enable students to get at once upon the
+right road to singing. To grasp the idea that the initial
+sound-producing means are these bits of semi-lunar membranes, acted upon
+by the breath from the lungs, and that they vibrate violently or orderly
+in proportion to the care with which the breath is brought to bear upon
+them, is to master the first great difficulty in singing. This once
+grasped, it is not hard to realize that the sound emitted is moulded and
+shaped, modified and beautified by other organs of the laryngeal machine
+and its surroundings, as well as by such variable conditions as the
+state of the human frame generally, and the particular condition of
+those organs of the body most directly concerned in supporting the work
+of the larynx may happen to be in. It will save the student much time
+if, before he (or she) begins to study singing, some first acquaintance
+be formed with the physiological surroundings of the human voice, and it
+is worse than useless to go to a master who teaches singing in blind
+ignorance of, and doubtless contempt for, these physiological
+principles. The student who has familiarized himself with the structure
+of the vocal organs will have made a much more intelligent progress in
+his art than the one who has not, and will be competent none the less
+readily to understand the instruction of a qualified master than to
+detect the shameful pretence and humbug of the quack.
+
+
+=Board Teachers' Laryngitis--Clergyman's Sore Throat--Throat Exhaustion,
+etc.=--Among the greatest evils of this competitive teaching age is the
+mischief arising from the constant and at the same time injurious use of
+the voice. All who use the voice constantly must learn how to breathe,
+and _produce_ the voice. Failing that, serious mischief, which even the
+specialist of throat hospitals cannot cope with, must inevitably follow.
+The only advice that can be given here is, immediately that voice
+exhaustion sets in, to consult not _a doctor_, but a throat or voice
+specialist. The best institution in the world for throat troubles is the
+Throat Hospital, Golden Square, London, W.
+
+
+
+
+EXERCISES.
+
+
+This first exercise is a most useful one in the uniting of notes and in
+gaining facility. The student should at first practise it very slowly,
+mastering four bars at a time. Although I have divided it into fifteen
+examples, it is really but one exercise, with a minim rest between each
+phrase of four bars; and it is in this example form that I wish the
+student ultimately to sing it with the metronome, at say 76, taking
+breath _only_ at the rest-mark, and making the _crescendo_--not, be it
+observed, by forcing the tone and breath, but by a gradual pressing down
+of the breath.[2]
+
+[2] The Exercise should be a crescendo from piano to forte.
+
+[Music: Ex. 1.]
+
+[Music: A.]
+
+[Music: B.]
+
+[Music: C.]
+
+[Music: D.]
+
+[Music: E.]
+
+[Music: F.]
+
+[Music: G.]
+
+[Music: H.]
+
+[Music: I.]
+
+[Music: J.]
+
+[Music: K.]
+
+[Music: L.]
+
+[Music: M.]
+
+[Music: N.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2 NAVA.]
+
+[Music]
+
+Exercise 2 is a further one for the practice of joining notes with the
+aid of the breath, without the least resemblance to a jerk with either
+the sound or the breath. To sing the exercise with advantage requires a
+very careful management of the respiratory organs, and its continuous
+practice is one of the best means of managing the breath. Having
+inspired the breath after the manner already indicated herein, proceed
+to sound the note F in a thin but firm and steady tone, which you must
+gradually swell, by pressing down the breath, as it were, into the
+following note G, which you will continue to hold steadily by keeping
+down the breath as long as you can. Though you raise your tone of voice
+in passing from F to G, you must dispel from your mind all notions of
+raising your breath or your _larynx_; it is just the reverse; you must
+lower these. Remember a golden rule--the higher your note the lower must
+it be generated in your chest, and your breath must be under the note
+supporting it, or there cannot possibly be any tone there. On reaching
+the highest limit of this exercise, the student will repeat the same
+operation down the scale, which I need scarcely say is less difficult.
+
+[Music: Ex. 3. NAVA.]
+
+[Music]
+
+[Music]
+
+Exercise 3 may be timed 76 on your metronome. It is a study to give
+freedom and flexibility to your voice. None of the notes should be
+forced, and the upper notes should be rendered with the mouth well open,
+and with a quality of tone as similar as possible to that of the lower
+notes. Breath should be taken (without losing time) at the rest-marks.
+There should be no break or jump in the tone, but rather it should be
+one unbroken stream of melody, as marked in the first phrase. The voice,
+in this exercise, should be constantly moving: no sooner should you be
+sounding the first note of the phrase than you should be moving to the
+second, from the second to the next, and so on. Be careful to sing the
+intervals exactly in time, and in descending to notes satisfy yourself
+that you are singing the exact tone, and that with certainty. Indecision
+is a grave fault in singing.
+
+[Music: Ex. 4. Intervals of thirds.
+
+     Do Re Mi Re Do Re Mi Fa Mi Re
+
+     Mi Fa Sol Fa Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5. Intervals of Fourths.
+
+* Here take breath.]
+
+[Music]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6. Intervals of Fifths.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7. Intervals of Sixths.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8. Intervals of Sevenths.]
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+     _Page_
+
+     Alto, 36
+
+
+     Bad Lessons, 50
+
+     Bad Masters, 50
+
+     Ballads, 80
+
+     Barytone, Basso-Cantante, 42
+
+     Bass, 44
+
+     Board Teachers' Laryngitis, 114
+
+     Books of Exercises, 51
+
+     Buffo, 48
+
+
+     Cathedral School, The, 72
+
+     Chest, Falsetto, and Head, 60
+
+     Chorus Singing, 69
+
+     Cleanliness, 13
+
+     Clearing the Throat, 59
+
+     Compass, 30
+
+     Consonants, 24
+
+     Contralto, 35
+
+
+     Decision, 84
+
+     Diet, 13
+
+     Dramatic Study, 27
+
+     Dress, 16
+
+     Duration of Practice, 67
+
+
+     Early Rising, 13
+
+     Education, General, 26
+
+     Emphasis, 25
+
+     English, 24
+
+     Execution, 105
+
+     Exercise, 15
+
+     Exercises, 115
+
+     Exercises, First, 62
+
+         "      Books of, 51
+
+         "      in Beating Time, 89
+
+     Expression, Facial, 54
+
+
+     Facial Expression, 54
+
+     Falsetto, 60
+
+     Fashion, 106
+
+     First Opinion, A, 44
+
+     Forming a Repertoire, 107
+
+     Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano, 60
+
+
+     General Education, 26
+
+        "    Musical Study, 70
+
+     German Lieder, Modern, 71
+
+
+     Hair, The, 14
+
+     Head, Singing in the, 58
+
+     High Notes, 59
+
+     "Holding" an Audience, 86
+
+     "How to Begin", 68
+
+     Humming, 69
+
+
+     Imitation, 70, 85
+
+     Individuality, 53
+
+     Institutions, 48
+
+
+     Larynx, The, 109
+
+     Late Hours, 19
+
+     Lessons, Bad, 50
+
+     Lips, Position of, 25
+
+
+     Masters, 48
+
+     Mezzo-Voce, 60
+
+     Mezzo-Contralto, 35
+
+     Mezzo-Soprano, 34
+
+     Mistakes in Public, 86
+
+     Modern German Lieder, 71
+
+     Morality, 19
+
+     Music to Suit the Voice, 103
+
+     Musical Study, General, 70
+
+
+     Names of Voices, 29
+
+     Nervousness, 21
+
+
+     Oratorio, 73
+
+     "Original Keys", 104
+
+     Opera, 79
+
+
+     Perseverance, 54
+
+     Physiological Surroundings, 109
+
+     Pharynx, The, 111
+
+     Position of Arms, 55
+
+            "    Body, 55
+
+            "    Hands, 56
+
+            "    Larynx, 57
+
+            "    Throat, 56
+
+            "    Tongue, 57
+
+     Pronunciation, 22
+
+     Public Singing, 85
+
+     Public, Mistakes in, 86
+
+
+     Qualities of the Voice, 45
+
+
+     Recitative, 81
+
+     Repertoire, Forming a, 107
+
+
+     Scale, The, 60
+
+       "    Practice, 62
+
+     "Schools" of Singing, 47
+
+     Self-Accompaniment, 55
+
+     Sentiment, 84
+
+     Singing in Tune, 67
+
+     Slurring, 83
+
+     Smoking, 18
+
+     Soprano, 32
+
+     Study of Songs, 20
+
+     Study of Words, 25
+
+     Styles, Traditional, 71
+
+
+     Teachers, Bad, 50
+
+     Teeth, The, 15
+
+     Tenore-Leggiero, 37
+
+     Tenore-Robusto, 39
+
+     Throatiness, 58
+
+     Thyroid, The, 110
+
+     Time in Singing, 87
+
+     Tone, 60
+
+     Traditional Styles, 71
+
+
+     Variety Indispensable, 68
+
+     Voices and their Names, 29
+
+     Voice, The; A Wind, Reed, or String Instrument, 111
+
+     Vowel-Sounds, 23
+
+
+     "Words," Study of, 25
+
+
+Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
+
+London & Edinburgh
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+Punctuation and formatting have been made consistent.
+
+Apparent printer's errors have been retained, unless stated below.
+
+Page 62, "disirable" changed to "desirable". (It cannot be too strongly
+impressed upon, or too frequently pointed out to, the singer (no matter
+what may be the stage of his or her artistic development) how desirable
+and advantageous it is to be constantly singing exercises and solfeggi
+in preference to songs.)
+
+Page 73 and 74, "shool" changed to "school". (You will find its good
+points equally insisted on in the oratorio school of singing, while its
+defects should be avoided in any.)
+
+Page 106, "divisious" changed to "divisions". (Those who have ever
+delighted as well as astonished us by their rapid manner of running
+through divisions must have been naturally endowed with flexible
+organs.)
+
+Page 109, "λα�υγξ" changed to "λά�υγξ".
+
+On page 110, "��ύταινα" was retained. This may be a typo for "ἀ�ύταινα".
+
+Page 111, "φά�υνξ" changed to "φά�υγξ".
+
+
+
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Advice to Singers, by Frederick James Crowest
+
+
+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: Advice to Singers
+
+
+Author: Frederick James Crowest
+
+
+
+Release Date: October 10, 2012  [eBook #41013]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVICE TO SINGERS***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Veronika Redfern, David Edwards, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images
+generously made available by Internet Archive (http://archive.org). Music
+for audio illustrations was transcribed by Anne Celnick, Sarah Thomson,
+and the DP Music Team.
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original lines of music and
+      audio illustrations.
+      See 41013-h.htm or 41013-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41013/41013-h/41013-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41013/41013-h.zip)
+
+
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive. See
+      http://archive.org/details/AdviceToSingers
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
+
+      Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=).
+
+      Text enclosed by plus signs is Greek transliteration
+      (example: +epi-glôtta+=).
+
+      Any ranges or simple exercises that have been depicted
+      on a staff in the original have been represented in this
+      volume using Scientific Pitch Notation. In this system,
+      C4 represents middle C and is set at 256 Hz.
+
+
+
+
+
+ADVICE TO SINGERS
+
+by
+
+FREDERICK J. CROWEST
+
+Author of "The Great Tone Poets" "Musical Groundwork"
+Editor of "The Master Musicians" Series, etc.
+
+      "Since singing is so good a thing
+      I wish all men would learn to sing"
+
+[Illustration: Publisher's Device]
+
+Seventeenth Thousand
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+London
+Frederick Warne and Co.
+and New York
+1904
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+Singing cannot be learnt from a book, and so far from attempting any
+such impossible feat as writing a book which might be called "_Singing
+without a Master_," the author's object--frequently insisted upon
+herein--is to point out the impossibility of overcoming the difficulties
+of singing without a teacher. At the same time, there are points upon
+which a master would not feel called upon to speak; nor would he
+(except, perhaps, in the course of a very long period of training) be
+likely to touch on many matters which, though closely connected with the
+life or business of an accomplished singer, yet lie rather outside the
+province of the voice-trainer.
+
+In a work consisting of detached paragraphs, and not being a continuous
+essay, it is not always possible to enter into full explanations of the
+reasons for certain statements; and (for the want of such explanation)
+one paragraph may _appear_ to contradict another. However, I can assure
+the reader that such paragraphs are only _apparent_ contradictions; and
+if he will take the trouble to think such points out for himself, he
+will find that they are easily reconcileable.
+
+There is no subject, perhaps, on which opinions are so divided, and
+prejudices run so high, as the proper method of training and using the
+voice; nor is there perhaps one more wrapped in mystery than is the art
+of singing. This is probably the result of that readiness with which
+almost every music teacher has hitherto undertaken to teach Singing.
+This book will not, I am sure, add to the mystery. A careful perusal of
+its contents should clear away many misconceptions, and place the
+student on the right road to that end which he or she has in view.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.
+
+
+That another large edition of this little Manual should be called for in
+so comparatively short a time is sufficiently encouraging testimony of
+the worth of the book and the favour it has found at the hands of
+students of singing and others--a result the more gratifying to the
+publishers since hitherto it has been issued with an anonymous
+title-page. Often has the authorship of the little volume been
+industriously defended and disputed--not by myself--both in this country
+and America; but, on the whole, the identity of its originator has been
+well maintained. For my part matters might have remained so, especially
+as I am not insensible to the fact that there is much "preaching"
+herein--as indeed there must be in such a work, and some of the advice
+is of such a nature that its giver runs the risk of being placed upon an
+exceeding high pinnacle of moral excellence, or of being accounted the
+personification of all the virtues--both of which distinctions might
+scarcely be merited. The appearance of my name upon the title-sheet is
+the result of no wish of mine, and I have consented to it only out of
+deference to the pressing request of the publishers.
+
+A chapter on the Physiological Surroundings of the Voice has been added
+to this edition.
+
+                                                   FREDERICK J. CROWEST.
+
+
+PREFACE TO THE SEVENTH EDITION.
+
+Once again my publishers have informed me of the necessity for
+reprinting this Manual, which has been so successful both here, in
+America, and in the Colonies. I have nothing to alter in the work, but I
+must express my thanks for the marked support that has been given to
+this straightforward advice. Did space permit, much might be said
+relative to that growing complaint, "Teachers' (or Board School)
+Laryngitis" as it is called. For some time past I have been authorized
+to make observations at the chief Throat Hospitals in connection with
+this constantly increasing mischief, arising from an injurious use of
+the voice in Teaching, and which only proper Voice Production will
+remedy. While I cannot give advice here, I shall be happy to answer any
+communications of sufferers from this complaint.
+
+                                                   FREDERICK J. CROWEST.
+
+     24 AMPTHILL SQUARE, LONDON, N.W.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                                  _Page_
+
+  PRELIMINARY REMARKS                                                  9
+
+  ON HABITS, DIET, &c.                                                13
+
+    Early Rising--Cleanliness--The Hair--The Teeth--Exercise--Dress--
+    Diet--Smoking--Late Hours--General Morality.
+
+  PRONUNCIATION AND STUDY OF WORDS                                    21
+
+    Nervousness--Pronunciation--Vowel-Sounds--Consonants--English--
+    Emphasis--Position of Lips--Study of "Words"--General
+    Education--Dramatic Study.
+
+  VOICES AND THEIR VARIOUS QUALITIES                                  28
+
+    Voices and their Names--Compass--Soprano--Mezzo-Soprano--
+    Mezzo-Contralto--Contralto--Alto--Tenore-Leggiero--Tenore-Robusto--
+    Barytone and Basso-Cantante--Bass--Buffo--Qualities of Voices.
+
+  INSTRUCTION, BOOKS AND MASTERS                                      47
+
+    Schools of Singing--Masters--Institutions--A First Opinion--Bad
+    Lessons--Bad Teachers--Books of Exercises.
+
+  PRACTICE                                                            53
+
+    Individuality--Perseverance--Facial Expression--Self-Accompaniment--
+    Position of Body, Arms, Hands, Throat, Tongue, Larynx--
+    Head-Singing--Throatiness--Clearing the Throat--High Notes--The
+    Scale--Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano--Tone--Chest, Falsetto, and
+    Head--Scale Practice--First Exercises (_with Examples_)--Duration
+    of Practice--Singing in Tune--How to Begin--Variety--Chorus
+    Singing--Humming--Studying Songs--Imitation--General Musical Study.
+
+  ON STYLE AND EXPRESSION                                             71
+
+    Traditional Styles--Modern German _Lieder_--"The Cathedral
+    School"--Oratorio (_with Examples_)--Opera--Ballads--Recitative
+    (_with Examples_)--Slurring--Sentiment--Decision--Imitation--Public
+    Singing--"Holding" an Audience--Mistakes in Public.
+
+  ON TIME IN SINGING                                                  87
+
+    The Metronome--Accent--Exercises: four beats to the bar; three
+    beats to the bar; two beats to the bar.
+
+  ON THE CHOICE OF MUSIC                                             103
+
+    Music to Suit the Voice--"Original Keys"--Execution--Fashion--
+    Forming a "Repertoire."
+
+  PHYSIOLOGICAL SURROUNDINGS                                         109
+
+    The Larynx--The Thyroid--The Pharynx--The Voice; A Wind, Reed,
+    or String Instrument.
+
+  EXERCISES                                                          115
+
+    Exercises 1, 2, for Uniting Notes--Exercise 3, for Flexibility,
+    &c.--Exercise 4, on Intervals of Thirds--Exercise 5, on Intervals
+    of Fourths--Exercise 6, on Intervals of Fifths--Exercise 7, on
+    Intervals of Sixths--Exercise 8, on Intervals of Sevenths.
+
+  INDEX                                                              126
+
+
+
+
+ADVICE TO SINGERS.
+
+
+
+
+PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
+
+
+Whatever be the actual difference between the professional and the
+amateur singer, if a person is worthy of the name of singer at all,
+there should be no difference in their views of Art, and in their
+devotion to practice. Singing is an art, and one of the most difficult
+of the arts to master; and any one who attempts to learn it must be
+prepared to give the same devotion to it as is demanded by the sister
+arts of painting and sculpture. I do not mean exactly devotion of the
+whole time and energy of life to it; because, however necessary that may
+be for the professional, who has to make his living by it, such entire
+devotion to an accomplishment or an amusement (for such singing is to
+the amateur) would, for a non-professional, be frequently impossible,
+and very often wrong, as it would lead to a neglect of the duties of
+life. But, while the entire devotion of time and energy of a
+professional singer is demanded to master the various styles, and the
+immense mass of music, with which he or she will have to deal in the
+exercise of the profession, the amateur should bear in mind that such
+time and energy as he can devote to singing must be firmly restricted to
+doing what he undertakes thoroughly well--as well, in fact, as a
+professional. The amateur's position, which forbids him to make singing
+the work of his life, limits the range of his work, not the quality of
+it. He cannot, even if he have the voice of a Rubini or a Braham, master
+the difficulties of opera, oratorio, and ballad alike. Circumstances
+forbid him to conquer the world, but there is no reason why he should
+not be a king in his own special realm. To be that he will have to
+follow the same rules as though he were able to attack the whole
+universe of vocal music; for he should feel that the only difference
+between him and the professional singer lies in the sphere of their
+work.
+
+The same remarks apply to many professionals. _Very_ few can excel in
+all styles, and few in more than one. To attempt all is a great mistake,
+and will probably lead to failure, or at least mediocrity in all.
+
+But the first point that I would insist upon is the necessity for
+earnest devotion and regular work, both in professional and amateur, so
+that the term _Artist_ may apply to both. I shall be at no great pains
+to avoid occasional repetitions of incidental remarks. In a book
+intended for constant reference rather than for one perusal, and one
+divided, as this is, into short paragraphs, words may attract attention
+in one place, while in another they may have been overlooked. If,
+therefore, I err in this respect, I shall do so deliberately, my sole
+aim being to help and impress the student as much as possible.
+
+Remember that the human voice is the most delicate of all instruments,
+susceptible to more and more varied influence than any other. The singer
+has to combine in himself the instrument and the performer; and while
+all the artistic and intellectual qualities necessary for the
+instrumentalist are required by him, he is compelled beyond that to
+realize that he is a living instrument, and to exercise over himself all
+the care--and indeed far more than all--that players exercise over their
+most cherished "weapons." He has not only to learn how to sing, but how
+to be and to remain fit for singing. He, more than any other musical
+artist, will find that he is affected by moral as well as physical and
+intellectual causes, and he must face this fact boldly.
+
+In writing down the brief hints which this little work offers to
+singers, I shall therefore take in a range of subjects and enter into
+many details which may seem to have little to do with the practice of
+_Do_, _Re_, _Mi_. I do this advisedly, and I believe that such hints as
+those on general culture and habits of living are by no means the least
+important part of my work. I do not profess to teach my readers how to
+sing--(any singer knows, and I should like the public to know too, that
+singing cannot be taught by a book)--but to give "hints to singers," and
+many of those hints are on such subjects as it would be an impertinence
+on the part of a singing master to allude to. If the student takes
+offence at the _book_, it happily does not reach the author.
+
+Following out the previous thought, I shall try to turn the intending
+singer's attention to several other subjects, before I touch upon that
+of strictly musical interest. And if I here seem to "preach"
+occasionally, I shall never do so without cause, and never, I trust, in
+any spirit but that of the warmest sympathy with the aspirations and the
+peculiar trials and difficulties of those who are still in full vigour
+of youth and health.
+
+Remember that I give _hints_, not _rules_. It is quite impossible to lay
+down rules of living which shall apply alike to male and female, or to
+variously constituted natures. But I hope I may trust to the common
+sense of every individual to draw sound conclusions, and to form his or
+her own rules, by the help of these hints, and, the rules once formed,
+to adhere to them resolutely. If singing is to be done at all, it is
+worth while to do it well, and to spare no pains to that end.
+
+There is a good deal to be done by the student of singing before he
+attacks the strictly musical part of his difficulties. General
+education, if deficient, must be attended to; habits of living must be
+formed and followed out; faults of character, such as laziness, ill
+temper, slovenliness, impatience, and want of perseverance, must be
+bravely fought; for the study of singing, perhaps more than of any other
+art, will test the character severely in these respects.
+
+The student must be prepared to exercise a good deal of self-denial; to
+put aside all notions of self-merit for a long time to come; and to be
+humble, and ready to take a hint from any source. Whatever merits he may
+have at starting are certainly not due to his own skill; they are simply
+natural gifts, and the better they are, the more is there for him to
+learn in doing justice to them. Let him not waste time in admiring what
+he is, or has done; but let him keep all his energy for what he may yet
+be and for what he yet has to accomplish.
+
+
+
+
+ON HABITS, DIET, &c.
+
+
+The following paragraphs contain hints on various matters apparently
+little connected with singing, yet all of more or less importance to the
+singer. The voice, and the power of using it, depend so greatly upon
+general health, and health is so easily affected by habits of living,
+that I offer no apology for entering into some details which, though
+easy enough to write down, and read when written, would be difficult for
+a singing master to allude to or suggest without giving offence.
+
+
+=Early Rising.=--Practise early rising, and, if possible, take a short
+walk before breakfast. This tends to keep the circulation of the blood
+in a good condition, and that is, of course, of great importance to the
+lungs, and all the organs which singing requires to tax somewhat
+severely.
+
+
+=Cleanliness.=--Strict cleanliness is of the greatest importance. Take a
+cold bath every morning directly you get out of bed. Do not stand
+"pottering about," or you may catch cold, but go to your bath while the
+skin is moist with the perspiration which the warmth of bed has drawn
+out. If you let the perspiration dry, and then plunge into cold water,
+you run a great risk of giving yourself a severe chill. Sponge yourself
+well, and rapidly, all over, especially the chest, throat, back of the
+neck, and all round the loins; and dry the body thoroughly and briskly
+with a rough towel. Let no fear of damaging the complexion deter young
+ladies from this most healthy and necessary operation.
+
+In winter, if the circulation is naturally sluggish, it is as well not
+to take the bath perfectly cold, but merely add enough hot water just to
+remove the extreme chill. The bath ought to feel cold to you, even
+though it be not the coldest possible.
+
+It is well to take a warm bath once a week--if possible, just before
+going to bed. Do not have it hot, but simply warm, and, of course, use
+soap with it. Do not dawdle over it, but "have it and have done with
+it," and then get to bed at once. If you find the effect of it to be
+enervating or relaxing, take it less warm in future. The object of it is
+simply to open and cleanse the pores of the skin--a matter of great
+importance.
+
+
+=The Hair.=--The same rule of extreme cleanliness applies to the hair, and
+for the same reason, viz., its intimate connection with the circulation
+of the blood and the pores of the skin. Keep the hair well brushed, and
+have it frequently cut and shampooed. Avoid "pomatums," washes, and
+greasy messes of every kind: their smell is objectionable and their
+effect is generally to dirty the head. Moreover, the public have the
+good taste to object to the appearance of an artist before them who is
+evidently "got up" with pains for the occasion. A person who is
+habitually as clean as he can be, need never fear to appear in public,
+and may spare himself the disgusting application of "grease" to his head
+to make himself fit to be seen.
+
+If a moustache is worn, let it be kept within bounds, and not allowed to
+fall over the mouth, where it would affect the tone of the voice. Do not
+cut it straight along the lip, but train it right and left, allowing it
+to grow naturally and uncut. The advantages of the moustache are two: it
+acts to a certain extent as a respirator, and protects the mouth and
+throat as the eyelash does the eye, and it helps to conceal any slight
+distortion of the mouth in singing. This, I confess, is a doubtful
+advantage:--there ought to be no distortion, and if any were seen, it
+might, perhaps, be corrected. However, I give the opinion for what it is
+worth.
+
+
+=The Teeth.=--The teeth play such an important part in the production of
+the voice that every care should be taken to preserve them sound and in
+good condition--to say nothing of the part which they play in facial
+expression, a point to which every singer should attend. A bad state of
+the teeth at once affects the stomach, and that again the voice, so that
+no apology is needed for drawing the student's attention to this matter.
+Clean the teeth the first thing in the morning, and the last thing at
+night. Use a moderately hard brush, better too soft than too hard, with
+cold water, or better still, just lukewarm. Avoid all "dentifrices" and
+advertised nastinesses in the way of powders and "fragrant" washes. A
+mixture of powdered (not "prepared") chalk and orris-root, in the
+proportion of about three to two, is the best thing to use, and any
+chemist will make that up for you. Remember to brush the teeth inside
+and along the top, as well as outside; and if you find this difficult
+with the ordinary-shaped brush, get one of those which are sold for the
+purpose. If you find, in spite of your care, that your teeth become
+discoloured, the cause is probably that your stomach is out of order. In
+that case, go straight to a doctor, for the consequence of such
+derangement is that "tartar" is formed on the teeth, and this grows, and
+pushes back the gums, altering the form of the cavity of the mouth, and
+so affecting the tone of the voice.
+
+
+=Exercise.=--Be as much as you can in the open air. Take moderate walking
+exercise, but of course do not tire yourself before singing or
+practising. For male singers, rowing, riding, football and cricket (but
+without the shouting so often incidental to these games), racquets or
+tennis, and above all an hour or two weekly in a gymnasium, are
+excellent things; while for ladies, walking, riding, lawn-tennis, "la
+grace," and calisthenics are equally useful. If you live in a town,
+always walk in preference to taking a conveyance, when time and weather
+permit it.
+
+Never breathe through your mouth in walking, especially at night, or on
+coming out into the open air after singing. Keep the lips closed, and
+inhale the air through the nostrils. This is easily acquired, and to be
+able to do this will be found of great service in taking breath for
+singing; but out of doors it is most important, for the immediate rush
+of cold or damp air to the delicate organs of the throat, especially
+when the latter have been excited by the exertion of singing, is
+dangerous. It is a good plan, and a profitable use of the time, to
+practise breathing when walking, by filling the lungs, and utilizing
+each inspiration for as long a distance as possible.
+
+
+=Dress.=--Nothing can be said in favour of our climate for singing. With
+proper precautions, however, a great deal of trouble arising from this
+cause may be averted. In summer, as well as in winter, for instance, the
+writer would strongly urge the wearing of moderately thick-soled boots
+or shoes. Then, again, the neck and chest should never be exposed alike
+to a June sun and a December frost; but, instead, it should be
+moderately and reasonably covered. Great care should be taken never to
+get wet, especially wet or damp feet.
+
+In going out of hot rooms into the open air much pains should be
+exercised to keep the chest and throat covered up with an overcoat or
+cloak--however warm the weather may be. In _very severe_ winter weather
+the singer will derive much comfort by wearing a flannel
+chest-protector. Sitting about in gardens, and on lawns, in the evenings
+on even the warmest days, is not a safe indulgence for the student who
+is in earnest in the pursuit of his art.
+
+One caution is necessary as to "wrapping up," however. Do not over-do
+it. The constant use of a "comforter" renders the throat delicate and
+susceptible. All you have to fear is damp, not cold, in the atmosphere.
+A comforter, closely wound round the throat, promotes perspiration, and
+the risk of chill in removing it is greater than in not wearing it at
+all. Common sense must guide every one. It is impossible to make a rule
+for all.
+
+
+=Diet.=--As to diet: avoid everything that is at all indigestible. Live
+well, and take plenty of varied nourishment. The singer's system _must_
+be well nourished. Chocolate and coffee are better than tea; the latter
+is too astringent, and affects the nerves too much, if taken in
+abundance. Sugar, in moderation, should always be used with those
+beverages, and they should never be taken very hot. Bread is better than
+toast, but avoid hot or very new bread. Eggs and butter are good. Meat
+should be plainly cooked and not too well done. Pork tries the digestion
+too severely to be a desirable food for a singer, and the same may be
+said of veal. Fish is good for the singer, and he should if possible let
+it form a part of his daily _menu_. Creams and pastry are simply poison,
+and cheese should only be taken in great moderation. Fruit is an
+excellent thing if judiciously used. But here, again, hard and fast
+rules are impossible, because constitutions vary. Only remember the old
+proverb, "We must eat to live, and not live to eat."
+
+Never practise or sing upon an empty stomach, or soon after a meal:
+either of these habits will unfairly tax your digestive organs, and in
+so doing damage your voice. After a meal, all the energy of the body is
+required for the stomach; in a healthy person the extremities will
+generally be cold after a full meal, and the reason is that the
+digestive organs are using all the heat and blood that the body can give
+for their special work. Nature thus points to a rest of every other
+organ at that time, and you must not fight against Nature by attempting
+any such severe physical strain as the practice of the voice demands.
+
+All acids and astringents are bad for a healthy throat and stomach.
+Vinegar, highly-flavoured sauces, almonds and raisins, nuts of every
+kind should be avoided. Some of these are useful as remedies in relaxed
+throat, or congestion of the throat, no doubt; but I am speaking simply
+of what is desirable for a person in a state of health. In cases of
+cold, hoarseness, or indisposition of any kind, my prescription is,
+"Don't doctor yourself, but (as Abernethy said) '_Take advice_.'" Be
+very careful and abstemious in the use of spirits. Brandy is decidedly
+injurious, it heats and inflames the throat, and tends to constipate the
+bowels. Gin or whiskey is the most wholesome spirit, but take as little
+as possible of either. If you drink beer or stout, take draught and not
+bottled, and always in great moderation. All effervescing liquors are
+objectionable; therefore eschew champagne, Moselle, bottled ale and
+stout, _et hoc genus omne_. The fluids called port and sherry are cruel
+foes to singing. A glass of _good_ port is a fair medicine in certain
+cases, and the same may be said of very dry Amontillado, but if
+you have nothing the matter with you, avoid port and (so-called)
+sherry--especially the hideous compound of alcohol and molasses known as
+"brown" sherry--as you would poison.
+
+The best drink for singers is claret, or any light wine, French, German,
+or Italian. I myself find the latter on the whole the best, and such
+wines as Barolo Secco or Chianté are pure and cheap, and contain all the
+properties necessary for a singer's beverage. But in this as in all
+else, _moderation_ is a _sine quâ non_. Fluids are apt to produce
+congestion or mucus in the throat and glands of the mouth, and that of
+course interferes with the free action of the muscles in singing.
+
+
+=Smoking.=--As a general rule it may be laid down that smoking is a bad
+habit for the singer, male or female (for there are females who are
+proud of being able to smoke cigarettes nowadays!). With many instances
+of great singers who have also been great smokers before us, it is
+impossible to say decidedly that singers must not smoke; but the habit
+is one to be very cautiously indulged in. If smoking in any case induces
+expectoration, it should at once be given up, for the habit of spitting,
+to which some smokers allow themselves (quite needlessly) to give way,
+is, in reality, the greatest evil of smoking; it weakens the throat,
+lungs, and chest. If a man can smoke without spitting or drinking, I
+confess that I am no great enemy to tobacco; but the "if" is a big one.
+
+A cigarette is certainly a safeguard against taking cold in coming out
+of a hot room into the open air, especially after singing; but strong
+cigars or strong tobacco in pipes are to be avoided, because of their
+effect on the nerves.
+
+
+=Late Hours.=--Avoid late hours. You require, not only a certain amount of
+sleep, but to take that sleep before the body and mind are at all
+overtaxed. From many causes, it is well known, the human frame is always
+at its lowest from about 2 a.m. till 5 a.m., and the nearer you approach
+those hours in going to bed, the less able are you to derive all the
+benefit which you require from sleep. Twelve o'clock is late enough for
+any one.
+
+Another reason why late hours are bad is connected not with physical
+facts so much as with morals. It is true, you may come to no actual
+harm, or get into no positive mischief, by being out late at night, but
+you place yourself in a position of risk--risk of cold, over-fatigue,
+inhaling vitiated atmosphere, &c., as well as risk to moral character,
+which latter, in its way as delicate as the voice, is injured not only
+by actual violation of right, but by all society, conversation, and
+literature which tend to dim its brightness, or (to use another
+metaphor) to spoil the purity of its outline by roughly knocking off its
+corners. At all events, as to the night side of "Life," you are better
+out of it.
+
+
+=Morality.=--Nothing can act more prejudicially upon a singer than those
+influences which are understood by that very inclusive term, a "fast"
+life. I would, therefore, urge upon the student the necessity of a
+religious avoidance of those influences. They dull the purity of thought
+which marks all true art; they deaden the intellect which art requires;
+and they injure the physical powers, without which all a singer's study
+may be suddenly rendered useless to him. All excess is bad, and
+self-restraint and self-control are of the greatest importance both to
+character and health. Many an anxious student has mastered the musical
+side of his art, but has failed under the rigid demands which the moral
+code makes upon an intending singer. It is of no use for a singer to be
+strong musically, and weak morally: the two preparations must go
+hand-in-hand; and while building up a structure of vocal greatness, his
+care must always be that the moral foundation will always support the
+weight of persistent study, and leave him favourably placed in the stern
+competition going on around him for a front place in the race for
+singing fame, and the inevitable honours. Keep these hints in mind,
+think them carefully over, and be your own moral doctor. That will be
+better than following any code of cut and dried rules. If you err at
+all, let it be on the side of self-denial, the hardest and probably the
+highest of all virtues.
+
+
+
+
+ON THE STUDY OF PRONUNCIATION AND "WORDS" IN SINGING, &c.
+
+
+The singer has to combine the arts of the musician, the public speaker,
+and, to a certain extent, the actor. Clearness of pronunciation and
+correctness of emphasis are included in the range of his study. Nor are
+these so easy of acquirement as many persons suppose. To a novice, the
+almost inevitable nervousness inseparable from the prominent position
+which a solo singer necessarily holds in the company, or before the
+audience to which he is singing, is very apt to render the enunciation
+less distinct and more rapid than is natural to him. His ear guides him
+less safely; and, in fact, every sense, influenced by the abnormal state
+of his nerves, is apt to play him more or less false. It is only by
+having carefully studied and mastered every detail of manner, posture,
+and speech, as well as of the music to be performed, that a singer can
+rise superior to the treachery of his nerves, in whatever form that
+treachery may show itself.
+
+
+=Nervousness.=--A few words as to nervousness. You will often hear persons
+boast that they are not the least nervous in public; and, perhaps, will
+feel inclined to envy them. Get rid of any such notion at once. If by
+"nervous" is meant "frightened," that is another thing altogether; and
+it is perfectly true that there are hundreds of persons who are not in
+the least afraid of appearing in public, nor affected by timidity when
+so appearing. But fear is only one form of nervousness. I firmly
+believe that it is impossible for a real artist ever to appear in public
+without being _nervous_. But the nerves act in many ways: the fervour of
+an eloquent speaker carried away by his subject; the "_abandon_" of a
+fine actor thoroughly entering into his part and identifying himself
+with it; the sustained energy of a declamatory singer; the faultless and
+unerring agility of a florid _soprano_, who astonishes her hearers by
+wonder on wonder of execution--all these things are due, in their subtle
+charm, to nervousness--_i.e._ to delicate nervous organization in active
+play. These artists are not frightened, it is true, but excited,
+stimulated, roused from the normal state of eating, walking, and
+sleeping; something of the spiritual kindles the mere physical forces in
+them--some breath of inspiration sustains that living power which so
+influences the hearers. In some way or other every great artist is
+always nervous; were it not so, the essence of their power would vanish.
+Persons of cold and phlegmatic temperament lack the very life-breath of
+art; and though they may train themselves into fair imitations of some
+great artists, they will generally be detected with ease, by any hearer
+of true sensibility, as imitations, not the real thing. Therefore do not
+be ashamed to admit that you are nervous, if it be so. Nerves are a
+cruel master, but a splendid servant; instead of letting them overcome
+you, force them to do your bidding; and instead of "nervousness" meaning
+"fear," you will find that it means courage and power to do your best.
+
+
+=Pronunciation.=--Study correctness of pronunciation and propriety of
+emphasis quite apart from singing. Remember that in speaking or singing
+in a large space and to a number of persons, every sound must have not
+only additional force, but additional volume. And that comes to mean
+that every vowel-sound in the words sung must be intensified, and every
+consonant be delivered with more accuracy than is necessary in ordinary
+speaking. If you were to pronounce the syllable "die" (for instance), in
+singing, _exactly_ as you do in speaking, you would produce on the
+notes or note to which that word belonged a thinness of tone which would
+be very ugly, and probably would not "carry" far. And the same with any
+vowel-sound--even "Ah," or "Oh,"--which, though not producing a thin
+tone, would certainly produce a coarse one, if sung exactly as spoken in
+ordinary conversation.
+
+
+=Vowel-Sounds.=--The reason of the need of this slight change is as
+follows. Every vowel-sound, like every musical sound (for vowel-sounds
+are nothing less than musical sounds) is composed of _two_ sounds.
+Combined with the prominent and chief sound which first attracts the ear
+is a second, which, though not prominent, lends point and force to the
+other. Thus our English vowel-sound "A" is really _Éh-é_; "E" is _E-é_;
+"I" is _Ah-é_; "O" is _O-óo_, or even _Aw-oo_; "U" is _Ée-óo_. Of
+course, I do not mean to say that those absurd-looking syllables really
+express exactly the sounds which we produce in speaking the vowels, for
+no combination of letters can do that, or can bring within reach of the
+eye the subtleties of sound in human speech; but if you attempt to
+pronounce those syllables, you will find that you are really pronouncing
+the vowels from which I "translated" them.
+
+Now, in conversation or rapid speaking, the subordinate sound of the
+vowel is scarcely noticeable, while the more prominent sound is heard
+for the short interval of time required. But in singing or public
+speaking, where the production of tone is more deliberate, the space to
+be filled with sound larger, or, in other words, the column of air to be
+set vibrating is greater and heavier, the _complex_ sound of the vowel
+must not be ignored. It is impossible to lay down any set of rules by
+which the student may overcome this difficulty; but every one, by
+bearing in mind the absolute necessity of attention to this point, may
+easily accustom himself to the slight change of pronunciation (as it
+will at first appear) which is required to give vowel-sounds when sung,
+or spoken "_ore rotundo_," the same tone, to the hearer's ear, as they
+have in ordinary speaking. As a general rule this is done by keeping
+the throat more open, the larynx (or "Adam's apple") as low down as
+possible, and the root of the tongue flat, depressed, even hollowed like
+the bowl of a spoon. The truth of all this may easily be tested by
+singing any short passage deliberately and distinctly, with the exact
+pronunciation of ordinary speaking, and then repeating it with attention
+to the above hints. In the first instance the result will be meagre,
+hard to be heard at a moderate distance, and very likely extremely
+ludicrous to the hearer. In the second, you will find that the tone of
+the notes gains in roundness and fulness, while the words are clearly
+heard in every part of the room with the exact effect belonging to them.
+I purposely refrain from attempting to write down the difference
+discernible in any words so sung, because, as I have already said,
+_letters_ cannot accurately express distinctions so delicate, yet so
+all-important to the singer, speaker, and hearer.
+
+
+=Consonants.=--In pronouncing consonants, be careful to give each its due
+value, but without exaggeration. Be especially particular to sound the
+_last_ letter of each word distinctly. But take care to avoid adding a
+slight sound (as of an _e_ mute) after the final letter: for instance,
+do not say "When other-_é_ lips," &c., or "bright-_é_ days," and so on.
+Do not over-aspirate the letter "_H_." "_N_," "_L_," "_M_," "_B_,"
+"_P_," and "_V_," are all letters requiring care in firm pronunciation.
+
+Avoid prefixing a slight sound of "_N_" to the first word of a song or
+passage in singing. It is a common trick with beginners to do this, and
+they frequently do it without being in the least conscious of it. It is
+produced by a kind of nervous feeling of the teeth with the tongue, as
+if to make sure that all is right for the start! I have heard an
+aspiring youth actually begin a well-known song thus: "_Nwaft her
+Rangels Nthrough the sky_," &c.
+
+
+=English Words.=--The English language is not the most suitable one under
+the sun for singing purposes; nevertheless, it is not nearly so
+intolerable and unfavourable an one as it is the fashion to make out.
+The grand old Scripture passages which Handel, Mendelssohn, and others
+have set to music testify to this. Yet musical care _is_ needed when
+singing English words, and especially in pronouncing the "sibilants," as
+_S_, &c. These "sibilants" must never be enunciated rapidly, or their
+ill effects will soon be found in a series of _hissings_. Let it be your
+study, then, to avoid this ill effect in singing English words, and to
+utter such sounds slowly and carefully, with the endeavour to produce a
+soft and agreeable effect; for it is, indeed, unpardonable to hear an
+English singer unable to render perfectly the words (if =not= the music)
+of his native country's songs and ballads.
+
+
+=Emphasis.=--Having accustomed yourself to carefulness over each letter in
+your pronunciation, the next thing is to study correctness of emphasis,
+&c. All this is apart from the strictly musical portion of your studies,
+and, while you can work at this without music, you will certainly spoil
+the effect of your singing (however good your voice and voice production
+may be), unless you do so study your "words." I should recommend you to
+practise reading aloud for not less than a quarter of an hour at a time,
+say once a day. Read _standing_; place your book on a desk, on a level
+with your eyes, and speak out deliberately, and with full tone of voice,
+and as much variety of intonation as the matter read requires.
+Shakespeare is your best author for this study. You will feel at first
+as if you were doing a very absurd thing, but never mind that--do it,
+and do it as well and as carefully as you can.
+
+
+=Position of the Lips.=--In speaking and reading aloud during your
+preliminary training for singing, be very careful that there be no
+change in the aperture of the mouth or position of the lips while
+uttering any one sound, however prolonged. If the lips move from their
+first position, however slightly, the tone immediately changes, and the
+pronunciation ceases to be pure and refined.
+
+
+=Study of Words.=--The words of a song are as much worthy of the singer's
+study as the music, that is, if the song is worth singing at all. I do
+not mean to say that in themselves they must necessarily be of equal
+merit, but that they require as much attention on the part of the singer
+to bring out their meaning. Study the text, therefore, apart from the
+music. Read the words aloud deliberately; master the sentiment of them,
+and note the prominent words and phrases, so as to be able to give them
+their due value when you have to combine them with the music. Avoid
+giving prominence to such words as "of," "for," "the," "and," "in," &c.,
+&c., but yet let each be distinctly pronounced, and not slurred over in
+an indefinite murmur. Learn the words of your song by memory. Master the
+text, and consider the whole from an elocutionist's point of view before
+you attack the musical side of the matter. A singer when singing in
+public should not be troubled with his words and music too.
+
+
+=General Education.=--An important branch of study is that of giving
+expression to the passions, and of communicating your conceptions and
+emotions to the minds of your listeners. No better training could a
+young singer have for forming such ideas than the earnest perusal of the
+works of Shakespeare, Dante, Goethe, Milton, Lytton, George Eliot, &c.;
+or in watching carefully and intelligently the acting of our best stage
+performers. For a singer to be successful, he or she must be in a
+position to express, and bring home to an audience, such emotions as
+love, hatred, anger, fear, grief, and pity; all these, and many other
+such feelings, have constantly to be transmitted by the singer, and it
+is to the most natural and faithful exposition of these, and that most
+consistent with the other equally important points of the art of
+singing, that the student's attention should for a long while be
+patiently and perseveringly directed.
+
+The singer should be a well-educated man, and he should know at least
+one other language beside his native tongue. He should be well read,
+too, in the best literature of these two languages. On questions of all
+the arts he should seek to make his views sound and true. He should seek
+to travel, and so enlarge his mind, for all this training will reflect
+itself in the work of an artist so liberally educated. An inferior
+education has been the bane of many a student, who has had the organ and
+all the necessary musical ability.
+
+
+=Dramatic Study.=--To be a successful public singer, even in the
+concert-room, one must be more or less an actor; and, therefore, the
+time and money bestowed in acquiring a sound knowledge of dramatic
+action and elocution will be well spent. For the lyric stage, such a
+study is imperative; but its utility to artists who aspire no higher
+than to ballad or oratorio singing cannot be too highly estimated.
+
+
+
+
+VOICES AND THEIR VARIOUS QUALITIES.
+
+
+The life of the singing voice is so comparatively short, that the study
+of singing is rendered more difficult than that of any other art. You
+may buy a violin or a pianoforte, ready-made and perfect, in your
+childhood, and nothing remains for you but to study the instrument
+diligently under a good master. But the vocal instrument cannot be said
+to exist at all, for purposes of singing study, before the age of
+eighteen or twenty in males, and (in our climate) sixteen in females.
+Even at those ages the organ is necessarily immature and undeveloped.
+Consequently the study of the art has to be carried on during the
+progress of the instrument to maturity.
+
+To counterbalance this disadvantage, however, we must bear in mind that
+that very study materially helps to perfect the instrument. Singing is
+by no means all "style," and the study of it includes the formation of
+the voice and production of a good tone, and it is, of course, easier to
+manipulate an unfinished article than a finished one--to educate youth
+and suppleness than to bring maturity and stiffness into subjection to
+new conditions.
+
+Therefore begin your study in the youth of your voice; but, recollecting
+that its life is the most short-lived of your faculties, let your study
+be most earnest and painstaking. Especially if singing is to be your
+profession, act upon the wise advice of Dr. Burney, and "Never go to bed
+till you have learned something which you did not know the previous
+night."
+
+
+=Voices.=--"What is your voice?" is a very common question, sometimes
+expressed in the rather less polite but more intelligent form, "What do
+you call your voice?" The answer almost invariably is either "Soprano,"
+"Contralto," "Tenor," "Bass," or "Barytone." Here is a warning for you
+at starting. Do not limit your notions of what voices are to those four
+or five generic names. Because choral music is generally written in four
+parts, for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, the non-musical public, and a
+great many musical people (some composers included) seem to think that
+those names are an inclusive description of every human voice.
+
+This would be of very little consequence if it were only a question of
+names; but it is of no use to say "What is in a name?" if the result of
+a wrong name is to lead to mischief. The misfortune of wrongly naming
+your voice is that it will lead you to practise wrongly, and to choose
+the wrong style of music for study and performance. For instance, a
+young lady may call herself a _soprano_ because she can "_sing up to
+C_," and may therefore fancy that the whole repertoire of a Tietjens or
+a Clara Novello is within her reach; and acting on this notion, she may
+fatally damage a naturally bright and pleasing voice by giving it work
+to do which belongs of right to a voice of totally different calibre,
+the _mezzo-soprano_.
+
+
+=Naming the Voice.=--Remember always that the character of a voice is
+determined not by compass or range of notes, but by quality, or body and
+_timbre_, of tone. Two ladies may have voices ranging from A to A--two
+octaves--and yet one might be a pure light soprano, and the other a
+genuine contralto; while in length of compass a mezzo-soprano may even
+beat them both. And so with male voices (the variety in which is even
+greater than in female), you may have a voice of pure tenor quality, and
+yet of such limited compass that your energetic barytone friend next
+door may make your life miserable with jealousy of the ease with which
+he bellows high Gs, G sharps, and even on great occasions an A or so.
+
+But compass has nothing whatever to do with the name of the voice: it
+may limit the quantity of music which can be performed, but it should
+have no influence on the choice of the style of music to be studied.
+This is a point of the greatest importance, therefore I repeat it
+briefly once more--_Your voice must be described and used with reference
+to its quality, or volume and timbre, and not with reference to the
+number of notes which you can sing._
+
+
+=Male and Female Voices.=--The actual varieties in tone and quality in
+different voices cannot, of course, be expressed on paper; but a careful
+use of your ears in listening to good public singers will soon teach you
+to discriminate. Female voices are of at least four kinds: soprano,
+mezzo-soprano, mezzo-contralto, and contralto. Male are of five or six,
+or even more. Alto; tenore-leggiero or light tenor; tenore-robusto or
+strong heavy-voiced tenor; barytone--basso-cantante (erroneously
+identified with the barytone by some persons); basso-profondo or bass.
+
+Beside all these divisions or species, voices must be again classed
+according to their power. Any one who has ever heard an opera singer in
+a moderate-sized private drawing-room, will readily appreciate the
+difference between a _voce di camera_, or "chamber voice," and a _voce
+di teatro_.
+
+
+=Compass.=--The respective compasses of the several voices may be roughly
+set down as follows, but it should be borne in mind that it is by no
+means a matter of course that a singer of any particular voice should
+possess or cultivate the whole range of notes supposed to belong to that
+voice. He or she may be none the less a tenor or a soprano because the
+one cannot produce an "_Ut de poitrine_," or the other "_F_ in _Alt_."
+There is a special individuality in every voice, as in every face, and
+therefore every voice must be treated, by a good teacher, on its own
+merits, as a thing in some respects unique.
+
+Perhaps it will be best, therefore, instead of saying that the compass
+of any given kind of voice is from ---- to ----, to say that music for
+such and such a voice is generally written between such and such limits.
+The range allotted by composers to the various voices is about two
+octaves to each--for solo work, of course--and is as follows, it being
+understood that the male voices are an octave lower in pitch than the
+female:--
+
+    _Soprano_, and _Tenore-Leggiero_, and in operatic music a certain
+    kind of _Tenore-Robusto_.
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: C4]
+    {to
+    {[Music: C6]
+
+    _Mezzo-Soprano_ and _Tenore-Robusto_
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: A3]
+    {to
+    {[Music: A5]
+
+    _Mezzo-Contralto_ and _Barytone_
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: G3]
+    {to
+    {[Music: G5]
+
+    _Contralto_ and _Bass_
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: E3]
+    {to
+    {[Music: E5]
+
+The basso-cantante is a low barytone, or high bass with a lighter
+quality of tone than the basso-profondo. The alto voice, or
+counter-tenor as it used to be called, is not a natural voice at all,
+but is artificially produced by training the _falsetto_ to the exclusion
+of the other parts of the voice. It is totally distinct from the
+contralto voice of a female, in quality, average compass, and the style
+of music best suited to it. It is of more use in part-singing and
+cathedral music than for solo work, although in some oratorios solo
+parts have been allotted to it. It is rarely pleasing when heard alone,
+for very few alto singers are able to avoid the appearance of singing
+with effort; and the whole performance, except in some instances,
+appears unnatural and forced. The alto voice ranges generally
+
+    from
+    [Music: G3]
+    to
+    [Music: C5]
+
+    but its best notes are confined to the octave of B flat.
+
+
+=Soprano.=--The soprano is generally clear, bright, and penetrating in
+tone; capable, if rightly produced, of "carrying" far without any
+appearance of force or effort. Its lower register is often weak and
+ineffective, and the forcing of those notes by a bad singer often
+damages the voice, and spoils the evenness of tone, which is of far more
+importance than power and noise in singing. Low notes, even if
+naturally weak, may be trained to take their proper share of the work of
+the voice, and every year will add to their natural power. Most soprano
+voices have a "break" on
+
+[Music: G4]
+
+and another, and more difficult one to deal with, on
+
+[Music: E5]
+
+or
+
+[Music: F5]
+
+The lower notes are the (so-called) "chest" register; the middle ones,
+between the breaks, the "falsetto," and the upper ones the "head" notes.
+I shall speak of these often-used and frequently-misapplied words
+presently; I merely mention them now for the sake of pointing out to
+soprani, what many young lady amateurs utterly ignore, that they have
+these "breaks," and possess "chest," "falsetto," and "head" notes, as
+well as male singers.
+
+Soprano voices are frequently capable of great flexibility, and passages
+are easy to them which tax the powers even of a light mezzo-soprano
+severely. The high notes, especially, are in many cases easily produced
+in a staccato manner, like notes of a piccolo flute, and an effect is
+thus made, which, though pretty and pleasing if judiciously employed,
+becomes a great snare to many singers, who for the sake of astonishing
+their audience work the upper part of their voices unfairly, and,
+neglecting steady use and practice of the lower registers, will very
+soon find that they have weakened the power and thinned the tone of the
+whole voice.
+
+But there are many voices of pure soprano tone which lack this
+flexibility: let the fair owners console themselves with the
+recollection that good _sostenuto_ singing is quite as pleasing, in the
+long run, as displays of vocal gymnastics. You may not be able to
+attempt the "_Dinorah_" Shadow Song, or the "Rejoice Greatly" in the
+"_Messiah_," but you will find that you have plenty of good work left
+for you in such music as "Dove Sono," "Deh vieni, non tardar"
+("_Figaro_"), or "Jerusalem" ("_St. Paul_").
+
+Moreover, you may possibly have what is a much rarer gift (in a pure
+soprano) than flexibility--you may have a tone of voice capable of
+executing declamatory music with fine effect. Music of this kind is
+generally appropriated by some mezzo-soprano of high compass, and more
+properly belongs to voices of that class; nevertheless, the effect of
+sustained declamatory music, well executed by a real soprano, is
+unrivalled in its way.
+
+
+=Mezzo-Soprano.=--The mezzo-soprano voice is perhaps the commonest of all
+female voices, and yet one of the rarest met with in perfection. It is
+fuller and rounder in quality than the soprano--less flexible, and more
+adapted to a _sostenuto_ or declamatory style. Mezzo-soprano voices vary
+so much that it is difficult to name any note on which the "break" will
+be found. Sometimes it is on the same notes as a soprano--sometimes on
+the same as a contralto--on the average, perhaps, nearer the former.
+Wherever it may be, however, a judicious teacher will soon point it out,
+and put the student into the way of rightly treating it. Teaching, and
+_good_ teaching, is especially necessary for voices of this class, for
+their fortunate possessors are generally ignorant of the value of the
+treasure which they possess in a good mezzo-soprano; and if it be of
+light quality, they fancy themselves soprani, and force the upper
+register of the voice in trying to "stretch their compass;" or if their
+low notes develop first, they think that "with practice" they are to be
+contralti; and by over-exercise and fondness for displaying those deep
+notes, they run the risk of widening the break, and rendering the
+quality of the whole voice hopelessly uneven.
+
+What lies within the sphere of a good mezzo-soprano has been shown in
+late years by a Grisi and a Tietjens, the latter of whom will live in
+the recollection of all who ever heard her, as the perfect model for
+every mezzo-soprano in the production of the pure tone and even quality.
+
+
+=Mezzo-Contralto.=--The name mezzo-contralto speaks for itself. It is by
+no means an uncommon voice, and if used with discrimination is an
+effective and useful one. Both in compass and quality it lies between
+the contralto and the mezzo-soprano. Heavier in tone, less resonant, and
+less flexible than the mezzo-soprano, it is yet lighter than the
+contralto. Pure contralto voices are so rare that many mezzo-contralto
+singers appear as exponents of contralto music, and by paying chief
+attention to the lower register of their voices, they become fair
+imitations, and more than passable substitutes, for the real article.
+The possessor of this voice must be guided by the advice of a good
+teacher as to the direction in which her voice should be trained.
+Sometimes the natural quality of the voice renders it advisable to
+attempt rivalry with the mezzo-soprano, rather than with the contralto;
+sometimes the reverse. It is a question for decision by a competent
+adviser in each individual case, and therefore I shall not attempt to
+lay down any decided rule, except my oft-repeated one, "GO TO A MASTER,
+AND A FIRST RATE-ONE,"--a point on which I shall have more to say
+further on. How impossible it is to lay down rules for a mezzo-contralto
+is shown by the fact that an eminent living "mezzo-contralto" is gladly
+accepted on our opera stage as a leading contralto, and yet succeeds
+admirably in such a part as Rossini wrote for a mezzo-soprano of the
+most florid kind--_Rosina_ in "_Il Barbiere_."
+
+
+=Contralto.=--The quality of a true contralto voice is so peculiar that it
+is impossible to mistake it for any other voice, although other voices
+may be mistaken for it. Of course, there are exceptional cases in which
+the contralto and mezzo-contralto are combined in one voice: the lower
+range being of full and pure contralto quality, while instead of the
+somewhat limited upper notes of the contralto, a rich mezzo-contralto
+range of notes may develop themselves; and in such a case careful
+training will be able to soften these two into each other, so that a
+complete voice of peculiar charm and great usefulness will result. But
+such cases, if not rare, are certainly the exception and not the rule,
+the deep and powerfully resonant tone of the true contralto being
+comparatively seldom met with. There is generally an awkward break
+between the low B and the D above it in this voice, and E flat or E
+are the highest notes within reach of the average contralto. Voices of
+this class are better adapted for a species of ballads, for solemn
+declamation, or music of a calm and flowing character, than for
+elaborate execution or lively melodies. But here again exceptions must
+be made in favour of those who have the physical means, as well as the
+artistic skill, to study such music as that of the _Page_ in "_Les
+Huguenots_," _Arsace_ in "_Semiramide_," or "_La Cenerentola_." For an
+average English contralto, however, the best line of study is in good
+songs and ballads, and, chief of all, oratorio music.
+
+
+=Alto.=--The alto, or counter-tenor voice, is said by a well-known English
+alto singer to be "simply a development of the _falsetto_--generally the
+_falsetto_ of an inferior bass voice." It is said to be almost peculiar
+to English singers, and to that fact is ascribed its extensive and
+effective use in the fine works of the English Cathedral School of
+composers. Of course, in a voice which is so artificial, there must be
+expected a worse "break" than usual--the break in this case being the
+point below which the falsetto cannot be extended, and where the natural
+"chest" quality of tone has to be used. This break generally lies near
+the same place as the contralto break--if anything, rather higher--say
+between C and E in the middle of the voice. The effective notes of an
+alto usually lie in the octave of B or B flat, and the repertoire of
+music for which this voice is suited is comparatively limited. That
+repertoire, however, includes the greater number of oratorios, a good
+deal of fine old Italian music, and a few old English songs; while a
+singer of cleverness and cultivation will find many ballads which he may
+make his own by the help of transposition and style of delivery.
+
+Great pains must be taken by the possessor of an alto voice in the
+formation and production of a good tone. The voice must be made to sound
+as _natural_ as possible; and, if necessary, power must unhesitatingly
+be sacrificed to sweetness. There is great danger of producing a harsh,
+reedy, or nasal tone, which, to the hearer, is simply distressing or
+offensive.
+
+Above all, let him be content to develop his own means, and to keep to
+music suited to or written for his voice. A good alto will make no
+effect, and will do his voice and style harm, if he "poaches on the
+preserves" of other voices--tenors, for instance, or basses--(singing
+the songs of the latter an octave higher). I once heard an alto--a fair
+singer so long as he stuck to his own work--make an absurd exhibition of
+himself by attempting the great song "Love Sounds the Alarm," in "_Acis
+and Galatea_," at a public concert!
+
+Let him also beware of the snare of contralto music. The alto in a man
+is totally distinct from the contralto in a woman. The tone is utterly
+different--the best notes of the one are certainly not the best notes of
+the other; and although in certain cases a contralto may sing with good
+effect music written for a male alto (_e.g._ in some oratorios), yet the
+converse is scarcely ever true. The low notes, which are so fine in a
+contralto, and so unlike any other tone except perhaps a few notes of
+some tenors, are utterly wanting in charm, and generally in power, in a
+male alto; while the sweet and ringing middle notes of the latter are
+far more effective in alto music than the (frequently) weak and
+uncertain middle notes of a contralto. Choose your music as you name
+your voice, by the quality of tone you can produce, and not by the range
+of notes.
+
+
+=Tenore-Leggiero.=--The _tenore-leggiero_ or "light tenor," is the male
+voice corresponding to the female soprano; it is perhaps the most
+delicate and difficult to manage of all human voices. In the present
+day, when fashion is all in favour of noise, it is difficult for any but
+the strong-minded to stand firm against the tendency to shout and bawl,
+which appears to be the highest aim of many singers, and the highest
+admiration of most audiences. Now for a light tenor to attempt this
+style of singing is simply suggestive of the old fable of the frog who
+tried to make himself as big as the bull, and burst in the attempt.
+There is a modern school of singing which, though it may be suitable
+enough for heavy voices such as basses and robust tenors, is fatal to
+light and delicate voices. The style of singing, and of music to be
+sung, by this voice, is quite different from that appropriate to strong
+and full organs; and, if you are the possessor of a light tenor, you
+must at once rid yourself of the common amateur fancy (a fancy, too, by
+no means confined to amateurs) that you must imitate a certain
+ever-popular living tenor, whose name has passed almost into a proverb
+as typical of the perfection of English singing. You _cannot_ be a
+"Reeves" or a "Braham," therefore it is only waste of time and strength
+for you to try. But there is a great deal of music which neither a
+"Reeves" nor a "Braham" could sing, which is well within your reach; and
+more than that, there is a great deal of excellent music which, though
+you cannot sing it _like_ them, you may render very effective in a
+totally different style. Very often a _pianissimo_ is quite as
+expressive as a _fortissimo_, and grace and sweetness are frequently an
+excellent substitute for power and force. You must be content to
+recognize that the latter are out of your reach, and that the effects
+which you can produce are to be attained by other means.
+
+However, while assuring you that power and force are not given to you, I
+do not mean to say that voices of your class need be at all inaudible in
+a space however large. The tone of a light tenor is generally clear,
+resonant, and penetrating; sometimes there is a metallic ring about it
+which is extremely pretty, if not forced. I have heard a light tenor,
+singing at the back of the Covent Garden stage, send his voice clearly
+out into the great theatre, with apparently more ease than his "robust"
+friend, who was shortly afterwards vociferating at the footlights.
+
+A light tenor must be careful not to force up the lower register of his
+voice beyond its natural and easy limit. The charm of the voice is in
+the perfect blending together of the lower, middle, and upper registers,
+and to do this the upper notes of each register should be equally at
+command, as the upper notes of that register or the lower notes of the
+one above it. In order to attain this, the change from one register to
+another should generally be made considerably lower than the place where
+the real "break" in the voice comes. For instance, supposing the "break"
+to be on E flat, the singer should be able to change his register as
+low as B or B flat, and to take all the notes between those two
+places, either in the upper or lower register, with equal effect.
+
+In voices of this character there is often one note which requires to be
+_made_--_i.e._, which is so naturally defective in tone and quality that
+it can only be produced effectively by imitating as nearly as possible
+the quality of the register above or below it. This note is generally E,
+F, F#, or (sometimes) G, between the middle and upper registers; and if
+you find that you unfortunately have such a refractory note, remember
+not to try and force the tone of it from the next note above or below;
+_e.g._, if your bad note is F, do not try to improve it by singing E
+well and then passing on to the F; but try and form the note from the
+fifth above or below (whichever it happens to resemble most in tone).
+Rounden the refractory note--give it a full tone in practising, and
+produce it well from the chest, letting the sound reverberate from the
+centre of the roof of the mouth--neither too far back towards the
+throat, nor too much on the teeth. Your teacher, if he knows his
+business, will soon put you into the way of this. Voices vary so much
+that these very general remarks must suffice here; but each voice, if it
+has its peculiar difficulties, has also, doubtless, its peculiar charm;
+and for light tenors, rich in both charms and difficulties, the rule is
+all-important: Do not try to imitate anybody else, but let your aim be
+to do the best that can be done with such natural gifts as you may have,
+aided by the best training that you can procure for them.
+
+
+=Tenore-Robusto.=--The robust or strong tenor is the male voice
+corresponding to the mezzo-soprano of a female. It is not an uncommon
+voice, but is rarely met with in anything like perfection. A robust
+tenor voice of large compass and round full tone is a treasure of the
+utmost value. The fact is, that too frequently the possessor of a good
+voice of this kind, instead of taking care of it and training it for the
+future, begins using it too soon, strains and forces it into coarseness,
+and spoils it for ever. People do not realize that a voice may be strong
+in quality and powerful in tone, and yet in itself be an excessively
+delicate thing to keep in order.
+
+Moreover, voices of this kind in their youth frequently resemble
+barytones, and their owners, fired with ambition to rival some popular
+barytone singer, mistake their vocation, and shout and bellow on the
+very part of the voice--the upper "chest" register--which requires the
+tenderest nursing to fit it for future difficulties. Consequently, when
+the voice develops with age, and the singer finds that barytone work is
+too heavy for the lower part of the voice, and that he can without much
+difficulty extend his compass beyond the barytone limits, he discovers
+that what he has been using as the top of his voice is nearer the middle
+of it, and that the mode of using those notes which he has practised is
+excessively difficult, if not impossible, with those which now lie above
+them. The result is either the creation of a very awkward "break," which
+even time and practice can never entirely remove, or else (and this is a
+commoner case) the same process of forcing which has been employed
+hitherto is applied to the upper notes, as far as strength can take it!
+This is the reason why so many tenor singers are utterly unable to
+produce the real tenor "tone," and sound like barytones forced up to a
+higher compass. There is no sweetness in the upper notes so
+produced--nothing but force and noise; while the hapless perpetrator of
+the howls which represent high notes turns scarlet in the face, and
+quivers all over with his exertions. I therefore give to tenors of this
+class exactly the same warning that I gave to soprani:--Do not ignore
+the fact that you have three, or at all events two, distinct registers
+of the voice, the (so-called) "chest," "throat," and "head." Do not
+suppose, when you hear a great singer produce on a high note exactly the
+same quality of tone as he produced on a low one, that he did it exactly
+the same way, or "got it from the same place," as some people say. The
+perfection of his training and the diligence of his practice have
+enabled him to assimilate the quality of one register to that of another
+so completely as to deceive your ear. The proof that this is true may be
+found in inspecting a great deal of music written for and sung by the
+most famous operatic tenors of the past--the singers of that pure
+Italian school of which so few disciples now remain.
+
+There are notes and passages in that music which no "chest" register
+could by any physical possibility execute, but some of which have been
+sung within the recollection even of the "rising generation" with all
+the effect intended, and with the very tone that critical slang calls
+"chest notes," (simply because it so closely resembles the tone of chest
+notes that few, if any, can detect that they are differently produced
+from the low notes.)
+
+For obvious reasons I abstain from mentioning the names of any living
+singers, but I can name one, not very long since dead, who attained the
+highest reputation here as a _tenore di forza_--whose "chest notes" were
+chronicled by the newspaper critics, and were the envy of aspiring
+youths--and yet who has ever been heard distinctly to deny that he ever
+produced those notes in the same way as the lower ones, and to laugh at
+the idea that such a thing was possible; and this was Mongini.
+
+I have entered into this at some length because it is a point which is
+more and more ignored by the singers and teachers of this generation. I
+might almost say that a school of singing exists the whole aim of which
+is to abolish the natural upper part of the voice, in order to stretch
+and force the one lower register up beyond its natural compass. I do not
+deny that in certain cases a voice results from this treatment which is
+powerful, effective, and capable of executing a good deal of music with
+much success and satisfaction to the performer; but for one case where
+this treatment so far succeeds, it fails in twenty to produce a voice
+both pleasing and useful; it is, moreover, in singers trained on this
+method that we most commonly hear the odious (and involuntary) trembling
+of the upper notes commonly called the _vibrato_.
+
+Therefore, to sum up those who find, when their voices begin to form,
+that the natural quality of their voice is lighter than that of a bass,
+had better make up their minds at once to give the voice fair play, and
+let it alone for a time; then consult a good master, or one really
+experienced in hearing singers, as to what the future of the voice is to
+be. It is by no means easy always to decide at that early period whether
+the permanent quality of the voice will be tenor or barytone, and
+therefore it is folly to try and settle the question for yourself by
+singing, in untaught style, music which may prove to have been all along
+unsuited to you. Your patience in waiting till the voice really declares
+itself will amply repay you afterwards by the absence of the
+difficulties which too early a use of the voice would have created for
+you to overcome.
+
+
+=Barytone and Basso-Cantante.=--The barytone voice is thus described in
+Stainer and Barrett's "Dictionary of Musical Terms:" "A voice of fuller
+quality than a tenor, and lighter than a bass, having a compass partly
+included in both.... This voice has only been distinguished by name as
+being of a separate character within the present century. Early writers
+indicate its existence by the use of its special clef. The term barytone
+is unmeaning unless it be looked upon as a corruption of barytenor; but
+it is quite possible it was borrowed from the instrument barytone or
+bardone, which occupied a place between the tenor and bass viols."
+
+The derivation of the name from "barytenor" is slightly absurd,
+considering that half that extraordinary word is Greek and the other
+half Latin; whereas the name barytone is a Greek word, used by
+Aristotle, and meaning "deep-sounding."
+
+The distinctive character which this voice has assumed within the
+present century is due, I believe, to the great change in the pitch of
+musical instruments which has taken place. In the last century the
+pitch was so much lower than that at present in use, that a "high
+barytone" was much the same as a "robust tenor." Consequently, music was
+not written exclusively for the barytone voice, its existence as a
+separate class of voice not being sufficiently recognized. Gradually, as
+the pitch was raised, the barytone separated itself clearly from other
+voices, and has now a repertoire of music and a style of singing of its
+own; and instead of appropriating tenor music, it, if anything, has
+stolen away some of the property of the bass; for the raising of the
+pitch which placed tenor music beyond the reach of a barytone has also
+rendered a good deal of music originally written for a bass far more
+suitable for a barytone, or at all events for a basso-cantante. I am
+well aware that by many musicians the basso-cantante is identified with
+the barytone. The distinction is so slight that it is not worth while to
+quarrel over names; but that the two voices are distinct I am persuaded.
+The basso-cantante is of fuller and rounder quality than the barytone
+proper; less flexible, less metallic in tone, and generally rather lower
+in compass. But the method of using both voices is the same, and for all
+purposes of amateur singers no distinction need be insisted upon.
+Professionals, however, who have to deal with heavy work on a large
+scale, will soon find that there is a good range of music more suited to
+the rich voice of greater volume and less flexibility (which I
+distinguished as the basso-cantante) than to the bright, flexible voice
+which has something of the tone of a full "tenore-robusto," and which is
+the barytone proper. Neither of these voices is much troubled with a
+"break," although there is a perceptible difference between the natural
+quality of the lower and upper octaves of the voice when quite
+uncultivated. This difference, however, which makes itself felt in the
+region of these notes, is got rid of in practice without any of the same
+difficulty which is encountered by tenors or contralti in managing the
+decided breaks in their voices. The possessors of barytone voices may
+therefore be looked upon as having comparatively "easy times of it."
+There is a large repertoire of music at their disposal, including much
+of the most popular ballad music of this century and the last; the voice
+is generally a favourite with an audience; the style of barytone singing
+is undisputed, and the singer will not find himself violently criticised
+by the partizans of a rival school of singing to that in which he
+himself has been trained, which is inevitably the fate of tenors!
+
+[Music: F3 G3 A3]
+
+Only let him avoid the temptation to shout, and to sing up to the very
+top of his compass at full pitch. Unfortunately, an English audience
+does like a noise, and appreciates plenty more than beauty of tone. It
+is tolerably easy for a barytone to be a showy singer, and therein lies
+the greatest danger to his chance of ever being a really good one. He
+must be content to go through his training quite as self-denyingly and
+perseveringly as any one else who is gifted with fewer natural
+advantages.
+
+
+=Bass.=--Of the bass voice less need be said here, not because it is a
+less important voice than any of the others, but because it is more
+generally known and better understood. A perfectly pure bass voice is,
+however, a rare thing. This voice has no upper register, properly
+speaking; the whole voice consisting of "chest" notes, and not admitting
+of even the process of developing upper notes of extraordinary quality,
+which is part of the training of a barytone or a basso-cantante. Power
+and richness are the chief qualities of charm in a bass, while
+flexibility and true intonation are the qualities most rarely found in
+that voice. The young singer who finds that he certainly is not meant by
+nature for a tenor, and also that with all his efforts the upper notes
+of a barytone are quite out of his reach, need not be discouraged by any
+lightness or thinness of quality in his voice from the hope that he may
+develop into a good bass. The full and rich quality of this voice is
+later in showing itself than is the case with any other voice, and the
+young singer must be content to study for some time with the compass of
+a bass and the quality of a kind of barytone, till Nature puts him in
+full possession of his powers. Only he must study bass music, and not
+try, because his voice is of barytone quality, to sing barytone music.
+Let him, on the contrary, avoid trying to extend the compass of his
+voice in the upper notes, and give his best attention to the lower ones.
+The upper ones will be well within his command in time, and if he will
+be content to let them alone at first, he may become a truly "celebrated
+bass;" but, if he persists in shouting at them now, he will never have
+anything but coarse upper tones, only fit to be heard behind a
+costermonger's barrow, or in "comic" songs at the Music Halls.
+
+
+=Buffo.=--The last remark reminds me that I have said nothing about a
+class of bass singers very useful in certain Italian and French
+operas--the _buffo_, or comic bass. The development of voice with these
+singers is of less consequence than the study of a peculiar style, a
+good deal of the point of their songs consisting in the entire
+elimination of anything like musical tone from many notes and passages.
+A clever and good buffo singer may very likely be able to sing other
+music well, but the style is so entirely dramatic and so utterly out of
+place anywhere except on the stage, that no amateur should ever attempt
+it, and no professional should appear _in a concert-room_ as the
+exponent of such music. Therefore, for those who wish to sing, any
+remarks on the peculiarities of a buffo bass would be superfluous; those
+who wish to study that line as a profession, for stage work, must learn
+all that they need from a regular dramatic teacher; while those who wish
+to execute English "comic" songs, may spare themselves any anxiety as to
+their voices: if they have any voice naturally, "comic" singing will
+soon destroy its charm, and that will not matter to them, for the last
+thing necessary to sing a "comic" song is the possession of a voice of
+any kind. Therefore, if you have a bass (or any other voice, indeed),
+avoid "comic" songs, and leave the "buffo" business to those who can do
+nothing better.
+
+
+=Qualities of Voice, Good and Bad.=--It may not be unwelcome to the
+student to have pointed out to him those qualities of voice which are to
+be aimed at or cultivated, and also those which are to be avoided or
+overcome.
+
+The charms of a voice are found among the following qualities:
+clearness, sweetness, evenness, flexibility, power, extent of compass,
+variety, brilliancy, firmness, persuasiveness.[1]
+
+[1] It used to be said of Rubini that "he had tears in his voice."
+
+On the opposite side must be ranked roughness, huskiness, feebleness (or
+want of power), shrillness (or want of depth), hardness and want of
+flexibility, dulness, or want of "ring," &c.
+
+It is, of course, impossible for any one voice to unite in itself all
+these merits or all these defects; and you cannot give yourself merits
+which Nature has withheld; but you may marvellously improve what natural
+merits you have, and do wonders in overcoming any difficulties which
+Nature has placed in your way.
+
+
+
+
+ON INSTRUCTION, MASTERS, AND "SINGING TUTORS."
+
+
+The voice, and how to use it, is a subject which has troubled many
+minds, and no doubt this will continue to be the case; but the difficult
+problem will not be solved by running to pettifogging teachers, who
+advertise to teach all that is known of singing, and a little more, in
+twelve easy lessons, without previous knowledge or practice at home, for
+the small fee of one guinea! Let it be stated once for all: singing
+cannot be taught in twelve easy lessons, and can scarcely be acquired in
+one hundred very severe lessons. Therefore distrust at once any one who
+holds out so tempting a bait to you; remember that there is no "royal
+road" to singing, any more than there is to the acquirement of any other
+art; and the person who tells you that he can teach you to do without
+trouble that which costs great artists the study of a lifetime,
+proclaims himself, _ipso facto_, to be a humbug.
+
+
+=Schools of Singing.=--There are several so-called Schools of Singing.
+There is a French School, which for any language but French is bad, and
+which very seldom turns out a pleasing singer. There is a German School,
+which is worse, being simply the production of coarse noise. Some people
+say that there is an English School. I hope there may be some day, but
+at present its existence is rather doubtful, unless those who talk of an
+English school of singing mean the Cathedral style--which for solo work
+is detestable--or the old school of Oratorio singing, with its
+Handelian traditions, which was not an English, but an Italian, and the
+best Italian, school.
+
+In fact, there is but one school of singing in the world, and that is
+the Italian. Whatever language you wish to sing in, whatever style of
+music you wish to study principally, you must train your voice, produce
+it, and learn to use it in the Italian method, if you hope ever to
+deserve the name of a singer.
+
+
+=Masters.=--Of course, in a work of this sort, it is impossible, and
+would be wrong if it were possible, to mention the names of living
+teachers: therefore I can only give general hints. If possible, study
+only under a master whom you know to have lived in Italy, and to have
+studied there for some years under some good master or in some good
+Conservatoire--Naples, Milan, and Florence generally supply the best.
+Possibly, for an English singer, an English master _who fulfils these
+conditions_ may be better than even an Italian, as he should understand
+better the peculiarities of English voices and temperaments, and would
+know at once where the chief difficulties would lie. Let me, however,
+correct a popular error. A good singer is not necessarily a good
+teacher, nor is it necessary for a first-class teacher to be able to
+sing at all. Nor need you necessarily look for your master among
+foreigners with fine sounding names. There are two or three good
+teachers of singing in this country who are foreigners; but there is
+also some native talent equally capable of teaching singing, as it is
+accepted in this country at the present time. These know the English
+style better than any foreigner can teach it, and after all, style is
+the chief consideration.
+
+
+=Institutions.=--As we have no real English School of singing, it is
+perhaps fortunate that we have no Conservatoire. There are, however,
+Institutions accessible to those who cannot afford to have masters at
+home or to place themselves under a private teacher. Of these, the chief
+is the Royal Academy of Music, in Tenterden Street, Hanover Square.
+There is also the National Training School of Music, the London Academy
+of Music, also the Guildhall School, and there is Trinity College,
+London, where I believe singing lessons may also be obtained. To all
+these establishments singing masters, more or less good, are attached,
+and it is open to any one to obtain admission to the concerts given from
+time to time at the institutions themselves, and to form some kind of
+opinion as to the teachers from the performances of the pupils. It would
+be well for an intending student to do this, for of course at any
+institution where there are several professors, one might suit you and
+another might not; it is even conceivable that one professor might do
+all for you that you could possibly require, while another professor
+might be an ignorant charlatan. Therefore, hear their pupils and judge
+for yourself, making inquiries at the same time of musical people who
+are qualified to express an opinion on singing. I must not, however,
+withhold from my readers my conviction that private lessons are better
+and more effectual than those taken in schools and academies. The terms
+at these public institutions are such that they preclude the possibility
+of more than twenty or thirty minutes being devoted to each pupil, and
+that is _not_ a sufficient time to bestow upon a lesson. Forty-five or
+sixty minutes are needed to give a good lesson; and the pupil who pays
+fifteen shillings or a guinea for this, does a wiser thing than the one
+who pays a fourth of that sum for, say, twenty minutes' attention.
+
+=A First Opinion.=--The actual successful teachers of singing in London
+may be counted on the fingers of one hand, and those who are qualified
+to teach singing, but who are not specially successful, may be found on
+the remaining five fingers. Each of these professors would probably not
+take less than one guinea the lesson, and it would, honestly, be far
+cheaper in the long run to pay this sum for one good lesson in singing
+than it would be to have fifty lessons founded upon wrong principles,
+even for nothing. And for this reason: teachers of this calibre will not
+trouble themselves about you or your guineas unless you have a promising
+voice, some general musical talent, and show signs of becoming, to some
+degree, a credit to your _teacher_, for to these men guinea pupils are
+very plentiful, and it is only reasonable that a guinea from a clever
+pupil should be worth considerably more to a sensitive artist than the
+same amount from a fool. Therefore, a first opinion from one such
+teacher may save your spending money, time, and energy on a pursuit in
+which you can never succeed.
+
+
+=Bad Lessons.=--Never take a bad singing lesson till you know how to sing.
+You may then do so (if you care to), and learn the "how not to do it" of
+singing. It is commonly supposed that the earliest singing lessons may
+be administered by any "dabbler," and the last touches given afterwards
+by a "finishing master." Never was there a greater error. Pay your
+guineas first, and your shillings afterwards. If you cannot afford to
+have good instruction in beginning to sing, you will be still less able
+to take it afterwards, for artistic reasons. Remember that every bad
+singing lesson which you take hardens old faults and creates new ones,
+and, moreover, takes you farther and farther away from your original
+starting-point. So, when you begin under the right man and the right
+method, you have to _undo_ all this that you have expended toil and
+money to acquire.
+
+
+=Bad Teachers.=--It is astonishing how much money is wasted by people who
+want to sing, through not going at once to the fountain-head for the
+necessary training. Because a man is a musician many people conclude
+that he must necessarily be able to teach singing! Such an idea is
+scarcely less monstrous than that of a man being a good physician and
+consequently competent to amputate a limb, or to take out and reset an
+eye. Do not follow this "multitude to do evil." Be as careful in
+inquiring about your singing master as you would be about your doctor.
+Both in London and in the country there are "professors" whose knowledge
+of singing stops at professing--the class of people who (very likely)
+keep a music-shop, tune your piano, play polkas and waltzes for your
+evening parties, and have a brass plate on their doors to this effect:
+
+MR. HANDEL MOSCHELES IGNAZIO JONES, PROFESSOR OF THE PIANOFORTE,
+HARMONY, THE VIOLIN, ITALIAN, AND SINGING.
+
+All honourable professions, no doubt; but to profess to combine them all
+is dishonourable, and insulting to the common sense of those who know
+anything of any one of the subjects professed. A singing master, if he
+is worth anything, must be a man of one trade--singing. For the teaching
+of singing is a "specialty," and the man who can teach it _properly_ is
+not likely to be a man of all (musical) work.
+
+
+=Books of Exercises, &c.=--There are numerous "Singing Tutors" published,
+giving rules, exercises, _solfeggi_, &c. Many of these are excellent,
+and some nearly perfect. But all alike are useless or worse than useless
+to the tyro, without a master. You might as well suppose that a child
+could learn to be a carpenter by having some fine wood and a box of good
+tools.
+
+I have before observed that voices vary as faces do; no two are exactly
+alike, each voice having its peculiar merit and its peculiar defect.
+Now, a good master will treat each voice on its own merit, and not place
+it at first on the Procrustean bed of a book of rules and exercises. He
+will probably write down his own exercises expressly for his pupil, and
+if not that, he will select certain exercises from the book, and forbid
+others to be attempted for a time. You must also let your master select
+such a book for you, so that you may have one in which the rules do not
+contradict those which he has already given you verbally, or else you
+will be perplexed with a multitude of counsellors.
+
+It is not till a certain stage in singing has been reached, under the
+training of a master, that any book of exercises can be of service to
+you. When that stage is reached, you will find such a work of great use
+in a part of your labours. Among such books may be named as especially
+good,--Concone's Exercises, Righini's, Guercia's, Nava's, Lablache's,
+and Lamperti's; but, again I say, do not choose for yourself. There are
+some excellent rules, as well as some good exercises, in an old work of
+the kind by Crivelli, and also in "Singing Exemplified," a work by T.
+Cooke. If you can meet with these, secure them--although I fear they may
+be long since out of print--for in the literature of singing the _new_
+is by no means certain to excel what was written in the days of our best
+composers and singers of operas and oratorios.
+
+
+
+
+ON THE PRACTICE OF SINGING.
+
+
+Remember that the voice is of all instruments the most difficult one to
+study, and to bring perfectly under control, especially for the first
+year or two. Do not attempt to cultivate it with the view to
+professional remuneration, unless you can set apart at least two hours
+daily for most careful study, and can also afford to wait at least eight
+or ten years for any _substantial_ pecuniary reward for your labours.
+
+
+=Individuality.=--It is of great importance to bear in mind that no two
+voices are exactly alike. To some singers is given quality of voice, to
+others quantity. And for each alike, steady, well-aimed, and
+well-ordered practice is indispensable. But, whatever you sing ought,
+like your voice, to have some touch of individuality: the song should
+seem to come naturally from you, and to be the spontaneous expression of
+your thoughts. At the same time you must not lose sight of the
+all-important guide which you have in the composer's intentions and
+wishes. Remember that a small and delicate voice may be made to go as
+far as, if not farther than, a voice of large volume and long compass.
+By judicious management, by touching expression of the softer feelings,
+by careful selection of music to be performed, the obstacles which are
+placed in a singer's way by want of power may be effectually removed,
+because the audience will irresistibly feel the influence of the
+singer's individuality. The difficulties of the singer who has the gift
+of quantity rather than quality of voice, are in some respects greater,
+because the necessity for thus impressing on his audience a sense of his
+own individuality is not so strongly forced on him by circumstances. Not
+only has he to labour to attain a good quality of tone, but he must also
+resist the temptation to fancy that "might is right," and that the
+"sensation" caused by a powerful voice is all that he need aim at. And
+here let me say, the way to get quality is to listen as often as
+possible to some leading singer of your own kind of voice. Try and
+imitate his tone; but above all practise with a medium tone--a
+_mezzo-voce_--listen for the beauty in your tone, and think of what you
+are doing when practising.
+
+
+=Perseverance.=--The surest means of improving and strengthening the voice
+is by constantly exercising and practising it. Just as the muscles and
+fibres of the legs of a pedestrian are increased and made capable of
+great exertion by careful training, so is it with the nerves and muscles
+of the throat. With judicious training, the compass of the voice is
+extended, its quality is improved, its tones grow rounder and firmer;
+and, if the master is a good one, and the pupil is willing to study
+patiently for some time, never resting content, but always aiming at
+further progress as year succeeds year, he may not unreasonably hope to
+attain a well-earned place in his profession, and its attendant reward.
+
+
+=Facial Expression.=--A looking-glass should form a part of the furniture
+of a singing student's study, for it is most important to watch the
+face--its features and expressions--when singing; and it is none the
+less useful for insuring the constant right position of the mouth. In
+respect to the facial expression when singing, there is a very great
+tendency to look too serious, too severe, and too hard when earnestly
+studying. Now, a cheerful and good-humoured expression does not
+necessarily imply carelessness, and it is far more agreeable to the
+audience than an anxious and troubled look. Some people look quite
+savage when singing; and when rendering passages of love and tenderness,
+their features are far more indicative of rage, revenge, and murder!
+And this very common fault is generally quite an unconscious habit. It
+is only to be remedied by constant care, and to this end practice before
+a looking-glass will be found very helpful.
+
+
+=Position of the Body.=--How to stand when singing has been explained by a
+great number of writers on the subject, and most of the explanations
+given have been chiefly remarkable as being entirely erroneous and
+false. The body should not be kept in a perfectly upright position, as
+it is (too popularly) believed that it should. The best position is when
+the body is well collected, with its chief weight upon the right leg and
+foot, with the head gently leaning forward, and the arms and, indeed,
+the whole carriage disposed in that manner which would indicate to the
+audience a sort of desire on your part to _persuade_ them and bring them
+over to your feelings and sentiments. When the right leg begins to tire
+with the weight of the body, the left leg can take its duty, when the
+right may be gracefully drawn back as in dancing. The best lesson on
+this subject, however, can be gleaned by carefully watching the _pose_
+of a good Italian singer during singing.
+
+
+=Self-Accompaniment.=--A sitting position is a very bad one in which to
+practise. All singing should be done in a standing position, and the
+student is strongly urged to adhere to this rule. Instead of sitting at
+the pianoforte, and accompanying an exercise or "solfeggio," it is far
+better to sound the first note of each passage therein, and master the
+same without any accompaniment. The advantages of this mode of
+practising must be obvious; but one of the most important is, that the
+attention is not divided between the pianoforte and the voice, while it
+leaves the singer free to give all his attention and care to the
+_production_ of the notes which he is endeavouring to sing artistically.
+
+
+=Position of the Arms.=--I would urge upon the student to hold a piece of
+music in his hands while he practises. There is a place for the hands
+when singing in public; but this place is neither the trouser-pockets,
+nor on the hips, nor behind the back, nor across the chest, but rather
+that position which is secured by _leisurely_ holding the music-sheet,
+not as if actually singing therefrom, but as though it were merely
+intended for reference, if required. This easy attitude not only gives
+the hands and arms their legitimate position, but also lends a grace and
+freedom to other parts of the body, all which points must be attended to
+in singing. Remember to keep the arms well away from the body. Some
+singers stick the elbows into the waist, as though to give support;
+instead of doing which, they hinder the free action of the lungs,
+besides giving an awkward look to the whole figure.
+
+
+=Position of the Hands.=--Do not let your hands hang down, but keep them
+well before you, in some position which allows of your turning the palms
+uppermost. In this way you (as it were) lock the joints of the
+shoulders, and put a check on the tendency to raise the shoulders, which
+is an invariable consequence of taking breath wrongly. Keep your
+shoulders well back, your elbows depressed, and your hands with the
+palms uppermost, and you will find it difficult, if not impossible, to
+indulge in the vice of heaving the chest and shoulders up and down, like
+the piston of a steam-engine!
+
+
+=Position of the Throat.=--One of the first conditions of singing well is
+to keep the throat open. To have the throat in its proper position the
+tongue must be kept down, and hollowed like the bowl of a spoon, its
+root being well depressed. Nor must the throat ever be allowed to screw
+itself up small, a common failing of many singers whenever they approach
+a high note. Most of my readers have yawned once or twice in their
+lives: if they will do it once more, in front of their looking-glass,
+and watch the inside of the mouth as they yawn, they will see and feel
+the exact position in which the throat should be during good singing. It
+will be useful to repeat this proceeding until the mind is thoroughly
+impressed and the memory familiarized with the feeling of the mouth and
+throat in this, the correct position for singing.
+
+
+=Position of the Throat, &c., in Soft Singing.=--When singing softly, or
+_piano_, as it is called, take great pains to keep your throat as open
+as you would for singing loudly, leaving it entirely to the mouth and
+lips to keep the tone soft, yet steady and firm. Do not forget, too,
+that in soft singing it is a great advantage to keep the mouth in a
+smiling position.
+
+
+=Position of the Tongue.=--The tongue, while being so useful, is
+nevertheless a very unruly member in singing. It has so great a tendency
+to get out of its place. Its legitimate office is to rest quite flat, or
+even hollow, in the bottom of the mouth, with its root well down, as
+this keeps the throat-passage clear, and with the tip of it just
+touching the lower teeth. Get a looking-glass, and continually watch the
+position of the tongue. Never allow it to roll up or turn about when
+singing, or the effect produced will be scarcely worth repeating. The
+tongue should occupy the least possible space in the mouth, and this is
+the case when the directions here given are carried out.
+
+
+=Position of the Larynx.=--The larynx, or upper part of the wind-pipe,
+plays a most important part in singing. Upon it depends all the beauty,
+and quality, and richness of the voice. The singer will do well to
+constantly think about the larynx, to watch it, to feel that it is well
+down below the mouth before commencing the first note of a song, which
+note must, under such circumstances, be rich, round, and penetrating.
+Then the larynx must never be allowed to rise above this fixed point. It
+may be deepened, and must be, for the higher notes, but it must never
+ascend, or nearly approach the roof of the mouth, or the sound-passage
+is closed, and the sounds become at once impure, vitiated, and without
+body or foundation.
+
+Try and guard against the bad habit of pushing forward the chin when
+singing, otherwise the tone cannot fail to be faulty. The chin should be
+well down on the chest, and the larynx quite low, to lead to an easy
+and pure production of tone. To be constantly moving both the jaws for
+every note, continually displaces the larynx, impairs the purity of the
+tone, spoils the articulation of the words, and, what is worse than all,
+produces a hideous expression of the features, which latter fault would
+alone be sufficient to prejudice seriously the chances of any singing
+artists. The lower parts of the jaws, not the upper ones, should do the
+work; and when a high passage or note is before the singer, the lower
+parts of the jaws should be exercised to drop as the notes increase in
+height. The singer's face should be controlled, if no other member can
+be so regulated.
+
+
+=Singing in the Head.=--There is, in all beginners, a tendency to sing too
+much in the head, that is, to have the foundation of the tones too high
+up in the throat. This fault is due to the difficulty experienced by
+beginners in keeping the larynx sufficiently below the mouth. The
+fulness of tone, the rich, round, and mellow quality which is so much
+admired in all good singers, is almost entirely owing to the voice being
+pitched low down, and not high up in the throat, towards the back of the
+head (as it _appears_ to be).
+
+A few trials of this will soon convince the student of the vast
+difference in the character and _timbre_ of the tones of these two ways,
+and also of the economy of the plan here recommended, so far as regards
+the wear and tear of the voice in practice.
+
+
+=Throatiness.=--Throatiness, or singing in the throat, is the common enemy
+of all English singers. Our language is the chief cause of this
+disagreeable habit, which we begin to acquire as soon as we learn to
+talk. Still, by diligence, the evil can be cured, and no better plan can
+be followed than to constantly practise singing the vowel-sounds Ah, A,
+E, O, throughout the compass of the voice, taking every possible
+care--and this is the point--never to allow the _tone_ to vary, nor to
+leave the teeth, and not to screw up the throat, especially in high
+notes. It is impossible to produce a "throaty" quality of voice if the
+throat is well open, and the tone is firmly directed, and kept on the
+upper teeth and front of the mouth. On the other hand, if the student
+screws up the throat, rolls the tongue, or practises singing without
+being constantly on the look-out for the "voice on the teeth," the
+result must be a "throatiness," which is most disagreeable to all people
+who have any real knowledge of what singing should be.
+
+
+=Clearing the Throat.=--Singers, good and bad, are often troubled with an
+apparent stoppage in the throat, and this inconvenience seems to be at
+its worst just at that moment when they wish to sing. To displace or to
+cure this stoppage, they begin hacking and coughing ("clearing the
+throat" as it is called), which proceeding, however, only makes bad
+worse for the time being, and finally grows into a habit, till at last
+such people cannot venture to open their mouths without first subjecting
+the throat to a series of these irritating "hacks." A good master will
+soon cure this complaint by refusing to continue the lesson whenever the
+pupil gives way to the bad habit. It is in many cases simply a nervous
+trick, and if the singer will accustom himself to _swallow_ instead of
+coughing, whenever he feels the sensation of which we are speaking, he
+will soon get rid of it. If it results in any case from real weakness of
+the throat, it may be beneficial to gargle three or four times a day
+with moderately strong salt and water, especially before singing. This
+does no harm to the voice, and by bracing and strengthening the muscles
+of the throat renders them more obedient to the singer's will.
+
+
+=High Notes.=--Many people find great difficulty in counting, with any
+degree of certainty, upon the top notes of their register. I know of no
+greater assistance towards bringing these out than that of well
+contracting the mouth and lips at the beginning of the passage in which
+these high notes occur, dropping the lower jaws, and securing a good
+play of the mouth as the highest note is reached, at the same time
+keeping the throat as open as possible, ejecting the sound to the
+audience with as much "lip-force" as can be secured, being careful that
+the tone is safe "on the teeth" before the note is "opened."
+
+
+=The Scale.=--There can be no doubt whatever that the grand groundwork of
+all singing is the diatonic scale. On it is built all the graceful forms
+and figures which belong to the great artist. Yet how few seem to know
+and to appreciate this fact! To excel, the diatonic scale must be
+practised most seriously and assiduously in its plain and simple form;
+nor must it be left until the student can sing every note therein
+purely, without wavering or flutter, and with precision, in the soft,
+medium, and loud voices.
+
+
+=Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano.=--The singer will derive much advantage by
+bearing in mind that the voice has three main gradations which the
+Italians class as the _forte_, the _mezzo di voce_, and the _piano_. The
+management of these three is of vital importance, and the singer should
+certainly practise the scales in all three voices, and have each at
+command for every exercise and passage which he studies.
+
+
+=Tone.=--The tone of the voice must never be vitiated or rendered impure
+from any cause whatever. There is always a danger of this in passages of
+great energy and passion, but it should be remembered that whatever be
+the effect aimed at, it cannot be attained by any means which involves a
+change in the tone of the voice. The first and chief consideration must
+always be to produce a good tone in the right manner. If the tone be not
+good, the singing cannot be agreeable; and if it be not produced in the
+right manner, you have no security that it will be equally good
+throughout the voice, or in passages of all kinds.
+
+
+=Chest, Falsetto, and Head Voice.=--I have already said that there is a
+good deal of confusion existing as to the use of the terms "chest,"
+"falsetto," and "head voice." And this is scarcely to be wondered at,
+seeing that nobody has yet decided _how_ the three qualities of sound
+are produced, while everybody knows that the names are so far
+misleading, in that no sound whatever is really made in the _chest_ or
+in the _head_, but that all are due to the passage of air through the
+larynx, in which are placed the vocal cords upon which the air plays.
+The changes of sound which are spoken of as "chest," "falsetto," and
+"head" voices are due to changes in the position of the larynx and its
+surroundings, and in the action of the vocal cords. What those changes
+are, and how or why they cause the results which we hear, has yet to be
+discovered: there are several theories, but no one has yet ventured to
+claim the certainty of truth for any one of them. There is an excellent
+article on "The Larynx" in Stainer and Barrett's "Dictionary of Musical
+Terms," to which I would refer those who wish to understand these
+various theories. For my present purpose it is sufficient to point out
+that each of the names is an utter misnomer. The "chest" voice is
+probably so called because the vibrations of the notes in that register
+may be distinctly felt in the chest; and because the breath passes
+directly from the chest, as it seems, without any opposition in the
+throat, producing the sound on its way. The "falsetto," or range of
+notes above the chest, is so called (and rightly so) because in that
+register of voice the tone _feigns_, or imitates, the tone of the
+"chest" notes below, although it is certain that the sounds are not
+produced in the same way, for the position of the vocal cords and their
+attendant parts is different, and changes suddenly on the passage of the
+voice from the chest to the upper register. A falsetto, rightly trained
+and used, is one, therefore, which is true to its name, and so well
+imitates the "chest," that the hearer cannot distinguish the "false"
+from the real "chest tone." The "head voice," which many people persist
+in confusing with the falsetto, is so called because to the singer it
+feels as though the notes so produced came from the head. This is due to
+the larynx itself rising up in the throat and approaching the back of
+the head. It comprises, in reality, _all_ that part of the voice which
+lies above the "chest" register, all the lower part of it being shared
+by the "falsetto," exactly as the falsetto shares the greater part of
+the chest register. The falsetto, therefore, belongs to both, and its
+use is to carry, by its power of imitation, the tone of the lower or
+chest register into the upper or head register, so combining them that
+no audible change of quality, or "break," is perceptible.
+
+
+=Scale Practice.=--It cannot be too strongly impressed upon, or too
+frequently pointed out to, the singer (no matter what may be the stage
+of his or her artistic development) how desirable and advantageous it is
+to be constantly singing exercises and solfeggi in preference to songs.
+It is a popular fallacy, especially among amateurs, that the practice of
+scales and intervals should be left behind as soon as possible. Pray do
+not be mistaken. The never-failing daily practice of singing open chords
+in solfeggi, scales, and exercises, is fraught with advantages which
+cannot be gained by the study of yards, or even miles, of song tunes. As
+an instance of how much may be done in the study of scale practice, the
+writer would point out that this particular exercise should not be left
+until the student can sing the diatonic scales throughout the whole
+extent of the voice in one unbroken breath, and with one quality,
+character, and volume of voice. When this point has been reached, its
+peculiar efficacy will be so apparent as not to require any
+recommendation or advice for its daily continuance.
+
+
+=First Exercises.=--This is a book of advice, not of exercises, nor do I
+profess to teach you, but only to point out to you, how you must prepare
+to be taught. I cannot too often repeat that no book by itself can teach
+you singing, and my object is not to supersede a master, but to induce
+you to place yourself under a good one. However, it may happen that
+circumstances of time, place, or pocket prevent your doing so as soon as
+you would wish, and it is far better even to learn from a book what you
+can in the way of rules and exercises, than to go on singing by the
+light of nature, or under a cheap and inefficient master, or working at
+exercises too advanced for a beginner (which is as bad as not working at
+any at all). I therefore give here a few simple but most important
+exercises, which you may work at until you are able to place yourself
+under the care of a good master. Bear in mind, first, all that has
+already been said here about taking your breath, the position of
+standing, the form of your mouth, and place of throat, tongue, teeth,
+&c., and study the following exercises daily say to the extent of thirty
+minutes three times a day, with full attention to all the above points:
+
+[Music: C major scale, beginning at C4, in semibreves]
+
+Sing this fully and firmly. It should be begun and ended with the same
+quality and "thickness" of sound, as suggested by the even line over
+each note. You should be able to hold each note out in one breath for
+twenty seconds without the slightest alteration being perceptible in the
+tone, any more than there would be if it was a note proceeding from an
+organ-pipe. Practise it on each of the following sounds consecutively:
+"A" in "Bard," "A" in "Fate," "E" in "Steel," "I" in "Life," "O" in
+"Pole," "U" in "Rule," prefixing each sound by L, and so singing Lah,
+Lay, Lee, Li, Lo, Loo. In singing this first exercise, which for basses
+and barytones will be, of course, an octave lower, be careful not to
+force the lower notes, and do not seek to get a powerful tone thereupon.
+The tone does not need to be full and heavy on these notes, but rather
+should be a WELL-PRODUCED, light, and thin quality of note. The way to
+proceed is: (1) To inspire the breath from the bottom of the lungs as it
+were--not raising the shoulders. (2) Steady the breath for a second or
+so in the chest while you THINK the note you are about to sing, and
+while you prepare your throat and mouth for singing by lowering the
+larynx and opening the throat. (3) Then begin to sound the note--not
+from the back of the mouth, but from the tip of the tongue and the front
+teeth--thus taking the whole of the tone out of the mouth, which is what
+is required to be done. Sustain the note till you have only a little
+breath left--then finish off in a clean manner, and allow the remaining
+breath to leave the lungs and body in an orderly way.--Repeat the same
+operation for _every_ note, and if you desire to make progress, give a
+minute's attention of this kind to every single note.
+
+[Music: 2--Broken C major triad in semibreves beginning and ending on
+C4, then raising a semitone to continue the pattern.]
+
+and so on, rising by semitones until you come to this:
+
+[Music: Broken G major triad in semibreves beginning and ending on G4.]
+
+which is certainly the highest that you ought to attempt at present.
+
+Exercise No. 2 is a first step towards joining notes, and is another
+difficulty in the matter of _production_. The object to be aimed at is
+to sing the two notes which are bound (or tied) together with the same
+breath, and the same body and quality of tone. To step from C to E, the
+first movement in the exercise is to raise the voice a major third; but
+the student must pass from his mind any notion of raising the throat in
+order to sound the higher third. As the note E is higher than the C, the
+tone of the former must be generated lower in the chest than had been
+the case with the C. The higher the note to be sung, the lower must be
+its generating-point in the chest. This is the only way to OPEN the
+voice, and I need scarcely say that it produces an entirely different
+tone and method than are secured by the common habit of screwing and
+tightening the throat, in proportion as the notes ascend in pitch.
+
+Another good exercise which may be combined with the last-given is the
+following:
+
+[Music: 3--Broken C Major Triad in semibreves beginning and ending on
+C4, followed by a broken F Major Triad in semibreves beginning and
+ending on C4. Broken G minor triad in semibreves beginning and ending on
+C4, followed by a broken A minor triad in semibreves beginning and
+ending on C4.]
+
+This exercise (3) must be sung in the same manner as indicated with No.
+2, care being taken as each note gets higher to pass _under_ the
+preceding note, and not as it were to generate a high note over a lower
+one.
+
+After which you may take this:
+
+[Music: 4--C major arpeggio in semibreves, beginning on C4 and landing
+on C5. C5 is held for six beats prior to descending in crotchets in a C
+major scale, and holding the bottom C4 for four beats.]
+
+but sing it very slowly and deliberately, bearing in mind the production
+of the high notes.
+
+As you begin to get all these notes firm and round, you may take these
+same exercises in D, D flat, and E flat, but be very careful not
+to force the upper notes.
+
+[Music: 5--Interval practice by holding C4 for four beats and slurring
+to D4. After breathing, slur C4 to E4. After breathing, slur C4 to F4.
+After breathing, slur C4 to G4. Continue this pattern until C5 is
+reached. Then, begin on C5 and slur to B4. After breathing, slur from C5
+to A4. Continue this pattern until C4 is reached.]
+
+Exercise 5 is one where the question of the breath and its proper
+management becomes of vital importance. The reader will observe the
+notes are bound together, and the student's attention should be turned
+towards passing from one note to the other, without any appreciable
+difference in the _quality_--I do not say pitch--of the tone. Having
+inspired in the manner already explained, the singer will sound the
+_Do_ with a pure, sympathetic, not harsh or forced sound; and by
+_pressing down_ the breath, will _lift_ the voice on to the _Re_. When
+he has succeeded with the step of a second, he can go on to the step of
+a third, fourth, &c. The care must be to utilize the breath, always
+supporting the tone with the breath. If the sound wavers, then there is
+something wrong with the breath. You are either singing with too little,
+or are forcing the breath.
+
+[Music: 6--Beginning on C4 and holding each note for two beats, go up by
+semitones until E4 is reached and held for four beats. Begin pattern
+again, but begin on D4 flat. Continue until A is reached.]
+
+And so on.
+
+[Music: 7--Beginning on C5 and holding each note for two beats, go down
+by semitones until A4 flat is reached and held for four beats. Begin
+pattern again, but begin on a B4. Continue until G4 flat is reached.]
+
+And so on, descending the scale by semitones.
+
+[Music: 8--In minims, sing C4, E4, G4, C5, B4, G4, F4, D4. Begin the
+pattern again starting a semitone higher on D4 flat.]
+
+Practise No. 8 slowly and steadily, with perfectly even tone throughout,
+without any crescendo or diminuendo.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Let all the above exercises be taken successively, _forte_, _a
+mezzo-voce_, and _piano_, preserving exactly the same amount of tone
+throughout each passage, and holding the notes with the same force with
+which you attack them steadily to the end, not letting them die away.
+The trick of letting notes die away is easily learnt afterwards, but at
+present you have to master the far greater difficulty of holding notes
+firmly with unvarying tone. Practise these exercises on all the
+vowel-sounds already given. All such exercises are of course only
+variations of the diatonic and chromatic scales, so arranged as to
+prepare the voice for executing those scales evenly and perfectly, with
+equality of tone on every note; for till you can sing scales, you are
+not fit to sing songs of any kind.
+
+
+=Duration of Practice.=--Always guard against over-straining and
+over-working the voice. Do not sing or practise for a longer time than
+half an hour without allowing the voice rest for some time. If you have
+three hours at your disposal daily to devote to singing, the most
+economical use of the time is to divide it equally between the morning,
+afternoon, and evening.
+
+
+=Singing in Tune=.--Correct intonation is of the greatest possible
+importance in singing. Every singer should pay especial attention to
+this point. The heavier the voice, the more necessary becomes such
+attention, and therefore contralti and basses are strongly advised to
+lose no time in facing this (to them) considerable difficulty. Deep
+basses, indeed, are rarely perfectly in tune for any long time together,
+and some of the most famous bass singers have left behind them
+recollections of this painful defect. Therefore, whatever be your voice,
+do not take for granted that even the possession of a good ear will
+always ensure your singing in tune. Sometimes excellent singers, and
+good musicians too, will sing out of tune, perfectly aware that they
+are doing so, but, for a time, unable to prevent it from physical
+causes--relaxation of the throat, fatigue, indisposition, &c., under
+which conditions the muscles are unable to obey the will as usual. Do
+not, then, make too light of this matter, because you may think yourself
+quite incapable of singing out of tune; it is at all events wiser to be
+on the safe side. Therefore, never practise (nor sing, if you can help
+it) with a pianoforte which is not well in tune and well "up to pitch."
+And be very constant in practising intervals, such as major and minor
+sixths and sevenths, so as to be able to strike them as perfectly in
+tune and as unvarying in quality as the notes of an organ diapason.
+
+
+=How to Begin.=--Many people never make a good start when beginning to
+sing any piece. Now a very good remedy for a part of this evil is not to
+prepare yourself too soon. Use the bar immediately preceding that in
+which your part commences to gather up your faculties, and, to use a
+common phrase, "to pull yourself together;" then let the muscles of the
+body gently settle down. The ease and freedom acquired by this momentary
+call upon the system is very remarkable; and for the singer especially
+the hint cannot be too often acted upon.
+
+
+=Variety Indispensable.=--An unchanging volume of sound is very soon
+wearying to the ear; and therefore a singer who scarcely ever varies the
+pitch of his voice will find that however loudly he may sing, his
+audience will have a feeling of dissatisfaction, as though they could
+not hear him distinctly--the fact being that their ears, being fatigued
+with the uniformity of the noise, cannot do their proper work, and the
+attention therefore flags. One great secret of being agreeably heard by
+an audience is to vary the body of tone (not the _quality_ of it,
+observe). As a rule singers are left tolerably free to do as they like
+in this respect. Composers of songs rarely give them any help in the
+matter. In fact, nowadays so many people compose "vocal music" without
+knowing anything about the vocal instrument for which they compose, that
+it is not wonderful that they ignore their power of helping the singer
+by properly combining duly marked _forte_, _piano_, and _mezzo-voce_
+passages, so as to ensure a variety of effect. Therefore, in most modern
+music, a singer has to take his own "reading" of a song, and to make it
+as effective as he can by varying the power of his voice. It might even
+be taken as a rule that every _forte_ passage should be succeeded by a
+soft one. The voice should rise and fall, and be varied in its
+inflexions in that agreeable manner which is so marked in good orators
+and dramatic elocutionists.
+
+
+=Chorus Singing.=--If you are studying seriously for solo singing, you
+must discontinue all chorus singing, especially during training. Singing
+in church choirs and choral societies must be abandoned. And this not
+because there is no good to be learned there, but because the little
+good is by no means commensurate with the great amount of harm which is
+acquired along with the good. To enumerate here all the evil habits so
+easily learnt would be impossible. Not the least of them, however, is
+the tendency to shout louder than your neighbour, to use yourself to the
+bad habits of those on each side of you; to produce a bad tone; to
+"chop" the passages instead of phrasing them; to attack notes
+carelessly; to sing coarsely; to depend on others; to get into a
+machine-like regularity of rendering the music. All these evil habits
+are the result of chorus singing; and while many of them are detrimental
+to the voice itself, it may be safely said that any one of these habits
+is fatal to good solo singing.
+
+
+=Humming.=--Some people have a wretched habit of continually humming
+tunes. Pray do not get into this habit of singing unconsciously--than
+which nothing is more prejudicial to the voice. You should never sound a
+note without being perfectly aware of what you are doing, and that it is
+being done in the right manner. The faults acquired by "humming over,"
+as it is called, are of the worst kind, and, moreover, they are far
+sooner acquired than eradicated.
+
+
+=Studying Songs.=--Be careful, in studying a new song, not to waste either
+time or strength by a trifling and superficial treatment of it.
+"Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well." First of all,
+_sol-fa_ the melody a few times in a full _mezzo-voce_. Then study it
+with rather stronger tone, paying attention to lights and shades, yet at
+the same time being chiefly occupied with the melody itself. Then make
+your breath-marks, and adhere to the same unfailingly. Then sing the
+melody once throughout, in order to find the weak places; having found
+which, you need no more practise the whole of the melody, but give all
+the attention to these latter phrases. Having mastered these, the melody
+will be complete. It will then be necessary to determine where the notes
+shall be made to _bend_ into each other, to add the _nuances_, a few
+graceful figures and effects which belong alone to the true artist.
+
+
+=Imitation.=--By no means the worst lesson which you can have will be
+gained by imitation of some acknowledged first-rate singer, whose voice
+is of the same kind as your own. Before going to a concert at which any
+such artist is announced to sing, procure copies of his songs (if
+possible), and make yourself acquainted with the compositions first of
+all. Then go and hear how those works are rendered by the singer who is
+to be your model; listen with your copy in your hand; make notes of any
+points which strike you, and while the impression made upon you is still
+fresh, go home and imitate them as closely as you can.
+
+
+=General Musical Study.=--If you want to be a good singing artist, many
+more things besides singing should be studied. You should be
+sufficiently acquainted with the pianoforte to play your own
+accompaniments, even of the most difficult songs, well enough to get an
+idea of them. Then a knowledge of harmony, counterpoint, and
+orchestration is of the greatest value. The study of the best scores,
+orchestral and vocal, should not be neglected, and further, the student
+should make himself or herself otherwise familiar with the rise and
+progress of the art, by reading all the best books on the subject,
+whether historical, critical, or biographical.
+
+
+
+
+ON STYLE, EXPRESSION, &c.
+
+
+The study of language, articulation, and deportment, the gradual
+formation and building-up of the singing voice, and the incessant
+practice of scales and exercises, are in reality only the necessary
+preliminaries to singing itself. Singing, or the proper use of the voice
+combined with the due enunciation and expression of the words, is
+nothing unless due attention be also paid to style, to the fit and
+effective execution of the music selected, due regard being paid both to
+taste and tradition.
+
+
+=Traditional Styles.=--Although the groundwork of all good singing is the
+same, the music to be sung varies greatly in style. There is church
+music, oratorio music, and opera music, as well as ballad music; and a
+certain nondescript--half recitative, half declamation--which is of
+modern growth, gives pleasure to many people (both performers and
+audience), and comprises the greater number of modern German "songs."
+
+
+=Modern German Lieder.=--This latest development of vocal performances, of
+which I desire to speak with all due respect, has no traditions
+whatever, but it has a style, decided, though (in my opinion) bad. It
+has, however, one merit: it imperatively demands that the singer should
+understand the meaning both of words and music, for the whole thing
+depends on expression and modulation. The composers of these works
+generally do their part fully in the way of modulations and
+accompaniment; but as they frequently forget to supply anything in the
+shape of a melody, the singer must do his best to touch or move his
+audience by his expressive delivery of the words in the musical
+inflections which (with this class of composers) occupy the place of a
+"tune." However, if you admire this kind of music, and have been
+properly taught to sing before you attempt to execute it, I have not a
+word to say against it: so long as you use your voice legitimately, this
+style of music can do you no harm, and if you study dramatic expression
+and elocution properly, you may doubtless produce an effect very
+pleasing to others who admire it. But the danger of such music to the
+untrained voice and untaught singer is very great indeed; and I do not
+hesitate to say that the frequent performance of it by such an one
+_must_ result in the ruin both of voice and style.
+
+
+=The Cathedral School.=--The one point in music wherein England has just
+reason to boast of her past, is the existence of a distinct class of
+music composed for her church service, and that music of a high order of
+merit. Distinctive in character, this church music--"services" and
+"anthems"--has created for itself a distinct school of singers, and, by
+tradition, demands a distinct style of performance. I have elsewhere
+stated that the "Cathedral School" of singing is "detestable for solo
+work," and so it is for any solo work except cathedral solo work, where
+the operatic or oratorio style of singing would seem to us, who have
+always been familiar with the traditional and one accepted style, out of
+place, and irreverently suggestive of the concert-room. It is difficult
+to describe upon paper the peculiarity of this style of singing, and it
+could only be learnt by imitation in its own home, the cathedral. Its
+chief characteristics are a sort of passionless "statuesqueness," a
+steadiness of tone akin to the notes of the organ, which is its only fit
+accompaniment, an absence of all attempt at personal display on the part
+of the singer. Its faulty tendencies are towards deficiency of
+expression and slowness of "attack;" these are apparent, generally, when
+a "cathedral" singer appears in the concert-room; but in church, the
+pervadingly reverent character of the performance takes off the
+impression of coldness and tameness in the individual singer, while the
+ear, accustomed to the slight difference in time with which the various
+organ-stops "answer," does not notice in the singer that want of
+"crispness" in the time which the accompaniment of an orchestra reveals
+at once.
+
+Unless you are really intending to sing professionally in a church or
+cathedral choir, the study of this style will not be of much use to you;
+you will find its good points equally insisted on in the oratorio school
+of singing, while its defects should be avoided in any. For =English
+part-singing= there is, however, no training so good, its traditions
+being exactly those of the finest old English secular part-music--the
+madrigals of Wilbye, Weekes, and Purcell, &c.
+
+
+=Oratorio.=--By oratorio singing--speaking of it as a distinct style--I
+may say at once that I mean the school of Handelian singing, of which
+the traditions are distinct, and which has only been slightly modified
+to suit the more modern oratorios of other composers. Of course,
+Mendelssohn cannot be sung exactly like Handel or Bach, but the general
+style of delivery should be the same, and till you can sing Handel, you
+cannot hope to be able to sing Mendelssohn. The ability to sing Handel,
+Bach, and Glück, I believe to be the sole foundation for a pure style of
+singing either in opera or ballad music: the music is such that it
+cannot be trifled with--the difficulties cannot be evaded, but must be
+mastered--while the exquisitely smooth and vocal character of these
+great masters' music trains the singer to an evenness and solidity of
+style which is most valuable in any music that may be afterwards
+attempted. Moreover, the songs of Handel form an admirable school for
+the training of individual taste and judgment in the introduction of
+ornaments, the variety of phrasing, and other minute details of finish.
+Not that you may exercise your individual taste in introducing ornaments
+into Handel or Bach--far from it; but the songs are written with the
+express intention that certain ornaments should be introduced in
+particular places, and the style (and in many cases the notes) of these
+ornaments has been accurately handed down to us; therefore, in learning
+this traditional manner of singing such music, the student is trained to
+a knowledge of the appropriate place for the introduction of
+ornamentation and "grace"--the appropriate character of such
+embellishments, and the appropriate opportunities for introducing them.
+For instance, most of Handel's songs commence with a movement which is
+intended to be repeated at the close of the song, the middle part being
+generally a movement in some relative key, which is not repeated. The
+traditional style of giving such songs is to reserve ornamentation for
+this repeated first part, and thus to avoid the effect of sameness which
+would result from adhering in the "repeat" to exactly the same rendering
+of the music with which the singer gave it at first. Such ornamentations
+were taken for granted by the composer, and it was only because of a
+tasteless abuse of this privilege of adornment on the part of foolish
+singers, an abuse which became an unbearable nuisance, that in after
+years Rossini adopted the plan of writing into his music florid passages
+which should supply the singer with ornaments which were good of their
+kind and which were put in in appropriate places, rather then trust his
+airs to the mercy of inartistic "decorators." Handel, and the composers
+of earlier times than Rossini, omitted the ornamentation, so as not to
+hamper the singer, for, as has been well said by an old writer on the
+subject: "The same execution that would from one singer afford pleasure,
+might from another excite disgust: the compositions of old masters have
+no written cadences to a repeated passage, for this very reason, no
+doubt. But it is understood, and indeed expected, that the singer of
+talent should display his own taste by the introduction of such fanciful
+and graceful ornaments as may be best calculated to exhibit his voice to
+advantage, and thereby heighten, instead of lessen, the effect of the
+composition."
+
+The same writer, in explaining the reason for the introduction of such
+ornaments and changes, goes on to remark: "In conversation, though we
+frequently repeat words and even sentences, in expressing any particular
+subject, yet we might as naturally expect to see a person laugh without
+a smile, as give such repetitions without some variation in voice and
+manner.
+
+"The first part of an air is often written to be repeated. In justice to
+the author, when that is the case, simplicity of style should be
+inviolably preserved; but, on repeating the strain, free scope may be
+given to the imagination, taking it for granted that no person would be
+vain enough to attempt the introduction of his own fanciful graces,
+unless sufficiently master of the science to feel the propriety of going
+so far and no farther."
+
+Perhaps I may make the meaning of all this clearer by giving a few
+specimens of these traditionally accepted adornments in repeated
+passages.
+
+[Music:_First time._
+
+    ri - mem - - bran - za, Puoi di nuo - vo, &c.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    ri - mem - bran - za, Puoi di nuo - vo, &c.]
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    dol - ce ri - mem - bran - za, &c.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    dol - ce ri - mem - bran - - za, &c.]
+
+[Music:_First time._
+
+    Puoi di nuo - vo, di nuo - vo av - ve - len
+    ar ................... mi.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    Puoi - di nuo - vo di nuo - vo av - ve - len
+    ar ................... mi.]
+
+The above are taken from a fine song by Cesti (1660), "_Tu mancavi a
+tormentarmi_."
+
+The following are the adornments taught in the Paris Conservatoire, as
+traditionally correct in the famous old song by Lotti, "_Pur dicesti_,"
+where, it will be observed, one simple phrase, which occurs so
+frequently that it would be monotonous if unadorned, is made to yield a
+charming variety to the song by some elegant change at each recurrence.
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    quel so - a - ve ... car - o ...... si]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    quel ... so - a - ve car ... o - si]
+
+[Music: _Third time._
+
+    quel ... so - a - ve car - o - si]
+
+[Music: _Fourth time._
+
+    quel ... so - a - - ve car - - o si]
+
+[Music:_First time._
+
+    pia - cer .................
+    ................. il mio pia - cer]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    pia - cer .................
+    ................. il mio pia - cer]
+
+The following are from Handel:
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    While re - sign'd to Heav'n ... a - bove]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    While re - sign'd to ...... Heav'n ........ a - bove
+
+                                (_Guardian Angels._)]
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    Trees where you sit, &c.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+     Trees where you sit, &c.
+
+                              (_Where'er you walk._)]
+
+And of course the list might be almost indefinitely prolonged. Certain
+of these ornaments, once highly popular, have wisely been allowed to
+drop, and that is why I lay stress upon the importance of _accepted
+traditions_. You may get hold of copies of many songs of this kind which
+have the names of great singers attached to them, and yet give
+variations of the text which have never been accepted or generally
+approved. The great Braham himself was a terrible offender sometimes in
+this respect. For instance, in singing "_Comfort ye_," instead of the
+passage
+
+[Music:
+
+    that her in - i - qui - ty is par - don - ed]
+
+he would sing thus:
+
+[Music:
+
+    that her in - i - qui - ty is par - don - ed.]
+
+And I have seen an old copy of "_Holy, holy_," in which the melody is so
+overlaid with little black notes, semi-quavers, demi-semi-quavers, and
+semi-demi-semi-quavers, that it is difficult to distinguish the notes of
+Handel's music at all! The admissible changes are all very slight, and
+any elaborate cadenza, or considerable addition, is pretty sure to be
+wrong. Final high notes are a frequent snare to aspiring singers; the
+traditions of the old school of oratorio singing are not in favour of
+them, and they generally vulgarize a song if introduced where the
+composer has not clearly opened a way for them. I have heard a tenor
+singer conclude the famous "_Thou shalt break them_," thus:
+
+[Music:
+
+    pot - - - - ter's ves - sel]
+
+and a soprano finish off "_He shall feed His flock_," thus:
+
+[Music:
+
+    ye shall find rest ........ un - to your souls.]
+
+--both of them pieces of vulgar display, bringing the personality of the
+singer before the audience instead of the beauty of the music, the sense
+of the words, or the merit of the composer. No such abominations are
+permissible in good oratorio singing, the rule of which is utter
+submission to the composer's intentions, and a conscientious endeavour
+to interpret his mind clearly to the audience; a pure and chaste
+delivery of words and music alike; a sustained excellence throughout,
+avoiding an attempt to astonish by bursts of power or brilliancy; and an
+entire absence of all claptrap or vulgarities to please "the gallery."
+
+
+=Opera.=--A great deal of what has been said about oratorio singing
+applies also to operatic singing. But I strongly advise you against
+attempting opera music until you have studied the more severe and solid
+style of the oratorio. The declamatory passages in opera are doubtless
+more brilliantly impassioned, just as the florid airs are more
+startlingly elaborate, than in oratorio, and the recitatives less
+stately and sustained; but the style of good opera singing is only to be
+founded upon good oratorio study (or its equivalent), inasmuch as it
+was out of the oratorio that the opera grew. Operatic singing allows
+more license to the singer than does oratorio; but the singer should
+have been taught first by the severer style not to misuse that license.
+At the same time when (as is not infrequent in operas of a certain kind)
+the composer has introduced airs for the express purpose of showing off
+a singer's voice, a well-trained singer may be accepted as interpreting
+the composer's intention rightly, when he or she elaborates _fioriture_
+far beyond the limits of which any hint appears in the score.
+
+Even here, however, traditional usage must have its weight: cadenzas
+must be strictly in character, and only introduced in songs to which
+such passages are appropriate. I once heard a florid cadenza
+interpolated at the close of "_Spirto Gentil_," by an aspiring young
+tenor, too full of conceit and "modern" ideas to take a hint from
+Mario's marvellous rendering of that song.
+
+And it must be borne in mind that it is only in operas of the Bellini,
+Donizetti, and early Rossini and Verdi school that such extreme license
+is granted. No such tricks can be played with the operas of Mozart,
+Glück, Weber, or Meyerbeer, or with the later works of Rossini and
+Verdi, while the notion of altering a note, or omitting even a
+demi-semi-quaver rest, in those of Wagner, would be, to his admirers,
+flat heresy. In reality, the style of singing opera music is easily
+acquired by any one who is sufficiently advanced to be fit to attempt
+opera music at all. There are certain niceties to be acquired, and
+endless beauties of variety in the rendering of even small passages; but
+these things cannot be taught on paper.
+
+
+=Ballads.=--There is no greater mistake than to suppose that "any one can
+sing a simple ballad." Good ballad singing is one of the rarest
+accomplishments, and demands qualities in the singer which _may_ be
+wanting even in a person who can sing well both in opera and oratorio.
+To suppose that an untaught singer can do justice to any ballad that is
+worth the trouble of singing at all, is simply a mark of ignorance on
+the whole subject of singing.
+
+Ballads do not always require power or compass of voice, it is true, nor
+do they tax the singer on the score of flexibility or physical strength;
+but they are the severest test of enunciation, _mezzo-voce_ singing,
+neatness and readiness in producing tones of any gradation, and perfect
+control over the voice.
+
+To sing a ballad well demands a really cultivated taste, a certain
+dramatic power, suppressed it is true, but influencing the whole
+delivery; a sympathetic voice, and a manner which will enlist the
+interest and sympathy of the audience. Ballad singing is neither
+declamation nor recitative: there is no chance of surprising or
+astonishing your audience; but you _must_ contrive to please them, you
+must _touch_ them somehow; and, for an ordinary person in the costume of
+the nineteenth century, to "touch" others of the same species is not
+easy. Sometimes, no doubt, the words of a good song are in themselves so
+touching and charming that, so long as the music be not positively
+hideous or destructive of the sense of the words, the singer has only to
+let them be clearly heard, and the battle is won; but more frequently he
+has to trick his audience into interest in a song where the words in
+themselves are either hopelessly silly, or too obscure in sense for
+their full meaning to appear at a first hearing or reading. All that he
+can then do is to deliver it in such a way that they shall feel that
+there _is_ a meaning to it all, though they have not fully caught it
+yet, and so they may wish to hear it again. I do not, of course, mean
+any allusion to the ridiculous fashion of _encores_, but simply that the
+feeling at the end of such a song should be one of liking it
+sufficiently to wish to understand it entirely.
+
+Many songs would tell their own tale and produce their own effect well
+enough, if the singer would let them, and therefore the ballad singer
+must only be sufficiently self-conscious to keep himself out of the way.
+However good his singing, however original his reading of the song,
+_while he is singing_ it should all go to the credit of the song, and
+the hearers be charmed into forgetting _him_ till he is silent.
+
+
+=Recitative.=--Good recitative singing is of great importance, and
+requires careful attention and study. Recitative is midway between
+speaking and singing; it is a sort of modulated intoning, that is, that
+in delivering it the note and the word that belongs to it should be
+given with equal intention, and appear to belong to each other so
+completely that the musical sound should seem to be the natural
+intonation which the reciter would give to the word. Recitative is (_or
+was_) practically an attempt to express, in musical notation, the
+inflexions of the human voice in speaking; and how accurately, in some
+cases, musical notation can do this, will be seen at a glance by the
+following illustration:
+
+[Music:
+
+    Who   are you?]
+
+[Music:
+
+      Who are you?]
+
+[Music:
+
+    Who   are you?]
+
+--where the question is asked in the same words, but the musical notes
+express clearly three different sentiments, or degrees of sentiment.
+This should be taken into consideration by the student; and he should
+strive to give his recitative with as natural a delivery as he can,
+placing himself mentally in the position of a dramatic reciter.
+
+Steadiness of tone, clearness of enunciating consonants, and full round
+delivery of vowel-sounds are indispensable to good recitative singing.
+Every note must be distinct, and not the faintest suspicion of a "slur"
+or _portamento_ can be allowed.
+
+Recitative singing is not a thing which a student should try to teach
+himself, as he may not only waste his time, but gain notions which are
+erroneous and difficult to cure. For instance, take the recitatives in
+"_The Messiah_," as these are printed for the British public. Nothing
+could be more ludicrous than for a singer to appear in public and sing
+the recitatives faithfully as printed in the editions of this oratorio
+which are continually being disseminated throughout the land. Handel,
+let it be borne in mind, was _not_ well acquainted with the English
+language; and though he may have written good music, he was often very
+far from reaching good literary sense. Thus, as regards this latter,
+this specimen passage occurs in Handel's "_Acis and Galatea_,"
+
+[Music:
+
+    Where shall I seek the charm-ing fair?]
+
+Yet no one in his senses would think of rendering it other than
+
+[Music:
+
+    Where shall I seek the charm-ing fair?]
+
+inasmuch as there is some doubt of the chord 6/4 which forms the grace
+note being Handel's music, and because the sense of the words demands
+that no break shall be made between the words _seek_ and _the_. As
+Handel failed in his English, it is surely allowable to make good his
+deficiencies in this respect.
+
+The following paragraphs relate to certain minor details of style in
+singing, and apply to singing of every kind. They must be taken in
+conjunction with much that has already been said under the head of
+"Practice."
+
+
+=Slurring.=--Slurring up to a note is a very disagreeable and common evil
+to be guarded against. It matters not how far distant the note to be
+sung may be from the preceding tone; it should be attacked fearlessly
+and cheerfully, but _with an open throat_. The note to be attacked must
+not be prepared in the throat. The course should be this. The tone of
+the preceding note must not be moved, but the one required--say a very
+high one--must be obtained by the joint process of lowering the larynx,
+of sounding the note from exactly the same spot as the lower note, in a
+soft but fine tone, and thirdly, by getting such a ring in the note as
+it can only have in conjunction with the feeling that while the root or
+foundation of the note is in the chest, yet it owes much of its
+penetrating character and power to a sort of reflecting power which is
+given it from the extreme end of the spine bone, where it joins the
+head. Certainly no high note is properly _produced_, nor to be relied
+upon for a _crescendo_, unless the student has this feeling that it
+springs from the back of the neck; and, in rising to an upper note, the
+aim should be not at length to approach the upper note from beneath, as
+it were, but to "come down" upon it--to strike it from _above_ instead
+of from below.
+
+
+=Sentiment.=--Always try to convey the sentiment of what you may be
+singing through the tone of the voice. Love and anger cannot both be
+expressed with the same quality of voice. For the former, a delicate
+light tone well on the lips is desirable, while for the latter the voice
+should be produced lower in the stomach; yet the tone should still be
+kept on the lips; its character should be "darker," more round, and
+sonorous. "'_Tis this that racks my brain_": such words as these should
+never be sung in the same character of voice as "_Waft her, angels, to
+the skies_." It is good practice to take any piece and sing the melody
+on an open vowel throughout, with the object of showing the meaning of
+the song without the aid of words. Then, when this can be done, the
+words may be employed, and the result will be doubly happy.
+
+
+=Decision.=--Indecision is a very serious fault in singing. Do well and
+thoroughly whatever you decide upon attempting. If you have a _staccato_
+passage to sing, render it firmly in that style; if you have one that is
+_legato_, take care that this character is _strongly_ seen from your
+rendering. When you "slur," make it strong enough to be felt. If you
+bend as it were from one note to another, let your intention to do so be
+clearly apparent. Let a _forte_ passage be loud, and let a _piano_ one
+be really soft. Any half measures in singing are fatal. Precision and
+certainty are qualities which the student must always aim at attaining.
+Without them, singing becomes tame and unattractive, not to say
+tiresome.
+
+
+=Imitation.=--Imitation, which in many other arts becomes plagiary, in
+singing is most desirable; for singing, more than any other art, rests
+on tradition; there is even very little doubt that the peculiar charm
+and quality of a true tenor voice (for instance) is more due to
+imitation in a singer than to nature; that is to say, that it is the
+result of a transmitted culture--such imitation being the only means in
+which singers can reap the harvest of the experience of the great
+singers now to be heard no more, who have left their imitators to pass
+on to others what they themselves obtained by imitating and improving on
+_their_ predecessors. Therefore do not be afraid of being set down as a
+mere copyist, if you study and attempt to imitate the style of the best
+living singers. You will always have enough of your own merit or defect
+to distinguish your performance, if you are really a conscientious
+student, and you may learn a great deal by listening to the best public
+singers which can be taught you in no other way. Watch their stage
+deportment; their treatment of the weaker parts of their voices; their
+method of breathing; their manner towards the public;--in fact, every
+point which occurs to you,--and make some use of what you see and hear
+in your own studies.
+
+
+=Public Singing.=--If you have to sing in public, remember always to
+take a rapid but searching glance round your stage. This is a great
+point gained. As you step on to "the boards," notice (unobserved)
+the dimensions of the stage (if it happens to be new to you). Note
+the height of its ceiling, its surroundings, its draperies, its
+distance from your farthest auditor; then take up your position
+accordingly--bearing in mind that all your tone is wanted by your
+listeners, which requirement can never be met unless you yourself take
+the precaution to prevent the sound being held or carried back by the
+stage decorations. In a concert _salon_ or theatre, then, do not forget
+to get well to the front of the platform. At the same time you must not
+be _too_ close upon your stall occupants, or you may give them the very
+undesirable impression that at any moment you may fall over.
+
+
+="Holding" an Audience.=--The singer should carefully watch an audience so
+as to gauge its attention and sympathies. If it seems impatient,
+restless, and indifferent, the singer may be quite sure that he or she
+is exciting no interest. The best course then for one to do is to
+immediately change the style, alter the tone, give forth his or her best
+energies, and use every effort to become ingratiated into the good
+favour of the listeners. If such effects as these fail constantly in
+their turn, then the aspirant for vocal fame should give up, and devote
+both time and attention to further study, or to some other means of a
+livelihood; for a future great singer will not be failing constantly,
+and to be only a second-rate singer while there are so many is a thing
+_not_ to be devoutly desired.
+
+
+=Mistakes in Public.=--If you make a mistake in singing, do not add to the
+mischief by allowing it to alarm or disconcert you. Proceed onward as if
+nothing had happened. You may be quite sure that each one of your
+audience will not have detected the slip, for they cannot _all_ be
+critics. But bear in mind that such confidence as your adviser here
+suggests is not to be too often called into requisition. No great artist
+will ever make a serious mistake in public. How much more careful then
+should the young student be!
+
+
+
+
+ON TIME IN SINGING.
+
+
+I need perhaps scarcely remind my readers who are or who wish to be
+singers that _time_ concerns them quite as much as the conductor, the
+pianist, the violinist--in short, the whole orchestra. It behoves the
+student in singing to give early and careful attention to this important
+feature in his artistic training. You may have the voice of a Rubini,
+you may be a second Tamburini in quality and extent of voice, but unless
+you can sing in time yourself, and are able to do so with others, and
+with the counter-acting influences of an orchestra, you can never hope
+to rise in your profession. It may be argued that you have no desire to
+lay yourself out for a career on the lyric stage. Then, however, you
+shut yourself out from some of the largest prizes in the profession;
+beyond which there comes the question of oratorio business, and the
+growing taste for band accompaniments to songs. And if you restrict your
+ambition to a pianoforte accompaniment, time is needed even with that in
+order to produce anything like a satisfactory rendering of the piece you
+may be singing. The accompanyist may be a Sir Julius Benedict, or a
+Signor Randegger (than whom there is no better in this country, so
+neglected has this species of musical art-work become); but a perfect
+rendering depends not so much upon the pianist as the vocalist. If the
+singer flounders about with neither "rhyme nor reason," it is scarcely
+reasonable to expect the accompanyist, clever as he may be, to be always
+at his heels, like a cat after a mouse. I would therefore advise the
+student to invest his money in a Metronome--the most useful thing with
+which he could provide himself. They are not dear, bearing in mind their
+utility, and one will, I am sure, save the student much time and many a
+_fiasco_. Learn the working of this useful machine, and practise all
+your exercises with it. If you go to a good singing master, you should
+ask him to time your exercises to the pace at which you should sing
+them, and in this way you will not only be growing in a good habit, but
+your singing will be characterized by a crispness and a certainty of
+attack, which will be apparent to all musicians and amateurs with good
+taste. Your singing master will, no doubt, impress upon you the
+necessity of singing your songs in time, and especially of slightly
+accenting the first and third beats in the bar if it is common time, the
+first and fourth beats when it is compound common or 6/8 time, and the
+first beat when it is triple or 3/4 time. In this way there will be
+meaning given to your singing, and those who may be accompanying you
+will be able to feel where you are, and to keep time with you. In
+singing a passage like this from Cowen's charming song "Aubade,"--the
+master, if he knew his business, would instruct his pupil to slightly
+accent the words as I have indicated with the mark =V=, and to preserve
+_strict_ time throughout the passage, and especially in the taking up of
+the words after the long note on the word _sleep_. The accompanyist
+would, we may assume, do likewise with his pianoforte part, and in this
+way a perfect _ensemble_ would be secured.
+
+[Music:
+
+    Sleep, love, sleep,
+    the morn is wak - - ing,]
+
+With this brief introduction to the subject, I will proceed to give the
+student a few exercises in keeping and beating time, the assiduous
+practice of which will, I hope, soon place him in the desirable position
+of being able to sing in time.
+
+[Music: Ex. 1.
+
+Four beats in a bar.
+
+    Do Re Mi Fa Sol
+
+    La Si Do Do Si
+
+    La Sol Fa Mi Re Do]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2.
+
+    Do Do Re Re Mi Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 3.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 4.
+
+    Do Do Do Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5.
+
+    Do Do Re Re Mi Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7.
+
+    Do Do Do Re Re Re Mi Mi Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 9.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 10.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 11.
+
+     Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Mi &c.]
+
+These exercises may be timed as slow as you like on your metronome--the
+slower the better--but 76 is a good pace to begin with; when you have
+thoroughly mastered them at 76, take them a little quicker until you can
+sing them accurately up to a good brisk time.
+
+No 1 has but one note in the bar, and this must be held on steadily for
+four beats of the metronome--care being taken to leave each note in
+sufficient time to take a fresh breath, and attack the second note and
+syllable in precise time with the metronome beat. I need, perhaps,
+scarcely point out that much good will be obtained if the student can
+accustom himself to _feeling_ in his mind the rhythm and beating, so as
+not to acquire the habit of trusting to mechanical appliances, which are
+dispensed with at public performances. The sol-fa-ing must be strictly
+adhered to, and in Exercises 2, 3, etc., it will be seen that the
+syllable must be sounded twice and four times respectively. With
+Exercise 5 the dotted note comes in; but I will not stay to explain
+that, as I assume that my readers will have acquainted themselves with
+the elements of musical theory before taking up singing. Especial care
+should be given to Exercise 7, as that is the first step in the
+difficult matter of syncopation, carried out elaborately in Exercises 8
+and 9. With Exercise 11 the question of Rests comes in, but the same
+remark that I made as to the dotted notes applies here. Everything that
+it is necessary to know about them should be found in any elementary
+musical grammar.
+
+Having mastered the above exercises, the reader may take the following
+with two beats in the bar--taking the precaution to set them at a slow
+time on the metronome, say 76, not singing them quickly until he is
+thoroughly acquainted with them.
+
+[Music: Ex. 1. Two beats to a bar.
+
+    Do Do Re Re Mi Mi Fa Fa Sol Sol
+    La La Si Si Do Do Do Si Si
+    La La Sol Sol Fa Fa Mi Mi Re Re Do]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2.
+
+    Do Re Mi Fa Sol La
+    Si Do Do Do Si Si &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 3.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 4.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7.
+
+    Do Re Mi Fa Sol &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8.]
+
+After which he may take the following with three beats in the bar:--
+
+[Music: Ex. 1.
+
+Three beats in a bar.
+
+    1 2 3
+    Do    Re Mi Fa Sol
+    La    Si Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 3.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 4.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 9.]
+
+
+
+
+ON THE CHOICE OF MUSIC.
+
+    There are, of course, no _rules_ to be given to guide the student
+    in the choice of music, except the general ones, to choose good
+    music, pleasing music, and music suited to his voice and powers.
+    But those general rules touch incidentally on a few points on which
+    it may be well to offer a few remarks.
+
+
+=Music must suit the Voice.=--Your music must not only be appropriate for
+your voice in compass, but it must be such as has been written for a
+voice of your kind. This is a most important thing to remember. Nothing
+is more provoking to a person of good taste and musical knowledge than
+to hear songs composed for a voice of one class sung by a voice of a
+totally different character; and yet this is a vice which even good
+artists will sometimes weakly succumb to. The popular song of Gounod's,
+"_Quand tu chantes berçée_," for instance, has been sung to death by
+many soprani and contralti, in various keys. One would have thought that
+the words alone would have shown them the utter absurdity of what they
+were doing; but no, for the sake of producing an effect (upon an
+audience who naturally supposed that public singers of high standing
+knew what they were doing, and why they did it), these good ladies
+committed what I do not scruple to call a vulgar and inartistic blunder.
+The song is a man's song, and no woman should attempt it.
+
+This fault is one which amateurs are very apt to fall into, and a long
+list might be made of songs which have suffered this unfair treatment.
+Soprani sing tenor songs--(I have often, in the early days of the
+popularity of "_Il Trovatore_," heard a soprano sing "_Ah, che la
+Morte!_"--tenors, those written for soprano--(_e.g._, I know an amateur
+tenor whose "crack" song is Iphis' "Farewell" in "_Jephtha_"). Contralti
+and mezzo-soprani steal bass and barytone songs, as "But who may abide,"
+from the "_Messiah_," and basses and barytones return the compliment by
+appropriating "What tho' I trace," or "O rest in the Lord.")
+
+There is a reason, quite apart from the question of taste, which renders
+this practice objectionable. A composer of any skill writes his
+accompaniment as well as his melody with reference to the voice which he
+wishes to sing it. Now, if that voice be--we will say--a soprano, the
+accompaniment will be written for a voice of that _pitch_, as well as of
+that character and compass; the progressions of harmony will be written
+with due regard to the actual place of the vocal notes in the scale. But
+directly the song is sung by a tenor--a voice which pitches every note
+an octave lower than the soprano--the relation of the vocal notes to the
+accompaniment is changed; notes that were intended to be fourths above
+the accompaniment will become fifths below, and progressions which were
+correct in the composer's intention become wrong in the effect produced
+by the singer. That is an extreme case, I grant, but it is only a fair
+instance of the sort of result which follows on such changes, and it is
+sufficient to show that the rule rests on reason and not caprice.
+
+
+"=Original Keys.="--Do not bind yourself, as some think it necessary to
+do, always to sing your songs in the original keys. Remember that opera
+and oratorio music, and a large number of modern "ballads," were
+composed for performance in large buildings, theatres, and
+concert-rooms. The keys, therefore, were chosen with due reference to
+that fact, and to the (in many cases) exceptional voices of the singers.
+The raising of the pitch in later years also affects the question.
+
+Now, if you have to sing in a drawing-room, the pitch, volume of tone,
+and style of delivery must be appropriate to chamber music, and not to
+the stage of Covent Garden, and the keys which are necessary for due
+brilliancy and effect in a concert-room are frequently unsuited to a
+drawing-room, giving an appearance of strain and noisiness to the
+singing. A good deal of opera music is as unfit for singing in a
+drawing-room as would be a grand symphony for performance there; and an
+artistic singer should bear in mind this principle of fitness in his
+selection.
+
+At the same time, if it is considered desirable to transpose a song, let
+it be only for that reason, and let the aim be to produce the same
+effect, _relatively_, in the drawing-room, as the song in its original
+key is intended to produce in the concert-room. Do not transpose
+recklessly, merely to "suit your voice:" if you are a barytone, for
+instance, do not sing tenor songs a few notes lower; or, if you are a
+soprano, do not transpose contralto songs to suit your register. For the
+_character_ of the music (if the music is good) suits the voice for
+which it was intended, and there is a risk of destroying that character
+by giving it to a voice of another kind. This has been proved over and
+over again on the stage in several notable instances.
+
+
+=Execution.=--Do not be too ambitious in selecting florid songs for
+performance either in public or private. "Fireworks" in a drawing-room
+rarely please, while in a concert-room they must be very perfect and
+first-rate in execution to do so. Of course, if you are a professional
+artist you must include such work in your studies, and even for the
+amateur the practice of florid music, under a master, is most desirable
+as an exercise. But where the choice of a song for a concert rests with
+yourself, sacrifice ambition to prudence, unless your voice is naturally
+a very flexible one, and your training in that style of music very
+complete. I give, on this subject, a quotation from an old and
+experienced writer on music and singing:
+
+"Execution is certainly one of the most difficult parts of musical
+science. Young singers are desirous of attaining it without reflecting
+whether, from the formation of the throat and various physical causes,
+they may ever be able to accomplish their wishes. Few, indeed, possess
+the power of execution in a pre-eminent degree. It is in part a gift of
+nature: those who have ever delighted as well as astonished us by their
+rapid manner of running through divisions must have been naturally
+endowed with flexible organs.
+
+"... Some voices may be compared to gems which in their original state
+are dull, and, to those unacquainted with their worth, of no value....
+It frequently happens that singers, from timidity or want of proper
+knowledge in exercising their voices, remain ignorant of their own
+qualifications. The hinges of a door which have continued for years
+undisturbed, will, when the door is re-opened, grate harshly on the ear;
+but every effort renders the harshness more tolerable, until, from
+frequent use, they move easily. Thus it is with the voice: on the
+flexibility of the _uvula_ and the muscles connected with it depend both
+the perfectibility of the shake and execution. But still it must be
+acknowledged that acquired execution should never be exercised by the
+side of nature otherwise than sparingly, even where necessity requires
+it, for the latter possesses an easy velocity which can playfully sport
+with its subject at will; but, however gratifying the power of execution
+may be considered by those who possess it, I recommend them not to be
+indiscriminately lavish, lest they cloy by too great a profusion, and,
+as Voltaire remarks, 'shine in trills and divisions, at the expense of
+poetry and good sense.'"
+
+
+=Fashion.=--The songs which are "the rage" at any time are always great
+snares for amateurs. Aspiring young singers hear a ballad charmingly
+rendered by some great singer, and straightway go home, send for it, and
+on the first available opportunity treat their friends to their version
+of it. This is really unfair to themselves, as it throws them into
+unwise contrast with the public singer who has made the song popular,
+and whose well-known rendering of it forbids ordinary hearers to judge
+the rendering of an amateur on its own merits, or by any rule but that
+of comparison. Moreover, "popular" songs--I mean songs whose popularity
+is largely due to their having been sung by favourite public
+singers--are by no means always good in themselves; or, if fairly good,
+by no means easy; or if good and not difficult, by no means always
+sufficiently so to make it worth while for an amateur to spend time and
+study on them. In very many cases the public singer has to sing these
+songs because he is paid for doing so, and gets a "royalty" on every
+copy sold; it is simply one development of the hydra-headed art of
+advertising, and such productions are known by the vulgar name of
+"pot-boilers," _i.e._, compositions hastily thrown off to bring in a
+little money "_to keep the pot boiling_." If composers who are capable
+of better things are reduced to making money in this way, we may be
+sincerely sorry for them; but speaking from an artistic point of view,
+the practice is reprehensible, and "pot-boilers" are not the kind of
+music which a young singer, anxious to improve, should waste time or
+money upon. I am far from saying that there are no good songs to be
+found among new music, but I think they seldom lie on the top of the
+pile.
+
+
+=Forming a Repertoire.=--In gradually forming your _repertoire_, or
+collection of properly studied songs for drawing-room or concert
+singing, do not be in haste to make it a large one. It is better to know
+only a few songs and do them really well, than to sing a large number
+indifferently. If you are studying for the profession, there is a
+considerable number of songs which you will be expected to know as a
+matter of course, but over and above such, every singer should have a
+special repertoire of his or her own, and it is of this that I now
+speak. Your selection of songs, like your singing, should have the stamp
+of your own individuality upon it. You should have a little stock of
+songs, with which your singing is in a way identified, and which you
+must be able to sing in a manner that at once stamps those songs as your
+property, so that another person might say, "I could not sing that song
+before you, it is one of your own."
+
+To form such a repertoire, you may have to go a little out of the beaten
+track of what is best known at the time. If opera music suits you best,
+look at the operas, never performed now, of Glück, or the less known of
+Mozart's, or earlier works of Rossini, Auber, &c.; or else try and get
+hold of works not yet known in England, such as Macfarren's, Wallace's,
+Purcell's, and a few other such native dramatic composers. In a word, do
+not limit your notions of operatic music to what you hear year after
+year at Covent Garden or Her Majesty's.
+
+So, too, in oratorio: search in the less familiar oratorios of Handel,
+and such of his operas as you can get access to, and carry the same idea
+out in examining the works of other composers, ancient and modern. Good
+work has been done of late years by various publishers in publishing
+many works of this class, and there are plenty of these which are still
+unfamiliar and unhackneyed.
+
+The same with your songs and ballads: before you rush into the modern
+fashionable ballad, see if you cannot find a few that you can
+appropriate among the stores of old English music, or the detached songs
+of old Italian masters (many of which are magnificent as songs, and
+utterly unknown at present, except to the few).
+
+
+
+
+PHYSIOLOGICAL SURROUNDINGS.
+
+
+It is highly expedient that singers themselves, and intending students
+of the art, should make some acquaintance with the physiological
+surroundings which are brought into play in the process of voice
+production. A knowledge of the technical terms for the various organs
+directly involved is very essential, and the intelligent student will
+see the necessity not only for distinguishing such names as "larynx" and
+"diaphragm," but also of possessing some idea of their whereabouts in
+the human frame. No better course could be adopted for the acquirement
+of such a knowledge than attendance at the classes and lectures at the
+musical colleges and other institutions, which, from time to time,
+secure the assistance of qualified specialists to speak upon this very
+important branch of the singing art. No other mode of teaching is so
+well calculated to enlighten the uninitiated in the wondrous mechanism
+of the human voice, and to inspire him or her with an adequate sense of
+the watchful care and delicate treatment which a voice worthy of
+systematic training demands, as well as deserves, at the hands of
+students of both sexes. As a preliminary to a fuller inquiry into the
+subject, the following few notes may be fixed upon the mind:--
+
+
+=The Larynx= (+larynx+) constitutes the upper part of the wind-pipe. It
+is the seat of the voice, and essential parts of it are the "vocal
+cords" (_chordæ vocales_), two membranes in a horizontal position across
+the larynx. It is popularly called "Adam's apple" (_pomum Adami_), the
+protuberance so often recognizable in the throats of bass singers, but a
+more correct use of "_pomum Adami_" is when it is applied to a
+projection in the thyroid cartilage--a part of the laryngeal structure.
+
+=The Thyroid= (from +Thyreos+) is a shield-shaped cartilage, and that
+part of the larynx which, in the case of both sexes, develops suddenly
+at the period when they pass from youth to mature age. Other important
+cartilages are the cricoid (from +krikos+), a ring-shaped membrane; the
+arytenoids (from +harytaina+ a pitcher); the epiglottis (+epi-glôtta+),
+situated at the back of the mouth; and the cartilages of Santorini, or
+_cornicula laryngis_.
+
+The trachea, or wind-pipe, is capable of rising or falling, and thus is
+produced the perceptible movement of the larynx in the throat when
+speaking or singing. It is by lowering the larynx, and so commanding an
+expansion of the throat that the best tone is possible in the voice, and
+it is this open throat production which some teachers are aiming at when
+they charge their pupils to "sing from the chest." A more sensible
+request would be to "lower the larynx," since such a lowering of this
+organ places the throat in the most favourable position for emitting
+sound; as well as for enabling the lungs, or wind-chests, to act most
+advantageously upon the true vocal cords. Moreover, this lowered larynx
+production leads to the best results from the vocal cords themselves.
+The natural tendency is to sing as we talk, a process which involves a
+demand upon the upper fringes of the vocal ligaments only, but no
+long-sustained singing could be maintained by this means, nor does it
+requisition any art-knowledge or principle. Directly, however, we begin
+to utilize the lower edge of the vocal cords, we are verging upon the
+art of _producing_ the voice; _i.e._, creating a something which will
+not manifest itself without the first application of some art
+principles. Here lies the whole secret of singing, _viz._, the
+utilization of the lower portions of the membranous folds popularly
+called the "vocal cords," instead of working merely their topmost
+fringes, as do the innumerable tenors who sing "throaty," and as we all
+do up to a certain point, in the ordinary process of speaking. The
+singing voice and the speaking voice are two totally different
+productions, the former never to be acquired except at the hands of a
+capable master, who, himself, has been properly taught the principles of
+voice production.
+
+The lungs, or bellows, or air-chambers lie, as is well known, on each
+side of the chest, resting upon the diaphragm, and performing a very
+important function in singing. They supply the air which acts upon the
+vocal cords, and in true singing are the first organs for consideration
+by a vocalist, since so much depends upon the way the wind, or breath,
+is brought to bear upon the vocal cords. For this reason the abdominal
+method of breathing--the filling of the lungs from their bases--becomes
+the best method for inspiring the breath in singing. Doubtless, in
+breathing, the lungs are replenished from above downwards, but it
+requires something of the sensation of these air-supplying substances
+being filled from their bases in order to requisition the full help of
+the diaphragm, a great muscle which separates the lungs from the
+abdomen, and which may be called the fundamental basis on which all
+voice production rests.
+
+The Pharynx (+pharynx+) is situated behind the mouth, between the tongue
+and the arch forming the circumference of the palate. Its province is to
+reflect the voice on its issue from the glottis. It is an elastic
+aperture, and may be well styled the reflecting organ of singing. It can
+take various forms, and bears a great part in giving character to the
+sounds originated in the larynx.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_The Voice--a Wind, Reed, or String Instrument?_ Much discussion has
+spent itself in settling the question of "family" to which the vocal
+instrument properly belongs. The vocal chords are known to be composed
+of a yellow elastic fibrous tissue in their anterior parts, the
+posterior portions consisting of a tougher muscle or cartilage. Many
+maintain them to belong to the "string" family, since the sounds
+generated are produced as on a violin--the higher notes by increased
+tension, the lower tones by a reduction of the strain. In this process,
+the muscle, popularly known as the epiglottis-cushion--a fat mucous
+membrane--presses on to the vocal cords, modifying their vibrating
+length. Thus, in an extreme high note, the cushion presses intensely
+upon the cords, considerably shortening their one inch length. In
+reverting to a low note, this tension becomes withdrawn, and the whole
+length of cord is at play to produce its lowest tones. An unfortunate
+objection to this theory--that the vocal cords can be styled a stringed
+instrument, is the fact that no string of the small extent of the vocal
+cords could be capable of sounding either so many, or such low notes;
+moreover, the mathematical treatment of their vibrations, as governed by
+the tension, is not correct, as they are in the case of a violin. It is
+a useful theory, and method of reasoning, however, for those teachers of
+singing who maintain that to get high notes, a light and thin style of
+singing, and the use of the upper fringe of the vocal cords (the
+production point), is preferable, in contradistinction to those who
+declare that no really good chest note with any telling power worth
+considering is possible, unless the vocalist sings deep in his chest and
+gains the idea, as he goes for his note, of requisitioning with all
+effort the lowest depth in the cord. Surely this point presents the
+greatest difficulty for singers with whom compass, especially at the top
+of the voice, is an imperative necessity, albeit that people go on
+talking to the contrary; and it is a matter which needs settling among
+voice specialists and singing masters. We are told, and it is generally
+known, that the tension of the epiglottis-cushion produces a higher note
+just as the shifting of the finger on the violin string affects its
+tone--a process which may produce falsetto sounds, but which surely is
+not the basis upon which great Italian singers of the Mongini and
+Tamberlik type secured the great chest Cs, which, with their resonance
+and brilliancy, were wont to make our opera houses ring again. Is it not
+a fact that in voices of this calibre, as well as in those trained on
+what is known as the broad lines of the true Italian production, the
+whole surfaces of the vocal cords become more or less requisitioned, and
+that they vibrate the whole of their length and breadth, not merely the
+sides, rather than that any upper portion is mainly utilized while the
+lower parts are resting? The answer to this question would seem to
+indicate that the human voice is of the nature of a reed instrument.
+These membraneous organs, which we term vocal cords, are such that their
+whole surfaces must vibrate when brought into contact with a current of
+air from the lungs. The voice reed, in fact, vibrates freely backwards
+and forwards, and so corresponds with what are known as "free," not
+"beating" reeds--such as are found in concertinas, and the like.
+
+That the voice is something of an organ pipe (a flue pipe) is an
+illusion only indulged in by writers and teachers prone to descriptive
+language, which they do not stay to inquire into, either for their own
+edification or for the enlightenment of other people. There is
+absolutely nothing to maintain such an idea.
+
+It is important that the nature of the _matériel_ of the vocal cords
+should become widely known, since such a knowledge, elementary as it
+might be, would, at the outset, enable students to get at once upon the
+right road to singing. To grasp the idea that the initial
+sound-producing means are these bits of semi-lunar membranes, acted upon
+by the breath from the lungs, and that they vibrate violently or orderly
+in proportion to the care with which the breath is brought to bear upon
+them, is to master the first great difficulty in singing. This once
+grasped, it is not hard to realize that the sound emitted is moulded and
+shaped, modified and beautified by other organs of the laryngeal machine
+and its surroundings, as well as by such variable conditions as the
+state of the human frame generally, and the particular condition of
+those organs of the body most directly concerned in supporting the work
+of the larynx may happen to be in. It will save the student much time
+if, before he (or she) begins to study singing, some first acquaintance
+be formed with the physiological surroundings of the human voice, and it
+is worse than useless to go to a master who teaches singing in blind
+ignorance of, and doubtless contempt for, these physiological
+principles. The student who has familiarized himself with the structure
+of the vocal organs will have made a much more intelligent progress in
+his art than the one who has not, and will be competent none the less
+readily to understand the instruction of a qualified master than to
+detect the shameful pretence and humbug of the quack.
+
+
+=Board Teachers' Laryngitis--Clergyman's Sore Throat--Throat Exhaustion,
+etc.=--Among the greatest evils of this competitive teaching age is the
+mischief arising from the constant and at the same time injurious use of
+the voice. All who use the voice constantly must learn how to breathe,
+and _produce_ the voice. Failing that, serious mischief, which even the
+specialist of throat hospitals cannot cope with, must inevitably follow.
+The only advice that can be given here is, immediately that voice
+exhaustion sets in, to consult not _a doctor_, but a throat or voice
+specialist. The best institution in the world for throat troubles is the
+Throat Hospital, Golden Square, London, W.
+
+
+
+
+EXERCISES.
+
+
+This first exercise is a most useful one in the uniting of notes and in
+gaining facility. The student should at first practise it very slowly,
+mastering four bars at a time. Although I have divided it into fifteen
+examples, it is really but one exercise, with a minim rest between each
+phrase of four bars; and it is in this example form that I wish the
+student ultimately to sing it with the metronome, at say 76, taking
+breath _only_ at the rest-mark, and making the _crescendo_--not, be it
+observed, by forcing the tone and breath, but by a gradual pressing down
+of the breath.[2]
+
+[2] The Exercise should be a crescendo from piano to forte.
+
+[Music: Ex. 1.]
+
+[Music: A.]
+
+[Music: B.]
+
+[Music: C.]
+
+[Music: D.]
+
+[Music: E.]
+
+[Music: F.]
+
+[Music: G.]
+
+[Music: H.]
+
+[Music: I.]
+
+[Music: J.]
+
+[Music: K.]
+
+[Music: L.]
+
+[Music: M.]
+
+[Music: N.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2 NAVA.]
+
+[Music]
+
+Exercise 2 is a further one for the practice of joining notes with the
+aid of the breath, without the least resemblance to a jerk with either
+the sound or the breath. To sing the exercise with advantage requires a
+very careful management of the respiratory organs, and its continuous
+practice is one of the best means of managing the breath. Having
+inspired the breath after the manner already indicated herein, proceed
+to sound the note F in a thin but firm and steady tone, which you must
+gradually swell, by pressing down the breath, as it were, into the
+following note G, which you will continue to hold steadily by keeping
+down the breath as long as you can. Though you raise your tone of voice
+in passing from F to G, you must dispel from your mind all notions of
+raising your breath or your _larynx_; it is just the reverse; you must
+lower these. Remember a golden rule--the higher your note the lower must
+it be generated in your chest, and your breath must be under the note
+supporting it, or there cannot possibly be any tone there. On reaching
+the highest limit of this exercise, the student will repeat the same
+operation down the scale, which I need scarcely say is less difficult.
+
+[Music: Ex. 3. NAVA.]
+
+[Music]
+
+[Music]
+
+Exercise 3 may be timed 76 on your metronome. It is a study to give
+freedom and flexibility to your voice. None of the notes should be
+forced, and the upper notes should be rendered with the mouth well open,
+and with a quality of tone as similar as possible to that of the lower
+notes. Breath should be taken (without losing time) at the rest-marks.
+There should be no break or jump in the tone, but rather it should be
+one unbroken stream of melody, as marked in the first phrase. The voice,
+in this exercise, should be constantly moving: no sooner should you be
+sounding the first note of the phrase than you should be moving to the
+second, from the second to the next, and so on. Be careful to sing the
+intervals exactly in time, and in descending to notes satisfy yourself
+that you are singing the exact tone, and that with certainty. Indecision
+is a grave fault in singing.
+
+[Music: Ex. 4. Intervals of thirds.
+
+     Do Re Mi Re Do Re Mi Fa Mi Re
+
+     Mi Fa Sol Fa Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5. Intervals of Fourths.
+
+* Here take breath.]
+
+[Music]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6. Intervals of Fifths.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7. Intervals of Sixths.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8. Intervals of Sevenths.]
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+     _Page_
+
+     Alto, 36
+
+
+     Bad Lessons, 50
+
+     Bad Masters, 50
+
+     Ballads, 80
+
+     Barytone, Basso-Cantante, 42
+
+     Bass, 44
+
+     Board Teachers' Laryngitis, 114
+
+     Books of Exercises, 51
+
+     Buffo, 48
+
+
+     Cathedral School, The, 72
+
+     Chest, Falsetto, and Head, 60
+
+     Chorus Singing, 69
+
+     Cleanliness, 13
+
+     Clearing the Throat, 59
+
+     Compass, 30
+
+     Consonants, 24
+
+     Contralto, 35
+
+
+     Decision, 84
+
+     Diet, 13
+
+     Dramatic Study, 27
+
+     Dress, 16
+
+     Duration of Practice, 67
+
+
+     Early Rising, 13
+
+     Education, General, 26
+
+     Emphasis, 25
+
+     English, 24
+
+     Execution, 105
+
+     Exercise, 15
+
+     Exercises, 115
+
+     Exercises, First, 62
+
+         "      Books of, 51
+
+         "      in Beating Time, 89
+
+     Expression, Facial, 54
+
+
+     Facial Expression, 54
+
+     Falsetto, 60
+
+     Fashion, 106
+
+     First Opinion, A, 44
+
+     Forming a Repertoire, 107
+
+     Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano, 60
+
+
+     General Education, 26
+
+        "    Musical Study, 70
+
+     German Lieder, Modern, 71
+
+
+     Hair, The, 14
+
+     Head, Singing in the, 58
+
+     High Notes, 59
+
+     "Holding" an Audience, 86
+
+     "How to Begin", 68
+
+     Humming, 69
+
+
+     Imitation, 70, 85
+
+     Individuality, 53
+
+     Institutions, 48
+
+
+     Larynx, The, 109
+
+     Late Hours, 19
+
+     Lessons, Bad, 50
+
+     Lips, Position of, 25
+
+
+     Masters, 48
+
+     Mezzo-Voce, 60
+
+     Mezzo-Contralto, 35
+
+     Mezzo-Soprano, 34
+
+     Mistakes in Public, 86
+
+     Modern German Lieder, 71
+
+     Morality, 19
+
+     Music to Suit the Voice, 103
+
+     Musical Study, General, 70
+
+
+     Names of Voices, 29
+
+     Nervousness, 21
+
+
+     Oratorio, 73
+
+     "Original Keys", 104
+
+     Opera, 79
+
+
+     Perseverance, 54
+
+     Physiological Surroundings, 109
+
+     Pharynx, The, 111
+
+     Position of Arms, 55
+
+         "       Body, 55
+
+         "       Hands, 56
+
+         "       Larynx, 57
+
+         "       Throat, 56
+
+         "       Tongue, 57
+
+     Pronunciation, 22
+
+     Public Singing, 85
+
+     Public, Mistakes in, 86
+
+
+     Qualities of the Voice, 45
+
+
+     Recitative, 81
+
+     Repertoire, Forming a, 107
+
+
+     Scale, The, 60
+
+       "    Practice, 62
+
+     "Schools" of Singing, 47
+
+     Self-Accompaniment, 55
+
+     Sentiment, 84
+
+     Singing in Tune, 67
+
+     Slurring, 83
+
+     Smoking, 18
+
+     Soprano, 32
+
+     Study of Songs, 20
+
+     Study of Words, 25
+
+     Styles, Traditional, 71
+
+
+     Teachers, Bad, 50
+
+     Teeth, The, 15
+
+     Tenore-Leggiero, 37
+
+     Tenore-Robusto, 39
+
+     Throatiness, 58
+
+     Thyroid, The, 110
+
+     Time in Singing, 87
+
+     Tone, 60
+
+     Traditional Styles, 71
+
+
+     Variety Indispensable, 68
+
+     Voices and their Names, 29
+
+     Voice, The; A Wind, Reed, or String Instrument, 111
+
+     Vowel-Sounds, 23
+
+
+     "Words," Study of, 25
+
+
+Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
+
+London & Edinburgh
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+Punctuation and formatting have been made consistent.
+
+Apparent printer's errors have been retained, unless stated below.
+
+Page 62, "disirable" changed to "desirable". (It cannot be too strongly
+impressed upon, or too frequently pointed out to, the singer (no matter
+what may be the stage of his or her artistic development) how desirable
+and advantageous it is to be constantly singing exercises and solfeggi
+in preference to songs.)
+
+Page 73 and 74, "shool" changed to "school". (You will find its good
+points equally insisted on in the oratorio school of singing, while its
+defects should be avoided in any.)
+
+Page 106, "divisious" changed to "divisions". (Those who have ever
+delighted as well as astonished us by their rapid manner of running
+through divisions must have been naturally endowed with flexible
+organs.)
+
+
+
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+<body>
+<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Advice to Singers, by Frederick James Crowest</h1>
+<p>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 <a
+href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></p>
+<p>Title: Advice to Singers</p>
+<p>Author: Frederick James Crowest</p>
+<p>Release Date: October 10, 2012  [eBook #41013]</p>
+<p>Language: English</p>
+<p>Character set encoding: UTF-8</p>
+<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVICE TO SINGERS***</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h4>E-text prepared by Veronika Redfern, David Edwards,<br />
+    and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br />
+    (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br />
+    from page images generously made available by<br />
+    Internet Archive<br />
+    (<a href="http://archive.org">http://archive.org</a>).<br />
+    Music for audio illustrations was transcribed by<br />
+    Anne Celnick, Sarah Thomson, and the DP Music Team.</h4>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10">
+  <tr>
+    <td valign="top">
+      Note:
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive. See
+      <a href="http://archive.org/details/AdviceToSingers">
+      http://archive.org/details/AdviceToSingers</a>
+	</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="transnote">
+This e-text contains UTF-8 (unicode) characters that might not display properly in
+your browser or font, such as the flat music symbol and words in Greek.<span class="hide-link">
+Hover the cursor over such text and an explanation might appear. For example:
+C<span lang="en" title="flat">&#9837;</span>.<br /><br />
+
+Many musical excerpts appear throughout the book, along with links to
+audio files [Listen] directly below each excerpt. If the excerpt has
+lyrics, they appear below the music and the link to the midi file.<br /><br />
+
+Compilations of the exercises have been made available in PDF form. These
+can be found at the beginning of groups of exercises and are marked with
+a [Exercises in PDF] link. The PDFs provided have been compiled for the
+reader's convenience to facilitate printing of the exercises for practice.
+The music has been re-engraved for clarity. Please note that due
+to limitations, the beaming is not always true to the original.</span><br /><br />
+
+For additional Transcriber's Notes, <a href="#Transcribers_Note">click here</a>.
+</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 265px;">
+<a href="images/cover.jpg"><img src="images/th_cover.jpg" id="coverpage" width="265" height="400" alt="Advice to Singers, by Frederick J. Crowest, Author of &quot;The Great Tone Poets.&quot;" title="Cover" /></a>
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<table class="chapter-beginning" border="1" cellpadding="20" summary="Front Matter.">
+<tr>
+<td>
+<h1><span class="bigger"><a name="ADVICE_TO_SINGERS" id="ADVICE_TO_SINGERS">ADVICE TO SINGERS</a></span></h1>
+
+<br />
+
+<p class="center">BY<br /><br />
+
+<span class="bigger">FREDERICK J. CROWEST</span><br /><br />
+<span class="small">AUTHOR OF "THE GREAT TONE POETS" "MUSICAL GROUNDWORK"<br />
+EDITOR OF "THE MASTER MUSICIANS" SERIES, ETC.</span></p>
+
+<br /><br />
+
+<p class="center">"Since singing is so good a thing<br />
+<span style="padding-left:1.5em;">I wish all men would learn to sing"</span></p>
+
+<br /><br />
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 150px;">
+<img src="images/003.png" width="150" height="135" alt="Publisher's Device" title="Publisher's Device" />
+</div>
+<br />
+<p class="center big"><i>SEVENTEENTH THOUSAND</i></p>
+
+<br /><br />
+
+<p class="center big">LONDON<br />
+<span class="gesperrt bigger">FREDERICK WARNE AND CO.</span><br />
+AND NEW YORK<br />
+1904</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE">PREFACE.</a></h2>
+
+
+<div>
+  <img class="drop-cap" src="images/005.png" width="75" height="75" alt="S" title="S" />
+</div>
+<p class="drop-cap">SINGING cannot be learnt from a book, and so far
+from attempting any such impossible feat as writing
+a book which might be called "<i>Singing without a
+Master</i>," the author's object&mdash;frequently insisted upon herein&mdash;is
+to point out the impossibility of overcoming the difficulties
+of singing without a teacher. At the same time, there
+are points upon which a master would not feel called upon to
+speak; nor would he (except, perhaps, in the course of a very
+long period of training) be likely to touch on many matters
+which, though closely connected with the life or business of
+an accomplished singer, yet lie rather outside the province of
+the voice-trainer.</p>
+
+<p>In a work consisting of detached paragraphs, and not being
+a continuous essay, it is not always possible to enter into full
+explanations of the reasons for certain statements; and (for
+the want of such explanation) one paragraph may <i>appear</i> to
+contradict another. However, I can assure the reader that
+such paragraphs are only <i>apparent</i> contradictions; and if he
+will take the trouble to think such points out for himself, he
+will find that they are easily reconcileable.</p>
+
+<p>There is no subject, perhaps, on which opinions are so
+divided, and prejudices run so high, as the proper method of
+training and using the voice; nor is there perhaps one more
+wrapped in mystery than is the art of singing. This is probably
+the result of that readiness with which almost every
+music teacher has hitherto undertaken to teach Singing.
+This book will not, I am sure, add to the mystery. A careful
+perusal of its contents should clear away many misconceptions,
+and place the student on the right road to that end
+which he or she has in view.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h3>PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.</h3>
+
+
+<p>That another large edition of this little Manual should
+be called for in so comparatively short a time is sufficiently
+encouraging testimony of the worth of the book and the
+favour it has found at the hands of students of singing and
+others&mdash;a result the more gratifying to the publishers since
+hitherto it has been issued with an anonymous title-page.
+Often has the authorship of the little volume been industriously
+defended and disputed&mdash;not by myself&mdash;both in this
+country and America; but, on the whole, the identity of its
+originator has been well maintained. For my part matters
+might have remained so, especially as I am not insensible to
+the fact that there is much "preaching" herein&mdash;as indeed
+there must be in such a work, and some of the advice is of
+such a nature that its giver runs the risk of being placed
+upon an exceeding high pinnacle of moral excellence, or of
+being accounted the personification of all the virtues&mdash;both
+of which distinctions might scarcely be merited. The appearance
+of my name upon the title-sheet is the result of no
+wish of mine, and I have consented to it only out of deference
+to the pressing request of the publishers.</p>
+
+<p>A chapter on the Physiological Surroundings of the Voice
+has been added to this edition.</p>
+
+<p class="right">FREDERICK J. CROWEST.</p>
+
+<h3>PREFACE TO THE SEVENTH EDITION.</h3>
+
+<p>Once again my publishers have informed me of the
+necessity for reprinting this Manual, which has been so
+successful both here, in America, and in the Colonies. I
+have nothing to alter in the work, but I must express my
+thanks for the marked support that has been given to this
+straightforward advice. Did space permit, much might be
+said relative to that growing complaint, "Teachers' (or Board
+School) Laryngitis" as it is called. For some time past
+I have been authorized to make observations at the chief
+Throat Hospitals in connection with this constantly increasing
+mischief, arising from an injurious use of the voice
+in Teaching, and which only proper Voice Production will
+remedy. While I cannot give advice here, I shall be happy
+to answer any communications of sufferers from this complaint.</p>
+
+<p class="right">FREDERICK J. CROWEST.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">24 Ampthill Square, London, N.W.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS.</a></h2>
+
+<table width="90%" border="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Contents">
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td style="width:7%;" class="right"><i>Page</i></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Preliminary Remarks</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#PRELIMINARY_REMARKS">9</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">On Habits, Diet,</span> &amp;<span class="smcap">c.</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#ON_HABITS">13</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td style="width:5%;">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>  Early Rising&mdash;Cleanliness&mdash;The Hair&mdash;The Teeth&mdash;Exercise&mdash;Dress&mdash;Diet&mdash;Smoking&mdash;Late Hours&mdash;General Morality.</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Pronunciation and Study of Words</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#PRONUNCIATION">21</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>Nervousness&mdash;Pronunciation&mdash;Vowel-Sounds&mdash;Consonants&mdash;English&mdash;Emphasis&mdash;Position of Lips&mdash;Study of "Words"&mdash;General Education&mdash;Dramatic Study.</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Voices and their Various Qualities</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#VOICE_QUALITY">28</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>Voices and their Names&mdash;Compass&mdash;Soprano&mdash;Mezzo-Soprano&mdash;Mezzo-Contralto&mdash;Contralto&mdash;Alto&mdash;Tenore-Leggiero&mdash;Tenore-Robusto&mdash;Barytone and Basso-Cantante&mdash;Bass&mdash;Buffo&mdash;Qualities of Voices.</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Instruction, Books and Masters</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#INSTRUCTION">47</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>Schools of Singing&mdash;Masters&mdash;Institutions&mdash;A First Opinion&mdash;Bad Lessons&mdash;Bad Teachers&mdash;Books of Exercises.</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Practice</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#ON_THE_PRACTICE_OF_SINGING">53</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>Individuality&mdash;Perseverance&mdash;Facial Expression&mdash;Self-Accompaniment&mdash;Position of Body, Arms, Hands, Throat, Tongue, Larynx&mdash;Head-Singing&mdash;Throatiness&mdash;Clearing the Throat&mdash;High Notes&mdash;The Scale&mdash;Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano&mdash;Tone&mdash;Chest, Falsetto, and Head&mdash;Scale Practice&mdash;First Exercises (<i>with Examples</i>)&mdash;Duration of Practice&mdash;Singing in Tune&mdash;How to Begin&mdash;Variety&mdash;Chorus Singing&mdash;Humming&mdash;Studying Songs&mdash;Imitation&mdash;General Musical Study.</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span></p>
+<table width="90%" border="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Contents">
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">On Style and Expression</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#ON_STYLE">71</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td style="width:5%;">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>Traditional Styles&mdash;Modern German <i>Lieder</i>&mdash;"The Cathedral School"&mdash;Oratorio (<i>with Examples</i>)&mdash;Opera&mdash;Ballads&mdash;Recitative (<i>with Examples</i>)&mdash;Slurring&mdash;Sentiment&mdash;Decision&mdash;Imitation&mdash;Public Singing&mdash;"Holding" an Audience&mdash;Mistakes in Public.</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">On Time in Singing</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#ON_TIME_IN_SINGING">87</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>The Metronome&mdash;Accent&mdash;Exercises: four beats to the bar; three beats to the bar; two beats to the bar.</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">On the Choice of Music</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#ON_THE_CHOICE_OF_MUSIC">103</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>Music to Suit the Voice&mdash;"Original Keys"&mdash;Execution&mdash;Fashion&mdash;Forming a "Repertoire."</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Physiological Surroundings</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#PHYSIOLOGICAL_SURROUNDINGS">109</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>The Larynx&mdash;The Thyroid&mdash;The Pharynx&mdash;The Voice; A Wind, Reed, or String Instrument.</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Exercises</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#EXERCISES">115</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td>Exercises 1, 2, for Uniting Notes&mdash;Exercise 3, for Flexibility, &amp;c.&mdash;Exercise 4, on Intervals of Thirds&mdash;Exercise 5, on Intervals of Fourths&mdash;Exercise 6, on Intervals of Fifths&mdash;Exercise 7, on Intervals of Sixths&mdash;Exercise 8, on Intervals of Sevenths.</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Index</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#INDEX">126</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Transcriber's Note</span></td>
+    <td class="right"><a href="#Transcribers_Note">129</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="center xbig"><b>ADVICE TO SINGERS.</b></p>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+
+<h2><a name="PRELIMINARY_REMARKS" id="PRELIMINARY_REMARKS">PRELIMINARY REMARKS.</a></h2>
+
+
+<div>
+  <img class="drop-cap" src="images/009.png" width="75" height="75" alt="W" title="W" />
+</div>
+<p class="drop-cap2">WHATEVER be the actual difference between the
+professional and the amateur singer, if a person
+is worthy of the name of singer at all, there
+should be no difference in their views of Art,
+and in their devotion to practice. Singing is an art, and
+one of the most difficult of the arts to master; and any
+one who attempts to learn it must be prepared to give the
+same devotion to it as is demanded by the sister arts of
+painting and sculpture. I do not mean exactly devotion
+of the whole time and energy of life to it; because, however
+necessary that may be for the professional, who has
+to make his living by it, such entire devotion to an accomplishment
+or an amusement (for such singing is to
+the amateur) would, for a non-professional, be frequently
+impossible, and very often wrong, as it would lead to a
+neglect of the duties of life. But, while the entire devotion
+of time and energy of a professional singer is
+demanded to master the various styles, and the immense
+mass of music, with which he or she will have to deal
+in the exercise of the profession, the amateur should bear
+in mind that such time and energy as he can devote to
+singing must be firmly restricted to doing what he undertakes
+thoroughly well&mdash;as well, in fact, as a professional.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>
+The amateur's position, which forbids him to make singing
+the work of his life, limits the range of his work, not the
+quality of it. He cannot, even if he have the voice of
+a Rubini or a Braham, master the difficulties of opera,
+oratorio, and ballad alike. Circumstances forbid him to
+conquer the world, but there is no reason why he should
+not be a king in his own special realm. To be that he
+will have to follow the same rules as though he were able
+to attack the whole universe of vocal music; for he should
+feel that the only difference between him and the professional
+singer lies in the sphere of their work.</p>
+
+<p>The same remarks apply to many professionals. <i>Very</i>
+few can excel in all styles, and few in more than one. To
+attempt all is a great mistake, and will probably lead to
+failure, or at least mediocrity in all.</p>
+
+<p>But the first point that I would insist upon is the necessity
+for earnest devotion and regular work, both in
+professional and amateur, so that the term <i>Artist</i> may
+apply to both. I shall be at no great pains to avoid
+occasional repetitions of incidental remarks. In a book
+intended for constant reference rather than for one perusal,
+and one divided, as this is, into short paragraphs,
+words may attract attention in one place, while in another
+they may have been overlooked. If, therefore, I err in
+this respect, I shall do so deliberately, my sole aim being
+to help and impress the student as much as possible.</p>
+
+<p>Remember that the human voice is the most delicate
+of all instruments, susceptible to more and more varied
+influence than any other. The singer has to combine in
+himself the instrument and the performer; and while all
+the artistic and intellectual qualities necessary for the instrumentalist
+are required by him, he is compelled beyond
+that to realize that he is a living instrument, and to exercise
+over himself all the care&mdash;and indeed far more than all&mdash;that
+players exercise over their most cherished "weapons."
+He has not only to learn how to sing, but how to be and
+to remain fit for singing. He, more than any other musical
+artist, will find that he is affected by moral as well as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>
+physical and intellectual causes, and he must face this
+fact boldly.</p>
+
+<p>In writing down the brief hints which this little work
+offers to singers, I shall therefore take in a range of subjects
+and enter into many details which may seem to have
+little to do with the practice of <i>Do</i>, <i>Re</i>, <i>Mi</i>. I do this
+advisedly, and I believe that such hints as those on general
+culture and habits of living are by no means the least important
+part of my work. I do not profess to teach my
+readers how to sing&mdash;(any singer knows, and I should like
+the public to know too, that singing cannot be taught by a
+book)&mdash;but to give "hints to singers," and many of those
+hints are on such subjects as it would be an impertinence
+on the part of a singing master to allude to. If the
+student takes offence at the <i>book</i>, it happily does not
+reach the author.</p>
+
+<p>Following out the previous thought, I shall try to turn
+the intending singer's attention to several other subjects,
+before I touch upon that of strictly musical interest. And
+if I here seem to "preach" occasionally, I shall never do
+so without cause, and never, I trust, in any spirit but that
+of the warmest sympathy with the aspirations and the
+peculiar trials and difficulties of those who are still in full
+vigour of youth and health.</p>
+
+<p>Remember that I give <i>hints</i>, not <i>rules</i>. It is quite impossible
+to lay down rules of living which shall apply alike
+to male and female, or to variously constituted natures.
+But I hope I may trust to the common sense of every
+individual to draw sound conclusions, and to form his or
+her own rules, by the help of these hints, and, the rules
+once formed, to adhere to them resolutely. If singing
+is to be done at all, it is worth while to do it well, and to
+spare no pains to that end.</p>
+
+<p>There is a good deal to be done by the student of singing
+before he attacks the strictly musical part of his difficulties.
+General education, if deficient, must be attended<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>
+to; habits of living must be formed and followed out;
+faults of character, such as laziness, ill temper, slovenliness,
+impatience, and want of perseverance, must be bravely
+fought; for the study of singing, perhaps more than of any
+other art, will test the character severely in these respects.</p>
+
+<p>The student must be prepared to exercise a good deal
+of self-denial; to put aside all notions of self-merit for a
+long time to come; and to be humble, and ready to take
+a hint from any source. Whatever merits he may have
+at starting are certainly not due to his own skill; they are
+simply natural gifts, and the better they are, the more is
+there for him to learn in doing justice to them. Let him
+not waste time in admiring what he is, or has done; but
+let him keep all his energy for what he may yet be and for
+what he yet has to accomplish.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ON_HABITS" id="ON_HABITS">ON HABITS, DIET, &amp;c.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>The following paragraphs contain hints on various matters
+apparently little connected with singing, yet all of more
+or less importance to the singer. The voice, and the power
+of using it, depend so greatly upon general health, and
+health is so easily affected by habits of living, that I offer
+no apology for entering into some details which, though
+easy enough to write down, and read when written, would
+be difficult for a singing master to allude to or suggest
+without giving offence.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Early Rising.</b>&mdash;Practise early rising, and, if possible,
+take a short walk before breakfast. This tends to keep the
+circulation of the blood in a good condition, and that is,
+of course, of great importance to the lungs, and all the
+organs which singing requires to tax somewhat severely.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Cleanliness.</b>&mdash;Strict cleanliness is of the greatest importance.
+Take a cold bath every morning directly you
+get out of bed. Do not stand "pottering about," or you
+may catch cold, but go to your bath while the skin is moist
+with the perspiration which the warmth of bed has drawn
+out. If you let the perspiration dry, and then plunge into
+cold water, you run a great risk of giving yourself a severe
+chill. Sponge yourself well, and rapidly, all over, especially
+the chest, throat, back of the neck, and all round the loins;
+and dry the body thoroughly and briskly with a rough<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>
+towel. Let no fear of damaging the complexion deter
+young ladies from this most healthy and necessary operation.</p>
+
+<p>In winter, if the circulation is naturally sluggish, it is
+as well not to take the bath perfectly cold, but merely add
+enough hot water just to remove the extreme chill. The
+bath ought to feel cold to you, even though it be not the
+coldest possible.</p>
+
+<p>It is well to take a warm bath once a week&mdash;if possible,
+just before going to bed. Do not have it hot, but simply
+warm, and, of course, use soap with it. Do not dawdle
+over it, but "have it and have done with it," and then
+get to bed at once. If you find the effect of it to be enervating
+or relaxing, take it less warm in future. The object
+of it is simply to open and cleanse the pores of the skin&mdash;a
+matter of great importance.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>The Hair.</b>&mdash;The same rule of extreme cleanliness
+applies to the hair, and for the same reason, viz., its intimate
+connection with the circulation of the blood and
+the pores of the skin. Keep the hair well brushed, and
+have it frequently cut and shampooed. Avoid "pomatums,"
+washes, and greasy messes of every kind: their
+smell is objectionable and their effect is generally to dirty
+the head. Moreover, the public have the good taste to
+object to the appearance of an artist before them who is
+evidently "got up" with pains for the occasion. A person
+who is habitually as clean as he can be, need never
+fear to appear in public, and may spare himself the disgusting
+application of "grease" to his head to make himself
+fit to be seen.</p>
+
+<p>If a moustache is worn, let it be kept within bounds,
+and not allowed to fall over the mouth, where it would
+affect the tone of the voice. Do not cut it straight along
+the lip, but train it right and left, allowing it to grow
+naturally and uncut. The advantages of the moustache
+are two: it acts to a certain extent as a respirator, and
+protects the mouth and throat as the eyelash does the
+eye, and it helps to conceal any slight distortion of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>
+mouth in singing. This, I confess, is a doubtful advantage:&mdash;there
+ought to be no distortion, and if any were
+seen, it might, perhaps, be corrected. However, I give
+the opinion for what it is worth.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>The Teeth.</b>&mdash;The teeth play such an important part
+in the production of the voice that every care should be
+taken to preserve them sound and in good condition&mdash;to
+say nothing of the part which they play in facial expression,
+a point to which every singer should attend. A bad state
+of the teeth at once affects the stomach, and that again the
+voice, so that no apology is needed for drawing the student's
+attention to this matter. Clean the teeth the first
+thing in the morning, and the last thing at night. Use a
+moderately hard brush, better too soft than too hard, with
+cold water, or better still, just lukewarm. Avoid all "dentifrices"
+and advertised nastinesses in the way of powders
+and "fragrant" washes. A mixture of powdered (not "prepared")
+chalk and orris-root, in the proportion of about
+three to two, is the best thing to use, and any chemist will
+make that up for you. Remember to brush the teeth inside
+and along the top, as well as outside; and if you find
+this difficult with the ordinary-shaped brush, get one of
+those which are sold for the purpose. If you find, in spite
+of your care, that your teeth become discoloured, the cause
+is probably that your stomach is out of order. In that case,
+go straight to a doctor, for the consequence of such derangement
+is that "tartar" is formed on the teeth, and
+this grows, and pushes back the gums, altering the form
+of the cavity of the mouth, and so affecting the tone of
+the voice.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Exercise.</b>&mdash;Be as much as you can in the open air.
+Take moderate walking exercise, but of course do not tire
+yourself before singing or practising. For male singers,
+rowing, riding, football and cricket (but without the shouting
+so often incidental to these games), racquets or tennis,
+and above all an hour or two weekly in a gymnasium, are
+excellent things; while for ladies, walking, riding, lawn-tennis,
+"la grace," and calisthenics are equally useful. If<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>
+you live in a town, always walk in preference to taking a
+conveyance, when time and weather permit it.</p>
+
+<p>Never breathe through your mouth in walking, especially
+at night, or on coming out into the open air after singing.
+Keep the lips closed, and inhale the air through the
+nostrils. This is easily acquired, and to be able to do this
+will be found of great service in taking breath for singing;
+but out of doors it is most important, for the immediate
+rush of cold or damp air to the delicate organs of the
+throat, especially when the latter have been excited by the
+exertion of singing, is dangerous. It is a good plan, and
+a profitable use of the time, to practise breathing when
+walking, by filling the lungs, and utilizing each inspiration
+for as long a distance as possible.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Dress.</b>&mdash;Nothing can be said in favour of our climate
+for singing. With proper precautions, however, a great
+deal of trouble arising from this cause may be averted. In
+summer, as well as in winter, for instance, the writer would
+strongly urge the wearing of moderately thick-soled boots
+or shoes. Then, again, the neck and chest should never be
+exposed alike to a June sun and a December frost; but,
+instead, it should be moderately and reasonably covered.
+Great care should be taken never to get wet, especially
+wet or damp feet.</p>
+
+<p>In going out of hot rooms into the open air much pains
+should be exercised to keep the chest and throat covered
+up with an overcoat or cloak&mdash;however warm the weather
+may be. In <i>very severe</i> winter weather the singer will
+derive much comfort by wearing a flannel chest-protector.
+Sitting about in gardens, and on lawns, in the evenings
+on even the warmest days, is not a safe indulgence for the
+student who is in earnest in the pursuit of his art.</p>
+
+<p>One caution is necessary as to "wrapping up," however.
+Do not over-do it. The constant use of a "comforter"
+renders the throat delicate and susceptible. All you have
+to fear is damp, not cold, in the atmosphere. A comforter,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>
+closely wound round the throat, promotes perspiration,
+and the risk of chill in removing it is greater than in not
+wearing it at all. Common sense must guide every one.
+It is impossible to make a rule for all.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Diet.</b>&mdash;As to diet: avoid everything that is at all indigestible.
+Live well, and take plenty of varied nourishment.
+The singer's system <i>must</i> be well nourished. Chocolate
+and coffee are better than tea; the latter is too astringent,
+and affects the nerves too much, if taken in abundance.
+Sugar, in moderation, should always be used with those
+beverages, and they should never be taken very hot. Bread
+is better than toast, but avoid hot or very new bread. Eggs
+and butter are good. Meat should be plainly cooked and
+not too well done. Pork tries the digestion too severely
+to be a desirable food for a singer, and the same may be
+said of veal. Fish is good for the singer, and he should if
+possible let it form a part of his daily <i>menu</i>. Creams and
+pastry are simply poison, and cheese should only be taken in
+great moderation. Fruit is an excellent thing if judiciously
+used. But here, again, hard and fast rules are impossible,
+because constitutions vary. Only remember the old proverb,
+"We must eat to live, and not live to eat."</p>
+
+<p>Never practise or sing upon an empty stomach, or soon
+after a meal: either of these habits will unfairly tax your
+digestive organs, and in so doing damage your voice.
+After a meal, all the energy of the body is required for
+the stomach; in a healthy person the extremities will generally
+be cold after a full meal, and the reason is that the
+digestive organs are using all the heat and blood that the
+body can give for their special work. Nature thus points
+to a rest of every other organ at that time, and you must
+not fight against Nature by attempting any such severe
+physical strain as the practice of the voice demands.</p>
+
+<p>All acids and astringents are bad for a healthy throat
+and stomach. Vinegar, highly-flavoured sauces, almonds
+and raisins, nuts of every kind should be avoided. Some
+of these are useful as remedies in relaxed throat, or congestion<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>
+of the throat, no doubt; but I am speaking simply
+of what is desirable for a person in a state of health. In
+cases of cold, hoarseness, or indisposition of any kind, my
+prescription is, "Don't doctor yourself, but (as Abernethy
+said) '<i>Take advice</i>.'" Be very careful and abstemious in
+the use of spirits. Brandy is decidedly injurious, it heats
+and inflames the throat, and tends to constipate the bowels.
+Gin or whiskey is the most wholesome spirit, but take as
+little as possible of either. If you drink beer or stout, take
+draught and not bottled, and always in great moderation.
+All effervescing liquors are objectionable; therefore eschew
+champagne, Moselle, bottled ale and stout, <i>et hoc genus
+omne</i>. The fluids called port and sherry are cruel foes to
+singing. A glass of <i>good</i> port is a fair medicine in certain
+cases, and the same may be said of very dry Amontillado,
+but if you have nothing the matter with you, avoid port
+and (so-called) sherry&mdash;especially the hideous compound
+of alcohol and molasses known as "brown" sherry&mdash;as you
+would poison.</p>
+
+<p>The best drink for singers is claret, or any light wine,
+French, German, or Italian. I myself find the latter on
+the whole the best, and such wines as Barolo Secco or
+Chianté are pure and cheap, and contain all the properties
+necessary for a singer's beverage. But in this as in all
+else, <i>moderation</i> is a <i>sine quâ non</i>. Fluids are apt to produce
+congestion or mucus in the throat and glands of the
+mouth, and that of course interferes with the free action
+of the muscles in singing.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Smoking.</b>&mdash;As a general rule it may be laid down that
+smoking is a bad habit for the singer, male or female (for
+there are females who are proud of being able to smoke
+cigarettes nowadays!). With many instances of great
+singers who have also been great smokers before us, it is
+impossible to say decidedly that singers must not smoke;
+but the habit is one to be very cautiously indulged in. If
+smoking in any case induces expectoration, it should at
+once be given up, for the habit of spitting, to which some
+smokers allow themselves (quite needlessly) to give way,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>
+is, in reality, the greatest evil of smoking; it weakens the
+throat, lungs, and chest. If a man can smoke without
+spitting or drinking, I confess that I am no great enemy
+to tobacco; but the "if" is a big one.</p>
+
+<p>A cigarette is certainly a safeguard against taking cold
+in coming out of a hot room into the open air, especially
+after singing; but strong cigars or strong tobacco in pipes
+are to be avoided, because of their effect on the nerves.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Late Hours.</b>&mdash;Avoid late hours. You require, not
+only a certain amount of sleep, but to take that sleep before
+the body and mind are at all overtaxed. From many causes,
+it is well known, the human frame is always at its lowest
+from about 2 a.m. till 5 a.m., and the nearer you approach
+those hours in going to bed, the less able are you to derive
+all the benefit which you require from sleep. Twelve
+o'clock is late enough for any one.</p>
+
+<p>Another reason why late hours are bad is connected
+not with physical facts so much as with morals. It is true,
+you may come to no actual harm, or get into no positive
+mischief, by being out late at night, but you place yourself
+in a position of risk&mdash;risk of cold, over-fatigue, inhaling
+vitiated atmosphere, &amp;c., as well as risk to moral character,
+which latter, in its way as delicate as the voice, is injured
+not only by actual violation of right, but by all society,
+conversation, and literature which tend to dim its brightness,
+or (to use another metaphor) to spoil the purity of
+its outline by roughly knocking off its corners. At all
+events, as to the night side of "Life," you are better out
+of it.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Morality.</b>&mdash;Nothing can act more prejudicially upon
+a singer than those influences which are understood by
+that very inclusive term, a "fast" life. I would, therefore,
+urge upon the student the necessity of a religious avoidance
+of those influences. They dull the purity of thought which
+marks all true art; they deaden the intellect which art
+requires; and they injure the physical powers, without
+which all a singer's study may be suddenly rendered useless
+to him. All excess is bad, and self-restraint and self-control<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>
+are of the greatest importance both to character and health.
+Many an anxious student has mastered the musical side
+of his art, but has failed under the rigid demands which
+the moral code makes upon an intending singer. It is
+of no use for a singer to be strong musically, and weak
+morally: the two preparations must go hand-in-hand; and
+while building up a structure of vocal greatness, his care
+must always be that the moral foundation will always
+support the weight of persistent study, and leave him
+favourably placed in the stern competition going on around
+him for a front place in the race for singing fame, and the
+inevitable honours. Keep these hints in mind, think them
+carefully over, and be your own moral doctor. That will
+be better than following any code of cut and dried rules.
+If you err at all, let it be on the side of self-denial, the
+hardest and probably the highest of all virtues.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="PRONUNCIATION" id="PRONUNCIATION">ON THE STUDY OF PRONUNCIATION
+AND "WORDS" IN SINGING, &amp;c.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>The singer has to combine the arts of the musician, the
+public speaker, and, to a certain extent, the actor.
+Clearness of pronunciation and correctness of emphasis
+are included in the range of his study. Nor are these so
+easy of acquirement as many persons suppose. To a
+novice, the almost inevitable nervousness inseparable from
+the prominent position which a solo singer necessarily
+holds in the company, or before the audience to which he
+is singing, is very apt to render the enunciation less
+distinct and more rapid than is natural to him. His ear
+guides him less safely; and, in fact, every sense, influenced
+by the abnormal state of his nerves, is apt to play him
+more or less false. It is only by having carefully studied
+and mastered every detail of manner, posture, and speech,
+as well as of the music to be performed, that a singer can
+rise superior to the treachery of his nerves, in whatever
+form that treachery may show itself.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Nervousness.</b>&mdash;A few words as to nervousness.
+You will often hear persons boast that they are not the
+least nervous in public; and, perhaps, will feel inclined
+to envy them. Get rid of any such notion at once. If
+by "nervous" is meant "frightened," that is another thing
+altogether; and it is perfectly true that there are hundreds
+of persons who are not in the least afraid of appearing in
+public, nor affected by timidity when so appearing. But<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>
+fear is only one form of nervousness. I firmly believe
+that it is impossible for a real artist ever to appear in
+public without being <i>nervous</i>. But the nerves act in
+many ways: the fervour of an eloquent speaker carried
+away by his subject; the "<i>abandon</i>" of a fine actor
+thoroughly entering into his part and identifying himself
+with it; the sustained energy of a declamatory singer;
+the faultless and unerring agility of a florid <i>soprano</i>, who
+astonishes her hearers by wonder on wonder of execution&mdash;all
+these things are due, in their subtle charm, to
+nervousness&mdash;<i>i.e.</i> to delicate nervous organization in active
+play. These artists are not frightened, it is true, but excited,
+stimulated, roused from the normal state of eating,
+walking, and sleeping; something of the spiritual kindles
+the mere physical forces in them&mdash;some breath of inspiration
+sustains that living power which so influences
+the hearers. In some way or other every great artist is
+always nervous; were it not so, the essence of their power
+would vanish. Persons of cold and phlegmatic temperament
+lack the very life-breath of art; and though they
+may train themselves into fair imitations of some great
+artists, they will generally be detected with ease, by any
+hearer of true sensibility, as imitations, not the real thing.
+Therefore do not be ashamed to admit that you are
+nervous, if it be so. Nerves are a cruel master, but a
+splendid servant; instead of letting them overcome you,
+force them to do your bidding; and instead of "nervousness"
+meaning "fear," you will find that it means courage
+and power to do your best.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Pronunciation.</b>&mdash;Study correctness of pronunciation
+and propriety of emphasis quite apart from singing.
+Remember that in speaking or singing in a large space
+and to a number of persons, every sound must have not
+only additional force, but additional volume. And that
+comes to mean that every vowel-sound in the words sung
+must be intensified, and every consonant be delivered
+with more accuracy than is necessary in ordinary speaking.
+If you were to pronounce the syllable "die" (for instance),
+in singing, <i>exactly</i> as you do in speaking, you would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>
+produce on the notes or note to which that word belonged
+a thinness of tone which would be very ugly, and probably
+would not "carry" far. And the same with any vowel-sound&mdash;even
+"Ah," or "Oh,"&mdash;which, though not producing
+a thin tone, would certainly produce a coarse one,
+if sung exactly as spoken in ordinary conversation.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Vowel-Sounds.</b>&mdash;The reason of the need of this
+slight change is as follows. Every vowel-sound, like
+every musical sound (for vowel-sounds are nothing less
+than musical sounds) is composed of <i>two</i> sounds. Combined
+with the prominent and chief sound which first
+attracts the ear is a second, which, though not prominent,
+lends point and force to the other. Thus our English
+vowel-sound "A" is really <i>&#201;h-é</i>; "E" is <i>E-é</i>; "I" is
+<i>Ah-é</i>; "O" is <i>O-óo</i>, or even <i>Aw-oo</i>; "U" is <i>&#201;e-óo</i>. Of
+course, I do not mean to say that those absurd-looking
+syllables really express exactly the sounds which we produce
+in speaking the vowels, for no combination of letters
+can do that, or can bring within reach of the eye the
+subtleties of sound in human speech; but if you attempt
+to pronounce those syllables, you will find that you are
+really pronouncing the vowels from which I "translated"
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Now, in conversation or rapid speaking, the subordinate
+sound of the vowel is scarcely noticeable, while the
+more prominent sound is heard for the short interval of
+time required. But in singing or public speaking, where
+the production of tone is more deliberate, the space to be
+filled with sound larger, or, in other words, the column of
+air to be set vibrating is greater and heavier, the <i>complex</i>
+sound of the vowel must not be ignored. It is impossible
+to lay down any set of rules by which the student may
+overcome this difficulty; but every one, by bearing in
+mind the absolute necessity of attention to this point,
+may easily accustom himself to the slight change of pronunciation
+(as it will at first appear) which is required to
+give vowel-sounds when sung, or spoken "<i>ore rotundo</i>,"
+the same tone, to the hearer's ear, as they have in ordinary
+speaking. As a general rule this is done by keeping the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>
+throat more open, the larynx (or "Adam's apple") as low
+down as possible, and the root of the tongue flat, depressed,
+even hollowed like the bowl of a spoon. The truth of all
+this may easily be tested by singing any short passage
+deliberately and distinctly, with the exact pronunciation
+of ordinary speaking, and then repeating it with attention
+to the above hints. In the first instance the result will
+be meagre, hard to be heard at a moderate distance, and
+very likely extremely ludicrous to the hearer. In the
+second, you will find that the tone of the notes gains in
+roundness and fulness, while the words are clearly heard
+in every part of the room with the exact effect belonging
+to them. I purposely refrain from attempting to write
+down the difference discernible in any words so sung,
+because, as I have already said, <i>letters</i> cannot accurately
+express distinctions so delicate, yet so all-important to the
+singer, speaker, and hearer.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Consonants.</b>&mdash;In pronouncing consonants, be careful
+to give each its due value, but without exaggeration. Be
+especially particular to sound the <i>last</i> letter of each word
+distinctly. But take care to avoid adding a slight sound
+(as of an <i>e</i> mute) after the final letter: for instance, do
+not say "When other-<i>é</i> lips," &amp;c., or "bright-<i>é</i> days,"
+and so on. Do not over-aspirate the letter "<i>H</i>." "<i>N</i>,"
+"<i>L</i>," "<i>M</i>," "<i>B</i>," "<i>P</i>," and "<i>V</i>," are all letters requiring
+care in firm pronunciation.</p>
+
+<p>Avoid prefixing a slight sound of "<i>N</i>" to the first word
+of a song or passage in singing. It is a common trick with
+beginners to do this, and they frequently do it without
+being in the least conscious of it. It is produced by a
+kind of nervous feeling of the teeth with the tongue, as if
+to make sure that all is right for the start! I have heard
+an aspiring youth actually begin a well-known song thus:
+"<i>Nwaft her Rangels Nthrough the sky</i>," &amp;c.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>English Words.</b>&mdash;The English language is not the
+most suitable one under the sun for singing purposes;
+nevertheless, it is not nearly so intolerable and unfavourable
+an one as it is the fashion to make out. The grand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>
+old Scripture passages which Handel, Mendelssohn, and
+others have set to music testify to this. Yet musical care
+<i>is</i> needed when singing English words, and especially in
+pronouncing the "sibilants," as <i>S</i>, &amp;c. These "sibilants"
+must never be enunciated rapidly, or their ill effects will
+soon be found in a series of <i>hissings</i>. Let it be your study,
+then, to avoid this ill effect in singing English words, and
+to utter such sounds slowly and carefully, with the endeavour
+to produce a soft and agreeable effect; for it is,
+indeed, unpardonable to hear an English singer unable to
+render perfectly the words (if <b>not</b> the music) of his native
+country's songs and ballads.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Emphasis.</b>&mdash;Having accustomed yourself to carefulness
+over each letter in your pronunciation, the next thing
+is to study correctness of emphasis, &amp;c. All this is apart
+from the strictly musical portion of your studies, and, while
+you can work at this without music, you will certainly spoil
+the effect of your singing (however good your voice and
+voice production may be), unless you do so study your
+"words." I should recommend you to practise reading
+aloud for not less than a quarter of an hour at a time, say
+once a day. Read <i>standing</i>; place your book on a desk,
+on a level with your eyes, and speak out deliberately, and
+with full tone of voice, and as much variety of intonation
+as the matter read requires. Shakespeare is your best
+author for this study. You will feel at first as if you were
+doing a very absurd thing, but never mind that&mdash;do it, and
+do it as well and as carefully as you can.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Position of the Lips.</b>&mdash;In speaking and reading
+aloud during your preliminary training for singing, be very
+careful that there be no change in the aperture of the mouth
+or position of the lips while uttering any one sound, however
+prolonged. If the lips move from their first position,
+however slightly, the tone immediately changes, and the
+pronunciation ceases to be pure and refined.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Study of Words.</b>&mdash;The words of a song are as much
+worthy of the singer's study as the music, that is, if the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>
+song is worth singing at all. I do not mean to say that
+in themselves they must necessarily be of equal merit, but
+that they require as much attention on the part of the
+singer to bring out their meaning. Study the text, therefore,
+apart from the music. Read the words aloud deliberately;
+master the sentiment of them, and note the prominent
+words and phrases, so as to be able to give them
+their due value when you have to combine them with the
+music. Avoid giving prominence to such words as "of,"
+"for," "the," "and," "in," &amp;c., &amp;c., but yet let each be
+distinctly pronounced, and not slurred over in an indefinite
+murmur. Learn the words of your song by memory.
+Master the text, and consider the whole from an elocutionist's
+point of view before you attack the musical side of the
+matter. A singer when singing in public should not be
+troubled with his words and music too.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>General Education.</b>&mdash;An important branch of study
+is that of giving expression to the passions, and of communicating
+your conceptions and emotions to the minds
+of your listeners. No better training could a young singer
+have for forming such ideas than the earnest perusal of
+the works of Shakespeare, Dante, Goethe, Milton, Lytton,
+George Eliot, &amp;c.; or in watching carefully and intelligently
+the acting of our best stage performers. For a
+singer to be successful, he or she must be in a position to
+express, and bring home to an audience, such emotions
+as love, hatred, anger, fear, grief, and pity; all these, and
+many other such feelings, have constantly to be transmitted
+by the singer, and it is to the most natural and
+faithful exposition of these, and that most consistent with
+the other equally important points of the art of singing,
+that the student's attention should for a long while be
+patiently and perseveringly directed.</p>
+
+<p>The singer should be a well-educated man, and he
+should know at least one other language beside his native
+tongue. He should be well read, too, in the best literature
+of these two languages. On questions of all the arts
+he should seek to make his views sound and true. He
+should seek to travel, and so enlarge his mind, for all this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>
+training will reflect itself in the work of an artist so liberally
+educated. An inferior education has been the bane of
+many a student, who has had the organ and all the necessary
+musical ability.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Dramatic Study.</b>&mdash;To be a successful public singer,
+even in the concert-room, one must be more or less an
+actor; and, therefore, the time and money bestowed in
+acquiring a sound knowledge of dramatic action and
+elocution will be well spent. For the lyric stage, such
+a study is imperative; but its utility to artists who aspire
+no higher than to ballad or oratorio singing cannot be
+too highly estimated.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="VOICE_QUALITY" id="VOICE_QUALITY">VOICES AND THEIR VARIOUS
+QUALITIES.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>The life of the singing voice is so comparatively short,
+that the study of singing is rendered more difficult than
+that of any other art. You may buy a violin or a pianoforte,
+ready-made and perfect, in your childhood, and nothing
+remains for you but to study the instrument diligently
+under a good master. But the vocal instrument cannot
+be said to exist at all, for purposes of singing study, before
+the age of eighteen or twenty in males, and (in our climate)
+sixteen in females. Even at those ages the organ is necessarily
+immature and undeveloped. Consequently the
+study of the art has to be carried on during the progress
+of the instrument to maturity.</p>
+
+<p>To counterbalance this disadvantage, however, we must
+bear in mind that that very study materially helps to perfect
+the instrument. Singing is by no means all "style,"
+and the study of it includes the formation of the voice and
+production of a good tone, and it is, of course, easier to
+manipulate an unfinished article than a finished one&mdash;to
+educate youth and suppleness than to bring maturity and
+stiffness into subjection to new conditions.</p>
+
+<p>Therefore begin your study in the youth of your voice;
+but, recollecting that its life is the most short-lived of your
+faculties, let your study be most earnest and painstaking.
+Especially if singing is to be your profession, act upon the
+wise advice of Dr. Burney, and "Never go to bed till you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>
+have learned something which you did not know the
+previous night."</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Voices.</b>&mdash;"What is your voice?" is a very common
+question, sometimes expressed in the rather less polite but
+more intelligent form, "What do you call your voice?"
+The answer almost invariably is either "Soprano," "Contralto,"
+"Tenor," "Bass," or "Barytone." Here is a warning
+for you at starting. Do not limit your notions of what
+voices are to those four or five generic names. Because
+choral music is generally written in four parts, for soprano,
+alto, tenor, and bass, the non-musical public, and a great
+many musical people (some composers included) seem to
+think that those names are an inclusive description of
+every human voice.</p>
+
+<p>This would be of very little consequence if it were only
+a question of names; but it is of no use to say "What is
+in a name?" if the result of a wrong name is to lead to
+mischief. The misfortune of wrongly naming your voice
+is that it will lead you to practise wrongly, and to choose
+the wrong style of music for study and performance. For
+instance, a young lady may call herself a <i>soprano</i> because
+she can "<i>sing up to C</i>," and may therefore fancy that the
+whole repertoire of a Tietjens or a Clara Novello is within
+her reach; and acting on this notion, she may fatally
+damage a naturally bright and pleasing voice by giving it
+work to do which belongs of right to a voice of totally
+different calibre, the <i>mezzo-soprano</i>.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Naming the Voice.</b>&mdash;Remember always that the
+character of a voice is determined not by compass or range
+of notes, but by quality, or body and <i>timbre</i>, of tone. Two
+ladies may have voices ranging from A to A&mdash;two octaves&mdash;and
+yet one might be a pure light soprano, and the
+other a genuine contralto; while in length of compass a
+mezzo-soprano may even beat them both. And so with
+male voices (the variety in which is even greater than in
+female), you may have a voice of pure tenor quality, and
+yet of such limited compass that your energetic barytone
+friend next door may make your life miserable with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>
+jealousy of the ease with which he bellows high Gs, G
+sharps, and even on great occasions an A or so.</p>
+
+<p>But compass has nothing whatever to do with the name
+of the voice: it may limit the quantity of music which can
+be performed, but it should have no influence on the choice
+of the style of music to be studied. This is a point of the
+greatest importance, therefore I repeat it briefly once more&mdash;<i>Your
+voice must be described and used with reference to its
+quality, or volume and timbre, and not with reference to the
+number of notes which you can sing.</i></p>
+
+
+<p><b>Male and Female Voices.</b>&mdash;The actual varieties
+in tone and quality in different voices cannot, of course,
+be expressed on paper; but a careful use of your ears in
+listening to good public singers will soon teach you to
+discriminate. Female voices are of at least four kinds:
+soprano, mezzo-soprano, mezzo-contralto, and contralto.
+Male are of five or six, or even more. Alto; tenore-leggiero
+or light tenor; tenore-robusto or strong heavy-voiced
+tenor; barytone&mdash;basso-cantante (erroneously
+identified with the barytone by some persons); basso-profondo
+or bass.</p>
+
+<p>Beside all these divisions or species, voices must be
+again classed according to their power. Any one who has
+ever heard an opera singer in a moderate-sized private
+drawing-room, will readily appreciate the difference between
+a <i>voce di camera</i>, or "chamber voice," and a <i>voce
+di teatro</i>.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Compass.</b>&mdash;The respective compasses of the several
+voices may be roughly set down as follows, but it should
+be borne in mind that it is by no means a matter of course
+that a singer of any particular voice should possess or cultivate
+the whole range of notes supposed to belong to
+that voice. He or she may be none the less a tenor or
+a soprano because the one cannot produce an "<i>Ut de
+poitrine</i>," or the other "<i>F</i> in <i>Alt</i>." There is a special individuality
+in every voice, as in every face, and therefore
+every voice must be treated, by a good teacher, on its
+own merits, as a thing in some respects unique.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Perhaps it will be best, therefore, instead of saying that
+the compass of any given kind of voice is from &mdash;&mdash; to &mdash;&mdash;,
+to say that music for such and such a voice is generally
+written between such and such limits. The range allotted
+by composers to the various voices is about two octaves
+to each&mdash;for solo work, of course&mdash;and is as follows, it
+being understood that the male voices are an octave lower
+in pitch than the female:&mdash;</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Vocal Ranges">
+  <tr>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="vam"><i>Soprano</i>, and <i>Tenore-Leggiero</i>, and<br />in operatic music a certain kind<br />of <i>Tenore-Robusto</i>.</td>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="center">
+<img src="images/brace-200.png" width="30" height="200" alt="Curly Brace" title="Curly Brace" />
+</td>
+    <td>from</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/031a.png" class="vam" width="116" height="75" alt="C4" title="C4" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/031a.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>to</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/031b.png" class="vam" width="113" height="90" alt="C6" title="C6" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/031b.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+</td>
+  </tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>&nbsp;</td>
+  <td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>  <tr>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="vam"><i>Mezzo-Soprano</i> and <i>Tenore-Robusto</i></td>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="center">
+<img src="images/brace-200.png" width="30" height="200" alt="Curly Brace" title="Curly Brace" />
+</td>
+    <td>from</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/031c.png" class="vam" width="117" height="85" alt="A3" title="A3" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/031c.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>to</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/031d.png" class="vam" width="118" height="82" alt="A5" title="A5" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/031d.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+</td>
+  </tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>&nbsp;</td>
+  <td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="vam"><i>Mezzo-Contralto</i> and <i>Barytone</i></td>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="center">
+<img src="images/brace-200.png" width="30" height="200" alt="Curly Brace" title="Curly Brace" />
+</td>
+    <td>from</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/031e.png" class="vam" width="118" height="90" alt="G3" title="G3" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/031e.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>to</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/031f.png" class="vam" width="116" height="77" alt="G5" title="G5" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/031f.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+</td>
+  </tr>
+<tr>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="vam"><i>Contralto</i> and <i>Bass</i></td>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="center">
+<img src="images/brace-200.png" width="30" height="200" alt="Curly Brace" title="Curly Brace" />
+</td>
+    <td>from</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/032a.png" class="vam" width="118" height="102" alt="E3" title="E3" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/032a.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>to</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/032b.png" class="vam" width="117" height="77" alt="E5" title="E5" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/032b.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+  </td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The basso-cantante is a low barytone, or high bass with
+a lighter quality of tone than the basso-profondo. The
+alto voice, or counter-tenor as it used to be called, is not
+a natural voice at all, but is artificially produced by training
+the <i>falsetto</i> to the exclusion of the other parts of the
+voice. It is totally distinct from the contralto voice of a
+female, in quality, average compass, and the style of music
+best suited to it. It is of more use in part-singing and
+cathedral music than for solo work, although in some
+oratorios solo parts have been allotted to it. It is rarely
+pleasing when heard alone, for very few alto singers are
+able to avoid the appearance of singing with effort; and
+the whole performance, except in some instances, appears
+unnatural and forced. The alto voice ranges generally</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Alto Range">
+<tr>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="vab">but its best notes are confined to<br />the octave of B flat.</td>
+    <td rowspan="4" class="center">
+<img src="images/brace-170.png" width="30" height="170" alt="Curly Brace" title="Curly Brace" />
+</td>
+    <td>from</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/032c.png" class="vam" width="117" height="49" alt="G3" title="G3" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/032c.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>to</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+<img src="images/032d.png" class="vam" width="116" height="77" alt="C5" title="C5" /> <span class="hide-link"><a href="music/032d.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+  </td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><b>Soprano.</b>&mdash;The soprano is generally clear, bright, and
+penetrating in tone; capable, if rightly produced, of
+"carrying" far without any appearance of force or effort.
+Its lower register is often weak and ineffective, and the
+forcing of those notes by a bad singer often damages the
+voice, and spoils the evenness of tone, which is of far more
+importance than power and noise in singing. Low notes,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>
+even if naturally weak, may be trained to take their proper
+share of the work of the voice, and every year will add
+to their natural power. Most soprano voices have a
+"break" on</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 118px;">
+<img src="images/033a.png" width="118" height="77" alt="G4" title="G4" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/033a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>and another, and more difficult one to deal with, on</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 116px;">
+<img src="images/033b.png" width="116" height="77" alt="E5" title="E5" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/033b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">or</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 118px;">
+<img src="images/033c.png" width="118" height="77" alt="F5" title="F5" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/033c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The lower notes are the (so-called) "chest" register; the
+middle ones, between the breaks, the "falsetto," and the
+upper ones the "head" notes. I shall speak of these
+often-used and frequently-misapplied words presently; I
+merely mention them now for the sake of pointing out to
+soprani, what many young lady amateurs utterly ignore,
+that they have these "breaks," and possess "chest,"
+"falsetto," and "head" notes, as well as male singers.</p>
+
+<p>Soprano voices are frequently capable of great flexibility,
+and passages are easy to them which tax the powers even
+of a light mezzo-soprano severely. The high notes, especially,
+are in many cases easily produced in a staccato
+manner, like notes of a piccolo flute, and an effect is thus
+made, which, though pretty and pleasing if judiciously
+employed, becomes a great snare to many singers, who
+for the sake of astonishing their audience work the upper
+part of their voices unfairly, and, neglecting steady use
+and practice of the lower registers, will very soon find that
+they have weakened the power and thinned the tone of
+the whole voice.</p>
+
+<p>But there are many voices of pure soprano tone which
+lack this flexibility: let the fair owners console themselves
+with the recollection that good <i>sostenuto</i> singing is quite<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>
+as pleasing, in the long run, as displays of vocal gymnastics.
+You may not be able to attempt the "<i>Dinorah</i>" Shadow
+Song, or the "Rejoice Greatly" in the "<i>Messiah</i>," but you
+will find that you have plenty of good work left for you
+in such music as "Dove Sono," "Deh vieni, non tardar"
+("<i>Figaro</i>"), or "Jerusalem" ("<i>St. Paul</i>").</p>
+
+<p>Moreover, you may possibly have what is a much rarer
+gift (in a pure soprano) than flexibility&mdash;you may have a
+tone of voice capable of executing declamatory music with
+fine effect. Music of this kind is generally appropriated
+by some mezzo-soprano of high compass, and more properly
+belongs to voices of that class; nevertheless, the
+effect of sustained declamatory music, well executed by a
+real soprano, is unrivalled in its way.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Mezzo-Soprano.</b>&mdash;The mezzo-soprano voice is perhaps
+the commonest of all female voices, and yet one of the
+rarest met with in perfection. It is fuller and rounder in
+quality than the soprano&mdash;less flexible, and more adapted
+to a <i>sostenuto</i> or declamatory style. Mezzo-soprano voices
+vary so much that it is difficult to name any note on which
+the "break" will be found. Sometimes it is on the same
+notes as a soprano&mdash;sometimes on the same as a contralto&mdash;on
+the average, perhaps, nearer the former. Wherever
+it may be, however, a judicious teacher will soon point
+it out, and put the student into the way of rightly treating
+it. Teaching, and <i>good</i> teaching, is especially necessary
+for voices of this class, for their fortunate possessors are
+generally ignorant of the value of the treasure which they
+possess in a good mezzo-soprano; and if it be of light
+quality, they fancy themselves soprani, and force the upper
+register of the voice in trying to "stretch their compass;"
+or if their low notes develop first, they think that "with
+practice" they are to be contralti; and by over-exercise
+and fondness for displaying those deep notes, they run the
+risk of widening the break, and rendering the quality of
+the whole voice hopelessly uneven.</p>
+
+<p>What lies within the sphere of a good mezzo-soprano
+has been shown in late years by a Grisi and a Tietjens,
+the latter of whom will live in the recollection of all who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>
+ever heard her, as the perfect model for every mezzo-soprano
+in the production of the pure tone and even quality.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Mezzo-Contralto.</b>&mdash;The name mezzo-contralto
+speaks for itself. It is by no means an uncommon voice,
+and if used with discrimination is an effective and useful
+one. Both in compass and quality it lies between the
+contralto and the mezzo-soprano. Heavier in tone, less
+resonant, and less flexible than the mezzo-soprano, it is
+yet lighter than the contralto. Pure contralto voices are so
+rare that many mezzo-contralto singers appear as exponents
+of contralto music, and by paying chief attention to the
+lower register of their voices, they become fair imitations,
+and more than passable substitutes, for the real article.
+The possessor of this voice must be guided by the advice
+of a good teacher as to the direction in which her voice
+should be trained. Sometimes the natural quality of the
+voice renders it advisable to attempt rivalry with the mezzo-soprano,
+rather than with the contralto; sometimes the reverse.
+It is a question for decision by a competent adviser
+in each individual case, and therefore I shall not attempt
+to lay down any decided rule, except my oft-repeated one,
+"<span class="smcap">Go to a master, and a first rate-one</span>,"&mdash;a point on
+which I shall have more to say further on. How impossible
+it is to lay down rules for a mezzo-contralto is shown by
+the fact that an eminent living "mezzo-contralto" is gladly
+accepted on our opera stage as a leading contralto, and
+yet succeeds admirably in such a part as Rossini wrote for
+a mezzo-soprano of the most florid kind&mdash;<i>Rosina</i> in "<i>Il
+Barbiere</i>."</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Contralto.</b>&mdash;The quality of a true contralto voice is
+so peculiar that it is impossible to mistake it for any other
+voice, although other voices may be mistaken for it. Of
+course, there are exceptional cases in which the contralto
+and mezzo-contralto are combined in one voice: the lower
+range being of full and pure contralto quality, while instead
+of the somewhat limited upper notes of the contralto,
+a rich mezzo-contralto range of notes may develop
+themselves; and in such a case careful training will be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>
+able to soften these two into each other, so that a complete
+voice of peculiar charm and great usefulness will result.
+But such cases, if not rare, are certainly the exception
+and not the rule, the deep and powerfully resonant tone
+of the true contralto being comparatively seldom met
+with. There is generally an awkward break between the
+low B and the D above it in this voice, and E<span lang="en" title="flat">&#9837;</span> or E are
+the highest notes within reach of the average contralto.
+Voices of this class are better adapted for a species of
+ballads, for solemn declamation, or music of a calm and
+flowing character, than for elaborate execution or lively
+melodies. But here again exceptions must be made in
+favour of those who have the physical means, as well as
+the artistic skill, to study such music as that of the <i>Page</i>
+in "<i>Les Huguenots</i>," <i>Arsace</i> in "<i>Semiramide</i>," or "<i>La
+Cenerentola</i>." For an average English contralto, however,
+the best line of study is in good songs and ballads, and,
+chief of all, oratorio music.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Alto.</b>&mdash;The alto, or counter-tenor voice, is said by a
+well-known English alto singer to be "simply a development
+of the <i>falsetto</i>&mdash;generally the <i>falsetto</i> of an inferior
+bass voice." It is said to be almost peculiar to English
+singers, and to that fact is ascribed its extensive and
+effective use in the fine works of the English Cathedral
+School of composers. Of course, in a voice which is so
+artificial, there must be expected a worse "break" than
+usual&mdash;the break in this case being the point below which
+the falsetto cannot be extended, and where the natural
+"chest" quality of tone has to be used. This break
+generally lies near the same place as the contralto break&mdash;if
+anything, rather higher&mdash;say between C and E in
+the middle of the voice. The effective notes of an alto
+usually lie in the octave of B or B<span lang="en" title="flat">&#9837;</span>, and the repertoire
+of music for which this voice is suited is comparatively
+limited. That repertoire, however, includes the greater
+number of oratorios, a good deal of fine old Italian music,
+and a few old English songs; while a singer of cleverness
+and cultivation will find many ballads which he may make
+his own by the help of transposition and style of delivery.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Great pains must be taken by the possessor of an alto
+voice in the formation and production of a good tone.
+The voice must be made to sound as <i>natural</i> as possible;
+and, if necessary, power must unhesitatingly be sacrificed
+to sweetness. There is great danger of producing a
+harsh, reedy, or nasal tone, which, to the hearer, is simply
+distressing or offensive.</p>
+
+<p>Above all, let him be content to develop his own means,
+and to keep to music suited to or written for his voice. A
+good alto will make no effect, and will do his voice and
+style harm, if he "poaches on the preserves" of other
+voices&mdash;tenors, for instance, or basses&mdash;(singing the songs
+of the latter an octave higher). I once heard an alto&mdash;a
+fair singer so long as he stuck to his own work&mdash;make an
+absurd exhibition of himself by attempting the great song
+"Love Sounds the Alarm," in "<i>Acis and Galatea</i>," at a
+public concert!</p>
+
+<p>Let him also beware of the snare of contralto music.
+The alto in a man is totally distinct from the contralto in
+a woman. The tone is utterly different&mdash;the best notes of
+the one are certainly not the best notes of the other; and
+although in certain cases a contralto may sing with good
+effect music written for a male alto (<i>e.g.</i> in some oratorios),
+yet the converse is scarcely ever true. The low notes,
+which are so fine in a contralto, and so unlike any other
+tone except perhaps a few notes of some tenors, are utterly
+wanting in charm, and generally in power, in a male alto;
+while the sweet and ringing middle notes of the latter are
+far more effective in alto music than the (frequently) weak
+and uncertain middle notes of a contralto. Choose your
+music as you name your voice, by the quality of tone you
+can produce, and not by the range of notes.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Tenore-Leggiero.</b>&mdash;The <i>tenore-leggiero</i> or "light
+tenor," is the male voice corresponding to the female
+soprano; it is perhaps the most delicate and difficult to
+manage of all human voices. In the present day, when
+fashion is all in favour of noise, it is difficult for any but
+the strong-minded to stand firm against the tendency to
+shout and bawl, which appears to be the highest aim of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>
+many singers, and the highest admiration of most audiences.
+Now for a light tenor to attempt this style of
+singing is simply suggestive of the old fable of the frog
+who tried to make himself as big as the bull, and burst
+in the attempt. There is a modern school of singing
+which, though it may be suitable enough for heavy voices
+such as basses and robust tenors, is fatal to light and
+delicate voices. The style of singing, and of music to be
+sung, by this voice, is quite different from that appropriate
+to strong and full organs; and, if you are the possessor
+of a light tenor, you must at once rid yourself of the
+common amateur fancy (a fancy, too, by no means confined
+to amateurs) that you must imitate a certain ever-popular
+living tenor, whose name has passed almost into
+a proverb as typical of the perfection of English singing.
+You <i>cannot</i> be a "Reeves" or a "Braham," therefore it
+is only waste of time and strength for you to try. But
+there is a great deal of music which neither a "Reeves"
+nor a "Braham" could sing, which is well within your
+reach; and more than that, there is a great deal of
+excellent music which, though you cannot sing it <i>like</i>
+them, you may render very effective in a totally different
+style. Very often a <i>pianissimo</i> is quite as expressive as a
+<i>fortissimo</i>, and grace and sweetness are frequently an
+excellent substitute for power and force. You must be
+content to recognize that the latter are out of your reach,
+and that the effects which you can produce are to be
+attained by other means.</p>
+
+<p>However, while assuring you that power and force are
+not given to you, I do not mean to say that voices of your
+class need be at all inaudible in a space however large.
+The tone of a light tenor is generally clear, resonant, and
+penetrating; sometimes there is a metallic ring about it
+which is extremely pretty, if not forced. I have heard a
+light tenor, singing at the back of the Covent Garden
+stage, send his voice clearly out into the great theatre,
+with apparently more ease than his "robust" friend, who
+was shortly afterwards vociferating at the footlights.</p>
+
+<p>A light tenor must be careful not to force up the lower
+register of his voice beyond its natural and easy limit.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>
+The charm of the voice is in the perfect blending together
+of the lower, middle, and upper registers, and to do this
+the upper notes of each register should be equally at
+command, as the upper notes of that register or the lower
+notes of the one above it. In order to attain this, the
+change from one register to another should generally be
+made considerably lower than the place where the real
+"break" in the voice comes. For instance, supposing
+the "break" to be on E<span lang="en" title="flat">&#9837;</span>, the singer should be able to
+change his register as low as B or B<span lang="en" title="flat">&#9837;</span>, and to take all the
+notes between those two places, either in the upper or
+lower register, with equal effect.</p>
+
+<p>In voices of this character there is often one note
+which requires to be <i>made</i>&mdash;<i>i.e.</i>, which is so naturally
+defective in tone and quality that it can only be produced
+effectively by imitating as nearly as possible the quality of
+the register above or below it. This note is generally E,
+F, F&#x266f;, or (sometimes) G, between the middle and upper
+registers; and if you find that you unfortunately have
+such a refractory note, remember not to try and force the
+tone of it from the next note above or below; <i>e.g.</i>, if your
+bad note is F, do not try to improve it by singing E well
+and then passing on to the F; but try and form the note
+from the fifth above or below (whichever it happens to
+resemble most in tone). Rounden the refractory note&mdash;give
+it a full tone in practising, and produce it well from
+the chest, letting the sound reverberate from the centre of
+the roof of the mouth&mdash;neither too far back towards the
+throat, nor too much on the teeth. Your teacher, if he
+knows his business, will soon put you into the way of
+this. Voices vary so much that these very general remarks
+must suffice here; but each voice, if it has its peculiar
+difficulties, has also, doubtless, its peculiar charm;
+and for light tenors, rich in both charms and difficulties,
+the rule is all-important: Do not try to imitate anybody
+else, but let your aim be to do the best that can be done
+with such natural gifts as you may have, aided by the
+best training that you can procure for them.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Tenore-Robusto.</b>&mdash;The robust or strong tenor is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>
+the male voice corresponding to the mezzo-soprano of a
+female. It is not an uncommon voice, but is rarely met
+with in anything like perfection. A robust tenor voice
+of large compass and round full tone is a treasure of the
+utmost value. The fact is, that too frequently the possessor
+of a good voice of this kind, instead of taking care
+of it and training it for the future, begins using it too soon,
+strains and forces it into coarseness, and spoils it for ever.
+People do not realize that a voice may be strong in quality
+and powerful in tone, and yet in itself be an excessively
+delicate thing to keep in order.</p>
+
+<p>Moreover, voices of this kind in their youth frequently
+resemble barytones, and their owners, fired with ambition
+to rival some popular barytone singer, mistake their vocation,
+and shout and bellow on the very part of the voice&mdash;the
+upper "chest" register&mdash;which requires the tenderest
+nursing to fit it for future difficulties. Consequently,
+when the voice develops with age, and the singer finds
+that barytone work is too heavy for the lower part of the
+voice, and that he can without much difficulty extend his
+compass beyond the barytone limits, he discovers that
+what he has been using as the top of his voice is nearer
+the middle of it, and that the mode of using those notes
+which he has practised is excessively difficult, if not impossible,
+with those which now lie above them. The result
+is either the creation of a very awkward "break," which
+even time and practice can never entirely remove, or else
+(and this is a commoner case) the same process of forcing
+which has been employed hitherto is applied to the upper
+notes, as far as strength can take it! This is the reason
+why so many tenor singers are utterly unable to produce
+the real tenor "tone," and sound like barytones forced up
+to a higher compass. There is no sweetness in the upper
+notes so produced&mdash;nothing but force and noise; while
+the hapless perpetrator of the howls which represent high
+notes turns scarlet in the face, and quivers all over with
+his exertions. I therefore give to tenors of this class exactly
+the same warning that I gave to soprani:&mdash;Do not
+ignore the fact that you have three, or at all events two,
+distinct registers of the voice, the (so-called) "chest,"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>
+"throat," and "head." Do not suppose, when you hear
+a great singer produce on a high note exactly the same
+quality of tone as he produced on a low one, that he did
+it exactly the same way, or "got it from the same place,"
+as some people say. The perfection of his training and
+the diligence of his practice have enabled him to assimilate
+the quality of one register to that of another so completely
+as to deceive your ear. The proof that this is true
+may be found in inspecting a great deal of music written
+for and sung by the most famous operatic tenors of the
+past&mdash;the singers of that pure Italian school of which so
+few disciples now remain.</p>
+
+<p>There are notes and passages in that music which no
+"chest" register could by any physical possibility execute,
+but some of which have been sung within the recollection
+even of the "rising generation" with all the effect intended,
+and with the very tone that critical slang calls "chest
+notes," (simply because it so closely resembles the tone
+of chest notes that few, if any, can detect that they are
+differently produced from the low notes.)</p>
+
+<p>For obvious reasons I abstain from mentioning the
+names of any living singers, but I can name one, not very
+long since dead, who attained the highest reputation here
+as a <i>tenore di forza</i>&mdash;whose "chest notes" were chronicled
+by the newspaper critics, and were the envy of aspiring
+youths&mdash;and yet who has ever been heard distinctly to
+deny that he ever produced those notes in the same way as
+the lower ones, and to laugh at the idea that such a thing
+was possible; and this was Mongini.</p>
+
+<p>I have entered into this at some length because it is a
+point which is more and more ignored by the singers and
+teachers of this generation. I might almost say that a
+school of singing exists the whole aim of which is to
+abolish the natural upper part of the voice, in order to
+stretch and force the one lower register up beyond its
+natural compass. I do not deny that in certain cases a
+voice results from this treatment which is powerful,
+effective, and capable of executing a good deal of music
+with much success and satisfaction to the performer; but
+for one case where this treatment so far succeeds, it fails<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>
+in twenty to produce a voice both pleasing and useful; it
+is, moreover, in singers trained on this method that we
+most commonly hear the odious (and involuntary) trembling
+of the upper notes commonly called the <i>vibrato</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Therefore, to sum up those who find, when their voices
+begin to form, that the natural quality of their voice is
+lighter than that of a bass, had better make up their minds
+at once to give the voice fair play, and let it alone for a
+time; then consult a good master, or one really experienced
+in hearing singers, as to what the future of the
+voice is to be. It is by no means easy always to decide
+at that early period whether the permanent quality of the
+voice will be tenor or barytone, and therefore it is folly
+to try and settle the question for yourself by singing, in
+untaught style, music which may prove to have been all
+along unsuited to you. Your patience in waiting till the
+voice really declares itself will amply repay you afterwards
+by the absence of the difficulties which too early a use of
+the voice would have created for you to overcome.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Barytone and Basso-Cantante.</b>&mdash;The barytone
+voice is thus described in Stainer and Barrett's "Dictionary
+of Musical Terms:" "A voice of fuller quality than a
+tenor, and lighter than a bass, having a compass partly
+included in both.... This voice has only been
+distinguished by name as being of a separate character
+within the present century. Early writers indicate its
+existence by the use of its special clef. The term barytone
+is unmeaning unless it be looked upon as a corruption
+of barytenor; but it is quite possible it was borrowed from
+the instrument barytone or bardone, which occupied a
+place between the tenor and bass viols."</p>
+
+<p>The derivation of the name from "barytenor" is slightly
+absurd, considering that half that extraordinary word is
+Greek and the other half Latin; whereas the name barytone
+is a Greek word, used by Aristotle, and meaning
+"deep-sounding."</p>
+
+<p>The distinctive character which this voice has assumed
+within the present century is due, I believe, to the great
+change in the pitch of musical instruments which has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>
+taken place. In the last century the pitch was so much
+lower than that at present in use, that a "high barytone"
+was much the same as a "robust tenor." Consequently,
+music was not written exclusively for the barytone voice,
+its existence as a separate class of voice not being sufficiently
+recognized. Gradually, as the pitch was raised,
+the barytone separated itself clearly from other voices,
+and has now a repertoire of music and a style of singing
+of its own; and instead of appropriating tenor music, it,
+if anything, has stolen away some of the property of the
+bass; for the raising of the pitch which placed tenor
+music beyond the reach of a barytone has also rendered
+a good deal of music originally written for a bass far more
+suitable for a barytone, or at all events for a basso-cantante.
+I am well aware that by many musicians the basso-cantante
+is identified with the barytone. The distinction is
+so slight that it is not worth while to quarrel over names;
+but that the two voices are distinct I am persuaded. The
+basso-cantante is of fuller and rounder quality than the
+barytone proper; less flexible, less metallic in tone, and
+generally rather lower in compass. But the method of
+using both voices is the same, and for all purposes of
+amateur singers no distinction need be insisted upon.
+Professionals, however, who have to deal with heavy work
+on a large scale, will soon find that there is a good range
+of music more suited to the rich voice of greater volume
+and less flexibility (which I distinguished as the basso-cantante)
+than to the bright, flexible voice which has
+something of the tone of a full "tenore-robusto," and
+which is the barytone proper. Neither of these voices
+is much troubled with a "break," although there is a
+perceptible difference between the natural quality of the
+lower and upper octaves of the voice when quite uncultivated.
+This difference, however, which makes itself felt
+<span class="figleft" style="width: 219px;">
+<img src="images/043.png" width="219" height="52" alt="F3 G3 A3" title="F3 G3 A3" />
+<span class="hide-link"><a href="music/043.mid">[Listen]</a></span>
+</span>
+in the region of these notes, is got
+rid of in practice without any of
+the same difficulty which is encountered
+by tenors or contralti in managing the decided
+breaks in their voices. The possessors of barytone voices
+may therefore be looked upon as having comparatively<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>
+"easy times of it." There is a large repertoire of music
+at their disposal, including much of the most popular
+ballad music of this century and the last; the voice is generally
+a favourite with an audience; the style of barytone
+singing is undisputed, and the singer will not find himself
+violently criticised by the partizans of a rival school of
+singing to that in which he himself has been trained, which
+is inevitably the fate of tenors!</p>
+
+<p>Only let him avoid the temptation to shout, and to sing
+up to the very top of his compass at full pitch. Unfortunately,
+an English audience does like a noise, and appreciates
+plenty more than beauty of tone. It is tolerably
+easy for a barytone to be a showy singer, and therein lies
+the greatest danger to his chance of ever being a really
+good one. He must be content to go through his training
+quite as self-denyingly and perseveringly as any one
+else who is gifted with fewer natural advantages.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Bass.</b>&mdash;Of the bass voice less need be said here, not
+because it is a less important voice than any of the others,
+but because it is more generally known and better understood.
+A perfectly pure bass voice is, however, a rare
+thing. This voice has no upper register, properly speaking;
+the whole voice consisting of "chest" notes, and not
+admitting of even the process of developing upper notes
+of extraordinary quality, which is part of the training of a
+barytone or a basso-cantante. Power and richness are the
+chief qualities of charm in a bass, while flexibility and true
+intonation are the qualities most rarely found in that voice.
+The young singer who finds that he certainly is not meant
+by nature for a tenor, and also that with all his efforts the
+upper notes of a barytone are quite out of his reach, need
+not be discouraged by any lightness or thinness of quality
+in his voice from the hope that he may develop into a good
+bass. The full and rich quality of this voice is later in
+showing itself than is the case with any other voice, and
+the young singer must be content to study for some time
+with the compass of a bass and the quality of a kind of
+barytone, till Nature puts him in full possession of his
+powers. Only he must study bass music, and not try,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>
+because his voice is of barytone quality, to sing barytone
+music. Let him, on the contrary, avoid trying to extend
+the compass of his voice in the upper notes, and give his
+best attention to the lower ones. The upper ones will be
+well within his command in time, and if he will be content
+to let them alone at first, he may become a truly "celebrated
+bass;" but, if he persists in shouting at them now, he will
+never have anything but coarse upper tones, only fit to be
+heard behind a costermonger's barrow, or in "comic"
+songs at the Music Halls.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Buffo.</b>&mdash;The last remark reminds me that I have said
+nothing about a class of bass singers very useful in certain
+Italian and French operas&mdash;the <i>buffo</i>, or comic bass.
+The development of voice with these singers is of less consequence
+than the study of a peculiar style, a good deal
+of the point of their songs consisting in the entire elimination
+of anything like musical tone from many notes and
+passages. A clever and good buffo singer may very likely
+be able to sing other music well, but the style is so entirely
+dramatic and so utterly out of place anywhere except on
+the stage, that no amateur should ever attempt it, and no
+professional should appear <i>in a concert-room</i> as the exponent
+of such music. Therefore, for those who wish to sing, any
+remarks on the peculiarities of a buffo bass would be superfluous;
+those who wish to study that line as a profession,
+for stage work, must learn all that they need from a regular
+dramatic teacher; while those who wish to execute English
+"comic" songs, may spare themselves any anxiety as to
+their voices: if they have any voice naturally, "comic"
+singing will soon destroy its charm, and that will not
+matter to them, for the last thing necessary to sing a
+"comic" song is the possession of a voice of any kind.
+Therefore, if you have a bass (or any other voice, indeed),
+avoid "comic" songs, and leave the "buffo" business to
+those who can do nothing better.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Qualities of Voice, Good and Bad.</b>&mdash;It may not
+be unwelcome to the student to have pointed out to him
+those qualities of voice which are to be aimed at or cultivated,
+and also those which are to be avoided or overcome.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The charms of a voice are found among the following
+qualities: clearness, sweetness, evenness, flexibility, power,
+extent of compass, variety, brilliancy, firmness, persuasiveness.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p>
+
+<p>On the opposite side must be ranked roughness, huskiness,
+feebleness (or want of power), shrillness (or want of
+depth), hardness and want of flexibility, dulness, or want
+of "ring," &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>It is, of course, impossible for any one voice to unite in
+itself all these merits or all these defects; and you cannot
+give yourself merits which Nature has withheld; but you
+may marvellously improve what natural merits you have,
+and do wonders in overcoming any difficulties which
+Nature has placed in your way.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="INSTRUCTION" id="INSTRUCTION">ON INSTRUCTION, MASTERS, AND
+"SINGING TUTORS."</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>The voice, and how to use it, is a subject which has troubled
+many minds, and no doubt this will continue to be the
+case; but the difficult problem will not be solved by running
+to pettifogging teachers, who advertise to teach all
+that is known of singing, and a little more, in twelve easy
+lessons, without previous knowledge or practice at home,
+for the small fee of one guinea! Let it be stated once
+for all: singing cannot be taught in twelve easy lessons,
+and can scarcely be acquired in one hundred very severe
+lessons. Therefore distrust at once any one who holds
+out so tempting a bait to you; remember that there is no
+"royal road" to singing, any more than there is to the
+acquirement of any other art; and the person who tells
+you that he can teach you to do without trouble that which
+costs great artists the study of a lifetime, proclaims himself,
+<i>ipso facto</i>, to be a humbug.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Schools of Singing.</b>&mdash;There are several so-called
+Schools of Singing. There is a French School, which for
+any language but French is bad, and which very seldom
+turns out a pleasing singer. There is a German School,
+which is worse, being simply the production of coarse noise.
+Some people say that there is an English School. I hope
+there may be some day, but at present its existence is
+rather doubtful, unless those who talk of an English school
+of singing mean the Cathedral style&mdash;which for solo work
+is detestable&mdash;or the old school of Oratorio singing, with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>
+its Handelian traditions, which was not an English, but
+an Italian, and the best Italian, school.</p>
+
+<p>In fact, there is but one school of singing in the world,
+and that is the Italian. Whatever language you wish to
+sing in, whatever style of music you wish to study principally,
+you must train your voice, produce it, and learn to
+use it in the Italian method, if you hope ever to deserve
+the name of a singer.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Masters.</b>&mdash;Of course, in a work of this sort, it is impossible,
+and would be wrong if it were possible, to mention
+the names of living teachers: therefore I can only
+give general hints. If possible, study only under a master
+whom you know to have lived in Italy, and to have studied
+there for some years under some good master or in some
+good Conservatoire&mdash;Naples, Milan, and Florence generally
+supply the best. Possibly, for an English singer, an
+English master <i>who fulfils these conditions</i> may be better
+than even an Italian, as he should understand better the
+peculiarities of English voices and temperaments, and
+would know at once where the chief difficulties would lie.
+Let me, however, correct a popular error. A good singer
+is not necessarily a good teacher, nor is it necessary for
+a first-class teacher to be able to sing at all. Nor need
+you necessarily look for your master among foreigners
+with fine sounding names. There are two or three good
+teachers of singing in this country who are foreigners;
+but there is also some native talent equally capable of
+teaching singing, as it is accepted in this country at the
+present time. These know the English style better than
+any foreigner can teach it, and after all, style is the chief
+consideration.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Institutions.</b>&mdash;As we have no real English School of
+singing, it is perhaps fortunate that we have no Conservatoire.
+There are, however, Institutions accessible to those
+who cannot afford to have masters at home or to place
+themselves under a private teacher. Of these, the chief
+is the Royal Academy of Music, in Tenterden Street,
+Hanover Square. There is also the National Training<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>
+School of Music, the London Academy of Music, also the
+Guildhall School, and there is Trinity College, London,
+where I believe singing lessons may also be obtained. To
+all these establishments singing masters, more or less
+good, are attached, and it is open to any one to obtain
+admission to the concerts given from time to time at the
+institutions themselves, and to form some kind of opinion
+as to the teachers from the performances of the pupils. It
+would be well for an intending student to do this, for of
+course at any institution where there are several professors,
+one might suit you and another might not; it is even conceivable
+that one professor might do all for you that you
+could possibly require, while another professor might be
+an ignorant charlatan. Therefore, hear their pupils and
+judge for yourself, making inquiries at the same time of
+musical people who are qualified to express an opinion
+on singing. I must not, however, withhold from my
+readers my conviction that private lessons are better and
+more effectual than those taken in schools and academies.
+The terms at these public institutions are such that they
+preclude the possibility of more than twenty or thirty
+minutes being devoted to each pupil, and that is <i>not</i> a
+sufficient time to bestow upon a lesson. Forty-five or
+sixty minutes are needed to give a good lesson; and the
+pupil who pays fifteen shillings or a guinea for this, does
+a wiser thing than the one who pays a fourth of that sum
+for, say, twenty minutes' attention.</p>
+
+<p><b>A First Opinion.</b>&mdash;The actual successful teachers of
+singing in London may be counted on the fingers of one
+hand, and those who are qualified to teach singing, but who
+are not specially successful, may be found on the remaining
+five fingers. Each of these professors would probably
+not take less than one guinea the lesson, and it would,
+honestly, be far cheaper in the long run to pay this sum
+for one good lesson in singing than it would be to have
+fifty lessons founded upon wrong principles, even for nothing.
+And for this reason: teachers of this calibre will
+not trouble themselves about you or your guineas unless
+you have a promising voice, some general musical talent,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>
+and show signs of becoming, to some degree, a credit to
+your <i>teacher</i>, for to these men guinea pupils are very plentiful,
+and it is only reasonable that a guinea from a clever
+pupil should be worth considerably more to a sensitive
+artist than the same amount from a fool. Therefore, a
+first opinion from one such teacher may save your spending
+money, time, and energy on a pursuit in which you
+can never succeed.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Bad Lessons.</b>&mdash;Never take a bad singing lesson till
+you know how to sing. You may then do so (if you care
+to), and learn the "how not to do it" of singing. It is
+commonly supposed that the earliest singing lessons may
+be administered by any "dabbler," and the last touches
+given afterwards by a "finishing master." Never was there
+a greater error. Pay your guineas first, and your shillings
+afterwards. If you cannot afford to have good instruction
+in beginning to sing, you will be still less able to take it
+afterwards, for artistic reasons. Remember that every bad
+singing lesson which you take hardens old faults and
+creates new ones, and, moreover, takes you farther and
+farther away from your original starting-point. So, when
+you begin under the right man and the right method, you
+have to <i>undo</i> all this that you have expended toil and
+money to acquire.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Bad Teachers.</b>&mdash;It is astonishing how much money
+is wasted by people who want to sing, through not going
+at once to the fountain-head for the necessary training.
+Because a man is a musician many people conclude that
+he must necessarily be able to teach singing! Such an
+idea is scarcely less monstrous than that of a man being a
+good physician and consequently competent to amputate
+a limb, or to take out and reset an eye. Do not follow this
+"multitude to do evil." Be as careful in inquiring about
+your singing master as you would be about your doctor.
+Both in London and in the country there are "professors"
+whose knowledge of singing stops at professing&mdash;the class
+of people who (very likely) keep a music-shop, tune your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>
+piano, play polkas and waltzes for your evening parties,
+and have a brass plate on their doors to this effect:</p>
+
+<table border="1" cellpadding="15" summary="Brass Plate">
+  <tr>
+    <td class="center">
+      <span class="smcap big">Mr. Handel Moscheles Ignazio Jones,<br />
+      professor of the pianoforte, harmony,<br />
+      the violin, italian, and singing.</span>
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>All honourable professions, no doubt; but to profess to
+combine them all is dishonourable, and insulting to the
+common sense of those who know anything of any one of
+the subjects professed. A singing master, if he is worth
+anything, must be a man of one trade&mdash;singing. For the
+teaching of singing is a "specialty," and the man who can
+teach it <i>properly</i> is not likely to be a man of all (musical)
+work.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Books of Exercises, &amp;c.</b>&mdash;There are numerous
+"Singing Tutors" published, giving rules, exercises, <i>solfeggi</i>,
+&amp;c. Many of these are excellent, and some nearly
+perfect. But all alike are useless or worse than useless to
+the tyro, without a master. You might as well suppose
+that a child could learn to be a carpenter by having some
+fine wood and a box of good tools.</p>
+
+<p>I have before observed that voices vary as faces do; no
+two are exactly alike, each voice having its peculiar merit
+and its peculiar defect. Now, a good master will treat
+each voice on its own merit, and not place it at first on
+the Procrustean bed of a book of rules and exercises. He
+will probably write down his own exercises expressly for
+his pupil, and if not that, he will select certain exercises
+from the book, and forbid others to be attempted for a
+time. You must also let your master select such a book
+for you, so that you may have one in which the rules do
+not contradict those which he has already given you
+verbally, or else you will be perplexed with a multitude
+of counsellors.</p>
+
+<p>It is not till a certain stage in singing has been reached,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>
+under the training of a master, that any book of exercises
+can be of service to you. When that stage is reached, you
+will find such a work of great use in a part of your labours.
+Among such books may be named as especially good,&mdash;Concone's
+Exercises, Righini's, Guercia's, Nava's,
+Lablache's, and Lamperti's; but, again I say, do not
+choose for yourself. There are some excellent rules, as
+well as some good exercises, in an old work of the kind
+by Crivelli, and also in "Singing Exemplified," a work
+by T. Cooke. If you can meet with these, secure them&mdash;although
+I fear they may be long since out of print&mdash;for
+in the literature of singing the <i>new</i> is by no means
+certain to excel what was written in the days of our best
+composers and singers of operas and oratorios.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ON_THE_PRACTICE_OF_SINGING" id="ON_THE_PRACTICE_OF_SINGING">ON THE PRACTICE OF SINGING.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>Remember that the voice is of all instruments the most
+difficult one to study, and to bring perfectly under control,
+especially for the first year or two. Do not attempt to
+cultivate it with the view to professional remuneration,
+unless you can set apart at least two hours daily for most
+careful study, and can also afford to wait at least eight or
+ten years for any <i>substantial</i> pecuniary reward for your
+labours.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Individuality.</b>&mdash;It is of great importance to bear in
+mind that no two voices are exactly alike. To some
+singers is given quality of voice, to others quantity. And
+for each alike, steady, well-aimed, and well-ordered practice
+is indispensable. But, whatever you sing ought, like your
+voice, to have some touch of individuality: the song should
+seem to come naturally from you, and to be the spontaneous
+expression of your thoughts. At the same time
+you must not lose sight of the all-important guide which
+you have in the composer's intentions and wishes. Remember
+that a small and delicate voice may be made to
+go as far as, if not farther than, a voice of large volume
+and long compass. By judicious management, by touching
+expression of the softer feelings, by careful selection of
+music to be performed, the obstacles which are placed in
+a singer's way by want of power may be effectually removed,
+because the audience will irresistibly feel the
+influence of the singer's individuality. The difficulties of
+the singer who has the gift of quantity rather than quality<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>
+of voice, are in some respects greater, because the necessity
+for thus impressing on his audience a sense of his own
+individuality is not so strongly forced on him by circumstances.
+Not only has he to labour to attain a good quality
+of tone, but he must also resist the temptation to fancy
+that "might is right," and that the "sensation" caused by
+a powerful voice is all that he need aim at. And here let
+me say, the way to get quality is to listen as often as
+possible to some leading singer of your own kind of voice.
+Try and imitate his tone; but above all practise with a
+medium tone&mdash;a <i>mezzo-voce</i>&mdash;listen for the beauty in your
+tone, and think of what you are doing when practising.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Perseverance.</b>&mdash;The surest means of improving and
+strengthening the voice is by constantly exercising and
+practising it. Just as the muscles and fibres of the legs
+of a pedestrian are increased and made capable of great
+exertion by careful training, so is it with the nerves and
+muscles of the throat. With judicious training, the compass
+of the voice is extended, its quality is improved, its
+tones grow rounder and firmer; and, if the master is a
+good one, and the pupil is willing to study patiently for
+some time, never resting content, but always aiming at
+further progress as year succeeds year, he may not unreasonably
+hope to attain a well-earned place in his profession,
+and its attendant reward.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Facial Expression.</b>&mdash;A looking-glass should form a
+part of the furniture of a singing student's study, for it is
+most important to watch the face&mdash;its features and expressions&mdash;when
+singing; and it is none the less useful for
+insuring the constant right position of the mouth. In
+respect to the facial expression when singing, there is a
+very great tendency to look too serious, too severe, and
+too hard when earnestly studying. Now, a cheerful and
+good-humoured expression does not necessarily imply
+carelessness, and it is far more agreeable to the audience
+than an anxious and troubled look. Some people look
+quite savage when singing; and when rendering passages
+of love and tenderness, their features are far more indicative<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>
+of rage, revenge, and murder! And this very common
+fault is generally quite an unconscious habit. It is only
+to be remedied by constant care, and to this end practice
+before a looking-glass will be found very helpful.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Position of the Body.</b>&mdash;How to stand when
+singing has been explained by a great number of writers
+on the subject, and most of the explanations given have
+been chiefly remarkable as being entirely erroneous and
+false. The body should not be kept in a perfectly upright
+position, as it is (too popularly) believed that it should.
+The best position is when the body is well collected,
+with its chief weight upon the right leg and foot, with
+the head gently leaning forward, and the arms and, indeed,
+the whole carriage disposed in that manner which would
+indicate to the audience a sort of desire on your part to
+<i>persuade</i> them and bring them over to your feelings and
+sentiments. When the right leg begins to tire with the
+weight of the body, the left leg can take its duty, when
+the right may be gracefully drawn back as in dancing.
+The best lesson on this subject, however, can be gleaned
+by carefully watching the <i>pose</i> of a good Italian singer
+during singing.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Self-Accompaniment.</b>&mdash;A sitting position is a very
+bad one in which to practise. All singing should be done
+in a standing position, and the student is strongly urged
+to adhere to this rule. Instead of sitting at the pianoforte,
+and accompanying an exercise or "solfeggio," it is
+far better to sound the first note of each passage therein,
+and master the same without any accompaniment. The
+advantages of this mode of practising must be obvious;
+but one of the most important is, that the attention is not
+divided between the pianoforte and the voice, while it
+leaves the singer free to give all his attention and care to
+the <i>production</i> of the notes which he is endeavouring to
+sing artistically.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Position of the Arms.</b>&mdash;I would urge upon the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>
+student to hold a piece of music in his hands while he
+practises. There is a place for the hands when singing
+in public; but this place is neither the trouser-pockets,
+nor on the hips, nor behind the back, nor across the
+chest, but rather that position which is secured by
+<i>leisurely</i> holding the music-sheet, not as if actually singing
+therefrom, but as though it were merely intended for
+reference, if required. This easy attitude not only gives
+the hands and arms their legitimate position, but also
+lends a grace and freedom to other parts of the body, all
+which points must be attended to in singing. Remember
+to keep the arms well away from the body. Some singers
+stick the elbows into the waist, as though to give support;
+instead of doing which, they hinder the free action of the
+lungs, besides giving an awkward look to the whole figure.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Position of the Hands.</b>&mdash;Do not let your hands
+hang down, but keep them well before you, in some position
+which allows of your turning the palms uppermost. In
+this way you (as it were) lock the joints of the shoulders,
+and put a check on the tendency to raise the shoulders,
+which is an invariable consequence of taking breath
+wrongly. Keep your shoulders well back, your elbows
+depressed, and your hands with the palms uppermost, and
+you will find it difficult, if not impossible, to indulge in
+the vice of heaving the chest and shoulders up and down,
+like the piston of a steam-engine!</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Position of the Throat.</b>&mdash;One of the first conditions
+of singing well is to keep the throat open. To have
+the throat in its proper position the tongue must be kept
+down, and hollowed like the bowl of a spoon, its root being
+well depressed. Nor must the throat ever be allowed to
+screw itself up small, a common failing of many singers
+whenever they approach a high note. Most of my readers
+have yawned once or twice in their lives: if they will do
+it once more, in front of their looking-glass, and watch the
+inside of the mouth as they yawn, they will see and feel
+the exact position in which the throat should be during
+good singing. It will be useful to repeat this proceeding<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>
+until the mind is thoroughly impressed and the memory
+familiarized with the feeling of the mouth and throat in
+this, the correct position for singing.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Position of the Throat, &amp;c., in Soft Singing.</b>&mdash;When
+singing softly, or <i>piano</i>, as it is called, take great
+pains to keep your throat as open as you would for singing
+loudly, leaving it entirely to the mouth and lips to
+keep the tone soft, yet steady and firm. Do not forget,
+too, that in soft singing it is a great advantage to keep the
+mouth in a smiling position.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Position of the Tongue.</b>&mdash;The tongue, while being
+so useful, is nevertheless a very unruly member in singing.
+It has so great a tendency to get out of its place. Its legitimate
+office is to rest quite flat, or even hollow, in the
+bottom of the mouth, with its root well down, as this keeps
+the throat-passage clear, and with the tip of it just touching
+the lower teeth. Get a looking-glass, and continually
+watch the position of the tongue. Never allow it to roll
+up or turn about when singing, or the effect produced
+will be scarcely worth repeating. The tongue should
+occupy the least possible space in the mouth, and this is
+the case when the directions here given are carried out.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Position of the Larynx.</b>&mdash;The larynx, or upper part
+of the wind-pipe, plays a most important part in singing.
+Upon it depends all the beauty, and quality, and richness
+of the voice. The singer will do well to constantly think
+about the larynx, to watch it, to feel that it is well down
+below the mouth before commencing the first note of a
+song, which note must, under such circumstances, be rich,
+round, and penetrating. Then the larynx must never be
+allowed to rise above this fixed point. It may be deepened,
+and must be, for the higher notes, but it must never ascend,
+or nearly approach the roof of the mouth, or the sound-passage
+is closed, and the sounds become at once impure,
+vitiated, and without body or foundation.</p>
+
+<p>Try and guard against the bad habit of pushing forward
+the chin when singing, otherwise the tone cannot fail to
+be faulty. The chin should be well down on the chest,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>
+and the larynx quite low, to lead to an easy and pure production
+of tone. To be constantly moving both the jaws
+for every note, continually displaces the larynx, impairs
+the purity of the tone, spoils the articulation of the words,
+and, what is worse than all, produces a hideous expression
+of the features, which latter fault would alone be sufficient
+to prejudice seriously the chances of any singing artists.
+The lower parts of the jaws, not the upper ones, should
+do the work; and when a high passage or note is before
+the singer, the lower parts of the jaws should be exercised
+to drop as the notes increase in height. The singer's face
+should be controlled, if no other member can be so regulated.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Singing in the Head.</b>&mdash;There is, in all beginners,
+a tendency to sing too much in the head, that is, to have
+the foundation of the tones too high up in the throat.
+This fault is due to the difficulty experienced by beginners
+in keeping the larynx sufficiently below the mouth. The
+fulness of tone, the rich, round, and mellow quality which
+is so much admired in all good singers, is almost entirely
+owing to the voice being pitched low down, and not high
+up in the throat, towards the back of the head (as it <i>appears</i>
+to be).</p>
+
+<p>A few trials of this will soon convince the student of
+the vast difference in the character and <i>timbre</i> of the tones
+of these two ways, and also of the economy of the plan
+here recommended, so far as regards the wear and tear
+of the voice in practice.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Throatiness.</b>&mdash;Throatiness, or singing in the throat,
+is the common enemy of all English singers. Our language
+is the chief cause of this disagreeable habit, which
+we begin to acquire as soon as we learn to talk. Still, by
+diligence, the evil can be cured, and no better plan can
+be followed than to constantly practise singing the vowel-sounds
+Ah, A, E, O, throughout the compass of the voice,
+taking every possible care&mdash;and this is the point&mdash;never
+to allow the <i>tone</i> to vary, nor to leave the teeth, and not
+to screw up the throat, especially in high notes. It is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>
+impossible to produce a "throaty" quality of voice if the
+throat is well open, and the tone is firmly directed, and
+kept on the upper teeth and front of the mouth. On the
+other hand, if the student screws up the throat, rolls the
+tongue, or practises singing without being constantly on
+the look-out for the "voice on the teeth," the result must
+be a "throatiness," which is most disagreeable to all people
+who have any real knowledge of what singing should be.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Clearing the Throat.</b>&mdash;Singers, good and bad, are
+often troubled with an apparent stoppage in the throat,
+and this inconvenience seems to be at its worst just at
+that moment when they wish to sing. To displace or to
+cure this stoppage, they begin hacking and coughing
+("clearing the throat" as it is called), which proceeding,
+however, only makes bad worse for the time being, and
+finally grows into a habit, till at last such people cannot
+venture to open their mouths without first subjecting the
+throat to a series of these irritating "hacks." A good
+master will soon cure this complaint by refusing to continue
+the lesson whenever the pupil gives way to the bad
+habit. It is in many cases simply a nervous trick, and if the
+singer will accustom himself to <i>swallow</i> instead of coughing,
+whenever he feels the sensation of which we are
+speaking, he will soon get rid of it. If it results in any
+case from real weakness of the throat, it may be beneficial
+to gargle three or four times a day with moderately strong
+salt and water, especially before singing. This does no
+harm to the voice, and by bracing and strengthening the
+muscles of the throat renders them more obedient to the
+singer's will.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>High Notes.</b>&mdash;Many people find great difficulty in
+counting, with any degree of certainty, upon the top notes
+of their register. I know of no greater assistance towards
+bringing these out than that of well contracting the mouth
+and lips at the beginning of the passage in which these
+high notes occur, dropping the lower jaws, and securing
+a good play of the mouth as the highest note is reached,
+at the same time keeping the throat as open as possible,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>
+ejecting the sound to the audience with as much "lip-force"
+as can be secured, being careful that the tone is safe "on
+the teeth" before the note is "opened."</p>
+
+
+<p><b>The Scale.</b>&mdash;There can be no doubt whatever that
+the grand groundwork of all singing is the diatonic scale.
+On it is built all the graceful forms and figures which belong
+to the great artist. Yet how few seem to know and
+to appreciate this fact! To excel, the diatonic scale must
+be practised most seriously and assiduously in its plain
+and simple form; nor must it be left until the student
+can sing every note therein purely, without wavering or
+flutter, and with precision, in the soft, medium, and loud
+voices.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano.</b>&mdash;The singer will
+derive much advantage by bearing in mind that the voice
+has three main gradations which the Italians class as the
+<i>forte</i>, the <i>mezzo di voce</i>, and the <i>piano</i>. The management
+of these three is of vital importance, and the singer should
+certainly practise the scales in all three voices, and have
+each at command for every exercise and passage which
+he studies.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Tone.</b>&mdash;The tone of the voice must never be vitiated
+or rendered impure from any cause whatever. There is
+always a danger of this in passages of great energy and
+passion, but it should be remembered that whatever be the
+effect aimed at, it cannot be attained by any means which
+involves a change in the tone of the voice. The first and
+chief consideration must always be to produce a good tone
+in the right manner. If the tone be not good, the singing
+cannot be agreeable; and if it be not produced in the
+right manner, you have no security that it will be equally
+good throughout the voice, or in passages of all kinds.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Chest, Falsetto, and Head Voice.</b>&mdash;I have already
+said that there is a good deal of confusion existing
+as to the use of the terms "chest," "falsetto," and "head
+voice." And this is scarcely to be wondered at, seeing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>
+that nobody has yet decided <i>how</i> the three qualities of
+sound are produced, while everybody knows that the names
+are so far misleading, in that no sound whatever is really
+made in the <i>chest</i> or in the <i>head</i>, but that all are due to the
+passage of air through the larynx, in which are placed the
+vocal cords upon which the air plays. The changes of
+sound which are spoken of as "chest," "falsetto," and
+"head" voices are due to changes in the position of the
+larynx and its surroundings, and in the action of the vocal
+cords. What those changes are, and how or why they
+cause the results which we hear, has yet to be discovered:
+there are several theories, but no one has yet ventured to
+claim the certainty of truth for any one of them. There
+is an excellent article on "The Larynx" in Stainer and
+Barrett's "Dictionary of Musical Terms," to which I would
+refer those who wish to understand these various theories.
+For my present purpose it is sufficient to point out that
+each of the names is an utter misnomer. The "chest"
+voice is probably so called because the vibrations of the
+notes in that register may be distinctly felt in the chest;
+and because the breath passes directly from the chest, as it
+seems, without any opposition in the throat, producing the
+sound on its way. The "falsetto," or range of notes above
+the chest, is so called (and rightly so) because in that register
+of voice the tone <i>feigns</i>, or imitates, the tone of the
+"chest" notes below, although it is certain that the sounds
+are not produced in the same way, for the position of the
+vocal cords and their attendant parts is different, and
+changes suddenly on the passage of the voice from the
+chest to the upper register. A falsetto, rightly trained
+and used, is one, therefore, which is true to its name, and
+so well imitates the "chest," that the hearer cannot distinguish
+the "false" from the real "chest tone." The
+"head voice," which many people persist in confusing with
+the falsetto, is so called because to the singer it feels as
+though the notes so produced came from the head. This
+is due to the larynx itself rising up in the throat and approaching
+the back of the head. It comprises, in reality,
+<i>all</i> that part of the voice which lies above the "chest"
+register, all the lower part of it being shared by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>
+"falsetto," exactly as the falsetto shares the greater part of
+the chest register. The falsetto, therefore, belongs to both,
+and its use is to carry, by its power of imitation, the tone
+of the lower or chest register into the upper or head
+register, so combining them that no audible change of
+quality, or "break," is perceptible.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Scale Practice.</b>&mdash;It cannot be too strongly impressed
+upon, or too frequently pointed out to, the singer (no
+matter what may be the stage of his or her artistic development)
+how desirable and advantageous it is to be constantly
+singing exercises and solfeggi in preference to songs.
+It is a popular fallacy, especially among amateurs, that
+the practice of scales and intervals should be left behind
+as soon as possible. Pray do not be mistaken. The never-failing
+daily practice of singing open chords in solfeggi,
+scales, and exercises, is fraught with advantages which
+cannot be gained by the study of yards, or even miles, of
+song tunes. As an instance of how much may be done in
+the study of scale practice, the writer would point out that
+this particular exercise should not be left until the student
+can sing the diatonic scales throughout the whole extent of
+the voice in one unbroken breath, and with one quality,
+character, and volume of voice. When this point has been
+reached, its peculiar efficacy will be so apparent as not to
+require any recommendation or advice for its daily continuance.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>First Exercises.</b>&mdash;This is a book of advice, not of
+exercises, nor do I profess to teach you, but only to point
+out to you, how you must prepare to be taught. I cannot
+too often repeat that no book by itself can teach you singing,
+and my object is not to supersede a master, but to induce
+you to place yourself under a good one. However,
+it may happen that circumstances of time, place, or pocket
+prevent your doing so as soon as you would wish, and it
+is far better even to learn from a book what you can in the
+way of rules and exercises, than to go on singing by the
+light of nature, or under a cheap and inefficient master, or
+working at exercises too advanced for a beginner (which
+is as bad as not working at any at all). I therefore give<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>
+here a few simple but most important exercises, which you
+may work at until you are able to place yourself under the
+care of a good master. Bear in mind, first, all that has
+already been said here about taking your breath, the position
+of standing, the form of your mouth, and place of
+throat, tongue, teeth, &amp;c., and study the following exercises
+daily say to the extent of thirty minutes three times a day,
+with full attention to all the above points:</p>
+
+<div class="hide-link"><p class="center"><a href="music/practice.pdf">[Exercises in PDF]</a></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 591px;">
+<img src="images/063.png" width="591" height="100" alt="Exercise 1" title="Exercise 1" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/063.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Sing this fully and firmly. It should be begun and
+ended with the same quality and "thickness" of sound, as
+suggested by the even line over each note. You should
+be able to hold each note out in one breath for twenty
+seconds without the slightest alteration being perceptible
+in the tone, any more than there would be if it was a note
+proceeding from an organ-pipe. Practise it on each of the
+following sounds consecutively: "A" in "Bard," "A"
+in "Fate," "E" in "Steel," "I" in "Life," "O" in
+"Pole," "U" in "Rule," prefixing each sound by L, and
+so singing Lah, Lay, Lee, Li, Lo, Loo. In singing this
+first exercise, which for basses and barytones will be, of
+course, an octave lower, be careful not to force the lower
+notes, and do not seek to get a powerful tone thereupon.
+The tone does not need to be full and heavy on these
+notes, but rather should be a <span class="smcap">well-produced</span>, light, and
+thin quality of note. The way to proceed is: (1) To inspire
+the breath from the bottom of the lungs as it were&mdash;not
+raising the shoulders. (2) Steady the breath for a second
+or so in the chest while you THINK the note you are
+about to sing, and while you prepare your throat and
+mouth for singing by lowering the larynx and opening the
+throat. (3) Then begin to sound the note&mdash;not from the
+back of the mouth, but from the tip of the tongue and
+the front teeth&mdash;thus taking the whole of the tone out of
+the mouth, which is what is required to be done. Sustain
+the note till you have only a little breath left&mdash;then finish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>
+off in a clean manner, and allow the remaining breath to
+leave the lungs and body in an orderly way.&mdash;Repeat the
+same operation for <i>every</i> note, and if you desire to make
+progress, give a minute's attention of this kind to every
+single note.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 586px;">
+<img src="images/064a.png" width="586" height="96" alt="Exercise 2" title="Exercise 2" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/064a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>and so on, rising by semitones until you come to this:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<img src="images/064b.png" width="582" height="81" alt="Exercise 2, continued" title="Exercise 2, continued" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/064b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>which is certainly the highest that you ought to attempt at
+present.</p>
+
+<p>Exercise No. 2 is a first step towards joining notes, and
+is another difficulty in the matter of <i>production</i>. The
+object to be aimed at is to sing the two notes which are
+bound (or tied) together with the same breath, and the
+same body and quality of tone. To step from C to E,
+the first movement in the exercise is to raise the voice a
+major third; but the student must pass from his mind
+any notion of raising the throat in order to sound the
+higher third. As the note E is higher than the C, the
+tone of the former must be generated lower in the chest
+than had been the case with the C. The higher the note
+to be sung, the lower must be its generating-point in the
+chest. This is the only way to <span class="smcap">open</span> the voice, and I need
+scarcely say that it produces an entirely different tone and
+method than are secured by the common habit of screwing
+and tightening the throat, in proportion as the notes
+ascend in pitch.</p>
+
+<p>Another good exercise which may be combined with the
+last-given is the following:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 580px;">
+<img src="images/064c.png" width="580" height="204" alt="Exercise 3" title="Exercise 3" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/064c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span></p>
+<p>This exercise (3) must be sung in the same manner as
+indicated with No. 2, care being taken as each note gets
+higher to pass <i>under</i> the preceding note, and not as it
+were to generate a high note over a lower one.</p>
+
+<p>After which you may take this:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 592px;">
+<img src="images/065a.png" width="592" height="100" alt="Exercise 4" title="Exercise 4" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/065a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>but sing it very slowly and deliberately, bearing in mind
+the production of the high notes.</p>
+
+<p>As you begin to get all these notes firm and round, you
+may take these same exercises in D, D<span lang="en" title="flat">&#9837;</span>, and E<span lang="en" title="flat">&#9837;</span>, but be
+very careful not to force the upper notes.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 580px;">
+<img src="images/065b.png" width="580" height="307" alt="Exercise 5" title="Exercise 5" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/065b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Exercise 5 is one where the question of the breath and
+its proper management becomes of vital importance.
+The reader will observe the notes are bound together, and
+the student's attention should be turned towards passing
+from one note to the other, without any appreciable difference
+in the <i>quality</i>&mdash;I do not say pitch&mdash;of the tone.
+Having inspired in the manner already explained, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>
+singer will sound the <i>Do</i> with a pure, sympathetic, not
+harsh or forced sound; and by <i>pressing down</i> the breath,
+will <i>lift</i> the voice on to the <i>Re</i>. When he has succeeded
+with the step of a second, he can go on to the step of a
+third, fourth, &amp;c. The care must be to utilize the breath,
+always supporting the tone with the breath. If the sound
+wavers, then there is something wrong with the breath.
+You are either singing with too little, or are forcing the
+breath.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<img src="images/066a.png" width="582" height="264" alt="Exercise 6" title="Exercise 6" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/066a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>And so on.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<img src="images/066b.png" width="582" height="182" alt="Exercise 7" title="Exercise 7" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/066b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>And so on, descending the scale by semitones.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<img src="images/066c.png" width="582" height="187" alt="Exercise 8" title="Exercise 8" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/066c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Practise No. 8 slowly and steadily, with perfectly even
+tone throughout, without any crescendo or diminuendo.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p>Let all the above exercises be taken successively, <i>forte</i>,
+<i>a mezzo-voce</i>, and <i>piano</i>, preserving exactly the same amount
+of tone throughout each passage, and holding the notes
+with the same force with which you attack them steadily
+to the end, not letting them die away. The trick of letting
+notes die away is easily learnt afterwards, but at present
+you have to master the far greater difficulty of holding
+notes firmly with unvarying tone. Practise these exercises
+on all the vowel-sounds already given. All such exercises
+are of course only variations of the diatonic and chromatic
+scales, so arranged as to prepare the voice for executing
+those scales evenly and perfectly, with equality of tone on
+every note; for till you can sing scales, you are not fit to
+sing songs of any kind.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Duration of Practice.</b>&mdash;Always guard against over-straining
+and over-working the voice. Do not sing or
+practise for a longer time than half an hour without allowing
+the voice rest for some time. If you have three hours
+at your disposal daily to devote to singing, the most
+economical use of the time is to divide it equally between
+the morning, afternoon, and evening.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Singing in Tune</b>.&mdash;Correct intonation is of the
+greatest possible importance in singing. Every singer
+should pay especial attention to this point. The heavier
+the voice, the more necessary becomes such attention,
+and therefore contralti and basses are strongly advised to
+lose no time in facing this (to them) considerable difficulty.
+Deep basses, indeed, are rarely perfectly in tune for any
+long time together, and some of the most famous bass
+singers have left behind them recollections of this painful
+defect. Therefore, whatever be your voice, do not take
+for granted that even the possession of a good ear will
+always ensure your singing in tune. Sometimes excellent
+singers, and good musicians too, will sing out of tune,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>
+perfectly aware that they are doing so, but, for a time,
+unable to prevent it from physical causes&mdash;relaxation of
+the throat, fatigue, indisposition, &amp;c., under which conditions
+the muscles are unable to obey the will as usual.
+Do not, then, make too light of this matter, because you
+may think yourself quite incapable of singing out of tune;
+it is at all events wiser to be on the safe side. Therefore,
+never practise (nor sing, if you can help it) with a pianoforte
+which is not well in tune and well "up to pitch."
+And be very constant in practising intervals, such as major
+and minor sixths and sevenths, so as to be able to strike
+them as perfectly in tune and as unvarying in quality as
+the notes of an organ diapason.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>How to Begin.</b>&mdash;Many people never make a good
+start when beginning to sing any piece. Now a very good
+remedy for a part of this evil is not to prepare yourself
+too soon. Use the bar immediately preceding that in
+which your part commences to gather up your faculties,
+and, to use a common phrase, "to pull yourself together;"
+then let the muscles of the body gently settle down. The
+ease and freedom acquired by this momentary call upon
+the system is very remarkable; and for the singer especially
+the hint cannot be too often acted upon.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Variety Indispensable.</b>&mdash;An unchanging volume of
+sound is very soon wearying to the ear; and therefore a
+singer who scarcely ever varies the pitch of his voice will
+find that however loudly he may sing, his audience will
+have a feeling of dissatisfaction, as though they could not
+hear him distinctly&mdash;the fact being that their ears, being
+fatigued with the uniformity of the noise, cannot do their
+proper work, and the attention therefore flags. One great
+secret of being agreeably heard by an audience is to vary
+the body of tone (not the <i>quality</i> of it, observe). As a
+rule singers are left tolerably free to do as they like in this
+respect. Composers of songs rarely give them any help
+in the matter. In fact, nowadays so many people compose
+"vocal music" without knowing anything about the vocal
+instrument for which they compose, that it is not wonderful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>
+that they ignore their power of helping the singer by
+properly combining duly marked <i>forte</i>, <i>piano</i>, and <i>mezzo-voce</i>
+passages, so as to ensure a variety of effect. Therefore,
+in most modern music, a singer has to take his own
+"reading" of a song, and to make it as effective as he
+can by varying the power of his voice. It might even be
+taken as a rule that every <i>forte</i> passage should be succeeded
+by a soft one. The voice should rise and fall, and be
+varied in its inflexions in that agreeable manner which is
+so marked in good orators and dramatic elocutionists.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Chorus Singing.</b>&mdash;If you are studying seriously for
+solo singing, you must discontinue all chorus singing,
+especially during training. Singing in church choirs and
+choral societies must be abandoned. And this not because
+there is no good to be learned there, but because the little
+good is by no means commensurate with the great amount
+of harm which is acquired along with the good. To
+enumerate here all the evil habits so easily learnt would
+be impossible. Not the least of them, however, is the
+tendency to shout louder than your neighbour, to use
+yourself to the bad habits of those on each side of you;
+to produce a bad tone; to "chop" the passages instead
+of phrasing them; to attack notes carelessly; to sing
+coarsely; to depend on others; to get into a machine-like
+regularity of rendering the music. All these evil
+habits are the result of chorus singing; and while many
+of them are detrimental to the voice itself, it may be
+safely said that any one of these habits is fatal to good
+solo singing.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Humming.</b>&mdash;Some people have a wretched habit of
+continually humming tunes. Pray do not get into this
+habit of singing unconsciously&mdash;than which nothing is
+more prejudicial to the voice. You should never sound a
+note without being perfectly aware of what you are doing,
+and that it is being done in the right manner. The faults
+acquired by "humming over," as it is called, are of the
+worst kind, and, moreover, they are far sooner acquired
+than eradicated.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p><b>Studying Songs.</b>&mdash;Be careful, in studying a new song,
+not to waste either time or strength by a trifling and superficial
+treatment of it. "Whatever is worth doing at all,
+is worth doing well." First of all, <i>sol-fa</i> the melody a
+few times in a full <i>mezzo-voce</i>. Then study it with rather
+stronger tone, paying attention to lights and shades, yet
+at the same time being chiefly occupied with the melody
+itself. Then make your breath-marks, and adhere to the
+same unfailingly. Then sing the melody once throughout,
+in order to find the weak places; having found which,
+you need no more practise the whole of the melody, but
+give all the attention to these latter phrases. Having
+mastered these, the melody will be complete. It will then
+be necessary to determine where the notes shall be made
+to <i>bend</i> into each other, to add the <i>nuances</i>, a few graceful
+figures and effects which belong alone to the true artist.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Imitation.</b>&mdash;By no means the worst lesson which you
+can have will be gained by imitation of some acknowledged
+first-rate singer, whose voice is of the same kind as your
+own. Before going to a concert at which any such artist
+is announced to sing, procure copies of his songs (if possible),
+and make yourself acquainted with the compositions
+first of all. Then go and hear how those works are rendered
+by the singer who is to be your model; listen with
+your copy in your hand; make notes of any points which
+strike you, and while the impression made upon you is
+still fresh, go home and imitate them as closely as you can.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>General Musical Study.</b>&mdash;If you want to be a good
+singing artist, many more things besides singing should be
+studied. You should be sufficiently acquainted with the
+pianoforte to play your own accompaniments, even of the
+most difficult songs, well enough to get an idea of them.
+Then a knowledge of harmony, counterpoint, and orchestration
+is of the greatest value. The study of the best
+scores, orchestral and vocal, should not be neglected, and
+further, the student should make himself or herself otherwise
+familiar with the rise and progress of the art, by
+reading all the best books on the subject, whether historical,
+critical, or biographical.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ON_STYLE" id="ON_STYLE">ON STYLE, EXPRESSION, &amp;c.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>The study of language, articulation, and deportment, the
+gradual formation and building-up of the singing voice,
+and the incessant practice of scales and exercises, are in
+reality only the necessary preliminaries to singing itself.
+Singing, or the proper use of the voice combined with the
+due enunciation and expression of the words, is nothing
+unless due attention be also paid to style, to the fit and
+effective execution of the music selected, due regard being
+paid both to taste and tradition.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Traditional Styles.</b>&mdash;Although the groundwork of
+all good singing is the same, the music to be sung varies
+greatly in style. There is church music, oratorio music,
+and opera music, as well as ballad music; and a certain
+nondescript&mdash;half recitative, half declamation&mdash;which is
+of modern growth, gives pleasure to many people (both
+performers and audience), and comprises the greater
+number of modern German "songs."</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Modern German Lieder.</b>&mdash;This latest development
+of vocal performances, of which I desire to speak
+with all due respect, has no traditions whatever, but it has
+a style, decided, though (in my opinion) bad. It has,
+however, one merit: it imperatively demands that the
+singer should understand the meaning both of words and
+music, for the whole thing depends on expression and
+modulation. The composers of these works generally do
+their part fully in the way of modulations and accompaniment;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>
+but as they frequently forget to supply anything in
+the shape of a melody, the singer must do his best to
+touch or move his audience by his expressive delivery of
+the words in the musical inflections which (with this class
+of composers) occupy the place of a "tune." However,
+if you admire this kind of music, and have been properly
+taught to sing before you attempt to execute it, I have
+not a word to say against it: so long as you use your voice
+legitimately, this style of music can do you no harm, and
+if you study dramatic expression and elocution properly,
+you may doubtless produce an effect very pleasing to
+others who admire it. But the danger of such music to
+the untrained voice and untaught singer is very great
+indeed; and I do not hesitate to say that the frequent
+performance of it by such an one <i>must</i> result in the ruin
+both of voice and style.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>The Cathedral School.</b>&mdash;The one point in music
+wherein England has just reason to boast of her past, is
+the existence of a distinct class of music composed for
+her church service, and that music of a high order of merit.
+Distinctive in character, this church music&mdash;"services"
+and "anthems"&mdash;has created for itself a distinct school
+of singers, and, by tradition, demands a distinct style of
+performance. I have elsewhere stated that the "Cathedral
+School" of singing is "detestable for solo work," and
+so it is for any solo work except cathedral solo work, where
+the operatic or oratorio style of singing would seem to us,
+who have always been familiar with the traditional and
+one accepted style, out of place, and irreverently suggestive
+of the concert-room. It is difficult to describe upon paper
+the peculiarity of this style of singing, and it could only
+be learnt by imitation in its own home, the cathedral. Its
+chief characteristics are a sort of passionless "statuesqueness,"
+a steadiness of tone akin to the notes of the organ,
+which is its only fit accompaniment, an absence of all
+attempt at personal display on the part of the singer. Its
+faulty tendencies are towards deficiency of expression and
+slowness of "attack;" these are apparent, generally, when
+a "cathedral" singer appears in the concert-room; but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>
+in church, the pervadingly reverent character of the performance
+takes off the impression of coldness and tameness
+in the individual singer, while the ear, accustomed
+to the slight difference in time with which the various
+organ-stops "answer," does not notice in the singer that
+want of "crispness" in the time which the accompaniment
+of an orchestra reveals at once.</p>
+
+<p>Unless you are really intending to sing professionally in
+a church or cathedral choir, the study of this style will
+not be of much use to you; you will find its good points
+equally insisted on in the oratorio school of singing, while
+its defects should be avoided in any. For <b>English part-singing</b>
+there is, however, no training so good, its traditions
+being exactly those of the finest old English secular part-music&mdash;the
+madrigals of Wilbye, Weekes, and Purcell, &amp;c.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Oratorio.</b>&mdash;By oratorio singing&mdash;speaking of it as a
+distinct style&mdash;I may say at once that I mean the school
+of Handelian singing, of which the traditions are distinct,
+and which has only been slightly modified to suit the more
+modern oratorios of other composers. Of course, Mendelssohn
+cannot be sung exactly like Handel or Bach, but
+the general style of delivery should be the same, and till
+you can sing Handel, you cannot hope to be able to sing
+Mendelssohn. The ability to sing Handel, Bach, and
+Glück, I believe to be the sole foundation for a pure style
+of singing either in opera or ballad music: the music is
+such that it cannot be trifled with&mdash;the difficulties cannot
+be evaded, but must be mastered&mdash;while the exquisitely
+smooth and vocal character of these great masters' music
+trains the singer to an evenness and solidity of style which
+is most valuable in any music that may be afterwards attempted.
+Moreover, the songs of Handel form an admirable
+school for the training of individual taste and judgment
+in the introduction of ornaments, the variety of phrasing,
+and other minute details of finish. Not that you may
+exercise your individual taste in introducing ornaments
+into Handel or Bach&mdash;far from it; but the songs are
+written with the express intention that certain ornaments
+should be introduced in particular places, and the style<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>
+(and in many cases the notes) of these ornaments has
+been accurately handed down to us; therefore, in learning
+this traditional manner of singing such music, the student
+is trained to a knowledge of the appropriate place for the
+introduction of ornamentation and "grace"&mdash;the appropriate
+character of such embellishments, and the appropriate
+opportunities for introducing them. For instance,
+most of Handel's songs commence with a movement which
+is intended to be repeated at the close of the song, the
+middle part being generally a movement in some relative
+key, which is not repeated. The traditional style of giving
+such songs is to reserve ornamentation for this repeated
+first part, and thus to avoid the effect of sameness which
+would result from adhering in the "repeat" to exactly the
+same rendering of the music with which the singer gave it
+at first. Such ornamentations were taken for granted by
+the composer, and it was only because of a tasteless abuse
+of this privilege of adornment on the part of foolish singers,
+an abuse which became an unbearable nuisance, that in
+after years Rossini adopted the plan of writing into his
+music florid passages which should supply the singer with
+ornaments which were good of their kind and which were
+put in in appropriate places, rather then trust his airs to
+the mercy of inartistic "decorators." Handel, and the
+composers of earlier times than Rossini, omitted the ornamentation,
+so as not to hamper the singer, for, as has been
+well said by an old writer on the subject: "The same execution
+that would from one singer afford pleasure, might
+from another excite disgust: the compositions of old masters
+have no written cadences to a repeated passage, for this
+very reason, no doubt. But it is understood, and indeed
+expected, that the singer of talent should display his own
+taste by the introduction of such fanciful and graceful
+ornaments as may be best calculated to exhibit his voice
+to advantage, and thereby heighten, instead of lessen, the
+effect of the composition."</p>
+
+<p>The same writer, in explaining the reason for the introduction
+of such ornaments and changes, goes on to remark:
+"In conversation, though we frequently repeat words and
+even sentences, in expressing any particular subject, yet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>
+we might as naturally expect to see a person laugh without
+a smile, as give such repetitions without some variation in
+voice and manner.</p>
+
+<p>"The first part of an air is often written to be repeated.
+In justice to the author, when that is the case, simplicity
+of style should be inviolably preserved; but, on repeating
+the strain, free scope may be given to the imagination,
+taking it for granted that no person would be vain enough
+to attempt the introduction of his own fanciful graces, unless
+sufficiently master of the science to feel the propriety
+of going so far and no farther."</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps I may make the meaning of all this clearer by
+giving a few specimens of these traditionally accepted
+adornments in repeated passages.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 593px;">
+<img src="images/075a.png" width="593" height="118" alt="Music" title="First time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/075a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">ri - mem - - bran - za, Puoi di nuo-vo, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 594px;">
+<img src="images/075b.png" width="594" height="109" alt="Music" title="Second time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/075b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">ri - mem - bran - za, Puoi di - nuo-vo, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 594px;">
+<img src="images/075c.png" width="594" height="127" alt="Music" title="First time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/075c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">dol - ce ri - mem - bran - za, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 594px;">
+<img src="images/075d.png" width="594" height="120" alt="Music" title="Second time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/075d.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">dol - ce ri - mem - - bran - za, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 593px;">
+<img src="images/075e.png" width="593" height="240" alt="Music" title="First time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/075e.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Puoi di nuo - vo, di nuo - vo av - ve-len<br />
+<span style="padding-right:7.9em;">ar ................... mi.</span></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 587px;">
+<img src="images/076a.png" width="587" height="236" alt="Music" title="Second time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/076a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Puoi - di nuo - vo di nuo - vo av-ve-len<br />
+<span style="padding-right:7.8em;">ar ................... mi.</span></p>
+
+<p>The above are taken from a fine song by Cesti (1660),
+"<i>Tu mancavi a tormentarmi</i>."</p>
+
+<p>The following are the adornments taught in the Paris
+Conservatoire, as traditionally correct in the famous old
+song by Lotti, "<i>Pur dicesti</i>," where, it will be observed,
+one simple phrase, which occurs so frequently that it would
+be monotonous if unadorned, is made to yield a charming
+variety to the song by some elegant change at each recurrence.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/076b.png" width="588" height="119" alt="Music" title="First time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/076b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">quel so - a - ve ... car - o ...... si</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/076c.png" width="588" height="119" alt="Music" title="Second time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/076c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">quel ... so - a - ve car ... o - si</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 592px;">
+<img src="images/076d.png" width="592" height="120" alt="Music" title="Third time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/076d.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">quel ... so - a - ve car - o - si</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 590px;">
+<img src="images/077a.png" width="590" height="140" alt="Music" title="Fourth time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/077a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">quel.... so - a - - ve car - - o si</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 586px;">
+<img src="images/077b.png" width="586" height="248" alt="Music" title="First time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/077b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">pia - cer .....................<br />
+............ il mio pia - cer</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 587px;">
+<img src="images/077c.png" width="587" height="249" alt="Music" title="Second time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/077c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">pia - cer .....................<br />
+............ il mio pia - cer</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 581px;">
+<img src="images/077hr.png" width="581" height="13" alt="Horizontal Rule" />
+</div>
+
+<p>The following are from Handel:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 586px;">
+<img src="images/077d.png" width="586" height="110" alt="Music" title="First time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/077d.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">While re - sign'd to Heav'n... a - bove</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 585px;">
+<img src="images/077e.png" width="585" height="138" alt="Music" title="Second time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/077e.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">While re - sign'd to.... Heav'n........... a - bove</p>
+<p class="right" style="padding-right:10%;">(<i>Guardian Angels.</i>)</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 581px;">
+<img src="images/077hr.png" width="581" height="13" alt="Horizontal Rule" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 581px;">
+<img src="images/078a.png" width="581" height="118" alt="Music" title="First time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/078a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Trees where you sit, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/078b.png" width="583" height="153" alt="Music" title="Second time." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/078b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Trees where you sit, &amp;c.</p>
+<p class="right" style="padding-right:10%;">(<i>Where'er you walk.</i>)</p>
+
+<p>And of course the list might be almost indefinitely prolonged.
+Certain of these ornaments, once highly popular,
+have wisely been allowed to drop, and that is why I lay
+stress upon the importance of <i>accepted traditions</i>. You
+may get hold of copies of many songs of this kind which
+have the names of great singers attached to them, and yet
+give variations of the text which have never been accepted
+or generally approved. The great Braham himself was a
+terrible offender sometimes in this respect. For instance,
+in singing "<i>Comfort ye</i>," instead of the passage</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 580px;">
+<img src="images/078c.png" width="580" height="103" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/078c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">that her in - i - qui - ty is par - don - ed</p>
+
+<p>he would sing thus:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 580px;">
+<img src="images/078d.png" width="580" height="107" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/078d.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">that her in - i - qui - ty is par - don - ed.</p>
+
+<p>And I have seen an old copy of "<i>Holy, holy</i>," in which
+the melody is so overlaid with little black notes, semi-quavers,
+demi-semi-quavers, and semi-demi-semi-quavers,
+that it is difficult to distinguish the notes of Handel's
+music at all! The admissible changes are all very slight,
+and any elaborate cadenza, or considerable addition, is
+pretty sure to be wrong. Final high notes are a frequent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>
+snare to aspiring singers; the traditions of the old school
+of oratorio singing are not in favour of them, and they
+generally vulgarize a song if introduced where the composer
+has not clearly opened a way for them. I have
+heard a tenor singer conclude the famous "<i>Thou shalt
+break them</i>," thus:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/079a.png" width="583" height="114" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/079a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">pot - - - - - - - - - - - ter's ves - sel</p>
+
+<p>and a soprano finish off "<i>He shall feed His flock</i>," thus:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/079b.png" width="583" height="119" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/079b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">ye shall find rest ............... un - to your souls.</p>
+
+<p>&mdash;both of them pieces of vulgar display, bringing the personality
+of the singer before the audience instead of the
+beauty of the music, the sense of the words, or the merit
+of the composer. No such abominations are permissible
+in good oratorio singing, the rule of which is utter submission
+to the composer's intentions, and a conscientious
+endeavour to interpret his mind clearly to the audience;
+a pure and chaste delivery of words and music alike; a
+sustained excellence throughout, avoiding an attempt to
+astonish by bursts of power or brilliancy; and an entire
+absence of all claptrap or vulgarities to please "the
+gallery."</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Opera.</b>&mdash;A great deal of what has been said about
+oratorio singing applies also to operatic singing. But I
+strongly advise you against attempting opera music until
+you have studied the more severe and solid style of the
+oratorio. The declamatory passages in opera are doubtless
+more brilliantly impassioned, just as the florid airs are
+more startlingly elaborate, than in oratorio, and the recitatives
+less stately and sustained; but the style of good
+opera singing is only to be founded upon good oratorio<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>
+study (or its equivalent), inasmuch as it was out of the
+oratorio that the opera grew. Operatic singing allows
+more license to the singer than does oratorio; but the
+singer should have been taught first by the severer style
+not to misuse that license. At the same time when (as is
+not infrequent in operas of a certain kind) the composer
+has introduced airs for the express purpose of showing off
+a singer's voice, a well-trained singer may be accepted as
+interpreting the composer's intention rightly, when he or
+she elaborates <i>fioriture</i> far beyond the limits of which any
+hint appears in the score.</p>
+
+<p>Even here, however, traditional usage must have its
+weight: cadenzas must be strictly in character, and only
+introduced in songs to which such passages are appropriate.
+I once heard a florid cadenza interpolated at the close of
+"<i>Spirto Gentil</i>," by an aspiring young tenor, too full of
+conceit and "modern" ideas to take a hint from Mario's
+marvellous rendering of that song.</p>
+
+<p>And it must be borne in mind that it is only in operas
+of the Bellini, Donizetti, and early Rossini and Verdi
+school that such extreme license is granted. No such
+tricks can be played with the operas of Mozart, Glück,
+Weber, or Meyerbeer, or with the later works of Rossini
+and Verdi, while the notion of altering a note, or omitting
+even a demi-semi-quaver rest, in those of Wagner, would
+be, to his admirers, flat heresy. In reality, the style of
+singing opera music is easily acquired by any one who is
+sufficiently advanced to be fit to attempt opera music at
+all. There are certain niceties to be acquired, and endless
+beauties of variety in the rendering of even small passages;
+but these things cannot be taught on paper.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Ballads.</b>&mdash;There is no greater mistake than to suppose
+that "any one can sing a simple ballad." Good ballad
+singing is one of the rarest accomplishments, and demands
+qualities in the singer which <i>may</i> be wanting even in a
+person who can sing well both in opera and oratorio. To
+suppose that an untaught singer can do justice to any
+ballad that is worth the trouble of singing at all, is simply
+a mark of ignorance on the whole subject of singing.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Ballads do not always require power or compass of voice,
+it is true, nor do they tax the singer on the score of flexibility
+or physical strength; but they are the severest test
+of enunciation, <i>mezzo-voce</i> singing, neatness and readiness
+in producing tones of any gradation, and perfect control
+over the voice.</p>
+
+<p>To sing a ballad well demands a really cultivated taste,
+a certain dramatic power, suppressed it is true, but influencing
+the whole delivery; a sympathetic voice, and a
+manner which will enlist the interest and sympathy of the
+audience. Ballad singing is neither declamation nor recitative:
+there is no chance of surprising or astonishing your
+audience; but you <i>must</i> contrive to please them, you must
+<i>touch</i> them somehow; and, for an ordinary person in the
+costume of the nineteenth century, to "touch" others of
+the same species is not easy. Sometimes, no doubt, the
+words of a good song are in themselves so touching and
+charming that, so long as the music be not positively hideous
+or destructive of the sense of the words, the singer has
+only to let them be clearly heard, and the battle is won;
+but more frequently he has to trick his audience into
+interest in a song where the words in themselves are either
+hopelessly silly, or too obscure in sense for their full meaning
+to appear at a first hearing or reading. All that he can
+then do is to deliver it in such a way that they shall feel
+that there <i>is</i> a meaning to it all, though they have not fully
+caught it yet, and so they may wish to hear it again. I do
+not, of course, mean any allusion to the ridiculous fashion
+of <i>encores</i>, but simply that the feeling at the end of such a
+song should be one of liking it sufficiently to wish to understand
+it entirely.</p>
+
+<p>Many songs would tell their own tale and produce their
+own effect well enough, if the singer would let them, and
+therefore the ballad singer must only be sufficiently self-conscious
+to keep himself out of the way. However good
+his singing, however original his reading of the song, <i>while
+he is singing</i> it should all go to the credit of the song, and
+the hearers be charmed into forgetting <i>him</i> till he is silent.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Recitative.</b>&mdash;Good recitative singing is of great importance,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>
+and requires careful attention and study. Recitative
+is midway between speaking and singing; it is a
+sort of modulated intoning, that is, that in delivering it
+the note and the word that belongs to it should be given
+with equal intention, and appear to belong to each other
+so completely that the musical sound should seem to be
+the natural intonation which the reciter would give to the
+word. Recitative is (<i>or was</i>) practically an attempt to express,
+in musical notation, the inflexions of the human
+voice in speaking; and how accurately, in some cases,
+musical notation can do this, will be seen at a glance by
+the following illustration:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 344px;">
+<img src="images/082a.png" width="344" height="95" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/082a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Who are you?</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 344px;">
+<img src="images/082b.png" width="344" height="94" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/082b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Who are you?</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 343px;">
+<img src="images/082c.png" width="343" height="95" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/082c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Who are you?</p>
+
+<p>&mdash;where the question is asked in the same words, but the
+musical notes express clearly three different sentiments, or
+degrees of sentiment. This should be taken into consideration
+by the student; and he should strive to give
+his recitative with as natural a delivery as he can, placing
+himself mentally in the position of a dramatic reciter.</p>
+
+<p>Steadiness of tone, clearness of enunciating consonants,
+and full round delivery of vowel-sounds are indispensable
+to good recitative singing. Every note must be distinct,
+and not the faintest suspicion of a "slur" or <i>portamento</i>
+can be allowed.</p>
+
+<p>Recitative singing is not a thing which a student should
+try to teach himself, as he may not only waste his time,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>
+but gain notions which are erroneous and difficult to cure.
+For instance, take the recitatives in "<i>The Messiah</i>," as
+these are printed for the British public. Nothing could
+be more ludicrous than for a singer to appear in public
+and sing the recitatives faithfully as printed in the editions
+of this oratorio which are continually being disseminated
+throughout the land. Handel, let it be borne in mind,
+was <i>not</i> well acquainted with the English language; and
+though he may have written good music, he was often
+very far from reaching good literary sense. Thus, as regards
+this latter, this specimen passage occurs in Handel's
+"<i>Acis and Galatea</i>,"</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 584px;">
+<img src="images/083a.png" width="584" height="112" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/083a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Where shall I seek the charm-ing fair?</p>
+
+<p>Yet no one in his senses would think of rendering it other than</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/083b.png" width="583" height="101" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/083b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Where shall I seek the charm-ing fair?</p>
+
+<p>inasmuch as there is some doubt of the chord 6/4 which
+forms the grace note being Handel's music, and because
+the sense of the words demands that no break shall be
+made between the words <i>seek</i> and <i>the</i>. As Handel failed
+in his English, it is surely allowable to make good his
+deficiencies in this respect.</p>
+
+<p>The following paragraphs relate to certain minor details
+of style in singing, and apply to singing of every kind.
+They must be taken in conjunction with much that has
+already been said under the head of "Practice."</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Slurring.</b>&mdash;Slurring up to a note is a very disagreeable
+and common evil to be guarded against. It matters not
+how far distant the note to be sung may be from the preceding
+tone; it should be attacked fearlessly and cheerfully,
+but <i>with an open throat</i>. The note to be attacked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>
+must not be prepared in the throat. The course should
+be this. The tone of the preceding note must not be
+moved, but the one required&mdash;say a very high one&mdash;must
+be obtained by the joint process of lowering the larynx,
+of sounding the note from exactly the same spot as the
+lower note, in a soft but fine tone, and thirdly, by getting
+such a ring in the note as it can only have in conjunction
+with the feeling that while the root or foundation of the
+note is in the chest, yet it owes much of its penetrating
+character and power to a sort of reflecting power which is
+given it from the extreme end of the spine bone, where
+it joins the head. Certainly no high note is properly
+<i>produced</i>, nor to be relied upon for a <i>crescendo</i>, unless the
+student has this feeling that it springs from the back of
+the neck; and, in rising to an upper note, the aim should
+be not at length to approach the upper note from beneath,
+as it were, but to "come down" upon it&mdash;to strike it from
+<i>above</i> instead of from below.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Sentiment.</b>&mdash;Always try to convey the sentiment of
+what you may be singing through the tone of the voice.
+Love and anger cannot both be expressed with the same
+quality of voice. For the former, a delicate light tone
+well on the lips is desirable, while for the latter the voice
+should be produced lower in the stomach; yet the tone
+should still be kept on the lips; its character should be
+"darker," more round, and sonorous. "'<i>Tis this that
+racks my brain</i>"" such words as these should never be
+sung in the same character of voice as "<i>Waft her, angels,
+to the skies</i>." It is good practice to take any piece and
+sing the melody on an open vowel throughout, with the
+object of showing the meaning of the song without the
+aid of words. Then, when this can be done, the words
+may be employed, and the result will be doubly happy.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Decision.</b>&mdash;Indecision is a very serious fault in singing.
+Do well and thoroughly whatever you decide upon
+attempting. If you have a <i>staccato</i> passage to sing, render
+it firmly in that style; if you have one that is <i>legato</i>, take
+care that this character is <i>strongly</i> seen from your rendering.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>
+When you "slur," make it strong enough to be felt.
+If you bend as it were from one note to another, let your
+intention to do so be clearly apparent. Let a <i>forte</i> passage
+be loud, and let a <i>piano</i> one be really soft. Any half
+measures in singing are fatal. Precision and certainty are
+qualities which the student must always aim at attaining.
+Without them, singing becomes tame and unattractive,
+not to say tiresome.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Imitation.</b>&mdash;Imitation, which in many other arts becomes
+plagiary, in singing is most desirable; for singing,
+more than any other art, rests on tradition; there is even
+very little doubt that the peculiar charm and quality of a
+true tenor voice (for instance) is more due to imitation in
+a singer than to nature; that is to say, that it is the result
+of a transmitted culture&mdash;such imitation being the only
+means in which singers can reap the harvest of the experience
+of the great singers now to be heard no more, who
+have left their imitators to pass on to others what they
+themselves obtained by imitating and improving on <i>their</i>
+predecessors. Therefore do not be afraid of being set
+down as a mere copyist, if you study and attempt to imitate
+the style of the best living singers. You will always
+have enough of your own merit or defect to distinguish
+your performance, if you are really a conscientious student,
+and you may learn a great deal by listening to the best
+public singers which can be taught you in no other way.
+Watch their stage deportment; their treatment of the
+weaker parts of their voices; their method of breathing;
+their manner towards the public;&mdash;in fact, every point
+which occurs to you,&mdash;and make some use of what you
+see and hear in your own studies.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Public Singing.</b>&mdash;If you have to sing in public, remember
+always to take a rapid but searching glance round
+your stage. This is a great point gained. As you step
+on to "the boards," notice (unobserved) the dimensions
+of the stage (if it happens to be new to you). Note the
+height of its ceiling, its surroundings, its draperies, its distance
+from your farthest auditor; then take up your position<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>
+accordingly&mdash;bearing in mind that all your tone is
+wanted by your listeners, which requirement can never be
+met unless you yourself take the precaution to prevent
+the sound being held or carried back by the stage decorations.
+In a concert <i>salon</i> or theatre, then, do not forget
+to get well to the front of the platform. At the same time
+you must not be <i>too</i> close upon your stall occupants, or
+you may give them the very undesirable impression that at
+any moment you may fall over.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>"Holding" an Audience.</b>&mdash;The singer should carefully
+watch an audience so as to gauge its attention and
+sympathies. If it seems impatient, restless, and indifferent,
+the singer may be quite sure that he or she is exciting no
+interest. The best course then for one to do is to immediately
+change the style, alter the tone, give forth his or her
+best energies, and use every effort to become ingratiated
+into the good favour of the listeners. If such effects as these
+fail constantly in their turn, then the aspirant for vocal fame
+should give up, and devote both time and attention to further
+study, or to some other means of a livelihood; for a
+future great singer will not be failing constantly, and to be
+only a second-rate singer while there are so many is a thing
+<i>not</i> to be devoutly desired.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Mistakes in Public.</b>&mdash;If you make a mistake in singing,
+do not add to the mischief by allowing it to alarm or
+disconcert you. Proceed onward as if nothing had happened.
+You may be quite sure that each one of your
+audience will not have detected the slip, for they cannot
+<i>all</i> be critics. But bear in mind that such confidence as
+your adviser here suggests is not to be too often called
+into requisition. No great artist will ever make a serious
+mistake in public. How much more careful then should
+the young student be!</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ON_TIME_IN_SINGING" id="ON_TIME_IN_SINGING">ON TIME IN SINGING.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>I need perhaps scarcely remind my readers who are or
+who wish to be singers that <i>time</i> concerns them quite as
+much as the conductor, the pianist, the violinist&mdash;in short,
+the whole orchestra. It behoves the student in singing
+to give early and careful attention to this important feature
+in his artistic training. You may have the voice of a
+Rubini, you may be a second Tamburini in quality and
+extent of voice, but unless you can sing in time yourself,
+and are able to do so with others, and with the counter-acting
+influences of an orchestra, you can never hope to
+rise in your profession. It may be argued that you have
+no desire to lay yourself out for a career on the lyric stage.
+Then, however, you shut yourself out from some of the
+largest prizes in the profession; beyond which there comes
+the question of oratorio business, and the growing taste
+for band accompaniments to songs. And if you restrict
+your ambition to a pianoforte accompaniment, time is
+needed even with that in order to produce anything like a
+satisfactory rendering of the piece you may be singing. The
+accompanyist may be a Sir Julius Benedict, or a Signor
+Randegger (than whom there is no better in this country,
+so neglected has this species of musical art-work become);
+but a perfect rendering depends not so much upon the
+pianist as the vocalist. If the singer flounders about with
+neither "rhyme nor reason," it is scarcely reasonable to
+expect the accompanyist, clever as he may be, to be always
+at his heels, like a cat after a mouse. I would therefore
+advise the student to invest his money in a Metronome&mdash;the
+most useful thing with which he could provide himself.
+They are not dear, bearing in mind their utility,
+and one will, I am sure, save the student much time and
+many a <i>fiasco</i>. Learn the working of this useful machine,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>
+and practise all your exercises with it. If you go to a
+good singing master, you should ask him to time your
+exercises to the pace at which you should sing them, and
+in this way you will not only be growing in a good habit,
+but your singing will be characterized by a crispness and
+a certainty of attack, which will be apparent to all musicians
+and amateurs with good taste. Your singing
+master will, no doubt, impress upon you the necessity of
+singing your songs in time, and especially of slightly accenting
+the first and third beats in the bar if it is common
+time, the first and fourth beats when it is compound common
+or 6/8 time, and the first beat when it is triple or 3/4 time.
+In this way there will be meaning given to your singing,
+and those who may be accompanying you will be able to
+feel where you are, and to keep time with you. In singing
+a passage like this from Cowen's charming song "Aubade,"&mdash;the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>master, if he knew his business, would instruct his
+pupil to slightly accent the words as I have indicated with
+the mark <img src="images/088-v.png" width="12" height="13" title="V for accented words" alt="V" />, and to preserve <i>strict</i> time throughout the passage,
+and especially in the taking up of the words after the
+long note on the word <i>sleep</i>. The accompanyist would, we
+may assume, do likewise with his pianoforte part, and in
+this way a perfect <i>ensemble</i> would be secured.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 573px;">
+<img src="images/088a.png" width="573" height="635" alt="Music" />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/088a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Sleep, love, sleep,<br />
+<span style="padding-left:5em;">the morn is wak - - ing,</span></p>
+
+<p>With this brief introduction to the subject, I will proceed
+to give the student a few exercises in keeping and beating
+time, the assiduous practice of which will, I hope, soon
+place him in the desirable position of being able to sing
+in time.</p>
+
+<div class="hide-link"><p class="center"><a href="music/time4.pdf">[Exercises in PDF]</a></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 589px;">
+<img src="images/089a.png" width="589" height="350" alt="Music" title="Ex. 1. Four beats in a bar." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/089a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics"><span style="padding-left:0.8em;">Do Re Mi Fa Sol</span><br />
+La Si Do Do Si<br />
+<span style="padding-left:2em;">La Sol Fa Mi Re Do</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 587px;">
+<img src="images/089b.png" width="587" height="400" alt="Music" title="Ex. 2." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/089b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Re Re Mi Mi &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 578px;">
+<img src="images/090a.png" width="578" height="492" alt="Music" title="Ex. 3." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/090a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 581px;">
+<img src="images/090b.png" width="581" height="398" alt="Music" title="Ex. 4." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/090b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do Re Re Re &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/091a.png" width="583" height="305" alt="Music" title="Ex. 5." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/091a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Re Re Mi Mi &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 586px;">
+<img src="images/091b.png" width="586" height="687" alt="Music" title="Ex. 6." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/091b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re Re &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 580px;">
+<img src="images/092a.png" width="580" height="370" alt="Music" title="Ex. 7." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/092a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do Re Re Re Mi Mi Mi &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<img src="images/092b.png" width="582" height="777" alt="Music" title="Ex. 8." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/092b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/093a.png" width="588" height="536" alt="Music" title="Ex. 9." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/093a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 587px;">
+<img src="images/093b.png" width="587" height="281" alt="Music" title="Ex. 10." />
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 590px;">
+<img src="images/093b2.png" width="590" height="374" alt="Music" title="Ex. 10, continued." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/093b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re Re &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/094a.png" width="583" height="596" alt="Music" title="Ex. 11." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/094a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Mi &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>These exercises may be timed as slow as you like on
+your metronome&mdash;the slower the better&mdash;but 76 is a good
+pace to begin with; when you have thoroughly mastered
+them at 76, take them a little quicker until you can sing
+them accurately up to a good brisk time.</p>
+
+<p>No 1 has but one note in the bar, and this must be held
+on steadily for four beats of the metronome&mdash;care being
+taken to leave each note in sufficient time to take a fresh
+breath, and attack the second note and syllable in precise
+time with the metronome beat. I need, perhaps, scarcely
+point out that much good will be obtained if the student
+can accustom himself to <i>feeling</i> in his mind the rhythm and
+beating, so as not to acquire the habit of trusting to mechanical
+appliances, which are dispensed with at public
+performances. The sol-fa-ing must be strictly adhered to,
+and in Exercises 2, 3, etc., it will be seen that the syllable
+must be sounded twice and four times respectively. With
+Exercise 5 the dotted note comes in; but I will not stay
+to explain that, as I assume that my readers will have acquainted
+themselves with the elements of musical theory
+before taking up singing. Especial care should be given
+to Exercise 7, as that is the first step in the difficult matter
+of syncopation, carried out elaborately in Exercises 8 and
+9. With Exercise 11 the question of Rests comes in, but
+the same remark that I made as to the dotted notes applies
+here. Everything that it is necessary to know about them
+should be found in any elementary musical grammar.</p>
+
+<p>Having mastered the above exercises, the reader may
+take the following with two beats in the bar&mdash;taking the
+precaution to set them at a slow time on the metronome,
+say 76, not singing them quickly until he is thoroughly
+acquainted with them.</p>
+
+<div class="hide-link"><p class="center"><a href="music/time2.pdf">[Exercises in PDF]</a></p></div>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 569px;">
+<img src="images/095a.png" width="569" height="294" alt="Music" title="Ex. 1. Two beats to a bar." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/095a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics"><span style="padding-left:2.75em;">Do Do Re Re Mi Mi Fa Fa Sol Sol</span><br />
+La La Si Si Do Do Do Si Si<br />
+<span style="padding-left:3.9em;">La La Sol Sol Fa Fa Mi Mi Re Re Do</span></p>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/096a.png" width="583" height="295" alt="Music" title="Ex. 2." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/096a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Re Mi Fa Sol La<br />
+<span style="padding-left:0.9em;">Si Do Do Do Si Si &amp;c.</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/096b.png" width="583" height="434" alt="Music" title="Ex. 3." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/096b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 581px;">
+<img src="images/096c.png" width="581" height="387" alt="Music" title="Ex. 4." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/096c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/097a.png" width="588" height="390" alt="Music" title="Ex. 5." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/097a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/097b.png" width="588" height="289" alt="Music" title="Ex. 6." />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<img src="images/097b2.png" width="582" height="162" alt="Music" title="Ex. 6." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/097b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/098a.png" width="583" height="306" alt="Music" title="Ex. 7." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/098a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Re Mi Fa Sol &amp;c.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 583px;">
+<img src="images/098b.png" width="583" height="423" alt="Music" title="Ex. 8." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/098b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>After which he may take the following with three beats
+in the bar:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="hide-link"><p class="center"><a href="music/time3.pdf">[Exercises in PDF]</a></p></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<img src="images/099a.png" width="582" height="341" alt="Music" title="Ex. 1. Three beats in a bar." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/099a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Re Mi Fa Sol<br /><span style="padding-left:1.4em;">La Si Do Do Do &amp;c.</span></p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 581px;">
+<img src="images/099b.png" width="581" height="349" alt="Music" title="Ex. 2." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/099b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics">Do Do Do &amp;c.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 581px;">
+<img src="images/099c.png" width="581" height="403" alt="Music" title="Ex. 3." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/099c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 576px;">
+<img src="images/100a.png" width="576" height="414" alt="Music" title="Ex. 4." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/100a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 589px;">
+<img src="images/100b.png" width="589" height="410" alt="Music" title="Ex. 5." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/100b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 584px;">
+<img src="images/101a.png" width="584" height="503" alt="Music" title="Ex. 6." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/101a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/101b.png" width="588" height="474" alt="Music" title="Ex. 7." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/101b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 589px;">
+<img src="images/102a.png" width="589" height="491" alt="Music" title="Ex. 8." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/102a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 587px;">
+<img src="images/102b.png" width="587" height="504" alt="Music" title="Ex. 9." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/102b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ON_THE_CHOICE_OF_MUSIC" id="ON_THE_CHOICE_OF_MUSIC">ON THE CHOICE OF MUSIC.</a></h2>
+
+<p class="blockquot">There are, of course, no <i>rules</i> to be given to guide the
+student in the choice of music, except the general ones, to
+choose good music, pleasing music, and music suited to
+his voice and powers. But those general rules touch incidentally
+on a few points on which it may be well to offer
+a few remarks.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Music must suit the Voice.</b>&mdash;Your music must
+not only be appropriate for your voice in compass, but it
+must be such as has been written for a voice of your kind.
+This is a most important thing to remember. Nothing is
+more provoking to a person of good taste and musical
+knowledge than to hear songs composed for a voice of one
+class sung by a voice of a totally different character; and
+yet this is a vice which even good artists will sometimes
+weakly succumb to. The popular song of Gounod's,
+"<i>Quand tu chantes berçée</i>," for instance, has been sung to
+death by many soprani and contralti, in various keys. One
+would have thought that the words alone would have shown
+them the utter absurdity of what they were doing; but no,
+for the sake of producing an effect (upon an audience who
+naturally supposed that public singers of high standing
+knew what they were doing, and why they did it), these
+good ladies committed what I do not scruple to call a
+vulgar and inartistic blunder. The song is a man's song,
+and no woman should attempt it.</p>
+
+<p>This fault is one which amateurs are very apt to fall into,
+and a long list might be made of songs which have suffered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>
+this unfair treatment. Soprani sing tenor songs&mdash;(I have
+often, in the early days of the popularity of "<i>Il Trovatore</i>,"
+heard a soprano sing "<i>Ah, che la Morte!</i>"&mdash;tenors, those
+written for soprano&mdash;(<i>e.g.</i>, I know an amateur tenor whose
+"crack" song is Iphis' "Farewell" in "<i>Jephtha</i>"). Contralti
+and mezzo-soprani steal bass and barytone songs, as "But
+who may abide," from the "<i>Messiah</i>," and basses and
+barytones return the compliment by appropriating "What
+tho' I trace," or "O rest in the Lord.")</p>
+
+<p>There is a reason, quite apart from the question of taste,
+which renders this practice objectionable. A composer of
+any skill writes his accompaniment as well as his melody
+with reference to the voice which he wishes to sing it.
+Now, if that voice be&mdash;we will say&mdash;a soprano, the accompaniment
+will be written for a voice of that <i>pitch</i>, as
+well as of that character and compass; the progressions
+of harmony will be written with due regard to the actual
+place of the vocal notes in the scale. But directly the
+song is sung by a tenor&mdash;a voice which pitches every note
+an octave lower than the soprano&mdash;the relation of the
+vocal notes to the accompaniment is changed; notes that
+were intended to be fourths above the accompaniment
+will become fifths below, and progressions which were
+correct in the composer's intention become wrong in the
+effect produced by the singer. That is an extreme case, I
+grant, but it is only a fair instance of the sort of result
+which follows on such changes, and it is sufficient to show
+that the rule rests on reason and not caprice.</p>
+
+
+<p>"<b>Original Keys.</b>"&mdash;Do not bind yourself, as some
+think it necessary to do, always to sing your songs in the
+original keys. Remember that opera and oratorio music,
+and a large number of modern "ballads," were composed
+for performance in large buildings, theatres, and concert-rooms.
+The keys, therefore, were chosen with due reference
+to that fact, and to the (in many cases) exceptional
+voices of the singers. The raising of the pitch in later
+years also affects the question.</p>
+
+<p>Now, if you have to sing in a drawing-room, the pitch,
+volume of tone, and style of delivery must be appropriate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>
+to chamber music, and not to the stage of Covent Garden,
+and the keys which are necessary for due brilliancy and
+effect in a concert-room are frequently unsuited to a drawing-room,
+giving an appearance of strain and noisiness to
+the singing. A good deal of opera music is as unfit for
+singing in a drawing-room as would be a grand symphony
+for performance there; and an artistic singer should bear
+in mind this principle of fitness in his selection.</p>
+
+<p>At the same time, if it is considered desirable to transpose
+a song, let it be only for that reason, and let the aim
+be to produce the same effect, <i>relatively</i>, in the drawing-room,
+as the song in its original key is intended to produce
+in the concert-room. Do not transpose recklessly, merely
+to "suit your voice:" if you are a barytone, for instance,
+do not sing tenor songs a few notes lower; or, if you are
+a soprano, do not transpose contralto songs to suit your
+register. For the <i>character</i> of the music (if the music is
+good) suits the voice for which it was intended, and there
+is a risk of destroying that character by giving it to a voice
+of another kind. This has been proved over and over again
+on the stage in several notable instances.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Execution.</b>&mdash;Do not be too ambitious in selecting
+florid songs for performance either in public or private.
+"Fireworks" in a drawing-room rarely please, while in a
+concert-room they must be very perfect and first-rate in
+execution to do so. Of course, if you are a professional
+artist you must include such work in your studies, and even
+for the amateur the practice of florid music, under a master,
+is most desirable as an exercise. But where the choice of
+a song for a concert rests with yourself, sacrifice ambition
+to prudence, unless your voice is naturally a very flexible
+one, and your training in that style of music very complete.
+I give, on this subject, a quotation from an old and experienced
+writer on music and singing:</p>
+
+<p>"Execution is certainly one of the most difficult parts
+of musical science. Young singers are desirous of attaining
+it without reflecting whether, from the formation of
+the throat and various physical causes, they may ever be
+able to accomplish their wishes. Few, indeed, possess the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>
+power of execution in a pre-eminent degree. It is in part
+a gift of nature: those who have ever delighted as well as
+astonished us by their rapid manner of running through
+divisions must have been naturally endowed with flexible
+organs.</p>
+
+<p>"... Some voices may be compared to gems
+which in their original state are dull, and, to those unacquainted
+with their worth, of no value.... It
+frequently happens that singers, from timidity or want of
+proper knowledge in exercising their voices, remain ignorant
+of their own qualifications. The hinges of a door
+which have continued for years undisturbed, will, when
+the door is re-opened, grate harshly on the ear; but every
+effort renders the harshness more tolerable, until, from
+frequent use, they move easily. Thus it is with the voice:
+on the flexibility of the <i>uvula</i> and the muscles connected
+with it depend both the perfectibility of the shake and
+execution. But still it must be acknowledged that acquired
+execution should never be exercised by the side of nature
+otherwise than sparingly, even where necessity requires it,
+for the latter possesses an easy velocity which can playfully
+sport with its subject at will; but, however gratifying the
+power of execution may be considered by those who possess
+it, I recommend them not to be indiscriminately lavish,
+lest they cloy by too great a profusion, and, as Voltaire
+remarks, 'shine in trills and divisions, at the expense of
+poetry and good sense.'"</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Fashion.</b>&mdash;The songs which are "the rage" at any
+time are always great snares for amateurs. Aspiring
+young singers hear a ballad charmingly rendered by some
+great singer, and straightway go home, send for it, and
+on the first available opportunity treat their friends to
+their version of it. This is really unfair to themselves,
+as it throws them into unwise contrast with the public
+singer who has made the song popular, and whose well-known
+rendering of it forbids ordinary hearers to judge
+the rendering of an amateur on its own merits, or by any
+rule but that of comparison. Moreover, "popular" songs&mdash;I
+mean songs whose popularity is largely due to their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>
+having been sung by favourite public singers&mdash;are by no
+means always good in themselves; or, if fairly good, by
+no means easy; or if good and not difficult, by no means
+always sufficiently so to make it worth while for an amateur
+to spend time and study on them. In very many cases
+the public singer has to sing these songs because he is
+paid for doing so, and gets a "royalty" on every copy
+sold; it is simply one development of the hydra-headed
+art of advertising, and such productions are known by the
+vulgar name of "pot-boilers," <i>i.e.</i>, compositions hastily
+thrown off to bring in a little money "<i>to keep the pot
+boiling</i>." If composers who are capable of better things
+are reduced to making money in this way, we may be
+sincerely sorry for them; but speaking from an artistic
+point of view, the practice is reprehensible, and "pot-boilers"
+are not the kind of music which a young singer,
+anxious to improve, should waste time or money upon.
+I am far from saying that there are no good songs to be
+found among new music, but I think they seldom lie on
+the top of the pile.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Forming a Repertoire.</b>&mdash;In gradually forming your
+<i>repertoire</i>, or collection of properly studied songs for drawing-room
+or concert singing, do not be in haste to make
+it a large one. It is better to know only a few songs and
+do them really well, than to sing a large number indifferently.
+If you are studying for the profession, there is a
+considerable number of songs which you will be expected
+to know as a matter of course, but over and above such,
+every singer should have a special repertoire of his or her
+own, and it is of this that I now speak. Your selection
+of songs, like your singing, should have the stamp of your
+own individuality upon it. You should have a little stock
+of songs, with which your singing is in a way identified, and
+which you must be able to sing in a manner that at once
+stamps those songs as your property, so that another person
+might say, "I could not sing that song before you, it
+is one of your own."</p>
+
+<p>To form such a repertoire, you may have to go a little
+out of the beaten track of what is best known at the time.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>
+If opera music suits you best, look at the operas, never
+performed now, of Glück, or the less known of Mozart's,
+or earlier works of Rossini, Auber, &amp;c.; or else try and
+get hold of works not yet known in England, such as
+Macfarren's, Wallace's, Purcell's, and a few other such
+native dramatic composers. In a word, do not limit
+your notions of operatic music to what you hear year
+after year at Covent Garden or Her Majesty's.</p>
+
+<p>So, too, in oratorio: search in the less familiar oratorios
+of Handel, and such of his operas as you can get access
+to, and carry the same idea out in examining the works
+of other composers, ancient and modern. Good work
+has been done of late years by various publishers in publishing
+many works of this class, and there are plenty of
+these which are still unfamiliar and unhackneyed.</p>
+
+<p>The same with your songs and ballads: before you rush
+into the modern fashionable ballad, see if you cannot find
+a few that you can appropriate among the stores of old
+English music, or the detached songs of old Italian masters
+(many of which are magnificent as songs, and utterly unknown
+at present, except to the few).</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="PHYSIOLOGICAL_SURROUNDINGS" id="PHYSIOLOGICAL_SURROUNDINGS">PHYSIOLOGICAL SURROUNDINGS.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>It is highly expedient that singers themselves, and intending
+students of the art, should make some acquaintance
+with the physiological surroundings which are
+brought into play in the process of voice production. A
+knowledge of the technical terms for the various organs
+directly involved is very essential, and the intelligent
+student will see the necessity not only for distinguishing
+such names as "larynx" and "diaphragm," but also of
+possessing some idea of their whereabouts in the human
+frame. No better course could be adopted for the acquirement
+of such a knowledge than attendance at the
+classes and lectures at the musical colleges and other institutions,
+which, from time to time, secure the assistance
+of qualified specialists to speak upon this very important
+branch of the singing art. No other mode of teaching is
+so well calculated to enlighten the uninitiated in the wondrous
+mechanism of the human voice, and to inspire him
+or her with an adequate sense of the watchful care and
+delicate treatment which a voice worthy of systematic
+training demands, as well as deserves, at the hands of
+students of both sexes. As a preliminary to a fuller inquiry
+into the subject, the following few notes may be
+fixed upon the mind:&mdash;</p>
+
+
+<p><b>The Larynx</b> (<span lang="el" title="larynx">&lambda;&#8049;&rho;&upsilon;&gamma;&xi;</span>) constitutes the upper part of the
+wind-pipe. It is the seat of the voice, and essential parts
+of it are the "vocal cords" (<i>chordæ vocales</i>), two membranes
+in a horizontal position across the larynx. It is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>
+popularly called "Adam's apple" (<i>pomum Adami</i>), the
+protuberance so often recognizable in the throats of bass
+singers, but a more correct use of "<i>pomum Adami</i>" is when
+it is applied to a projection in the thyroid cartilage&mdash;a
+part of the laryngeal structure.</p>
+
+<p><b>The Thyroid</b> (from <span lang="el" title="Thyreos">&Theta;&upsilon;&rho;&epsilon;á½¹&sigmaf;</span>) is a shield-shaped cartilage,
+and that part of the larynx which, in the case of
+both sexes, develops suddenly at the period when they
+pass from youth to mature age. Other important cartilages
+are the cricoid (from <span lang="el" title="krikos">&kappa;&rho;á½·&kappa;&omicron;&sigmaf;</span>), a ring-shaped membrane;
+the arytenoids (from <span lang="el" title="harytaina">&#7937;&rho;&#8059;&tau;&alpha;&iota;&nu;&alpha;</span> a pitcher); the epiglottis
+(<span lang="el" title="epi-glôtta">&#7952;&pi;ί-&gamma;&lambda;&omega;&tau;&tau;&alpha;</span>), situated at the back of the mouth; and
+the cartilages of Santorini, or <i>cornicula laryngis</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The trachea, or wind-pipe, is capable of rising or falling,
+and thus is produced the perceptible movement of the
+larynx in the throat when speaking or singing. It is by
+lowering the larynx, and so commanding an expansion of
+the throat that the best tone is possible in the voice, and
+it is this open throat production which some teachers are
+aiming at when they charge their pupils to "sing from the
+chest." A more sensible request would be to "lower
+the larynx," since such a lowering of this organ places the
+throat in the most favourable position for emitting sound;
+as well as for enabling the lungs, or wind-chests, to act
+most advantageously upon the true vocal cords. Moreover,
+this lowered larynx production leads to the best
+results from the vocal cords themselves. The natural
+tendency is to sing as we talk, a process which involves a
+demand upon the upper fringes of the vocal ligaments
+only, but no long-sustained singing could be maintained
+by this means, nor does it requisition any art-knowledge
+or principle. Directly, however, we begin to utilize the
+lower edge of the vocal cords, we are verging upon the
+art of <i>producing</i> the voice; <i>i.e.</i>, creating a something which
+will not manifest itself without the first application of
+some art principles. Here lies the whole secret of
+singing, <i>viz.</i>, the utilization of the lower portions of the
+membranous folds popularly called the "vocal cords,"
+instead of working merely their topmost fringes, as do the
+innumerable tenors who sing "throaty," and as we all do<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>
+up to a certain point, in the ordinary process of speaking.
+The singing voice and the speaking voice are two totally
+different productions, the former never to be acquired
+except at the hands of a capable master, who, himself,
+has been properly taught the principles of voice production.</p>
+
+<p>The lungs, or bellows, or air-chambers lie, as is well
+known, on each side of the chest, resting upon the diaphragm,
+and performing a very important function in
+singing. They supply the air which acts upon the vocal
+cords, and in true singing are the first organs for consideration
+by a vocalist, since so much depends upon the
+way the wind, or breath, is brought to bear upon the
+vocal cords. For this reason the abdominal method of
+breathing&mdash;the filling of the lungs from their bases&mdash;becomes
+the best method for inspiring the breath in
+singing. Doubtless, in breathing, the lungs are replenished
+from above downwards, but it requires something
+of the sensation of these air-supplying substances
+being filled from their bases in order to requisition the
+full help of the diaphragm, a great muscle which separates
+the lungs from the abdomen, and which may be called
+the fundamental basis on which all voice production
+rests.</p>
+
+<p>The Pharynx (<span lang="el" title="pharynx">&phi;&#8049;&rho;&upsilon;&gamma;&xi;</span>) is situated behind the mouth,
+between the tongue and the arch forming the circumference
+of the palate. Its province is to reflect the voice
+on its issue from the glottis. It is an elastic aperture,
+and may be well styled the reflecting organ of singing.
+It can take various forms, and bears a great part in giving
+character to the sounds originated in the larynx.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p><i>The Voice&mdash;a Wind, Reed, or String Instrument?</i> Much
+discussion has spent itself in settling the question of
+"family" to which the vocal instrument properly belongs.
+The vocal chords are known to be composed of a yellow
+elastic fibrous tissue in their anterior parts, the posterior
+portions consisting of a tougher muscle or cartilage.
+Many maintain them to belong to the "string" family,
+since the sounds generated are produced as on a violin&mdash;the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>
+higher notes by increased tension, the lower tones by
+a reduction of the strain. In this process, the muscle,
+popularly known as the epiglottis-cushion&mdash;a fat mucous
+membrane&mdash;presses on to the vocal cords, modifying
+their vibrating length. Thus, in an extreme high note,
+the cushion presses intensely upon the cords, considerably
+shortening their one inch length. In reverting to a low
+note, this tension becomes withdrawn, and the whole length
+of cord is at play to produce its lowest tones. An unfortunate
+objection to this theory&mdash;that the vocal cords can
+be styled a stringed instrument, is the fact that no string of
+the small extent of the vocal cords could be capable of
+sounding either so many, or such low notes; moreover,
+the mathematical treatment of their vibrations, as
+governed by the tension, is not correct, as they are in the
+case of a violin. It is a useful theory, and method of
+reasoning, however, for those teachers of singing who
+maintain that to get high notes, a light and thin style
+of singing, and the use of the upper fringe of the vocal
+cords (the production point), is preferable, in contradistinction
+to those who declare that no really good chest
+note with any telling power worth considering is possible,
+unless the vocalist sings deep in his chest and gains the
+idea, as he goes for his note, of requisitioning with all effort
+the lowest depth in the cord. Surely this point presents
+the greatest difficulty for singers with whom compass,
+especially at the top of the voice, is an imperative necessity,
+albeit that people go on talking to the contrary; and it is
+a matter which needs settling among voice specialists and
+singing masters. We are told, and it is generally known,
+that the tension of the epiglottis-cushion produces a
+higher note just as the shifting of the finger on the violin
+string affects its tone&mdash;a process which may produce
+falsetto sounds, but which surely is not the basis upon
+which great Italian singers of the Mongini and Tamberlik
+type secured the great chest Cs, which, with their
+resonance and brilliancy, were wont to make our opera
+houses ring again. Is it not a fact that in voices of
+this calibre, as well as in those trained on what is known
+as the broad lines of the true Italian production, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>
+whole surfaces of the vocal cords become more or less requisitioned,
+and that they vibrate the whole of their
+length and breadth, not merely the sides, rather than that
+any upper portion is mainly utilized while the lower parts
+are resting? The answer to this question would seem
+to indicate that the human voice is of the nature of a reed
+instrument. These membraneous organs, which we term
+vocal cords, are such that their whole surfaces must vibrate
+when brought into contact with a current of air from the
+lungs. The voice reed, in fact, vibrates freely backwards
+and forwards, and so corresponds with what are known
+as "free," not "beating" reeds&mdash;such as are found in
+concertinas, and the like.</p>
+
+<p>That the voice is something of an organ pipe (a flue
+pipe) is an illusion only indulged in by writers and teachers
+prone to descriptive language, which they do not stay to
+inquire into, either for their own edification or for the
+enlightenment of other people. There is absolutely nothing
+to maintain such an idea.</p>
+
+<p>It is important that the nature of the <i>matériel</i> of the
+vocal cords should become widely known, since such a
+knowledge, elementary as it might be, would, at the outset,
+enable students to get at once upon the right road to
+singing. To grasp the idea that the initial sound-producing
+means are these bits of semi-lunar membranes, acted
+upon by the breath from the lungs, and that they vibrate
+violently or orderly in proportion to the care with which
+the breath is brought to bear upon them, is to master
+the first great difficulty in singing. This once grasped,
+it is not hard to realize that the sound emitted is moulded
+and shaped, modified and beautified by other organs of
+the laryngeal machine and its surroundings, as well as by
+such variable conditions as the state of the human frame
+generally, and the particular condition of those organs of
+the body most directly concerned in supporting the work
+of the larynx may happen to be in. It will save the student
+much time if, before he (or she) begins to study singing,
+some first acquaintance be formed with the physiological
+surroundings of the human voice, and it is worse than
+useless to go to a master who teaches singing in blind<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>
+ignorance of, and doubtless contempt for, these physiological
+principles. The student who has familiarized
+himself with the structure of the vocal organs will have
+made a much more intelligent progress in his art than
+the one who has not, and will be competent none the
+less readily to understand the instruction of a qualified
+master than to detect the shameful pretence and humbug
+of the quack.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Board Teachers' Laryngitis&mdash;Clergyman's
+Sore Throat&mdash;Throat Exhaustion, etc.</b>&mdash;Among
+the greatest evils of this competitive teaching age is the
+mischief arising from the constant and at the same
+time injurious use of the voice. All who use the voice
+constantly must learn how to breathe, and <i>produce</i> the
+voice. Failing that, serious mischief, which even the
+specialist of throat hospitals cannot cope with, must
+inevitably follow. The only advice that can be given
+here is, immediately that voice exhaustion sets in, to
+consult not <i>a doctor</i>, but a throat or voice specialist.
+The best institution in the world for throat troubles is
+the Throat Hospital, Golden Square, London, W.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="EXERCISES" id="EXERCISES">EXERCISES.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>This first exercise is a most useful one in the uniting
+of notes and in gaining facility. The student should at
+first practise it very slowly, mastering four bars at a time.
+Although I have divided it into fifteen examples, it is really
+but one exercise, with a minim rest between each phrase
+of four bars; and it is in this example form that I wish the
+student ultimately to sing it with the metronome, at say
+76, taking breath <i>only</i> at the rest-mark, and making the
+<i>crescendo</i>&mdash;not, be it observed, by forcing the tone and
+breath, but by a gradual pressing down of the breath.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p>
+
+<div class="hide-link"><p class="center"><a href="music/exercises.pdf">[Exercises in PDF]</a></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 585px;">
+<img src="images/115a.png" width="585" height="218" alt="Music" title="Ex. 1." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/115a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 584px;">
+<img src="images/115b.png" width="584" height="179" alt="Music" title="A." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/115b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/116a.png" width="588" height="179" alt="Music" title="B." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/116a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 587px;">
+<img src="images/116b.png" width="587" height="178" alt="Music" title="C." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/116b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/116c.png" width="588" height="180" alt="Music" title="D." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/116c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 586px;">
+<img src="images/116d.png" width="586" height="201" alt="Music" title="E." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/116d.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/116e.png" width="588" height="201" alt="Music" title="F." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/116e.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 584px;">
+<img src="images/117a.png" width="584" height="189" alt="Music" title="G." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/117a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 585px;">
+<img src="images/117b.png" width="585" height="187" alt="Music" title="H." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/117b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 585px;">
+<img src="images/117c.png" width="585" height="203" alt="Music" title="I." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/117c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 586px;">
+<img src="images/117d.png" width="586" height="188" alt="Music" title="J." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/117d.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 584px;">
+<img src="images/117e.png" width="584" height="193" alt="Music" title="K." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/117e.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 574px;">
+<img src="images/118a.png" width="574" height="194" alt="Music" title="L." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/118a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 574px;">
+<img src="images/118b.png" width="574" height="192" alt="Music" title="M." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/118b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 574px;">
+<img src="images/118c.png" width="574" height="203" alt="Music" title="N." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/118c.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 593px;">
+<img src="images/118d.png" width="593" height="294" alt="Music" title="Ex. 2 , by Nava." />
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 603px;">
+<img src="images/119a.png" width="603" height="658" alt="Music" title="Ex. 2, continued." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/118d.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Exercise 2 is a further one for the practice of joining notes
+with the aid of the breath, without the least resemblance
+to a jerk with either the sound or the breath. To sing
+the exercise with advantage requires a very careful management
+of the respiratory organs, and its continuous practice
+is one of the best means of managing the breath. Having
+inspired the breath after the manner already indicated
+herein, proceed to sound the note F in a thin but firm and
+steady tone, which you must gradually swell, by pressing
+down the breath, as it were, into the following note G, which
+you will continue to hold steadily by keeping down the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>
+breath as long as you can. Though you raise your tone
+of voice in passing from F to G, you must dispel from your
+mind all notions of raising your breath or your <i>larynx</i>; it
+is just the reverse; you must lower these. Remember a
+golden rule&mdash;the higher your note the lower must it be
+generated in your chest, and your breath must be under
+the note supporting it, or there cannot possibly be any tone
+there. On reaching the highest limit of this exercise, the
+student will repeat the same operation down the scale,
+which I need scarcely say is less difficult.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 604px;">
+<img src="images/120a.png" width="604" height="694" alt="Music" title="Ex. 3., by Nava." />
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 601px;">
+<img src="images/121a.png" width="601" height="284" alt="" title="Ex. 3, Part 2." />
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 602px;">
+<img src="images/121b.png" width="602" height="287" alt="" title="Ex. 3, Part 3." />
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 602px;">
+<img src="images/121c.png" width="602" height="276" alt="" title="Ex. 3, Part 4." />
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 595px;">
+<img src="images/122a.png" width="595" height="266" alt="Music" title="Ex. 3, Part 5." />
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 596px;">
+<img src="images/122b.png" width="596" height="290" alt="Music" title="Ex. 3, Part 5." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/120a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Exercise 3 may be timed 76 on your metronome. It
+is a study to give freedom and flexibility to your voice.
+None of the notes should be forced, and the upper notes
+should be rendered with the mouth well open, and with a
+quality of tone as similar as possible to that of the lower
+notes. Breath should be taken (without losing time) at
+the rest-marks. There should be no break or jump in the
+tone, but rather it should be one unbroken stream of
+melody, as marked in the first phrase. The voice, in this
+exercise, should be constantly moving: no sooner should
+you be sounding the first note of the phrase than you should
+be moving to the second, from the second to the next, and
+so on. Be careful to sing the intervals exactly in time,
+and in descending to notes satisfy yourself that you are
+singing the exact tone, and that with certainty. Indecision
+is a grave fault in singing.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<img src="images/123a.png" width="582" height="629" alt="Music" title="Ex. 4. Intervals of thirds." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/123a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+<p class="lyrics"><span style="padding-left:5em;">Do Re Mi Re Do Re Mi Fa Mi Re</span><br />
+Mi Fa Sol Fa Mi &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 582px;">
+<img src="images/123b.png" width="582" height="569" alt="Music" title="Ex. 5. Intervals of Fourths." />
+<p class="blockquot">* Here take breath.</p>
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/123b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 589px;">
+<img src="images/124a.png" width="589" height="678" alt="Music" title="Ex. 6. Intervals of Fifths." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/124a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/125a.png" width="588" height="302" alt="Music" title="Ex. 7. Intervals of Sixths." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/125a.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 588px;">
+<img src="images/125b.png" width="588" height="390" alt="Music" title="Ex. 8. Intervals of Sevenths." />
+<div class="hide-link"><a href="music/125b.mid">[Listen]</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX">INDEX.</a></h2>
+
+
+<p class="center"><a href="#INDEX_A">A</a> <a href="#INDEX_B">B</a> <a href="#INDEX_C">C</a> <a href="#INDEX_D">D</a> <a href="#INDEX_E">E</a> <a href="#INDEX_F">F</a> <a href="#INDEX_G">G</a> <a href="#INDEX_H">H</a> <a href="#INDEX_I">I</a> <a href="#INDEX_L">L</a> <a href="#INDEX_M">M</a> <a href="#INDEX_N">N</a> <a href="#INDEX_O">O</a> <a href="#INDEX_P">P</a> <a href="#INDEX_Q">Q</a> <a href="#INDEX_R">R</a> <a href="#INDEX_S">S</a> <a href="#INDEX_T">T</a> <a href="#INDEX_V">V</a> <a href="#INDEX_W">W</a> </p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_A" id="INDEX_A"></a>A.</h3>
+<p>
+Alto, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_B" id="INDEX_B"></a>B.</h3>
+<p>
+Bad Lessons, <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br />
+Bad Masters, <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br />
+Ballads, <a href="#Page_80">80</a><br />
+Barytone, Basso-Cantante, <a href="#Page_42">42</a><br />
+Bass, <a href="#Page_44">44</a><br />
+Board Teachers' Laryngitis, <a href="#Page_114">114</a><br />
+Books of Exercises, <a href="#Page_51">51</a><br />
+Buffo, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_C" id="INDEX_C"></a>C.</h3>
+<p>
+Cathedral School, The, <a href="#Page_72">72</a><br />
+Chest, Falsetto, and Head, <a href="#Page_60">60</a><br />
+Chorus Singing, <a href="#Page_69">69</a><br />
+Cleanliness, <a href="#Page_13">13</a><br />
+Clearing the Throat, <a href="#Page_59">59</a><br />
+Compass, <a href="#Page_30">30</a><br />
+Consonants, <a href="#Page_24">24</a><br />
+Contralto, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_D" id="INDEX_D"></a>D.</h3>
+<p>
+Decision, <a href="#Page_84">84</a><br />
+Diet, <a href="#Page_13">13</a><br />
+Dramatic Study, <a href="#Page_27">27</a><br />
+Dress, <a href="#Page_16">16</a><br />
+Duration of Practice, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_E" id="INDEX_E"></a>E.</h3>
+<p>
+Early Rising, <a href="#Page_13">13</a><br />
+Education, General, <a href="#Page_26">26</a><br />
+Emphasis, <a href="#Page_25">25</a><br />
+English, <a href="#Page_24">24</a><br />
+Execution, <a href="#Page_105">105</a><br />
+Exercise, <a href="#Page_15">15</a><br />
+Exercises, <a href="#Page_115">115</a><br />
+Exercises, First, <a href="#Page_62">62</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Books of, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; in Beating Time, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></span><br />
+Expression, Facial, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>
+</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_F" id="INDEX_F"></a>F.</h3>
+<p>
+Facial Expression, <a href="#Page_54">54</a><br />
+Falsetto, <a href="#Page_60">60</a><br />
+Fashion, <a href="#Page_106">106</a><br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span><br />
+First Opinion, A, <a href="#Page_44">44</a><br />
+Forming a Repertoire, <a href="#Page_107">107</a><br />
+Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>
+</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_G" id="INDEX_G"></a>G.</h3>
+<p>
+General Education, <a href="#Page_26">26</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Musical Study, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></span><br />
+German Lieder, Modern, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_H" id="INDEX_H"></a>H.</h3>
+<p>
+Hair, The, <a href="#Page_14">14</a><br />
+Head, Singing in the, <a href="#Page_58">58</a><br />
+High Notes, <a href="#Page_59">59</a><br />
+"Holding" an Audience, <a href="#Page_86">86</a><br />
+"How to Begin", <a href="#Page_68">68</a><br />
+Humming, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_I" id="INDEX_I"></a>I.</h3>
+<p>
+Imitation, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a><br />
+Individuality, <a href="#Page_53">53</a><br />
+Institutions, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_L" id="INDEX_L"></a>L.</h3>
+<p>
+Larynx, The, <a href="#Page_109">109</a><br />
+Late Hours, <a href="#Page_19">19</a><br />
+Lessons, Bad, <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br />
+Lips, Position of, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_M" id="INDEX_M"></a>M.</h3>
+<p>
+Masters, <a href="#Page_48">48</a><br />
+Mezzo-Voce, <a href="#Page_60">60</a><br />
+Mezzo-Contralto, <a href="#Page_35">35</a><br />
+Mezzo-Soprano, <a href="#Page_34">34</a><br />
+Mistakes in Public, <a href="#Page_86">86</a><br />
+Modern German Lieder, <a href="#Page_71">71</a><br />
+Morality, <a href="#Page_19">19</a><br />
+Music to Suit the Voice, <a href="#Page_103">103</a><br />
+Musical Study, General, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>
+</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_N" id="INDEX_N"></a>N.</h3>
+<p>
+Names of Voices, <a href="#Page_29">29</a><br />
+Nervousness, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_O" id="INDEX_O"></a>O.</h3>
+<p>
+Oratorio, <a href="#Page_73">73</a><br />
+"Original Keys", <a href="#Page_104">104</a><br />
+Opera, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_P" id="INDEX_P"></a>P.</h3>
+<p>
+Perseverance, <a href="#Page_54">54</a><br />
+Physiological Surroundings, <a href="#Page_109">109</a><br />
+Pharynx, The, <a href="#Page_111">111</a><br />
+Position of Arms, <a href="#Page_55">55</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; "&nbsp; Body, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; "&nbsp; Hands, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; "&nbsp; Larynx, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; "&nbsp; Throat, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; "&nbsp; Tongue, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></span><br />
+Pronunciation, <a href="#Page_22">22</a><br />
+Public Singing, <a href="#Page_85">85</a><br />
+Public, Mistakes in, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_Q" id="INDEX_Q"></a>Q.</h3>
+<p>
+Qualities of the Voice, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>
+</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p>
+<h3><a name="INDEX_R" id="INDEX_R"></a>R.</h3>
+<p>
+Recitative, <a href="#Page_81">81</a><br />
+Repertoire, Forming a, <a href="#Page_107">107</a><br />
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_S" id="INDEX_S"></a>S.</h3>
+<p>
+Scale, The, <a href="#Page_60">60</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">" &nbsp; &nbsp; Practice, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></span><br />
+"Schools" of Singing, <a href="#Page_47">47</a><br />
+Self-Accompaniment, <a href="#Page_55">55</a><br />
+Sentiment, <a href="#Page_84">84</a><br />
+Singing in Tune, <a href="#Page_67">67</a><br />
+Slurring, <a href="#Page_83">83</a><br />
+Smoking, <a href="#Page_18">18</a><br />
+Soprano, <a href="#Page_32">32</a><br />
+Study of Songs, <a href="#Page_20">20</a><br />
+Study of Words, <a href="#Page_25">25</a><br />
+Styles, Traditional, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_T" id="INDEX_T"></a>T.</h3>
+<p>
+Teachers, Bad, <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br />
+Teeth, The, <a href="#Page_15">15</a><br />
+Tenore-Leggiero, <a href="#Page_37">37</a><br />
+Tenore-Robusto, <a href="#Page_39">39</a><br />
+Throatiness, <a href="#Page_58">58</a><br />
+Thyroid, The, <a href="#Page_110">110</a><br />
+Time in Singing, <a href="#Page_87">87</a><br />
+Tone, <a href="#Page_60">60</a><br />
+Traditional Styles, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_V" id="INDEX_V"></a>V.</h3>
+<p>
+Variety Indispensable, <a href="#Page_68">68</a><br />
+Voices and their Names, <a href="#Page_29">29</a><br />
+Voice, The; A Wind, Reed, or String Instrument, <a href="#Page_111">111</a><br />
+Vowel-Sounds, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a name="INDEX_W" id="INDEX_W"></a>W.</h3>
+<p>
+"Words," Study of, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="center">Printed by <span class="smcap">Ballantyne, Hanson &amp; Co.</span></p>
+<p class="center">London &amp; Edinburgh</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+<h2><a name="Footnotes" id="Footnotes">FOOTNOTES</a></h2>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> It used to be said of Rubini that "he had tears in his voice."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> The Exercise should be a crescendo from piano to forte.</p></div>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="transnote">
+<h2><a name="Transcribers_Note" id="Transcribers_Note">TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>Punctuation and formatting markup have been made consistent.</p>
+
+<p>Apparent printer's errors have been retained, unless stated below.</p>
+
+<p>Page <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, "disirable" changed to "desirable". (It cannot be too strongly
+impressed upon, or too frequently pointed out to, the singer (no matter
+what may be the stage of his or her artistic development) how desirable
+and advantageous it is to be constantly singing exercises and solfeggi
+in preference to songs.)</p>
+
+<div class="hide-link"><p>In Exercise 8 on Page <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, the top D in the third
+measure has been changed to sound as a D<span lang="en" title="flat">&#9837;</span>, in belief that the note
+was affected by the flat at the beginning of the measure, and to stay in
+character with the rest of the exercises.</p></div>
+
+<p>Page <a href="#Page_73">73</a> and <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, "shool" changed to "school". (You will find its good
+points equally insisted on in the oratorio school of singing, while its
+defects should be avoided in any.)</p>
+
+<p>In Exercise 11 on Page <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, the twelfth bar in the the original image
+began with a quaver. To retain rhythmic integrity, this has been
+edited to read as a crotchet.</p>
+
+<p>In Exercise 6 on Page <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, the tenth and eleventh bar in the the original
+image were reversed. For consistency, these bars have been corrected.</p>
+
+<p>Page <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, "divisious" changed to "divisions". (Those who have ever
+delighted as well as astonished us by their rapid manner of running
+through divisions must have been naturally endowed with flexible
+organs.)</p>
+
+<p>Page <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, "<span lang="el" title="larynx">&lambda;&alpha;&rho;&upsilon;&gamma;&xi;</span>" changed to "<span lang="el" title="l&#8049;rynx">&lambda;&#8049;&rho;&upsilon;&gamma;&xi;</span>".</p>
+
+<p>On page <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, "<span lang="el" title="harytaina">&#7937;&rho;&#8059;&tau;&alpha;&iota;&nu;&alpha;</span>" was intentionally retained.
+This may be a typo for "<span lang="el" title="arytaina">&#7936;&rho;&#8059;&tau;&alpha;&iota;&nu;&alpha;</span>".</p>
+
+<p>Page <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, "<span lang="el" title="pharynx">&phi;&#8049;&rho;&upsilon;&nu;&xi;</span>" changed to "<span lang="el" title="pharynx">&phi;&#8049;&rho;&upsilon;&gamma;&xi;</span>".</p>
+
+<p>In Exercise 4 on Page <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, the seventh bar in the the original image
+began with an E. In order to maintain the pattern, this has been
+edited to read as an F.</p>
+
+<p>In Exercise 5 on Page <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, the twelfth bar in the the original image
+contained four beats. The first note of the measure, which was a minim,
+has been changed to a crotchet.</p>
+
+<p>In Exercise 7 on Page <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, the last measure
+contained three beats. The last note of the exercise, which was printed as
+a dotted minim, has been changed to a semibreve.</p>
+
+<p>In Exercise 8 on Page <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, the rhythm in the measure was originally
+written as a crotchet, two quavers,
+a crotchet, two quavers, and a crotchet, making five beats in the
+measure of common time. The measure has been edited to read as a single
+crotchet, followed by six quavers in order to retain four beats
+in each measure.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVICE TO SINGERS***</p>
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Advice to Singers, by Frederick James Crowest
+
+
+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: Advice to Singers
+
+
+Author: Frederick James Crowest
+
+
+
+Release Date: October 10, 2012  [eBook #41013]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVICE TO SINGERS***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Veronika Redfern, David Edwards, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images
+generously made available by Internet Archive (http://archive.org). Music
+for audio illustrations was transcribed by Anne Celnick, Sarah Thomson,
+and the DP Music Team.
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original lines of music and
+      audio illustrations.
+      See 41013-h.htm or 41013-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41013/41013-h/41013-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41013/41013-h.zip)
+
+
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive. See
+      http://archive.org/details/AdviceToSingers
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
+
+      Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=).
+
+      Text enclosed by plus signs is Greek transliteration
+      (example: +epi-glotta+=).
+
+      Any ranges or simple exercises that have been depicted
+      on a staff in the original have been represented in this
+      volume using Scientific Pitch Notation. In this system,
+      C4 represents middle C and is set at 256 Hz.
+
+
+
+
+
+ADVICE TO SINGERS
+
+by
+
+FREDERICK J. CROWEST
+
+Author of "The Great Tone Poets" "Musical Groundwork"
+Editor of "The Master Musicians" Series, etc.
+
+      "Since singing is so good a thing
+      I wish all men would learn to sing"
+
+[Illustration: Publisher's Device]
+
+Seventeenth Thousand
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+London
+Frederick Warne and Co.
+and New York
+1904
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+Singing cannot be learnt from a book, and so far from attempting any
+such impossible feat as writing a book which might be called "_Singing
+without a Master_," the author's object--frequently insisted upon
+herein--is to point out the impossibility of overcoming the difficulties
+of singing without a teacher. At the same time, there are points upon
+which a master would not feel called upon to speak; nor would he
+(except, perhaps, in the course of a very long period of training) be
+likely to touch on many matters which, though closely connected with the
+life or business of an accomplished singer, yet lie rather outside the
+province of the voice-trainer.
+
+In a work consisting of detached paragraphs, and not being a continuous
+essay, it is not always possible to enter into full explanations of the
+reasons for certain statements; and (for the want of such explanation)
+one paragraph may _appear_ to contradict another. However, I can assure
+the reader that such paragraphs are only _apparent_ contradictions; and
+if he will take the trouble to think such points out for himself, he
+will find that they are easily reconcileable.
+
+There is no subject, perhaps, on which opinions are so divided, and
+prejudices run so high, as the proper method of training and using the
+voice; nor is there perhaps one more wrapped in mystery than is the art
+of singing. This is probably the result of that readiness with which
+almost every music teacher has hitherto undertaken to teach Singing.
+This book will not, I am sure, add to the mystery. A careful perusal of
+its contents should clear away many misconceptions, and place the
+student on the right road to that end which he or she has in view.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.
+
+
+That another large edition of this little Manual should be called for in
+so comparatively short a time is sufficiently encouraging testimony of
+the worth of the book and the favour it has found at the hands of
+students of singing and others--a result the more gratifying to the
+publishers since hitherto it has been issued with an anonymous
+title-page. Often has the authorship of the little volume been
+industriously defended and disputed--not by myself--both in this country
+and America; but, on the whole, the identity of its originator has been
+well maintained. For my part matters might have remained so, especially
+as I am not insensible to the fact that there is much "preaching"
+herein--as indeed there must be in such a work, and some of the advice
+is of such a nature that its giver runs the risk of being placed upon an
+exceeding high pinnacle of moral excellence, or of being accounted the
+personification of all the virtues--both of which distinctions might
+scarcely be merited. The appearance of my name upon the title-sheet is
+the result of no wish of mine, and I have consented to it only out of
+deference to the pressing request of the publishers.
+
+A chapter on the Physiological Surroundings of the Voice has been added
+to this edition.
+
+                                                   FREDERICK J. CROWEST.
+
+
+PREFACE TO THE SEVENTH EDITION.
+
+Once again my publishers have informed me of the necessity for
+reprinting this Manual, which has been so successful both here, in
+America, and in the Colonies. I have nothing to alter in the work, but I
+must express my thanks for the marked support that has been given to
+this straightforward advice. Did space permit, much might be said
+relative to that growing complaint, "Teachers' (or Board School)
+Laryngitis" as it is called. For some time past I have been authorized
+to make observations at the chief Throat Hospitals in connection with
+this constantly increasing mischief, arising from an injurious use of
+the voice in Teaching, and which only proper Voice Production will
+remedy. While I cannot give advice here, I shall be happy to answer any
+communications of sufferers from this complaint.
+
+                                                   FREDERICK J. CROWEST.
+
+     24 AMPTHILL SQUARE, LONDON, N.W.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                                  _Page_
+
+  PRELIMINARY REMARKS                                                  9
+
+  ON HABITS, DIET, &c.                                                13
+
+    Early Rising--Cleanliness--The Hair--The Teeth--Exercise--Dress--
+    Diet--Smoking--Late Hours--General Morality.
+
+  PRONUNCIATION AND STUDY OF WORDS                                    21
+
+    Nervousness--Pronunciation--Vowel-Sounds--Consonants--English--
+    Emphasis--Position of Lips--Study of "Words"--General
+    Education--Dramatic Study.
+
+  VOICES AND THEIR VARIOUS QUALITIES                                  28
+
+    Voices and their Names--Compass--Soprano--Mezzo-Soprano--
+    Mezzo-Contralto--Contralto--Alto--Tenore-Leggiero--Tenore-Robusto--
+    Barytone and Basso-Cantante--Bass--Buffo--Qualities of Voices.
+
+  INSTRUCTION, BOOKS AND MASTERS                                      47
+
+    Schools of Singing--Masters--Institutions--A First Opinion--Bad
+    Lessons--Bad Teachers--Books of Exercises.
+
+  PRACTICE                                                            53
+
+    Individuality--Perseverance--Facial Expression--Self-Accompaniment--
+    Position of Body, Arms, Hands, Throat, Tongue, Larynx--
+    Head-Singing--Throatiness--Clearing the Throat--High Notes--The
+    Scale--Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano--Tone--Chest, Falsetto, and
+    Head--Scale Practice--First Exercises (_with Examples_)--Duration
+    of Practice--Singing in Tune--How to Begin--Variety--Chorus
+    Singing--Humming--Studying Songs--Imitation--General Musical Study.
+
+  ON STYLE AND EXPRESSION                                             71
+
+    Traditional Styles--Modern German _Lieder_--"The Cathedral
+    School"--Oratorio (_with Examples_)--Opera--Ballads--Recitative
+    (_with Examples_)--Slurring--Sentiment--Decision--Imitation--Public
+    Singing--"Holding" an Audience--Mistakes in Public.
+
+  ON TIME IN SINGING                                                  87
+
+    The Metronome--Accent--Exercises: four beats to the bar; three
+    beats to the bar; two beats to the bar.
+
+  ON THE CHOICE OF MUSIC                                             103
+
+    Music to Suit the Voice--"Original Keys"--Execution--Fashion--
+    Forming a "Repertoire."
+
+  PHYSIOLOGICAL SURROUNDINGS                                         109
+
+    The Larynx--The Thyroid--The Pharynx--The Voice; A Wind, Reed,
+    or String Instrument.
+
+  EXERCISES                                                          115
+
+    Exercises 1, 2, for Uniting Notes--Exercise 3, for Flexibility,
+    &c.--Exercise 4, on Intervals of Thirds--Exercise 5, on Intervals
+    of Fourths--Exercise 6, on Intervals of Fifths--Exercise 7, on
+    Intervals of Sixths--Exercise 8, on Intervals of Sevenths.
+
+  INDEX                                                              126
+
+
+
+
+ADVICE TO SINGERS.
+
+
+
+
+PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
+
+
+Whatever be the actual difference between the professional and the
+amateur singer, if a person is worthy of the name of singer at all,
+there should be no difference in their views of Art, and in their
+devotion to practice. Singing is an art, and one of the most difficult
+of the arts to master; and any one who attempts to learn it must be
+prepared to give the same devotion to it as is demanded by the sister
+arts of painting and sculpture. I do not mean exactly devotion of the
+whole time and energy of life to it; because, however necessary that may
+be for the professional, who has to make his living by it, such entire
+devotion to an accomplishment or an amusement (for such singing is to
+the amateur) would, for a non-professional, be frequently impossible,
+and very often wrong, as it would lead to a neglect of the duties of
+life. But, while the entire devotion of time and energy of a
+professional singer is demanded to master the various styles, and the
+immense mass of music, with which he or she will have to deal in the
+exercise of the profession, the amateur should bear in mind that such
+time and energy as he can devote to singing must be firmly restricted to
+doing what he undertakes thoroughly well--as well, in fact, as a
+professional. The amateur's position, which forbids him to make singing
+the work of his life, limits the range of his work, not the quality of
+it. He cannot, even if he have the voice of a Rubini or a Braham, master
+the difficulties of opera, oratorio, and ballad alike. Circumstances
+forbid him to conquer the world, but there is no reason why he should
+not be a king in his own special realm. To be that he will have to
+follow the same rules as though he were able to attack the whole
+universe of vocal music; for he should feel that the only difference
+between him and the professional singer lies in the sphere of their
+work.
+
+The same remarks apply to many professionals. _Very_ few can excel in
+all styles, and few in more than one. To attempt all is a great mistake,
+and will probably lead to failure, or at least mediocrity in all.
+
+But the first point that I would insist upon is the necessity for
+earnest devotion and regular work, both in professional and amateur, so
+that the term _Artist_ may apply to both. I shall be at no great pains
+to avoid occasional repetitions of incidental remarks. In a book
+intended for constant reference rather than for one perusal, and one
+divided, as this is, into short paragraphs, words may attract attention
+in one place, while in another they may have been overlooked. If,
+therefore, I err in this respect, I shall do so deliberately, my sole
+aim being to help and impress the student as much as possible.
+
+Remember that the human voice is the most delicate of all instruments,
+susceptible to more and more varied influence than any other. The singer
+has to combine in himself the instrument and the performer; and while
+all the artistic and intellectual qualities necessary for the
+instrumentalist are required by him, he is compelled beyond that to
+realize that he is a living instrument, and to exercise over himself all
+the care--and indeed far more than all--that players exercise over their
+most cherished "weapons." He has not only to learn how to sing, but how
+to be and to remain fit for singing. He, more than any other musical
+artist, will find that he is affected by moral as well as physical and
+intellectual causes, and he must face this fact boldly.
+
+In writing down the brief hints which this little work offers to
+singers, I shall therefore take in a range of subjects and enter into
+many details which may seem to have little to do with the practice of
+_Do_, _Re_, _Mi_. I do this advisedly, and I believe that such hints as
+those on general culture and habits of living are by no means the least
+important part of my work. I do not profess to teach my readers how to
+sing--(any singer knows, and I should like the public to know too, that
+singing cannot be taught by a book)--but to give "hints to singers," and
+many of those hints are on such subjects as it would be an impertinence
+on the part of a singing master to allude to. If the student takes
+offence at the _book_, it happily does not reach the author.
+
+Following out the previous thought, I shall try to turn the intending
+singer's attention to several other subjects, before I touch upon that
+of strictly musical interest. And if I here seem to "preach"
+occasionally, I shall never do so without cause, and never, I trust, in
+any spirit but that of the warmest sympathy with the aspirations and the
+peculiar trials and difficulties of those who are still in full vigour
+of youth and health.
+
+Remember that I give _hints_, not _rules_. It is quite impossible to lay
+down rules of living which shall apply alike to male and female, or to
+variously constituted natures. But I hope I may trust to the common
+sense of every individual to draw sound conclusions, and to form his or
+her own rules, by the help of these hints, and, the rules once formed,
+to adhere to them resolutely. If singing is to be done at all, it is
+worth while to do it well, and to spare no pains to that end.
+
+There is a good deal to be done by the student of singing before he
+attacks the strictly musical part of his difficulties. General
+education, if deficient, must be attended to; habits of living must be
+formed and followed out; faults of character, such as laziness, ill
+temper, slovenliness, impatience, and want of perseverance, must be
+bravely fought; for the study of singing, perhaps more than of any other
+art, will test the character severely in these respects.
+
+The student must be prepared to exercise a good deal of self-denial; to
+put aside all notions of self-merit for a long time to come; and to be
+humble, and ready to take a hint from any source. Whatever merits he may
+have at starting are certainly not due to his own skill; they are simply
+natural gifts, and the better they are, the more is there for him to
+learn in doing justice to them. Let him not waste time in admiring what
+he is, or has done; but let him keep all his energy for what he may yet
+be and for what he yet has to accomplish.
+
+
+
+
+ON HABITS, DIET, &c.
+
+
+The following paragraphs contain hints on various matters apparently
+little connected with singing, yet all of more or less importance to the
+singer. The voice, and the power of using it, depend so greatly upon
+general health, and health is so easily affected by habits of living,
+that I offer no apology for entering into some details which, though
+easy enough to write down, and read when written, would be difficult for
+a singing master to allude to or suggest without giving offence.
+
+
+=Early Rising.=--Practise early rising, and, if possible, take a short
+walk before breakfast. This tends to keep the circulation of the blood
+in a good condition, and that is, of course, of great importance to the
+lungs, and all the organs which singing requires to tax somewhat
+severely.
+
+
+=Cleanliness.=--Strict cleanliness is of the greatest importance. Take a
+cold bath every morning directly you get out of bed. Do not stand
+"pottering about," or you may catch cold, but go to your bath while the
+skin is moist with the perspiration which the warmth of bed has drawn
+out. If you let the perspiration dry, and then plunge into cold water,
+you run a great risk of giving yourself a severe chill. Sponge yourself
+well, and rapidly, all over, especially the chest, throat, back of the
+neck, and all round the loins; and dry the body thoroughly and briskly
+with a rough towel. Let no fear of damaging the complexion deter young
+ladies from this most healthy and necessary operation.
+
+In winter, if the circulation is naturally sluggish, it is as well not
+to take the bath perfectly cold, but merely add enough hot water just to
+remove the extreme chill. The bath ought to feel cold to you, even
+though it be not the coldest possible.
+
+It is well to take a warm bath once a week--if possible, just before
+going to bed. Do not have it hot, but simply warm, and, of course, use
+soap with it. Do not dawdle over it, but "have it and have done with
+it," and then get to bed at once. If you find the effect of it to be
+enervating or relaxing, take it less warm in future. The object of it is
+simply to open and cleanse the pores of the skin--a matter of great
+importance.
+
+
+=The Hair.=--The same rule of extreme cleanliness applies to the hair, and
+for the same reason, viz., its intimate connection with the circulation
+of the blood and the pores of the skin. Keep the hair well brushed, and
+have it frequently cut and shampooed. Avoid "pomatums," washes, and
+greasy messes of every kind: their smell is objectionable and their
+effect is generally to dirty the head. Moreover, the public have the
+good taste to object to the appearance of an artist before them who is
+evidently "got up" with pains for the occasion. A person who is
+habitually as clean as he can be, need never fear to appear in public,
+and may spare himself the disgusting application of "grease" to his head
+to make himself fit to be seen.
+
+If a moustache is worn, let it be kept within bounds, and not allowed to
+fall over the mouth, where it would affect the tone of the voice. Do not
+cut it straight along the lip, but train it right and left, allowing it
+to grow naturally and uncut. The advantages of the moustache are two: it
+acts to a certain extent as a respirator, and protects the mouth and
+throat as the eyelash does the eye, and it helps to conceal any slight
+distortion of the mouth in singing. This, I confess, is a doubtful
+advantage:--there ought to be no distortion, and if any were seen, it
+might, perhaps, be corrected. However, I give the opinion for what it is
+worth.
+
+
+=The Teeth.=--The teeth play such an important part in the production of
+the voice that every care should be taken to preserve them sound and in
+good condition--to say nothing of the part which they play in facial
+expression, a point to which every singer should attend. A bad state of
+the teeth at once affects the stomach, and that again the voice, so that
+no apology is needed for drawing the student's attention to this matter.
+Clean the teeth the first thing in the morning, and the last thing at
+night. Use a moderately hard brush, better too soft than too hard, with
+cold water, or better still, just lukewarm. Avoid all "dentifrices" and
+advertised nastinesses in the way of powders and "fragrant" washes. A
+mixture of powdered (not "prepared") chalk and orris-root, in the
+proportion of about three to two, is the best thing to use, and any
+chemist will make that up for you. Remember to brush the teeth inside
+and along the top, as well as outside; and if you find this difficult
+with the ordinary-shaped brush, get one of those which are sold for the
+purpose. If you find, in spite of your care, that your teeth become
+discoloured, the cause is probably that your stomach is out of order. In
+that case, go straight to a doctor, for the consequence of such
+derangement is that "tartar" is formed on the teeth, and this grows, and
+pushes back the gums, altering the form of the cavity of the mouth, and
+so affecting the tone of the voice.
+
+
+=Exercise.=--Be as much as you can in the open air. Take moderate walking
+exercise, but of course do not tire yourself before singing or
+practising. For male singers, rowing, riding, football and cricket (but
+without the shouting so often incidental to these games), racquets or
+tennis, and above all an hour or two weekly in a gymnasium, are
+excellent things; while for ladies, walking, riding, lawn-tennis, "la
+grace," and calisthenics are equally useful. If you live in a town,
+always walk in preference to taking a conveyance, when time and weather
+permit it.
+
+Never breathe through your mouth in walking, especially at night, or on
+coming out into the open air after singing. Keep the lips closed, and
+inhale the air through the nostrils. This is easily acquired, and to be
+able to do this will be found of great service in taking breath for
+singing; but out of doors it is most important, for the immediate rush
+of cold or damp air to the delicate organs of the throat, especially
+when the latter have been excited by the exertion of singing, is
+dangerous. It is a good plan, and a profitable use of the time, to
+practise breathing when walking, by filling the lungs, and utilizing
+each inspiration for as long a distance as possible.
+
+
+=Dress.=--Nothing can be said in favour of our climate for singing. With
+proper precautions, however, a great deal of trouble arising from this
+cause may be averted. In summer, as well as in winter, for instance, the
+writer would strongly urge the wearing of moderately thick-soled boots
+or shoes. Then, again, the neck and chest should never be exposed alike
+to a June sun and a December frost; but, instead, it should be
+moderately and reasonably covered. Great care should be taken never to
+get wet, especially wet or damp feet.
+
+In going out of hot rooms into the open air much pains should be
+exercised to keep the chest and throat covered up with an overcoat or
+cloak--however warm the weather may be. In _very severe_ winter weather
+the singer will derive much comfort by wearing a flannel
+chest-protector. Sitting about in gardens, and on lawns, in the evenings
+on even the warmest days, is not a safe indulgence for the student who
+is in earnest in the pursuit of his art.
+
+One caution is necessary as to "wrapping up," however. Do not over-do
+it. The constant use of a "comforter" renders the throat delicate and
+susceptible. All you have to fear is damp, not cold, in the atmosphere.
+A comforter, closely wound round the throat, promotes perspiration, and
+the risk of chill in removing it is greater than in not wearing it at
+all. Common sense must guide every one. It is impossible to make a rule
+for all.
+
+
+=Diet.=--As to diet: avoid everything that is at all indigestible. Live
+well, and take plenty of varied nourishment. The singer's system _must_
+be well nourished. Chocolate and coffee are better than tea; the latter
+is too astringent, and affects the nerves too much, if taken in
+abundance. Sugar, in moderation, should always be used with those
+beverages, and they should never be taken very hot. Bread is better than
+toast, but avoid hot or very new bread. Eggs and butter are good. Meat
+should be plainly cooked and not too well done. Pork tries the digestion
+too severely to be a desirable food for a singer, and the same may be
+said of veal. Fish is good for the singer, and he should if possible let
+it form a part of his daily _menu_. Creams and pastry are simply poison,
+and cheese should only be taken in great moderation. Fruit is an
+excellent thing if judiciously used. But here, again, hard and fast
+rules are impossible, because constitutions vary. Only remember the old
+proverb, "We must eat to live, and not live to eat."
+
+Never practise or sing upon an empty stomach, or soon after a meal:
+either of these habits will unfairly tax your digestive organs, and in
+so doing damage your voice. After a meal, all the energy of the body is
+required for the stomach; in a healthy person the extremities will
+generally be cold after a full meal, and the reason is that the
+digestive organs are using all the heat and blood that the body can give
+for their special work. Nature thus points to a rest of every other
+organ at that time, and you must not fight against Nature by attempting
+any such severe physical strain as the practice of the voice demands.
+
+All acids and astringents are bad for a healthy throat and stomach.
+Vinegar, highly-flavoured sauces, almonds and raisins, nuts of every
+kind should be avoided. Some of these are useful as remedies in relaxed
+throat, or congestion of the throat, no doubt; but I am speaking simply
+of what is desirable for a person in a state of health. In cases of
+cold, hoarseness, or indisposition of any kind, my prescription is,
+"Don't doctor yourself, but (as Abernethy said) '_Take advice_.'" Be
+very careful and abstemious in the use of spirits. Brandy is decidedly
+injurious, it heats and inflames the throat, and tends to constipate the
+bowels. Gin or whiskey is the most wholesome spirit, but take as little
+as possible of either. If you drink beer or stout, take draught and not
+bottled, and always in great moderation. All effervescing liquors are
+objectionable; therefore eschew champagne, Moselle, bottled ale and
+stout, _et hoc genus omne_. The fluids called port and sherry are cruel
+foes to singing. A glass of _good_ port is a fair medicine in certain
+cases, and the same may be said of very dry Amontillado, but if
+you have nothing the matter with you, avoid port and (so-called)
+sherry--especially the hideous compound of alcohol and molasses known as
+"brown" sherry--as you would poison.
+
+The best drink for singers is claret, or any light wine, French, German,
+or Italian. I myself find the latter on the whole the best, and such
+wines as Barolo Secco or Chiante are pure and cheap, and contain all the
+properties necessary for a singer's beverage. But in this as in all
+else, _moderation_ is a _sine qua non_. Fluids are apt to produce
+congestion or mucus in the throat and glands of the mouth, and that of
+course interferes with the free action of the muscles in singing.
+
+
+=Smoking.=--As a general rule it may be laid down that smoking is a bad
+habit for the singer, male or female (for there are females who are
+proud of being able to smoke cigarettes nowadays!). With many instances
+of great singers who have also been great smokers before us, it is
+impossible to say decidedly that singers must not smoke; but the habit
+is one to be very cautiously indulged in. If smoking in any case induces
+expectoration, it should at once be given up, for the habit of spitting,
+to which some smokers allow themselves (quite needlessly) to give way,
+is, in reality, the greatest evil of smoking; it weakens the throat,
+lungs, and chest. If a man can smoke without spitting or drinking, I
+confess that I am no great enemy to tobacco; but the "if" is a big one.
+
+A cigarette is certainly a safeguard against taking cold in coming out
+of a hot room into the open air, especially after singing; but strong
+cigars or strong tobacco in pipes are to be avoided, because of their
+effect on the nerves.
+
+
+=Late Hours.=--Avoid late hours. You require, not only a certain amount of
+sleep, but to take that sleep before the body and mind are at all
+overtaxed. From many causes, it is well known, the human frame is always
+at its lowest from about 2 a.m. till 5 a.m., and the nearer you approach
+those hours in going to bed, the less able are you to derive all the
+benefit which you require from sleep. Twelve o'clock is late enough for
+any one.
+
+Another reason why late hours are bad is connected not with physical
+facts so much as with morals. It is true, you may come to no actual
+harm, or get into no positive mischief, by being out late at night, but
+you place yourself in a position of risk--risk of cold, over-fatigue,
+inhaling vitiated atmosphere, &c., as well as risk to moral character,
+which latter, in its way as delicate as the voice, is injured not only
+by actual violation of right, but by all society, conversation, and
+literature which tend to dim its brightness, or (to use another
+metaphor) to spoil the purity of its outline by roughly knocking off its
+corners. At all events, as to the night side of "Life," you are better
+out of it.
+
+
+=Morality.=--Nothing can act more prejudicially upon a singer than those
+influences which are understood by that very inclusive term, a "fast"
+life. I would, therefore, urge upon the student the necessity of a
+religious avoidance of those influences. They dull the purity of thought
+which marks all true art; they deaden the intellect which art requires;
+and they injure the physical powers, without which all a singer's study
+may be suddenly rendered useless to him. All excess is bad, and
+self-restraint and self-control are of the greatest importance both to
+character and health. Many an anxious student has mastered the musical
+side of his art, but has failed under the rigid demands which the moral
+code makes upon an intending singer. It is of no use for a singer to be
+strong musically, and weak morally: the two preparations must go
+hand-in-hand; and while building up a structure of vocal greatness, his
+care must always be that the moral foundation will always support the
+weight of persistent study, and leave him favourably placed in the stern
+competition going on around him for a front place in the race for
+singing fame, and the inevitable honours. Keep these hints in mind,
+think them carefully over, and be your own moral doctor. That will be
+better than following any code of cut and dried rules. If you err at
+all, let it be on the side of self-denial, the hardest and probably the
+highest of all virtues.
+
+
+
+
+ON THE STUDY OF PRONUNCIATION AND "WORDS" IN SINGING, &c.
+
+
+The singer has to combine the arts of the musician, the public speaker,
+and, to a certain extent, the actor. Clearness of pronunciation and
+correctness of emphasis are included in the range of his study. Nor are
+these so easy of acquirement as many persons suppose. To a novice, the
+almost inevitable nervousness inseparable from the prominent position
+which a solo singer necessarily holds in the company, or before the
+audience to which he is singing, is very apt to render the enunciation
+less distinct and more rapid than is natural to him. His ear guides him
+less safely; and, in fact, every sense, influenced by the abnormal state
+of his nerves, is apt to play him more or less false. It is only by
+having carefully studied and mastered every detail of manner, posture,
+and speech, as well as of the music to be performed, that a singer can
+rise superior to the treachery of his nerves, in whatever form that
+treachery may show itself.
+
+
+=Nervousness.=--A few words as to nervousness. You will often hear persons
+boast that they are not the least nervous in public; and, perhaps, will
+feel inclined to envy them. Get rid of any such notion at once. If by
+"nervous" is meant "frightened," that is another thing altogether; and
+it is perfectly true that there are hundreds of persons who are not in
+the least afraid of appearing in public, nor affected by timidity when
+so appearing. But fear is only one form of nervousness. I firmly
+believe that it is impossible for a real artist ever to appear in public
+without being _nervous_. But the nerves act in many ways: the fervour of
+an eloquent speaker carried away by his subject; the "_abandon_" of a
+fine actor thoroughly entering into his part and identifying himself
+with it; the sustained energy of a declamatory singer; the faultless and
+unerring agility of a florid _soprano_, who astonishes her hearers by
+wonder on wonder of execution--all these things are due, in their subtle
+charm, to nervousness--_i.e._ to delicate nervous organization in active
+play. These artists are not frightened, it is true, but excited,
+stimulated, roused from the normal state of eating, walking, and
+sleeping; something of the spiritual kindles the mere physical forces in
+them--some breath of inspiration sustains that living power which so
+influences the hearers. In some way or other every great artist is
+always nervous; were it not so, the essence of their power would vanish.
+Persons of cold and phlegmatic temperament lack the very life-breath of
+art; and though they may train themselves into fair imitations of some
+great artists, they will generally be detected with ease, by any hearer
+of true sensibility, as imitations, not the real thing. Therefore do not
+be ashamed to admit that you are nervous, if it be so. Nerves are a
+cruel master, but a splendid servant; instead of letting them overcome
+you, force them to do your bidding; and instead of "nervousness" meaning
+"fear," you will find that it means courage and power to do your best.
+
+
+=Pronunciation.=--Study correctness of pronunciation and propriety of
+emphasis quite apart from singing. Remember that in speaking or singing
+in a large space and to a number of persons, every sound must have not
+only additional force, but additional volume. And that comes to mean
+that every vowel-sound in the words sung must be intensified, and every
+consonant be delivered with more accuracy than is necessary in ordinary
+speaking. If you were to pronounce the syllable "die" (for instance), in
+singing, _exactly_ as you do in speaking, you would produce on the
+notes or note to which that word belonged a thinness of tone which would
+be very ugly, and probably would not "carry" far. And the same with any
+vowel-sound--even "Ah," or "Oh,"--which, though not producing a thin
+tone, would certainly produce a coarse one, if sung exactly as spoken in
+ordinary conversation.
+
+
+=Vowel-Sounds.=--The reason of the need of this slight change is as
+follows. Every vowel-sound, like every musical sound (for vowel-sounds
+are nothing less than musical sounds) is composed of _two_ sounds.
+Combined with the prominent and chief sound which first attracts the ear
+is a second, which, though not prominent, lends point and force to the
+other. Thus our English vowel-sound "A" is really _Eh-e_; "E" is _E-e_;
+"I" is _Ah-e_; "O" is _O-oo_, or even _Aw-oo_; "U" is _Ee-oo_. Of
+course, I do not mean to say that those absurd-looking syllables really
+express exactly the sounds which we produce in speaking the vowels, for
+no combination of letters can do that, or can bring within reach of the
+eye the subtleties of sound in human speech; but if you attempt to
+pronounce those syllables, you will find that you are really pronouncing
+the vowels from which I "translated" them.
+
+Now, in conversation or rapid speaking, the subordinate sound of the
+vowel is scarcely noticeable, while the more prominent sound is heard
+for the short interval of time required. But in singing or public
+speaking, where the production of tone is more deliberate, the space to
+be filled with sound larger, or, in other words, the column of air to be
+set vibrating is greater and heavier, the _complex_ sound of the vowel
+must not be ignored. It is impossible to lay down any set of rules by
+which the student may overcome this difficulty; but every one, by
+bearing in mind the absolute necessity of attention to this point, may
+easily accustom himself to the slight change of pronunciation (as it
+will at first appear) which is required to give vowel-sounds when sung,
+or spoken "_ore rotundo_," the same tone, to the hearer's ear, as they
+have in ordinary speaking. As a general rule this is done by keeping
+the throat more open, the larynx (or "Adam's apple") as low down as
+possible, and the root of the tongue flat, depressed, even hollowed like
+the bowl of a spoon. The truth of all this may easily be tested by
+singing any short passage deliberately and distinctly, with the exact
+pronunciation of ordinary speaking, and then repeating it with attention
+to the above hints. In the first instance the result will be meagre,
+hard to be heard at a moderate distance, and very likely extremely
+ludicrous to the hearer. In the second, you will find that the tone of
+the notes gains in roundness and fulness, while the words are clearly
+heard in every part of the room with the exact effect belonging to them.
+I purposely refrain from attempting to write down the difference
+discernible in any words so sung, because, as I have already said,
+_letters_ cannot accurately express distinctions so delicate, yet so
+all-important to the singer, speaker, and hearer.
+
+
+=Consonants.=--In pronouncing consonants, be careful to give each its due
+value, but without exaggeration. Be especially particular to sound the
+_last_ letter of each word distinctly. But take care to avoid adding a
+slight sound (as of an _e_ mute) after the final letter: for instance,
+do not say "When other-_e_ lips," &c., or "bright-_e_ days," and so on.
+Do not over-aspirate the letter "_H_." "_N_," "_L_," "_M_," "_B_,"
+"_P_," and "_V_," are all letters requiring care in firm pronunciation.
+
+Avoid prefixing a slight sound of "_N_" to the first word of a song or
+passage in singing. It is a common trick with beginners to do this, and
+they frequently do it without being in the least conscious of it. It is
+produced by a kind of nervous feeling of the teeth with the tongue, as
+if to make sure that all is right for the start! I have heard an
+aspiring youth actually begin a well-known song thus: "_Nwaft her
+Rangels Nthrough the sky_," &c.
+
+
+=English Words.=--The English language is not the most suitable one under
+the sun for singing purposes; nevertheless, it is not nearly so
+intolerable and unfavourable an one as it is the fashion to make out.
+The grand old Scripture passages which Handel, Mendelssohn, and others
+have set to music testify to this. Yet musical care _is_ needed when
+singing English words, and especially in pronouncing the "sibilants," as
+_S_, &c. These "sibilants" must never be enunciated rapidly, or their
+ill effects will soon be found in a series of _hissings_. Let it be your
+study, then, to avoid this ill effect in singing English words, and to
+utter such sounds slowly and carefully, with the endeavour to produce a
+soft and agreeable effect; for it is, indeed, unpardonable to hear an
+English singer unable to render perfectly the words (if =not= the music)
+of his native country's songs and ballads.
+
+
+=Emphasis.=--Having accustomed yourself to carefulness over each letter in
+your pronunciation, the next thing is to study correctness of emphasis,
+&c. All this is apart from the strictly musical portion of your studies,
+and, while you can work at this without music, you will certainly spoil
+the effect of your singing (however good your voice and voice production
+may be), unless you do so study your "words." I should recommend you to
+practise reading aloud for not less than a quarter of an hour at a time,
+say once a day. Read _standing_; place your book on a desk, on a level
+with your eyes, and speak out deliberately, and with full tone of voice,
+and as much variety of intonation as the matter read requires.
+Shakespeare is your best author for this study. You will feel at first
+as if you were doing a very absurd thing, but never mind that--do it,
+and do it as well and as carefully as you can.
+
+
+=Position of the Lips.=--In speaking and reading aloud during your
+preliminary training for singing, be very careful that there be no
+change in the aperture of the mouth or position of the lips while
+uttering any one sound, however prolonged. If the lips move from their
+first position, however slightly, the tone immediately changes, and the
+pronunciation ceases to be pure and refined.
+
+
+=Study of Words.=--The words of a song are as much worthy of the singer's
+study as the music, that is, if the song is worth singing at all. I do
+not mean to say that in themselves they must necessarily be of equal
+merit, but that they require as much attention on the part of the singer
+to bring out their meaning. Study the text, therefore, apart from the
+music. Read the words aloud deliberately; master the sentiment of them,
+and note the prominent words and phrases, so as to be able to give them
+their due value when you have to combine them with the music. Avoid
+giving prominence to such words as "of," "for," "the," "and," "in," &c.,
+&c., but yet let each be distinctly pronounced, and not slurred over in
+an indefinite murmur. Learn the words of your song by memory. Master the
+text, and consider the whole from an elocutionist's point of view before
+you attack the musical side of the matter. A singer when singing in
+public should not be troubled with his words and music too.
+
+
+=General Education.=--An important branch of study is that of giving
+expression to the passions, and of communicating your conceptions and
+emotions to the minds of your listeners. No better training could a
+young singer have for forming such ideas than the earnest perusal of the
+works of Shakespeare, Dante, Goethe, Milton, Lytton, George Eliot, &c.;
+or in watching carefully and intelligently the acting of our best stage
+performers. For a singer to be successful, he or she must be in a
+position to express, and bring home to an audience, such emotions as
+love, hatred, anger, fear, grief, and pity; all these, and many other
+such feelings, have constantly to be transmitted by the singer, and it
+is to the most natural and faithful exposition of these, and that most
+consistent with the other equally important points of the art of
+singing, that the student's attention should for a long while be
+patiently and perseveringly directed.
+
+The singer should be a well-educated man, and he should know at least
+one other language beside his native tongue. He should be well read,
+too, in the best literature of these two languages. On questions of all
+the arts he should seek to make his views sound and true. He should seek
+to travel, and so enlarge his mind, for all this training will reflect
+itself in the work of an artist so liberally educated. An inferior
+education has been the bane of many a student, who has had the organ and
+all the necessary musical ability.
+
+
+=Dramatic Study.=--To be a successful public singer, even in the
+concert-room, one must be more or less an actor; and, therefore, the
+time and money bestowed in acquiring a sound knowledge of dramatic
+action and elocution will be well spent. For the lyric stage, such a
+study is imperative; but its utility to artists who aspire no higher
+than to ballad or oratorio singing cannot be too highly estimated.
+
+
+
+
+VOICES AND THEIR VARIOUS QUALITIES.
+
+
+The life of the singing voice is so comparatively short, that the study
+of singing is rendered more difficult than that of any other art. You
+may buy a violin or a pianoforte, ready-made and perfect, in your
+childhood, and nothing remains for you but to study the instrument
+diligently under a good master. But the vocal instrument cannot be said
+to exist at all, for purposes of singing study, before the age of
+eighteen or twenty in males, and (in our climate) sixteen in females.
+Even at those ages the organ is necessarily immature and undeveloped.
+Consequently the study of the art has to be carried on during the
+progress of the instrument to maturity.
+
+To counterbalance this disadvantage, however, we must bear in mind that
+that very study materially helps to perfect the instrument. Singing is
+by no means all "style," and the study of it includes the formation of
+the voice and production of a good tone, and it is, of course, easier to
+manipulate an unfinished article than a finished one--to educate youth
+and suppleness than to bring maturity and stiffness into subjection to
+new conditions.
+
+Therefore begin your study in the youth of your voice; but, recollecting
+that its life is the most short-lived of your faculties, let your study
+be most earnest and painstaking. Especially if singing is to be your
+profession, act upon the wise advice of Dr. Burney, and "Never go to bed
+till you have learned something which you did not know the previous
+night."
+
+
+=Voices.=--"What is your voice?" is a very common question, sometimes
+expressed in the rather less polite but more intelligent form, "What do
+you call your voice?" The answer almost invariably is either "Soprano,"
+"Contralto," "Tenor," "Bass," or "Barytone." Here is a warning for you
+at starting. Do not limit your notions of what voices are to those four
+or five generic names. Because choral music is generally written in four
+parts, for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, the non-musical public, and a
+great many musical people (some composers included) seem to think that
+those names are an inclusive description of every human voice.
+
+This would be of very little consequence if it were only a question of
+names; but it is of no use to say "What is in a name?" if the result of
+a wrong name is to lead to mischief. The misfortune of wrongly naming
+your voice is that it will lead you to practise wrongly, and to choose
+the wrong style of music for study and performance. For instance, a
+young lady may call herself a _soprano_ because she can "_sing up to
+C_," and may therefore fancy that the whole repertoire of a Tietjens or
+a Clara Novello is within her reach; and acting on this notion, she may
+fatally damage a naturally bright and pleasing voice by giving it work
+to do which belongs of right to a voice of totally different calibre,
+the _mezzo-soprano_.
+
+
+=Naming the Voice.=--Remember always that the character of a voice is
+determined not by compass or range of notes, but by quality, or body and
+_timbre_, of tone. Two ladies may have voices ranging from A to A--two
+octaves--and yet one might be a pure light soprano, and the other a
+genuine contralto; while in length of compass a mezzo-soprano may even
+beat them both. And so with male voices (the variety in which is even
+greater than in female), you may have a voice of pure tenor quality, and
+yet of such limited compass that your energetic barytone friend next
+door may make your life miserable with jealousy of the ease with which
+he bellows high Gs, G sharps, and even on great occasions an A or so.
+
+But compass has nothing whatever to do with the name of the voice: it
+may limit the quantity of music which can be performed, but it should
+have no influence on the choice of the style of music to be studied.
+This is a point of the greatest importance, therefore I repeat it
+briefly once more--_Your voice must be described and used with reference
+to its quality, or volume and timbre, and not with reference to the
+number of notes which you can sing._
+
+
+=Male and Female Voices.=--The actual varieties in tone and quality in
+different voices cannot, of course, be expressed on paper; but a careful
+use of your ears in listening to good public singers will soon teach you
+to discriminate. Female voices are of at least four kinds: soprano,
+mezzo-soprano, mezzo-contralto, and contralto. Male are of five or six,
+or even more. Alto; tenore-leggiero or light tenor; tenore-robusto or
+strong heavy-voiced tenor; barytone--basso-cantante (erroneously
+identified with the barytone by some persons); basso-profondo or bass.
+
+Beside all these divisions or species, voices must be again classed
+according to their power. Any one who has ever heard an opera singer in
+a moderate-sized private drawing-room, will readily appreciate the
+difference between a _voce di camera_, or "chamber voice," and a _voce
+di teatro_.
+
+
+=Compass.=--The respective compasses of the several voices may be roughly
+set down as follows, but it should be borne in mind that it is by no
+means a matter of course that a singer of any particular voice should
+possess or cultivate the whole range of notes supposed to belong to that
+voice. He or she may be none the less a tenor or a soprano because the
+one cannot produce an "_Ut de poitrine_," or the other "_F_ in _Alt_."
+There is a special individuality in every voice, as in every face, and
+therefore every voice must be treated, by a good teacher, on its own
+merits, as a thing in some respects unique.
+
+Perhaps it will be best, therefore, instead of saying that the compass
+of any given kind of voice is from ---- to ----, to say that music for
+such and such a voice is generally written between such and such limits.
+The range allotted by composers to the various voices is about two
+octaves to each--for solo work, of course--and is as follows, it being
+understood that the male voices are an octave lower in pitch than the
+female:--
+
+    _Soprano_, and _Tenore-Leggiero_, and in operatic music a certain
+    kind of _Tenore-Robusto_.
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: C4]
+    {to
+    {[Music: C6]
+
+    _Mezzo-Soprano_ and _Tenore-Robusto_
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: A3]
+    {to
+    {[Music: A5]
+
+    _Mezzo-Contralto_ and _Barytone_
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: G3]
+    {to
+    {[Music: G5]
+
+    _Contralto_ and _Bass_
+
+    {from
+    {[Music: E3]
+    {to
+    {[Music: E5]
+
+The basso-cantante is a low barytone, or high bass with a lighter
+quality of tone than the basso-profondo. The alto voice, or
+counter-tenor as it used to be called, is not a natural voice at all,
+but is artificially produced by training the _falsetto_ to the exclusion
+of the other parts of the voice. It is totally distinct from the
+contralto voice of a female, in quality, average compass, and the style
+of music best suited to it. It is of more use in part-singing and
+cathedral music than for solo work, although in some oratorios solo
+parts have been allotted to it. It is rarely pleasing when heard alone,
+for very few alto singers are able to avoid the appearance of singing
+with effort; and the whole performance, except in some instances,
+appears unnatural and forced. The alto voice ranges generally
+
+    from
+    [Music: G3]
+    to
+    [Music: C5]
+
+    but its best notes are confined to the octave of B flat.
+
+
+=Soprano.=--The soprano is generally clear, bright, and penetrating in
+tone; capable, if rightly produced, of "carrying" far without any
+appearance of force or effort. Its lower register is often weak and
+ineffective, and the forcing of those notes by a bad singer often
+damages the voice, and spoils the evenness of tone, which is of far more
+importance than power and noise in singing. Low notes, even if
+naturally weak, may be trained to take their proper share of the work of
+the voice, and every year will add to their natural power. Most soprano
+voices have a "break" on
+
+[Music: G4]
+
+and another, and more difficult one to deal with, on
+
+[Music: E5]
+
+or
+
+[Music: F5]
+
+The lower notes are the (so-called) "chest" register; the middle ones,
+between the breaks, the "falsetto," and the upper ones the "head" notes.
+I shall speak of these often-used and frequently-misapplied words
+presently; I merely mention them now for the sake of pointing out to
+soprani, what many young lady amateurs utterly ignore, that they have
+these "breaks," and possess "chest," "falsetto," and "head" notes, as
+well as male singers.
+
+Soprano voices are frequently capable of great flexibility, and passages
+are easy to them which tax the powers even of a light mezzo-soprano
+severely. The high notes, especially, are in many cases easily produced
+in a staccato manner, like notes of a piccolo flute, and an effect is
+thus made, which, though pretty and pleasing if judiciously employed,
+becomes a great snare to many singers, who for the sake of astonishing
+their audience work the upper part of their voices unfairly, and,
+neglecting steady use and practice of the lower registers, will very
+soon find that they have weakened the power and thinned the tone of the
+whole voice.
+
+But there are many voices of pure soprano tone which lack this
+flexibility: let the fair owners console themselves with the
+recollection that good _sostenuto_ singing is quite as pleasing, in the
+long run, as displays of vocal gymnastics. You may not be able to
+attempt the "_Dinorah_" Shadow Song, or the "Rejoice Greatly" in the
+"_Messiah_," but you will find that you have plenty of good work left
+for you in such music as "Dove Sono," "Deh vieni, non tardar"
+("_Figaro_"), or "Jerusalem" ("_St. Paul_").
+
+Moreover, you may possibly have what is a much rarer gift (in a pure
+soprano) than flexibility--you may have a tone of voice capable of
+executing declamatory music with fine effect. Music of this kind is
+generally appropriated by some mezzo-soprano of high compass, and more
+properly belongs to voices of that class; nevertheless, the effect of
+sustained declamatory music, well executed by a real soprano, is
+unrivalled in its way.
+
+
+=Mezzo-Soprano.=--The mezzo-soprano voice is perhaps the commonest of all
+female voices, and yet one of the rarest met with in perfection. It is
+fuller and rounder in quality than the soprano--less flexible, and more
+adapted to a _sostenuto_ or declamatory style. Mezzo-soprano voices vary
+so much that it is difficult to name any note on which the "break" will
+be found. Sometimes it is on the same notes as a soprano--sometimes on
+the same as a contralto--on the average, perhaps, nearer the former.
+Wherever it may be, however, a judicious teacher will soon point it out,
+and put the student into the way of rightly treating it. Teaching, and
+_good_ teaching, is especially necessary for voices of this class, for
+their fortunate possessors are generally ignorant of the value of the
+treasure which they possess in a good mezzo-soprano; and if it be of
+light quality, they fancy themselves soprani, and force the upper
+register of the voice in trying to "stretch their compass;" or if their
+low notes develop first, they think that "with practice" they are to be
+contralti; and by over-exercise and fondness for displaying those deep
+notes, they run the risk of widening the break, and rendering the
+quality of the whole voice hopelessly uneven.
+
+What lies within the sphere of a good mezzo-soprano has been shown in
+late years by a Grisi and a Tietjens, the latter of whom will live in
+the recollection of all who ever heard her, as the perfect model for
+every mezzo-soprano in the production of the pure tone and even quality.
+
+
+=Mezzo-Contralto.=--The name mezzo-contralto speaks for itself. It is by
+no means an uncommon voice, and if used with discrimination is an
+effective and useful one. Both in compass and quality it lies between
+the contralto and the mezzo-soprano. Heavier in tone, less resonant, and
+less flexible than the mezzo-soprano, it is yet lighter than the
+contralto. Pure contralto voices are so rare that many mezzo-contralto
+singers appear as exponents of contralto music, and by paying chief
+attention to the lower register of their voices, they become fair
+imitations, and more than passable substitutes, for the real article.
+The possessor of this voice must be guided by the advice of a good
+teacher as to the direction in which her voice should be trained.
+Sometimes the natural quality of the voice renders it advisable to
+attempt rivalry with the mezzo-soprano, rather than with the contralto;
+sometimes the reverse. It is a question for decision by a competent
+adviser in each individual case, and therefore I shall not attempt to
+lay down any decided rule, except my oft-repeated one, "GO TO A MASTER,
+AND A FIRST RATE-ONE,"--a point on which I shall have more to say
+further on. How impossible it is to lay down rules for a mezzo-contralto
+is shown by the fact that an eminent living "mezzo-contralto" is gladly
+accepted on our opera stage as a leading contralto, and yet succeeds
+admirably in such a part as Rossini wrote for a mezzo-soprano of the
+most florid kind--_Rosina_ in "_Il Barbiere_."
+
+
+=Contralto.=--The quality of a true contralto voice is so peculiar that it
+is impossible to mistake it for any other voice, although other voices
+may be mistaken for it. Of course, there are exceptional cases in which
+the contralto and mezzo-contralto are combined in one voice: the lower
+range being of full and pure contralto quality, while instead of the
+somewhat limited upper notes of the contralto, a rich mezzo-contralto
+range of notes may develop themselves; and in such a case careful
+training will be able to soften these two into each other, so that a
+complete voice of peculiar charm and great usefulness will result. But
+such cases, if not rare, are certainly the exception and not the rule,
+the deep and powerfully resonant tone of the true contralto being
+comparatively seldom met with. There is generally an awkward break
+between the low B and the D above it in this voice, and E flat or E
+are the highest notes within reach of the average contralto. Voices of
+this class are better adapted for a species of ballads, for solemn
+declamation, or music of a calm and flowing character, than for
+elaborate execution or lively melodies. But here again exceptions must
+be made in favour of those who have the physical means, as well as the
+artistic skill, to study such music as that of the _Page_ in "_Les
+Huguenots_," _Arsace_ in "_Semiramide_," or "_La Cenerentola_." For an
+average English contralto, however, the best line of study is in good
+songs and ballads, and, chief of all, oratorio music.
+
+
+=Alto.=--The alto, or counter-tenor voice, is said by a well-known English
+alto singer to be "simply a development of the _falsetto_--generally the
+_falsetto_ of an inferior bass voice." It is said to be almost peculiar
+to English singers, and to that fact is ascribed its extensive and
+effective use in the fine works of the English Cathedral School of
+composers. Of course, in a voice which is so artificial, there must be
+expected a worse "break" than usual--the break in this case being the
+point below which the falsetto cannot be extended, and where the natural
+"chest" quality of tone has to be used. This break generally lies near
+the same place as the contralto break--if anything, rather higher--say
+between C and E in the middle of the voice. The effective notes of an
+alto usually lie in the octave of B or B flat, and the repertoire of
+music for which this voice is suited is comparatively limited. That
+repertoire, however, includes the greater number of oratorios, a good
+deal of fine old Italian music, and a few old English songs; while a
+singer of cleverness and cultivation will find many ballads which he may
+make his own by the help of transposition and style of delivery.
+
+Great pains must be taken by the possessor of an alto voice in the
+formation and production of a good tone. The voice must be made to sound
+as _natural_ as possible; and, if necessary, power must unhesitatingly
+be sacrificed to sweetness. There is great danger of producing a harsh,
+reedy, or nasal tone, which, to the hearer, is simply distressing or
+offensive.
+
+Above all, let him be content to develop his own means, and to keep to
+music suited to or written for his voice. A good alto will make no
+effect, and will do his voice and style harm, if he "poaches on the
+preserves" of other voices--tenors, for instance, or basses--(singing
+the songs of the latter an octave higher). I once heard an alto--a fair
+singer so long as he stuck to his own work--make an absurd exhibition of
+himself by attempting the great song "Love Sounds the Alarm," in "_Acis
+and Galatea_," at a public concert!
+
+Let him also beware of the snare of contralto music. The alto in a man
+is totally distinct from the contralto in a woman. The tone is utterly
+different--the best notes of the one are certainly not the best notes of
+the other; and although in certain cases a contralto may sing with good
+effect music written for a male alto (_e.g._ in some oratorios), yet the
+converse is scarcely ever true. The low notes, which are so fine in a
+contralto, and so unlike any other tone except perhaps a few notes of
+some tenors, are utterly wanting in charm, and generally in power, in a
+male alto; while the sweet and ringing middle notes of the latter are
+far more effective in alto music than the (frequently) weak and
+uncertain middle notes of a contralto. Choose your music as you name
+your voice, by the quality of tone you can produce, and not by the range
+of notes.
+
+
+=Tenore-Leggiero.=--The _tenore-leggiero_ or "light tenor," is the male
+voice corresponding to the female soprano; it is perhaps the most
+delicate and difficult to manage of all human voices. In the present
+day, when fashion is all in favour of noise, it is difficult for any but
+the strong-minded to stand firm against the tendency to shout and bawl,
+which appears to be the highest aim of many singers, and the highest
+admiration of most audiences. Now for a light tenor to attempt this
+style of singing is simply suggestive of the old fable of the frog who
+tried to make himself as big as the bull, and burst in the attempt.
+There is a modern school of singing which, though it may be suitable
+enough for heavy voices such as basses and robust tenors, is fatal to
+light and delicate voices. The style of singing, and of music to be
+sung, by this voice, is quite different from that appropriate to strong
+and full organs; and, if you are the possessor of a light tenor, you
+must at once rid yourself of the common amateur fancy (a fancy, too, by
+no means confined to amateurs) that you must imitate a certain
+ever-popular living tenor, whose name has passed almost into a proverb
+as typical of the perfection of English singing. You _cannot_ be a
+"Reeves" or a "Braham," therefore it is only waste of time and strength
+for you to try. But there is a great deal of music which neither a
+"Reeves" nor a "Braham" could sing, which is well within your reach; and
+more than that, there is a great deal of excellent music which, though
+you cannot sing it _like_ them, you may render very effective in a
+totally different style. Very often a _pianissimo_ is quite as
+expressive as a _fortissimo_, and grace and sweetness are frequently an
+excellent substitute for power and force. You must be content to
+recognize that the latter are out of your reach, and that the effects
+which you can produce are to be attained by other means.
+
+However, while assuring you that power and force are not given to you, I
+do not mean to say that voices of your class need be at all inaudible in
+a space however large. The tone of a light tenor is generally clear,
+resonant, and penetrating; sometimes there is a metallic ring about it
+which is extremely pretty, if not forced. I have heard a light tenor,
+singing at the back of the Covent Garden stage, send his voice clearly
+out into the great theatre, with apparently more ease than his "robust"
+friend, who was shortly afterwards vociferating at the footlights.
+
+A light tenor must be careful not to force up the lower register of his
+voice beyond its natural and easy limit. The charm of the voice is in
+the perfect blending together of the lower, middle, and upper registers,
+and to do this the upper notes of each register should be equally at
+command, as the upper notes of that register or the lower notes of the
+one above it. In order to attain this, the change from one register to
+another should generally be made considerably lower than the place where
+the real "break" in the voice comes. For instance, supposing the "break"
+to be on E flat, the singer should be able to change his register as
+low as B or B flat, and to take all the notes between those two
+places, either in the upper or lower register, with equal effect.
+
+In voices of this character there is often one note which requires to be
+_made_--_i.e._, which is so naturally defective in tone and quality that
+it can only be produced effectively by imitating as nearly as possible
+the quality of the register above or below it. This note is generally E,
+F, F#, or (sometimes) G, between the middle and upper registers; and if
+you find that you unfortunately have such a refractory note, remember
+not to try and force the tone of it from the next note above or below;
+_e.g._, if your bad note is F, do not try to improve it by singing E
+well and then passing on to the F; but try and form the note from the
+fifth above or below (whichever it happens to resemble most in tone).
+Rounden the refractory note--give it a full tone in practising, and
+produce it well from the chest, letting the sound reverberate from the
+centre of the roof of the mouth--neither too far back towards the
+throat, nor too much on the teeth. Your teacher, if he knows his
+business, will soon put you into the way of this. Voices vary so much
+that these very general remarks must suffice here; but each voice, if it
+has its peculiar difficulties, has also, doubtless, its peculiar charm;
+and for light tenors, rich in both charms and difficulties, the rule is
+all-important: Do not try to imitate anybody else, but let your aim be
+to do the best that can be done with such natural gifts as you may have,
+aided by the best training that you can procure for them.
+
+
+=Tenore-Robusto.=--The robust or strong tenor is the male voice
+corresponding to the mezzo-soprano of a female. It is not an uncommon
+voice, but is rarely met with in anything like perfection. A robust
+tenor voice of large compass and round full tone is a treasure of the
+utmost value. The fact is, that too frequently the possessor of a good
+voice of this kind, instead of taking care of it and training it for the
+future, begins using it too soon, strains and forces it into coarseness,
+and spoils it for ever. People do not realize that a voice may be strong
+in quality and powerful in tone, and yet in itself be an excessively
+delicate thing to keep in order.
+
+Moreover, voices of this kind in their youth frequently resemble
+barytones, and their owners, fired with ambition to rival some popular
+barytone singer, mistake their vocation, and shout and bellow on the
+very part of the voice--the upper "chest" register--which requires the
+tenderest nursing to fit it for future difficulties. Consequently, when
+the voice develops with age, and the singer finds that barytone work is
+too heavy for the lower part of the voice, and that he can without much
+difficulty extend his compass beyond the barytone limits, he discovers
+that what he has been using as the top of his voice is nearer the middle
+of it, and that the mode of using those notes which he has practised is
+excessively difficult, if not impossible, with those which now lie above
+them. The result is either the creation of a very awkward "break," which
+even time and practice can never entirely remove, or else (and this is a
+commoner case) the same process of forcing which has been employed
+hitherto is applied to the upper notes, as far as strength can take it!
+This is the reason why so many tenor singers are utterly unable to
+produce the real tenor "tone," and sound like barytones forced up to a
+higher compass. There is no sweetness in the upper notes so
+produced--nothing but force and noise; while the hapless perpetrator of
+the howls which represent high notes turns scarlet in the face, and
+quivers all over with his exertions. I therefore give to tenors of this
+class exactly the same warning that I gave to soprani:--Do not ignore
+the fact that you have three, or at all events two, distinct registers
+of the voice, the (so-called) "chest," "throat," and "head." Do not
+suppose, when you hear a great singer produce on a high note exactly the
+same quality of tone as he produced on a low one, that he did it exactly
+the same way, or "got it from the same place," as some people say. The
+perfection of his training and the diligence of his practice have
+enabled him to assimilate the quality of one register to that of another
+so completely as to deceive your ear. The proof that this is true may be
+found in inspecting a great deal of music written for and sung by the
+most famous operatic tenors of the past--the singers of that pure
+Italian school of which so few disciples now remain.
+
+There are notes and passages in that music which no "chest" register
+could by any physical possibility execute, but some of which have been
+sung within the recollection even of the "rising generation" with all
+the effect intended, and with the very tone that critical slang calls
+"chest notes," (simply because it so closely resembles the tone of chest
+notes that few, if any, can detect that they are differently produced
+from the low notes.)
+
+For obvious reasons I abstain from mentioning the names of any living
+singers, but I can name one, not very long since dead, who attained the
+highest reputation here as a _tenore di forza_--whose "chest notes" were
+chronicled by the newspaper critics, and were the envy of aspiring
+youths--and yet who has ever been heard distinctly to deny that he ever
+produced those notes in the same way as the lower ones, and to laugh at
+the idea that such a thing was possible; and this was Mongini.
+
+I have entered into this at some length because it is a point which is
+more and more ignored by the singers and teachers of this generation. I
+might almost say that a school of singing exists the whole aim of which
+is to abolish the natural upper part of the voice, in order to stretch
+and force the one lower register up beyond its natural compass. I do not
+deny that in certain cases a voice results from this treatment which is
+powerful, effective, and capable of executing a good deal of music with
+much success and satisfaction to the performer; but for one case where
+this treatment so far succeeds, it fails in twenty to produce a voice
+both pleasing and useful; it is, moreover, in singers trained on this
+method that we most commonly hear the odious (and involuntary) trembling
+of the upper notes commonly called the _vibrato_.
+
+Therefore, to sum up those who find, when their voices begin to form,
+that the natural quality of their voice is lighter than that of a bass,
+had better make up their minds at once to give the voice fair play, and
+let it alone for a time; then consult a good master, or one really
+experienced in hearing singers, as to what the future of the voice is to
+be. It is by no means easy always to decide at that early period whether
+the permanent quality of the voice will be tenor or barytone, and
+therefore it is folly to try and settle the question for yourself by
+singing, in untaught style, music which may prove to have been all along
+unsuited to you. Your patience in waiting till the voice really declares
+itself will amply repay you afterwards by the absence of the
+difficulties which too early a use of the voice would have created for
+you to overcome.
+
+
+=Barytone and Basso-Cantante.=--The barytone voice is thus described in
+Stainer and Barrett's "Dictionary of Musical Terms:" "A voice of fuller
+quality than a tenor, and lighter than a bass, having a compass partly
+included in both.... This voice has only been distinguished by name as
+being of a separate character within the present century. Early writers
+indicate its existence by the use of its special clef. The term barytone
+is unmeaning unless it be looked upon as a corruption of barytenor; but
+it is quite possible it was borrowed from the instrument barytone or
+bardone, which occupied a place between the tenor and bass viols."
+
+The derivation of the name from "barytenor" is slightly absurd,
+considering that half that extraordinary word is Greek and the other
+half Latin; whereas the name barytone is a Greek word, used by
+Aristotle, and meaning "deep-sounding."
+
+The distinctive character which this voice has assumed within the
+present century is due, I believe, to the great change in the pitch of
+musical instruments which has taken place. In the last century the
+pitch was so much lower than that at present in use, that a "high
+barytone" was much the same as a "robust tenor." Consequently, music was
+not written exclusively for the barytone voice, its existence as a
+separate class of voice not being sufficiently recognized. Gradually, as
+the pitch was raised, the barytone separated itself clearly from other
+voices, and has now a repertoire of music and a style of singing of its
+own; and instead of appropriating tenor music, it, if anything, has
+stolen away some of the property of the bass; for the raising of the
+pitch which placed tenor music beyond the reach of a barytone has also
+rendered a good deal of music originally written for a bass far more
+suitable for a barytone, or at all events for a basso-cantante. I am
+well aware that by many musicians the basso-cantante is identified with
+the barytone. The distinction is so slight that it is not worth while to
+quarrel over names; but that the two voices are distinct I am persuaded.
+The basso-cantante is of fuller and rounder quality than the barytone
+proper; less flexible, less metallic in tone, and generally rather lower
+in compass. But the method of using both voices is the same, and for all
+purposes of amateur singers no distinction need be insisted upon.
+Professionals, however, who have to deal with heavy work on a large
+scale, will soon find that there is a good range of music more suited to
+the rich voice of greater volume and less flexibility (which I
+distinguished as the basso-cantante) than to the bright, flexible voice
+which has something of the tone of a full "tenore-robusto," and which is
+the barytone proper. Neither of these voices is much troubled with a
+"break," although there is a perceptible difference between the natural
+quality of the lower and upper octaves of the voice when quite
+uncultivated. This difference, however, which makes itself felt in the
+region of these notes, is got rid of in practice without any of the same
+difficulty which is encountered by tenors or contralti in managing the
+decided breaks in their voices. The possessors of barytone voices may
+therefore be looked upon as having comparatively "easy times of it."
+There is a large repertoire of music at their disposal, including much
+of the most popular ballad music of this century and the last; the voice
+is generally a favourite with an audience; the style of barytone singing
+is undisputed, and the singer will not find himself violently criticised
+by the partizans of a rival school of singing to that in which he
+himself has been trained, which is inevitably the fate of tenors!
+
+[Music: F3 G3 A3]
+
+Only let him avoid the temptation to shout, and to sing up to the very
+top of his compass at full pitch. Unfortunately, an English audience
+does like a noise, and appreciates plenty more than beauty of tone. It
+is tolerably easy for a barytone to be a showy singer, and therein lies
+the greatest danger to his chance of ever being a really good one. He
+must be content to go through his training quite as self-denyingly and
+perseveringly as any one else who is gifted with fewer natural
+advantages.
+
+
+=Bass.=--Of the bass voice less need be said here, not because it is a
+less important voice than any of the others, but because it is more
+generally known and better understood. A perfectly pure bass voice is,
+however, a rare thing. This voice has no upper register, properly
+speaking; the whole voice consisting of "chest" notes, and not admitting
+of even the process of developing upper notes of extraordinary quality,
+which is part of the training of a barytone or a basso-cantante. Power
+and richness are the chief qualities of charm in a bass, while
+flexibility and true intonation are the qualities most rarely found in
+that voice. The young singer who finds that he certainly is not meant by
+nature for a tenor, and also that with all his efforts the upper notes
+of a barytone are quite out of his reach, need not be discouraged by any
+lightness or thinness of quality in his voice from the hope that he may
+develop into a good bass. The full and rich quality of this voice is
+later in showing itself than is the case with any other voice, and the
+young singer must be content to study for some time with the compass of
+a bass and the quality of a kind of barytone, till Nature puts him in
+full possession of his powers. Only he must study bass music, and not
+try, because his voice is of barytone quality, to sing barytone music.
+Let him, on the contrary, avoid trying to extend the compass of his
+voice in the upper notes, and give his best attention to the lower ones.
+The upper ones will be well within his command in time, and if he will
+be content to let them alone at first, he may become a truly "celebrated
+bass;" but, if he persists in shouting at them now, he will never have
+anything but coarse upper tones, only fit to be heard behind a
+costermonger's barrow, or in "comic" songs at the Music Halls.
+
+
+=Buffo.=--The last remark reminds me that I have said nothing about a
+class of bass singers very useful in certain Italian and French
+operas--the _buffo_, or comic bass. The development of voice with these
+singers is of less consequence than the study of a peculiar style, a
+good deal of the point of their songs consisting in the entire
+elimination of anything like musical tone from many notes and passages.
+A clever and good buffo singer may very likely be able to sing other
+music well, but the style is so entirely dramatic and so utterly out of
+place anywhere except on the stage, that no amateur should ever attempt
+it, and no professional should appear _in a concert-room_ as the
+exponent of such music. Therefore, for those who wish to sing, any
+remarks on the peculiarities of a buffo bass would be superfluous; those
+who wish to study that line as a profession, for stage work, must learn
+all that they need from a regular dramatic teacher; while those who wish
+to execute English "comic" songs, may spare themselves any anxiety as to
+their voices: if they have any voice naturally, "comic" singing will
+soon destroy its charm, and that will not matter to them, for the last
+thing necessary to sing a "comic" song is the possession of a voice of
+any kind. Therefore, if you have a bass (or any other voice, indeed),
+avoid "comic" songs, and leave the "buffo" business to those who can do
+nothing better.
+
+
+=Qualities of Voice, Good and Bad.=--It may not be unwelcome to the
+student to have pointed out to him those qualities of voice which are to
+be aimed at or cultivated, and also those which are to be avoided or
+overcome.
+
+The charms of a voice are found among the following qualities:
+clearness, sweetness, evenness, flexibility, power, extent of compass,
+variety, brilliancy, firmness, persuasiveness.[1]
+
+[1] It used to be said of Rubini that "he had tears in his voice."
+
+On the opposite side must be ranked roughness, huskiness, feebleness (or
+want of power), shrillness (or want of depth), hardness and want of
+flexibility, dulness, or want of "ring," &c.
+
+It is, of course, impossible for any one voice to unite in itself all
+these merits or all these defects; and you cannot give yourself merits
+which Nature has withheld; but you may marvellously improve what natural
+merits you have, and do wonders in overcoming any difficulties which
+Nature has placed in your way.
+
+
+
+
+ON INSTRUCTION, MASTERS, AND "SINGING TUTORS."
+
+
+The voice, and how to use it, is a subject which has troubled many
+minds, and no doubt this will continue to be the case; but the difficult
+problem will not be solved by running to pettifogging teachers, who
+advertise to teach all that is known of singing, and a little more, in
+twelve easy lessons, without previous knowledge or practice at home, for
+the small fee of one guinea! Let it be stated once for all: singing
+cannot be taught in twelve easy lessons, and can scarcely be acquired in
+one hundred very severe lessons. Therefore distrust at once any one who
+holds out so tempting a bait to you; remember that there is no "royal
+road" to singing, any more than there is to the acquirement of any other
+art; and the person who tells you that he can teach you to do without
+trouble that which costs great artists the study of a lifetime,
+proclaims himself, _ipso facto_, to be a humbug.
+
+
+=Schools of Singing.=--There are several so-called Schools of Singing.
+There is a French School, which for any language but French is bad, and
+which very seldom turns out a pleasing singer. There is a German School,
+which is worse, being simply the production of coarse noise. Some people
+say that there is an English School. I hope there may be some day, but
+at present its existence is rather doubtful, unless those who talk of an
+English school of singing mean the Cathedral style--which for solo work
+is detestable--or the old school of Oratorio singing, with its
+Handelian traditions, which was not an English, but an Italian, and the
+best Italian, school.
+
+In fact, there is but one school of singing in the world, and that is
+the Italian. Whatever language you wish to sing in, whatever style of
+music you wish to study principally, you must train your voice, produce
+it, and learn to use it in the Italian method, if you hope ever to
+deserve the name of a singer.
+
+
+=Masters.=--Of course, in a work of this sort, it is impossible, and
+would be wrong if it were possible, to mention the names of living
+teachers: therefore I can only give general hints. If possible, study
+only under a master whom you know to have lived in Italy, and to have
+studied there for some years under some good master or in some good
+Conservatoire--Naples, Milan, and Florence generally supply the best.
+Possibly, for an English singer, an English master _who fulfils these
+conditions_ may be better than even an Italian, as he should understand
+better the peculiarities of English voices and temperaments, and would
+know at once where the chief difficulties would lie. Let me, however,
+correct a popular error. A good singer is not necessarily a good
+teacher, nor is it necessary for a first-class teacher to be able to
+sing at all. Nor need you necessarily look for your master among
+foreigners with fine sounding names. There are two or three good
+teachers of singing in this country who are foreigners; but there is
+also some native talent equally capable of teaching singing, as it is
+accepted in this country at the present time. These know the English
+style better than any foreigner can teach it, and after all, style is
+the chief consideration.
+
+
+=Institutions.=--As we have no real English School of singing, it is
+perhaps fortunate that we have no Conservatoire. There are, however,
+Institutions accessible to those who cannot afford to have masters at
+home or to place themselves under a private teacher. Of these, the chief
+is the Royal Academy of Music, in Tenterden Street, Hanover Square.
+There is also the National Training School of Music, the London Academy
+of Music, also the Guildhall School, and there is Trinity College,
+London, where I believe singing lessons may also be obtained. To all
+these establishments singing masters, more or less good, are attached,
+and it is open to any one to obtain admission to the concerts given from
+time to time at the institutions themselves, and to form some kind of
+opinion as to the teachers from the performances of the pupils. It would
+be well for an intending student to do this, for of course at any
+institution where there are several professors, one might suit you and
+another might not; it is even conceivable that one professor might do
+all for you that you could possibly require, while another professor
+might be an ignorant charlatan. Therefore, hear their pupils and judge
+for yourself, making inquiries at the same time of musical people who
+are qualified to express an opinion on singing. I must not, however,
+withhold from my readers my conviction that private lessons are better
+and more effectual than those taken in schools and academies. The terms
+at these public institutions are such that they preclude the possibility
+of more than twenty or thirty minutes being devoted to each pupil, and
+that is _not_ a sufficient time to bestow upon a lesson. Forty-five or
+sixty minutes are needed to give a good lesson; and the pupil who pays
+fifteen shillings or a guinea for this, does a wiser thing than the one
+who pays a fourth of that sum for, say, twenty minutes' attention.
+
+=A First Opinion.=--The actual successful teachers of singing in London
+may be counted on the fingers of one hand, and those who are qualified
+to teach singing, but who are not specially successful, may be found on
+the remaining five fingers. Each of these professors would probably not
+take less than one guinea the lesson, and it would, honestly, be far
+cheaper in the long run to pay this sum for one good lesson in singing
+than it would be to have fifty lessons founded upon wrong principles,
+even for nothing. And for this reason: teachers of this calibre will not
+trouble themselves about you or your guineas unless you have a promising
+voice, some general musical talent, and show signs of becoming, to some
+degree, a credit to your _teacher_, for to these men guinea pupils are
+very plentiful, and it is only reasonable that a guinea from a clever
+pupil should be worth considerably more to a sensitive artist than the
+same amount from a fool. Therefore, a first opinion from one such
+teacher may save your spending money, time, and energy on a pursuit in
+which you can never succeed.
+
+
+=Bad Lessons.=--Never take a bad singing lesson till you know how to sing.
+You may then do so (if you care to), and learn the "how not to do it" of
+singing. It is commonly supposed that the earliest singing lessons may
+be administered by any "dabbler," and the last touches given afterwards
+by a "finishing master." Never was there a greater error. Pay your
+guineas first, and your shillings afterwards. If you cannot afford to
+have good instruction in beginning to sing, you will be still less able
+to take it afterwards, for artistic reasons. Remember that every bad
+singing lesson which you take hardens old faults and creates new ones,
+and, moreover, takes you farther and farther away from your original
+starting-point. So, when you begin under the right man and the right
+method, you have to _undo_ all this that you have expended toil and
+money to acquire.
+
+
+=Bad Teachers.=--It is astonishing how much money is wasted by people who
+want to sing, through not going at once to the fountain-head for the
+necessary training. Because a man is a musician many people conclude
+that he must necessarily be able to teach singing! Such an idea is
+scarcely less monstrous than that of a man being a good physician and
+consequently competent to amputate a limb, or to take out and reset an
+eye. Do not follow this "multitude to do evil." Be as careful in
+inquiring about your singing master as you would be about your doctor.
+Both in London and in the country there are "professors" whose knowledge
+of singing stops at professing--the class of people who (very likely)
+keep a music-shop, tune your piano, play polkas and waltzes for your
+evening parties, and have a brass plate on their doors to this effect:
+
+MR. HANDEL MOSCHELES IGNAZIO JONES, PROFESSOR OF THE PIANOFORTE,
+HARMONY, THE VIOLIN, ITALIAN, AND SINGING.
+
+All honourable professions, no doubt; but to profess to combine them all
+is dishonourable, and insulting to the common sense of those who know
+anything of any one of the subjects professed. A singing master, if he
+is worth anything, must be a man of one trade--singing. For the teaching
+of singing is a "specialty," and the man who can teach it _properly_ is
+not likely to be a man of all (musical) work.
+
+
+=Books of Exercises, &c.=--There are numerous "Singing Tutors" published,
+giving rules, exercises, _solfeggi_, &c. Many of these are excellent,
+and some nearly perfect. But all alike are useless or worse than useless
+to the tyro, without a master. You might as well suppose that a child
+could learn to be a carpenter by having some fine wood and a box of good
+tools.
+
+I have before observed that voices vary as faces do; no two are exactly
+alike, each voice having its peculiar merit and its peculiar defect.
+Now, a good master will treat each voice on its own merit, and not place
+it at first on the Procrustean bed of a book of rules and exercises. He
+will probably write down his own exercises expressly for his pupil, and
+if not that, he will select certain exercises from the book, and forbid
+others to be attempted for a time. You must also let your master select
+such a book for you, so that you may have one in which the rules do not
+contradict those which he has already given you verbally, or else you
+will be perplexed with a multitude of counsellors.
+
+It is not till a certain stage in singing has been reached, under the
+training of a master, that any book of exercises can be of service to
+you. When that stage is reached, you will find such a work of great use
+in a part of your labours. Among such books may be named as especially
+good,--Concone's Exercises, Righini's, Guercia's, Nava's, Lablache's,
+and Lamperti's; but, again I say, do not choose for yourself. There are
+some excellent rules, as well as some good exercises, in an old work of
+the kind by Crivelli, and also in "Singing Exemplified," a work by T.
+Cooke. If you can meet with these, secure them--although I fear they may
+be long since out of print--for in the literature of singing the _new_
+is by no means certain to excel what was written in the days of our best
+composers and singers of operas and oratorios.
+
+
+
+
+ON THE PRACTICE OF SINGING.
+
+
+Remember that the voice is of all instruments the most difficult one to
+study, and to bring perfectly under control, especially for the first
+year or two. Do not attempt to cultivate it with the view to
+professional remuneration, unless you can set apart at least two hours
+daily for most careful study, and can also afford to wait at least eight
+or ten years for any _substantial_ pecuniary reward for your labours.
+
+
+=Individuality.=--It is of great importance to bear in mind that no two
+voices are exactly alike. To some singers is given quality of voice, to
+others quantity. And for each alike, steady, well-aimed, and
+well-ordered practice is indispensable. But, whatever you sing ought,
+like your voice, to have some touch of individuality: the song should
+seem to come naturally from you, and to be the spontaneous expression of
+your thoughts. At the same time you must not lose sight of the
+all-important guide which you have in the composer's intentions and
+wishes. Remember that a small and delicate voice may be made to go as
+far as, if not farther than, a voice of large volume and long compass.
+By judicious management, by touching expression of the softer feelings,
+by careful selection of music to be performed, the obstacles which are
+placed in a singer's way by want of power may be effectually removed,
+because the audience will irresistibly feel the influence of the
+singer's individuality. The difficulties of the singer who has the gift
+of quantity rather than quality of voice, are in some respects greater,
+because the necessity for thus impressing on his audience a sense of his
+own individuality is not so strongly forced on him by circumstances. Not
+only has he to labour to attain a good quality of tone, but he must also
+resist the temptation to fancy that "might is right," and that the
+"sensation" caused by a powerful voice is all that he need aim at. And
+here let me say, the way to get quality is to listen as often as
+possible to some leading singer of your own kind of voice. Try and
+imitate his tone; but above all practise with a medium tone--a
+_mezzo-voce_--listen for the beauty in your tone, and think of what you
+are doing when practising.
+
+
+=Perseverance.=--The surest means of improving and strengthening the voice
+is by constantly exercising and practising it. Just as the muscles and
+fibres of the legs of a pedestrian are increased and made capable of
+great exertion by careful training, so is it with the nerves and muscles
+of the throat. With judicious training, the compass of the voice is
+extended, its quality is improved, its tones grow rounder and firmer;
+and, if the master is a good one, and the pupil is willing to study
+patiently for some time, never resting content, but always aiming at
+further progress as year succeeds year, he may not unreasonably hope to
+attain a well-earned place in his profession, and its attendant reward.
+
+
+=Facial Expression.=--A looking-glass should form a part of the furniture
+of a singing student's study, for it is most important to watch the
+face--its features and expressions--when singing; and it is none the
+less useful for insuring the constant right position of the mouth. In
+respect to the facial expression when singing, there is a very great
+tendency to look too serious, too severe, and too hard when earnestly
+studying. Now, a cheerful and good-humoured expression does not
+necessarily imply carelessness, and it is far more agreeable to the
+audience than an anxious and troubled look. Some people look quite
+savage when singing; and when rendering passages of love and tenderness,
+their features are far more indicative of rage, revenge, and murder!
+And this very common fault is generally quite an unconscious habit. It
+is only to be remedied by constant care, and to this end practice before
+a looking-glass will be found very helpful.
+
+
+=Position of the Body.=--How to stand when singing has been explained by a
+great number of writers on the subject, and most of the explanations
+given have been chiefly remarkable as being entirely erroneous and
+false. The body should not be kept in a perfectly upright position, as
+it is (too popularly) believed that it should. The best position is when
+the body is well collected, with its chief weight upon the right leg and
+foot, with the head gently leaning forward, and the arms and, indeed,
+the whole carriage disposed in that manner which would indicate to the
+audience a sort of desire on your part to _persuade_ them and bring them
+over to your feelings and sentiments. When the right leg begins to tire
+with the weight of the body, the left leg can take its duty, when the
+right may be gracefully drawn back as in dancing. The best lesson on
+this subject, however, can be gleaned by carefully watching the _pose_
+of a good Italian singer during singing.
+
+
+=Self-Accompaniment.=--A sitting position is a very bad one in which to
+practise. All singing should be done in a standing position, and the
+student is strongly urged to adhere to this rule. Instead of sitting at
+the pianoforte, and accompanying an exercise or "solfeggio," it is far
+better to sound the first note of each passage therein, and master the
+same without any accompaniment. The advantages of this mode of
+practising must be obvious; but one of the most important is, that the
+attention is not divided between the pianoforte and the voice, while it
+leaves the singer free to give all his attention and care to the
+_production_ of the notes which he is endeavouring to sing artistically.
+
+
+=Position of the Arms.=--I would urge upon the student to hold a piece of
+music in his hands while he practises. There is a place for the hands
+when singing in public; but this place is neither the trouser-pockets,
+nor on the hips, nor behind the back, nor across the chest, but rather
+that position which is secured by _leisurely_ holding the music-sheet,
+not as if actually singing therefrom, but as though it were merely
+intended for reference, if required. This easy attitude not only gives
+the hands and arms their legitimate position, but also lends a grace and
+freedom to other parts of the body, all which points must be attended to
+in singing. Remember to keep the arms well away from the body. Some
+singers stick the elbows into the waist, as though to give support;
+instead of doing which, they hinder the free action of the lungs,
+besides giving an awkward look to the whole figure.
+
+
+=Position of the Hands.=--Do not let your hands hang down, but keep them
+well before you, in some position which allows of your turning the palms
+uppermost. In this way you (as it were) lock the joints of the
+shoulders, and put a check on the tendency to raise the shoulders, which
+is an invariable consequence of taking breath wrongly. Keep your
+shoulders well back, your elbows depressed, and your hands with the
+palms uppermost, and you will find it difficult, if not impossible, to
+indulge in the vice of heaving the chest and shoulders up and down, like
+the piston of a steam-engine!
+
+
+=Position of the Throat.=--One of the first conditions of singing well is
+to keep the throat open. To have the throat in its proper position the
+tongue must be kept down, and hollowed like the bowl of a spoon, its
+root being well depressed. Nor must the throat ever be allowed to screw
+itself up small, a common failing of many singers whenever they approach
+a high note. Most of my readers have yawned once or twice in their
+lives: if they will do it once more, in front of their looking-glass,
+and watch the inside of the mouth as they yawn, they will see and feel
+the exact position in which the throat should be during good singing. It
+will be useful to repeat this proceeding until the mind is thoroughly
+impressed and the memory familiarized with the feeling of the mouth and
+throat in this, the correct position for singing.
+
+
+=Position of the Throat, &c., in Soft Singing.=--When singing softly, or
+_piano_, as it is called, take great pains to keep your throat as open
+as you would for singing loudly, leaving it entirely to the mouth and
+lips to keep the tone soft, yet steady and firm. Do not forget, too,
+that in soft singing it is a great advantage to keep the mouth in a
+smiling position.
+
+
+=Position of the Tongue.=--The tongue, while being so useful, is
+nevertheless a very unruly member in singing. It has so great a tendency
+to get out of its place. Its legitimate office is to rest quite flat, or
+even hollow, in the bottom of the mouth, with its root well down, as
+this keeps the throat-passage clear, and with the tip of it just
+touching the lower teeth. Get a looking-glass, and continually watch the
+position of the tongue. Never allow it to roll up or turn about when
+singing, or the effect produced will be scarcely worth repeating. The
+tongue should occupy the least possible space in the mouth, and this is
+the case when the directions here given are carried out.
+
+
+=Position of the Larynx.=--The larynx, or upper part of the wind-pipe,
+plays a most important part in singing. Upon it depends all the beauty,
+and quality, and richness of the voice. The singer will do well to
+constantly think about the larynx, to watch it, to feel that it is well
+down below the mouth before commencing the first note of a song, which
+note must, under such circumstances, be rich, round, and penetrating.
+Then the larynx must never be allowed to rise above this fixed point. It
+may be deepened, and must be, for the higher notes, but it must never
+ascend, or nearly approach the roof of the mouth, or the sound-passage
+is closed, and the sounds become at once impure, vitiated, and without
+body or foundation.
+
+Try and guard against the bad habit of pushing forward the chin when
+singing, otherwise the tone cannot fail to be faulty. The chin should be
+well down on the chest, and the larynx quite low, to lead to an easy
+and pure production of tone. To be constantly moving both the jaws for
+every note, continually displaces the larynx, impairs the purity of the
+tone, spoils the articulation of the words, and, what is worse than all,
+produces a hideous expression of the features, which latter fault would
+alone be sufficient to prejudice seriously the chances of any singing
+artists. The lower parts of the jaws, not the upper ones, should do the
+work; and when a high passage or note is before the singer, the lower
+parts of the jaws should be exercised to drop as the notes increase in
+height. The singer's face should be controlled, if no other member can
+be so regulated.
+
+
+=Singing in the Head.=--There is, in all beginners, a tendency to sing too
+much in the head, that is, to have the foundation of the tones too high
+up in the throat. This fault is due to the difficulty experienced by
+beginners in keeping the larynx sufficiently below the mouth. The
+fulness of tone, the rich, round, and mellow quality which is so much
+admired in all good singers, is almost entirely owing to the voice being
+pitched low down, and not high up in the throat, towards the back of the
+head (as it _appears_ to be).
+
+A few trials of this will soon convince the student of the vast
+difference in the character and _timbre_ of the tones of these two ways,
+and also of the economy of the plan here recommended, so far as regards
+the wear and tear of the voice in practice.
+
+
+=Throatiness.=--Throatiness, or singing in the throat, is the common enemy
+of all English singers. Our language is the chief cause of this
+disagreeable habit, which we begin to acquire as soon as we learn to
+talk. Still, by diligence, the evil can be cured, and no better plan can
+be followed than to constantly practise singing the vowel-sounds Ah, A,
+E, O, throughout the compass of the voice, taking every possible
+care--and this is the point--never to allow the _tone_ to vary, nor to
+leave the teeth, and not to screw up the throat, especially in high
+notes. It is impossible to produce a "throaty" quality of voice if the
+throat is well open, and the tone is firmly directed, and kept on the
+upper teeth and front of the mouth. On the other hand, if the student
+screws up the throat, rolls the tongue, or practises singing without
+being constantly on the look-out for the "voice on the teeth," the
+result must be a "throatiness," which is most disagreeable to all people
+who have any real knowledge of what singing should be.
+
+
+=Clearing the Throat.=--Singers, good and bad, are often troubled with an
+apparent stoppage in the throat, and this inconvenience seems to be at
+its worst just at that moment when they wish to sing. To displace or to
+cure this stoppage, they begin hacking and coughing ("clearing the
+throat" as it is called), which proceeding, however, only makes bad
+worse for the time being, and finally grows into a habit, till at last
+such people cannot venture to open their mouths without first subjecting
+the throat to a series of these irritating "hacks." A good master will
+soon cure this complaint by refusing to continue the lesson whenever the
+pupil gives way to the bad habit. It is in many cases simply a nervous
+trick, and if the singer will accustom himself to _swallow_ instead of
+coughing, whenever he feels the sensation of which we are speaking, he
+will soon get rid of it. If it results in any case from real weakness of
+the throat, it may be beneficial to gargle three or four times a day
+with moderately strong salt and water, especially before singing. This
+does no harm to the voice, and by bracing and strengthening the muscles
+of the throat renders them more obedient to the singer's will.
+
+
+=High Notes.=--Many people find great difficulty in counting, with any
+degree of certainty, upon the top notes of their register. I know of no
+greater assistance towards bringing these out than that of well
+contracting the mouth and lips at the beginning of the passage in which
+these high notes occur, dropping the lower jaws, and securing a good
+play of the mouth as the highest note is reached, at the same time
+keeping the throat as open as possible, ejecting the sound to the
+audience with as much "lip-force" as can be secured, being careful that
+the tone is safe "on the teeth" before the note is "opened."
+
+
+=The Scale.=--There can be no doubt whatever that the grand groundwork of
+all singing is the diatonic scale. On it is built all the graceful forms
+and figures which belong to the great artist. Yet how few seem to know
+and to appreciate this fact! To excel, the diatonic scale must be
+practised most seriously and assiduously in its plain and simple form;
+nor must it be left until the student can sing every note therein
+purely, without wavering or flutter, and with precision, in the soft,
+medium, and loud voices.
+
+
+=Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano.=--The singer will derive much advantage by
+bearing in mind that the voice has three main gradations which the
+Italians class as the _forte_, the _mezzo di voce_, and the _piano_. The
+management of these three is of vital importance, and the singer should
+certainly practise the scales in all three voices, and have each at
+command for every exercise and passage which he studies.
+
+
+=Tone.=--The tone of the voice must never be vitiated or rendered impure
+from any cause whatever. There is always a danger of this in passages of
+great energy and passion, but it should be remembered that whatever be
+the effect aimed at, it cannot be attained by any means which involves a
+change in the tone of the voice. The first and chief consideration must
+always be to produce a good tone in the right manner. If the tone be not
+good, the singing cannot be agreeable; and if it be not produced in the
+right manner, you have no security that it will be equally good
+throughout the voice, or in passages of all kinds.
+
+
+=Chest, Falsetto, and Head Voice.=--I have already said that there is a
+good deal of confusion existing as to the use of the terms "chest,"
+"falsetto," and "head voice." And this is scarcely to be wondered at,
+seeing that nobody has yet decided _how_ the three qualities of sound
+are produced, while everybody knows that the names are so far
+misleading, in that no sound whatever is really made in the _chest_ or
+in the _head_, but that all are due to the passage of air through the
+larynx, in which are placed the vocal cords upon which the air plays.
+The changes of sound which are spoken of as "chest," "falsetto," and
+"head" voices are due to changes in the position of the larynx and its
+surroundings, and in the action of the vocal cords. What those changes
+are, and how or why they cause the results which we hear, has yet to be
+discovered: there are several theories, but no one has yet ventured to
+claim the certainty of truth for any one of them. There is an excellent
+article on "The Larynx" in Stainer and Barrett's "Dictionary of Musical
+Terms," to which I would refer those who wish to understand these
+various theories. For my present purpose it is sufficient to point out
+that each of the names is an utter misnomer. The "chest" voice is
+probably so called because the vibrations of the notes in that register
+may be distinctly felt in the chest; and because the breath passes
+directly from the chest, as it seems, without any opposition in the
+throat, producing the sound on its way. The "falsetto," or range of
+notes above the chest, is so called (and rightly so) because in that
+register of voice the tone _feigns_, or imitates, the tone of the
+"chest" notes below, although it is certain that the sounds are not
+produced in the same way, for the position of the vocal cords and their
+attendant parts is different, and changes suddenly on the passage of the
+voice from the chest to the upper register. A falsetto, rightly trained
+and used, is one, therefore, which is true to its name, and so well
+imitates the "chest," that the hearer cannot distinguish the "false"
+from the real "chest tone." The "head voice," which many people persist
+in confusing with the falsetto, is so called because to the singer it
+feels as though the notes so produced came from the head. This is due to
+the larynx itself rising up in the throat and approaching the back of
+the head. It comprises, in reality, _all_ that part of the voice which
+lies above the "chest" register, all the lower part of it being shared
+by the "falsetto," exactly as the falsetto shares the greater part of
+the chest register. The falsetto, therefore, belongs to both, and its
+use is to carry, by its power of imitation, the tone of the lower or
+chest register into the upper or head register, so combining them that
+no audible change of quality, or "break," is perceptible.
+
+
+=Scale Practice.=--It cannot be too strongly impressed upon, or too
+frequently pointed out to, the singer (no matter what may be the stage
+of his or her artistic development) how desirable and advantageous it is
+to be constantly singing exercises and solfeggi in preference to songs.
+It is a popular fallacy, especially among amateurs, that the practice of
+scales and intervals should be left behind as soon as possible. Pray do
+not be mistaken. The never-failing daily practice of singing open chords
+in solfeggi, scales, and exercises, is fraught with advantages which
+cannot be gained by the study of yards, or even miles, of song tunes. As
+an instance of how much may be done in the study of scale practice, the
+writer would point out that this particular exercise should not be left
+until the student can sing the diatonic scales throughout the whole
+extent of the voice in one unbroken breath, and with one quality,
+character, and volume of voice. When this point has been reached, its
+peculiar efficacy will be so apparent as not to require any
+recommendation or advice for its daily continuance.
+
+
+=First Exercises.=--This is a book of advice, not of exercises, nor do I
+profess to teach you, but only to point out to you, how you must prepare
+to be taught. I cannot too often repeat that no book by itself can teach
+you singing, and my object is not to supersede a master, but to induce
+you to place yourself under a good one. However, it may happen that
+circumstances of time, place, or pocket prevent your doing so as soon as
+you would wish, and it is far better even to learn from a book what you
+can in the way of rules and exercises, than to go on singing by the
+light of nature, or under a cheap and inefficient master, or working at
+exercises too advanced for a beginner (which is as bad as not working at
+any at all). I therefore give here a few simple but most important
+exercises, which you may work at until you are able to place yourself
+under the care of a good master. Bear in mind, first, all that has
+already been said here about taking your breath, the position of
+standing, the form of your mouth, and place of throat, tongue, teeth,
+&c., and study the following exercises daily say to the extent of thirty
+minutes three times a day, with full attention to all the above points:
+
+[Music: C major scale, beginning at C4, in semibreves]
+
+Sing this fully and firmly. It should be begun and ended with the same
+quality and "thickness" of sound, as suggested by the even line over
+each note. You should be able to hold each note out in one breath for
+twenty seconds without the slightest alteration being perceptible in the
+tone, any more than there would be if it was a note proceeding from an
+organ-pipe. Practise it on each of the following sounds consecutively:
+"A" in "Bard," "A" in "Fate," "E" in "Steel," "I" in "Life," "O" in
+"Pole," "U" in "Rule," prefixing each sound by L, and so singing Lah,
+Lay, Lee, Li, Lo, Loo. In singing this first exercise, which for basses
+and barytones will be, of course, an octave lower, be careful not to
+force the lower notes, and do not seek to get a powerful tone thereupon.
+The tone does not need to be full and heavy on these notes, but rather
+should be a WELL-PRODUCED, light, and thin quality of note. The way to
+proceed is: (1) To inspire the breath from the bottom of the lungs as it
+were--not raising the shoulders. (2) Steady the breath for a second or
+so in the chest while you THINK the note you are about to sing, and
+while you prepare your throat and mouth for singing by lowering the
+larynx and opening the throat. (3) Then begin to sound the note--not
+from the back of the mouth, but from the tip of the tongue and the front
+teeth--thus taking the whole of the tone out of the mouth, which is what
+is required to be done. Sustain the note till you have only a little
+breath left--then finish off in a clean manner, and allow the remaining
+breath to leave the lungs and body in an orderly way.--Repeat the same
+operation for _every_ note, and if you desire to make progress, give a
+minute's attention of this kind to every single note.
+
+[Music: 2--Broken C major triad in semibreves beginning and ending on
+C4, then raising a semitone to continue the pattern.]
+
+and so on, rising by semitones until you come to this:
+
+[Music: Broken G major triad in semibreves beginning and ending on G4.]
+
+which is certainly the highest that you ought to attempt at present.
+
+Exercise No. 2 is a first step towards joining notes, and is another
+difficulty in the matter of _production_. The object to be aimed at is
+to sing the two notes which are bound (or tied) together with the same
+breath, and the same body and quality of tone. To step from C to E, the
+first movement in the exercise is to raise the voice a major third; but
+the student must pass from his mind any notion of raising the throat in
+order to sound the higher third. As the note E is higher than the C, the
+tone of the former must be generated lower in the chest than had been
+the case with the C. The higher the note to be sung, the lower must be
+its generating-point in the chest. This is the only way to OPEN the
+voice, and I need scarcely say that it produces an entirely different
+tone and method than are secured by the common habit of screwing and
+tightening the throat, in proportion as the notes ascend in pitch.
+
+Another good exercise which may be combined with the last-given is the
+following:
+
+[Music: 3--Broken C Major Triad in semibreves beginning and ending on
+C4, followed by a broken F Major Triad in semibreves beginning and
+ending on C4. Broken G minor triad in semibreves beginning and ending on
+C4, followed by a broken A minor triad in semibreves beginning and
+ending on C4.]
+
+This exercise (3) must be sung in the same manner as indicated with No.
+2, care being taken as each note gets higher to pass _under_ the
+preceding note, and not as it were to generate a high note over a lower
+one.
+
+After which you may take this:
+
+[Music: 4--C major arpeggio in semibreves, beginning on C4 and landing
+on C5. C5 is held for six beats prior to descending in crotchets in a C
+major scale, and holding the bottom C4 for four beats.]
+
+but sing it very slowly and deliberately, bearing in mind the production
+of the high notes.
+
+As you begin to get all these notes firm and round, you may take these
+same exercises in D, D flat, and E flat, but be very careful not
+to force the upper notes.
+
+[Music: 5--Interval practice by holding C4 for four beats and slurring
+to D4. After breathing, slur C4 to E4. After breathing, slur C4 to F4.
+After breathing, slur C4 to G4. Continue this pattern until C5 is
+reached. Then, begin on C5 and slur to B4. After breathing, slur from C5
+to A4. Continue this pattern until C4 is reached.]
+
+Exercise 5 is one where the question of the breath and its proper
+management becomes of vital importance. The reader will observe the
+notes are bound together, and the student's attention should be turned
+towards passing from one note to the other, without any appreciable
+difference in the _quality_--I do not say pitch--of the tone. Having
+inspired in the manner already explained, the singer will sound the
+_Do_ with a pure, sympathetic, not harsh or forced sound; and by
+_pressing down_ the breath, will _lift_ the voice on to the _Re_. When
+he has succeeded with the step of a second, he can go on to the step of
+a third, fourth, &c. The care must be to utilize the breath, always
+supporting the tone with the breath. If the sound wavers, then there is
+something wrong with the breath. You are either singing with too little,
+or are forcing the breath.
+
+[Music: 6--Beginning on C4 and holding each note for two beats, go up by
+semitones until E4 is reached and held for four beats. Begin pattern
+again, but begin on D4 flat. Continue until A is reached.]
+
+And so on.
+
+[Music: 7--Beginning on C5 and holding each note for two beats, go down
+by semitones until A4 flat is reached and held for four beats. Begin
+pattern again, but begin on a B4. Continue until G4 flat is reached.]
+
+And so on, descending the scale by semitones.
+
+[Music: 8--In minims, sing C4, E4, G4, C5, B4, G4, F4, D4. Begin the
+pattern again starting a semitone higher on D4 flat.]
+
+Practise No. 8 slowly and steadily, with perfectly even tone throughout,
+without any crescendo or diminuendo.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Let all the above exercises be taken successively, _forte_, _a
+mezzo-voce_, and _piano_, preserving exactly the same amount of tone
+throughout each passage, and holding the notes with the same force with
+which you attack them steadily to the end, not letting them die away.
+The trick of letting notes die away is easily learnt afterwards, but at
+present you have to master the far greater difficulty of holding notes
+firmly with unvarying tone. Practise these exercises on all the
+vowel-sounds already given. All such exercises are of course only
+variations of the diatonic and chromatic scales, so arranged as to
+prepare the voice for executing those scales evenly and perfectly, with
+equality of tone on every note; for till you can sing scales, you are
+not fit to sing songs of any kind.
+
+
+=Duration of Practice.=--Always guard against over-straining and
+over-working the voice. Do not sing or practise for a longer time than
+half an hour without allowing the voice rest for some time. If you have
+three hours at your disposal daily to devote to singing, the most
+economical use of the time is to divide it equally between the morning,
+afternoon, and evening.
+
+
+=Singing in Tune=.--Correct intonation is of the greatest possible
+importance in singing. Every singer should pay especial attention to
+this point. The heavier the voice, the more necessary becomes such
+attention, and therefore contralti and basses are strongly advised to
+lose no time in facing this (to them) considerable difficulty. Deep
+basses, indeed, are rarely perfectly in tune for any long time together,
+and some of the most famous bass singers have left behind them
+recollections of this painful defect. Therefore, whatever be your voice,
+do not take for granted that even the possession of a good ear will
+always ensure your singing in tune. Sometimes excellent singers, and
+good musicians too, will sing out of tune, perfectly aware that they
+are doing so, but, for a time, unable to prevent it from physical
+causes--relaxation of the throat, fatigue, indisposition, &c., under
+which conditions the muscles are unable to obey the will as usual. Do
+not, then, make too light of this matter, because you may think yourself
+quite incapable of singing out of tune; it is at all events wiser to be
+on the safe side. Therefore, never practise (nor sing, if you can help
+it) with a pianoforte which is not well in tune and well "up to pitch."
+And be very constant in practising intervals, such as major and minor
+sixths and sevenths, so as to be able to strike them as perfectly in
+tune and as unvarying in quality as the notes of an organ diapason.
+
+
+=How to Begin.=--Many people never make a good start when beginning to
+sing any piece. Now a very good remedy for a part of this evil is not to
+prepare yourself too soon. Use the bar immediately preceding that in
+which your part commences to gather up your faculties, and, to use a
+common phrase, "to pull yourself together;" then let the muscles of the
+body gently settle down. The ease and freedom acquired by this momentary
+call upon the system is very remarkable; and for the singer especially
+the hint cannot be too often acted upon.
+
+
+=Variety Indispensable.=--An unchanging volume of sound is very soon
+wearying to the ear; and therefore a singer who scarcely ever varies the
+pitch of his voice will find that however loudly he may sing, his
+audience will have a feeling of dissatisfaction, as though they could
+not hear him distinctly--the fact being that their ears, being fatigued
+with the uniformity of the noise, cannot do their proper work, and the
+attention therefore flags. One great secret of being agreeably heard by
+an audience is to vary the body of tone (not the _quality_ of it,
+observe). As a rule singers are left tolerably free to do as they like
+in this respect. Composers of songs rarely give them any help in the
+matter. In fact, nowadays so many people compose "vocal music" without
+knowing anything about the vocal instrument for which they compose, that
+it is not wonderful that they ignore their power of helping the singer
+by properly combining duly marked _forte_, _piano_, and _mezzo-voce_
+passages, so as to ensure a variety of effect. Therefore, in most modern
+music, a singer has to take his own "reading" of a song, and to make it
+as effective as he can by varying the power of his voice. It might even
+be taken as a rule that every _forte_ passage should be succeeded by a
+soft one. The voice should rise and fall, and be varied in its
+inflexions in that agreeable manner which is so marked in good orators
+and dramatic elocutionists.
+
+
+=Chorus Singing.=--If you are studying seriously for solo singing, you
+must discontinue all chorus singing, especially during training. Singing
+in church choirs and choral societies must be abandoned. And this not
+because there is no good to be learned there, but because the little
+good is by no means commensurate with the great amount of harm which is
+acquired along with the good. To enumerate here all the evil habits so
+easily learnt would be impossible. Not the least of them, however, is
+the tendency to shout louder than your neighbour, to use yourself to the
+bad habits of those on each side of you; to produce a bad tone; to
+"chop" the passages instead of phrasing them; to attack notes
+carelessly; to sing coarsely; to depend on others; to get into a
+machine-like regularity of rendering the music. All these evil habits
+are the result of chorus singing; and while many of them are detrimental
+to the voice itself, it may be safely said that any one of these habits
+is fatal to good solo singing.
+
+
+=Humming.=--Some people have a wretched habit of continually humming
+tunes. Pray do not get into this habit of singing unconsciously--than
+which nothing is more prejudicial to the voice. You should never sound a
+note without being perfectly aware of what you are doing, and that it is
+being done in the right manner. The faults acquired by "humming over,"
+as it is called, are of the worst kind, and, moreover, they are far
+sooner acquired than eradicated.
+
+
+=Studying Songs.=--Be careful, in studying a new song, not to waste either
+time or strength by a trifling and superficial treatment of it.
+"Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well." First of all,
+_sol-fa_ the melody a few times in a full _mezzo-voce_. Then study it
+with rather stronger tone, paying attention to lights and shades, yet at
+the same time being chiefly occupied with the melody itself. Then make
+your breath-marks, and adhere to the same unfailingly. Then sing the
+melody once throughout, in order to find the weak places; having found
+which, you need no more practise the whole of the melody, but give all
+the attention to these latter phrases. Having mastered these, the melody
+will be complete. It will then be necessary to determine where the notes
+shall be made to _bend_ into each other, to add the _nuances_, a few
+graceful figures and effects which belong alone to the true artist.
+
+
+=Imitation.=--By no means the worst lesson which you can have will be
+gained by imitation of some acknowledged first-rate singer, whose voice
+is of the same kind as your own. Before going to a concert at which any
+such artist is announced to sing, procure copies of his songs (if
+possible), and make yourself acquainted with the compositions first of
+all. Then go and hear how those works are rendered by the singer who is
+to be your model; listen with your copy in your hand; make notes of any
+points which strike you, and while the impression made upon you is still
+fresh, go home and imitate them as closely as you can.
+
+
+=General Musical Study.=--If you want to be a good singing artist, many
+more things besides singing should be studied. You should be
+sufficiently acquainted with the pianoforte to play your own
+accompaniments, even of the most difficult songs, well enough to get an
+idea of them. Then a knowledge of harmony, counterpoint, and
+orchestration is of the greatest value. The study of the best scores,
+orchestral and vocal, should not be neglected, and further, the student
+should make himself or herself otherwise familiar with the rise and
+progress of the art, by reading all the best books on the subject,
+whether historical, critical, or biographical.
+
+
+
+
+ON STYLE, EXPRESSION, &c.
+
+
+The study of language, articulation, and deportment, the gradual
+formation and building-up of the singing voice, and the incessant
+practice of scales and exercises, are in reality only the necessary
+preliminaries to singing itself. Singing, or the proper use of the voice
+combined with the due enunciation and expression of the words, is
+nothing unless due attention be also paid to style, to the fit and
+effective execution of the music selected, due regard being paid both to
+taste and tradition.
+
+
+=Traditional Styles.=--Although the groundwork of all good singing is the
+same, the music to be sung varies greatly in style. There is church
+music, oratorio music, and opera music, as well as ballad music; and a
+certain nondescript--half recitative, half declamation--which is of
+modern growth, gives pleasure to many people (both performers and
+audience), and comprises the greater number of modern German "songs."
+
+
+=Modern German Lieder.=--This latest development of vocal performances, of
+which I desire to speak with all due respect, has no traditions
+whatever, but it has a style, decided, though (in my opinion) bad. It
+has, however, one merit: it imperatively demands that the singer should
+understand the meaning both of words and music, for the whole thing
+depends on expression and modulation. The composers of these works
+generally do their part fully in the way of modulations and
+accompaniment; but as they frequently forget to supply anything in the
+shape of a melody, the singer must do his best to touch or move his
+audience by his expressive delivery of the words in the musical
+inflections which (with this class of composers) occupy the place of a
+"tune." However, if you admire this kind of music, and have been
+properly taught to sing before you attempt to execute it, I have not a
+word to say against it: so long as you use your voice legitimately, this
+style of music can do you no harm, and if you study dramatic expression
+and elocution properly, you may doubtless produce an effect very
+pleasing to others who admire it. But the danger of such music to the
+untrained voice and untaught singer is very great indeed; and I do not
+hesitate to say that the frequent performance of it by such an one
+_must_ result in the ruin both of voice and style.
+
+
+=The Cathedral School.=--The one point in music wherein England has just
+reason to boast of her past, is the existence of a distinct class of
+music composed for her church service, and that music of a high order of
+merit. Distinctive in character, this church music--"services" and
+"anthems"--has created for itself a distinct school of singers, and, by
+tradition, demands a distinct style of performance. I have elsewhere
+stated that the "Cathedral School" of singing is "detestable for solo
+work," and so it is for any solo work except cathedral solo work, where
+the operatic or oratorio style of singing would seem to us, who have
+always been familiar with the traditional and one accepted style, out of
+place, and irreverently suggestive of the concert-room. It is difficult
+to describe upon paper the peculiarity of this style of singing, and it
+could only be learnt by imitation in its own home, the cathedral. Its
+chief characteristics are a sort of passionless "statuesqueness," a
+steadiness of tone akin to the notes of the organ, which is its only fit
+accompaniment, an absence of all attempt at personal display on the part
+of the singer. Its faulty tendencies are towards deficiency of
+expression and slowness of "attack;" these are apparent, generally, when
+a "cathedral" singer appears in the concert-room; but in church, the
+pervadingly reverent character of the performance takes off the
+impression of coldness and tameness in the individual singer, while the
+ear, accustomed to the slight difference in time with which the various
+organ-stops "answer," does not notice in the singer that want of
+"crispness" in the time which the accompaniment of an orchestra reveals
+at once.
+
+Unless you are really intending to sing professionally in a church or
+cathedral choir, the study of this style will not be of much use to you;
+you will find its good points equally insisted on in the oratorio school
+of singing, while its defects should be avoided in any. For =English
+part-singing= there is, however, no training so good, its traditions
+being exactly those of the finest old English secular part-music--the
+madrigals of Wilbye, Weekes, and Purcell, &c.
+
+
+=Oratorio.=--By oratorio singing--speaking of it as a distinct style--I
+may say at once that I mean the school of Handelian singing, of which
+the traditions are distinct, and which has only been slightly modified
+to suit the more modern oratorios of other composers. Of course,
+Mendelssohn cannot be sung exactly like Handel or Bach, but the general
+style of delivery should be the same, and till you can sing Handel, you
+cannot hope to be able to sing Mendelssohn. The ability to sing Handel,
+Bach, and Glueck, I believe to be the sole foundation for a pure style of
+singing either in opera or ballad music: the music is such that it
+cannot be trifled with--the difficulties cannot be evaded, but must be
+mastered--while the exquisitely smooth and vocal character of these
+great masters' music trains the singer to an evenness and solidity of
+style which is most valuable in any music that may be afterwards
+attempted. Moreover, the songs of Handel form an admirable school for
+the training of individual taste and judgment in the introduction of
+ornaments, the variety of phrasing, and other minute details of finish.
+Not that you may exercise your individual taste in introducing ornaments
+into Handel or Bach--far from it; but the songs are written with the
+express intention that certain ornaments should be introduced in
+particular places, and the style (and in many cases the notes) of these
+ornaments has been accurately handed down to us; therefore, in learning
+this traditional manner of singing such music, the student is trained to
+a knowledge of the appropriate place for the introduction of
+ornamentation and "grace"--the appropriate character of such
+embellishments, and the appropriate opportunities for introducing them.
+For instance, most of Handel's songs commence with a movement which is
+intended to be repeated at the close of the song, the middle part being
+generally a movement in some relative key, which is not repeated. The
+traditional style of giving such songs is to reserve ornamentation for
+this repeated first part, and thus to avoid the effect of sameness which
+would result from adhering in the "repeat" to exactly the same rendering
+of the music with which the singer gave it at first. Such ornamentations
+were taken for granted by the composer, and it was only because of a
+tasteless abuse of this privilege of adornment on the part of foolish
+singers, an abuse which became an unbearable nuisance, that in after
+years Rossini adopted the plan of writing into his music florid passages
+which should supply the singer with ornaments which were good of their
+kind and which were put in in appropriate places, rather then trust his
+airs to the mercy of inartistic "decorators." Handel, and the composers
+of earlier times than Rossini, omitted the ornamentation, so as not to
+hamper the singer, for, as has been well said by an old writer on the
+subject: "The same execution that would from one singer afford pleasure,
+might from another excite disgust: the compositions of old masters have
+no written cadences to a repeated passage, for this very reason, no
+doubt. But it is understood, and indeed expected, that the singer of
+talent should display his own taste by the introduction of such fanciful
+and graceful ornaments as may be best calculated to exhibit his voice to
+advantage, and thereby heighten, instead of lessen, the effect of the
+composition."
+
+The same writer, in explaining the reason for the introduction of such
+ornaments and changes, goes on to remark: "In conversation, though we
+frequently repeat words and even sentences, in expressing any particular
+subject, yet we might as naturally expect to see a person laugh without
+a smile, as give such repetitions without some variation in voice and
+manner.
+
+"The first part of an air is often written to be repeated. In justice to
+the author, when that is the case, simplicity of style should be
+inviolably preserved; but, on repeating the strain, free scope may be
+given to the imagination, taking it for granted that no person would be
+vain enough to attempt the introduction of his own fanciful graces,
+unless sufficiently master of the science to feel the propriety of going
+so far and no farther."
+
+Perhaps I may make the meaning of all this clearer by giving a few
+specimens of these traditionally accepted adornments in repeated
+passages.
+
+[Music:_First time._
+
+    ri - mem - - bran - za, Puoi di nuo - vo, &c.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    ri - mem - bran - za, Puoi di nuo - vo, &c.]
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    dol - ce ri - mem - bran - za, &c.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    dol - ce ri - mem - bran - - za, &c.]
+
+[Music:_First time._
+
+    Puoi di nuo - vo, di nuo - vo av - ve - len
+    ar ................... mi.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    Puoi - di nuo - vo di nuo - vo av - ve - len
+    ar ................... mi.]
+
+The above are taken from a fine song by Cesti (1660), "_Tu mancavi a
+tormentarmi_."
+
+The following are the adornments taught in the Paris Conservatoire, as
+traditionally correct in the famous old song by Lotti, "_Pur dicesti_,"
+where, it will be observed, one simple phrase, which occurs so
+frequently that it would be monotonous if unadorned, is made to yield a
+charming variety to the song by some elegant change at each recurrence.
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    quel so - a - ve ... car - o ...... si]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    quel ... so - a - ve car ... o - si]
+
+[Music: _Third time._
+
+    quel ... so - a - ve car - o - si]
+
+[Music: _Fourth time._
+
+    quel ... so - a - - ve car - - o si]
+
+[Music:_First time._
+
+    pia - cer .................
+    ................. il mio pia - cer]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    pia - cer .................
+    ................. il mio pia - cer]
+
+The following are from Handel:
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    While re - sign'd to Heav'n ... a - bove]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+    While re - sign'd to ...... Heav'n ........ a - bove
+
+                                (_Guardian Angels._)]
+
+[Music: _First time._
+
+    Trees where you sit, &c.]
+
+[Music: _Second time._
+
+     Trees where you sit, &c.
+
+                              (_Where'er you walk._)]
+
+And of course the list might be almost indefinitely prolonged. Certain
+of these ornaments, once highly popular, have wisely been allowed to
+drop, and that is why I lay stress upon the importance of _accepted
+traditions_. You may get hold of copies of many songs of this kind which
+have the names of great singers attached to them, and yet give
+variations of the text which have never been accepted or generally
+approved. The great Braham himself was a terrible offender sometimes in
+this respect. For instance, in singing "_Comfort ye_," instead of the
+passage
+
+[Music:
+
+    that her in - i - qui - ty is par - don - ed]
+
+he would sing thus:
+
+[Music:
+
+    that her in - i - qui - ty is par - don - ed.]
+
+And I have seen an old copy of "_Holy, holy_," in which the melody is so
+overlaid with little black notes, semi-quavers, demi-semi-quavers, and
+semi-demi-semi-quavers, that it is difficult to distinguish the notes of
+Handel's music at all! The admissible changes are all very slight, and
+any elaborate cadenza, or considerable addition, is pretty sure to be
+wrong. Final high notes are a frequent snare to aspiring singers; the
+traditions of the old school of oratorio singing are not in favour of
+them, and they generally vulgarize a song if introduced where the
+composer has not clearly opened a way for them. I have heard a tenor
+singer conclude the famous "_Thou shalt break them_," thus:
+
+[Music:
+
+    pot - - - - ter's ves - sel]
+
+and a soprano finish off "_He shall feed His flock_," thus:
+
+[Music:
+
+    ye shall find rest ........ un - to your souls.]
+
+--both of them pieces of vulgar display, bringing the personality of the
+singer before the audience instead of the beauty of the music, the sense
+of the words, or the merit of the composer. No such abominations are
+permissible in good oratorio singing, the rule of which is utter
+submission to the composer's intentions, and a conscientious endeavour
+to interpret his mind clearly to the audience; a pure and chaste
+delivery of words and music alike; a sustained excellence throughout,
+avoiding an attempt to astonish by bursts of power or brilliancy; and an
+entire absence of all claptrap or vulgarities to please "the gallery."
+
+
+=Opera.=--A great deal of what has been said about oratorio singing
+applies also to operatic singing. But I strongly advise you against
+attempting opera music until you have studied the more severe and solid
+style of the oratorio. The declamatory passages in opera are doubtless
+more brilliantly impassioned, just as the florid airs are more
+startlingly elaborate, than in oratorio, and the recitatives less
+stately and sustained; but the style of good opera singing is only to be
+founded upon good oratorio study (or its equivalent), inasmuch as it
+was out of the oratorio that the opera grew. Operatic singing allows
+more license to the singer than does oratorio; but the singer should
+have been taught first by the severer style not to misuse that license.
+At the same time when (as is not infrequent in operas of a certain kind)
+the composer has introduced airs for the express purpose of showing off
+a singer's voice, a well-trained singer may be accepted as interpreting
+the composer's intention rightly, when he or she elaborates _fioriture_
+far beyond the limits of which any hint appears in the score.
+
+Even here, however, traditional usage must have its weight: cadenzas
+must be strictly in character, and only introduced in songs to which
+such passages are appropriate. I once heard a florid cadenza
+interpolated at the close of "_Spirto Gentil_," by an aspiring young
+tenor, too full of conceit and "modern" ideas to take a hint from
+Mario's marvellous rendering of that song.
+
+And it must be borne in mind that it is only in operas of the Bellini,
+Donizetti, and early Rossini and Verdi school that such extreme license
+is granted. No such tricks can be played with the operas of Mozart,
+Glueck, Weber, or Meyerbeer, or with the later works of Rossini and
+Verdi, while the notion of altering a note, or omitting even a
+demi-semi-quaver rest, in those of Wagner, would be, to his admirers,
+flat heresy. In reality, the style of singing opera music is easily
+acquired by any one who is sufficiently advanced to be fit to attempt
+opera music at all. There are certain niceties to be acquired, and
+endless beauties of variety in the rendering of even small passages; but
+these things cannot be taught on paper.
+
+
+=Ballads.=--There is no greater mistake than to suppose that "any one can
+sing a simple ballad." Good ballad singing is one of the rarest
+accomplishments, and demands qualities in the singer which _may_ be
+wanting even in a person who can sing well both in opera and oratorio.
+To suppose that an untaught singer can do justice to any ballad that is
+worth the trouble of singing at all, is simply a mark of ignorance on
+the whole subject of singing.
+
+Ballads do not always require power or compass of voice, it is true, nor
+do they tax the singer on the score of flexibility or physical strength;
+but they are the severest test of enunciation, _mezzo-voce_ singing,
+neatness and readiness in producing tones of any gradation, and perfect
+control over the voice.
+
+To sing a ballad well demands a really cultivated taste, a certain
+dramatic power, suppressed it is true, but influencing the whole
+delivery; a sympathetic voice, and a manner which will enlist the
+interest and sympathy of the audience. Ballad singing is neither
+declamation nor recitative: there is no chance of surprising or
+astonishing your audience; but you _must_ contrive to please them, you
+must _touch_ them somehow; and, for an ordinary person in the costume of
+the nineteenth century, to "touch" others of the same species is not
+easy. Sometimes, no doubt, the words of a good song are in themselves so
+touching and charming that, so long as the music be not positively
+hideous or destructive of the sense of the words, the singer has only to
+let them be clearly heard, and the battle is won; but more frequently he
+has to trick his audience into interest in a song where the words in
+themselves are either hopelessly silly, or too obscure in sense for
+their full meaning to appear at a first hearing or reading. All that he
+can then do is to deliver it in such a way that they shall feel that
+there _is_ a meaning to it all, though they have not fully caught it
+yet, and so they may wish to hear it again. I do not, of course, mean
+any allusion to the ridiculous fashion of _encores_, but simply that the
+feeling at the end of such a song should be one of liking it
+sufficiently to wish to understand it entirely.
+
+Many songs would tell their own tale and produce their own effect well
+enough, if the singer would let them, and therefore the ballad singer
+must only be sufficiently self-conscious to keep himself out of the way.
+However good his singing, however original his reading of the song,
+_while he is singing_ it should all go to the credit of the song, and
+the hearers be charmed into forgetting _him_ till he is silent.
+
+
+=Recitative.=--Good recitative singing is of great importance, and
+requires careful attention and study. Recitative is midway between
+speaking and singing; it is a sort of modulated intoning, that is, that
+in delivering it the note and the word that belongs to it should be
+given with equal intention, and appear to belong to each other so
+completely that the musical sound should seem to be the natural
+intonation which the reciter would give to the word. Recitative is (_or
+was_) practically an attempt to express, in musical notation, the
+inflexions of the human voice in speaking; and how accurately, in some
+cases, musical notation can do this, will be seen at a glance by the
+following illustration:
+
+[Music:
+
+    Who   are you?]
+
+[Music:
+
+      Who are you?]
+
+[Music:
+
+    Who   are you?]
+
+--where the question is asked in the same words, but the musical notes
+express clearly three different sentiments, or degrees of sentiment.
+This should be taken into consideration by the student; and he should
+strive to give his recitative with as natural a delivery as he can,
+placing himself mentally in the position of a dramatic reciter.
+
+Steadiness of tone, clearness of enunciating consonants, and full round
+delivery of vowel-sounds are indispensable to good recitative singing.
+Every note must be distinct, and not the faintest suspicion of a "slur"
+or _portamento_ can be allowed.
+
+Recitative singing is not a thing which a student should try to teach
+himself, as he may not only waste his time, but gain notions which are
+erroneous and difficult to cure. For instance, take the recitatives in
+"_The Messiah_," as these are printed for the British public. Nothing
+could be more ludicrous than for a singer to appear in public and sing
+the recitatives faithfully as printed in the editions of this oratorio
+which are continually being disseminated throughout the land. Handel,
+let it be borne in mind, was _not_ well acquainted with the English
+language; and though he may have written good music, he was often very
+far from reaching good literary sense. Thus, as regards this latter,
+this specimen passage occurs in Handel's "_Acis and Galatea_,"
+
+[Music:
+
+    Where shall I seek the charm-ing fair?]
+
+Yet no one in his senses would think of rendering it other than
+
+[Music:
+
+    Where shall I seek the charm-ing fair?]
+
+inasmuch as there is some doubt of the chord 6/4 which forms the grace
+note being Handel's music, and because the sense of the words demands
+that no break shall be made between the words _seek_ and _the_. As
+Handel failed in his English, it is surely allowable to make good his
+deficiencies in this respect.
+
+The following paragraphs relate to certain minor details of style in
+singing, and apply to singing of every kind. They must be taken in
+conjunction with much that has already been said under the head of
+"Practice."
+
+
+=Slurring.=--Slurring up to a note is a very disagreeable and common evil
+to be guarded against. It matters not how far distant the note to be
+sung may be from the preceding tone; it should be attacked fearlessly
+and cheerfully, but _with an open throat_. The note to be attacked must
+not be prepared in the throat. The course should be this. The tone of
+the preceding note must not be moved, but the one required--say a very
+high one--must be obtained by the joint process of lowering the larynx,
+of sounding the note from exactly the same spot as the lower note, in a
+soft but fine tone, and thirdly, by getting such a ring in the note as
+it can only have in conjunction with the feeling that while the root or
+foundation of the note is in the chest, yet it owes much of its
+penetrating character and power to a sort of reflecting power which is
+given it from the extreme end of the spine bone, where it joins the
+head. Certainly no high note is properly _produced_, nor to be relied
+upon for a _crescendo_, unless the student has this feeling that it
+springs from the back of the neck; and, in rising to an upper note, the
+aim should be not at length to approach the upper note from beneath, as
+it were, but to "come down" upon it--to strike it from _above_ instead
+of from below.
+
+
+=Sentiment.=--Always try to convey the sentiment of what you may be
+singing through the tone of the voice. Love and anger cannot both be
+expressed with the same quality of voice. For the former, a delicate
+light tone well on the lips is desirable, while for the latter the voice
+should be produced lower in the stomach; yet the tone should still be
+kept on the lips; its character should be "darker," more round, and
+sonorous. "'_Tis this that racks my brain_": such words as these should
+never be sung in the same character of voice as "_Waft her, angels, to
+the skies_." It is good practice to take any piece and sing the melody
+on an open vowel throughout, with the object of showing the meaning of
+the song without the aid of words. Then, when this can be done, the
+words may be employed, and the result will be doubly happy.
+
+
+=Decision.=--Indecision is a very serious fault in singing. Do well and
+thoroughly whatever you decide upon attempting. If you have a _staccato_
+passage to sing, render it firmly in that style; if you have one that is
+_legato_, take care that this character is _strongly_ seen from your
+rendering. When you "slur," make it strong enough to be felt. If you
+bend as it were from one note to another, let your intention to do so be
+clearly apparent. Let a _forte_ passage be loud, and let a _piano_ one
+be really soft. Any half measures in singing are fatal. Precision and
+certainty are qualities which the student must always aim at attaining.
+Without them, singing becomes tame and unattractive, not to say
+tiresome.
+
+
+=Imitation.=--Imitation, which in many other arts becomes plagiary, in
+singing is most desirable; for singing, more than any other art, rests
+on tradition; there is even very little doubt that the peculiar charm
+and quality of a true tenor voice (for instance) is more due to
+imitation in a singer than to nature; that is to say, that it is the
+result of a transmitted culture--such imitation being the only means in
+which singers can reap the harvest of the experience of the great
+singers now to be heard no more, who have left their imitators to pass
+on to others what they themselves obtained by imitating and improving on
+_their_ predecessors. Therefore do not be afraid of being set down as a
+mere copyist, if you study and attempt to imitate the style of the best
+living singers. You will always have enough of your own merit or defect
+to distinguish your performance, if you are really a conscientious
+student, and you may learn a great deal by listening to the best public
+singers which can be taught you in no other way. Watch their stage
+deportment; their treatment of the weaker parts of their voices; their
+method of breathing; their manner towards the public;--in fact, every
+point which occurs to you,--and make some use of what you see and hear
+in your own studies.
+
+
+=Public Singing.=--If you have to sing in public, remember always to
+take a rapid but searching glance round your stage. This is a great
+point gained. As you step on to "the boards," notice (unobserved)
+the dimensions of the stage (if it happens to be new to you). Note
+the height of its ceiling, its surroundings, its draperies, its
+distance from your farthest auditor; then take up your position
+accordingly--bearing in mind that all your tone is wanted by your
+listeners, which requirement can never be met unless you yourself take
+the precaution to prevent the sound being held or carried back by the
+stage decorations. In a concert _salon_ or theatre, then, do not forget
+to get well to the front of the platform. At the same time you must not
+be _too_ close upon your stall occupants, or you may give them the very
+undesirable impression that at any moment you may fall over.
+
+
+="Holding" an Audience.=--The singer should carefully watch an audience so
+as to gauge its attention and sympathies. If it seems impatient,
+restless, and indifferent, the singer may be quite sure that he or she
+is exciting no interest. The best course then for one to do is to
+immediately change the style, alter the tone, give forth his or her best
+energies, and use every effort to become ingratiated into the good
+favour of the listeners. If such effects as these fail constantly in
+their turn, then the aspirant for vocal fame should give up, and devote
+both time and attention to further study, or to some other means of a
+livelihood; for a future great singer will not be failing constantly,
+and to be only a second-rate singer while there are so many is a thing
+_not_ to be devoutly desired.
+
+
+=Mistakes in Public.=--If you make a mistake in singing, do not add to the
+mischief by allowing it to alarm or disconcert you. Proceed onward as if
+nothing had happened. You may be quite sure that each one of your
+audience will not have detected the slip, for they cannot _all_ be
+critics. But bear in mind that such confidence as your adviser here
+suggests is not to be too often called into requisition. No great artist
+will ever make a serious mistake in public. How much more careful then
+should the young student be!
+
+
+
+
+ON TIME IN SINGING.
+
+
+I need perhaps scarcely remind my readers who are or who wish to be
+singers that _time_ concerns them quite as much as the conductor, the
+pianist, the violinist--in short, the whole orchestra. It behoves the
+student in singing to give early and careful attention to this important
+feature in his artistic training. You may have the voice of a Rubini,
+you may be a second Tamburini in quality and extent of voice, but unless
+you can sing in time yourself, and are able to do so with others, and
+with the counter-acting influences of an orchestra, you can never hope
+to rise in your profession. It may be argued that you have no desire to
+lay yourself out for a career on the lyric stage. Then, however, you
+shut yourself out from some of the largest prizes in the profession;
+beyond which there comes the question of oratorio business, and the
+growing taste for band accompaniments to songs. And if you restrict your
+ambition to a pianoforte accompaniment, time is needed even with that in
+order to produce anything like a satisfactory rendering of the piece you
+may be singing. The accompanyist may be a Sir Julius Benedict, or a
+Signor Randegger (than whom there is no better in this country, so
+neglected has this species of musical art-work become); but a perfect
+rendering depends not so much upon the pianist as the vocalist. If the
+singer flounders about with neither "rhyme nor reason," it is scarcely
+reasonable to expect the accompanyist, clever as he may be, to be always
+at his heels, like a cat after a mouse. I would therefore advise the
+student to invest his money in a Metronome--the most useful thing with
+which he could provide himself. They are not dear, bearing in mind their
+utility, and one will, I am sure, save the student much time and many a
+_fiasco_. Learn the working of this useful machine, and practise all
+your exercises with it. If you go to a good singing master, you should
+ask him to time your exercises to the pace at which you should sing
+them, and in this way you will not only be growing in a good habit, but
+your singing will be characterized by a crispness and a certainty of
+attack, which will be apparent to all musicians and amateurs with good
+taste. Your singing master will, no doubt, impress upon you the
+necessity of singing your songs in time, and especially of slightly
+accenting the first and third beats in the bar if it is common time, the
+first and fourth beats when it is compound common or 6/8 time, and the
+first beat when it is triple or 3/4 time. In this way there will be
+meaning given to your singing, and those who may be accompanying you
+will be able to feel where you are, and to keep time with you. In
+singing a passage like this from Cowen's charming song "Aubade,"--the
+master, if he knew his business, would instruct his pupil to slightly
+accent the words as I have indicated with the mark =V=, and to preserve
+_strict_ time throughout the passage, and especially in the taking up of
+the words after the long note on the word _sleep_. The accompanyist
+would, we may assume, do likewise with his pianoforte part, and in this
+way a perfect _ensemble_ would be secured.
+
+[Music:
+
+    Sleep, love, sleep,
+    the morn is wak - - ing,]
+
+With this brief introduction to the subject, I will proceed to give the
+student a few exercises in keeping and beating time, the assiduous
+practice of which will, I hope, soon place him in the desirable position
+of being able to sing in time.
+
+[Music: Ex. 1.
+
+Four beats in a bar.
+
+    Do Re Mi Fa Sol
+
+    La Si Do Do Si
+
+    La Sol Fa Mi Re Do]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2.
+
+    Do Do Re Re Mi Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 3.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 4.
+
+    Do Do Do Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5.
+
+    Do Do Re Re Mi Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7.
+
+    Do Do Do Re Re Re Mi Mi Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 9.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 10.
+
+    Do Do Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Re Re &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 11.
+
+     Do Do Do Do Re Re Re Re Mi &c.]
+
+These exercises may be timed as slow as you like on your metronome--the
+slower the better--but 76 is a good pace to begin with; when you have
+thoroughly mastered them at 76, take them a little quicker until you can
+sing them accurately up to a good brisk time.
+
+No 1 has but one note in the bar, and this must be held on steadily for
+four beats of the metronome--care being taken to leave each note in
+sufficient time to take a fresh breath, and attack the second note and
+syllable in precise time with the metronome beat. I need, perhaps,
+scarcely point out that much good will be obtained if the student can
+accustom himself to _feeling_ in his mind the rhythm and beating, so as
+not to acquire the habit of trusting to mechanical appliances, which are
+dispensed with at public performances. The sol-fa-ing must be strictly
+adhered to, and in Exercises 2, 3, etc., it will be seen that the
+syllable must be sounded twice and four times respectively. With
+Exercise 5 the dotted note comes in; but I will not stay to explain
+that, as I assume that my readers will have acquainted themselves with
+the elements of musical theory before taking up singing. Especial care
+should be given to Exercise 7, as that is the first step in the
+difficult matter of syncopation, carried out elaborately in Exercises 8
+and 9. With Exercise 11 the question of Rests comes in, but the same
+remark that I made as to the dotted notes applies here. Everything that
+it is necessary to know about them should be found in any elementary
+musical grammar.
+
+Having mastered the above exercises, the reader may take the following
+with two beats in the bar--taking the precaution to set them at a slow
+time on the metronome, say 76, not singing them quickly until he is
+thoroughly acquainted with them.
+
+[Music: Ex. 1. Two beats to a bar.
+
+    Do Do Re Re Mi Mi Fa Fa Sol Sol
+    La La Si Si Do Do Do Si Si
+    La La Sol Sol Fa Fa Mi Mi Re Re Do]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2.
+
+    Do Re Mi Fa Sol La
+    Si Do Do Do Si Si &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 3.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 4.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7.
+
+    Do Re Mi Fa Sol &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8.]
+
+After which he may take the following with three beats in the bar:--
+
+[Music: Ex. 1.
+
+Three beats in a bar.
+
+    1 2 3
+    Do    Re Mi Fa Sol
+    La    Si Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2.
+
+    Do Do Do &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 3.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 4.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 9.]
+
+
+
+
+ON THE CHOICE OF MUSIC.
+
+    There are, of course, no _rules_ to be given to guide the student
+    in the choice of music, except the general ones, to choose good
+    music, pleasing music, and music suited to his voice and powers.
+    But those general rules touch incidentally on a few points on which
+    it may be well to offer a few remarks.
+
+
+=Music must suit the Voice.=--Your music must not only be appropriate for
+your voice in compass, but it must be such as has been written for a
+voice of your kind. This is a most important thing to remember. Nothing
+is more provoking to a person of good taste and musical knowledge than
+to hear songs composed for a voice of one class sung by a voice of a
+totally different character; and yet this is a vice which even good
+artists will sometimes weakly succumb to. The popular song of Gounod's,
+"_Quand tu chantes bercee_," for instance, has been sung to death by
+many soprani and contralti, in various keys. One would have thought that
+the words alone would have shown them the utter absurdity of what they
+were doing; but no, for the sake of producing an effect (upon an
+audience who naturally supposed that public singers of high standing
+knew what they were doing, and why they did it), these good ladies
+committed what I do not scruple to call a vulgar and inartistic blunder.
+The song is a man's song, and no woman should attempt it.
+
+This fault is one which amateurs are very apt to fall into, and a long
+list might be made of songs which have suffered this unfair treatment.
+Soprani sing tenor songs--(I have often, in the early days of the
+popularity of "_Il Trovatore_," heard a soprano sing "_Ah, che la
+Morte!_"--tenors, those written for soprano--(_e.g._, I know an amateur
+tenor whose "crack" song is Iphis' "Farewell" in "_Jephtha_"). Contralti
+and mezzo-soprani steal bass and barytone songs, as "But who may abide,"
+from the "_Messiah_," and basses and barytones return the compliment by
+appropriating "What tho' I trace," or "O rest in the Lord.")
+
+There is a reason, quite apart from the question of taste, which renders
+this practice objectionable. A composer of any skill writes his
+accompaniment as well as his melody with reference to the voice which he
+wishes to sing it. Now, if that voice be--we will say--a soprano, the
+accompaniment will be written for a voice of that _pitch_, as well as of
+that character and compass; the progressions of harmony will be written
+with due regard to the actual place of the vocal notes in the scale. But
+directly the song is sung by a tenor--a voice which pitches every note
+an octave lower than the soprano--the relation of the vocal notes to the
+accompaniment is changed; notes that were intended to be fourths above
+the accompaniment will become fifths below, and progressions which were
+correct in the composer's intention become wrong in the effect produced
+by the singer. That is an extreme case, I grant, but it is only a fair
+instance of the sort of result which follows on such changes, and it is
+sufficient to show that the rule rests on reason and not caprice.
+
+
+"=Original Keys.="--Do not bind yourself, as some think it necessary to
+do, always to sing your songs in the original keys. Remember that opera
+and oratorio music, and a large number of modern "ballads," were
+composed for performance in large buildings, theatres, and
+concert-rooms. The keys, therefore, were chosen with due reference to
+that fact, and to the (in many cases) exceptional voices of the singers.
+The raising of the pitch in later years also affects the question.
+
+Now, if you have to sing in a drawing-room, the pitch, volume of tone,
+and style of delivery must be appropriate to chamber music, and not to
+the stage of Covent Garden, and the keys which are necessary for due
+brilliancy and effect in a concert-room are frequently unsuited to a
+drawing-room, giving an appearance of strain and noisiness to the
+singing. A good deal of opera music is as unfit for singing in a
+drawing-room as would be a grand symphony for performance there; and an
+artistic singer should bear in mind this principle of fitness in his
+selection.
+
+At the same time, if it is considered desirable to transpose a song, let
+it be only for that reason, and let the aim be to produce the same
+effect, _relatively_, in the drawing-room, as the song in its original
+key is intended to produce in the concert-room. Do not transpose
+recklessly, merely to "suit your voice:" if you are a barytone, for
+instance, do not sing tenor songs a few notes lower; or, if you are a
+soprano, do not transpose contralto songs to suit your register. For the
+_character_ of the music (if the music is good) suits the voice for
+which it was intended, and there is a risk of destroying that character
+by giving it to a voice of another kind. This has been proved over and
+over again on the stage in several notable instances.
+
+
+=Execution.=--Do not be too ambitious in selecting florid songs for
+performance either in public or private. "Fireworks" in a drawing-room
+rarely please, while in a concert-room they must be very perfect and
+first-rate in execution to do so. Of course, if you are a professional
+artist you must include such work in your studies, and even for the
+amateur the practice of florid music, under a master, is most desirable
+as an exercise. But where the choice of a song for a concert rests with
+yourself, sacrifice ambition to prudence, unless your voice is naturally
+a very flexible one, and your training in that style of music very
+complete. I give, on this subject, a quotation from an old and
+experienced writer on music and singing:
+
+"Execution is certainly one of the most difficult parts of musical
+science. Young singers are desirous of attaining it without reflecting
+whether, from the formation of the throat and various physical causes,
+they may ever be able to accomplish their wishes. Few, indeed, possess
+the power of execution in a pre-eminent degree. It is in part a gift of
+nature: those who have ever delighted as well as astonished us by their
+rapid manner of running through divisions must have been naturally
+endowed with flexible organs.
+
+"... Some voices may be compared to gems which in their original state
+are dull, and, to those unacquainted with their worth, of no value....
+It frequently happens that singers, from timidity or want of proper
+knowledge in exercising their voices, remain ignorant of their own
+qualifications. The hinges of a door which have continued for years
+undisturbed, will, when the door is re-opened, grate harshly on the ear;
+but every effort renders the harshness more tolerable, until, from
+frequent use, they move easily. Thus it is with the voice: on the
+flexibility of the _uvula_ and the muscles connected with it depend both
+the perfectibility of the shake and execution. But still it must be
+acknowledged that acquired execution should never be exercised by the
+side of nature otherwise than sparingly, even where necessity requires
+it, for the latter possesses an easy velocity which can playfully sport
+with its subject at will; but, however gratifying the power of execution
+may be considered by those who possess it, I recommend them not to be
+indiscriminately lavish, lest they cloy by too great a profusion, and,
+as Voltaire remarks, 'shine in trills and divisions, at the expense of
+poetry and good sense.'"
+
+
+=Fashion.=--The songs which are "the rage" at any time are always great
+snares for amateurs. Aspiring young singers hear a ballad charmingly
+rendered by some great singer, and straightway go home, send for it, and
+on the first available opportunity treat their friends to their version
+of it. This is really unfair to themselves, as it throws them into
+unwise contrast with the public singer who has made the song popular,
+and whose well-known rendering of it forbids ordinary hearers to judge
+the rendering of an amateur on its own merits, or by any rule but that
+of comparison. Moreover, "popular" songs--I mean songs whose popularity
+is largely due to their having been sung by favourite public
+singers--are by no means always good in themselves; or, if fairly good,
+by no means easy; or if good and not difficult, by no means always
+sufficiently so to make it worth while for an amateur to spend time and
+study on them. In very many cases the public singer has to sing these
+songs because he is paid for doing so, and gets a "royalty" on every
+copy sold; it is simply one development of the hydra-headed art of
+advertising, and such productions are known by the vulgar name of
+"pot-boilers," _i.e._, compositions hastily thrown off to bring in a
+little money "_to keep the pot boiling_." If composers who are capable
+of better things are reduced to making money in this way, we may be
+sincerely sorry for them; but speaking from an artistic point of view,
+the practice is reprehensible, and "pot-boilers" are not the kind of
+music which a young singer, anxious to improve, should waste time or
+money upon. I am far from saying that there are no good songs to be
+found among new music, but I think they seldom lie on the top of the
+pile.
+
+
+=Forming a Repertoire.=--In gradually forming your _repertoire_, or
+collection of properly studied songs for drawing-room or concert
+singing, do not be in haste to make it a large one. It is better to know
+only a few songs and do them really well, than to sing a large number
+indifferently. If you are studying for the profession, there is a
+considerable number of songs which you will be expected to know as a
+matter of course, but over and above such, every singer should have a
+special repertoire of his or her own, and it is of this that I now
+speak. Your selection of songs, like your singing, should have the stamp
+of your own individuality upon it. You should have a little stock of
+songs, with which your singing is in a way identified, and which you
+must be able to sing in a manner that at once stamps those songs as your
+property, so that another person might say, "I could not sing that song
+before you, it is one of your own."
+
+To form such a repertoire, you may have to go a little out of the beaten
+track of what is best known at the time. If opera music suits you best,
+look at the operas, never performed now, of Glueck, or the less known of
+Mozart's, or earlier works of Rossini, Auber, &c.; or else try and get
+hold of works not yet known in England, such as Macfarren's, Wallace's,
+Purcell's, and a few other such native dramatic composers. In a word, do
+not limit your notions of operatic music to what you hear year after
+year at Covent Garden or Her Majesty's.
+
+So, too, in oratorio: search in the less familiar oratorios of Handel,
+and such of his operas as you can get access to, and carry the same idea
+out in examining the works of other composers, ancient and modern. Good
+work has been done of late years by various publishers in publishing
+many works of this class, and there are plenty of these which are still
+unfamiliar and unhackneyed.
+
+The same with your songs and ballads: before you rush into the modern
+fashionable ballad, see if you cannot find a few that you can
+appropriate among the stores of old English music, or the detached songs
+of old Italian masters (many of which are magnificent as songs, and
+utterly unknown at present, except to the few).
+
+
+
+
+PHYSIOLOGICAL SURROUNDINGS.
+
+
+It is highly expedient that singers themselves, and intending students
+of the art, should make some acquaintance with the physiological
+surroundings which are brought into play in the process of voice
+production. A knowledge of the technical terms for the various organs
+directly involved is very essential, and the intelligent student will
+see the necessity not only for distinguishing such names as "larynx" and
+"diaphragm," but also of possessing some idea of their whereabouts in
+the human frame. No better course could be adopted for the acquirement
+of such a knowledge than attendance at the classes and lectures at the
+musical colleges and other institutions, which, from time to time,
+secure the assistance of qualified specialists to speak upon this very
+important branch of the singing art. No other mode of teaching is so
+well calculated to enlighten the uninitiated in the wondrous mechanism
+of the human voice, and to inspire him or her with an adequate sense of
+the watchful care and delicate treatment which a voice worthy of
+systematic training demands, as well as deserves, at the hands of
+students of both sexes. As a preliminary to a fuller inquiry into the
+subject, the following few notes may be fixed upon the mind:--
+
+
+=The Larynx= (+larynx+) constitutes the upper part of the wind-pipe. It
+is the seat of the voice, and essential parts of it are the "vocal
+cords" (_chordae vocales_), two membranes in a horizontal position across
+the larynx. It is popularly called "Adam's apple" (_pomum Adami_), the
+protuberance so often recognizable in the throats of bass singers, but a
+more correct use of "_pomum Adami_" is when it is applied to a
+projection in the thyroid cartilage--a part of the laryngeal structure.
+
+=The Thyroid= (from +Thyreos+) is a shield-shaped cartilage, and that
+part of the larynx which, in the case of both sexes, develops suddenly
+at the period when they pass from youth to mature age. Other important
+cartilages are the cricoid (from +krikos+), a ring-shaped membrane; the
+arytenoids (from +harytaina+ a pitcher); the epiglottis (+epi-glotta+),
+situated at the back of the mouth; and the cartilages of Santorini, or
+_cornicula laryngis_.
+
+The trachea, or wind-pipe, is capable of rising or falling, and thus is
+produced the perceptible movement of the larynx in the throat when
+speaking or singing. It is by lowering the larynx, and so commanding an
+expansion of the throat that the best tone is possible in the voice, and
+it is this open throat production which some teachers are aiming at when
+they charge their pupils to "sing from the chest." A more sensible
+request would be to "lower the larynx," since such a lowering of this
+organ places the throat in the most favourable position for emitting
+sound; as well as for enabling the lungs, or wind-chests, to act most
+advantageously upon the true vocal cords. Moreover, this lowered larynx
+production leads to the best results from the vocal cords themselves.
+The natural tendency is to sing as we talk, a process which involves a
+demand upon the upper fringes of the vocal ligaments only, but no
+long-sustained singing could be maintained by this means, nor does it
+requisition any art-knowledge or principle. Directly, however, we begin
+to utilize the lower edge of the vocal cords, we are verging upon the
+art of _producing_ the voice; _i.e._, creating a something which will
+not manifest itself without the first application of some art
+principles. Here lies the whole secret of singing, _viz._, the
+utilization of the lower portions of the membranous folds popularly
+called the "vocal cords," instead of working merely their topmost
+fringes, as do the innumerable tenors who sing "throaty," and as we all
+do up to a certain point, in the ordinary process of speaking. The
+singing voice and the speaking voice are two totally different
+productions, the former never to be acquired except at the hands of a
+capable master, who, himself, has been properly taught the principles of
+voice production.
+
+The lungs, or bellows, or air-chambers lie, as is well known, on each
+side of the chest, resting upon the diaphragm, and performing a very
+important function in singing. They supply the air which acts upon the
+vocal cords, and in true singing are the first organs for consideration
+by a vocalist, since so much depends upon the way the wind, or breath,
+is brought to bear upon the vocal cords. For this reason the abdominal
+method of breathing--the filling of the lungs from their bases--becomes
+the best method for inspiring the breath in singing. Doubtless, in
+breathing, the lungs are replenished from above downwards, but it
+requires something of the sensation of these air-supplying substances
+being filled from their bases in order to requisition the full help of
+the diaphragm, a great muscle which separates the lungs from the
+abdomen, and which may be called the fundamental basis on which all
+voice production rests.
+
+The Pharynx (+pharynx+) is situated behind the mouth, between the tongue
+and the arch forming the circumference of the palate. Its province is to
+reflect the voice on its issue from the glottis. It is an elastic
+aperture, and may be well styled the reflecting organ of singing. It can
+take various forms, and bears a great part in giving character to the
+sounds originated in the larynx.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_The Voice--a Wind, Reed, or String Instrument?_ Much discussion has
+spent itself in settling the question of "family" to which the vocal
+instrument properly belongs. The vocal chords are known to be composed
+of a yellow elastic fibrous tissue in their anterior parts, the
+posterior portions consisting of a tougher muscle or cartilage. Many
+maintain them to belong to the "string" family, since the sounds
+generated are produced as on a violin--the higher notes by increased
+tension, the lower tones by a reduction of the strain. In this process,
+the muscle, popularly known as the epiglottis-cushion--a fat mucous
+membrane--presses on to the vocal cords, modifying their vibrating
+length. Thus, in an extreme high note, the cushion presses intensely
+upon the cords, considerably shortening their one inch length. In
+reverting to a low note, this tension becomes withdrawn, and the whole
+length of cord is at play to produce its lowest tones. An unfortunate
+objection to this theory--that the vocal cords can be styled a stringed
+instrument, is the fact that no string of the small extent of the vocal
+cords could be capable of sounding either so many, or such low notes;
+moreover, the mathematical treatment of their vibrations, as governed by
+the tension, is not correct, as they are in the case of a violin. It is
+a useful theory, and method of reasoning, however, for those teachers of
+singing who maintain that to get high notes, a light and thin style of
+singing, and the use of the upper fringe of the vocal cords (the
+production point), is preferable, in contradistinction to those who
+declare that no really good chest note with any telling power worth
+considering is possible, unless the vocalist sings deep in his chest and
+gains the idea, as he goes for his note, of requisitioning with all
+effort the lowest depth in the cord. Surely this point presents the
+greatest difficulty for singers with whom compass, especially at the top
+of the voice, is an imperative necessity, albeit that people go on
+talking to the contrary; and it is a matter which needs settling among
+voice specialists and singing masters. We are told, and it is generally
+known, that the tension of the epiglottis-cushion produces a higher note
+just as the shifting of the finger on the violin string affects its
+tone--a process which may produce falsetto sounds, but which surely is
+not the basis upon which great Italian singers of the Mongini and
+Tamberlik type secured the great chest Cs, which, with their resonance
+and brilliancy, were wont to make our opera houses ring again. Is it not
+a fact that in voices of this calibre, as well as in those trained on
+what is known as the broad lines of the true Italian production, the
+whole surfaces of the vocal cords become more or less requisitioned, and
+that they vibrate the whole of their length and breadth, not merely the
+sides, rather than that any upper portion is mainly utilized while the
+lower parts are resting? The answer to this question would seem to
+indicate that the human voice is of the nature of a reed instrument.
+These membraneous organs, which we term vocal cords, are such that their
+whole surfaces must vibrate when brought into contact with a current of
+air from the lungs. The voice reed, in fact, vibrates freely backwards
+and forwards, and so corresponds with what are known as "free," not
+"beating" reeds--such as are found in concertinas, and the like.
+
+That the voice is something of an organ pipe (a flue pipe) is an
+illusion only indulged in by writers and teachers prone to descriptive
+language, which they do not stay to inquire into, either for their own
+edification or for the enlightenment of other people. There is
+absolutely nothing to maintain such an idea.
+
+It is important that the nature of the _materiel_ of the vocal cords
+should become widely known, since such a knowledge, elementary as it
+might be, would, at the outset, enable students to get at once upon the
+right road to singing. To grasp the idea that the initial
+sound-producing means are these bits of semi-lunar membranes, acted upon
+by the breath from the lungs, and that they vibrate violently or orderly
+in proportion to the care with which the breath is brought to bear upon
+them, is to master the first great difficulty in singing. This once
+grasped, it is not hard to realize that the sound emitted is moulded and
+shaped, modified and beautified by other organs of the laryngeal machine
+and its surroundings, as well as by such variable conditions as the
+state of the human frame generally, and the particular condition of
+those organs of the body most directly concerned in supporting the work
+of the larynx may happen to be in. It will save the student much time
+if, before he (or she) begins to study singing, some first acquaintance
+be formed with the physiological surroundings of the human voice, and it
+is worse than useless to go to a master who teaches singing in blind
+ignorance of, and doubtless contempt for, these physiological
+principles. The student who has familiarized himself with the structure
+of the vocal organs will have made a much more intelligent progress in
+his art than the one who has not, and will be competent none the less
+readily to understand the instruction of a qualified master than to
+detect the shameful pretence and humbug of the quack.
+
+
+=Board Teachers' Laryngitis--Clergyman's Sore Throat--Throat Exhaustion,
+etc.=--Among the greatest evils of this competitive teaching age is the
+mischief arising from the constant and at the same time injurious use of
+the voice. All who use the voice constantly must learn how to breathe,
+and _produce_ the voice. Failing that, serious mischief, which even the
+specialist of throat hospitals cannot cope with, must inevitably follow.
+The only advice that can be given here is, immediately that voice
+exhaustion sets in, to consult not _a doctor_, but a throat or voice
+specialist. The best institution in the world for throat troubles is the
+Throat Hospital, Golden Square, London, W.
+
+
+
+
+EXERCISES.
+
+
+This first exercise is a most useful one in the uniting of notes and in
+gaining facility. The student should at first practise it very slowly,
+mastering four bars at a time. Although I have divided it into fifteen
+examples, it is really but one exercise, with a minim rest between each
+phrase of four bars; and it is in this example form that I wish the
+student ultimately to sing it with the metronome, at say 76, taking
+breath _only_ at the rest-mark, and making the _crescendo_--not, be it
+observed, by forcing the tone and breath, but by a gradual pressing down
+of the breath.[2]
+
+[2] The Exercise should be a crescendo from piano to forte.
+
+[Music: Ex. 1.]
+
+[Music: A.]
+
+[Music: B.]
+
+[Music: C.]
+
+[Music: D.]
+
+[Music: E.]
+
+[Music: F.]
+
+[Music: G.]
+
+[Music: H.]
+
+[Music: I.]
+
+[Music: J.]
+
+[Music: K.]
+
+[Music: L.]
+
+[Music: M.]
+
+[Music: N.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 2 NAVA.]
+
+[Music]
+
+Exercise 2 is a further one for the practice of joining notes with the
+aid of the breath, without the least resemblance to a jerk with either
+the sound or the breath. To sing the exercise with advantage requires a
+very careful management of the respiratory organs, and its continuous
+practice is one of the best means of managing the breath. Having
+inspired the breath after the manner already indicated herein, proceed
+to sound the note F in a thin but firm and steady tone, which you must
+gradually swell, by pressing down the breath, as it were, into the
+following note G, which you will continue to hold steadily by keeping
+down the breath as long as you can. Though you raise your tone of voice
+in passing from F to G, you must dispel from your mind all notions of
+raising your breath or your _larynx_; it is just the reverse; you must
+lower these. Remember a golden rule--the higher your note the lower must
+it be generated in your chest, and your breath must be under the note
+supporting it, or there cannot possibly be any tone there. On reaching
+the highest limit of this exercise, the student will repeat the same
+operation down the scale, which I need scarcely say is less difficult.
+
+[Music: Ex. 3. NAVA.]
+
+[Music]
+
+[Music]
+
+Exercise 3 may be timed 76 on your metronome. It is a study to give
+freedom and flexibility to your voice. None of the notes should be
+forced, and the upper notes should be rendered with the mouth well open,
+and with a quality of tone as similar as possible to that of the lower
+notes. Breath should be taken (without losing time) at the rest-marks.
+There should be no break or jump in the tone, but rather it should be
+one unbroken stream of melody, as marked in the first phrase. The voice,
+in this exercise, should be constantly moving: no sooner should you be
+sounding the first note of the phrase than you should be moving to the
+second, from the second to the next, and so on. Be careful to sing the
+intervals exactly in time, and in descending to notes satisfy yourself
+that you are singing the exact tone, and that with certainty. Indecision
+is a grave fault in singing.
+
+[Music: Ex. 4. Intervals of thirds.
+
+     Do Re Mi Re Do Re Mi Fa Mi Re
+
+     Mi Fa Sol Fa Mi &c.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 5. Intervals of Fourths.
+
+* Here take breath.]
+
+[Music]
+
+[Music: Ex. 6. Intervals of Fifths.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 7. Intervals of Sixths.]
+
+[Music: Ex. 8. Intervals of Sevenths.]
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+     _Page_
+
+     Alto, 36
+
+
+     Bad Lessons, 50
+
+     Bad Masters, 50
+
+     Ballads, 80
+
+     Barytone, Basso-Cantante, 42
+
+     Bass, 44
+
+     Board Teachers' Laryngitis, 114
+
+     Books of Exercises, 51
+
+     Buffo, 48
+
+
+     Cathedral School, The, 72
+
+     Chest, Falsetto, and Head, 60
+
+     Chorus Singing, 69
+
+     Cleanliness, 13
+
+     Clearing the Throat, 59
+
+     Compass, 30
+
+     Consonants, 24
+
+     Contralto, 35
+
+
+     Decision, 84
+
+     Diet, 13
+
+     Dramatic Study, 27
+
+     Dress, 16
+
+     Duration of Practice, 67
+
+
+     Early Rising, 13
+
+     Education, General, 26
+
+     Emphasis, 25
+
+     English, 24
+
+     Execution, 105
+
+     Exercise, 15
+
+     Exercises, 115
+
+     Exercises, First, 62
+
+         "      Books of, 51
+
+         "      in Beating Time, 89
+
+     Expression, Facial, 54
+
+
+     Facial Expression, 54
+
+     Falsetto, 60
+
+     Fashion, 106
+
+     First Opinion, A, 44
+
+     Forming a Repertoire, 107
+
+     Forte, Mezzo-Voce, and Piano, 60
+
+
+     General Education, 26
+
+        "    Musical Study, 70
+
+     German Lieder, Modern, 71
+
+
+     Hair, The, 14
+
+     Head, Singing in the, 58
+
+     High Notes, 59
+
+     "Holding" an Audience, 86
+
+     "How to Begin", 68
+
+     Humming, 69
+
+
+     Imitation, 70, 85
+
+     Individuality, 53
+
+     Institutions, 48
+
+
+     Larynx, The, 109
+
+     Late Hours, 19
+
+     Lessons, Bad, 50
+
+     Lips, Position of, 25
+
+
+     Masters, 48
+
+     Mezzo-Voce, 60
+
+     Mezzo-Contralto, 35
+
+     Mezzo-Soprano, 34
+
+     Mistakes in Public, 86
+
+     Modern German Lieder, 71
+
+     Morality, 19
+
+     Music to Suit the Voice, 103
+
+     Musical Study, General, 70
+
+
+     Names of Voices, 29
+
+     Nervousness, 21
+
+
+     Oratorio, 73
+
+     "Original Keys", 104
+
+     Opera, 79
+
+
+     Perseverance, 54
+
+     Physiological Surroundings, 109
+
+     Pharynx, The, 111
+
+     Position of Arms, 55
+
+         "       Body, 55
+
+         "       Hands, 56
+
+         "       Larynx, 57
+
+         "       Throat, 56
+
+         "       Tongue, 57
+
+     Pronunciation, 22
+
+     Public Singing, 85
+
+     Public, Mistakes in, 86
+
+
+     Qualities of the Voice, 45
+
+
+     Recitative, 81
+
+     Repertoire, Forming a, 107
+
+
+     Scale, The, 60
+
+       "    Practice, 62
+
+     "Schools" of Singing, 47
+
+     Self-Accompaniment, 55
+
+     Sentiment, 84
+
+     Singing in Tune, 67
+
+     Slurring, 83
+
+     Smoking, 18
+
+     Soprano, 32
+
+     Study of Songs, 20
+
+     Study of Words, 25
+
+     Styles, Traditional, 71
+
+
+     Teachers, Bad, 50
+
+     Teeth, The, 15
+
+     Tenore-Leggiero, 37
+
+     Tenore-Robusto, 39
+
+     Throatiness, 58
+
+     Thyroid, The, 110
+
+     Time in Singing, 87
+
+     Tone, 60
+
+     Traditional Styles, 71
+
+
+     Variety Indispensable, 68
+
+     Voices and their Names, 29
+
+     Voice, The; A Wind, Reed, or String Instrument, 111
+
+     Vowel-Sounds, 23
+
+
+     "Words," Study of, 25
+
+
+Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
+
+London & Edinburgh
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+Punctuation and formatting have been made consistent.
+
+Apparent printer's errors have been retained, unless stated below.
+
+Page 62, "disirable" changed to "desirable". (It cannot be too strongly
+impressed upon, or too frequently pointed out to, the singer (no matter
+what may be the stage of his or her artistic development) how desirable
+and advantageous it is to be constantly singing exercises and solfeggi
+in preference to songs.)
+
+Page 73 and 74, "shool" changed to "school". (You will find its good
+points equally insisted on in the oratorio school of singing, while its
+defects should be avoided in any.)
+
+Page 106, "divisious" changed to "divisions". (Those who have ever
+delighted as well as astonished us by their rapid manner of running
+through divisions must have been naturally endowed with flexible
+organs.)
+
+
+
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