CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY MUSIC in™ uIS Miri'iri "M,"'ERSITY LIBRARY 3 1924 098 683 315 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis bool< is in tile Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924098683315 VOICE BUILDING AND TONE PLACING SHOIVING A NEfV METHQD OF RELIEVING INJURED yOCAL CORDS BY TONE EXERCISES BY H. HOLBROOK CURTIS, Ph. B., M. D. FELLOW OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE ; MEMBER OF THE COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY ; MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION J FELLOW OF THE AMERICAN LARYNGOLOGICAL, RHINOLOGICAL, AND OTOLOGICAL SOCIETY ; MEMBRE CORRBSPONDANT DE LA SOClgTJB FRANgAISE d'oTOLOGIE DE LARVNCOLOCIE ET DE RHINOLOGIE ; MEMBER OF THE BRITISH LARYNGOLOGICAL, RHINOLOGICAL, AND OTOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, ETC. NEW YORK D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 1896 COPTBISHT, 1896, By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. TO MY FRIEND JEAN DB RBSZKE THIS LITTLE VOLUME IS DEDICATED IN TOKEN OF THE AFFECTION AND ESTEEM OP THE AUTHOR. PREFACE. The tangled skein of theories which one must unravel in order to arrive at any simple conclusion in regard to the singing voice, makes our endeavour in the present volume an arduous one. "We have tried to cling as closely as possible to facts, and make our subject scientifically satisfactory by the introduction of such of the elementary laws of sound and music, the thorough comprehension of which will enable the student to understand the conclusions deduced in our argument as to the proper production of tone. The chapters on anat- omy and respiration are intended to be of value to the physician as well as to the student of singing, and for this reason also, the subject of the vibra- tion of the vocal cords has been entered into in a way not treated of in any other work. The author has for a long time been convinced of the many fallacies which have obtained in the theories as to the so-called " registers " of the human voice. vi VOICE BUILDING. and the absurdities of the deductions as to the man- ner of vibration of the vocal cords, made from photo- graphs' taken during tone production. The writer's theory, that the overtones introduced by the proper method of placing tones in the facial resonators in- duce a new plan of vibration of the vocal cords, has been verified by the recent investigation with the stroboscope by Professor Oertel, of Munich. "We have introduced several of his experiments to explain the true plan of vibration of the cords as seen in the stroboscope, and have tried to elucidate our theory as to the removal of singers' " nodules " by tone exercises, in a scientific way. "We would have been unable to do this, except upon theory, had it not been for his experfments. The manner of vibration and the formation of nodes and seg- ments in the cords have been most carefully studied by Oertel as weU as by Koschlakoff, Simanowski, and Imbert, but none .of these investigators is evi- dently aware of the practical application of their discoveries. For several years many of our most renowned singers have been convinced of the effi- cacy of our method of tone exercises in overcoming serious affections of the vocal cords, and we trust that a perusal of this work will amply repay every laryngologist who will take the time and trouble to verify our assertions. We have included sotae of PREFACE. vii the simplest exercises for the restitution of cords injured by improper vocal method, which may be employed by the teacher as well as the physician. The general scheme of the building of the voice, on the lines of our theory of tone placing, is appended for the benefit of teachers and students, in the hope that some one may receive aid from a method which, if not elaborate, is certainly beneficial in furnishing a fundamental principle of correct tone placing to the serious student. This book is the result of a vast experience with singers. The ideas have been put together in a concise and simple way, without any attempt at elaboration or style. If it will give as- sistance to any student or teacher groping amid the dark and dangerous traditions of voice culture, the author will feel that his modest efforts have been crowned with success. To Dr. Frank Donald- son I am indebted for valuable assistance in com- pilation, and to Madame Melba for her generous aid in the chapter on voice building. To the mem- bers of the Metropolitan and German Opera Com- panies, who have honoured me with their confi- dence, and given me great assistance in my search for the truth, I am profoundly grateful. H. HoLBKOOK Curtis. 118 Madison Avenue, New York, Janumry 1, 1896. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. — The oeioin op music 1 II. — The anatomy and physiology of the larynx . 15 III.— Respiration 46 IV. — The tooal resonators 70 V. — Tone and overtones 78 VI. — The registers of the human voice . . 109 VII.— Tone placing 137 VIII. — Voice building 163 IX. — Voice figures 195 is LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. FIGURE PAOB 1. Arytenoid cartilages seen from behind .... 18 3. Side view of the vocal cord with the arytenoid car- tilage 18 3. Showing the intrinsic muscles of the larynx, seen from above. (Gray.) . . . . . . .21 4. Action of crico-thyroid muscles in tensing the vocal cords 35 5. Showing crico-thyroid muscles and relation of trachea to cartilages of larynx 26 6. Showing action of thyro-arytenoid muscle ... 29 7. Transverse arytenoid muscle 32 8. Showing action of transverse arytenoid muscle in ap- proximating cartilages 33 9. Form given to the glottis by the posterior crieo-aryte- noid muscles 34 10. Fixed high chest or modified inferior costal respi- ration 65 11. Visible vibration of strings. (Tyndall.) ... 79 12. Visible vibration of strings. (Tyndall.) ... 80 13. Reflected sound. (Tyndall.) 81 14. Segmental vibration of strings. (Tyndall.). . . 84 15. Visible vibration of strings. (Tyndall.) ... 85 16-19. Organ pipes 87 20. Vibration of air in pipes. (Tyndall.) .... 88 31. The siren. (Tyndall.) 92 22. Helmholtz resonators. (Tyndall.) .... 96 33. Savart's bell 98 24. KSnig's apparatus for producing manometrio flames. (Blaserna.) 103 xii VOICE BUILDING. FIQDRE PAGB 25. Showing regularity of rise and fall of flame . • 104 26-27. Vowel flames. (Tyiidall.) 105 28. Konig's apparatus for analyzing overtones. (Blaserna.) 106 29. Image of overtones in revolving mirror. (KSnig.) . 108 30. Oertel's stroboscope H^ 31. Oertel's stroboscope 120 32. Sectional vibration of membranes 186 33. Transverse section of vibrating (rubber) membrane. (Imbert.) 128 34. Damping a, vibrating membrane, and showing influ- ence on pitch. (Imbert.) 139 35. Artificial larynx with rubber membranes . . . 131 36. Vibration of the vocal cords in the chest register in transverse section 132 37. Vibration of the vocal cords in the upper register in transverse section 133 38. Vocal cords, overstrained from covp de glotte . . 144 89. Singer's nodules, single variety 144 40. Nodules of attrition showing double glottis . . . 145 41. Insufficient tension of vocal cords, causing breathiness of tone . . . . * 145 42. The same condition as in foregoing plate, showing faulty adjustment of the thyro-arytenoid muscles . 145 43. The compass of the human voice 165 44^45. Vibration of plates, nodal lines .... 196 46. Kaleidophone scrolls 197 47. Shadow of vibrating rod 198 48. Luminous scrolls of vibrating rods. (Wheatstone.) . 199 49-50. Vibrations of a bell glass 200 51. Visible vibration of a board 201 52. The eidophone 201 53. Seaweed or landscape form of voice picture . . . 202 54. Daisy form of voice picture 203 55. Pansy form of voice picture 204 56. Fern form of voice picture 205 57. Serpent form of voice picture 206 58. Cross-vibration figure of voice picture .... 208 59. Tree form of voice picture 209 VOICE BUILDING AND TONE PLACING. CHAPTEE I. THE ORIGIN OF MUSIC. Music did not develop into an independent art among the cultured races of Asia, Africa, and the adjacent peoples of Europe, in either the classical or preclassical epochs. Among the Chinese, Hindoos, Egyptians, and Jews, the Greeks and the Komans, it was closely associated with poetry, the drama, and the dance. The Greek tribes of the Peloponnesus and Hellas, the Egyptians, Phcenicians, the Greeks inhabiting the isles of the ^gean Sea, and more es- pecially those in the Island of Cyprus — ^all had a primitive " Lament," which came originally frouP Phoenicia.* This was a funeral chant celebrating the death of the youthful Adonis, who symbolized the beautiful but short-lived spring. The Egyptians * Neumann, History of Music. Translated by T. Praeger. London, Cassell & Co. 1 2 VOICE BUILDING. changed the significance of this chant, transforming it iato a lament of their own goddess Isis bewailing the death of Osiris. This " Lament " became the " Linos " of the Greeks and the " Maneros " of the Egyptians ; but, wherever it was fomid on the shores of the Mediterranean, it had the character of a plaintive wail at the mortality and frailty of all earthly things. Music, however, lent its voice to the expression of joy as well as of grief, and became the means of expressing a common sentiment, as in the war songs of the people or the emotional appeals to ancient deities and idols. It ig a commonly accepted belief that war songs, to the rhythmic beating of drums, were the earliest form of music. The actual stage of development which music reached among the ancients can only be determined by a, study of those specimens of their musical in- struments which still remain, the representations of them found upon tombs and monuments, and of cer- tain obscure records. The number of each of these is unhappily hmited, but from them we have been able to obtain a fairly satisfactory idea of their mus- ical knowledge. Especially is this the case with the Egyptians, whose monuments show musical hiero- glyphs dating back to the fifteenth dynasty. Among the Chinese, as among all other nations, music owed its origin to religion. The Chinese, THE ORIGIN OF MUSIC. 3 however, never made any marked progress in their instruments or vocal art, and their preference to-day for instruments of percussion is an evidence of their low musical organization. As they are the only people who thousands of years ago possessed a system of octaves, a circle of fifths and a normal tone, and once had an elaborate theory of music, we must con- clude that the Chinese have retrograded in their musical ideas instead of advancing. The Japanese took their music from the Chinese, and, curiously enough, it has until very recently re- mained below the Chinese standard rather than risen above it. Their barbarism in music shows itself, as with the Chinese, in the number of drums, clappers, and bells used by them. The Hindoos claimed for their music a derivation direct from the gods. Their ideas on the subject were most fanciful and exaggerated, but the art of music under them was carried to a far greater state of development than among other nations. They invented the Vma, a seven-stringed instrument of very beautiful tone, sometimes described in ancient writings as the most charming of all musical instru- ments, but in reality inferior to the Japanese koto. The ancient Israelites, with their refined sensibil- ity and poetic temperament, naturally possessed ex- alted ideas about music, connecting it inseparably 4 VOICE BUILDING. with reHgion. They addressed the Almighty in hymns of praise and in penitential psalms, and as their religion was nobler than that of any other people, their music naturally sought higher planes for expression. Moses is believed to have acquired a knowledge of music as practised by Egyptian priests, for he gave directions for the construction of two silver trumpets, used in giving signals to the children of Israel during the forty years' sojourn in the desert. On the Arch of Titus in Eome is a bas- relief of one of these trumpets, and it is claimed that the trumpets themselves were paraded through Eome after the destruction of the Temple of Jeru- salem. The shofar, a trumpet of different shape, is found in every Jewish synagogue to-day. Miriam's song of triumph after the destruction of Pharaoh and his hosts was the first musical out- burst of the Israelites, and was probably regarded as of divine inspiration. In the time of David, an immortal poet and musical genius, sacred music attained its highest point, and there can be no doubt that in the reign of Solomon, like all the other arts, it reached a high state of development. The psalms were sung by the Israelites in various ways, antiph- onally by the priests and congregations, and by divided choruses, arranged and led by a "precentor. Of the tonal system of the Israelites, and the struc- THE ORIGIN OP MUSIC. 5 ture of their scales, little is known. Keller,* how- ever, states that in 1890 a number of flutes were found in a grave, dating certainly before 3000 b. c, which, from their construction, give abundant proof that the Egyptians used our diatonic scale. Whether this be true or not, they certainly had harps with as high as twenty strings, and they seemed to have understood the harmony of voices, and of instru- ments and voices. Moreover, in the accompaniment of penitential songs they employed trumpets, drums, shofars, and timbrels. The " Maneros," or popular songs and general choruses, were sung on occasions of processions and religious festivals. The Greeks, in their theory of music and in their melody and rhythm, adopted Egyptian, Lyd- ian, and Phoenician traditions. Their innate sense of beauty and proportion saved them from those barbarisms which had marred the work of earlier nations. Music among them assumed a dignity and importance in its relation to the state un- dreamed of in earlier times. It became a factor in the education of the individual. It grew to be a part of the daily life of the people, though never as a self-sustaining art distinct from that which it accompanied. It was regarded as a strong incen- * Keller, Geschichte der Music, Leipsio, 1893. 6 VOICE BUILDING. tive to virtue. It had a place in devotional exer- cises and ia the public games, and was considered an essential accessory to that classical drama of Athens which was always produced with imposing surroundings, and which in its pure intellectuality has never been surpassed. The instrumental ac- companiment to it was probably made up of flutes and eitharas. The music was sung in unison, careful attention being bestowed upon the rhythm. Nothing in the theoretical works of the Greek writers indicates that their knowledge of music in- cluded that of harmony, although the use of the octave, the fifth, and the fourth were common among them, and, indeed, their tonal art was prob- ably but the handmaid of Poetry. The modem composer manipulates the metres and syllables ac- cording to the music, whereas the Greek maestro shaped the melody to the words. Bumey, in his history of music, remarks that, passionately fond as the Greeks were of all kinds of music, there is nothing in their extant treatises on the art, or in the fragments of their melodies which are preserved, to indicate that they had at- tained such efficiency in composition as would make their performances agreeable to modem ears. How far this statement may be modified, in view of the beautiful choral ode to Apollo, discovered a year THE ORIGIN OF MUSIC. 7 ago at Delphi, and performed in Athens and Lon- don, to the intense delight of a critical audience, remains to be seen. That so cultured a people as the Greeks should not have developed the principles of harmony, might excite. a certain wonder, until one remem- bers that the severest simplicity characterized their art, which was preserved in its purity to the end. When singers began to embellish their tunes we find Aristophanes, in his comedy The Clouds, com- ing down upon them thus : " Had any one for sport essayed such shakes and trills to practise, Like Phrynis has now introduced, neck-breaking skip and flourish. Of stripes he'd had a measure full, for holy art corrupting.'' Plato maintained that that music only which ennobled the mind should be tolerated, and that it was the duty of the lawgivers to suppress that which possessed merely sensual qualities. And so as music was, in a sense, a recognised factor in the preservation of pubhc virtue, the jealous care with which its integrity wag guarded- closed the only avenue to its true and perfect development. That work was left to a later civilization. The Athen- ian youth in the meantime were instructed in both the art of singing and of playing on instru- 8 VOICE BUILDING. ments, such accoinplisliments being considered es- sential for an entree into the cultured societj of Athens. Vocal songs called "Orthian," written only on the highest notes, and which had to be sung with great vigour and iutensity, were very popular, and therefore much practised. We have nothing to prove that either oratory or the use of the voice were cultivated among the Egyptians. The political institutions of Greece, however, and the construction of her assembhes, led inevitably to the development of oratorical powers. In the schools of rhetoric young men were sys- tematically trained in the art of speaking. The Sophists, wlio presided over many of these, were the first to intone, a habit still practised by certain religious sects. Isocrates was the head of a celebrated school of oratory in Athens. His great aim was to perfect his pupils in the art of speaking and of appropriate gesture, and he may, perhaps, be considered the first model for Delsarte. Aristotle, to be sure, laid little stress on the rules of art, maintaining that the substance of a man's speech was of greater moment than the correctness of the form into which it might be moulded, the truth in an argu- ment being of more importance than any gesture of the speaker. THE ORIGIN OF MUSIC. 9 The purely professional voice trainers were the Phonarci. These Phonarci endeavoured to culti- vate the voice both for singing and speaking. They taught enunciation, and proper modulation and inflection of the voice. Most Athenian youths were given a course of training under them, and great rivalry iu declamation sprang up in Athens, leading eventually to the estabhshnient of public contests, where prizes were given for elocution. These contests took place in the open air, and from the endeavour to be heard at a distance the speakers and actors were led to such excessive vo- ciferation that Plutarch had to warn his pupils, lest they should bring on rupture and convulsions through undue effort. The Greeks, however, in addition to their knowl- edge of how a voice should be cultivated by exer- cises and training, understood as well how it should be preserved by dieting and hygienic measures. In speaking they were, accustomed to use a demulcent liquid containing tragacanth. Onions and garlic were considered beneficial to the vocal organs, as were also leguminous vegetables, fish, and eels. Cubebs, too, seem to have been extensively used. Certain springs were visited as possessing properties beneficial to the voice, especially one near Zama, which seems to have been a sort of Greek "Wies- 10 VOICE BUILDING. baden. The Greek physicians used such agents as gum arabic, tragacanth, extract of pine, oil of almonds, thjme oil, etc., for throat and res- piratory troubles. Cold drinks were studiously avoided by singers and speakers, who were also careful as to their mode of life, avoiding all ex- cesses in eating and drinking, keeping themselves in every way in the best mental and physical condition. Turning from Greece to Rome, we find that, notwithstanding the greatness of the Romans in all that relates to government and the constructive arts, the art of music never reached the same develop- ment it had attained among the Greeks, from whom they inherited it. Eventually it fell to depths of degradation, which fortunately have never been equalled in subsequent history. The Etruscans brought the traditions of the Greek school to the Romans, and the instruments used by them— the flute, the cithara, and the lyre ; but, while Rome derived from Greece the basis of its musical theory, the life of the people was not one to promote any further development of the art. Rome was without a dignified drama of its own, and the stimulating influence of poetry. The best of her lyric poets, even Horace, lacked the passionate heart expression of the Greek THE ORIGIN OF MUSIC. n muses, and their verses did not invite musical treat- ment. However, certain of the Eomans did gain an in- sight into the true principles of music, for Diodorus, A. D. 50, introduced the major third into their dia- tonic scale as a consonance, and thus they established a prototype of our diatonic scale. The Greeks used the diatonic, chromatic, and what they called the enharmonic scale. The art of music in Home at one time received a beneficial impulse from the Dionysic rites, introduced into Eome by the Greek colonists in southern Italy. But the tendency to sensualism soon usurped the place of the pure love of beauty, the dance degenerated into voluptuous costuming, music was at best cultivated to increase the pleasures of Hfe, and the divine art reached such a state of degradation that it fell into the hands of licentious women, and it was expunged, by order of the state, from the curriculum of Eoman education. Oratory and the training of the voice, on the other hand, were as carefully practised among the Eomans as among the Greeks. Rhetoric and oratory were taught systematically, and indeed The Institutions of Oratory, by Quintilian, is the most complete and systematic treatise of the kind we have inherited from the ancients, -and superior to anything pro- duced by the Greeks on the same subject. This 12 VOICE BUILDING. work covers the whole question, from the education of the youth to his development into a complete orator. He gives minute and judicious advice on the management and treatment of the voice, and brings out clearly the difference between the aims of the speaker and the singer. He also advised the cultivation of the voice in the middle register, declar- ing that the deeper tones lacked force, while in the higher the voice is in danger of being cracked. He observes that, in speaking, the breath should not be drawn in too often, or the sentences will be unneces- sarily broken and jerky. He seems, however, to have believed, like so many of our throat specialists to-day, in heroic treat- ment of the vocal organS. Emulcent applications are advised by him. As is well known, oratory, as such, reached a very high plane in Rome. The Roman drama, how- ever, though resembling to a certain degree that of the G-reeks, was but a poor imitation of it. The Romans never rose to any height in tragedy, and, in their disregard for music, they found it easy to dis- pense vnth the chorus. As a consequence, voice culture, as it existed on the Greek stage, was im- known among them. Interesting in this connection is the fact that there is good reason for believing that the Roman actors intoned or chanted their THE ORIGIN OP MUSIC. 13 speeches to a musical accompaniment, in a manner somewhat similar, perhaps, to the recitative of a modern opera. Passing from Eome to the middle ages, we find oratory preserved and eloquence cultivated by the early fathers of the Church. Between the fifth and twelfth centuries, however, oratory with the other arts slept, until in the latter century a revival took place in Italy, which has culminated in the enKght- enmeut of the present age. Throughout the eccle- siastical reign of scholarship the untutored people had a music of their own, which, in its tonal and rhythmical affinities to that of later date, commands present sympathy, and which, having the element of harmony, was the foundation of whatever science and art have together attained. A great musical resurrection took place in Flan- ders in the fifteenth century. The Flemings founded schools in Home, Florence, and T^aples, and the rise of art in Germany as well, was directly due to their influence. Adopted by the Church for the people, the principles of hai"mony were reduced to a system under the name of counterpoint, though counter- point was developed, according to some authorities, in England during the thirteenth century. It is in- teresting to note that the first choral service was instituted at Antioch about the time of Constantine, 14: VOICE BUILDING. whence St. Ambrose introduced it in the "Western churches. The rise of popular music in Europe is intimately connected with the practice of minstrelsy. The public singer, reciter, and story teller appear, as we know, early in the civilization of almost every country. The representatives of this class, however, who have perhaps exerted most influence over modern music, are the Provengal poets or Troubadours, who arose in France toward the end of the tenth century. Finally, the crowning achievement in the musical development of the voice was the invention of the lyric drama, where the power of music to awaken emotions is applied to the Systematic illustration of human passions. The first public performance of regular opera took place in Florence in the year 1600, when the Eurydice of Rinuccini and Peri was represented in honour of the wedding of Marie de Medici and Henry lY of France. The further de- velopment of opera, up to the time of Mozart, Beet- hoven, and Weber, to Wagner and Verdi, need not be treated here. It is interesting, however, to re- call the fact that Greek tragedy was essentially lyric, and that it fell asleep with other forms of classic art, to be awakened at the end of the tenth century. CHAPTEE II. THE AKATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE LAEYNX. Voice consists of sounds produced^ by the vibra- tions of two elastic bands — ^the true vocal cords — situated in the larynx, an upper modified portion of. that passage which leads from the lungs to the pharynx. This apparatus is not, however, in con- stant activity, but, on the contrary, allows the air to pass without imparting sonant vibrations to it. It is only, in fact, und er certain conditions, which are dependent upon our will, that the vocal cords are put in such a position that the air driven past them is set into periodic vibration, causing them to emit a musical no te. The lungs and res piratory muscles are therefore accessory_parts of the vocal apparatus, the strength of the blast produced by them deter- miniiig the loudness of the voice. The vocal appa- ratus of the larynx itself is exceedingly simple, its character being that of a membranous reed instru- ment, consisting of two dastic plates. stretched, so as to leave a narrow fissure between. When a current 16 VOICE BUILDING. qf_air_ passes tiirough tWs fissure, tliej are thi^own into vibration. The mechanism, however, by which these membranons reeds are adjusted for musical vibration, and the further adaptation of this adjust- ment for the creation of tones of various pitch, is withal very delicate and complicated. JThe size of the larynx primarily determines the pitch of the voice, which is lower the longer the vocal cord£; hence the shrill voices of children and the usually higher pitch in that of women. Every voice, while its general pitch is dependent upon the length of the vocal cords, has, however, a certain range withja. limits which determines .whether it shall be soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, barytone, or bass. This variety is produced by the delicate mechanism above referred to — that is, by the musdes_ of the larynx— which alter the tension of the y oca! cords and the position of the cartilages of the larynx itself. The vocal cords alo ngjvould produce but feeble sounds. Those that they do emit are strengthened by the sympathetic resonance of the air in the thorax below and in the pharynx and nose and mouth above, the a ction of wh ich_may be compared to the sounding bqard^of^a violin. By the movements, of the Jhrpat, as of the palate, tongue, cheeks, and lips, the sounds emit^. from the larynx are altered orsupplemen.tfid_ in various ways and converted into articulate Ian- ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OP THE LARYNX. 17 guage or speech. Th e larynx itse lf consists of _a framework of cartilages partly, joined by true syno- vial joints and part ly bon nd^ together by ligaments agd ^ membranes . Muscles are added which move the cartilages with reference to_one another._and- bring about the various adjustments of the vocal bands necessary for the production of vocal soimds. The Cartilages or the LAEvifx. — The frame of the larynx is composed of fivechi^^xjaxtikgeSj namely, the thyroid, the cricoid, the two arytenoids, and the epiglottis. In addition to these, t here are two small cartilages on either side,^ the_ cartilages of Santorini and of Wrisberg. The Thteoid. — Th e, thyroid, the largest of th e car tilages of the larynx , consists of two large quadri- lateral plates, which meet at an angle JB..f.rnot, but separate behind to include the laryngeal space in which most of the remaining cartilages lie. In front the upper junction of the "two plates is marked by a notchj more distinct Jn men thanjn women. The posterior borders of the two plates are extended above and below into projecting horns. The upper comua give attachment to the thyro-hyoid ligaments, the lower, however, form a joint with the cricoid feartilage. The cricoid can be rotated on an axis passing through its joiats with the lower horns of the thyroid. By the action of the crico-thyroid 18 VOICE BUILDING. muscles its front part is brought nearer the thyroid, as will be seen later. Behind and below the thyroid notch is the attachment of the epiglottic ligament, while immediately below this, on either side of the median hue, are the attachments of the ventricular bands, and below these, those of the vocal cords, immediately without the point of attachment of the ivocal cords are inserted the thyro-arytenoid muscles. [ The Ceiooid. — The cricoid cartilage is practically \the upper ring of the trachea, only modified and en- FiG. 2. — Side view of the vocal cords with the arytenoid car- tilage : a, Cricoid cartilage ; x, articular sni'iace for inferior horn of thyroid cartilage ; J, vo- cal cord ; c, vertical section of thyroid cartilage ; d, ai-ytenoid cartilage ; e, vocal processofrf; y, muacularprooessofd: 9',car- ti'.age of Sanlorini. (Meyer.) larged. Its shape is usually compared to that of a > signet ring. The anterior half is rounded, and to it Fig. 1.— Arytenoid cartilages seen from behind : a, Cnooid carti- lage ; h, articular facet for ar- ticulation with the inferior horn of the thyroid cartilage ; e, arytenoid cartilage ; d, car- tilage of Santorini. (lUeyer.) ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OP THE LARYNX. 19 are attached the important crico-thyroid muscles. The posterior half is the broad expanded portion which corresponds to the seal of the ring ; upon its upper border are the facets for the articulation of the arytenoid cartilages, and upon the outer, those for the articulations of the inferior cornua of the thyroid cartilage. The upper border of the cricoid ring gives at- tachment in front to the crico-thyroid membrane, at the side to those muscles which close the glottis, while posteriorly are inserted the fibres of the pos- terior crico-arytenoid muscles whose chief function is to open the glottis. The Aettenoid Cabtilages. — The arytenoid cartilages are small, pyramidal bodies, the bases of which are triangular and rest upon the upper edge of the posterior wide portion of the cricoid, forming true joints with it. The anterior angle of each is prolonged, and to it is attached the vocal cord and the thyro-arytenoid muscle. To the external angle of the base of each is attached the posterior and lateral crico-arytenoid muscles. From the tip of each arytenoid cartilage a fold of mucous membrane, inclosing certain mus- cles — the ary-epiglottic — extends to the epiglottis. The cartilages of Santorini cause a projection in this fold, iust above which there is a similar eminence on 20 VOICE BUILDING. each side caused by the remaining pair of cartilages known as the cuneiform, or cartilages of "Wrisberg. Lastly, there is the epiglottis, somewhat like a leaf in shape, and situated between the root of the tongue and the opening of the larynx. It forms a lid which is open to allow the free passage of air iu breathing, but protects the larynx in swaUowiug, so that the food may pass backward safely into the gullet. The constrictor muscles of the larynx, how- ever, are sufficient to exclude food from the air pas- sages, even though the epiglottis has been destroyed by disease. The epiglottis has also an important function in its action upon changing the quality of tones by its inclination backward. The essential organ of the voice is contained within the cavity in- closed by the cartilages above described, and, re- garded as an apparatus for producing tone, the most important part of the larynx is formed by the vocal plates which, converging upward in a concave form, terminate in edges which pass from before back- ward and are called vocal cords. The vocal cords are in reality bands of elastic tissue, lying adjacent and internal to the thyro-arytenoid muscle, and cov- ered by the mucous membrane of the larynx. The fissure lying between the vocal cords is known as the glottis. From below the glottis is wedge-shaped, but from above it appears as a fissure ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE LARYNX. 21 in a level surface. This description applies only to that portion of the vocal plates which is really em- ployed in the production of tone, that is, to the larger anterior division of the vocal cords ; for the smaller or posterior division of the vocal cords into which the arytenoid cartilages are inserted is not free, hut Cricoid cartilage Eight arytenoid cartilage I Left arytenoid cartilage Lateral crico-ai'ytenoid Right vocal cord- Thyro- arytenoid Left vocal cord Cricoid cartilage Thyroid cartilage Fig. 8. — Showing the intrinsic muscles of tlie laiynx, seen from above. (Gray.) attached to the lateral vertical walls of the superior cavity of the larynx, and forms the so-called respira- tory part of the glottis, which may be seen as a tri- angular opening when the vocal cords are in apposi- tion. The elastic vocal cord affords attachment in its whole length to the fibres of the thyro-arytenoid 22 VOICE BUILDING. muscle, and is itself practically a ligamentous border of this muscle, which reaches from the inner angle of the base of each arytenoid cartilage to the inner angle of the thyroid cartilage in front where its halves unite. The posterior attachments, however, of the vocal cords follow the distribution of the thyro-arytenoid muscles. One portion is inserted into the anterior angle and face of the arytenoid carti- lages, while another portion — that is, the lower fibres — lose themselves in the capsular ligament which in- vests the crico-arytenoid joint and in the anterior face of the expanded portion of the cricoid ring. Above each vocal cord is a pocket — the so-called ventricle of the larynx. This is bounded above by a somewhat prominent edge — the ventricular band — known as the false vocal cord. This ventricular band is nothing more than the lower edge of the membranous fold, stretching from the side of the epiglottis in front to the aryte- noid cartilage behind, and completing the side wall of the upper part of the larynx. Several writers have assumed that the ventricular bands have an important function in the production of the falsetto voice. This statement is not borne out by observa- tion and experiment. In quiet breathing, and after death, the free inner edges of the vocal cord are thick and rounded, and are also tolerably widely ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE LARYNX. 23 separated behind througli their attachment to the arytenoid cartilages. If they are watched with a laryngoscope during phonation, it is seen that the cords approximate behind so as to narrow the glot^ tis. At the same time they become more tense and their inner edges project more sharply and form a better defined margin to the glottis, and their vibrations, especially in the production of low notes, can be seen. These various changes are brought about by the delicate co-ordination of the small muscles which move the cartilages to which the cords are fixed. As we have seen, the glottis is always kept open for the entering and returning currents of air, the posterior edges being separated from each other at their attachments to the arytenoid cartilages. Now, as the utmost width of the glottis must not exceed one twelfth of an inch in vocalizing, some arrangement must be found which can be employed voluntarily to bring the vocal cords in the neces- sary approximation for the production of tone. This arrangement is to be found in the small aryte- noid cartilages, described above, to which the vocal cords are attached. The movements of these important cartilages are controlled by the intrinsic muscles of the larynx attached to them. In considering the action of 24 VOICE BUILDING. these muscles, we must not forget that any given position of the vocal bands is the direct result, not of the action of any given muscle, but of the co-or- dinated movement of many muscles and of other forces depending on the nature of the articulation of the arytenoids with the cricoid, and of the cri- coid with the thyroid, etc. / The Muscles of the Lahtnx. — The most im- portant muscles of the larynx, and those which act directly upon the vocal cords, are the crico-thyroid, the posterior crico-arytenoid, the lateral crico-aryt- enoid, the thyro-arytenoid, and the transverse, or inter-arytenoid. These muscles are in pairs, with the exception of the latter. The Ceico-Thteoid Muscles. — The most im- portant muscles in the production of voice are the crico-thyroid. They are short, thick, triangular muscles, attached in front and below to the cricoid cartilage, and extend from the median line a con- siderable way backward, the fibres passing up- ward and outward, diverging shghtly, and fixed above to the inferior border of the thyroid cartilage and to the anterior border of its lower cornua. The muscles of the two sides are somewhat separate from one another in the middle line in front. The crico-thyroids are the muscles by which increased tension of the vocal cords is mainly produced. ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OP THE LARYNX. 25 The explanation of the working of these most im- portant muscles formerly given in the text-books Fio. 1. — Action of orioo-thyroid muscles in tensing the vocal cords. was that on contracting they pulled down the an- terior part of the thyroid cartiiage, and so increased the tension of the vocal cords, by lengthening the distance from the anterior commissure of the thy- roid to the vocal processes of the arytenoid carti- lages, the cricoid cartUage remaining fixed and immovable. This explanation, in view of the ex- periments and observation of many of the best in- vestigators, such as Hooper,* Neuman,f Onodi,:]; * Trans. Araer. Laryngol. Assn., 1883, p. 118. f Ann. des Mai. de I'Oreille et du Larynx, vol. xx, Paris, Nov., 1894. t Ungar. Arch, fur Med. Wisch, vol. iii, 1894. 26 VOICE BUILDING. JelenfEy,* Moura,t and Desvernine,:!: can no longer be held as correct; on the contrary, it has been proved beyond any question that the crico-thyroid muscles, on contracting, pull up the anterior border Hyoid bone Thyrnid cartilage - Crico-thyroid space Crico-thyroid muscle Cricoid cartilage Fig. 5. of the cricoid cartilage, the thwoid cartilage re- maining fixed. This may be made plain by consid- ering, first, the distribution, as given above, of the crico-thyroid muscle, attached as it is to the ante- rior surface of the cricoid cartilage, and extending * Arch, f'ilr die gesamrate Phys., 1873, vol. vii. f Ann. des Mai. de rOreille, 1885, vol. xi. t Jour, of Laryngology, vol. ii., London, 1888. ANATOiMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OP THE LARYNX. 27 upward and outward, to be inserted into the inferior border of the thyroid and into the anterior border of its lower cornu. The anterior portion of the muscle on contracting will approximate the cricoid and thyroid cartilages in front. In this action, the thyroid is fixed by the extrinsic muscles ; and the anterior part of the cricoid, rotat- ing on the axis which unites the articulations be- tween the cricoid and the lower cornua of the thy- roid, is drawn upward. That part of the cricoid behind the crico-thyroid joints is rotated down- ward, describing an arc, the arytenoid cartilages following the same movement, and consequently the vocal cords are elongated and tensed. The ob- lique fibres, moreover, assist in the tension of the vocal cords ; pulling as they do from the fixed cornua of the thyroid cartilage,- they draw the cricoid cartilage slightly backward,* and this action tends to increase the tension of the cords. "When we bear in mind that not a single extrinsic muscle is attached to the cricoid cartilage, and reflect upon the me- chanical construction of the larynx, it is difiicult to comprehend by what mechanism it can possibly be fixed in a sense that will permit the thyroid carti- lage to be pulled down upon it, as was formerly * Quain's Anatomy, p. 532, vol. ii. 28 VOICE BUILDING. stated. On the contrary, its extreme mobility is one of its most striking characteristics. In vocali- zation, the thyroid cartilage, steadied by the power- ful extrinsic muscles inserted into it, may be re- garded, as compared to the cricoid, as the passive agent; while the latter, owing to the manner in which it swings upon the short processes of the thy- roid behind, and to the mobility of the parts in front, and to a certain extent on its sides, is permitted to play upon the thyroid with every delicacy of ad- justment, through the agency of the intrinsic muscles of the larynx attached to it, and to another force presently to be alluded to. JelenJBEy has conclu- sively proved that the thyroid is fixed in vocaliza- tion, and the upward movement of the anterior part of the cricoid cartilage on electrical stimulation of the crico-thyroid muscle has been graphically shown . by him, as well as by Hooper, Onodi, Merkel,* and Neuman. It is interesting to note here that paraly- sis of this muscle is accompanied by inability to produce high notes. Onodi has furthermore proved that the crico-thyroids in contracting unquestiona- bly assist in adducting the vocal bands, and increase their tension by bringing the plates of the thyroid cartilage somewhat nearer together. * Anat. und Phys. d. Mensch, Stimme, Leipsic, 1863. ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE LARYNX. 29 "The Lateral Ceico - Aeytenoid Muscles. — These muscles arise from the upper margin of the lateral portion of the cricoid cartilage and are in- serted into the muscular process of the arytenoid cartilages. They pass upward and backward, and, having their fixed point in the cricoid, they draw the outer angle of the arytenoid cartilage forward, thus throwing its vocal process inward and closing the glottis. The movement they impart to the arytenoid cartilage is in all respects similar to that given to it by the thyro-arytenoid, although their pull has a tendency to place the glottis higher. The Thyeo- Aeytenoid Muscles (Fig. 3). — These muscles arise from the posterior and lower portion of the angle of the thyroid. They pass backward along the outer side of the vocal cords, to be inserted into the and anterior surface of the arytenoid cartilages. Each muscle is usually de- scribed as composed of two por- tions, an internal and external. The internal is attached to the vocal band in its whole length, and is inserted into the exter- nal surface of the vocal pro- cess ; the external portion Fig. 6. — Action of thyro- arytenoid muscles in Totaling the arytenoid cartilages and approx- imating the vocal pro- cesses and cords, from BtoA. 30 yOICE BUILDING. spreads out and is inserted into tlie anterior face of the arytenoid cartilage as far outward as the muscular process. The action of the internal portion would be to draw forward the arytenoid and posterior portion of the cricoid and antagonize the action of the crico- thyroid, the effect being to relax the vocal cords. If, however, the cords are kept tense and approximated by the action of other muscles, it probably serves only to modify their elasticity and consistence. The ac- tion of the external fibers of the thyro-arytenoid is, as we shall see, to rotate the arytenoid in such a manner that its anterior margin and vocal process will be drawn iaward and downward. The downward move- ment, however, is impeded*to a certain extent by the elastic counter- tention of the vocal cords. The action of the thyro-arytenoid, as a whole, is, consequently, to. adjust the vocal cord, to modify its elasticity, and probably also to increase or diminish its vibrating surfaces in the production of tone. This muscle, it is very evident, must play an important part in voice production, from the lowest to the highest note. The combined action of the thyro-arytenoids and the lateral erico-arytenoids in lowering and raising the vocal cords is interesting as affecting the tone produced in the larynx. The thyro-arytenoid, as we have seen, being attached to the arytenoid cartir ANATOMY AND PHYSlpLOGY OP THE LARYNX. 31 lage at a higher level than the lateral crico-arytenoid draws the upper portion of the cartilage more pow- erfully downward and forward at the same time the vocal process is depressed. The glottis then, when this muscle is acting, is lower than when the vocal cords are in a state of rest. When, however, the glottis is adjusted hy the lateral crico-arytenoid muscles, its plane is higher than when at rest, because these muscles act upon the muscular processes of the arytenoid cartilages and draw them down, and the vocal processes and the principal part of the arytenoid is forced to rise, and consequently the vocal cords are placed on a higher plane. This change does not affect the whole of the glottis, but the posterior portion only, and hence it would be more correct to say that, in ad- justing the glottis, the thyro-arytenoid muscles give it such an inclination that the posterior end lies lower than its anterior ; the lateral crico-arytenoids, on the contrary, cause a different inclination, raising the posterior part of the glottis higher than the anterior. The changes in the level of the vocal cords brought about by the action of these muscles probably has more or less effect upon the tone pro- duced, for it seems likely that these changes in the position of the glottis must affect the current of air as it strikes against the vocal cords in different 32 VOICE BUILDINa. ways. The increased height of the glottis caused by the lateral crico-arytenoid muscles must produce a more gradual convergence of the side walls of the lower Wyngeal cavity, and consequently the cur- rent of air will pass onward with little interruption and strike with full force at the glottis. On the other hand, the lower position of the glottis conse- quent upon the actibn of the thyro-arytenoids must produce a more rapid convergence of the side waUs of the cavity, and the current of air will be partly expanded upon the walls before reaching the vocal cords.* This change in height of the glottis would mean a change m the angle of incidence of the vocal cords, and, as we shall see, Koschlakoff has found that the angle of incidence ef- fects the type of vibration of the cords and possibly the note produced. The Teah-sveese Aeyte- KoiD Musole.t:— The transverse arytenoid is a single muscle which passes from the posterior surface and outer border of one arytenoid cartilage to the corresponding portion of the oppo- Fi9. 7.— View of the transverse arytenoid muscle (J) and tbe posterior orioo-aryt- enoid muscle (a) fromtehlnd. (Mey- er.) * Meyer, op. cit. ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE LARYNX. 33 FiQ. 8. — Action of transverse arytenoid muscles in pull- ing cartilages, from A toB. site one. The action of this muscle is to approxi- mate the arytenoid cartilages aiid to close that por- tion of the rima glottis which is included between the aryt- enoid cartilages. The muscles above de- scribed are the adductor, or closing muscles of the glottis. The Posteeioe Ceico- Aettenoid Muscles. — The two other muscles of the arytenoid group have the opposite effect, viz., of wid- ening the glottis. The more important muscles producing this effect are the pos- terior crico-arytenoids, which are essentially the re- spiratory muscles of the larynx, in contradistinction to all the other muscles of this organ, which are essentially phonatory. The posterior crico-arytenoid muscles arise upon the posterior surface of the plate of the cricoid cartilage, occupying, indeed, each lat- eral half of the plate ; the fibres then converge, and are inserted into the muscular processes of the arytenoids. They draw down these points of the arytenoids backward and inward. The greater part of the arytenoid, which hes within the cricoid carti- lage, is consequently drawn outward, that part which 34 VOICE BUILDING. is furthest from the fulcrum upon the cricoid, namely, the vocal process, making the largest ex- cursion in that direction. Thus their action is to widen the entire glottis in such a manner that its greatest width lies between the vocal pro- cesses. The above muscles act di- rectly upon the vocal cords. Two other muscles, the thyro- epiglottic and the aryteno- epiglottic, make an almost complete girdle round the cavity of the larynx, and, in contracting, they necessarily constrict the aper- ture of the larynx, tending to approximate the vocal bands. The Steeno-Thykoid aito Thteo-Htoid Mus- cles. — These muscles are of importance, for, as has been shown by Hooper * and others, they perform an important role in fixing the thyroid during phona- tion. The stemo-thyroids arise from the upper edge of the sternum and are inserted in the sides of the thyroid cartilage. The thyro-hyoids arise from the sides of the thyroid, above the insertion of the Fio. 9. — Form given to the glottis by the posterior orioo-aiytenoid muscle. Direction in which tlie muscle pulls indicated by arrows. (Meyer.; ' Op; cit. ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE LARYNX. 35 sterno-tliyroids, and, passing upward, are inserted into the lower part of the body and great wings of the hyoid bone. The action of the sterno-thyroid would be to lower the larynx ; of the thyro-hyoid to raise it ; acting together, however, they undoubted- ly serve to steady the larynx during phonation and enable the intrinsic muscles of the larynx to perform their functions with a greater degree of nicety. Let us examine more particularly the action of the larynx and of the parts above and below in voicp production. We know that the larynx moves a httle downward in the utterance of deep notes and (in certain methods of voice production) rises with the ascending scale. The lowering of the larynx in deep notes, however, is a consequence rather than the cause of low .pitch, as a singer instinctively relaxes all the muscles supporting the organ that the cords may be in a position of least tension. The lowering of the chin toward the breast bone is a part of a sim- ilar natural adjustment. The reverse of this action may. be seen in tenors and sopranos when the head is thrown back in the delivery of notes produced by the method known as the coup de glotte. The whole distance, however, which the larynx traverses, from the deepest chest to the highest falsetto note, is so inconsiderable that the mere lengthening or shortening of the vocal tube within so limited a 36 VOICE BUILDING. range can have little, if any, effect on tlie pitcli of the sound produced, and it should be remembered that, if the tongue be kept at rest, a great part of the scale can be sounded without any material change whatever in the position of the larynx itself. The elevation of the larynx just spoken of must not be confounded with the, approximation of the cricoid upon the thyroid cartilage, and the consequent ob- literation of the interval between their borders in front, that is, of the crico-thyroid space (Fig. i). The contraction of the crico-thyroid muscles can not in any way fix the position of the larynx as a whole, but only the position of the vocal cords in respect to their tension. Approximation of the cricoid upon the thyroid cartilage anteriorly stretch- es, as we have seen, the vocal cords. Accordingly, we find that in the lowest part of the chest register the interval between the cartilages is greatest, where- as, in the upper notes, 'the crico-thyroid space is practically obliterated, as can be easily verified by placing the finger in the space above mentioned. "With respect to the parts unmediately below the glottis, the trachea rises to a slight extent as the voice goes upward. This fact, however, has prob- ably little or no effect either on the pitch or the quality of the note, but is merely the mechanical result of increased breath power, the larynx, as has ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OP THE LARYNX. 37 been shown by Hooper,* Onodi,f and ^N'euman,:]: being blown upwards by tbe breatli current and pulling the windpipe witb it. In tlie cbest itself there is this notable difference in the two registers, that whereas in the lower the thoracic waU shakes strongly, as can be felt on applying the hand to the singer's chest, the vibration gradually becomes fainter as the high notes are reached, finally ceasing altogether in the falsetto. Speaking broadly, the general act of phonation is as follows : The thyroid cartilage is fixed, as we have seen, by the very strong muscles attached to it, and Meyer says * direct tension of the vocal cords is produced to some extent by the mere adjustment of the glottis, partly through the approximation of the vocal processes of the aryte- noid cartilages, and partly through their depression by the thyro-arytenoid or their elevation and adjust- ment by the lateral crico-arytenoid muscle. Follow- ing this preliminary adjustment, there is a fixation of the arytenoid cartilages by the combined action of the posterior with the latero-crico-arytenoids. The rearrangement of the vocal ligaments them- selves is due to the action of the internal and exter- nal thyro-arytenoid muscles. Tradition says that * Loc.cit. \ Loc. cit. % Loe. cit. * The Organs of Speech, New York, 1884. 38 VOICE BUILDING. the vocal cords rise in phonation because they follow the general rise of the arytenoid cartilages. Un- questionably the arytenoid cartilages obtain their greatest height at the moment of the closing of the glottis, but Neuman * has proved that, through the action probably of the thyro-arytenoid muscles, there is an actual sinking of the vocal cords when they are stretched, and that their posterior insertion is , lower than the anterior. This change in the plane of tlie vocal cords, this dipping of their pos- terior inseiiions, has unquestionably been lost sight of iu the general rise of the larynx, as seen in the laryngoscope in the production of high notes. We have seen that, owing to the manner in which the thyro-arytenoid muscles pull upon the arytenoid cartilages, the vocal cords are puUed down and relaxed by that muscle. This may be plainly seen in cases of paralysis of one recurrent nerve, where on phonation the affected cord hes invariably on a higher plane than the healthy one. This descent of the vocal cords on phona- tion l^euman has shown very prettily as follows : He cut the right recurrent nerve and the right superior laryngeal, thus preventing the crico-thy- roid muscle from acting, and the right cord could * Loo. cit. ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OP THE LARYNX. 39 be seen distinctly higher than the left, even when the left was in the respiratory position. On stimn- lation of the cut end of the nerve, the position assumed by the right cord was distinctly lower than before, and yet not quite on the same plane as the tensed normal left cord. Furthermore, the right cord did not assume its normal position until the right crieo-thyroid muscle was brought into action by artificial stimulation. We emphasize this sinking of the vocal cords in phonation, for, as we have shown, the shape of the lower laryngeal cavity is unquestionably altered .by such move- ments, and the manner in which the air blast strikes the vibrating cords influenced. It may be readily seen that the extent to which the cords must sink in phonation must vary in different people, and have a distinct effect upon the original pitch of the voice. We have often noted this sink- ing of the cords in singers — ^that on the production of a high note the arytenoids and posterior parts of the vocal cords disappear from the fixed mirror, leaving only the anterior commissure visible. This sinking out of sight of the vocal cords under such conditions is easily explained when we remember, first, that, as the crico-thyroid muscles contract, they pull up the anterior surface of the cricoid cartilage, causing the posterior part of the ring to 40 VOICE BUILDING. describe an arc backward and downward, and that tbe arytenoid cartilages follow the downward movement. Second, the position of the cords in the horizontal plane is dependent not upon the arytenoids alone, but upon the actual attachments of the vocal cords to the vocal processes. Third, as Neuman * again has shown, the elasticity of the tense vocal cord itself prevents the rising of the posterior part of the cord, and actually pulls down the vocal process and angle of the arytenoid, in- stead of raising it. For the act- of phonation, the general adjust- ment of the glottis, and the approach of the vocal processes having taken place, the larynx having assumed its lowest possible position, and the ex- trinsic muscles being completely relaxed, the deepest notes are produced by a contraction of the external fibres of the thyro-arytenoid muscles which pull forward the apices of the arytenoid cartilages and approximate the vocal cords, the internal fibres of the thyro-arytenoid probably remaining passive. We say the internal fibres probably re- main passive, for while in contracting they may not increase the tension of the vocal cords, they certainly render their free edges more prominent, * hoc. cit. ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OP THE LARYNX. 41 and tend to shorten the vibrating plates, whicli is not to be desired in the production of low notes. The ascent of the next two or three tones is probably obtained by the gradual relaxation of the external and the gentle contraction of the internal fibres of the thyro-arytenoid muscle. A point is thus reached where the vocal cords are held to- gether by the transverse arytenoid muscle, with some slight assistance, perhaps, from the lateral erico-arytenoid. A new period in the production of the notes now begins, in which the cords are gradually made more tense and brought into closer contact. Now the greatest increase of tension, as we have shown, is caused by the action of the crico- thyroid muscle, but some slight tension is also brought about by the contraction of those fibres of the internal portion of the thyro-arytenoid muscles which are attached in front to the vocal cord and behind to the vocal process of the aryt- tenoid cartilage, the result being to tighten that division of the cords in front of their attachment to the vocal processes, as Ludwig was the first to demonstrate. At this point the transverse aryt- enoid comes into full play, and completely shuts the cartilaginous glottis. !tfow there is a gradually increasing pull of the crico-thyroid muscle until the crico-thyroid space is almost obliterated and 42 VOICE BUILDING. the cords are tensed, as far as it is possible for them to be in voice production, with this arrange- ment of the various muBcles concerned. If looked at with the laryngoscope at this time, there is a perceptible change from the horizontal plane of the cords, the posterior ends being distinctly lower, the arytenoids having passed out of the sight in the laryngeal mirror, a poitit which was emphasized above. Having reached this stage in the produc- tion of the lower register, for any other further elevation of pitch a complete rearrangement of the vocal apparatus is necessary. We, perhaps, should have referred before to another element in the tensing of the vocal cords, viz., that furnished by the blast of air. Its effect upon their tension has been experimentally proved by Hooper and Mialler, and it is, of course, a factor which is present from the lowest chest to the highest head note. To raise the pitch, the expiratory blast must be increased, for, as we have seen, the pitch of the tone depends upon the strength of the expiratory pressure, whether the increased pressure be pro- duced by pain or intentionally, for the purpose of creating a higher tone. This is Meyer's * opinion, and, though he is contradicted by Morell Mac- * Loc. cit. ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE LARYNX. 4.3 kenzie,* we are inclined to believe that he is right in his statement. In this connection, Meyer calls attention to the fact that the voice of a per- son speaking in violent anger will often rise suddenly to an exceedingly high pitch. The con- stant use, moreover, of a very strong blast, as in forcing high notes, causes singers to lose the power of modulation, and turns their notes into a scream. This is the complaint made against so many "Wag- nerian singers, and, as we know, with many persons the singing of Wagner's music is synonymous with screaming and forcing the voice. Apropos of this fact, Morell Mackenzie says : f " It is a mis- take to suppose that Wagner's style is more inju- rious to the voice than that of other masters. To say that Wagner's method of treating the voice is part of a general design, or that his demand for great declamatory emphasis destroys the vocal or- gans, seems to be absolute nonsense. It is also a mistake to say that Wagner drowns the voice with the orchestra." The truth is, the break-up of the voice of so many Wagnerian singers arises pri- marily from a bad method of singing, and the con- sequent overstraining and forcing of the voice. We have seen that a certain point is reached in * Hygiene of the Vocal Organs, London, 1888. f Loc. cit. 44 VOICE BUILDIKG. the production of the chest notes, where to go higher in the scale a rearrangement of the muscles and cartilages of the larynx is necessary ; in other words, to go from the highest chest to the head or falsetto notes a change in the mechanism of producing the tones is necessary, and many, or all, of the previously relaxed muscles suddenly contract, as is shown by the closing of the crico-thyroid space as we pass from one register to another. In the production of the falsetto register the centre of vibration is much further forward than in the higher normal register. Many artists by trying a falsetto note are able to determine from the timbre of this single note whether they are in good voice or not. "We invariably find- that, when it is impos- sible for them to sing the falsetto, the anterior commissure and that part of the cords immediately connected with it are out of condition. In many text-books it is stated that the falsetto voice is dependent upon the approximation of the false vocal cords, that is, of the ventricular bands. We know that in a close approximation of the glottis there is a narrowing of the ventricular bands, and that they add as resonators some acoustic prop- erty to the tone, but that the fundamental tone is produced by the false vocal cords is absurd. In the production of the falsetto voice the cartilagi- ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OP THE LARYNX. 45 nous glottis is tightly closed and the posterior portion of the cords immediately in front of the arytenoids is brought tightly together, the superior cavity of the larynx being narrowed by the action of the constrictor muscles, and there is an increase in tension, the strings becoming much shorter and tenser, and, with the accompanying tensing of all the tensor-muscles of the larynx, the limit of vocal pitch is reached. The above would seem to be a plausible explan- ation of the action of the intrinsic muscles of the larynx. Some anatomists hold that the thyro-aryt- enoid muscles tense, others that they relax the vocal cords. It is plain, however, that without other resultant forces the action of the muscles, especially of the internal fibres, would be to relax the cord, but we do not doubt that their action is counterbalanced by the downward excursion of the vocal processes. Hence we would consider the function of the thyro-arytenoids to be entirely the production of a suitable enlargement or contraction of the edge of the vibrating plates, and that they have little, if anything, to do with the tension of the vocal cords, but act to render them thicker or thinner as the exigencies of pitch require. The in- trinsic movements of the vocal cords will be fully described in the chapter on Kegisters. OHAPTEE III. EESPIEATION. The motive power, or air blast, which sets the vocal cords in vibration is supplied by the Inngs, two large sacs lying in the thoracic cavity. To these sacs the air is conveyed through a series of passages. Entering the pharynx by way of the nostrils or mouth, it passes downward through the larynx, and from this to the trachea, or windpipe, which on reaching the chest cavity divides into a right and left bronchns. Each bronchus is then subdivided into smaller and smaller bronchi, called bronchial tubes, within the lung on its own side, the smallest bronchial tubes ending in sacculated dilatations, the alveoli of the lungs or air cells. On the walls of the air cells, a delicate network of blood vessels, the capillaries, ramify, and it is here that the vital part of the respiratory process, the purification of the blood, takes place. This consists essentially in an exchange of gases between the blood and the air, the blood yielding up some 46 RESPIRATION. 47 of the waste matter of the system in the form of carbonic acid, and receiving in return a fresh supply of oxygen. The air thus taken into the lungs soon becomes laden with carbonic acid gas, and loses much of its oxygen. This interchange takes place for the most part in the deep recesses of the alveoh which are remote from the exterior air, only communicating with it through a long series of narrow tubes. The alveolar air could thus be renewed but slowly were it to depend alone upon gaseous dififusion through these long air passages. That the process is not rapid enough to meet the requirements of the body is readily proved by the feeling of suffo- cation which follows holding the breath for a short time. iN^ature, however, provides aigainst this dan- ger by adding a respiratory mechanism to the lungs, by which the air within them is periodically mixed with fresh air taken from the outside, while the air in the air cells is stirred so as to bring fresh layers of it in contact with the walls of the alveoli. The mixing is brought about by the breathing movements, consisting of regularly alternating m- spiraUons during which the chest cavity is enlarged and fresh air enters the lungs, and expirations, during which the cavity is diminished and air ex- pelled. 48 VOICE BUILDING. The chest, in fact, acts very mucli as a bellows. When, the bellows is opened air enters, in conse- quence of the rarefaction of that in the interior which is expanding to fill the larger space ; and when the bellows is closed again, the air is ex- pelled by contraction. To make the bellows quite like the lungs we must, however, have but one opening in it — ^that of the nozzle — for both the entry and exit of the air ; and this opening should lead, not directly into the bellows cavity, but into an elastic bag, filling it, and tied to the inner end of the nozzle pipe. This bag would represent the lungs, and the space between it and the iaside of the bellows the pleural cavities. It is in their capacity as bellows of thff vocal apparatus, and also as a resonator in the chest cavity itself, that we are chiefly interested in the lungs. The chest, or thoracic cavity, has a conical form, its apex being turned upward. In front, behind, and on the sides, it is supported by the rigid framework afforded by the spinal column, the breast bone, and the ribs. Between and .jjver these lie muscles, and the whole is covered on the outside by the skin, and on the inside by the parietal layers of the pleura. Above, the aperture opens into the cavity of the larynx ; below, it is bounded by the diaphragm, which forms a movable bottom to the RESPIRATION. 49 otherwise tolerably rigid box. In inspiration the box is increased in all its diamet;ers, i. e., antero- posterior, lateral, and vertical. The air taken into the lungs in inspiration dis- tends the air cells, and is driven out again mainly by the contraction of the elastic walls of the cells themselves, and the passive reaction of the dia- phragm and chest walls. Inspiration, or, in other words, enlargement of the chest, is a more complex act, and may be brought about in several different ways. We shall first see how the enlargement of the chest in its difierent diameters is brought about in what we understand as normal breathing, and how these movements are modified in the act of speak- ing or singing. The vertical enlargement of the thorax is caused by the contraction of the diaphragm, a thin, sheet- like muscle, with a fibrous membrane in its centre that serves as a tendon. In rest, the diaphragm is dome-shaped, its convexity being directed upward. From the tendon on the crown of the dome, mus- cular fibres radiate downward and outward to all sides, and are fixed by their inferior ends to the lower ribs, the breast bone, and the vertebral col- umn. In inspiration, the muscular fibres of the dia- 50 VOICE BUILDING. phragm are shortened, flattening the dome, and so enlarging the thoracic cavity. The contraction of the diaphragm thus greatly increases the size of the thorax chamber, by adding to its lowest and widest part. The lungs, always in contact with the walls of the^ thorax, follow this expansion, and their ca- pacity is increased. The' antero-posterior diameter of the chest box is enlarged in inspiration by the raising of the breast bone, and with it the sternal ends of the ribs attached to it, and so the distance between the sternum and vertebral column is increased. This inspiratory elevation of the ribs is mainly due to the action of the scalene and external intercostal muscles. The former (three on each side) arise from the vertebrae of the upper or neck portion of the spinal column, and are inserted in the upper ribs. The external intercostals lie between the ribs, and ex- tend from the vertebral column to the costal carti- lages, their fibres sloping downward and forward. During an inspiration the scalene muscles contract and fix the upper ribs firmly, and thus, when the ex- ternal intercostal muscles contract, the upper rib be- ing fixed, the lower rib is pulled up and not the upper down. In this way the lower ribs are raised much more than the upper, for the whole external inter- costal muscles on one side may be regarded as one EESPIRATION. 51 great muscle, and when tlie whole nmscular sheet is fixed above, and contracts, it is clear that its lower end wiU be raised more than any intermediate point. The elevation of the ribs tends to diminish the vertical diameter of the chest ; this, however, is more than compensated for by the simultaneous descent of the diaphragm. Finally, the enlargement of the chest is some- what due to the diaphragm, which, as we have seen, when it contracts, adds to the lowest and widest part of the chest cavity. A lateral excursion is, however, brought about by the rotation of some of the middle ribs at their articulation with the spine. Kotation at this point has the effect of raising and turning outward the curved part of the rib. In the inspiratory act the lungs are entirely passive, simply following the dilatation of the chest, brought about in the manner just described ; in ex- piration, on the other hand, the active role is taken by the lungs, little, if any, muscular effort being needed. As soon as the muscles which have raised the ribs and the sternum relax, these tend to return to their natural, unconstrained position of rest. By these means the chest cavity is restored to its origi- nal capacity, and the air expelled from the lungs, rather by means of the contractility of the parts, 52 VOICE BUILDING. whicli were stretclied in inspiration, than by any special expiratory muscles. When a very deep breath is drawn, or expelled, a great many muscles take part in the respiratory movements, and expiration becomes an actively mus- cular act. The main expiratory muscles are the in- ternal intercostals, which lie beneath the external intercostals, between each pair of ribs, and have a different direction, their fibres running upward and forward. Forced expiration is accomplished in this man- ner : First, the lower ribs are fixed or slightly pulled down, by muscles situated in the abdominal wall, arising from the pubis, and attached to the ribs and sternum; then, the internal intercostals, also con- tracting, complete the process of pulling down the ribs, and so diminish the chest cavity. At the same time, the contracted abdominal muscles press the walls of the abdominal cavity against the viscera, and pressure upward is transmitted to the dia- phragm, assisting to diminish the vertical diameter of the chest. In violent inspiration, as in expiration, many other muscles are brought into play, and are known as the extraordinary muscles of respiration. Kespieatoet Types. — Many authors endeavour to draw distinctions between three methods of what RESPIRATION. 53 we may call normal breathing. As a matter of fact, the clavicular, the abdominal, and the costal types run imperceptibly into one another, and it is a mis- take to attribute one method exclusively to men and one to women. Suffice it here to say that, in both sexes, diaphragmatic breathing is the most im- portant ; but, as a rule, men and children use the upper ribs, or superior costal breathing, less than adult women. That the costal type of breathing as used by women of civilized races is largely the result of the corset and tight lacing, is more than likely. May,* of Philadelphia, took tracings of the respiratory movements of eighty-five women, from ten to twenty-two years of age, six belonging to a non or partially civilized race. Thirty-three were of pure Indian blood, thirty-five of mixed blood. Sixty- nine of the eighty -five showed a so-called abdominal respiration. The remainder, all of whom showed a greater or less tendency to the costal type of breathing, belonged to relatively civilized races. Proper management of the breath being a fun- damental condition of good singing, it is of the utmost importance that the proper method of breathing be taught, and it is our purpose to show * Journal of Physiology, March, 1890. 54 VOICE BUILDING. how fallacious are many of the methods now used in teaching voice production, and to what extent founded on preconceived or misconceived ideas. In the first place, the direction so often given the pupil in singing, to breathe " naturally," is, to say the least, misleading ; for, to get the best effects in voice production, the normal, natural method of breathing does not suffice. Ordinary breathing has for its end purely and simply the physiological function of purifying the blood ; and it is insufficient for singing, which re- quires an increased chest capacity, an increased volume of inspired air, as well as a carefully co-or- dinated management of the chest muscles and of ' the diaphragm, that the 'exit and pressure of the expired air may be regulated. All this requires the cultivation, not of natural, but of artistic breathing ; and to this end the pupil should be taught Juno and when to take the air into his lungs, and how to control and direct the outflow when emptying them. This, as Mackenzie says, is really one of the most difficult things in the whole art of singing, but it must be mastered, at whatever cost. "Wrong breathing must be corrected. It is, of course, more generally found among women than men, owing to the fact that the proper action of a woman's dia- phragm is impaired by the pressure of tight stays. RESPIRATION. 55 Eegular exercises in respiration should be practised. The act should be performed naturally, quietly, and at regular intervals, care being taken that the collar bone does not rise to any perceptible extent while vthe lungs are being expanded. Both inspiration and expiration should be practised so as to ade- quately fill and empty the chest with the least' visi- jble effort, and to take the breathy in speaking or /singing, without noticeable interruption of the phrase. On the other hand, the pupil must strive to gain as much control as possible over the expira- tory process, so as to " mould the issuing stream of air to any shape," and regulate its volume and force, that none of it may escape uselessly. The breathing capacity may be increased by proper exercises, such as walking, running, fenc- ing, swimming, dumb-bells, etc. The " vital ca- pacity " of the hmgs — that is, the greatest quantity of air which can be expelled from the limgs by a forced expiration, after the deepest possible in- spiration — may be very greatly increased by such regular exercises, and we naay finally reach in artistic respiration a point where costal muscles play no secondary role in chest enlargement, but contribute equally with the diaphragm to that end. In many cases of observation upon our very best singers, it is interesting to note the changes which 56 VOICE BUILDING. take place in the lower abdominal wall, as a result of respiratory method and experience. The conclusions arrived at from many such in- vestigations get far to prove the fallacy of teaching so-called abdominal respiration to singers. Where- as in normal respiration the pressure exercised by the contracting diaphragm pushes out the entire abdominal wall, the singer who employs all tha resources of liis art to enlarge the chest never- theless retracts the lower abdominal wall in taking a deep inspiration, in order to maintain a better control of the expiratory act. The increase in all the diameters of the chest which follows regular practice and exercise in the many ways Nature indieates for this purpose, and the consequent gain in the vital capacity of the lungs, should of itself prevent the arbitrary order of any instructor to his pupil to breathe by any one muscle or set of muscles alone. This brings us to the various methods of breath- ing taught by different masters of singing. We have already seen that in normal breathing there are three different ways in which the respira- tory act may be carried out. The methods of breathing, employed in voice production may be likened in their analogy to them, and so con- sidered. RESPIRATION. 57 For our purposes, we liave preferred to divide these methods of breathing into — 1. The superior costal or clavicular. 2. The abdominal. 3. The inferior costal or diaphragmatic. The superior costal may be illustrated as the breathing of a woman tightly laced, the respiratory expansion taking place chiefly, if not entirely, in the upper part of 'the thorax, the upper ribs, collar bone, and sternum rising and falhng during the re- spiratory act. J * In the true abdominal type the thorax is' sup- posed to remain completely fixed, the diaphragm taking the ribs as a fixed point, contracting to its greatest extent and pushing down the abdominal viscera and so distending considerably the entire abdominal wall. In the inferior costal type, on the other hand, the inferior ribs (commencing with the seventh) are rotated and elevated, the sternum rising in its inferior portion only, the diaphragm becoming flat- tened, and the lower abdominal wall being con- tracted during the inspiratory act. These three methods of breathing have been the source of much bitter discussion on the part of those advocating one or the other of them as the only proper method of respiration for singers. The old Itahan masters taught that, in inspira- 58 VOICE BUILDING. tion, the anterior abdominal wall should be slightlj drawn in— that is, they in reahty advocated an in- ferior costal type of respiration, recognizing, -proTj- ably, the fact that, when a very great and suddei effort is made, the abdominal wall is drawn in dur- ing the respiratory act, this position giving more complete control over the whole act, but especiallj over expiration, and thus preventing waste of air Later, Mengozzi,* together with the masters oi one of the conservatories, determined upon the fol- lowing rules, illustrative of breathing, for singers ; " The respiratory act in singing differs somewhal from that used in speaking. In speaking, the ab- domen is extended in inspiration, and recedes in expiration, while in singing the abdomen must be drawn in during inspiration, returning slowly to its natural state as the chest contracts in expiration, thus retaining as a negative force the air which has been introduced into the lungs." In 1855, however, Mandl published in tht Gazette Medicale his celebrated article, in whicl he opposed this method of breathing on anatomica grounds, maintaining that the descent of the dia phragm was facilitated by allowing the abdomina walls to be flaccid, and pushed out as far as pos * La Respiration, Dans le Chant, Paris, 1894. KBSPIRATIOK. 59 Hihlp. iT ^ inspiratio n. Mandl carried his point, and his method was almost imiversally adopted, and in the M^thode du Conservatoire, pnbhshed in 1866, Mandl himself was allowed to sing the praises of his theory. Massini, in Italy, adopted and taught the abdominal type, and to such an extent did this fad obtain that, according to Joal,* instruments of torture almost were invented to assist the unfor- tunate pupils in developing this method. From that time it has been advocated by men of author- ity and taught by many teachers of the art of sing- ing. Obin and Faure, for example, speak most highly of it. The famous Lamperti is often repre- sented as'an advocate of the abdominal method of breathing; but we think wrongly, for, having treated many of the elder Lamperti's pupils, and interrogated them very particularly upon this question, we may unhesitatingly affirm that the elder Lainperti was a strong advocate of the lower costal respiration, always arguing that the .abdominal wall should remain quiet, or be slightly drawn in, during inspiration. The evidence of Campanini, Jean de Eeszke, and Clara Heyen is in support of the above. Notwithstanding all that has been written in * Joal, Revue de Laryngologie, Nos. 8, 9, and 10, Paris, 1893. 60 VOICE BUILDING. favour of this method of breathing, we propose to show that the abdominal as well as the superior costal is wrong, both in conception and practice. We shall consider these varioiis types of breath- ing somewhat in detail, for it seems to us of paramount importance that speakers and singers should be better made to understand the enormous influence a correct method of breathing, combined with a correct position of the vocal cords in singing, exert not only upon the present production, but upon the future preservation of the voice. SiTPEEiOE Costal Kespieation. — Mandl, in mak- ing out his case for abdominal respiration, wrote with great emphasis on the evils which resulted from the superior costal method of breathing. He claimed that all the muscles concerned were greatly fatigued in this respiratory act ; that the larynx was pulled down, and the slit of the glottis widened, making the production of a note doubly difficult, and leading first to a great congestion, and, later, to atrophy of the parts, etc. ; all of which was founded on false anatomical and physiological data. The truth is, that the superior costal method of breathing does not necessarily lead either to great good or to great harm in voice production. The mere fact, however, that in this method a much smaller amoimt of air can be inspired, since . RESPIRATION. 61 the movement is limited to the cone of the chest, where all its diameters are smallest, is in itself, we hold, an all-sufficient reason for not using the method, except, of course, as an adjunct to the larger and more profound inspirations produced in the iof erior costal type. Finally, Joal says that, if we except Laget and Bonheur, superior costal breathing for men is condemned by all authors. On the other hand, it has been recommended for female singers, notably by Hamonic,* on the- ground that the sexual organs in women are likely to be compressed and pushed out of place if they practise abdominal breathing. This observation, has been often advanced as an argument against abdominal breathing, and perhaps with some justice. Abdominal Eespibation. — In abdominal res- piration a considerably larger amount of air may be drawn into the lungs than in the type we have just been discussing, for the entire chest is en- larged in its vertical diameter. This fact has been proved by both Lennox Browne f and Joal, :|: by spirometric tracings taken upon a number of people. While a distinctly better type of breathing than the costal, the same objection, though in a lesser * Manuel du Chanteiir, Paris, 1888. f British Laryngological Society, March, 1892. X Loc, cit. 62 VOICE BUILDING. degree, may be urged against it, namely, tliat it is at best a partial respiration only ; it is respiration produced by but one of the several means we have at our disposal for enlarging tbe capacity of the chest on inspiration, and of controlling the outflow of the inspired air. The inferior ribs, by whose movement, as we have shown, the antero-posterior and lateral dimen- sions of the chest are so much increased, remain almost immobile, and the relaxed abdominal mus- cles are in a condition to greatly hinder a co-ordi- nated, well-controlled expiration. Mandl laid great emphasis on the point that in this method of breathing the movement of the abdominal muscles themselves, to a large extent, brought about the vertical enlargement of the chest, the diaphrag- matic movement being to a certain extent passive, and following the downward displacement of the abdominal viscera, and there was consequently little if any fatigue of the diaphragm or of the ex- ternal intercostal muscles. The assumed prevention of fatigue to these muscles was perhaps the most important factor in the good results which he claimed came from his method. Why this should be an argument in favour of abdominal breathing we fail to see. The various muscles controlling respiration, like our other EESPIHATION. 63 muscles, were given us for use, and we know full well that it is only by constant and judicious exer- cise that any muscle or set of muscles can be made to produce the best results, whether they are used in propelling a boat or in producing vocal tones. Furthermore, that the chest may take in the largest amount of air possible, and that it may be the sounding board and resonator Nature intended, it must be enlarged in inspiration, in all its diame- ters, and not in one direction only, which is practi- cally the case in abdominal respiration. Finally, the pressure brought to bear on the pel- vic organs in this method may be, as Joal remarks, the point of departure for pathological changes in these organs, and he- gives two instances in com- paratively young girls where serious trouble was brought on by the excessive practice of the abdom- inal method of breathing, and cites that the symp- toms were at once relieved by changing the method of respiration. Dr. Wing,* of Boston, has had a like experience of the evil effects of this pernicious method. Infbeioe Costal and Diapheagmatic Respi- EATioiir. — "We use this mixed term to describe a more or less general respiration, in which all the * Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, 1880. 64 VOICE BUILDING. external intercostal muscles, as well as the dia- phragm, are brought into play. We say advisedly, all the external intercostals, for it is our practice in this method to have the subject first raise as far as possible, by muscular effort, the upper chest, which is then kept ostensibly fixed, in inspiration and in expiration. The thoracic cavity is then enlarged in the transverse, antero-posterior, and vertical diameters, the greatest movement, how- ever, taking place at the level of the lower ribs ; all but the three or four upper ribs, nevertheless, participate in the excursion, the diaphragm at the same time contracting and curving downward, but to a less extent than in purely abdominal breathing, the lower anterior abdominal wall, being of course drawn in during inspiration, but jretuming during expiration to its normal position. It has been proved beyond question that the amount of air taken in, in this modification of the respiratory act, is much greater than by any other method, as evidenced in the experiments of Miss Pollard* and Joal.f Joal found in the case of a number of women, some of whom had received and some who had not received instruction in the art of * Journal of Physiology, March, 1890. f Revue de laryngologie et d'otologie, Bordeaux, April, 1890. EESPIRATION. 65 breathing, a very distinct increase in their lung ca- pacity after practising the inferior costal method ; they having, in the first instance, used the superior costal type. Again, taking a number of men who breathed naturally — that is, with expansion of the abdominal wall on inspiration — Joal found a consid- erable increase in the amount of air inspired, on compressing sHghtly the lower abdominal wall and having them breathe by the inferior costal method. • And again, taking a num- ber of trained singers who could use any of the three methods spoken of above, he found the amount of air in- spired, when they used the inferior costal, to be consider- ably greater than either in the superior costal or abdominal type. "We have not thought it necessary, on our own part, to make any experi- ments on this point. "We were long since convincedl that the inferior costal was the proper method of) respiration for singers and voice users, but it seemed/ to us that the act might be made more general, more FiQ. 10.— Fixed high chest or modified inferior cos- tal respiration. 66 VOICE BUILDING. complete, by adding to it tlie superior costal eleva- tion, alluded to above ; for in this manner, and in this manner alone, are we bringing into play every muscle and every means ;N"ature has given us, not only to fiU the lungs, but also to increase the reso- nating function of the chest. We might express this better by calling it the jmed high-chest method, or the breathing of singers. By thus elevating the chest and keeping it fixed, the apices of the lungs become filled to their great- est possible extent with air, while in the excursion of the lower ribs and diaphragm during respiration the antero-posterior diameter of the upper chest re- mains a constant factor. The thoracic cavity then is in a position which permits the lungs to expand to their fullest extent, and a secondary resonance from below is added to the voice, a sort of complementary timbre, the fixed upper thorax allowing the least possible change of colour during tone production. We know that the intensity and timbre of the voice is not only depend- ent upon the vibrations of the vocal cords, but upon the vibrations of the air in the parts above and below. With a high, fixed chest, we greatly add to the tone vibrations in the chest and accessory cavi- ties of the nose and mouth, and it is this very in- crease and combination of facial and thoracic tone RESPIRATION. '67 fortification, or overtone formation, wliicli gives the Bnormous carrying power to tones produced by this method. It will be seen later how greatly this method 'of breathing, combined with a properly poised larynx, not only adds to the beauty and the preservation of the voice, but may be the means of festoring voices lost or impaired through hard usage, md improper or faulty methods of voice production. "We have thus far considered the act of inspira- ;ion only. But we must remember that it is not ilone necessary for a singer to have a larger quantity )f air than usual at his disposal, but he must know low to use it to the best advantage in the production )f vocal tones. However abundant the supply of lir may be, a short, jerky respiration makes it impos- lible to sustain or colour the phrase ; and, as we have laid, the control over the expiratory act is, to say the east, much easier of attainment in the method we idvocate, where all the muscles qoncemed are on he alert, as it were, than in either the superior cos- al or abdominal methods, where the most important Quscles concerned in respiration are relaxed and off heir guard. Again, in this method the control of the blast of ir in expiration is assisted by the fixation of the ipper part of the chest. It must be remembered hat these muscles, inspiratory and expiratory, must 68 VOICE BUILDING. be kept in a condition of constant abeyance in sing- ing, and await the desired preponderance in the action of one or the other at any instant; that is, their functional independence is, after all, the secret of vocal success. The position of the diaphragm and of the abdominal walls in inferior costal respi- ration also assists in the control of the breath. On this point Mackenzie * says : " When the abdomen is drawn in in inspiration, one is to a much greater extent master of the expiratory act than when the diaphragm is lowered and the abdomuial wall ex- tended, as in abdominal breathing" — a point also emphasized by Gottfried Weber, f To-day, practically all authorities — for we must consider our greatest singers as authorities — ^reeom+ mend the drawing in of the abdominal wall in inspij ration, since it fixes the movable viscera, and sc^; makes a point of vantage for the action of the dia- phragm. The extent to which the abdominal wall should be retracted, however, is a somewhat debated question, '^o less an authority than Jean de Eeszke declares that the, abdondnal wall should be retracted in its inferior portion only — ^i. e., as high as the belt — th&.pitjof-the * Hygiene of the Vooal Organs, London, 1888. \ Caecilia, t. xvii, 1835, RESPIRATION. 69 general excursion of the diaphrajtym mf] In-wP" n'hp ; and we are not sure but that his opinion on this point should be considered final. Pol Plangon is a strong advocate of the type of the breathing used by Jean and Edouard de Keszke, his perfectly immobile chest iu difficult phrasing being a salient feature of his style. In Melba, Eames, and Nordica we see types of " high-chest " breathing. In Patti we see what a perfect vocal poise and admirable respiratory method will do toward preserving the voice. CHAPTEE IV. THE VOOAL EESONATOES. The resonating cavities above the slit of the glottis are numerous and important. Immediately over the vocal cords, on either side are two small pouches whose edges form the ventricular bands. The exact r61e played by these pouches in the production of the human voice has caused some discussion, but they m\^st certainly be included among the resonators. Extending from the larynx itself is a passage known as the pharynx, which communicates above with the posterior nares and with the cavity of the mouth. The communication between the nose and the pharynx may be entirely cut off by the soft palate, when under certain conditions it is raised and pressed against the posterior wall. This posi- tion of the soft palate gives the voice that peculiar and objectionable quality known as throatiness, a condition also assisted by the posterior elevation of the tongue. Looking into the open mouth we can 70 THE VOCAL RESONATORS. 7I see tlie soft palate, with the uTula hanging down vertically, and in its normal position, meeting the posterior part of the tongue and dividing the cavity of the mouth from that of the pharynx and posterior nares. In swallowing, the uvula and soft palate are drawn backward and upward until they press against the posterior wall of the pharynx. The pharyngeal wall is so modified as to assist this closure, and as the soft palate meets the posterior wall, the back and sides of the pharynx are pressed together by the superior constrictor muscle, whose role is to constrict and draw together the walls of this cavity. The prolongations of the soft palate, which are seen on either side of the interior of the throat, are known as the fauces. They are sharply defined folds consisting of two ridges, anterior and posterior. They are known as the pillars of the fauces, and between them on either side lies the tonsil. Each pillar contains a bundle of muscular fibres. The anterior one is known as the palato- glossus muscle, which is connected with the under part of the side of the tongue. The posterior mus- cle, known as the palato-pharyngeus, runs down- ward and backward, and is attached partly to the posterior and inner side of the thyroid cartilage and partly to the side of the pharynx. Both these muscles play an important role in voice production. 72 VOICE BUILDING. The tonsils vary in size in different people, and are sometimes absent. Their existence in the adult is unnecessary, and as they serve no good purpose, they are best removed if they give the shghtest trouble. We have now to deal with that important reso- nance chamber, the mouth. It is a large, spacious cavity, the roof being formed by the hard palate. The parts composing its floor are soft, and only par^ tially fixed by their connection with the lower jaw. The anterior border of the mouth is bounded by the Hps. A number of muscles, some entirely situ- ated within, and .others entering them, enable the Hps to assume different shapes and to open and shut in a variety of wSys and degrees. The pos- terior border of the mouth, as we have seen, is bounded by the soft palate and its pillars. The interior of the cavity of the mouth can be en- larged by the depression of the lower jaw, and modified in its form by advancing the latter, and also altered in a great variety of ways, both in form and width, by the activity of the tongue. The remaining resonating cavities with which we have to do are those of the nose and its acces- sory sinuses. The nasal space consists of two cavities, separated from each other by a partition known as the septum. Its floor is parallel with THE VOCAL RESONATORS. 73 the long axis of tlie mouth, and sepai'ated from it by the hard palate. The nasal passages themselves have their extent of surface greatly increased by projections of bone, known as the spongy or turbi- nate bones, three in each passage. The mucous membrane covering these is very vascular, and the immediate purpose of these convolutions is to pre- sent a greater surface over which the air may pass on its way to the chest cavity, and so be tempered, and to some extent filtered and saturated with aqueous vapour, before it passes to the lungs. The heating ftmction of the nose is most important, and it is absolutely necessary that a singer should always breathe easily through th^ nose, nothing interfer- ing more with the development of the overtones of the voice than a thickened or catarrhal con- dition of the nasal mucous membrane. On either side of the nasal passages are hollow spaces known as sinuses, in the bones of the face, which communicate with the nasal cavity. These spaces naturally vary in size in different persons, and they have much to do with vocal resonance. There is also a posterior or sphenoidal, and two an- terior or frontal sinuses, which act as resonators, but are not as important as the lateral or maxillary sinuses called the antra. We shall see in a later chapter the extent to 74 VOICE BUILDING. wHcli a tone in any musical instrument may be modified and given a particular quality by tbe over- tones which are developed in the sounding board of the instrument. In a violin, for instance, it is the condition and elasticity of the wood and its soundiag board upon which the development of its overtones depend. The condition and shape of the resonance cavities above described give to the hu- man voice a peculiar beauty and timbre. It is therefore plain that the education of these parts must be very thorough, since the bad management of any one of them will mar or even destroy the quality of a voice. It is well known that for every tone there is an air column which most powerfully re-enforces it, and also'that the resonator should be exactly tuned to produce the fundamental note of the iastrument. In the human voice, the string or reed of the musical instrument is represented .by the vocal ligaments, and the sounding board by the cavities above and below the glottis, which are infinitely more complicated in man than in any instrument. The timbre of the voice depends on the shape of the various cavities, and the manner in wliich they are utilized as resonators. The size and condition of the cartilages of the larynx unquestionably affect the quality of the tone, and this quality is affected in some degree by every THE VOCAL RESONATORS. 75 new position of the larynx, which shortens or length- ens the vocal tube. The position and shape of the lips and mouth have also the greatest influence upon the timbre of the voice. The mouth is another important resonator, the pitch of which necessarily varies with the changes which take place in its dimensions. Each vowel sound has a natural pitch of its own, and there is one position of the various parts which we have been considering best fitted for the delivery of any given vowel ; but it goes without saying that it is only by a skilful manage- ment of these parts that they may be given the fitting position in every case ; that not only may purity of tone and volume of sound be obtained, but the timbre of the voice modified and most pow- erfully re-enforced by overtones. Vowel sounds, therefore, should be assiduously practised before the glass, the position of the Hps and the shape of the mouth needing particular attention, that the enunciation may be distinct. Mackenzie says in this connection : " Without an artistic enunciation sound loses one of its greatest charms. To a person of taste, a simple ballad sung with feeling and clearness of utterance gives more delight than the finest music rendered by a voice which sounds the notes but murders and mutilates the words." He thinks English artists the greatest sinners in 7g VOICE BUILDING. this respect, and attributes it partly to the promi- nence of consonants and closed vowels in our language, and partly also to the composer, who, from ignorance of the laws of the pitch of vowels, associates syllables with notes on which they can not be properly sounded. The artist naturally prefers to sacrifice the correctness of the vowel sound rather than the purity of the musical tone. The remedy for this, Mackenzie thinks, is that music should be written with an adequate knowledge of all the phonetic peculiarities of the language in which it is sung, and that composers should make themselves acquainted with the capabilities of the vocal organs as they do with the pecuharities of other instniments. The tongue is a very important factor in the changes which take place in the shape of the mouth in speaking or singing, and, though difficult to manage, this organ may be brought by judicious training under the direct influence of the will, as far as its position is concerned in the emission of notes. .The stiffening of the root of the tongue and the consequent rigidity of the surrounding parts is most destructive to purity of tone, and should be especially guarded against. Much has been written on the education of the soft palate in singing, and a great deal of it in our THE VOCAL RESONATORS. 77 opinion is unnecessary. Speaking generally, the soft palate should be kept in a negative state ; that is, there should be an absolute lack of tension of the muscles composing and surrounding it, that it may properly perform its real function, that of tuning the resonating cavities of the mouth and nose ; in other words, the veil of the palate may be considered a portiere which, at the summons of the resonators, may be drawn over the opening of the cavity of the mouth or nose, and so apportion the sound waves to those cavities which are best calculated to re-enforce the fundamental tone and develop and make rich the voice in overtones. OHAPTEE V. TONE AND OVERTONES. Ant sensation or impression received tlarough our organs of hearing is called sound, and all sound is the result of molecular motion. When there is an explosion, for instance, the air expands suddenly and forces the surrounding air violently away on all sides ; the resulting motion of the air close to the exploding body is rapidly imparted to that farther off, the air first set in motion coming to a state of rest. The air at a httle distance passes its motion on in its turn to the air at a greater distance, and comes itself to rest. Thus each shell of air takes up the motion of the shell next to it, the motion being propagated as a pulse or wave through the .air. The motion of the particles of air is inde- pendent of that of the wave ; as the wave moves forward, each particle makes its own excursion to and fro. Alternate rarefactions and condensations of the air are thus produced ; each condensation, together with its corresponding rarefaction, forming 78 TONE AND OVERTONES. 79 what is known as a sound wave. Sound vibrations thus communicated to the air in the form of waves strike tlie tympanic membrane which is stretched across the passage leading from tlie external air to the inner ear, and set this membrane into vibration. Its motion is, in turn, transmitted to the ends of the nerve of hearing, and along that nerve to the brain, where the vibrations are translated into sound. Sound vibrations, however, may not only be heard, but may also be see?i and felt, as in watching Fig. 11. a sounding string on which riders have been placed (Figs. 11 and 12), or by drawing a bow over the edge of a plate of metal or glass over which sand has been scattered ; the sand is driven from the parts of the plate which vibrate, and collects along certain stationary or nodal lines. On the other 80 VOICE BUILDING. hand, vibrations may be felt by gently touching a sounding bell or a tuning fork which has been set Fig. 12. vibrating. Vibrations can not give rise to the sen- sation of sound unless our organs of hearing are thrown into sympathetic vibration, and the air is the medium by which tliis is accomplished. A bell suspended in a vacuum emits no sound when struck, but as air is admitted the sound is heard becoming gradually louder as the air becomes denser. Waves of sound, as those of light and radiant heat, may be reflected. The ticks of a watch, held in a given place in front of a concave mirror, will be distinctly heard at the point of focus of the beams of a candle held in the same position as the watch (Fig. 13). This reflection of sound is known as an echo, which, under certain conditions in Nature, can always be heard, provided we are TONE AND OVERTONES. 81 sufficiently far away to distinguish the echo from the original A sound may be reflected several times in succession, the successive echoes becoming gradually feebler to the ear. In mountain regions, says Tyndall, this repetition and decay of sound pro- duces wonderful and pleasing effects. He instances the fact that the sound of an Alpine horn echoed from the rocks of the Wetterhorn or the Jungfrau is, in the first instance, heard as a harsh sound, but by successive reflections the notes are rendered more soft and flutelike, the gradual diminution of inten- FlG. 13. sity giving the impression that the source of sound is retreating farther and farther into the solitudes of ice and snow.* * Sound, p. 41, International Scientific Series. 82 VOICE BUILDING. It is deeply interesting to note that these won- derful little waves of sound may not only rebound from a surface and come back to our ears as an echo, but they can bend around an obstacle, and diffuse themselves at its back. A striking example of this diffraction of a sonorous wave was exhibited at Erith after the tremendous explosion of a pow- der magazine there in 1864. The village of Erith was some miles from the magazine, but many win- dows were shattered, and it was noticeable that those turned away from the origin of the explosion suffered almost as much as those which faced it. Tibrations may be simple or compound. A body vibrates simply, when it moves regularly from side to side as a pendulum, and hence pendular vibra- tions. A vibrating body may execute several eccentric motions at once ; a piano string, for in- stance, when struck, may vibrate not only up and down, but also from side to side and in segments at the same time. The result is a series of compound vibrations. Compound tones are the result of compound vibrations, and are musical if the waves proceed together with perfect regularity. If, on the other hand, the waves of sound interfere with one another, a mere discord is produced. The human ear has the power of resolving compound sounds into their component parts. It should be TOKE AND OVERTONES. 83 remembered, however, that it is not the compound vibrations of the string itself, whether of a harp, of a lute, a piano, or a violin, that produce the musical sound ; it is the large surfaces, or the sounding boards with which the strings are associated, and the air iuclosed by them, that give forth the agree- able musical tones. The excellence of such instru- ments depends almost wholly on the quality and disposition of their sounding boards, and it can not be too forcibly emphasized that this is also the case with the human voice, whose quality so greatly depends upon the condition and management of the resonance chambers, above and below the slit of the glottis. "We have alluded to the fact that a string may be made to vibrate in segments (Fig. 14). If a stretched string is plucked at its middle point the sound heard is the fundamental or lowest note of the string, to produce which it must swing as a whole to and fro. Place a movable bridge under the middle of the string, thus dividing it into equal parts, and by plucking either of these at its centre a musical note is obtained which is the octave of the fundamental note. Moreover, in all cases, and with all instruments, the octave of the note is pro- duced by doubling the number of its vibrations. It can be proved by the siren that this haK string 84 VOICE BUILDING. vibrates witli exactly twice the rapidity of the whole, one third the string with three times, pro- (£) (3) (4J Fig. 14. ducing a note a fifth above the octave, while one fourth of the string vibrates with four times the rapidity, producing the double octave of the whole TONE AND OVERTONES. 85 string. From tliis circumstance a law is evolved that the shorter the string the greater its number of vibrations. The vibrations of a string also de- pend on its tension, thickness, and density ; the greater the tension the more rapid will be the vibrations ; the thicker the string the lower the note ; and the less the density of the string, the other factors remaining equal, the more rapid will Fig. 15. be its vibrations. In the violin and other stringed instruments, thickness instead of length is used to obtain the deeper tones. We have shown above that, by placing a bridge at any given point or points of a string, and so dividing it, it may be made to vibrate in segments. Strong pressure, however, is not necessary thus to divide it. Place a feather ever so Hghtly against the middle of a string and draw a violin bow over one of its seg^ 86 VOICE BUILDING. nients, the string will yield a note the octave of the fundamental. This light touch is sufficient to cause the string to divide into two vibrating seg-. nients. Furthermore, the feather may be removed, and the string will still continue to vibrate and give forth the same note (Fig. 15). The vibrating parts of the string or wire are called the ventral segments, and the point where the feather touched the wire is known as a node, and indicates a point of rest iu the vibrating string. When a vibrating string is so divided iato one or more ventral segments, it is known technically as damping, and, as we shall see, these fixed points, or nodes, play a most important part in all musical sounds. • Sound is produced not only by the vibration of solid, but also of liquid and gaseous bodies, the vibration of the air iu an organ pipe being the best example of the latter. Sounding pipes are of two kinds, flue, or mouth pipes, and reed pipes, and the sound is produced either by breaking up the air blown into them or by causing it to enter ia puffs. Fig. 16 shows the most common form of a flue pipe. The pipe is hollow, and is either open or closed at the top, and has its embouchure at m. Fig. 17, shows the same in section. The air enters by the tube a into the box 5, and breaks TONE AND OVERTONES. 87 through the narrow fissure against the thin edoe of I, and as a resxilt a musical sound is obtained. Fig. 18 shows the reed pipe. The air entering at r Fig. 16. Fig. 17, Fig. 19. in order to reach the sounding pipe has to pass through the lower opening a (Fig. 19), and this opening is closed by the elasticity of the metallic tongue of the reed d. The vibration of this tongue causes a rapid opening and closing of the box so 7 VOICE BUILDING. that the air penetrates at regular intervals in puffs, and produces a musical sound. In all pipes the loudness of the sound depends upon the strength of the blast, the note depending upon the dimensions and upon the length of the pipe R. We can con- struct a pipe which will give either a fundamental note or a series of higher ones. In an organ, each pipe is constructed so as to give only its fundamental note. Many wind instruments, ■ however, such as the flute, trumpet, trombone, etc., are, in reality, pipes con- structed to give a series of notes. This is done by giv- ing the instniment greater length ; in some cases it be- ing straight and in others twisted, the air being set into vibrating columns by stops of different kinds, as the pistons in a cornet or the keys in a flute. In other words, by these means we may develop nodes in the column of air. The Fig. 20. TONE AND OVERTONES. 89 vibration of air in a pipe and the presence of nodes is prettily shown in Fig. 20. A membrane, m, upon whieh some sand is sprinkled is introduced into the upper end of an open sounding pipe, one wall of which is made of glass. The sand will be seen jumping about upon the membrane, and this is plainly caused by the vibrations of the air in the pipe being imparted to the membrane. It will be observed that at the middle of the pipe the move- ment of the sand ceases. In other words, we have at this point a true node ; as the membrane sinks beyond the middle point, the sand is again set in motion by the vibrating air. "We have now to deal with musical sound. The difiFerence between noise and a musical sound lies in the manner with which the vibrations strike the ear drum. Noise affects us as an irregular succes- sion of shocks ; we are conscious of a jarring of the auditory nerves. A musical sound, on the other hand, flows smoothly and without harshness or irreg- ularity. This smoothness, which is the characteristic of musical sound, is secured by rendering the i/m- pulses received hy the tympmium perfectly periodic. To produce a musical tone we must have, then, a body which vibrates with unerring regularity, and which imparts sufficiently rapid impulses to the air. " Imagine the first of a series of pulses following 90 VOICE BUILDING. each other at regular intervals. The tympanum is fihaken by the shock and can not come immediately to rest, though the human ear is so constructed that sonorous motion vanishes with extreme rapidity; still, its disappearance is not instantaneous. If the motion imparted to the auditory nerve by each separate pulse continues until its successor arrives, the sound will be continuous. The efiect of each shock will be renewed before it vanishes, and the recurrent impulses will link themselves together as a contiuuous musical sound. If these pulses, on the contrary, are of irregular strength and recur- rence, they produce merely noise ; and so we see that the one condition necessary to the production of musical sound is that "the pulses shall succeed each other in the soTne interval of time. If we could cause a watch to tick with sufficient rapidity, say, a hundred times a second, the ticks would lose their individuality and blend to a musical tone. If the strokes of a pigeon's wing were as rapid, the progress of the bird through the air would be accompanied by music. In the case of the hum- ming bird, the necessary rapidity of wing movement is attained, and hence we have the note which is characteristic of the bird and gives it its name." * * Tyndall, loe. cit., pp. 78 and 79. TONE AND OVERTONES. 91 Loudness of tone depends upon tlie amplitude or width of swing of the vibration of the air par- ticles, upon the distance it has travelled before reachitig the ear, and upon the density of the air in which it is generated. Indeed, every sonorous impression of which we are conscious has a depend- ent relationship to the condition of the atmos- phere. This is prettily emphasized by Tyndall, who says : " Were our organs sharp enough to see the motions of the air through which a voice is passing, we might see stamped upon the air the conditions of motion on which the sweetness of the voice depends." Higher or lower numbers of vibra- tions which go to make a tone are called pitch. The pitch of a tone depends solely upon the rate of vibration ; the greater the number of vibrations in a given time the higher the pitch. Fewer than sixteen vibrations a second are not perceived by the ear as tone, but merely as separate shocks, and over forty thousand per second produce, as a rule, no sensation of sound. Any tone of a given pitch may be varied from a very soft to a very strong sound by increasing the amplitude of the vibrations, and soft or strong tones of the same pitch may vary in quality, or, as is commonly said, in timbre, or Klwngfan^he — that is, in tone tint. These facts may be readily demonstrated by an instrument known 92 VOICE BUILDING. as the siren. The siren, in its simplest form, is shown in Fig. 21, and consists of the revolving disk A, twenty inches in diameter, with a series of thirty -two round perforations at eqnal distances from each other on a sixteen-inch circle. . Over this disk is placed a bent tube, m, connected with a pair of bellows, by means of which the air may be Fig. 21. driven through the tube and against the disk. If the disk be set rotating, the air passes through the holes in a series of pulls, and as they succeed one another they will produce pulses in the air which will blend into a continuous musical note. The more rapidly the disk rotates, the higher will be the note. If, for instance, the disk revolves eight times a second, the air would pass through 256 holes, and would thus be rarefied and condensed 256 times a second, the tone produced corre- sponding to the c' of our scale. Doubling the speed of the disk, we produce the note the exact TONE AND OVERTONES. 93 octave of the fifst, or c" = 512. Decrease the speed to four revolutions per second, and a tone one octave below c' is produced, or c = 128. The greater the number of revolutions per second the higher the note, and vice versa. If against the holes in the above disk two cur- rents of air are directed instead of one, it is plain we should, on turning the disk, get a puff through two holes at the same time, and the result would be a considerable increase in the intensity of the sound, the pitch, however, remaining the same. The tones produced by blowing against either round or square holes in a revolving disk do not vary in pitch at the same speed, but they do vary slightly in quality. In both cases the number of vibrations produced is the same, but the way in which the air is rarefied and condensed is in each case different, and there is to the trained ear a perceptible difference in quality. "With a siren properly constructed we can ascertain exactly the number of vibrations corresponding to a musical note. Operating delicately, says Tyndall, we might even determine from the hum of an insect the number of times it flaps its wings in a second.* * Loc. eit., p. 95. gj, VOICE BUILDING. We have seen that if a stretched string is stopped at half its length, the number of its vibrations is doubled ; if at one third, it will be trebled, and so on. A vibrating String giving the note c' stopped at its central point wiU give c" ; at one third of its length, / ; at one fourth or three quarters, c'" ; at one fifth, two fifths, three fifths, and four fifths, e'" ; at one sixth and five sixths, g'", each segment vibrat- ing as a new and independent string. Now it is not possible to sound the string as a whole with- out at the same time exciting to a greater or less extent its subdivisions. The higher notes produced by the vibrations of the subdivisions are called the harmonics of the string, and these overtones min- gling with the fundamental tone determine the quality or timbre of the string or instrument which produces the sound. The subdivisions of the string being constantly in vibration, the fundamental tone is accompanied and augmented by the tones of these subdivisions. A vibrating string which produces the fundamental tone, c'=256 vibrations, the tones of its nodes, c", g", o'", e'", g"\ etc., will augment in a small degree the tone o'i Furthermore, the character of the tone c' is affected by the readiness with which the tones of its nodes develop and synchronize with it, and the quality of c' will be the result of the mingling of TONE AND OVERTONES. 95 the fundamental tone and the tones of its har- monics in the string. The fundamental tone is distinct, but the tones of the segments will be scarcely perceptible to the unaided ear. The fun- damental tone gives the substantial impulse, while the tones of the segments give to the fundamental tone a special character and an increased delicacy. These additional tones, which are ever present, are called pa/rtials or overtones, and are known as second, third, fourth, and fifth upper partials. A simple fundamental tone is not known in music. AU tones are compound, consisting, as we have seen, of the fundamental and its overtones. There are also lower partials or undertones in combination with fundamental tones, but they are, generally speaking, of little importance. The pres- ence and importance of overtones in sound was discovered forty -five years ago by Helmholtz. The presence of thirty-three to thirty-four overtones to given fundamentals has been shown, but exact data as to the influence of overtones on instru- ments and the voice have been calculated scien- tifically for the first fifteen to seventeen only. Tones from different sources, however, fundamental and compound, moving through air, will always form a compound wave, which may be readily divided into the original waves. Thus, from an approaching 96 VOICE BUILDING. band, at first we hear but few of the instruments, and then more and more, until finally the sound of all the instruments is combined in one compound wave, and we have, as a result, a harmony produced by all the instruments. The fact that all sound waves travel at the same speed makes it possible for us to hear the different instruments of high and low pitch simultaneously. Compound waves of differ- ent fundamental tones form some tones which are agreeable to the ear, ^^^^^^ and others which are '^ intolerable. The first C'^^^ *4ik ^^^ called consonant or 1 » i JIJJB" harmonic, the latter \ f dissonant or dishar- -^-^55=,^^ / monic tones. The vi- brations imparted to Fio. 22. ^ the air by a fundamen- tal tone are known as sympathetic vibrations, and the fact that the fundamental tone sets the air into secondary vibrations, producing overtones, may be sho%vn very beautifully by Helmholtz resonators. These are little hollow metal spheres, as shown in Fig. 22. The small projection b, which has an orifice, is placed in the ear ; the sound waves entering the hollow spheres through the aperture a throw the contained air into sympa- TONE AND OVERTONES. ,97 ttetic vibrations. These resonators are of differ- ent sizes, and are made so that the air within the cavity is thrown into vibration by a note of a given pitch, a, h, c, d, etc. A resonator tuned to g will not resound to b when placed to the ear and the tone sounded, but will become at once excited by c. By means of these resonators a note re-en- forced by its particular sphere, and thereby ren- dered more powerful than its companions, may be in a measure isolated from a composite clang. Sympathetic vibrations are only set up in a second- ary string, or pipe, when they are capable by them- selves of producing the fundamental note. If we take a sonometei* on which two strings are stretched, tuned to give the same note, and place paper riders on the strings, as shown in Fig. 15, and one of the strings is rubbed so that it will give forth its funda- mental note,. all the riders on this string will be thrown into the air, and the second string, which has not been touched, will exhibit the same phenom- ena, although more feebly. This means that the second string, of course, vibrates in the same way as the first ; but it will not take place if the second string is stretched more than the first. In this instance the vibrations of the first string are trans- mitted to the bridge on which it rests and thence to the second string. Yibrations are also trans- 98 VOICE BUILDING. mitted by the air ; if a tuning fork, for instance, is placed beside an organ pipe liaving the same funda- mental pitch, and the latter is made to sound, the tuning fork will at once reproduce the note. If, however, a pipe is used which gives a different note, there is no secondary vibration of the fork. This again may be pro\'ed by means of Savart's bell, Fig. 23. Fig. 23. A large Ijell, a, when caused to vibrate, produces a powerful note. The hollow cylinder I with a movable bottom is brought near it; by altering the position of the bottom, and thus modifjdng the depth of the cylinder, the point at which the re-enforcement of the sound is greatest is easily found. The effect is very remarkable if TONE AND OVERTONES. 99 the sound of the bell is allowed to diminish until it is scarcely audible, when, on brining the cylinder nearer, the sound will again become very percep- tible. In a well-timed piano we can produce the overtones of any fimdamental tone by the sympa- thetic vibrations of the air. The demonstration is easiest in the bass. If we take, for example, the tone <7= 64 vibrations per second, its overtones are (7=64, c = 128, ^ = 192, c' = 256, e'=320, g' = 384, W = 448, c" = 512, d" = 5Y6, e" = 640,/" = Y04, /= 768, etc. This gives a total of 4,992 vibrations a second to the fundamental and its ex- isting first twelve overtones. For the higher over- tones the number of vibrations increases rapidly, so that (7= 64 with sixteen overtones will give nearly twice as many, or 9,984r vibrations a second. The multiples of sound waves for each funda- mental tone in an orchestra, and the possible thirty- four overtones for each instrument, can be con- ceived, but are not to be heard with the unaided ear. To show the overtones of 0—64c vibrations a second on a well-tuned piano, press down singly or together with the right hand the keys c, g, c', etc., so gently that the hammer of the key does not strike the piano string. Then strike the key (7= 64 with the left hand hard and rapidly. The damper will 100 VOICE BUILDING. quicklj stop the vibrating string C = 64, and, on listening attentively, the higher tones of the keys: held down by the right hand are heard vibrating, the result being a most melodious harmony. Of the tones produced by sympathetic vibrations, those which correspond to the lower overtones will be most easily distinguishable, while the higher will grow fainter and less audible, being much more dif- icult to produce. Keversing this experiment, press down lightly the key C = 64 vibrations and hold it ; then, with the pedal down, strike alternately two chords with the right hand — that is, seven overtones -^first, c, y, e' ; second, e' , g', W, g". On releasing the pedal this C = 64 will become quite audible, and, through the sympathetic vibrations of its overtones, of a highly melodious quality. If, however, we try the last two experiments with any other notes than the overtones, neither the fundamental nor the over- tones will be forthcoming in a well-tuned piano. Examining the overtones of (7 = 64, we find ISTos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, etc., to be consonant or harmonic, ISTos. T, 9, 11, 13, 15, etc., dissonant or disharmonic, and that the former increase, while the latter mar, the pure melodious quality of the sound. This is the reason why a piano string is struck on one seventh or one ninth its length in order to eliminate these discordant harmonics, and also the TONE AND OVERTONES. IQl reason that in large organs the so-called third and fifth octaves, and even the twelfth stops, are coupled that they may sound simultaneously with the funda- mental tone and strengthen its sonorous quality. It is evident that a different intensity, as well as the presence or absence of one or more overtones, though inaudible in itself, would change the quality of a tone. Violins have all the overtones to the seventh pronlinent; clarinets the third, fifth, and seventh; flutes the first and second; reed organs up to the twentieth ; and in pianos the third, seventh, twelfth, and thirteenth can often be heard by the unaided ear. To what extent the conditions influencing the timbre in any instrument may vary will be easily seen, for in pianos alone the presence of the first six overtones in dififerent degrees of intensity may pro- duce many thousand changes in timbre — all slight, but audible to our ear. The same conditions for the production of overtones exist in reed as in string instruments. In flutes we find that in the lowest octave the air vibrates as a whole. In the second octave the air column vibrates in halves through the air space, the player changing slightly the man- ner of tone production and the air blast ; while in the third octave the air inside the flute quarters. In comets and other wind instruments the tones are produced in a similar way. The character and tim- 102 VOICE BUILDING. bre of all wind instruments, however, is dependent upon the presence of certain overtones iu different ' intensity and strength ; and the form also of the hollow spaces in which the tone is produced has i Fig. 24. naturally much to do witli the formation and pro- duction of the fundamental and its overtones. The difference between a clarinet with the nasal twangy- tone quahty and one of exactly the same size and make with a full, sonorous timbre, lies in the minute TONE AND OVERTONES. 103 differences in the various borings and air spaces. The elasticity also of the material from which the clarinet is constructed has much to do with the for- mation of the fundamental and overtones. The vibrations of air in sounding pipes and the existence of overtones is beautifully shown by a mechanism invented by Prof . Konig, for producing his so-called manometric flames. The instrument is shown in Fig. 24. One or more pipes of the same size are mounted on a small box which acts as an air chest, the tube a connecting it with the bellows. The valves v enable us to use one or both the pipes. e represents an opening under which there is an elastic membrane which serves to separate the in- terior of the pipe from the interior of the capsule. This capsule is in communication on one side with the glass tube c, and on the other with the small tube/", which ends in a gas burner. The gas enters the capsule and passes through it to the burner, and a small lean flame is produced. If the pipe is not sounded the gas passes through the capsule, and the flame burns quietly. If, however, the pipe sounds, the movement of the vibrating air is communicated to the membrane of the capsule, and from it to the gas, and the flame will be seen rising and falling rapidly as it is affected by the vibrations of the air in the pipe. If a four-sided mirror, S, is placed in 104 VOICE BUILDING. front of it, which can be turned rapidly round its vertical axis while the pipe is sounding, the positions of the flame in rising and falling will be seen suc- ceeding one another with per- fect regularity, as in Fig. 25. If no note is sounded a con- tinuous ribbon of flame, with- out teeth, is reflected in the mirror. If a smaller pipe be Fio. 25. ^ ^ used, which gives a note an octave higher than the first, the vibrating flames will be seen to be of double the number of teeth in the mirror ; in other words, the higher the note with an equal speed of the mirror, the nearer together are the flames, and, conversely, the more rapid the vibra- tions of the air in the pipes. Indeed, the reflected flame is seen in the revolving mirror, ever varying its shape with the different tones. By changing the apparatus so that a speaking tube takes the place of the pipe, and playing a fundamental tone and its octave into it, the mirror will show a number of bat's wings in flame. If, however, we add a tone corresponding to the next overtone, the mirror will show several tongued flames of different lengths. We have seen that each vowel sound has a natural pitch of its own, and this may be distinctly seen by speaking the vowels into the funnel con- TONE AND OVERTONES. 105 nected withi ihe above irisHrument, where eacli will be found to give its distinctive ribbon of ligbt. Tones of the same pitch played on different instruments or sung by different persons will give a slightly differ- ent picture in the mirror. The vowel flame, Figs. 26 and 2Y, is one of astonisliing sen- sitiveness. The mere dropping of a coin into the hand already containing a piece of metal yards away will cause the flame to drop. It is startled by the patter of a raindrop, and the tick of a watch causes it to fall and roar. A loud U does not move the flame, but when O is spoken it quivers. By E it is strongly mov^d, and by the sound Ah it is thrown iuto very great com- motion, showing how beautifully this flame illustrates the theory of vowel sounds. It is plainly most sensitive ^^^ ^^ to sounds of high pitch, and from its action there is but one conclusion to be i drawn — viz., that the sound Ah contains higher notes than E, E than O, and O pos- Fio. 26. sesses a naturally higher pitch than IT. For this reason the same fundamental note sung with different vowels will give a different' jQg VOICE BUILDING. image of its overtones in the revolving mirror (Fig. 29). Tones of the same pitch produced by difEerent voices show some overtones stronger and more prom- Fig. 28. inent, some weaker, while some may he missing from one or the other voice altogether. The slight- TONE AND OVERTONES. 107 est change in the manner of producing a fundamen- tal tone and its overtones will give a different quahty to the musical sound, the quality of a musical tone being, in fact dependent upon the relative intensity and strength of its overtones. A very interesting apparatus for analyzing overtones is shown in the accompanying figure (Fig. 28). Konig has taken eight resonators tuned to the overtones of the fun- damental note e, each with their delicate flames placed one above the other, so that the reflected iirlage of the ribbons of light in the revolving mir- ror corresponds to the fundamental and the first sev^n overtones. A note corresponding in pitch to the largest or fundamental resonator should be sung close to the apparatus, and if overtones be present, they will set the resonators in action, and in turn the corresponding flames. These will be pictured in the revolving mirror (Fig. 29). The first overtone will be seen to have double the number of serrations, or teeth, as the fundamental, the second three times as many, the third four times as many, etc., provided they be present. If they are not present, the mathe- matical ratio will not be constant, showing the ab- sence or interruption of that overtone not in series. In this manner the presence and strength of the lower overtones of the human voice, or any instru- ment, may be detennined, and a photograph will 108 VOICE BIJILDING. record the image of tlie timbre of different voices, so that we can mathematically write an equation of any given voice on a fundamental tone. With this instrument the influence of the vowels may be Fig. shown on the ribbons of light, and the different overtones which each accentuate be demonstrated. Fig. 29 shows the reflected image of the fundamen- tal c and its first six overtones. CHAPTEE YI. THE EEGISTEES OF THE HUMAN VOICE. In singing an ascending scale, there is a point beyond whicli it is difficult to go without changing the method of producing the tone. The places in the musical scale at which this change occurs vary in difiEerent persons, and divide the scale into the soTcalled registers of the human voice. By regis- ter we mean the tones which are produced by a particular arrangement of the vocal cords. Man- cini,* writing as far back as 1Y74, says that in cer- tain rare instances there is only one register — the chest — ^used throughout the whole compass of the voice; and Dr. Wesley Mills f also states that in rare cases he found that the chest register, i. e., the * Mancini, Pensieri e riflessioni practiche sopra il canto figu- rato, Vienna, 1774, p. 43. f An Examination of Some of the Controverted Points of the Physiology of the Voice, especially the Registers of the Singing Voice and the Falsetto (American Association for the Advancement of Science, August, 1883). 109 ■^IQ VOICE BUILDING. chest mecliamsm, was the only one used, and he attributes this peculiarity either to special endow- ment or to a special method of teaching* Mackenzie f found, after a special iavestigation of some four hundred tramed singers, that the chest register was generally used throughout by pure sopranos, and he shows the Tocal picture to be such m the cases of NHsson, Albani, and Yaleria certainly a most remarkable observation. On the other hand, he found that contraltos sang their high notes almost invariably in the head register, mezzo-sopranos generally making use of both. Tenors also used both registers, though five-sixths of their notes were sung with the chest mechanism. A few, however, confined themselves entirely to the latter. Barytones, when they sang within their compass, used the chest register, as of course bass singers always do. As we shall presently see, nearly all scientific observers describe two registers in the human voice. Musicians, on the other hand, invariably give five, while singing teachers gen- erally divide the registers into chest, middle or * This corresponds with our own observation. It is the result of a special method of producing the voice, however, as we shall show, and not ot a special endowment. f Mackenzie, Hygiene of the Vocal Organs, London, 1888, p. 35. THE REGISTERS OF THE HUMAN VOICE, m medium, head, and falsetto. The term falsetto is used ambiguously by many writers. It is fre- quently used to indicate the medium register, be- tween the chest and head. We prefer to use the term as describing the false voice in man simu- lating the upper tone of a soprano, and as descrip- tive of an extreme birdhke register sometimes found in the altissitno of women's voices. Garcia,* writing in 1861, divided the voice into three registers, chest, falsetto, and head — all three of them common to both sexes, the female having a greater range in head and men in the chest notes. He further divided the chest into an upper and lower, and the head into an upper and lower regis- ter, thus making five distinct mechanisms. Madame Seller f followed Garcia in his division of the reg- isters. Emile Behnke:]: divided the voice into a thick (chest), a thin (falsetto), and a small (head) register. The thick and thin he again subdivided into an upper and lower, and this is the division made in his work in collaboration Avith Mr. Lennox Browne.* Dr. Wesley Mills, || in his excellent * Observations. Physilogiques sur la Voix Humaine, Paris, 1861, p. 25. t Seiler, The Voice in Singing. Philadelphia, 1881, p. 52. i Behnke, Mechanism of the Human Voice, London, 1880, p. 71. * Voice, Song, and Speech, London, 1886, p. 171. II Op. cit. 112 VOICE BUILDING. paper, seemed to agree. witli the divisions of Garcia and Madame Seiler ; but in a private letter to Mackenzie* said he did not care to be set down as a hard and fast advocate of any of the divisions of the registers now adopted. Mandl f advocated two registers only, and he apphed the term lower to the chest and the term upper to the head divi- sion. Batailie, j^ Koch,* Yacher, || Grouguenheim and Lermoyez,-'' and Martels ^ also declare for two registers. Mackenzie^ says that there are essen- tially two registers — one the chest, in which the pitch is raised by means of increasing tension of the vocal cords, the other the head, ia which a similar result is brought about by shortening of the vibrat- ing reed. He thinks that the terms long reed and short reed would serve well enough to express the fundamental diflFerences in the mechanism of. voice production. If we read him aright, he uses the head or short reed as synonymous with the falsetto. % * Quoted by Mackenzie, op. cit., p. 196. t Hygiene de la Voix Parlee ou Chantee, 2d ed., -Paris, 1879, p. 37. X Nouvelles reoherches siir la Phonation, Paris, 1861, p. 67. * De la Voix Humaine, Luxembourg. 1874, p. 20. II De la Voix chez I'Homrae, Paris, 1877, p. 39. ■^ Physiologie de la Voix et du Chant, Paris, 1885, p. 145. I) Physiologie de la Phonation. Kerne bibl. Univ. des Sci- ences Medicales, t. ii, xiii, and 1. 1885. $ Op. cit., p. 33. J Op. cit., p. 43. THE REGISTERS OF THE HUMAN VOICE. 113 As to the mechanism of the registers, most ob- servers agree that in the loWer notes of the chest register the whole of the glottis is thrown into full loose vibration, but a& the pitch rises and the cartilaginous glottis comes into closer apposition, there is a considerable increase of tension and de- crease in breadth of the vocal cords themselves, and the glottic aperture becomes much narrowed. In the falsetto, most writers hold that the vocal cords are relaxed, and that their margins, or their mucous coverings, only vibrate at tiie free border. The theory of purely marginal vibrations in the falsetto was first advanced by Lehffeldt,* aiid though resting upon a single experiment, it was taken up by Miiller,f and since that time has been accepted by almost every writer on the subject. They have disagreed as to the way in which the mucous membrane was thrown into vibration, as to the extent of surface involved, as to the tension of the cords, and the' appearance and extent of the glottic aperture ; but, generally speaking, they have agreed that tone in this register is produced by the * Lehfeldt, NonnuUa de vocis formatione, Dissert. Inaug., Berlin, 1835, p. 58. t J. MiiUer, Ueber die Compensation der phrsischen KrSfte ■am menschliehen Stiinmapparat, Berlin, 1839. 114 VOICE BUILDING. vibrations either of the thin edges of the vocal cords or of their mucous covering only. We have contented ourselves with this general statement since the revelations of the laryngo- stroboscope, vrhich we shall presently describe, have disproved the various theories as to the action of the vocal cords advanced by different writers. A suggestion, however, of Martels,* in discussing the formation of the registers, is worthy of attention. Martels considered that the difference between the chest and the falsetto registers was that, while the notes in the former are produced by the cords themselves acting as reeds, in the falsetto they are in reality jl/wle sounds, and that they are not the result of the vibrations of the cords proper, but of the air in the cavities above. This is also the opin- ion of Chater,f who from a long and careful study of the falsetto says : " In the production of this voice the vocal mechanism becomes an instrument of the clarinet or oboe class — that is, the vocal cords become reeds of the flexible variety and cease to influence the pitch of the tone produced, but act as do the reeds of those instruments, merely for the purpose of setting the air in the tube in vibration, * Op. cit. t Scientific Voice, Artistic Singing, etc., London, 1890, p. 53. THE REGISTERS OP THE HUMAN VOICE. US the pitch being governed by the alterations in the length of the tube. For convenience, we assume that there are three registers, chest, medium, and head, which need be considered in training the human voice; but we believe that there are but two distinct mechanisms, and even the transition from one register to the other in singing the scale may be made practically imperceptible, if the proper method be employed. As to the shape of the glottis, we admit that the whole glottis is open in all voices in the lowest or chest register, and that this condition is maintained up to a certain pitch, which varies in different indi- viduals. Beyond this point the cartilaginous glottis is closed and the head mechanism begins. We are, however, convinced that one mechanism may be cul- tivated throughout the entire compass of the voice ; that the vocal cords may be made to assume a position in which they are to all intents and pur- poses parallel throughout their whole extent ; and, furthermore, that this relation of the cords is not necessarily disturbed in passing from the chest to the head register. In this method of voice produc- tion the vocal cords, as we pass from one register to another, divide themselves into vibrating seg- ments by the formation of one or more nodes in the length and breadth of the cords. Again, we hold 116 VOICE BUILDING. that the separate notes in the chest register are the result of varying changes of tension brought about by the intrinsic muscles of the larynx and of the vocal cords themselves ; but that in the head regis- ter the vocal cords are divided into two or more vibrating segments, and become to a certain extent flexible reeds, sometimes commanding and some- times commanded by the vibrations of the columns of air in the resonating cavities above. The tones are not always the result of the vibrations of the cords themselves imparted to the air, but of the vibra- tions of the air column in the vocal tube and reso- nating cavities. And so we find that the more per- fect the management of the resonating cavities in the vocal apparatus, the more readily the air col- umn is subdivided and the richer the voic§ becomes in overtones. The production of tone in the human larynx is similar to a combination of tone production in reed instruments and tongue flutes, the vocal cords of the larynx taking the place of the tongue in flutes and of the reed in reed instruments. The throat, mouth, and the cavities above assist in the forma- tion of tone in the same way as do the hollow spaces in these instruments. There can hardly be a doubt that, as in flutes, the air in the cavities of the human- organs of speech vibrates in some persons for the THE REGISTERS OP THE HUMAN VOICE. I17 lower or first notes as a whole, for the medhim notes' in two air columns, and for tlie upper in three. In yery highly trained voices, moreover, a fourth register or falsetto may be developed which has always a beautifully clear, birdlike quality. This has been observed mostly in soprano and alto voices, and in such cases the column of air is prob- ably quartered. The position of the larynx varies in the head register, but we have observed that it does not necessarily rise as the scale ascends, as is so com- monly supposed, and certainly not in the method employed by many of our best singers. This fact was also noted by Chater, who found that, in pass- ing from the chest to the head register, there occurred frequently a fall of the larynx to a slightly lower position, and where this was the case there was encountered an entire absence of muscu- lar contraction and facial contortion whi^h often accompanies the singing of the head register. The position and movements of the vocal cords in the production of tone have been the source of much acrimonious discussion. Photographs galore of the cords emitting different notes have been made and, we fear, touched up to meet precon- ceived requirements, and much ink has been wasted in describing what different observers saw or did 118 VOICE BUILDING. not see.. This can not be wondered at when we reflect that the ordinary laryngoscopic mirror was used and conclusions drawn as to the delicate intrinsic movements of the vocal cords from this fleeting picture. Oertel, of' Munich, was the first to apply more delicate and scientific methods to the examination of the vocal cords. As far back as 1878, in the Centralblatt for Scientific Medicine, he published an article describing^ an instrument called the laryngo- stroboscope, u^ed for the examination 'of the vocal cords in phbn'ation.: In a very important article in the Archives' fiir Laryngologie for 1895, Oertel re- turns to the subject, and, .with the aid of a much improved instrument, he has established some new and very important facts, both as to the vibration of membranes and of the vocal cords. Briefly, the stroboscope is an instrument which enables us to see the intrinsic movements of any vibrating object, such as a string, a membrane, or the vocal cords of the human larynx. The instru- ment, as perfected' by Oertel, is shown in Figs. 30 and 31. Behind the large reflector M is a rotating disk S, in the periphery of which there are rows of holes, a h c, respectively 32, 16, and 8 in number, covering three octaves. By the handle B the reflector can be placed over one or the other THE REGISTERS OP THE HUMAN VOICE. 119 row of lioles. The disk is made to rotate by the motor D, whose rate can be regulated by the -rheostat R. On the other hand, the rate of the Fio. 30. 120 VOICE BUILDING. •'»:) disk itself may be further controlled by a brake, V. In order to find the exact rate of interrup- THE REGISTERS OP THE HUMAN VOICE. 121 tion of the disk, and its relation to the rate of vibra- tion of the membrane, which is an absolute neces- sity in the examination of the vocal cords, the disk is arranged so that it acts as a siren, and we can get an exact correspondence between the note of the cords and of the disk. In other words, we can get synchronism between the vibrations of the two. When the tone of the vocal cords is the same as that of the disk, we see the vocal cords apparently at rest, but by varying the rapidity of the rotating disk the intrinsic movements of the vocal cords become very distinct. This may be readily under- stood when we remember, that when there is unison between the tone of the disk and that of the vocal cords, in the time which elapses between the appear- ance of the vocal cords through one hole and their appearance through the next, the cords will have completed one vibration, and consequently will be seen as if at rest. If, however, the rate of the disk is slower than the oscillations of the vocal cords, the vocal cords will have finished one eicursion to and fro, and begun a second, before a second hole comes to give us a glimpse of them. Thus, with a dif- ference of , for example, between the rate of the - n disk and that of the vibration of the cords, the cords between each opening will have described 122 VOICE BUILDING. n-\-l movement in time, but we see only the move- ment represented by n, and so in a given series we see the membranes moving as slowly as we please, and we may observe any portion of their surfaces. By magnifying the size of the vocal cords we «re enabled to see very plainly under the stroboscope their intrinsic movements. In order to get such a magnified image of the cords, a telescope, F, Fig. 30, is fixed to the instrument. Any method of illumina- tion of the throat may be used, and the hand mirror is introduced and manipulated as in an ordinary laryngoscopic examination. In the article above referred to, Oertel begins by saying, and we entirely agree with him, that the theoretical assumption that in the upper register the free border only of the vocal cord vibrates, lacks any anatomical, physiological, or physical basis. To produce this condition, where only a thin edge of the cords is presented to the outgoing air, the inter- nal fibres of the thyro-arytenoid muscle would have to be strongly contracted, and the elastic fibres of the cords themselves considerably narrowed, and the result of any such contraction of the muscle would be to very greatly narrow the glottic slit, which is exactly the condition we do not find in the head tones. On the contrary, we know that, in this register there is a comparatively wide glottis,, which . THE BEQISTBRS OF THE HUMAN VOICE. 123 fact excludes the possibility of any such active par- ticipation of the thyroid-arytenoid muscle in the formation and shape of the vocal cords in this regis- ter. Furthermore, observation and experiment con- vinced Oertel that this muscle is, in the head regis- ter, only passive in its action, simply giving tone and elasticity to the vocal ligament. That the edge only of an elastic membrane should be set into vi- bration by the air blowing against it is impossible, and a further argument against this theory. "We must therefore look for another explanation of the action of the cords in the upper register than the one so generally held, that in this register, the vi- brations are limited either to the free edge only, or to the mucous dovering of the cords. That it is, however, that segment of the cords near the free border that is thrown into most active vibration in the high register, can be seen even with the ordinary laryngoscope. In mild cases of ca- tarrh, says Oertel, and we have often noticed the same phenomenon, tiny pearls of mucus may be seen to move from the ventricles of Morgagni out toward the edge of the vocal cords and run toward apparently fixed points, where they remain till ex- pectorated. Observers have always spoken of these spots as nodal points on the cords. Oertel says that this is not the case ; that, as a matter of fact, the tiny 124 VOICE BUILDING. pearls of mucus are driven by the centrifugal force of the vibrating vocal cords to the middle point of the vibrating segment, and from thence are thrown outward. They mark, then, if anything, points of greatest movement in the vibrating segments, and not points of rest.* This fact Oertel proved con- clusively with rubber membranes stretched over a tube through which air might be blown, and over fun- nels of different sizes connected with the tube. On the membranes were placed little drops of a mucus- Uke jelly, and when the membrane was set vibrating the drops were thrown toward the free edge, from which points they would be expelled, or they some- times moved along the free edge to the point of great- est vibration in the middle 'of the segment, and from there would be carried out by the blast of air. The points at which the pearls of mucus would come to rest were not fixed, but varied very much from * This observation confirms the theory advanced several years ago by the author as to the formation of nodules of attrition in singers' cords, and explains the removal of the same by exercises in vocalization, which exercises were theoretically supposed to make the cords vibrate in a way which prevented their ventral segments from touching ; the method employed being a change "of the plan of vibration of the cords, by bringing into use the overtones which were always found lacking in singers subject to this affection. See, The Effects on the Vocal Cords of Im- proper Methods of Voice Production, and their Remedy, read before the Pan-American Medical Congress, 1893. THE REGISTERS OF THE HUMAN VOICE. 125 time to time in each membrane, so that there could be no doubt that they were not nodal points. These facts most conclusively prove that the vibrat- ing membrane in the upper register is not limited to the free border of the cords, and least of all to its mucous covering. Oertel found, too, the inter- esting fact that the greater the difEerence between the diameter of the tube and that of the mouth of the funnel, the smaller relatively became the trans- verse diameter of the vibrating portion of the mem- brane. And so in the case of the human larynx in its relation to the trachea ; that portion of the vo- cal cords lying against the thyroid cartilage would be set into greater or less vibration by the air, according to the relative diameter of the larynx as compared with that of the upper trachea. We shall see that the above statements are confirmed by stroboscopic examination of the vocal cords in the chest and head registers, to which experiments we shall presently refer. The vibration of membranes as seen by the stroboscope is interesting, and has a direct bearing upon the vibrations of the vocal cords as seen in the same manner. Oertel found that membranes set in motion by an air blast vi- brate in their entire length and breadth, and at the same time they subdivide into segments, longitudi- nally and transversely, the segments being divided 126 VOICE BUILDING. a Ab /c Id Ae kf \g jh Ai a «r-..^ E a ^'"^ -0^' -^,^ _ " "^-^ F a^ — z^ — -^ -6 Fig. 32. v.: by nodal lines. Under tliese conditions the mem- brane vibrates longitudinally, like a stretched string (Fig. 32, D, g\ transversely, as a rod fixed at one end (Fig. 32, E, F, Q). Two membranes under the THE REGISTERS OP THE HUMAN VOICE. 127 same tension vibrate synchronously (Fig. 32, A). If, however — and tliis is important in view of its application to the vocal cords — ^they are subjected to a difEerent tension, the vibrations become alter- nate (Fig. 32, B). Oertel was the first to discover this fact, and it has been confirmed by Koschlakoff * and Simanowski.f In its transverse diameter the memlsrane is di- vided by nodal hues, between which are well- marked waves of vibration. Fig. 32, C, ah being the slit of the glottis. The first nodal line is close to the free border of the membrane, and divides it into a wave whose width is about one quarter that of the latter. The waves iucrease in length very greatly as they near the free border of the mem- brane, and vibrate in opposite directions, that is while the crest of one is above, the crest of the next is below the level. A cross section of the membrane under these conditions gives an exact picture of a vibrating rod fixed at one end and divided by nodal points (Fig. 32, G). Longitudi- nally, nodal points are formed on the free edge, and the membrane is divided into separate vibrating *'Wratsch, St. Petersburg, 1884, No. 38; Pfliigers Archives fUr Physiologie, 1885, Band 34; Pflugers Archives fur Physi- ologie, 1886, Band 38, p. 438. f Russkaja Medicina, 1885, No. 24. 128 VOICE BUILDING. segments. Oertel most often saw a nodal point es- tablisli itself at about one quarter the length of. tlie membrane (Fig. 32, D h) ; they established them- selves, however, at other points under certain con- ditions, as in c? ef g, Fig. 32 D. The vibration of the segments of the free border are best seen when the membranes are not vibrating synchro- nously. Longitudinal vibrations extend but a very little distance transversely over the membrane, and a longitudinal section of the free edge gives a pic- ture hke that of a string set into segmental vibra- tion. Imbert,* using Oertel's stroboscope, found that rubber membranes set into vibration divided themselves into segments separated by nodal hues, as shown in Fig. 33, in which* the membrane is seen in Fig. ss. transverse section, D being the fixed and O the free border of the same. B is a true nodal point, and is formed both when the membrane is set in motion by the air or when it is pulled up by its free border, it is plainly the result of the interference of the di- rect waves and those reflected from the fixed end D. * Nouv. Montpellier M^dioale, 1892, Supplement, p. 149. THE KBGISTERS OF THE HUMAN VOICE. 129 A and C are nodes of inflection, A being caused by the alternate rarefaction and condensation of the air in the box over which the membrane is stretched, by the vibration of the free edge of the membrane. Fio. 34. This node, he thinks, corresponds to Oertel's nodal line seen in the vocal cords.. The nodal line C is formed by the posterior section B D spontaneously dividing itself into segments which can vibrate synchronously with the segments O A and A B. If the transverse tension of the membrane is in- creased the pitch of the note will gradually rise until it becomes bi-tonal. Increasing the tension still further, the nodes A and will disappear, and there will be a sudden fall of pitch. Imbert found that when he damped the membrane in the middle with a solid plate, N A (Fig. 34), on its being moved toward O the pitch fell ; if moved toward B it be- came higher. If the part A B is covered by a sec- ond plate, there is a remarkable increase in. the in- tensity of the tone, the reason being that in this case a part of the membrane is damped, which could with difiSculty. vibrate in unison with the anterior 130 VOICE BUILDING. segment. He proved this by damping the lower part of a rubber tube, which was fixed on the end of a rigid one, through which air was blown. If, under these conditions, the free end of the tube was drawn into a glottisUke opening, and a solid plate was pressed against the lower part of the rubber tube, the intensity of the tone was greatly increased. Indeed, even the slight pressure of a lead pencil against certain points had the same effect. In both these cases the augmentation of the tone was due to the subdivision of the. tube into segments which readily vibrated in unison. Imbert applies the re- sults of these experiments on membranes to the laryiix, as follows : He thinks t^at the internal thyro-arytenoid inus- cle acts as the plate did when applied to the mem- brane. It increases or decreases the vibrating sur- face of the vocal cords, and so raises or lowers the pitch. "We should liken the action of the internal thyro-arytenoid muscle in limiting the vibrating sur- face of the vocal cords, to that of the wire which is used in some organ pipes to press against the reed to lengthen or shorten it, and thus to vary its rate of vibration. Imbert thinks that the increase and decrease of pitch observed by varying the transverse tension of a membrane may have its counterpart in the stretch- THE REGISTERS OP THE HUMAN VOICE. 131 ing of the mucous covering of the larynx and cords, which may result from the rise or fall of the thy- roid cartilage. Koschlakoff, examining the vibrations of mem- branes with the stroboscope in an artificial larynx, as shown in Fig. 35, confirmed in every detail the experiments of Oertel. In a former chapter we sug- gested that the angle of incidence of the vocal cords must have a considerable effect on the formation of the tone. In this connection Koschlakoff makes the interesting statement that the angle of incidence of the cords affects the type of their vibration, alternate vibrations being generally found where the angle of incidence is small, and that as the angle increased the more distinctly synchro- nous the vibrations became. He found, too, that where the vibrations were alternate the cord vibrated as a whole, but as they became synchronous the vocal cords were divided into segments. We have thus seen that membranes do divide themselves into segments, and that under all conditions the entire membrane is set into vibration ; that in certain conditions, how- ever, it is the outer edge and the more superficial Fig. 35. — Artificial larynx with rubber mem- branes. 132 VOICE BUILDING. parts wliich participate most violently in the vibra- tions. We sliall see that these phenomena are to a considerable extent reproduced in the vibrations of the vocal cords when seen with the stroboscope. To pass now to the movements of the vocal cords as seen in the stroboscope. The Chest Register. — If the disk of the strobo- scope and the vocal cords are vibrating in unison, and the lowest note is sounded, the vocal cords will be seen at rest, with a transverse concavity extend- ing along their entire length, and their free border forming a convex line which extends from their posterior to their anterior insertion. If the relation between the rate of the disk of the stroboscope and the oscillation of the vocal cords is changed — that is, Fio. 36.— Vibration of the vocal cords in the chest register in trans- verse section. if the disk is made to revolve more slowly — the vo- cal cords will be seen throughout their entire length and breadth in oscillation, and in such a way that the extent of the excursion of individual points in- creases with their distance from the fixed border of the cords (Fig. 36). ■ : THE REGISTERS OF THE HUMAN VOICE. I33 The vibrations of the cords are synchronous, and the extent of oscillation considerable. When a higher tone is sounded an increase in length and a decrease in the breadth of the vocal cords is dis- tinctly visible, but at this point the intrinsic move- ments of the cords are lost, not to appear again until the disk is set rotating at or about the rate of vibration of the vocal cords (Fig. 37). The Upper Register. — Here again the vocal cords are seen vibrating throughout their entire Fia. 87. — Vibration of the vocal cords in the upper register in transverse section. length and breadth, but the character of the move- ments is entirely altered. First, the vocal cords are flatter and their edges thinner, and they are divided into segments which have their own rate of vibra- tion. This division is characterized by a faint oval 134 VOICE BUILDING. line, m a rid Ti g off a narrow zone comparatively close to tlie free border. This oval line is a nodal line wMcli divides the cord into two unequal segments (Fig. 32 F). In this case a node has been developed at c, and we have a wave which takes up in cross section three quarters of the width of the cord. The extent of the movement of the peripheral segment is small. The vocal cord is thus divided into two unequal segments, and its movement may again be likened to the transverse vibration of a rod fixed at one end, where at three quarters of its length a node has been developed. As the tone goes higher the in- trinsic movements again disappear, only to return when the disk vibrates at or about the rate of the vocal cords. Oertel says that in one case only, in a cultivated singer, with a remarkable falsetto, who had very broad, vocal cords, did he see a second nodal line, as in Fig. 32, G. In this case the vocal cord was divided into three segments. As the result of these observations, we are justified in saying that tone in the chest register is produced by the vibra- tions of the vocal cords themselves through their entire length and breadth ;. in the upper register by their subdivision into vibrating segments, separated by nodal lines. Oertel's observations on the living larynx have been confirmed in every particular by THE REGISTERS OP THE HUMAN VOICE. I35 KoschlakoflE, except that lie saw a second nodal line ' but once, and that was in an exsected larynx with which he was experimenting. Curiously, it was in a larynx thie mucous membrane of which was much infiltrated and loosened, and the whole cord consid- erably broadened, which partially fulfilled the con- dition present, i. e., of a broad vocal cord, where Oertel saw two nodal lines. Koschlakoff is of the opinion that the formation of more than one nodal line in the cords is found under pathological condi- tions only. Under normal conditions he saw but one nodal line in the cords, in the artificial, the hv- ing, and the exsected larynx. In his experience, both in the head and in the chest register, the ten- sion of the vocal cords increased as the note was raised. The movement in the upper register of the outer segment of the cords was very small, that of the inner segment — ^that is, the free border of the cord — ^much greater, but nothing like so extensive^as the movement of the cords in the chest register. Koschlakoff also confirmed the alternate oscillation of membranes under different tension. In order to see if this were true for the vocal cords, Sima- nowski cut the crico-thyroid muscle on one side, in one experiment, and exsected the superior laryngeal nerve in another. In both cases he found that the alteration of tension thus produced caused alternate 10 136 VOICE BUILDING. oscillations of tlie vocal cords. Alternate oscilla- tions of the vocal cords were found to take place, according to Oertel, where in acute or chronic laryn- gitis the thickness of the cord had been increased, and there was a corresponding loss of tension. He mentions the case of an old man where there was very great relaxation and sagging of the superficial layer of the cords, and where the elastic parts could be plainly differentiated from the internal fibres of the thyro-arytenoid muscle. Here, too, he found the same alternate vibrations, and distinct segmental vibrations of the vocal cords through the building of nodal lines. It may be remembered that Oertel stated that nodal hues were always more plainly to be seen in those membranes which were unequally tensed, and in which there were consequently alter- nate vibrations, conditions which were satisfied in this latter case. CHAPTER VII. TONE PLACING. ^THE APPLICATION OF THE COEEECT FOCUS OF TONE IN EEMOVING PATHOLOGICAL CON- DITIONS, CAUSED BY THE USE OF IMPEOPEE METH- ODS OF VOICE PEODUCTION. A MAjoEiTT of singers lose their voices not from overwork, but as a result of improper emission and respiration. The muscles of the larynx, like those of the arms and legs, get similarly tired and exhausted after excessive work. The baseball player and the golfer lack proper co-ordination after a long game, and their delivery or stroke, as the case may be, be- comes uncertain. So with the singer after overwork ; as the muscles of the larynx tire there ensues a lack of perfect equilibrium, and the tones are produced by forcing, in an attempt to overcome the uncer- tainty 'which one always feels as the result of loss of tension from muscular fatigue. We often observe in the laryngoscopic mirror, after the singer has over- strained them, a dusky congestion of the cords and 137 138 VOICE BUILDING. a slight bulging of their middle third. If one looks closely and asks the person to sing a note in the me- dium, it is remarked that the cords touch one an- other in the bellied portion. "We say often, for, unfortunately, the stroke of the glottis is so gener- ally taught even to-day that this picture is con- stantly presented. It is very important for the laryngologist and the scientific teacher to accurately observe the mid- dle portion of singers' cords, for by this means one is able to determine whether the so-caUed method of production is correct or otherwise. Long before the nodules of attrition appear on the cords, we are enabled to observe that there is a tendency toward these dreaded growths, the hete noire of artists. First we should investigate the tendency to touch in the middle, or, more properly speaking, the junction of the anterior and middle third, in singing the medium register. This condition should be looked for in this register, for it can not be ob- served when the cords are put in greatest tension until much later. The subjective symptoms are these : PupUs com- plain that they are losing their piano notes, and it is diflBcult to sing mezso-voce. At the commencement of this condition the high notes are as good as ever, for the reason that TONE PLACING. 139 in greater tension the cords do not touch in the centre. The next complaint we hear is that the singer is beginning to sing a trifle off the pitch, and they complain that for the first time, they are hoarse after singing. Absolute rest will cure this stage of the malady, and the books all are agreed as to the advice that should be given in these cases — ^to wit, three months to a year of absolute rest. This is a very easy thing to say in one's office, but how many times it means to the patient the cessation of income and a condition of absolute want staring him in the face. For the benefit of this class of patients it is our purpose to introduce some exercises, which oftentimes will restore an absolutely wornout voice in the short space of a few days. These exercises have been employed by scores of artists at our suggestion, and as we have yet to hear a dissenting voice as to their efficacy, it is with a certain degree of confidence that we advance the theory upon which this chapter is founded. With the following axioms we presuppose the pupil to have become familiar : 1. Singing should be done with the least possible effort. 2. No excessive external muscular contraction should interfere with the natural play of th'e thyroid 140 VOICE BUILDING. and cricoid cartilages (the larynx) during tone pro- dnction. 3. In exit tlie tone shonld be allowed to resonate in all tlie natural acoustic cavities and attain its greatest complement of overtones or harmonics. 4. The respiration should be so regulated that the greatest amplitude of vibration of the cords be produced with the least possible air blast. 5. The intrinsic muscles of the larynx should be so trained that attrition of the cords becomes an impossibility. 6. The health of the body should be kept at the best, that the mucous membranes of the throat and nose do not thicken and affect the timbre or quahty of the voice. ** 7. The facial muscles and the muscles of the neck should not involuntarily contract during tone production. 8. The tongue and soft palate should be re- laxed, except in the employment of the necessary muscular action required in articulation and tone modification. If we study the formation of the consonants we perceive that M, P, and B are essentially produced, both in speaking and singing, upon the hps ; hence they are called labials. The letters T, D, and often N are fonned on a TONE PLACING. 141 plane passing vertically throngL. the front teetli, and are consequently known as dentals. A combination of labial and dental is discovered in pronouncing F and Y. If we now go backward, imagining a succession of vertical planes tbrougb tbe mouth, we find in pronouncing the consonants that the sides of the tongue approximate to the teeth instead of the point which forms the dentals T and D, and pro- duce in succession going toward the soft palate C, Z, S, K, W, and Y. These consonants may be classified as Hnguals for our purposes. The vowel sounds A, E, I, O, and U originate in the larynx. !N^ow let us leave for a moment the consideration of the vertical plane and assume a succession of horizontal planes from the glottis or vocal cords to the level of the root of the nose. We wiU try in succession several consonants and combi- nations and seek to determine the relative origin of tone. First, place the tip of the finger upon the larynx or Adam's apple and sing the words Mama, Papa, Baba, May, Pay, and Bay, and then sing the vowel E, pronounced as in .ear. We observe that there is more commotion under the finger when E is sung 142 VOICE BUILDING. than when Ma or Pa is attempted, and the origin of the vowel is in the larynx. The same will be found true of Ah, the attack being felt in the larynx .proper. In singing the labials P and B we can feel the air compressed be- hind the lips before the tone breaks through. So in singing Ah and E we can feel the pressure of the air column below the cords before the tone issues. This production in the larynx is known as the coup de ghtte, or stroke of the glottis. "We find by prefixing a labial consonant, M, P, or B, that the shock is reduced to a minimum, and the vocal cords do not necessarily touch each other in the initial attack ; hence, Ma or Maw should be the word to use in practice, and almost never Ah, and never E.* The vowel E is responsible for the ruin of many a young singer's voice. It exists in our language and we must sing it, but that does not prove that we must ruin our throats to attain it, nor employ it in practising if it is harmful. That the vowels A, pronounced as in ah, and E, as in me, are injurious when given with the * Madam Melba has repeatedly told me that she never prac- tises her highest notes. She simply "feels " that they are pres- ent by the general oondition of her throat and voice, and she does not attempt them except when she uses them on the stage. Her exercises for warming the voice always commence with Ma, sung dans U masque in the medium register. TONE PLACING. 143 shock or stroke of the glottis, is evidenced in nu- merous pupils of singing who present themselves to have their throats treated, thinking that their laryn- gitis is due to causes other than their pernicious method of practising their vocal exercises. The exercises which have proved beneficial to the singer with bulged cords and to those who pre- sent nodules of attrition are based upon the forego- ing considerations. If a person in riding has been pulled for a long time by a gay horse the arms and hands become numb and stiff with fatigue and overstrain. To cure this condition we might tell the horseman to rest and he would recover in a few hours. To em- ploy dumb-bells in mild exercises would facilitate the restitution of a normal condition in less time than if rest alone were employed ; while if passive massawe were combined with the dumb-bells the recovery would take place in even a shorter space of time. It is upon a similar theory that we have devel- oped the means which we consider very important factors in the care and development of the human voice. By studying the laws of vibration of strings and pipes in physics, we find that there are sections of the vibrating string and portions of the air ia the organ pipes, which do not vibrate with the string or 144 VOICE BUILDING. pipe as a whole, but which as nodes and segments subdivide the string and pipe into active and passive portions. By careful observation we are enabled to see whether the vocal cord is making a segment in the centre, or whether the vocal cords are vibrating longitudinally without making a segment that touches the opposite one in vibration. If there happens to be a little mucus on the cord it will facilitate the- observation. The eye must be especially educated in order to appreciate what it observes ; for with students it is very diffi- cult to make them see even the premonitory pearl which is the first indication of the development of singer's nodules. Even before the appearance of Fig. 38. Fig. 39. the pearl, which is simply a glistening point, we are able to observe the convex contour of the mar- gins, as shown in the plate (Fig. 38), the cords tend- TONE PLACING. 145 ing to converge in the middle. Another phase is shown in Figs. 39 and 40, which shows the develop- Fio. 41. ment of the so-called double glottis. Here it would look as though the nodule of attrition had become a true node, but this is not so, as undoubtedly there is not a double segmen- tation of the cords in vibration, but the nod- ule is only more pro- nounced from inflamma- tory changes. Two de- ductions may be drawn from this picture, either the cords are being used in singing with insufii- cient tension, or their internal adjustment by the thyro-arytenoid muscle is faiilty, for the latter 146 VOICE BUILDING. condition would cause an improper plan of vibra- tion. The cords are being injured, and the method of singing needs readjustment to relieve this condition. Change of method will relieve this condition quicker than rest, instrumentation, or drugs. It is upon the same principle that a change to dumb-bells will relieve the overstrained arms of the rider. "We must seek to bring other resultant forces to work to produce tension and make the convexities of the vibrating segments focus at another point. This may be brought about by a change in the method of voice production. We once observed that all the pupils of a cer- tain singing master had %hat is known as a breathy tone, and on examination their cords presented the picture as is shown in Figs. 41 and 42. In questioning we found that in the method which had produced this bowing, or elliptical open- ing of the glottis, the vowel O had been almost con- stantly employed in daily practice, and no attention whatever given to the respiration, nearly twice as many respirations as were necessary being em- ployed in ordinary phrasing. In another class of pupils from a well-known conservatory where the stroke of the glottis was daily taught and practised, we observed the oppo- TONE PLACING. I47 site of this condition; instead of the ellipse we found the cords bulged, presenting a convexity one toward the other (Figs. 38 and 40), the centre show- ing the result of attrition. Here upon investigation we ascertained that the vowel A, as in ah, and E, pronounced as in ear, were the vowels used in the daUy routine work with the explosive attack. Having by repeated observa- tion verified the truth of the hj'pothesis, we under- took an interesting experiment to observe the effect of a change of method upon the condition of the cords. One pupil, ruined by the false theory of the con- servatory, we advised to apply to the teacher whose product was elliptical, and whose horror of the cowp de glotte had carried him to the extreme of breathiness of tone ; while another pupil of the elliptical school was sent to the advocate of the " French attack." To our utter surprise we found both pupils ab- solutely cured of the condition of which they com- plained at the end of a very few lessons, and each roundly denounced the method and the teacher who had led them into such error. It was the appreciation of how much lay in the realm of theory in teaching, that led us to investi- gate in how far the troubles of singers were due to their faulty emission and habits of tone production. The subject has proved so vast, yet so highly 14:8 VOICE BUILDING. important, that even witli tlie hearty co-operation of many of the very best artists of to-day, we must admit we are but on the threshold of truth, and write our convictions with a certain degree of pre- caution, fully conscious that the strictly scientific treatment of the subject will like all other ionova- tions, find plenty of adverse criticism. We can only say that our demonstrations have been so successful that some of our greatest artists have discarded the stroke of the iglottis, after look- ing at the picture of their own cords and the cords of others in more or less advanced stages of singers' nodules, appreciating after a week of exercises with the proper attack that it was a new method of voice production they needed instead of drugs. When a voice is getting worn, losing its carry- iag power and warmth of tone, when a little too much effort causes hoarseness and vocal fatigue, look for two things — explosive attack, which causes a bulging of the cords and the nodules of attrition, or breathiness of tone, causing an elliptical con- dition of the vocal ligaments. The laryngoscopic mirror will in every case con- firm the diagnosis, and we will generally find one of the above pictures presented. We can in no fewer words illustrate the method of relieving this condition than to quote from a TONE PLACING. I49 monograph read by the author before the State Music Teachers' Convention ia Eochester two years ago, which will review somewhat the rales laid down in the chapter on respiration, and the proper focus of tone. " If we take a good-sized laryngoscopic mirror — No. i, for example — and ask a patient to sing E or Ah, the cords come into view for two reasons: First, the epiglottis becomes more perpendicular, allowing a bettef view of the bands ; and, secondly, the cords themselves are on a more elevated plane, owing to a slight elevation of the larynx and relax- ation of the intrinsic tensors of the cords. In this position we remark that the free borders of the cords come together in the anterior and central por- tions, and we are able to study the initial tone attack, the membrane separating as the tone bursts through the closed chink. This picture may be said to be an imitation on a small scale of the so-called stroke of the glottis. In this method of producing a tone,. the initial attack being upon the cords them- selves, "the central, portions of the cords necessarily touch. The pecuKar muscular equilibrium which is employed in this mode of attack invites a reflex elevation of the soft palate, cutting off the oral from the nasal cavities. As we look at this picture our minds revert to the singing teacher who com- 150 VOICE BUILDING. mands her pupils to keep their palates up, sing in the back of their heads, and strike the glottis. Could ever villainy be more compounded ! Let us take the same patient and require him to sing the same note, but in an entirely different way. "We will first ask him to expand his upper chest, not necessarily by respiration, but by elevation of the superior ribs by a muscular effort, at the same time sUghtly drawing in the abdominal wall. We now introduce -the smallest mirror and ask our patient to sing A, pronounced as in law or maw. "With this position of the larynx and muscular poise we ob- serve two things : First, the epiglottis does not assume its most vertical aspect, not inclining as near the perpendicular, and the soft palate and uvula do not spring upward and backward to make the parti- tion between the mouth and naso-pharynx. Di£fer- ent in every respect is the tone produced by the cords which may be assumed to vibrate longitudi- nally, but never touching each other in the middle portion, even in making the initial attack. The cords appear narrower, tenser, lower in the voice tube, equidistant from each other, more homogene- ous, and whiter in colour. " These two pictures should be well considered, as they become the basis of criticism in distinguish- ing the correct and ehminating incorrect methods TONE PLACING. 151 on the one hand in singers' voices, and of the great- est assistance to the laryngologist in correcting pathological conditions, the result of bad training. " Within the past three years the entire theory of musical education has changed in France, the ex- planation of this change being that there is at pres- ent a better appreciation of the influences bearing upon the production of tone and a better under- standing of the physiology of the larynx by reason of the advances made in laryngoscopy. "Modem teaching tends to cultivate tone har- monies and sympathy in the voice at the expense of brilliancy of execution. The same judgment should be exercised in the training of an individual who proposes to make singing his or her art as should be employed in advising the painter that his special forte lies in landscapes, rich in colour, to which he may give expression to his imaginative genius, rather than the sterner facsimile of portraiture. " How many singers we hear whose technicque and brilliant staccato in the Bell Song of Lakme calls forth our admiration and amazement, but who are absolutely unable to put any sympathy whatso- ever into the simplest ballad. We should study colour harmonies in music in the same way that they must be studied in painting. There is no rule for the palpitating sunhght efEects and prismatic 11 152 VOICE BUILDING. play of colours in tlie school of Claude Monet ^ it is certainly a subtile feeling whicli is given by an in- genious mingling of pure spectrum colours. In tlie human voice that added colouring of tone, which appeals to the heart as well as to the ear of the listener, must be brought about by the employment of those harmonics, which are added to the original tone by intervibrations within the accessory cavities of the nasal passages. To sing dans le masque, as the French say, is to give this added richness to the initial tone ; but to sing in this manner requires the soft palate and uvula to be lowered in the produc- tion of tone. Likewise, to make the purest initial tone from the cords we must get the utmost possible tension. Several elements enter into the question of the greatest possible tension, one of the most im- portant of which is that the trachea be drawn down to assimie the position that it takes when the apices of the lungs are filled to their greatest extent with air. One of the greatest singers that ■ the world has ever known told me that the reason he adopted a fixed high chest was that he had found, after an operation performed on one of his cords, that the only way in which he could be at all sure of his voice while singing was in the maintenance of the so-called high-chest respiration. This is easily explained by the fact that in this position—: TONE PLACING. I53 the upper ribs remaming fixed — ^the apices of the lungs, always remaining in contact with the thoracic wall, are expanded to their fullest extent, the cords reflexively tending to keep in their state of greatest possible tension. In this position the breathing becomes entirely inferior costal and diaphragmatic. -The position of the thoracic cavity, as indicated above, pei-mits the lungs to expand to their fullest extent, thus adding a secondary resonance to the voice from below — a sort of complementary timbre — ^the fixed upper thorax allowing of the least pos- sible change of colour during tone production. "It is this combination of facial and thoracic tone fortification which gives the enormous carry- ing power to tones produced by this method. For a number of years, before I made a special study and estimated the great significance of these factors in singing, I deluged the throats of singers with sedative and astringent sprays when their cords ap- peared congested and swoUen, ofttimes presenting nodules in their centre which I had never previously recognised as being due entirely to singing with an improperly poised larynx." Let us imagine we have a voice presented, suf- fering from either of the above-mentioned condi- tions. Since we have found Ma or Mem to be the combination of most anterior origin, we will ask our 154 VOICE BUILDING. pupil to pose a tone as follows. (If a soprano, take c", or a note thereabouts, for example.) 1. Hum a tone with the mouth closed, preceded by a slight puff of air through the nose, as one would 'imitate the hum of a bee. 2. After making this tone as pure and musical as possible (by musical is meant resonant or full of overtones), fix the mind upon the word Maw and mentally bring forward the tone, almost saying it, until we feel conscious of the vibration upon the lips ; at the same time the position of the initial tone should not be changed. To ascertain if the mouth focus is correct, simply pluck the lower lip with the finger as you would pluck the string of a musical ia- strument, and if the mouth tone is sufficiently far for- ward an explosive sound like Mum will answer. If this tone is not of almost equal purity to the head tone, which aU the time must be sounding, the equi- librium of tone — i. e., the division into the mouth and facial — ^is not satisfied, and we must experi- ment until we get the mouth tone as pure as the facial. 3. Having gotten the purest tone possible, let us now direct the pupil to drop the lower jaw and open the mouth by simply allowing the weight of the jaw to accompHsh this without the slightest muscular effort. Our mental Ma/w now breaks on TONE PLACING. 155 tlie lips into tone, and we liave the pure vowel with its prefixed consonant without being aware of the effort that has produced it — it comes so spontane- ously and beautifully, and seems to originate on the lips. The mouth is now closed, and if we have not interfered with our focus of attack we hear the initial Hum still vibrating pure and beautiful in the facial resonators. 4. After this exercise with the correct focus of tone has become thoroughly familiar, the next step is to take a phrase and sing the notes with Maw or Ma instead of the words of the song, always commencing in that portion of the scale which will allow of the easiest initial tone for the focus. These are the exercises so much appreciated by singers that we employ for the reduction of nodules of attrition on the cords, which exercises, strange to say, have been the object of ridicule by certain laryngologists who have undoubtedly not given the subject of physics a proper amount of consideration. We are indebted to the stroboscope for the scien- tific vindication of our theory and treatment of singers' nodules. The word Ma should be sung in this manner for several minutes at a time and every hour in the day. It makes no difference on what note it is sung, provided the resonators add new overtones to the voice and thus produce a rear- 156 VOICE BUILDING. rangement of the vocal cords in their manner of vibration. These exercises mnst be accompanied by the high-chest method of breathing, as described^ in the chapter on respiration. As we have so often stated, an additional resonance and consequent aug- mentation of overtones is derived from ihis source, and constructively assists in the rearrangement of the manner of vibration of the cords, at the same time increasing their tension. After all, the correct focus of attack or the proper placing of tone is the most important thing to be studied in singing. Without it our voices do not possess charm and the vitality is jeopardized. By the steady employment of them for an hour the above exercises have pulled many a weary voice together, and enabled many a distracted artist to go with confidence upon the stage or platform. Their daily use gives new over- tones to the voice, prevents attrition and allied affections of the cords, and enables the singer to use his voice through many a cold with comparative immunity. We have given but two examples of affections encountered in singers, but these two will cover almost every condition brought about by bad methods. In the treatment of relaxed cords and of congested cords a good piece of advice to give a pupil is this : Until you can do a pure Hwm with the mouth closed and without effort, do not attempt .TONE PLACING. I57 to talk, simply whisper and make the attack upon the lips even while doing this. By observing this rale many, a prolonged hoarseness may be pre- vented. In either of the above conditions the Maw exercises may be commenced with benefit to the cords as soon as the head Hutu is easily produced. The above terms are not expressed in elegant Eng- lish, but we have attempted to make the. explana- tion in the simplest possible manner that our mean- ing be not misunderstood. The pupil who has been struggling with various teachers for years to edu- cate his or her voice will ofttimes produce a tone so satisfactory to himself by this simple means, after a few minutes' work, that he will immediately assert that his entire study has been in vain. Not so ; for even if the tone has not been previously properly placed and overtones have been disregarded, he has learned his music and at the same time has strength- ened the intrinsic muscles of his krynx. A word as to the male voice, for the above relates more par- ticularly to the female registers. Whether a patho- logical condition has commenced on the cords or a voice has simply become throaty, with stiff base of tongue and raised uvula, the same principles may be demonstrated. Our treatment in either case will be identical. We ask the pupil to commence with the note e, for example, in the bass clef, and hum 158 VOICE BUILDING. througli tlie nose, pinching it together with the thumb and forefinger and letting go suddenly to make an explosive sound on the attack. See that the soft palate is entirely relaxed, and that it keeps so absolutely during the a/rpeggio which we sing, commencing with Mam, and Awe, Awe, Awe, with the mouth open to observe the soft palate and base of tongue. Carry these a/rpeggios up until the voice reaches its limit. The soft palate should not be felt in the slightest degree, and every muscle of the pharynx must be in relaxation. These arpeggim are now to be sung with a sound as if made by the word Mamng, and Awng, Awng, Awng, and the French sound of Mi. After any of these notes is sung, if the sound be prolonged and the mouth closed, the tone must continue in the facial resona- tors, or dans le masque, as the French say. The question asked by the pupil will be, "Will not this practice make the tones nasal ? No, it will only en- rich them and take the attack from the cords, for the moment you add words and consonants the nasal quality we haye heard in the exercises disappears. These exercises are identical in their effect with the first examples we gave for the female voice. The soprano, however, would commence at c" in the treble clef or thereabouts on whatever note was found to be easiest to focus exactly in this method. TONE PLACING. 159 Tradition says that Madame Kudersdorf ^taught exercises similar to these. If she did she never ruined a voice, a fact which many teachers can not boast. If the beginner were tanght first the proper respiration, and then had the separate notes of his voice so built up that he might obtain the best qual- ity of overtones, and afterward was educated to sing with absolute relaxation of the extrinsic muscles and freedom from forcing, we might expect a perfect voice. The shock, or coup de glotte, is death to the voice ; it is born of ignorance, and to teach or allow its continuance is a crime. "We have no words strong enough to properly condemn it. Having seen the dire effects upon many pupils of those who advise it, are we not justified in considering its advocates parties to either gross ignorance or atro- cious malpractice ? We have arrived at the solution of the question of voice placing after many years of study assisted by some very celebrated artists. We have attempted to explain in a few words, and without an unnecessary phrase, the results we have attained. We do not say it boastingly, but we think we have found the truth, at any rate we have started the investigation of many teachers in the right direc- tion. By the methods just described, which appear so simple, to some almost childish at first glance, we have restored seemingly worn-out voices in an 160 VOICE BUILDING. incredibly short space of time ; we have rendered easy what seeaned to many a thing of terror. Our case books are fall of letters of nnboimded gratir tude from sufferers, but onr means have been so simple that we almost feel that an apology is due to the great musical pubhc on account of this very sim- plicity of our methods. On welcoming my dear friend Jean de Eeszke to my house after his fourth return to our shores I said to him : " Jean, have you any new facts for my poor book? Have your studies during the past year taught you anything which may be of use to me ? " " Yes," he re- sponded^ " I find that the great question of the singer's art becomes narrower and narrower all the time, until I can truly .say that the great ques- tion of singing becomes a question of the nose — la grande qitesfion du chant d&vient wne question du nez." There are many other considerations which enter into the medical treatment of singers, which are, however, without the province of this book, such as medication, electricity, hygiene, gymnastics, mas- sage, hydrotherapy, diet, etc., which we hope to treat of at another time. As to the use of astrin- gents and local appUcations to the larynx of singers, perhaps the least said the better. "We find the natural secretions quite sufficient to lubricate and TONE PLACING. 161 moisten tlie mueous membrane of the vocal cords without recourse to drugs, provided, however, that the nose is properly performing its functions of fil- tering, warming, and moistening the inspired air. So here also, as in tone production, we may say it becomes a question of the nose. CHAPTEE VIII. VOICE BTJILDIUG. "We liave discussed the physical laws by which a tone is produced, and find that the inherent quahty of a tone depends upon the number of its harmon- ics, upon their relative position and strength, and also upon the way in which the tone is attacked and released. In the voice the harmqpics of the tone depend upon the resonating cavities of the larynx, pharynx, nose, and mouth. A good quality of tone can only be attained by peculiar co-ordination and adjustment of these cavities. To secure this a vowel should be used which is most conducive to this condition, one which con- tains the richest overtones, and at the same time/ induces increased tension of the vocal cordsT The nature of the initial attack is altered by every consonant employed. Therefore a consonant should be prefixed to the vowel which least disturbs VOICE BUILDING. 163 the nmscTilar poise and insures tlie least injurious attack. The first point in teaching is to secure the re- laxed condition of the jaw, tongue, soft palate, and lips. The vowel A, as pronounced in awe, should be used, as in this tone the harmonics have the best relative position, and the most agreeable quality is produced. A labial consonant, in preference M, should pre- ceed the sound of the vowel to bring the attack upon the lips. Reasons for this have been stated in another chapter. V // The M concentrates the energy in the front of the face, makes the attack incisive, and prevents the initial attack from injuring the vocal cords by origi- nating in the larynx. The breath must not be forced in the attack, but must be regulated by the muscles of expiration, and not modified by muscular contraction above the glottis. [The tone should be produced without any appreciable respiratory effort. > The tone should be light and free, and directed toward the front of the face at the base of the nostrils, flf it is directed only toward the teeth it will lack that extra re-enforcement given by the resonators of the nose. / 164 VOICE BUILDING. The word " direct " is used unadvisedly. (_AII vocal teaching is done by giving menta l impressionsT/ Never give the pupil the idea of singing or pushing the note out from the throat toward any given place. If this is done the breath wiU be forced out violently, and muscles involuntarily contracted which should remain at rest. The attack of the tone must be upon the hps, and at the same time resound in the facial resona- tors. In learning to make a free attack a note should be taken which hes in the middle of the compass of the voice. The pupil should attack this tone several times in succession with the combination Manjo. i :^=g^ - I I I Maw maw. The tone should not be sustained any length of time, as the respiratory muscles are not yet strong, and the effort of sustaining will fatigue the intrinsic muscles of the larynx, and give a tremulous, forced tone. The attack has been so thoroughly explained in the chapter on toneplaovng that further remarks on the subject are unnecessary. VOICE BUILDING. 165 The first exercises for attack must be modified according to tlie need of the pupil. In some cases, where the initial tone will not come forward, and is restricted by contraction of the soft palate and mus- cles of the pharynx, it is necessary for the pupil to practise entirely by humming until the tone is cor- rectly focused. Having considered the poise of the initial tone we may now discuss the subject of voice compass. Fig. 43.— The compass of the human voice. Three distinct qualities of tone are usually found in the natural, untrained voice, which for con- venience in explaining the vocal scale will be called chest, medium, and head. The so-called medium register should be disregarded, for it is produced later by the same mechanism as the head register, .66 VOICE BUILDING. md is in reality tlie head tone incomplete from the ibsence of its proper resonance or overtones, the nouth quality being present at the expense of the 'acial. The chest and medium qualities are usually rery distinct in the untrained Toice. The covered lead tone is less often present, the thin, white, me- iiimi quahty being carried up to take.its place. Yet t is just this so-called covered head timbre which s needed to give to the tones their best re-enforce- nent, and with which the voice should be buUt and itrengthened. Of highest importance is the ability of the eacher to differentiate between the high, shriU nedium and the true head tone; also to distin- piish between the upper chest and the medium [uahty. The lack of a proper acoustic perception on the )art of the teacher often results in permitting regis- ers to be forced beyond their natural limits, thus njuring and overstraining the voice. The existence and position of registers iu the nore advanced training of the voice should not be lonsidered. If each register is considered an entity and rained in its own special quality, the diEEerence »etween the registers will become more pronounced, ,nd the act of passing from one to the other will VOICE BUILDING. 167 be accompanied by more effort. If the voice is trained from tlie low to tlie high tones there is danger of overlapping and forcing the chest regis- ter beyond its limit, and of advancing the me- dium, sometimes to the entire exclusion of the head quality. Such treatment impairs the timbre and is the cause of the so-called " hole " in the voice. The voice should be trained from the head register down — ^that is, the timbre of the head tone should predomiaate the scale, and should be brought as low in pitch as possible. In a woman's voice the vocal poise of this reg- ister should be maintained throughout the descend- ing scale, until the later development of the proper chest quality makes its involuntary impress upon the lower tones. The vocal attitude in the produc- tion of these head tones reflexively tenses the vocal cords. '-The natural head tones of the untrained voice lie ordinarily just above the middle of the vocal scalejj) in the soprano voice c" or c"i} is usually the lowest ; therefore the exercises for training the voice should begin on, or in the vicinity of, these notes (c", (ff), for, by so doing, the cords become correctly approximated and homogeneous, and al- low the production of a pure tone, which can be 13 168 VOICE BUILDING. carried throughout the descending scale. Let the teacher then test the voice until the lowest tone which is produced by the mechanism of the head register is discovered. On this let the pupil sing Mam, as described in a previous chapter, until the tension is sufficient to allow the production of a pure resonant tone, without breathiness and without contraction. It wiU now be found that this cov- ered, forward vowel, with the labial consonant, will help the pupil place the tone in its proper focus. When the pupil has learned the production of this tone, and one or two higher tones, and is able to recognise the timbre of a pure head tone, let an easy exercise be used which, in practice, will extend this quality over a greater range of the voice. A simple musical figure should be used, not ex- ceeding the range of five notes. Moore. VOICE BUILDING. KEY OF FJ. 169 The figure and rhythm in these exercises are nec- essarily very simple, as the range is hmited, and the attack of the phrase restricted to one or two notes. A short descending scale may follow, one of an octave or a ninth, with ^ rhythm which will not allow the accent to fall upon one note more than another. 170 VOICE BUILDING. P =^F^ 3EEiEEp^?E^^ ^i^ S ?E^ I r KEY OF C$. ^^^^^^^^3 feS=E^g^"^^g^=P5!p 2^=§^fe^ m r&iEn t^ ^ flsM= ^Bd I J Ei^ :S=M= VOICE BUILDING. 171 In these exercises tlie pupil, by passing quickly from the high to the low tone in one breath, will be able to compare constantly each tone, and in this way wUI learn to use the mechanism of the head register for all the tones in the descending scale, and thus eliminate the so-called medium register at once. The scales should be sung^mwo and leggier o, with as little effort as possible. There should be, as yet, no attempt to produce intensity of tone. The great masters of all instruments (with the ex- ception of a few Germans) now insist upon the soft, light touch to begin with. This touch lies between the staccato and legato ; it is free and deli- cate ; it lacks strength at first, but is resonant and the best foundation for purity and richness of tone. So with the voice, the first exercises should be gen- tle, and should be sung mezzo-voce. No loud, sustained tones, cresceiido-diminuendo, -=: >- should be used by beginners. Such exer- O cises invariably force and strain the voice. When the pupil, by practising the above scales, has learned to carry the timbre of the head register through the descending scale without disruption of breath, and has learned to attack c' in the same manner as c", then a series of ascending scales may be used. 172 VOICE BUILDING. All exercises may be transposed to suit the com- pass of each Toice. When the voice has become comparatively smooth and even by the use of these scales, exer- cises should be practised to strengthen particular sections. The short five-note figure should be used, with more variety in the musical form, and with the tempo slightly slower than in the scales. yOIGE BUILDING. ^^= e^ 1 — '■ '^^ ^3^^ -^ -^ — SJ 1 — ai 1 — — First measurement of Intervals. Ash FORTH. iiss#ii^ tsi^s Extension of Intervals ^^=^3^ ^^^^^^^^ P^ ^ '2). f^ -Jrsz-U^tp: 174 VOICE BUILDING. Exercises to produce flexibility of the muscles of tlie cheeks, lips, tongue, and throat may now be studied./_A dental consonant should be used, though the vowel may be changed to suit the condition of the voiceT] The attack of the first note must be in- cisive, while the second note is staccato and soft. Lankow. VOICE BUILDING. 175 Lankow. f ^F^=a^^ =|S=^ ^^^ -■ L J— L zX- do. # do. do. do. ^ 1— ^i^ K -f- -!• V ! Di di ... di, di di di (ii di di di di dl 1 di! 1^1--^^^=^=^^^^ _^=^=z^-^^^-.-^^-^ =^! ^P-S If lit g: ' ^ f -1 -J- B^^-s"-i::^J=^=3= :-i^=^=:^J^=,-— p-a ^-^ 1 ''" The jaw, soft palate and tongue must be relaxed. The tongue, especially, must be loose and kept in the front of th'e mouth. 176 VOICE BUILDING. Lahkow. Vj^ ^^ '^. \Ji Do do do do do do do do. I)o do do do do do do do. Do-a,, do-a, do-a,do-a,do-a,do-a,do-a,do. ^I^I^IjZj^^ ^^^^ ^ m ^ ^m a=t= -•' — mz ^^ I ' I "I :^ ^ H jT r j ^i^3^ The consonant must be more accentuated as intensity of tone increases. Voice BuiLDiNa SPEECH'EXERCISBS. 177 Exercises for enunciation should accompany the above studies. These quick staccato speech-exercises make the tongue and lips supple and aid greatly in learning to enunciate clearly and dis- tinctly. At first they may be practiced in a whisper, and afterwards sung mezzo voce. Lankow. *! . h . K. Do re do do do re do do do re do do do re do do -fti r ^- All the exercises to be modulated chromatically, according to the range of voice. 178 VOICE BUILDING, Exercise for learnin-g the quick breathing in "demi respiration.'' Breath to be taken after the staccato note and on thesixtfeenth lest only. Legato. jegato. Lankow. Now may follow studies for a more complete development of the entire range of voice and in- tensity of tone. Long sustained scales, which, by their character, give impetus to the voice, should he practised to develop the upper head tones and to give flexibility. Arpeggios and exercises for sus- taining tones should be used as the voice develops. The upper head tones should be treated . very delicately. They should be sung meszo-voee until the voice is well under control, and at first should never be sustained. Even after the voice has been placed, care should be taken to avoid fatigue by practising them too loud or sustaining them for too long a time. VOICE BUILDING. I79 EXERCISES FOR THE LATER DEVELOPEMENT OF THE VOICE. Exercise for developement of upper tones. ASHFORTH. To lie transposed chromatioally according to range of voice. 180 VOICE BUILDING. Exercise for full octave attack. ASHFOBTH. I ^^EEE -ft — * =I==t: atse::^ m^ \' -J P T W^. 3=s^fE P 1^=^ — ss- -S I S =1= ^r ^ X - I -s- ^.^b^l VOICE BUILDING. s 182 VOICE BUILDING. Studies in Minor Scales. Gabcia. j>± . — — ?^^ ^a&i" -^taiggfS^ sJ^^^^w- ^A *"-*-*; ^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^ f% ^H M-^ i ?E£ ^ ^ VOICE BUILDING. Studies for facilitating correct intonation. 183 Gabcu. m c^S-— I- =J*= Jam. «S3 ii: ,^=^z^4=j -^ Ji, Jl^» — l-^i-jJjiJa» — ^- ~nt" — a — — r— 1 1 1 _ -i^*y-r £Sf^ ?r?g *gg ^•'s^ea' sa a= B ^^^ tBS- * r-p- ttg - - i I I I 184 VOICE BDILDING. Exercises for correct intonation. Madam Eameb. Examples of Randegger Scales. M^r^^ -=Ff^ -fe"!"^^ Fn'5^^ Fm r fen TT tY" J » - -^*W5 ■^ **'» " ?ff'P^= tJ -C "" ' ' -^ ^-^-s . F3 — 1 a -^ ' hte— \i ^ft — l— rr "- Exercises in sustained tones. I• — -<•- \* a — — 1 ^ 1 — • 1 f ^ ^ ^ ^^ *=fss= ^ ^ ^ ^ ^5*ES^ b^- ■^ h ■<* -H 1 ->. ! -., \ — ^- _^« — s~ -*- ~m -3^ T ■B- — V •K =^— ^ 1 — s •VOICE BUILDING, Arpeggios. ^ Makchesi. f =2^*= ZSSZ ^ — . = ^ g^ 190 VOICE BUILDING. The length of time a singer should practise de- pends much upon the character and condition of the voice. Specific rules can not be given. Madam Melba, when asked how many hours of practice a day she woidd advise for a pupil, said, " No hours for a beginner, but minutes. I myself never prac- tise more than an hour a day, and usually much Forty minutes or an hour of actual voice prac- tice is quite sufficient to develop most voices. This time should be divided into periods of ten or fifteen minutes each. Long hours of practicE will not hasten the work of voice building. They only fatigue the voice and wear it out. Regularity in practice is the greatest aid to advancement. The voice develops gradually, and nothing will be gained in trying to force its natural growth by continuous hours of work. All the work of learning and memorizing music should be mental. When the mind is concen- trated upon learning the melody, rhythm, and con- struction of a composition the voice should not be used. The attention can not be given successfully to the learning of vocalizes, songs, arias, etc., and at the same time to the proper use of the voice. VOICE BUILDING. 191 There should be a thorough knowledge of the music before any attempt is made to sing it. The student, in usual daily practice, should not sing in fuU voice. The secret of fresh notes is the mezso-voce practice. The high tones, in the voice, especially, should be practised ^*a»? 189. TMartels, 113, 114. Massini, 59. Maurel, Victor, 193. May, 53. Meiba, Madame, 69, 190, 193. Melde, 200. Mengozzi, 58. Merkel, 28. Method of breathing, 56, 57. fixed high chest, 66. Mills, Dr. Wesley, 119, 111. Moore, Laura, 168. Moura, 26. Muscles of the larynx:, 24. arytenoid, 83. crico-thyroid, 24. crico-arytenoid, lateral, 39. crico-arytenoid, post., 33. INDEX. 213 Muscles of the thyro-arytenoid, 29. superior constrictor, 71. thyro-hyoid, 34. sterno-thyroid, 34. of forced expiration, 52. Muscles of inspiration, 50. tlie diaphragm, 49. Music, the origin of, 1. Neuman, 20, 25, 37, 38, 40. Nilsson, Madame, 110. Nodal points on cords, 123. lines on vibrating mem- branes, 136. lines in the vocal cords, Nodules of attrition, 138. early stages of, 144. single, 145. double, 145. Nordica, Madame, 69, 193". Nose breathing, 73.- Nose, function of the, 161. ■ Obin, 59. Oertel, 118, 137, 131, 135, 136. Onodi, 59. Organ pipes, 87. Overtones, 67, 95. demonstration of, 99. picture of flames influenced by, 108. Partials, 95. Patti, Madame, 69. Physiology of larynx, 15. of chest, 48. Pitch, 91. Pitch, increase and decrease of, in membranes, 130. influence of thyro-arytenoid muscles on, 130. Plangon, Pol, 69, 193. Pollard, Miss, 64. Quality of tone, 94. Randegger, 183, 183. Registers, definition of, 109, 115. the chest, 132. the upper, 133. production of tone in, 134. Respiration, 46. types of, 58. superior costal, 60. inferior costal, 63. diaphragmatic, 63. fixed high chest, 66. of singers, 66. Resonance, secondary, 66. Resonators, the vocal, 70. Helmholtz, 96. Reszke, Jean de, 59, 68, 160, 193. Rudersdorf, Madame, 159. Savart's bell, 98. Seller, Madame, 111, 113. Simanowski, 127, 135. Sinus, sphenoidal, frontal, max- illary, 73. Siren, 92. Soft palate, education of, 76. Sound, propagation of, 78, 90. waves, 78. reflected, 80. 214 VOICE BUILDING. Sound, vibrations in liquid and gaseous bodies producing, 86. in organ pipes, 87. musical, 89, 06. visible, 200. Stroboscope, 118, 133. Timbre, 94. Tone, simple and compound, 83. placing, 137, 154. focus of, 149, 154 breathy, 146. production in larynx of, 116. effect of rapidity and ampli- tude of vibrations on, 90. production in chest register, 134. production in upper register, 134. Thoracic cavity, 66. Thorax, 49. Thyro-arytenoid muscles, 39. effect on pitch of, 130. Thyroid, the, 17. Tongue, rigidity of, 75. Tonsils, 73. Tyndall, 81, 91, 98, 300. Vacher, 113. Valeria, 110. Ventricles of larynx, 23. Ventricular bands, 33, 70. Vibrations, simple, 83. compound, 82. sympathetic, 96, 97. of vocal cords, 131. Vibrations of membranes, 135. of rods, 195. of plates, 194. influence of angle of inci- dence on, 131. longitudinal, of membranes, 126. transverse, of membranes, 136. synchronous, of membranes, 127. alternate, of membranes, 127, 135. segmental, of membranes, 138, 129. augmentation of, 130. of membranes applied to larynx, 130. of vocal cords in chest regis- ter, 132, 133. . of vocal cords in upper regis- • ter, 134. Victor Harris, 185, 186, 187. Vocal cords, 20. the false, 22. position of, in singing, 60, 117. photographs of, 117. movements of, in stroboscope, 131, 133. theory of action of thyro- arytenoid muscle on the pitch of the, 130. symptoms of overstrained, 138. treatment of overstrained, 146, 154. nodal lines in, 135, 136. Voice building, 163. INDEX. 215 Voice pictures, 202. figures, 195. Vowels, 75, 141, 143, 147. pitch of, 75. influence on overtones of, 75. flames influenced by, 105. Watts-Hughes, Mrs., 201, 203. Weber, Gottfried, 68. Wheatstone, Sir Charles, 195, 198. Wind instruments, 88. Wing, Dr., 63. THE END. 15 D. APPLETON & GO'S PUBLICATIONS. VALUABLE HANDBOOKS. 'J^HE VERBALIST. A Manual devoted to Brief Discus. ' sions of tlie Right and the Wrong Use of Words, and to some other Matters of Interest to those who would Speak and Write with Propriety. By ALFRED Ayres. i8mo. Cloth", $i.oo. ' / ^HE ORTHOEPIST. A Pronouncing Manual, contain- ■*■ ing about Four Thousand Five Hundred Words, including a considerable Number of the Names of Foreign Authors, Art- ists, etc., that are often Mispronounced. By Alfred Ayres. Revised and enlarged edition. i8mo. Cloth, $1.25. T 'HE RHYMESTER ; or the Rules of Rhyme. A Guide to English Versification. With a Dictionary of Rhymes, an Examination of Classical Measures, and Comments upon Burlesque, Comic Verse, and Song-Writing. By the late ToM Hood. Edited by Arthur Penn. i8mo. Cloth, $1.00. rHE CORRESPOND ENT. By James Wood David- son. Small i2mo. Cloth, 60 cents. Information, with forms of address, salutation, etc. CRRORS IN THE USE OF ENGLISH. By the ■[^ late William B. Hodgson, LL. D., Professor of Political Economy in the University of Edinburgh. American revised edition. i2mo. Cloth, $1.50. ^LTPS OF TONGUE AND PEN. ByJ. H. Long, wJ M.A., Principal of Collegiate Institute, Peterborough, Ontario. l2mo. Cloth, 60 cents. rHE ART OF AUTHORSHIP. Literary Reminis- cences, Methods of Work, and Advice to Young Beginners. Opinions of many Leading Authors of the Day. Compiled and edited by' George Sainton. i2mo. Cloth, untrimmed edges, $1.25. New York: D. APPLETON & CO.. 72 Fifth Avenue. D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. New Volumes in the International Education Series. 'T^HE SONGS AND MUSIC OF FRO EB ELS 1 MOTHER FLA Y. Prepared and arranged by Susan E. Blow. Fully illustrated. Vol. 32, International Education Series. i2nio. Cloth, $1.50. This 13 the second and concluding volume of Miss Blow's version of Froebel's noted work which laid the foundation for that important branch of early education, the kindergarten. The first volume, *'The Mottoes and Commentaries," may tie desig- nated as the Teacher's or Mother's book, and " The Songs and Music," the present volume, as the Children's book. In the latier many of the pictuies have been enlarged in parts to bring out the details more distinctly. New translations are made of the songs, eliminating the crudities of poetic composition that have appeared in the literal imitations of Froebel, and new music is substituted where the original has been discarded. ^HE MOTTOES AND COMMENTARIES OF I FRIEDRICH FROEBEVS MOTHER FLA Y. " Mother Communings and Mottoes" rendered into English verse by Henrietta R. Eliot, and *' Prose Commentaries" translated by Susan E. Blow. With 48 full-page Illustrations. i2mo. Cloth, $1,50, The increased interest in kindergarten work and the demand for a clearer exposition of Froebel's phiiosofihy than has heretofore appeared have made a new version of the *' Mother Play " an imperative necessity. No one b better equipped for such a work than Miss Blow, as her late book, '* Symbolic Education," has attested. It is an attractive volume of a convenient size, and a book of specific value to mothers as well as to teachers of every grade. It will be followed shortly by another volume contain- ing the songs and games. RTEDRICH FROEBEL'S PEDAGOGICS GF THE KINDERGARTEN ; or. His Ideas concerning the Play and Playthings of the Child. Translated by Josephine Jarvis. i2ino. Cloth, $1.50. This book holds the keynote of the " New Education," and will assist many in a correct comprehension of the true principles underlying the practical outcome of Froe- bel's thought. Although extant for nearly fifty years, his ideas are still in need of elucidation, and^ the average kindergartner and primary-school teacher grasps but a supetficial meaning of the methods suggested. 'J^HE PSYCHOLOGY OF NUMBER, and its 1 Application to Methods of Teaching Arithmetic. By James A. McLellan, a. M., LL. D., Principal of the Ontario School of Pedagogy, Toronto, and John Dewey, Ph. D., Head Pro- fessor of Philosophy in the University of Chicago. i2mo. Cloth, $1.50. It is believed that this work will supply a special want. There is no .subject taught in the elemenUry schools^ that taxes the teacher's resources as to methods and devices to a greater extent than arithmetic, andnone that is more dangerous to the pupil in the way of deadening his mind and arresting its development, if bad methods are used. The authors of this book have presented in an admirable manner the psychological view of number, and .shown its applications to the correct methods of teaching the several arithmetical processes. New York : D. APPLETON & CO., 72 Fifth Avenue. F D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SERIES. "Will be hailed with delight by scholars and scientific specialists, and it will be gladly received by others who aspire after the useful knowledge it will impart.*'— JV^w York Home yournal. NOW READY. TJ/OMAN'S SHARE IN PRIMITIVE CUL- ^^ TURK. By Otis Tufton Mason, A. M., Curator of the Department of Ethnology in the United States National Mu- seum, With numerous Illustrations. i2mo. Cloth, $1.75. "A most interesting 7-^jKw// of the revelations which science has made concerning the habits of human beings in primitive times, and especially as to the place, the duties, and the customs oi'^om^Ti."— Philadelphia Inquirer. "■ A highly entertaining and instructive book. . . . Prof. Mason's bright, graceful style must do much to awaken a lively interest in a study that has heretofore received such scant attention." — Baltiinore American, " The special charm of Mr, Mason's book is that his studies are based mainly upon ctually existing types, rather than upon mere tradition."— Phi/ade/phia Times. y^HE PYGMIES. By A, de Quatrefages, late ■^ Professor of Anthropology at the Museum of Natural History, Paris. With numerous Illustrations. i2mo. Cloth, $1.75. " Probably no one was better equipped to illustrate the general subject than Quatre- fages. While constantly occupied u^on the anatomical and osseous phases of his sub- ject, he was none the less well acquainted with what literature and history had to say concerning the pygmies. . . . This book ought to be in every divinity school in which man as well as God is studied, and from which missionaries go out to convert the human being of reality and not the man of rhetoric and text-books." — Boston Literary World. " U is fortunate that American students of anthropology are able to enjoy as lumi- nous a translation of this notable monograph as that which Prof. Starr now submits to the public." — Philadelphia Press. " It is regarded by scholars entitled to offer an opinion as one of the half-dozen most important works of an anthropologist whose ethnographic publications numbered nearly one hundred." —Chicago Evening Post. HE BEGINNINGS OE WRITING. By W. J. Hoffman, M. D. With numerous Illustrations. i2mo. Cloth, $1.75. This interesting book gives a most attractive account of the rude methods employed by primitive man for recording his deeds. The earliest writing consists of pictographs which were traced on stone, wood, bone, skins, and various paperlike substances. Dr. Hoffman shows how the several classes of symbols used in these records are to bs in- terpreted, and traces the growth of conventional signs up to syllabaries and alphahe«- the two classes of signs employed by modern peoples. IN PREPARATION. THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS. By Dr. Schmelt? THE ZUStl. By Frank Hamilton Gushing. THE AZTECS. By Mrs. Zelia Nuttall. New York : D. APPLETON & CO., 72 Fifth Avenue. T M D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. Recent Volumes of the International Scientific Series. OVEMENT. By E. J. Marey, Member of the Institute and of the Academy of Medicine ; Professor at the College of France ; author of "Animal Mechanism." Trans- lated by Eric Pritchard, M. A. With 200 Illustrations. Vol. 73, International Scientific Series. i2mo. Cloth, f 1.75. Tlie present work describes the methods employed in the extended development of photography of moving objects attained in the last few years, and shows the importance of such researches in mechanics arid other departments of physics, the fine arts, physi- ology and zoology, and in regulating the walking or marching of men and the gait of horses. R ACE AND LANGUAGE. By AndrI: Lefevre, Professor in the Anthropological School, Paris. i2mo. Cloth, *^ I1.50. **A most scholarly exposition of the evolution of language, and a comprehensive account of the Indo-European group of tongues." — Boston Advertiser. "A welcome contribution to the study of the obscure and complicated subject with which it deals," — San Francisco Chronicle. "One of the few scientific works which promise to become popular, both with those who read for instruction and those who read for recreation." — Philadelphia Item. M, AN AND THE GLACIAL PERIOD, By G. Frederick Wright, D. D., LL. D., author of " The Ice Age in North America," " Logic of Christian Evidences," etc. With numerous Illustrations. i2mo. Cloth, $1.75. " The author is himself an independent student and thinker, whose competence and authority are undisputed."— iV^w York Sun. ** It may be described in a word as the best summnry of scientific conclusions con- cerning the question of man's antiquity as affected by his known relations to geological time." — Philadelphia Press. H ANDBOOK OF GREEK AND LATIN PA- LMOGRAPH Y. By Edward Maunde Thompson, D. C. L., Principal Librarian of the British Museum. With numerous Illustrations, izrao. Cloth, $2.00. "Mr. Thompson, as principal librarian of the British Museum, has of course had very exceptional advantages for preparing his book. . . . Probably all teachers of the classics, as well as specialists in palaeography, will find something of value in this sys- tematic treatise upon a rather unusual and difficult study."— Kem'ew 0/ Reviews. " Covering as this volume does such a vast period of time, from the beginning of the alphabet and the ways of writing down to the seventeenth century, the wonder is how, within three hundred and thirty-three pages, so much thai is of practical usefulness has been brought together."— ^eio yori Times. New York : D. APPLETON & CO., 72 Fifth Avenue. D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. JVBW EDITION OB PROF. HUXLEY'S ESSAYS. COLLECTED ESSA VS. By Thomas H. Huxley. New complete edition, with revisions, the Essays being grouped according to general subject. In nine volumes, a. new Intro- duction accompanying each volume. i2mo. Cloth, $1.25 per volume. Vol. I.— method AND RESULTS. Vol. II.— DARWINIANA. Vol. III.— science AND EDUCATION. Vol. IV.— SCIENCE AND HEBREW TRADITION. Vol. v.— SCIENCE AND CHRISTIAN TRADITION. Vol. VI.— HUME. Vol. VIL— MAN'S PLACE IN NATURE. Vol. VIII.— DISCOURSES, BIOLOGICAL AND GEOLOGICAL. Vol. IX.— EVOLUTION AND ETHICS, AND OTHER ESSAYS. " Mr. Huxley has covered a vast variety of topics during the last quarter of a century. It gives one an agreeable surprise to look over the tables of contents and note the immense territory which he has explored. To read these books carefully and studiously is to become thoroughly acquainted with the most advanced thought on a large number of topics." — Ne-w York Herald. " The series will be a welcome one. There are few writings on the more abstruse problems of science better adapted to reading by the general public, and in this form the books will be well in the reach of the investigator. . . . The revisions are the last expected to be made by the author, and his introductions are none of earlier date than a few months ago [1893I, so they may be considered his final and most authorita- tive utterances." — Chicago Times. ** It was inevitable that his essays should be called for in a completed form, and they will be a source of delight and profit to all who read them. He has always commanded a hearing, and as a master of the literary style in writing scientific essays he is wortiiy of a place among the great English essayists of the day. This edition of his essays will be widely read, and gives his scientific work a permanent form." — Boston Herald. *' A man whose brilliancy is so constant as that of Prof. Huxley will always com- mand readers; and the utterances which are here collected are not the least in weight and luminous beauty of those with which the author has long delighted the reading \iQx\A."— Philadelphia Press. " The connected arrangement of the essays which their reissue permits brings into fuller relief Mr. Huxley's masterly powers of exposition. Sweeping the subject-matter clear of all logomachies, he lets the Ught of common day fall upon it. He shows that the place of hypothesis in science, as the starting pointof verification of the phenomena to be explained, is but an extension of the assumptions which underlie actions in every- day affairs; and that the method of scientific investigation is only the method which rules the ordinary business of hi&.'*— London Chronicle. New York: D. APPLETON & CO., 72 Fifth Avenue. D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. THE LIBRARY OF USEFUL STORIES. Each book complete in itself. By writers of authority in their various spheres. \tmo. Cloth, 40 cents per volume. " In the popularization of science no more efTecdve work has been done than that which has been undertaken by the projector of The Library of LJsefuI Stories." — New York Sun. "Accurate, interesting, useful, handy, and attractive are all words that apply with unusual force to The Library of Useful Stories. U is one of the most sensible sets ot books that any publisher has had the good judgment to offer to the public."— 0>«:/«- nati Trib, ne. NOW READY. ^rHE STOR Y OF THE STARS. By G. F. Cham- -* BERs, F. R. A. S., author of " Handbook of Descriptive and Practical Astronomy," etc. With 24 Illustrations. " One can here get a clear conception of the relative condition of (he stars and con- stellations, and of the existent universe so far as it is disclosed to view. The author presents his wonderful and at times bewildering facts in a bright and cheery spirit that makes the book doubly attractive. ' — Boston Hotne yournal. HE STORY OF ''PRIMITIVE'' MAN. By Edward Clodd, author of '* The Story of Creation,'' etc. "No candid person will deny that Mr. Clodd has come as near as any one at this time is likely to come to an authentic exposition of all the information hitherto gained regarding the earlier stages in the evolution of mankind." — New York Sun. HE STORY OF THE PLANTS. By Grant Allen, author of " Flowers and tlieir Pedigrees," etc. " As fascinating in style as a first-class story of fiction, and is a simple and clear exposition of plant \\i<&*' ^Boston Home Journal. n^HE STORY OF THE EARTH. By H. G. See- -* LEY, F. R. S., Professor of Geography in King's College, London. With Illustrations. " Thoroughly interesling, and it is doubtful if the fascinating story of the planet on which we Hve has been previously told so clearly and at the same time so compre- hensively." — Boston Advertiser. HE STORY OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM. By G. F. Chambers, F. R. A. S. IN PREPARATION. "J^HE STORY OF ELECTRICITY. By John -' MUNRO, C. E. T T T "T^HE STORY OF A PIECE OF COAL. By E. -* A. Martin. New York: D. APPLETON & CO., 72 Fifth Avenue. D. AHPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. QU STAVE FLAUBERT, as seen in his Works and ^-^ Correspondence. By John Charles Tarver. With Portrait. 8vo. Buckram, $4.00. " It is surprising that this extremely interesting correspondence has not been Enz- lished hefore." — London A thencsiim. * "This handsome volume is welcome. . . . It merits a cordial reception if for no other reason than to make a large section of the English public mere intimately ac- quainted with the foremost champion of art for art's sake. . . . 7he letters are ad- mirably translated, and in the mam the book is written with skill and verve."— Lon- don Academy. T IFE OF SIR RICHARD OWEN. By Rev. Rich- ■*—' ARD Owen. With an Introduction by T. H. Huxley. 2 vols. l2mo. Cloth, $7.50. " The value of these memoirs is that they disclose with great minuteness the daily labors and occupations of one of the foremost men of science of England." Boston Herald. "A noteworthy contribution to biographical literature." — Philadelphia Press. D EAN BUCKLAND. The Life and Correspond- ence of William Buckland, D. D., F. R. S., sometime Dean of Westminster, twice President of the Theological Society, and first President of the British Association. By his Daughter, Mrs. Gordon. With Portraits and Illustrations. 8vo. Buck- ram, $3.50. " Next to Charles Darwin, Dean Buckland is certainly the most interesting person- ality in the field of natural science that the present century has produced." — London Daily News. '* A very readable book, for it gives an excellent account, without any padding or unnecessary detail, of a most original man." — JVestminster Gazette. P ERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF WERNER VON SIEMENS. Translated by W. C. Coupland. With Portrait. 8vo. Cloth, |5,oo. " This volume of straightforward reminiscence reflects new credit on its author, and deserves a high place among the records of great inventors who have made a name and afortune in ways which have been of immense public benefit." — Literary World. "The general reader need not be deterred from taking up the book by the fear that he will have to wade through chapters of long technical terms which he does not imder- stand. Whether he is describing his simple home life or his scientific career and its manifold achievements, Von Siemens writes plainly, unafFectedlyj and in a uniformly attractive fashion. The whole work_ is, as the publishers of the translation say with truth, ' rich in genial narrative, stirring adventure, and picturesque description,' and stamped throughoiit with the impress of an original mind and a sterling character." — London Times. ^^ New York: D. APPLETON & CO., 72 Fifth Avenue. D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. THE STORY OF THE WEST SERIES. Edited by Ripley Hitchcock. "There is a vast extent of territory lying between the Missouri River and the Pacific coast which has barely been skimmed over so far. That the conditions of life therein are undergoing changes little short of marvelous will be understood when one recalls the fact that the first white male child born in Kansas is still living there; and Kansas is by no means one of the newer States. Revolutionary indeed has been the upturning of the old condition of affairs, and little remains thereof, and less will remain as each year goes by, until presently there will be only tradition of the Sioux and Comanches, the cowboy life, the wild horse, and the antelope. Histories, many of them, have been written about the Western coundy alluded to, but most if not practically all by outsiders who knew not personally that life of kaleidoscopic allurement. But ere it shall have vanished forever we are likely to have truthful, complete, and charming portrayals of it produced by men who actually know the life and have the power to describe it." — Henry Edivard Koud, in The mail and Express. NOW READY. HTHE STOR V OF THE INDIAN. By George -* Bird Grinnell, author of " Pawnee Hero Stories," " Blackfoot Lodge Tales/' etc. i2mo. Cloth. Illustrated. $1.50. " A valuable study of Indian life and character. . . . An attractive book, ... in large part one in which Indians themselves might have written."— iV'^w York Tribune. "Among the various books respecting the aborigines of America, Mr, Grinnell's easily takes a leading position. He takes the reader directly to the camp-fire and the council, and shows us the American Indian as he really is. ... A book which will convey much interesting knowledge respecting a race which is now fast passing away." — Boston Comtnercial Bulletin. " It must not be supposed that the volume is one only for scholars and libraries of reference. It is far more than thst While it iS a true story, yet it is a story none the less abounding in picturesque description and charming anecdote. We regard it as a valuable contribution to American literature." — N. V. Mail and Express. " A most attractive book, which presents an admirable graphic picture of the actual Indian, whose home life, religious observances, amusements, together with the_ various phases of his devotion to war and the chase, and finally the eflfects of encroaching civ- ilization, are delineated with a certainty and an absence of sentimentalism or hostile prejudice that impart a peculiar distinction to this eloquent story of a passing life,"' — Buffalo Commercial. " No man is better qualified than Mr. Grinnell to introduce this series with the story of the original owner of the West, the North American Indian. Long acquaintance and association with the Indians, and membership in a tribe, combined with a high degree of literary ability and thorough education, has fitted the author to understand the red man and to present him fairly to others." — New York Observer. IN PREPARATION The Story of the Mine, By Charles Howard Shinn. The Story of the Trapper. By Gilbert Parker, The Story of the Explorer, The Story of the Cowboy. The Story of the Soldier, The Story of the Railroad. New York : D. APPLETON & CO., 72 Fifth Avenue. D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. IS TOR Y OF THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, from the Revolution to the Civil War. By John Bach McMaster. To be completed in six volumes. Vols. I, ir, III, and IV now ready. 8vo. Cloth, gilt top, $2.50 each. "... Prof. ^IcMaster has tOld us what no other historians have told. . . . The skill, the animation, the brightness, the force, and the charm with which he ar- rays the facts befnre us are such that we can hardly conceive of more interesting reading for an American citizen who cares to know the nature of those causes which have made not only him but his environment and the opportunities life has given him what they are." JOHN BACH MC MASTER. — ^- I^- Thnes. "Those who can read between the lines may discover in these pages constant evidences of care and skill and faithful labor, of which the old-time superficial essay- ists, compiling library notes on dates and striking events, had no conception; but to the general reader the fluent narrative gives no hint of the conscientious labors, far-reaching, world-wide, vast and yet microscopically minute, that give the strength and value which are felt rather than seen. This is due to the art of presentation. The author's position as a scientific workman we may accept on the abundant tes- timony of the experts who know the solid worth of his work; his skill as a literary artist we can all appreciate, the charm of his style being self-evident." — Philadelphia Telegraph. ■" The third volume contains the brilliantly written and fascinating stor^' of the prog- ress and doings of the people (jf this country from the era of the Louisiana purchase to the opening scenes of the second war with Great Britain — saj' a period of ten years. In e-zery page of the book the reader finds that fascinating flow of narrative, that clear and lucid style, and that penetrating power of thought and judgment which dis- tinguished the previous volumes." — Columbus State Journal. "Prof. McMaster has more than fulfilled the promises made in his first volumes, and his work is constantly growing better and more valuable as he brings it nearer to our own time. His style is clear, simple, and idiomatic, and there is just enough of the critical spirit in the narrative to guide the xz^A^x."— Boston Herald. " Take it all in all, the History promises to be the ideal American history. Not so much given to dates and battles and great events as in the fact that it is like a great panorama of the people, ravealing their inner life and action. It contains, with all its sober facts, the spice of personalities and incidents, which relieves every page from dullness." — Chicago Inter-Ocea?!. "History written in this picturesque style will tempt the most heedless to read. Prof. McMaster is more than a stylist; he is a student, and his History abounds in evidences of research in quarters not before discovered by the historian."— C/«ca^t> Tribune, " A History sui gejieris which has made and will keep its own place in our litera- ture." — New York Evening Post. "His style is vigorous and his treatment candid and impartial."— A^^w York Tribune. New York ; D. APPLETON & CO., 72 Fifth Avenue. APPLETONS' LIBRARY LISTS. Libraries, wliether for the soliool, home, or the- public at large, are among the most important and wide-reaching educational factors in the advancement of civilization. Modern intellectual activity, keeping pace with modern invention, has added to the earlier stores ot literature myriads of books, and a still greater mass of reading matter in other forms. Unfor- tunately, much of the material put into print is not of an educational or elevating character. It is important, then, in the selection of books for public use, especially for the young, that great care be exercised to secure only such kinds of reading as will be wholesome, instructive, and intrinsic- ally valuable. For more than fifty years Messrs. D. Appleton & Co. have been en- gaged in the publication of the choicest productions from the pens of dis- tinguished authors of the past and present, of both Europe and America, and their catalogue of books now comprises several thousand volumes, em- bracing every department of knowledjre. Classiiied lists of these publica- tions have been prepared, affording facilities for a judicious selection of books covering the whole ranM of Liteeathbe, Soiehob, and Aet, for individual bookbuyers or for a tnorough equipment of any library. Lists A, 6, and C are of books selected especially for School Libraries. List A. — For Primary and Intermediate Grades. List B. — For Grammar and High School Grades. List 0. — For College and University Libraries. The other lists are of books grouped according to subjects, and include the above. The classifications are as follows : List D.— HiSTOKT. List O.— LANOnAGB, LlTEEATUEE, AND " B.— BlOQBAPHY. ABT. P. — Kefebbnce Books. Q.— POBTKT AND ESSAT. E.— Travel and Adventube. S.— Pbdagosy and Education. T.— Fiction. U. — Amusement and Regbea. tion. v.— Evolution. W.— Kelioion. X.— Law. T.— Medicine. Z. — Juvenile Books. P.— Phtsioal Science. " G.— Mental and Mobal Science. " H.— Political and Social Sci- ence. " I.— Finance and Economics. " K.— Hygiene and Sanitaet Sci- ence. " L. — ^Philosophy and Metaphysics, " M. — ^Technology and Indus- teial Abts. " N.— Anthbopologt, Ethnology, Aeoh^ology, Pal,«iontol- OGY. AA. — Unclassified. BB.— School and Collbob Text-Books. CO.— Spanish Publications. We respectfully invite the attention of public and private book-buyers everywhere to these lists, confident that they will be found of interest and profit. Single lists mailed free. Complete set, 18 cents to cover postage. D. APPLETON & CO., Pcblisheeb, New York, Boston, Chicago.