ANALYTIC ELOCUTION CONTAINING STUDIES, THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL, OF EXPRESSIVE SPEECH 'Ar JAMES E. MURDOCH, Author of " The Stage" and "A Plea for Spoken Language. NOV 3 1884JJ ^»^7.«r»^ VAN ANTWERP, BRAGG & CO. C INC INN A TI NEW YORK Eclectic Educational SERIES. TtffHI High School and College Course of Study. White's A T ew Complete Arithmetic. Ray's A T ew Higlier Arithmetic. Ray's New Algebras. Ray's Higher Mathematics. Schuyler's Complete Algebra. Eclectic School Geometry. Schuyler's Principles of Logic. Schuyler's Psychology. Duffel's (Henneauin's) French Method. Buffet's French Literature. Hepburn's English Rhetoric. Thalheimer's Historical Series. A T orton's Natural Philosophy. Norton's Elements of Physics. Norton's Elements of Chemistry. Eclectic Physiology. Andrezus's Elementary Geology. Andrews's Manual of the Consti- tution. Gregory's Political Economy. Studies in English Literature. Hewett's Pedagogy. Bartholomew' s Latin Series. DESCRIPTIVE CIRCULARS ON APPLICATION. Copyright, 1884, by Van Antwerp, Bragg & Co. eclectic press: van antwerp, bragg k co. PREFACE In an experience extending over forty years, I have been brought to the conviction that vocal culture is what is most needed in the study of Elocution ; for this reason, in the present manual I have formulated exercises adapted to the use of classes in the different grades of the schools. The exercises are in all cases in consonance with nature's laws. The speaking voice, by a proper process of training, is as capable of development in strength, beauty, and flex- ibility as the singing voice. The rapidity and carelessness of social and business habit in speech, in a great measure, costs us the grace and beauty of our language by depriving it of quantity and quality; and slovenliness of action in the organs deprives the elements of the resonance be- longing to their full and correct utterance. Mechanical mincing cramps the vowels, and deprives consonants of vocal power. The theory and practice of a true method should develop the vocal powers, Bide by side with the growth of the mind, and by the time the student has reached the high schools and institutions of advanced learning, he should be able to deliver his essays and papers with the same proficiency that he displays in their verbal or written form. The scholar, in gaining control and use of the voice in the expres- sion of all the emotions, unconsciously to himself, overcomes that constrained, awkward bearing, which in many cases arises from the conviction that he does not know haw to do that which is required of him. I do not consider that the treatment of the subject in the present manual is an exhaustive one. The art is, it may be said, in its infancy, and certain principles require elaboration which in time will be universally understood. I have made use of the older authorities in all cases where I have felt that they are as valuable as when first presented for use; — not that I do not draw from all sources, the modern as well as those of earlier generations. It is the student's business to keep abreast of (iii) iv Preface. the times, and it is a rare thing with me to lay down any work of merit pertaining to my art without having widened my information, and also having noted the fact for future use. I have not attempted an exposition of the subject matter by the use of my own notations; I have preferred those of Rush, and others who have followed his lead, inasmuch as the diagrams given are finely illustrative of the principles of melodic progression and cadence. The emphatic significance and distinctive enforcement of these have never been exhaustively interpreted and applied to in- structive purposes. They present a well defined method of eluci- dating the meaning of an author, and of giving proper expression to the sentiment or passion conveyed in language. The notations, in all cases, are not to be considered as the fixed and determinate modes of utterance; on the contrary, they simply express the notator's rendering of certain passages; and the symbols employed are capable of conveying to another the author's meaning in the absence of vocal illustration. Gesture of face, hands, and figure must be studied from standard works on that subject, and should in no case be taught until spon- taneously at the command of the teacher. In "A Plea for Spoken Language " I have introduced Aaron Hill's studies in expression, which I recommend to all students of Elocution. This work may be considered as an aid to " RusselPn Vocal Culture,'" the joint work of Prof. William Russell and myself, prepared at the time that my School of Oratory in Boston was in operation. The methods of Vocal Drill employed were in accordance with my studies in anatomy and physiology, and were endorsed by many of the leading physicians of Boston, among whom were Drs. Humphrey Storer, Winslow Lewis, Edward Reynolds, and others. Now that my work in the direction of general teaching is draw- ing to a close, I dedicate to my daughter, Mrs. R. Murdoch Hollingshead, who has been associated with me in my work, and to the teachers of the future, the work in which I have labored to sim- plify and make practical Dr. Rush's "Philosophy of the Voice," which I consider the most complete system ever offered to the student of Elocution. James E. Murdoch. " Roadside," Cincinnati, O., May 15, 1884. CONTENTS I. — Introductory Outline of Principles II. Mechanism of the Voice Exercises in Breathing Exercises in Breathing The Catch Breath Exercise III.— Pitch IV.— The Concrete Movement Concrete Intervals and Waves . Forms of Stress on the Concrete V. — The Elements of Language Table of Tonic Elements Table of Subtonic Elements Table of Atonic Elements VI. — Production of Tonic Sounds VII. — Exercises on the Tonic Elements Tables of Notation Concrete Intervals Discrete Intervals . Indefinite Syllables VIII. — Exercises on the Subtonic Elements Tables ..... IX. — Exercises on the Atonic Elements Tables of Short Tonics, Abrupt Subtonic, and Atonic Elements Division of Syllables . X. — Exercises on the Elements in Syllabic Combinations Tonic Elements .... Subtonic and Atonic Elements . Words of more than One Syllable Articulative Exercises . XI. — Articulation and Vocal Culture . Words Studies in Enunciation XII. — Implication, with Exercises for Practice (v) 9 12 16 19 23 27 31 35 36 38 38 43 44 46 56 56 56 63 65 68 7i 76 79 83 85 85 87 89 92 96 99 103 116 VI Contents. CHAPTER XIII.— The Mode of Utterance XIV.— Quality Examples in Natural Quality The Call . Orotund Quality . Aspirated Quality Guttural Quality . Pectoral Quality . Falsetto Quality . XV. — Practice on the Concrete Radical Stress Final Stress . Median Stress Thorough Stress . Compound Stress . The Loud Concrete Tremor . XVI. — Relation between Mind and Voice XVIL— Diatonic Melody Triad of the Cadence Full Cadence First Duad . Second Duad The Feeble Cadence The Prepared Cadence False Cadence Exercises on Melodic Successions Exercises on the Phrases of Melody Examples of Different Forms of Cad XVIII. — Intonation at Pauses .... Examples for Practice Downward Movement in Diatonic Melody XIX. — Expressive Intonation Wider Downward Movements The Semitone .... XX. — Uses of the Wave in Expression The Wave of the Second The Unequal Wave The Double and Continued Waves XXI. — Uses of the Tremor in Expression . Contents. vn XXII. Den ward XXIII, XXIV. XXV. XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII XXIX. XXX XXXI. XXXII, XXXIII, XXXIV Exercises for Practice Exercise in Laughing — Interrogative Intonation . Rule I Rule II Rule III Rule IV Rule V Rule VI Grammatical Questions requiring Intonation — Expressive Melody ; Sentential Pitch ; Transitu Pitch Sentential Pitch Transition in Pitch . General Divisions in Pitch — Force ..... Examples .... — Stress — Radical — Final Stress .... — Median Stress .... — Thorough Stress Compound Stress The Loud Concrete . Semitone .... Tremor .... Concluding Remarks on Stress — Time : Quantity and Movement Quantity . Movement Examples . — Pauses Pauses of Sense Pauses of Emotion Exercises . — Rhythmus or Measure of Speech . — Accent . . — Emphasis Examples, classified Interjections and Exclamatory Sentences 261 263 264 268 269 270 271 272 274 276 281 283 284 294 303 307 315 327 332 338 340 341 341 342 346 349 349 35i 354 364 364 374 376 378 396 399 414 420 Vlll Contents. SELECTIONS. PAGE Eulogy on Wendell Phillips Geo. Wm. Curtis. 433 The Character of our Savior 435 The Human Voice .... . 0. W. Holmes. 437 Love of Change .... Ruskin. 440 Speech in the Knapp Trial . Daniel Webster. 443 Parallel between Pope and Dryden . Sa m ae I Johnson . 445 Benevolence and Charity . Steele. 446 Reflections on Westminster Abbey . " Spectator.' 1 449 The Man of Genius .... Rush in. 45i The Ampitheatre of Titus Gibbon. 452 Dialogue between King John and Hubert . Shakespeare. 454 Scene from "The Iron Chest" . George Colman. 455 Scene from Henry V Shakespeare. 457 Scene from Richard III . Shakespeare. 459 Scene from Hamlet .... Shakespeare. 461 The Prodigal ..... Bible. 464 Select Passages from the Book of Job Bible. 465 Selections from the Book of Isaiah . Bible. 468 The Vision of Sir Launfal Lowell. 469 Extracts from "The Voyage of Life ' . . . Janvier. 472 New England's Chevy Chase . Edward Everett Hale. 476 Song of the Greek Bard . Byron. 478 The Destruction of Sennacherib Byron. 481 Sandalphon ..... Longfellcnu. 481 The Ride of Collins Graves . John Boyle O'Reilly. 483 Crabbed Age and Youth . 485 Antony and Cleopatra . Wm. H. Lylle. 488 Thomas Buchanan Read . Janvier. 489 Song from " The Wild Wagoner of the Alleghanies " Read. 490 Dying in Harness .... . John Boyle O'Reilly. 491 Mary of Castle Cary . Hector Macneil. 492 The Spinning Wheel Song .John Francis Waller. 493 Catawba Wine ..... Longfellow. 494 The King of Yvetot , Be ranger. 496 Nearer, my God, to Thee . Sarah F. Adams. 497 A Hymn ...... Addison. 498 A Safe Stronghold .... . Martin Luther. 499 ANALYTIC ELOCUTION. Chapter I. Introductory Outline of Principles. 1. Spoken Language is employed to declare that which passes in the human mind in its various states and conditions. All that passes in the mind may be reduced to two heads, — ideas and emotions. By ideas we mean all simple perceptions or thoughts. By emotions, all the effects pro- duced upon the mind by those ideas, including the calmer feelings or sentiments which result from a stimulation of the fancy or the imagination, and those states of violent mental agitation arising from the excitement of the strong- est passions. The speaking voice possesses distinct means for declar- ing these several states of thought, sentiment, and passion through the varied employment of its constituent elements. 2. The two great ends of elocution, or the study of spoken language for artistjc purposes, are : (i) To improve and develop the voice to its fullest capacity as regards beauty, power, and flexibility. (2) To adapt it to the cor- rect and natural utterance of all thought, sentiment, or passion. The two constantly react upon each other, for in study- ing the vocal elements employed in the utterance of lan- (ix) io Murdoch's Elocution. guage, their character, and correct production by the organs, — the voice is developed, and the ear and mind at the same time accustomed to the value of sounds in their relation to thought and passion. 3. All of the elements of spoken language, articulate and expressive, are comprehended under the five follow- ing heads, which designate the five generic properties of the voice : Pitch, Quality, Force, Abruptness, and Time. A study of these five properties in detail, and of the multiplied combinations of their several forms, degrees, and varieties, familiarizes the student with all the articulative and expressive powers of speech. 4. Pitch relates to the variation of the voice with re- gard to acuteness or gravity, or high and low, on what is termed in music the scale. It is a primary element of effect and significance in speech, and may, in all its vari- eties, be brought perfectly under the command of the organs for the purposes of art. 5. Quality is the kind of voice, and is popularly desig- nated as rough, smooth, harsh, full, thin, musical, etc. It is here more definitely described under the divisions of the natural, the aspirated, the falsetto, an improved quality called the orotund, the pectoral, and guttural. 6. Force is a term used to designate the power, energy, or intensity with which a sound of the voice is uttered. Its degrees are designated by the terms loud, soft, forcible, weak, strong, feeble, vehement, and moderate. The different forms of its specific application are exhibited in what is called stress, or the application of force to certain parts or to the whole of the extent of a syllable. 7. Abruptness is the suddenness, combined with (a greater or less degree of) fullness, with which every syllabic sound may be opened. It may vary from the most delicate, but clear opening of a syllable, to its most violent or forcible explosion. Outline of Principles. 8. Time is the duration or measure of sound. With regard to individual syllables, it is called quantity, and means the duration of sound heard on each, — as the long quantity or short quantity of a syllable. When the simple term quantity is employed, long quantity is understood. Time also relates to the rapidity or slowness of utter- ance in the succession of any series or aggregate of words. Thus, a sentence is said to be uttered in quick, slow, or moderate time. Time has relation, also, to pauses, either between words or groups of words; also, to rhythmus, or the musical measure of speech. 9. Elocution may then be defined as the art of so em- ploying the Quality, Pitch, Force, Time, and Abruptness of the voice as to convey the sense, sentiment, and passion of composition or discourse in the fullest and most natural manner, and at the same time with the greatest possible gratification to the ear. The first acquisition of the student in the order of sys- tematic study, must be a knowledge and control of the voice-producing mechanism. The next, a similar knowl- edge and mastery of the vocal elements as elements, pre- vious to any attempt to execute their more difficult com- binations in the consecutive utterances of language. Chapter II. Mechanism of the Voice Considered in its Practical Relations to Vocal Culture. 10. The organic production of voice naturally invites our attention first; but the details are too extensive and too minute to warrant my here entering upon them spe- cifically, and belong more properly to the domain of Anatomy and Physiology. I will present, however, a very brief outline of the process by which the breath of life is digested into sound and articulate speech, — thus becoming audible soul, endowed with the power of generating thought and feeling, and creating the visible results of action. The production of all vocal sound requires, in the first place, a full supply of the primary element of vocality, atmospheric air, to be taken in by the respiratory organs, and then furnished to the vocal apparatus. By muscular expansion and contraction, a certain quantity of blood, at each pulsation of the heart, is carried to the lungs, and there vitalized by the oxygen contained in the air. This air passes from the mouth to the trachea, or wind-pipe, through the glottis and larynx, and thence through the bronchial tubes to the minute air-cells of the lungs. Hav- ing there performed its life-giving function, it passes out through the same organs in a decomposed state, and it is this seemingly useless breath, which, in its passage to the outer air, constitutes the material for the formation of that glorious gift, the human voice. (12) Mechanism of the Voice. 13 11. The acts of Inspiration and Expiration, together con- stituting respiration, or breathing, which alternately (ill and empty the minute cells of the lungs, is mainly impelled by the muscles of the abdomen, acting upon the more imme- diate agent of the breathing process called the Diaphragm, a very strong muscle, arched in shape, upon which the lungs rest, and which forms a partition between them and the abdominal organs. The arch of this muscle contracts in inspiration, pressing the abdominal organs downward and outward, and thus making room for the increased body of the inflated lungs. In expiration, the muscle recovers its former position, thus pushing or pressing against the lungs, and driving the air out. It has been figuratively termed the bellows of the vocal organs. 12. A specific muscular action, involving many compli- cations, produces an elevation and depression of that cage- like structure, composed of the ribs and breast-bone, which contains the lungs, in order that those spongy bodies, when filled to their utmost capacity with the inspired air, may be accommodated with corresponding room. The contraction of the muscles of the chest, acting in sympathy with those of the abdomen and diaphragm, con- trol the movements of respiration, which are involuntary in the mere act of breathing, but comparatively voluntary in expelling the air in the different forms of vocality and articulated aspiration. 13. The Larynx is composed of a number of different cartilages, attached together by muscles, and forms a con- tinuation to the tube of the trachea. It communicates with the throat by the glottis, a small membranous or mus- cular fissure, the edges of which constitute the vocal chords or lips of the glottis. The glottis is sometimes called the mouth of the larynx, or inner mouth. The glottis may be opened or closed at will, except in coughing or sneezing, when its muscles obey the nerves of respiration. Murdochs Elocution. When the breath is forced out by an act of volition, through the aperture of the glottis, without agitating the vocal chords, there is no vocality, only an audible sound of hard breathing or aspiration. But when the chords are more or less moved by the air expelled, and thrown into vibration, vocal sound is produced. The sound thus produced by the vibration of this delicate muscular organism of the vocal chords, fills the sonorous cavern at the back part of the mouth called the Pharynx, and reverberating through the cavities of the head and chest, and striking against the sounding- board, as it may be termed, of the roof of the mouth, at last issues from the lips a perfected result of nature's handiwork, to be made as plastic as the potter's clay, and shaped to the various purposes of use and beauty in language. 14. The entire apparatus of human speech may be divided into two classes of organs. These are : (1) The Vocal organs, or those portions of the organic system em- ployed in the production, admeasurement, and variation of voluntary, tunable sounds. These are common to man and to the lower animals. (2) Articulative organs, or those portions and members of the mouth and larynx by which we superadd to the tunable impulses of sound, the phe- nomena of elemental and verbal utterance, and which are peculiar to the human species. Spoken language is the result of the consentaneous action of the vocal and the articulative organs. Independ- ently of the lower jaw, whose motions contribute to dis- tinct utterance, and the nasal passages, the articulative organs are six in number. Four of them are active: viz., the tongue, the uvula, the lips of the mouth and the lips of the glottis or vocal chords, — the last belonging to both the vocal and articulative organs. Two are passive; viz., the front teeth and the gums. Mechanism of the Voice. 15 15. The thoughts, emotions, and passions of the human being acting upon the organic mechanism of the breath, of vocality, and of enunciation, excite each to method and force of action; and those sounds of the voice are produced peculiar in form and duration, altitude or de- pression, force or softness, in their varied degrees, to the thought, emotion, or passion to be expressed. 16. If speech be regulated by a knowledge of the structure and functions of the organs which it employs, and of their relation to other parts of the body according to the laws of exercise and rest, there never can be any inconvenience for want of breath, any straining of the voice, any bronchial or pulmonary irritations resulting from even their most active and energetic exercise. A true system of vocal culture must be based upon such knowl- edge, and comprehend a consequently intelligent training of the muscles of the voice-making mechanism, with a view to voluntarily exercise and energize the functions of each; and it must advance by degrees until the student can trust this mechanism to perform whatever labor he imposes without conscious volition, but through a subtle sympathy with, rather than an order from the brain. 17. It is not necessary, though it is desirable, to under- stand the anatomy and physiology of the organs in minute detail, but the student must at least know and realize what organs produce or directly influence important vocal effects. * A knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the entire vocal mechanism, however, can not be too accurate and compre- hensive in the case of those who undertake to teach the subject of Elocution. I^or such knowledge, the teacher is referred to books and lectures devoted exclusively to the anatomy and physiology of the voice. For plates and description of vocal organs, see " Vocal Culture," by Rev. Francis T. Russell. 1 6 Murdoch' 's Elocution. The general advantages of correct vocal exercises, or, as they are sometimes termed, ''vocal gymnastics," when properly exercised and judiciously graduated to the phys- ical strength of the student, may be enumerated as fol- lows : (i) They give vitality to the whole system by expanding, through the means of regulated and thorough inspirations, the entire body of the lungs, giving increased breadth to the surface of the interior lining of the air-cells containing the delicate veins through which the blood flows in its subjection to the vitalizing operations of aeration. (2) They impart vigor, and consequent power of endur- ance, to the muscles of the abdomen, diaphragm, and the other sympathetic muscular powers; it is to the disci- plined activity of these muscles we owe the strength, volume, and qualities of voice required in all artistic expression. (3) As the crowning advantage of proper vocal train- ing, the muscles comprehended in the delicate organism of the larynx, glottis, and throat, are kept in health and vigor for the discharge of their important part in the pro- duction of voice, and above all are rendered pliant to the will, — to the full possibilities of force and beauty in the utterance of language. Exercises in Breathing. 18. As all vocality, from the instinctive cry of the infant to the most extended effort of the developed voice, is so inseparably connected with respiration, it is to the opera- tions of breathing alone, in its gentler and more aspirated forms, that our attention and practice toward acquiring an educated control of the muscles governing voice-production will be first directed. As preparatory, however, to the Mechanism of the Voice. 17 special training involved in these and succeeding exen I would suggest that those physical exercises compre- hended under the head of gymnastics and calisthenics, would, if practiced in moderation, be invaluable to the student in giving tone and elasticity to the general sys- tem.* (1) Let the student stand in a perfectly easy position, upon either the right or left foot, the other slightly in advance, the arms folded at the back, which position de- presses the shoulders naturally, and gives all the expansion, or elevation, as it is sometimes termed, necessary to the fullest possible action of the chest; the weight of the body may be allowed to fall on the other foot, as the student grows stiff or in the least degree weary, f In this per- fectly easy attitude, fill the lungs by deep, full inspiration, and then expire slowly with slight force. Repeat four or five times. This exercise is merely an exemplification of natural breathing, slightly exaggerated, as it would be by the necessities of energetic or impassioned utterance. The student's attention should here be directed to the muscular phenomena which are exhibited in replenishing and exhaust- ing the lungs. When the breath is comparatively exhausted, there is a necessity for a full inspiration to refill the *I would suggest the moderate use of light dumb-bells, or light Indian clubs, as an excellent means of properly exercising the mus- cles of the arms and chest. These may be used with advantage before the breathing exercises. tThe direction sometimes given to " hold up the chest," " elevate the sternum and ribs," etc., as a special advantage in the service of breathing and speech, and as preparatory to their exercises, is a gratuitous injunction, because, when we inhale fully, the breast- bone and ribs rise naturally, and of necessity, and gradually expand the cavity of the chest sufficiently to accommodate the graduallv enlarging volume of the lungs. M. E.— 2. 1 8 Murdoch's Elocution. emptied air-cells, which will be speedily complied with if no obstruction is offered to prevent the operation of the natural function of the lungs, the air being sucked in, as it were, by the action of the organs.* (2) To realize the full force of the respiratory process, the lungs must be comparatively emptied by a special act of the will. The act of refilling them arises from ne- cessity, and is of a marked and instantaneous character. Such is the peculiar form of respiration by which the student can best be made to perceive and understand the degrees of difference between natural, easy breathing, under ordinary circumstances, and that degree of muscular exertion in inspiration and expiration necessary for the efforts of speech. Let him repeat the exercises until he is made fully conscious of the expansion of the chest, the rise and fall of the ribs, together with the contraction and extension of the muscles of the abdomen and of the dia- phragm, all of which movements are attendant upon the respiratory process. The greater indraughts of air will call into play in pro- portion to the increased effort additional muscles of the back and other parts, the position of which will be indi- cated by the action. (3) Draw a full, deep inspiration, and then effuse the breath in the slow and distinctly audible breathing ex- hibited in the sustained expiration of a deep sigh.f When the lungs are apparently emptied, after a brief pause inhale " :; ' r The mistake is often made of supposing that the atmospheric pressure from without will fill the lungs if the mouth is merely held open. As a proof of this, consider the means for resuscitating one who has been drowned. t Let it be understood that the lungs are never entirely emptied or exhausted of air, as only a certain proportion of their contents are subject to the will. Mechanism of the Voice. 19 again, and repeat the above mentioned movement three or four times, until the gradual effusion of breath is marked by the same lengthened smoothness and equable How as that of the silent expiration, — which result is the object of the exercise. Further Exercises in Breathing. (4) In the same position as before indicated, take the breath deliberately and steadily ; after a full inspiration is attained, let it be given out slowly in a steadily but gently effused and whispered expiration of the element h, which is a simple breathing sound. Let this be sustained until all the air in the lungs is exhausted. In this and the fol- lowing exercises, the aspiration must come, as it were, from the very depths of the throat. (5) Let as much breath be drawn in as the lungs can easily contain, then send it forth in an equable flow, in the form of a gentle, breathing whisper of the syllable he, the mouth slightly open, the corners drawn back. This should be repeated several times, until the student can sustain a comparatively full expiration on a deliberate and unbroken effusion of breath, free from all jerking and unsteadiness, in a gentle, but distinctly audible breathing whisper. • (6) Draw in the breath as before, and emit it with a somewhat forcible, expulsive, whispered breathing of the syllable hah, the mouth moderately open, the lips slightly rounded. After a moderate prolongation of the expulsive form, let the whispering sound vanish gently, so to speak, in the bottom of the throat. (7) Inspire freely, and after a momentary pause expel the air suddenly, with a sudden or explosive breathing, whispered utterance on the syllable haw, the mouth wide open, and the aspirated sound coming from the very depths 20 Mwdocti s Elocution. of the throat. Prolong the vanishing sound in this exer- cise as long as possible, without distressing the parts. Care must be taken to maintain the aspirated form of ex- piration free from any vocality. By this process, nearly all the air contained in the lungs is forcibly driven out, and in the repetitions of it the student must use his judgment, remembering that the process is more exhausting to the lungs than that in the preceding exercises. (8) Inhale fully, and then, after a momentary pause, give out the breath of this one inspiration in three suc- cessive and distinct breathing, whispered utterances of the three syllables, he, hah, haw, in the manner before as- signed to each. There must be a momentary pause be- tween each by holding the breath; i. e., arresting the action of the diaphragm. (9) After a full inspiration, let the breath be expelled on three successive expulsions or jets on the syllable he, giving to each an equal share of the one inspiration, fol- lowing the same directions concerning momentary pause, as in the preceding. (10) Again, let a full inspiration be taken, and the same process as above repeated on the syllable Iiah, with in- creased expulsive force. (11) After full inspiration, let the breath be given out, following the same directions on the three explosive whis- pered utterances of the syllable haw. 19. In the repetition for practice of 10 and 11, the ex- pulsive force and explosive abruptness represented in each should be gradually increased. The above exercises should be conducted by the teacher in the following manner : The teacher, holding up his open hand, counts, delib- erately, one, two, three. The pupil having taken breath during the counting of the teacher, gives the first sound, he. Mechanism of I he Voice. 21 'The teacher counts, with hand raised, one, two, three, the pupil breathing and repeating the second sound three times to one expiration, thus: hah, hah, hah. The teacher counts again, one, two, and three; his hand gradually falls from its upright position to his side, while the pupil gives forth the enlarged volume of air from the lungs, when fully inflated, on the explosive, haw. All of the exercises must be graduated as to their force, time of duration, and frequency of repetition, to the capacity and comfort of the student. Ordinarily, four or five repeti- tions of each at a time will be sufficient at first, pausing and breathing in the ordinary way for a few moments be- tween each to avoid the dizziness which results from too excessive and rapid respiration. The exercises may be practiced with benefit to the health four or five times daily, even by those who do not pursue their application to the purposes of artistic speech. The more forcible of these exercises will further discip- line the respiratory muscles, and strengthen them for a future vigorous expulsion or explosion of the breath in the utterance of the successive syllables of language, or in throwing the entire force of one expiration on the em- phatic syllable of some one important word. The practice on the first or effusive form of breathing is calculated not only to strengthen the muscles, but to habituate the lungs to a regulated and measured action, and to place the gentle, gradual, and sustained effusion of breath at the command of the will for the perfect utterance of the firm and steady tones indicative of a reposeful state of mind. The effusive breath may be said to flow, the expulsive to rusk, and the explosive to burst into the outer air. These three forms of breathing, it will be found, when converted into vocality, represent the three forms which language 22 Murdoch's Elocution. assumes in its varied utterance from tranquillity to pas- sion. 20. We are now prepared to see the relations between the act of breathing and articulate speech ; how, by acquir- ing a perfect control over the muscles of respiration, we may deal out the breath in a continuous stream, or break it into portions, and divide it with accuracy among a suc- cession of syllables. (1) Let each of the preceding forms of aspiration be given with vocality, following precisely the same directions as to method of proceeding. (2) The exercise given below will enable the student to sustain his tones firmly through one expiration; they are not speech tones, nor are they song, — the latter they re- semble in continuity only. By gaining a steady control of the diaphragm, the tones issuing from the larynx will be- come firm, round, and, in time, clear. This is essentially a vocal gymnastic exercise to give strength to the tone- producing organs. (3) After deep inspiration, taken while the teacher slowly counts one, two, three, let the student sound the long tonic a, holding it as long as it remains firm and round; when it becomes weak and vibratory, stop it at once, then in the same manner hold e, 1, 6, and u. If, in the beginning of his practice, the pupil can hold a tone ten or fifteen seconds, he is doing well; but gradually he will be able to extend the tone to thirty, forty, and even sixty seconds. After some time, the exercise can be given with a view to the opening of the radical, which gives purity to the tone, and it can also be given as a practice in pitch. (4) Another excellent exercise consists in filling the lungs, and then repeating the vowels a, 8, 1, 6, u, as many times as possible to one expiration. Mechanism of the Voice. The Catch Breath Exercise. 21. The following exercise is to cultivate the habit of taking the breath quickly and inaudibly, with deep inspira- tion at the short pauses of consecutive utterance, and to economize the breath in apportioning it to words. (i) Inspire fully but inaudibly. Then count one — tiuo — three [take short breath] four— five — six [inspire quickly] seven — eight — nine, etc., etc. (2) Inspire, and count in the same manner in groups of five numerals, taking breath quickly between the groups. Inspire, count in groups of ten, and so on until twenty and thirty may be counted easily at one breath, the student gradually accustoming himself to use no more breath in the utterance of each word than is actually necessary. The short breaths are simply an indrawing of the air contained in the mouth, the outer air rushing in to take its place. Increased exertion or force of utterance of course demands deeper indraughts and more frequent supplies. This exercise, besides teaching the economy of breath, will place under the control of the will a habit of nature in our ordinary use of the voice, for slight observation will show us that in speaking naturally we do not wait until the breath is entirely exhausted to restore it all at once with one deep inspiration, but take every oppor- tunity to replenish the constant waste by quick indraughts between groups of words, where the language will best allow of it, without retarding the utterance or disrupting the sense. In this way the organs work without fatigue, for, the waste being constantly restored, they are never without a sufficient supply for their needs. The breath must be renewed at every pause of any duration, in the 24 Murdoch 's Elocution. form of deep, easy breathing, unless the excitement of emotion causes panting or sighing, when a short, jerky movement becomes necessary. Inspiration should be carried on as much as possible through the nose, and with closed lips; this, however, in the hurried action of speech, can not always be done. 22. The acts of gasping and panting are more violent forms of aspirated breath, excited by nature to restore her disturbed equilibrium attendant upon the irregular or sus- pended respiration which accompanies extreme excitement or undue physical exertion. Sighing deeply, and groan- ing, are also efforts of nature to restore her equilibrium when her natural breathing has been disturbed or sus- pended by extreme suffering, grief, or other mental excite- ment. They are produced by taking large gulps of air into the lungs, and then, by suppressed muscular effort, forcing the breath out in a continuous stream, which, com- ing in contact with the vocal chords without exciting them to full vibration, passes out of the aperture of the mouth with a hard breathing sound, mixed with suppressed vo- cality, expressive of a distressed state of the mind. It will thus be seen that they serve a double purpose, in the preservation of life and the expression of the feelings. An imitation of these natural acts as an occasional prac- tice will also be of great advantage to the student, not only as serving to assist art but to invigorate nature. 23. In the complicated web-work of diaphragm, abdom- inal, chest, clavicular, dorsal, and other muscles which serve as the motive power for respiration in its various forms and degrees, from tranquil to violent, and in con- tinued or disjointed currents of breath, the will, by a sep- arate volition, can not properly produce any individual action on the part of any particular set of muscles inde- pendently or in advance of any other set involved in the general act. They must all work together by a combined Mechanism of the Voice. 25 action involving the separate agencies in an almost con- sentaneous movement for one general result. The same is true of the complex organic action by which the breath is converted into syllabic sound, involving the further agency of the muscles of the glottis, etc. To enforce this idea by an example : the direction is sometimes given to "hold the chest up" by a special act of volition, in order to enlarge its cavity for the indraughts of air. The effort to do this burdens the mind with an unnecessary precaution, and lessens the powers of vocal production. The act of raising the shoulders, therefore, drawing up the chest, and subsequently dropping them, in the forcible utterance of speech, is an unnatural and in- jurious habit, arising from this false idea of assisting nature, by a special effort of the will, to control any one of the co-ordinated actions of her complete mechanism.* v But those habits of breathing and speech, based upon a practice by which the organs are exercised in their normal functions, will call into proper action all the necessary agencies of sound production, and develop the vocal powers in accordance with natural law. The will must be exerted with the object of producing certain effects or sounds of a certain kind, and for an explicit purpose; and the diaphragm, the abdominal muscles, the intercostals, and others, will, by the sympathetic action of which we have spoken, conjointly and efficiently supply the necessary motive power, no one set of these muscles waiting for or requiring a special act of volition to cause it to perform its individual office in the general act. * Lennox Brown .has recently written a treatise on voice produc- tion, in which he draws particular attention to the false methods of breathing, used in many of the music schools, and proves con- clusively that the diaphragmatic or deep breathing is the only form that is satisfactory in its results. M. E— 3. 26 Murdoch's Elocution. 24. I would recommend, in connection with breathing, some particular exercises in walking, pacing, striding, and running. Also, using the arms in all the movements from graceful to forcible; i. e., from sweeps to direct strokes, upward and downward, with varying degrees of force. The movements should be in accordance with the swell and stroke of vocal action in expulsion, explosion, and effusion, voice and action keeping time together. Chapter III. Pitch. 25. The most elementary knowledge of music will serve to explain the technical terms common to this science, and that of speech, and also to aid the student to an under- standing of the similarities and differences of their applica- tion in each, necessary to a correct apprehension of their employment in the latter. In the musical scale, the progressions or variations through pitch are effected by a series of skipping or dis- connected sounds, called discrete intervals, which may be individually prolonged at will upon a level line; i. e., at one point of the scale, the sound neither rising nor falling in pitch. On the scale, the intervals between the first and second, second and third, fourth and fifth, fifth and sixth sounds are full tones. The distances between the third and fourth, seventh and eighth, are half-tones, or semitones. The intervals take their degree from these changes in the position of the notes, thus : from the first to the third, or from c to e, on the piano-forte, is a discrete interval of a third. But variation in pitch may be produced in another way; e. g., if the finger be moved with continued pressure along the string of a violin, from its lower attachment, upward or downward, while the bow is drawn, a mewing sound will be heard. The sound thus produced will be continuous, and will end at cither a higher or lower pitch than that at (27) 28 Murdoch } s Elocution. which it began, according as the finger is slid upward or downward. The effect upon the ear will be that of an uninterrupted sound, gliding from gravity to acuteness, or the reverse. This, on the violin, is called a slide, and is produced by a succession of changes in pitch so rapid as not to be separately discerned by the ear, and hence the result of one unbroken impulse of sound. In the speaking voice, change of pitch, in the manner just described, is effected in the utterance of every syllable through some interval of the scale, and called a concrete interval.* 26. The speaking voice performs both the concrete and discrete transitions in pitch, the latter being as inseparable from any succession of syllabic sounds as the former from any individual utterance. To illustrate this : Suppose the pronoun / be given with earnest interrogation, expressing strong surprise, and it would pass through the rising con- crete interval of probably eight notes of the musical scale. Then let the word fail be given immediately after the /, with the same interrogative surprise, though less earnestly than the first, and beginning at the same degree of the scale, and it will pass through the rising concrete of prob- ably a fifth. Thus, we have an interrogative sentence. The voice, in passing from the termination of the first word to the commencement of the second must of ne- cessity perform a skip or a discrete transition through an octave. A more advanced study of the subject will show us that this discrete movement, in the successive syllabic utterances of speech, is made either through proximate or (as in the instance given) through remote intervals. *The term Concrete, etymologically considered, means grown to- gether. The term Discrete is derived from dis and CERNO, to see apart, or to distinguish. Pitch. 29 If the sentence, "I am poor, and miserably old," be uttered with a plaintive expression, the syllabic utterances will pass through a semitone. 27. There is in speech still another mode of discrete transition through the degrees of pitch, produced by the voice passing discretely from acuteness to gravity, and the reverse, by intervals much smaller than a semitone, each point being touched by abrupt emissions of voice, follow- ing each other in rapid succession. The extent of the interval contained between these brief and rapid iterations is not known, nor is it important that it should be. The sound is well illustrated by the neighing of a horse, or by gurgling in the throat, and is called the Tremulous Scale of the Voice, or the Tremor. The speaking scale progressing principally by whole tones, and not being limited, as in music, to the arrange- ment of tones and semitones, may be regarded as the com- pass of the voice, be that eight, twelve, sixteen, or more degrees. As the peculiarity of key arises from the fixed place of semitones, there can be, in the transitions of speech-melody through this scale of pitch, no change of key, and hence no modulation. This term modulation has been, and still is, popularly misapplied to denote the transi- tions of voice through the speaking scale, but must be rejected from an accurate treatment of the subject of speaking sounds. (1) Pitch is, then, a term representing any variation of the voice from gravity to acuteness. (2) There are, in the use of speech-sounds, two kinds of transition in pitch : concrete, by a continuous or uninter- rupted movement; and discrete, by a skipping or discon- nected movement. (3) Speech has four scales or modes of progression in pitch : the diatonic, the concrete, the tremulous, and the semi- tonic, known in music as the chromatic. 30 MurdocJi s Elocution. (4) Intervals mark the distance between any two degrees of these scales, and are either concrete or discrete. (5) Intonation in speech is the correct execution of the intervals of its several scales, and constitutes one of the chief elements of expression in spoken language. (6) Melody of speech is an agreeable variation of these intervals on the successive syllables of language. 28. Science teaches that acuteness and gravity are the results of tension and relaxation, and consequently of rapid and slow vibration of the vocal chords attendant respectively upon the elevation and depression of the larynx. The larynx rises and the fauces contract in the utter- ance of acute sounds; the fauces dilate and the larynx falls with the grave. The natural position for the produc- tion of high pitch elevates the chin slightly, low pitch depresses it, and in middle pitch the position is that of simple repose. We also study pitch in the five degrees of middle, low and lowest, high and highest. Chapter IV. The Concrete Movement or the Radical and Vanish. 29. In the simple pronunciation of the letter a, two sounds are heard : the first has the nominal sound of the letter, and issues from the organs with a certain degree of fullness; the last is the element e, gradually diminishing to an attenuated close. In the utterance, the voice will trav- erse a rising interval of a tone or second. The first part of the interval, in this instance, is called the radical movement, as the fullness of its opening is the root from which the remaining concrete proceeds; the latter, or gradual diminution of the sound, is called the vanishing movement^ from its seeming to die away into silence. These terms apply only to the two extremes of the concrete, for the radical changes into the vanish so gradually as to admit of no assignable point of distinction between them. The entire concrete, comprehending the two movements continuously blended together, is called the radical and vanishing movement, and sometimes the note of speech. The character of this radical and vanishing movement is represented to the eye by the visible mark of notation, [^^]» which will be used in the course of this work. 30. It is somewhat difficult to recognize the radical and vanish on the interval of the tone, but in order to render this movement appreciable to the ear we must magnify it. Pronounce the letter a as a question of surprise, in the fol- lowing sentence: ''Did you say a?" and its dipthongal (31) Murdoch ' s Elocution. character, with the radical and vanish of its opening and termination, will be clearly exhibited on the extended interval of the rising fifth or octave. Utter the same letter with positive affirmation, as, "I said #," and the same effect of fullness and diminution will be produced on a fall- ing concrete, with the radical at the summit of the sound, and the vanish attenuating downward. This simple utterance of the radical and vanish seems to be an instinctive and uncontrollable function of the speak- ing voice underlying all syllabic utterance. In the correct execution of the utterance a, as given above, the student must be conscious of a peculiar sensa- tion felt in the larynx or its mouth, which is the glottis, at the moment in which the radical sound is expelled from that organ, and before it becomes blended with the fainter vocality of the vanish. From the inception of the vocal effort, the organs move from one position, at the opening of the given sound, to another at its close; i. e., they glide from an open position on the fullness of the a, to a com- paratively close position on the vanishing e. 31. From this it will be seen that the radical and vanish- ing movement is the result of one impulse of the breath, and is the basis of the syllabic structure. The transit of vocal sound and action, as in the example just given, con- stitute the peculiar character of the speech-note as distin- guished from that of song. The long drawn notes of song and recitative are of an entirely different character, the voice being prolonged upon a level line of pitch by holding the organs in one position until the close of the note. If the dipthongal vowel a, or any other capable of pro- longation, be uttered with correct pronunciation, smoothly and distinctly, without intensity or emotion, or with only a moderate degree of earnestness, it commences full and somewhat abruptly, and gradually decreases in its upward 77/e Concrete Movement. 33 or downward movement until it becomes inaudible; having the increments of time, and rise or descent, and the decre- ments of fullness equally progressive, the two sounds which compose it, the radical movement and the vanish, blend- ing imperceptibly together as a result of the peculiar action of the organs. This is called the equable concrete, and be- longs only to speech. This full opening, equable gliding, the lessening volume, and the soft extinction of sound, mark the difference between the equable concrete of the speaking voice, and the sounds of all musical instruments. The concrete is carried in speech through the intervals of the tone, semitone, third, fifth, and octave. The voice may also pass through the remaining intervals, the fourth, sixth, and seventh, or beyond the octave ; but a reference to the third, fifth, and octave as the wider intervals em- ployed in speech is sufficiently accurate for an efficient study of our subject. 32. Under the influence of emotion, the concrete move- ment loses its simple, equable form, which is the vocal sign of a more or less tranquil state of mind, and, according to the kind and degree of the emotion, a corresponding con- centration of force is applied to some part or to all of its extent; thus, we have the phenomena of stress. Of this, we have six different forms : (1) Radical Stress, or force applied to the opening of the concrete.* * Radical stress, in its simplest or lightest form, exists in the equable concrete, constituting the clear, full opening of the former. It only becomes a vocal sign of emotion by explosive force on this opening of the syllabic impulse. The radical is the only form of stress that may be inexpressive in its character. This point will be fully explained in our practical consideration of the subject; it is mentioned in this connection to avoid what might seem to be a contradiction. 34 Murdoch 's Elocution. (2) The Loud Concrete, in which the whole equable con- crete is magnified by unusual force, while the proportion of the radical to the vanish remains unaltered. (3) Medium Stress, a swell or impressive fullness on the middle of the concrete. (4) Compound Stress, an unusual application of force to each extremity of the concrete. (5) Final Stress, force applied to the latter extremity of the concrete, while the radical is diminished in fullness. (6) Thorough Stress, in which the concrete has the full- ness and force of the radical throughout its entire extent. The forms of stress will be further described, and their application illustrated, in our practical studies on the con- crete. The plain, equable structure of the radical and vanish will be called the simple concrete, to distinguish it from the concrete affected by the various modifications of force com- prehended in the several forms of stress. 33. Besides the forms of the rising and falling concrete, the voice often continues the rising into the falling con- crete by a single impulse of sound, thus doubling its extent. Again, the falling may in the same way be con- tinued into the rising movement. This form of the radical and vanishing movement is called the Wave, and the inter- vals of which it is composed are called its constituents or flexures. The following diagrams illustrate, by graphic means, the various concrete intervals and waves. The wave is em- ployed through all the intervals of the scale, and in all possible combinations; and, furthermore, its expression, in all its forms, is modified by the application of stress to different parts of its course, at the beginning, or at the end, or the junction of its constituents. The wave is the vehicle for syllabic quantity in its most extended forms. The Concrete Movement. 35 Concrete Intervals and Waves. 0- i =?==* Concrete risinj tone. Concrete down- ward tone. Concrete rising third. Concrete down- ward third. ^ 2 Concrete rising fifth. Concrete down- ward fifth. Concrete rising octave. Concrete down- ward octave. E*3£? Equal single Equal single Equal single Equal single Equal single Equal single direct, wave inverted, of direct, of the inverted, of direct, of the inverted, of of the sec- the second, third. the third. fifth. the fifth, ond. ^fe^^ *sz ^ Equal single Equal single Unequal sin- Unequal in- Double equal Double un- direct, of the inverted, of gle direct, of verted, of the direct, of the equal invert- octave, the octave, the fifth and third and oc- third. ed, of the third. tave. third, fifth, and third. The following symbols are used to represent to the eye the concrete as affected by the different modifications of stress through all the intervals. 36 Murdoch's Elocution. Forms of Stress on the Concrete. J M ! T I 34. The pitch at which the concrete begins will be called Radical Pitch, to distinguish it from that of the entire radical and vanish, which will be called Concrete Pitch. The concrete function is sometimes called the radical and vanishing movement ; the concrete movement, progression, in- terval, or pitch; or, simply, the Concrete or the Radical and Vanish. The discrete function is called the discrete move- ment, progression, change, skip, or pitch. Where the direction of the concrete or the radical is not specified or implied, the term is used either for rise or fall. As a gen- eral designation of the extent of intervals and waves, all greater than those of the semitones and second are termed wider intervals and waves. The term radical and vanish, when generically employed, refers to the combination of beginning and terminal part of the concrete under any modification of either of these parts. 35. Every syllable of speech being a single impulse of utterance, involves the radical and vanish as a necessity of its organic production. The concrete is, therefore, the soul of the syllabic sound, and forms the working material for all the purposes of articulation and intonation. It must have some point of commencement on the scale, and traverse some interval; it must occupy some time in the utterance ; it must also be uttered with some degree of muscular effort, and hence of force; and, last, it must have quality, or some peculiar kind of sound. The con- crete function is the foundation upon which is built the 77/e Concrete Movement. 37 measurement of all the sounds of speech, and is the prin- ciple which underlies the life and power of every utter- ance of the speaking voice, from the most delicate audible whisper, to the accumulated forces of the loudest and most prolonged shout within the capabilities of the vocal mechanism. // is the key which unlocks the whole philosophy of the speaking voice. A theoretical and practical under- standing of this great fundamental principle of spoken language not only develops the full powers of the voice, but gives control over it for the effective and natural utterances of language. Chapter V. The Elements of the Language Considered and Classified ac- cording to their Relation to the Radical and Vanish, and to their Capacity for Tunable Sound. 36. An elementary sound in language is one that is in- capable of further division. It is uttered by one impulse of the organs, and is the simplest form of articulate utter- ance. As the alphabet of our language does not contain a separate symbol for each of these elements, we are obliged to use the same graphic sign for different sounds. The elements are divided with reference to their relation to the radical and vanish, and their capacity for tunable sound into tonics, subtonics, and atonies. Table of Tonic Elements. Simple Sounds. Compound Sounds A-ll, E-rr, A-le, A-rm, E-nd, I-ce, A-n, I-n, O-ld, A-sk, Ai-r, Ou-r, E-ve, U-p, Oi-1, Oo-ze, O-r, U-se. L-oo-k, O-n. The tonic elements have the purest and most tunable vocality of all the materials of speech. They are capable of being prolonged indefinitely, and admit of the concrete rise and fall through all the intervals of pitch. They may (38) The Elements of Language. 39 be uttered with more force and abruptness than the other elements, and at the same time, from their power of pro- longation, may preserve the gradually attenuated move- ment of the vanish.* 37. All of the tonic sounds are produced by the joint functions of the larynx, fauces, and parts of the internal and external mouth. Although produced in the larynx by the action of the vocal chords, the ultimate perfection of every tonic sound depends upon the correct position of the lips and tongue. The lower jaw also facilitates their utter- ance by its motions, and the consequent modifications of the cavity of the mouth. The lips, by their approximation, diminish the size of the external opening of the mouth; and the tongue, by its elevation toward the roof of the mouth, that of the cavity or internal opening. The individual vocal character of each tonic is thus principally determined by one of these two agencies. 38. Those tonics which are modified chiefly by the agency of the lips have been called, from this circum- stance, the "labial vowels." They are: «-ll, '-e. n, " «-un. w, ' w-oe. r, " r-ap. r, < ( fa-r. Let the student take the word babe, and pause after the obscure "guttural murmur" (the term applied to the pe- culiar murmur of b, d, and g) of its first sound, and he will hear the element which the letter b represents, or if he prolong the first element before joining it to the next, the single elementary subtonic sound will be heard in the pro- longation. Let him proceed in the same manner to obtain the sound of the other subtonic elements. These elements may all be carried through the different intervals of pitch, but they have almost no radical fullness, and, as has been stated, a less full vocality than the tonics. They are produced by the entire or partial obstruction of a current of vocalized breath through the mouth, and the subsequent removal of this obstruction. The restoration of the free passage of air through the mouth at the termination of the subtonic utterance, pro- 44 Murdoch's Elocution. duces a peculiar ending, known as the vocide or "little voice," which, though short and feeble in ordinary speech, becomes very perceptible in forcible or affected pronuncia- tion. This must not be confounded with the vanish of the concrete. The slow but forcible pronunciation of such words as bad, hub, tug, rub, etc., will illustrate this vocular termination. This vocule is lost when the subtonic pre- cedes a tonic element, and the voice takes in its place the full radical sound of the tonic, thus giving an abrupt opening to the latter. 47. The subtonic can not be given an abrupt opening without extraordinary effort. As elements they are, there- fore, deprived of the proper radical movement which is peculiar to the tonics. But, although the subtonics are unfitted for the abrupt opening of the radical, they may fulfill all the purposes of the vanish. The vocality of the subtonics admits of their prolongation, and an extension of their time is next in importance to that of the vowels for the purposes of elegance and correctness in speech. Though less tunable than the vowels, they are most agreeable to the ear when properly uttered with their full value. 48. Ten of the elemental sounds of our language are aspirations, and form the third class. They are produced by certain modifications of the internal and external mouth acting upon a current of the whispering breath. They have no vocality, and therefore no basis for the function of the radical and vanish. Table of Atonic Elements. A as in p-ipe. s, as in j-ick. t, (< t-ent. wh, < < 7<:'//-eat. k, <( £-ick. th, « < ///-in. f, 1 1 /-ife. sh, c« pu-s/i. h, c < /i-e. ch, << c/i-urcb. 77/c Elements of Language. 45 These elements, from their want of vocal sound, are called Atonies. The want of vocality in the atonies is almost the only difference between them and the sulfonics, as is shown by the following table : B, A G, V t z, Y, W % Th. P> T, K F, s, H, • 1 1 'n, Th. 49. Six of the whole number of elements, or three sub- tonics and three atonies, are produced by a bursting forth of the breath after a complete occlusion. These abrupt elements are b, d, g, p, t, k. They exhibit their final vocule very perceptibly at the end of a syllable, but before a tonic this vocule opens out, as before described, into a sudden fullness of the radical of the tonic sound, as in bare, go, dart, pit, take, kick. 50. The subtonics and atonic elements are divided ac- cording to the organic conditions of their formation into the following classes : labials, or those formed chiefly by the agency of the lips ; dentals, by that of the teeth ; palatic, or those depending on the palate for their distinctive char- acter ; nasals, or those resulting from a vocalized breathing through the nose; Unguals, or those especially dependent on the action of the tongue; aspirates, formed by a forci- ble emission of breath through the moderately open organs; and labio-dentals, depending upon teeth and lips. The dental sounds are as follows : , in part, and consider the fact that the resistance made by the lips while the 48 Murdoch's Elocution. breath is accumulating for the explosion of the sound is identical with that made in the larynx under the same cir- cumstances upon the letter g-H> 1, l-n-ll. m, " m-ai-m n, " n-u-u. r, " r-a-p. r, ta-r. n g> as in sx-ng. v, < v-a\-ve. z, z-one. z, a-z-ure y> (i y-e. w, zo-oe. th, th-exi. (2) Pronounce syllables in Table II, firmly holding or sustaining vocal murmur of final elements. II. u-b, e-/, e-v, e-zh, Xl-d, e-m, e-/, \-ng, u-^, e-». e-th, a-r. * Teachers should note this fact, and strictly observe the articu- lation of their pupils in executing such words as are likely to be confounded in the same movement. The words what, which, and wheat, for example, are very generally deprived of the aspiration which distinctly marks their correct pronunciation. 72 Murdoch' s Elocution. (3) Sound simple elements, Table III, taking great care not to give a tonic also. III. B, L, Ng, Zh, Th, D, M, v, Y, R, vibrant.* G, N, z, w, R, jfce, E y as in f-ife. C (soft) and s, as in c-eaje. H y as in k-e. Wh, " w/i-eat. Th, " th-vsx. Shy " pu-j/4. (1) The atonic p is produced by an intense compression of the lips, immediately followed by a whispered or aspi- rated explosion.* (2) In executing /, the end of the tongue is strongly pressed against the roof of the mouth, and an aspirated explosion is made on the instant of its withdrawal. (3) K is produced by opening the mouth, retracting and curving the tongue, while an aspiration is exploded against the palate. (4) F is executed by a forcible compression of the teeth upon the lips, while the breath is driven against them. (5) S ot c (soft), as in the word cease, is formed by pressing the sides of the tongue against the roof of the mouth, and driving through the small aperture between *The distinctness of elemental practice, if carried too far in reading or speech, becomes a defect, and should be guarded against, particularly in p, t, and k. (76) Exercises on the Atonic Elements. yy the tip and interior ridge of gum the aspirated breath. This forms the characteristic sibillation or hiss of this ele- ment. (6) H is formed by a forcible emission of the breath in the form of a whisper, through the moderately open organs of speech. (7) Wh is executed by suddenly driving the aspirated breath through the lips opened in the position for whist- ling. (8) Th, as in thin, is produced by a forcible aspiration through the slightly parted lips, while the end of the tongue lies between and presses against the upper teeth. (9) Sh is formed liked z, in azure, as regards organic position, but is aspirated instead of vocalized. The atonies have a feeble vocule, but no vocality, per- form no part in intonation, and are therefore inferior to the other elements for purposes of vocal exercise. A prac- tice on these elements, however, contributes to the me- chanical facility of the organs in articulation. 86. (1) Articulate each syllable in Table I distinctly. Then repeat, holding the final or atonic element for a moment, and then letting the breath escape from the organs with abruptness. This will produce the vocule, or little voice, of the elements p, t, k, f, and th. The re- maining atonic elements producing no occlusion (or but little) in their formation, are almost without the vocule. (2) Next utter the simple aspirated elements, as in the following table, with emphatic force : II. P! K! S! Wh! T! F! H! Sh! Th! (3) Pronounce the following words with distinct articula- tion of every element in combination. 78 Murdoch's Elocution. in. Pap, Bold, Whale, Tat, Hark, Where, Kile, Siss, What, Fife, Ice, Whence, Fright, Sweep, Whiff, Wi/e, Shame, Thick, Cuff, Shock, Throat, Hah, Shot, Death, Haul, Swish, Thwart, Harm, WisA, Thank. (4) Pronounce the words in the following table, "hold- ing " the initial letter firmly for a moment, and then letting the sound break abruptly from the first atonic into the tonic, and terminating the syllable with the second atonic, giving its vocule distinctly. It must be carefully noted that in pronouncing the syllable no hiatus occurs between the sound of the aspirate element and the tonic, but that the former, after a mo- mentary holding, must instantaneously open into the latter. The same thing has been pointed out as applying to the subtonic elements when they precede the tonics. IV. Peck, Fife, Thick, Kiss, Tip, Sick, Shut, Heath. Rob, Hush, Wheat. 87. Let these tables be often and carefully repeated, ob- serving a correct use of the breath, as suggested by the directions for breathing in the preceding exercises. The rule for the correct sounding of the final subtonics and atonies is to stop the breath with the separation of the organs, otherwise there is likely to occur an after puff or aspiration; as, lip-ah, did-ah, and-ah. The utmost rigor of attention on the part of the student is required to guard against the evils arising from bad elementary training. Miscellaneous Exercises. 79 Exercises on Short Tonics, Abrupt Subtonic, and Atonic Elements. 88. (1) First cough out the tonic elements. Then artic- ulate tonic element with explosive force in pure vocality. Next, utter entire syllable in the columns of Table V with forcible distinctness. V. A-a^, A-a.d, A-a^, A-a/, A -a/, A-a£, E-e/>, E-ed, E-eg, E-e/, E-ep, E-ek, I-i£, l-id, lAg t I-i/, I-ip, I-Lfc, O-o^, O-od, O-og, O-ot, O-o/, O-o/C', U-u£. U-uaT. U-u^. U-u/. U-u/. U-u/-. (2) First give the elemental sound of the subtonics and atonies in the columns of Table VI, holding on to the guttural murmur of the former, and to the organic posi- tion for the latter, and closing with the vocule. Then pronounce syllables distinctly, and with force. After the vocule of the atonies and subtonics is brought under con- trol of the organs, lessen the force on those terminative sounds to the utmost delicacy of touch. If employed beyond the effect of delicate precision in ordinary articu- lation, the vocule produces an unpleasant and pedantic effect. VI. D-a£, B-ed, B-i<5, B-o£, B-u3, D-a f s > f s *> ff s i " fr-ame, lau-ghs, lau-gh'st, cli-ffs. ft,fts,ftst, " wa-ft, wa-fts, wa-ft'st. gd, gdst, gist, " brag-g'd, brag-g'd'st, man-gl'st. gl, gld, glz, " gl-ow, hag-gled, man-gles. g r -> S s -> £ st i gd) " g r_ave > pi-g s > wa-g'st, hed-ged. kl, kid, klz, klst, " un-cle, tin-kl'd, truc-kles, truc-kl'st. kn, knd, knz y " blac-ken, blac-ken'd, blac-kens. knst, kndst, kr, " blac-ken'st, blac-ken'd'st, cr-oney. ks, kst, ct, " thin-ks, thin-k'st, su-ck'd. lb, Ibd, Ibz, " e-lbe, bu-lb'd, bu-lbs. Id, Idz, Idst, " ho-ld, ho-lds, ho-ld'st. If, l/s, Ift, Ij, " e-lf, e-lfs, de-lft-ware, bu-lge. Ik, Ikt, Iks, Ikts, " mi-Ik, mi-lk'd, si-Iks, mu-lcts. Im, Imd, Imz, " e-lm, whe-lmed, whe-lms. Ip, Ips, Ipst, " he-lp, he-lps, he-lp'st. Is, 1st, It, Its^ " fa-lse, fa-ll'st, fe-lt, ha-lts. Iv, Ivd, Ivz, Iz, " she-lve, she-lv'd, e-lves, ba-lls. Ish, Isht, Ith, Ms, " fii-lch, fi-lch'd, hea-lth, hea-lths. md, mf, mt, " ento-mb'd, Hu-mph-ry, atte-mpt mts, mz, mst, " atte-mpts, to-mbs, ento-mb'st. nd, ndz, ndsl, " a-nd, ba-nds, se-nd'st. nj, njd, Hz, " ra-nge, ra-ng'd, fi-ns. nk, nks, nksl, " thi-nk, thi-nks, thi-nk'st. nt, ntsl, ntz, nst, " se-nt, wa-nt'st, wa-nts, wi-nc'd. nsh, nsht, ngd f " fli-nch, fli-nch'd, ha-ng'd. ngz, ngth, ngt/is, " so-ngs, stre-ngth, stre-ngths. //, pld, plz, pr, " pl-uck, rip-pled, rip-pies, pr-ay. plst, ps, pst, " rip-pl'st, chi-ps, nip-p'st. rb, rbd, rbz, u he-rb, ba-rb'd, he-rbs. rbst, rbdst, " ba-rb'st, ba-rb'd'st. rd, rds, rdst " ba-rd, ba-rds, hea-rd'st. Exercises in Syllabic Combinations. 89 r J\ Vft* r &% r ^> r Ji r J l *i ;ls ' n su-1 'f> wha-rfd, bu-rgh, bu-rghs, ba-rge, u-rg'd. rk, rkt, rks, u ha-rk, lia-rk'il, a-rcs. r&st, rktst, n t " ba-rk'st, ba-rk'd'st, e-rrs. rl, rid, rlz, " sna-rl, hu-iTd, sna-rls. rlst, rldst, rsh y u sna-rl'st, sna-rl'd'st, ha-rsh. rm, rt/id, r/uz, " a-rm, a-rm'd, a-rms, rmst, midst, " a-rm'st, a'rm'd'st m, rnd, rnt, rnz, " bu-rn, bu-rn'd, bu-rnt, u-rns. msty rndst, rt, " ea-rn'st, ea-rn'd'st, hea-rt. rp, rpt,)ips, rts, " ha-rp, ha-rp'd, ha-rps, hea-rts. rs, rst, rsts, rtst, " hea-rse, fea-r'st, bu-rsts, hu-rt'st. rc/i t " sea-rch. rv, rvd, i"vz, " cu-rve, cu-rv'd, cu-rves. rvst, rvdst, rcht, " cu-rv'st, cu-rv'd'st, sea-rch'd. rtk, rths, sk, s/it, " hea-rth, hea-rths, sh-ip, pu-sh'd. sk, ski, sks, sksl, " ma-sk, ma-sk'd, ma-sks, ma-sk'st. si, sld, sm, sn, " sl-ay, ne-stl'd, sm-oke, sn-ail. st, sir, sts, sp, sps t " st-arve, str-ong, bur-sts, sp-a, whi-sps. Ih, thd, thz, thst } " th-ine, wrea-th'd, wrea-ths, wrea-th'st. thy thm, thr, tlis, " th-istle, rhy-thm, thr-ough, hea-ths. //, t/d,\llz 7 " ht-tle, set-tied, bat-ties. list, sldst, Ir, " set-tl'st, set-tl'd'st, tr-avels. Iz, tst, vd, vdst, " ha-ts, comba-t'st, swer-v'd, li-v'd'st. vl, vld, viz, u swi-vel, dri-vel'd, dri-vels. vlst, vldst, vst f " dri-vel'st, dri-vel ; d'st, li-v'st. vn, vz, " dri-ven, li-ves. zl, zld, zlZj " muz-zle, muz-zl'd, muz-zles. zlst, zldst, " muz-zl'st, muz-zl : d'st. zm, zmz, chl f " spa-sm, spa-sms, fet-ch'd. zn, znd, znz, " pri-son, impri-son'd, pri-sons.' znst, zndslj " impri-son'st, impri-son'd'st. All of the foregoing tables should be submitted to the whispering process of exercise before directed. All tables of exercises will receive additional efficiency in their prac- tice, where the whispered form is introduced before or after the vocal form. Exercises on Words of More than One Syllable. 100. The practice should next be directed to the articu- lative grouping of syllables into words of two or more syllabic constituents. The rules which determine usage in the matter of pro- nunciation as regards the accent of words of more than one M. E.—8. 90 Murdoch 's Elocution. syllable, it is not the object of these exercises to touch upon, the latter being chiefly concerned with the education of the organs to facility, energy, and beauty of utterance. For the correct pronunciation of words, the student is therefore referred to our standard dictionaries. In learn- ing a word, the accented syllable should always be learned as soon as the child studies accent. We would recommend, however, as a valuable exercise, following in the immediate line of our present practice, the careful pronunciation of a column of words every day from the page of a standard dictionary, with careful atten- tion to correct accentuation and smooth articulation. This will not only familiarize the mind with standard usage in the matter of pronunciation, but insure smoothness and energy of execution to the articulative organs by thus con- stantly exercising them on every variety of elemental and syllabic combination. The following columns of words will furnish a form of exercise similar to the one here recommended, giving a number of difficult combinations of elements. The object in view should be to utter the word distinctly, yet preserv- ing the individual characteristic sound of each element, according to its proper pronunciation in the word. This exercise may be varied by passing from a deliberate to a rapid utterance, and vice versa. After pronouncing them in columns, let them be read across the page, slowly at first, but increasing the rate of movement until the maximum of rapidity, consonant with distinct utterance, is attained. Then let the rate of utterance be gradually diminished. Stubble, Tattle, Vowing, Dancing, Babble, Cackle, Flinging, Storming, Bubble, Having, Dying, Buckle, Gabble, Ringing, Grinning, Mangle, Gagging, Owing, Bringing, Murmur, Rabid, Cubeb, Deadly, Peptic Bib. Exercises in Syllabic Combinations. 9 1 Gig, Giggle, Heaven, Mention, Strengthen, Little, Season, Pipkin, Critic, Kick, Taken, Kickshaw, Gloaming, Stringing, Uncle, Hoping, Gloomy, Rising, Evening, Wrangling, Singing, Thinking, Ailing, Humming, Smoking, Sickle, Mowing, Grajnmar, Pebble, Chicken, Lengthen, Reason, Witticism, Tattle, Squibler, Robbin, Dodder, Goggle, Magog, Totter, Poplin, Stolen^ Sprinkle, Widen, Wringing, 1 drubbing, Mingling, Shrapnel, 1 [orrible, Dunning, Coming, Swinging, Tinkling, Acting, Doing, Tapping, Raking, Loving, Striving, Tattling, Willing, Million, Stealing, Globule, Caning, Popping, Frightful. Puppy, Scupper, Fallen, Famine, Tipple, Spoken. Twinkling, II. — Polysyllabic Words. Absolutely, Abstinently, Accessory, Accurately, Agitated, Adequately, Angularly, Antepenult, Architecture, Agriculture, Annihilate, Antipathy, Apocrypha, Apostatize, Appropriate, Assiduous, Assimilate, Associate, Acquiescence, Acquisition, Alienation, Necessarily, Ordinarily, Momentarily, Temporarily, Recognition, Particularly, Recognize, Voluntarily, Obediently, Immediately, Innumerable, Intolerable, Dishonorable, Ambiguously, Articulately, Collaterally, Colloquially, Affability, Agricultural, Allegorical, Alimentary, Astrological, Atmospherical, Christianity, Chronological, Annihilation, Annunciation, Appreciation, Apologetic, Association, Circumlocution, Apocalyptic, Acknowledgment, Regularly, Cemetery, Circumvolution, Coagulation, Colonization, Commemoration, Congratulatory, Authoritatively, Disinterestedly, Expostulatory, Dietetically, Disingenuousness, Immutability, Compatability, Ecclesiastical, Spirituality, Congratulations, Seminary, Dictionary, Preantepenult, Reconsideration, Religiously, Idiosyncrasy, Homogeneous Dictionary, Peculiarly, Righteous, Ignominiously, Syllabication, Syllabification. 92 Murdoch *s Elocution, Articulative Exercises on the various Subtonic and Atonic Elements, in Combination of Consecutive Language. "There, on <5eds of violets blue, And fresh-^lown roses washed in dew." "The bzxbzxows, Hubert took a bribe To kill the royal bdube." "And now a bubble burst, and now a world." "Earth smiles around with boundless beauty blest, And beholds its image in his breast." "The south sea bubble, put the public in a hubbub." "Strikes through their woun^ei hearts the sudden dread." "He licks the hand just raised to shed his bloo*/." " Meadows trim and Raises pied, Shallow brooks and rivers wide.'" "And of those demons that are found, In fire, air, Hood, or une ot/er the head." " As I wake sweet music brea/7/e, Above, about, or undernea///." " And the milkmaid singeth bli///e, And the mower whets his scy//*e." "And the smooM stream in smoo//;er numbers flows." "Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, The arm'd rhinoceros, or the Hyrcan tiger." " T^end with tremendous sound your ears asunder With gun, drum, trumpet, blunderbuss and thunder." "Thine this universal frame thus wondrous fair." "Virtue's fair form." " What man dare, I dare." "Ah fear, ah frantic fear/ I see, I see thee near — Like thee I start, like thee disordered fly." 94 Murdoch's Elocution. "A wight well versed in waggery." " The sweet maid swooned away." " He wooed a woman who would never wed." " He gives-, as is his usage at this season, A series of sermons on moral duties - ." "A roseate blush, with soft suffusion, Divulged her gentle mind's confusion." "The frolic wind that breathes the spring." " In China's gropes of vegetable gold."' " Progressive virtue and approving heaven." "Tenth or ten thousands breaks the chain alike." "The s/iade he sought and dunned the sunjv^ine." il The weak-eyed bat, With .sv&ort, .shrill shriek, flits by on leathern wing." "The rushi^-, cracklifl^, erasing thunder down." " The string let fly, Twanged short and sharp, like the .svfcrill swallow's cry. "Whence and what art thou, execrable shape?" " Whence do we come, and whither go?" "The whole room whirled about her, When she whispered, why ? w^ere ? " " But with the whi^" and wind of his /ell sword, The unnerved /ather /alls." u But with the /roward he was fierce as /ire." "The xophi^'i- shrewd Jugger/ion." " Guewing the design was perreived, he dem/ed." Exercises i?i Syllabic Co?nbinatio?is. 95 "See the maker that they rear — How they hiss in their hair." "A thousand with red, burning spits, come hiding." " Happy thou art not — For what thou hast not, still thou striven to get ; And what thou ha.?/, forget'^/." "Thou art not certain, For thy complexion shiftr to strange effects." "He /*ad learned the w//ole art of angling by heart." " Be /mmble and //umane. Hate not your enemies." " Up a high /all he heaved a huge round stone." " High, heaven has not heard his vow." "A pert, prim, prater of the northern race." " Here files of pins extend their shining rows, Puffs, /owder, /atches, bibles, billet-doux." "Do you think I am easier to be /layed upon than a pipe?" ".Peter Piper picked a peck of peppers." "The tempter saw his time." "A /ell-/ale /a//ling /ermagan/ that /roubled all the /own." "He /alked, and s/amped, and chafed, /ill all were shocked." " To inhabi/ a mansion remote From the cla#er of s/ree/-pacing steeds." "A block cake of