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AID™: 'IN LIBRARY
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I
 A MANUAL

for the

Study of the Human Voice

EXERCISES AND PRACTICES

for the

SPEAKING AND

SINGING VOICE

Third Edition

Personally Prepared by
EUGENE FEUCHTINGER, A. M.

PERFECT VOICE INSTITUTE

CHICAGO :: ILLINOIS
 :PN

ISIS

1 am indebted to Mr. Shirley M. K. Gandell, of

Chicago, for suggestions and corrections in the revised
edition of these lessons.
Much of the material contained in the lessons has
been obtained from various works dealing with Physi
ology, Physics, History, Philosophy, etc., which I con
sulted while visiting the principal libraries in Europe
and America.

Copyright, 1918,
Perfect Voice Institute

WARNING
The contents have been Copyrighted, 1918,
by Perfect Voice Institute
 INTRODUCTION
The world, as we know it, was created by the
sound of the voice of God. "Let there be Light,"
were the first words ever spoken, and the power of this
voice was so great, that an entire universe was created
thereby.

©Underwood & Underwood

Fig. 1
WOODROW WILSON
One of the Most Convincing Speakers of Today.
1
2 LESSON I

There is nothing in all infinity, whether great or

small, which was not created through the "Word,"
hence, there is nothing which is of greater importance
than the word and the tone out of which the word is
made.
The spirit of preparedness is manifesting itself
everywhere — in military, scientific, manufacturing,
educational and social life. No more fundamental
starting point can be chosen than that of speech. Our
very thoughts are inseparable from language. Lan
guage is speech.
Educated people everywhere have come to realize
that vicious speech habits are a serious handicap to
efficiency. They impair clearness and accuracy of
communication in business and social life. A general
insistence on correct speech, distinct utterance and
clear tone would not only increase human usefulness
and make life pleasanter, but it would also lessen
disease, because it would promote better hygiene of
the entire voice tract— mouth, nose, throat and lungs.
Just as we have learned the importance of the care
of the teeth, we should realize the importance of the
care of our voices. Even in a catarrh-causing climate
anyone can now develop an effective and pleasing
voice, at little expense, and thereby not only improve
his voice, but avoid most throat affections. Business
men nowadays make personality one of their principal
assets and they include in personality the tone quality
and distinctness of speech.
It has been estimated that 45,000,000 words a day
are spoken by telephone operators in the city of
Chicago alone. These 45,000,000 words must be
pronounced correctly and with a smooth enunciation
possible only to throats and bodies which are healthy
and normal. All applicants for the position of tele-
4 LESSON I

phone operator are put through a physical examination

before being accepted. Those who suffer from any
defects of the throat, voice or breathing apparatus are
rejected, likewise, those whose voices are harsh or
displeasing.
Large department stores maintain special instruc
tors in choral singing for their employes; in engaging
employes special attention is paid to the quality of
their voices. Those having pleasing, distinct voices
are given the preference.
It is estimated that 35 per cent of the employes in
business are engaged in the constructive part of busi
ness, such as salesmanship, and to them a good voice
is a most valuable asset.
According to the school commissioner, who spe
cialized on the subject, there are at least 200,000 chil
dren in the New York schools alone who are afflicted
with speech defects, such as stammering, lisping, stut
tering, etc., and 2 to 5 per cent of the children in all
the schools of the entire country are so affected. All
this is surely proof enough that a method is greatly
needed which is positive, practical and efficient, such
as my method, which you are to receive from me
personally. , y ■
While, of course, our daily speech offers by far the
largest field for the use of the voice, there is another
field in which the voice is the most important factor;
that is, the ever-increasing field of song.
Those of my students who have the ambition to
excel and who carry on the work to its final culmination,
will comparatively quickly pass beyond the point where
their speaking voice has attained full power, sweetness,
and distinct individuality, and will enter the portals
open to those with splendid singing voices. What a
vision of pleasant usefulness is presented to the really
 LESSON I 5

good singer! He has the world at his feet. No

merchant prince can claim greater power or success
than is accorded to the great singer.

Fig. 3
Scene from Tannhauser.
My method is the final solution of a singer's prob
lems in voice training. No longer need he spend
useless years in expensive study to find in the end that
his voice is not large enough, or the compass too small
to insure the success that was promised him. Or
worse still, to be told that his long efforts have ruined
his voice, that his most highly-prized possession has
been lost forever.
The quality and strength of the voice is a wonderful
asset to every man and woman in his or her fight for
recognition, and yet the voice is universally neglected,
except by a few, or is unconsciously destroyed through
incorrect training.
6 LESSON I

The human voice is an unexplored gold mine.

Almost every person, if he will prospect a little, will dis
cover that he possesses in his voice a latent talent that
he has been overlooking, a bank account standing to
his credit against which he has drawn but few, if any,
checks. Man, too frequently, overlooks the valuable
substance that lies at his door and spends his time and
efforts in seeking the useless, unprofitable shadow.
Unfortunately, that which another possesses appears
to us more valuable than that which we ourselves
possess. Ninety per cent of all men are more capable
than they suppose.
In referring to the general neglect of the voice, it
must be stated that man has not been to blame; for
never until now has there been a reliable, unfailing
method of developing it. The real secret of voice
building was only discovered and made practical within
the past few years. True, many systems of voice
training have been tried by as many teachers, but the
result has always been the same—if the vocal organ
was normal and possessed sufficient strength, the
voice developed naturally, provided the particular
system did not succeed in ruining the organ; but, if
the vocal organ was originally weak, the voice failed
to grow and the pupil passed from teacher to teacher,
sustained by promises of future results that never were
realized.
A physical organ or a piece of machinery can only
do work in keeping with its condition or strength. To
overtax that which is already weak, is to break it down
and destroy its usefulness. Before we can successfully
follow any kind of sport or do any particular class
of work, the muscles and functions of the body must
possess the strength necessary for the purpose. To
make the attempt without this qualification is to fail.
Teachers have been trying to make their pupils sing,
 LESSON I 7

trying to force them to do certain things with the vocal

organ that only a thoroughly strong, supple organ
could do, and never stopping to ascertain if the muscles
which control that organ were strong enough to with
stand the strain. The supposition was, that if you
speak or sing frequently and for a sufficient length of
time for many years, the vocal organ would become
strong; but this is entirely erroneous. What would
you think of a piano teacher, whose pupil has told him
that the piano at home was in bad shape, that many
strings were loose and several keys refused to respond
to the touch, if he should say to this pupil: "Just
continue to take lessons and practice daily, the piano
will improve as you go on?"
No teacher of the piano, or of any other instrument,
would make any such claim, yet this is exactly what
voice teachers everywhere, for hundreds of years, have
distinctly claimed. They have subjected weak organs
to strains which they could not withstand and as a
consequent result the voice breaks down. However,
they knew no better, and hence, they are not to
blame. They did not know how to strengthen the
all-important voice muscles, so they had to do the best
they could with the imperfect material which came to
them. Their business was to teach the principles of
singing and not to create a voice. The student was
expected to supply that.
"I create your voice." That's my part of the
contract. Your part is to follow my instructions
implicitly.
A superior voice is not developed by forcing a weak
or imperfect organ to sing scales or other exercises for
months and years. The secret of a grand voice lies in
the vocal organ itself. The organ must first be made
strong and flexible before it can produce the desired
8 LESSON I

voice. In a perfect vocal organ expression and singing

are as natural as breathing. The so-called prodigies,
endowed with beautiful voices, required little training;
they were simply born with a perfect vocal organ and
the training they received merely taught them to use
their voices in the particular way the public and the

Fig. 4
Moses, the Ancient Lawgiver.
"His Tongue" was tied ; Aaron must speak for him before Pharoah.
 LESSON I 9

operatic managers thought they should be used. Very

few people are born with the vocal organ fully de
veloped in strength, yet all organs can be strengthened
and built up, no matter how weak they may be; and
no matter how strong a vocal organ is, it can be
improved. What this means to humanity it would be
hard to estimate.
My method is not simply a course in singing or
speaking, asking you to sing certain scales or exercises
or to recite certain pieces in such and such a way,
claiming, as has been done in the past, that these exer
cises will develop your voice. I ask you first to test
the strength of your voice. Then, if you are a singer,
find out the compass of your voice; is it small or large?
Is there a break in the voice and on what note? Is
your voice thin? Is it sweet or harsh? Do you sing
with ease and without loss of breath? The speaker
should answer these questions: Is your voice musical,
rotund, full, or is it harsh, thin or husky? Can you
articulate distinctly and without effort? Have you any
special speech defects, such as stammering, stuttering
or lisping? Do your facial muscles twitch when speak
ing or singing? How is your breath, long or short?
Do you feel any compression or heavy feeling about
the stomach during or after speaking? Any tightness
about the throat while singing or speaking? Do you
feel fresh or tired after prolonged singing or speaking?
Place your finger lightly against the "Adam's apple"
and sing or speak in your usual way. Does the
"Adam's apple" rise, fall or stand still?
With a mirror examine your tongue, speak or sing
"ah," as in father. Does the tongue rise up near the
back or fall? Does it make a groove in the middle?
Touch your tongue near the back, just where the
throat begins. Does the tongue feel hard or soft?
10 LESSON I

All these questions are of the utmost importance.

They are an absolutely sure indication of the condition
of your voice organism. Knowing these things, you
will be taught the correct condition and how to develop
these muscles by means of special exercises which
cover each point, as needed.
You can place absolute confidence in my system—
it is not an experiment. I have taught it to many who
are now filling high positions in Grand Opera, Concert,
Stage, the Church and other fields of vocal expression.
If you will read what my pupils in public life say of this
method, you will understand what a wonderful dis
covery I have made and what great benefit it will be
to you. You will realize what a blessing such a method
will become to humanity. It is a forerunner of a great
movement of culture; for nothing refines, elevates and
idealizes the human mind and character like a beautiful
voice. Its influence for good is unmeasurable.
The advantage and pleasure of possessing a fine
voice is no longer restricted to the few, but is now the
privilege of all. Think of its many advantages and
what it would mean to you to possess the power to
use your voice so as to attract and win the admiration
of all who hear you. It is no longer necessary to go
to Europe to have your voice trained, for I have
brought Europe to you. I have brought you the most
successful method of voice building that has ever been
taught. Europe has tested it and set its seal of
approval upon it and now you have a chance of learning
it in your own home at very little expense and with
the assurance of absolute success, if you will study my
lessons carefully and carry them through to the final
completion of your training.
There are some fine voices in the world and there
are also many wonderfully organized people who pos
 LESSON I 11

sess vocal organs endowed by nature with unusual

powers of expression—voices that would make a fortune
for their owners if they did but know it. These sweet-
toned voices are frequently found in sensitive, timid
people. The reason these natural song birds are silent
is because they have never had their vocal organs
scientifically tested and, therefore, do not know what a
valuable force is lying latent within them. Usually it
is lack of confidence that stands in their way. Now, I
give you a method by which you can test your vocal
organ and prove to your satisfaction the quality and
quantity of your voice.
Then if you find it insufficient for your purpose, you
can, by following these simple, plain instructions, cor
rect the fault and develop your voice to the highest
point of perfection. Even if your voice is only fairly
good or altogether poor, you can still develop it, by
these lessons, into a beautiful voice, but, of course, it
will take more time than if your voice is already good
at the start.
My method of voice building is unlike any system
of voice training that has ever been used. I do not
waste the pupil's time and money by trying to train
an imperfect organ to do things which are impossible
for it to do. Instead, I go straight to the root of the
trouble—the physical condition of the organ itself. I
exercise and build up the controlling muscles until they
are fully capable of doing the work required of them.
After that, I give the vocal organ the work it is able
. to do. Voices are ruined by forcing the vocal organ
to greater exertion than it has the strength to sustain.
People speak or sing imperfectly, not because they
breathe badly nor because they do not place the tone
properly or articulate indistinctly, but because their
vocal organ is faulty—is not prepared to do the work.
12 LESSON I

My method corrects the fault, converts the weak

ness into strength and produces results that will be
permanent.
Then again, my method does not waste your time,
exhaust your nerves and confuse your understanding.
I go straight to the point and tell you exactly what to
do and how to do it, always, of course, showing the

Fig. 5
Richard Strauss festivals at The Hague, Holland,
Where Some of My Students Sang.

reason for and the wisdom of each action. In other

words, I tell you my secret in such a way that you can
see its logic and its value. In developing the vocal
organ you have no vocal exercises that will disturb
your family or your neighbors. The instructions for
the most part can be carried out quietly, privately, in
your own room. Remember, I strengthen and develop
the muscles which control the vocal cords and which
 LESSON I 13

determine the quality of the voice. No matter how

sensitive you may be, you will be given nothing to do
that would embarrass you in the least. Further, my
method can be followed without interfering with your
present work or study, and age is no barrier to its
benefits. In reality, every man, woman and child
should study my method. We use our voices daily and
hourly, from the cradle to the grave. Much of our
success depends upon the quality of our voice, and
much of our condition of health also depends upon the
condition of our vocal organ, which includes the mouth,
throat and lungs. Every person with a superior voice
is a capitalist. There is always a ready market for his
talent, be it as a speaker or singer, at a high rate of
remuneration.
If your voice is weak, uncertain, lacks power or vol
ume, tires easily, gets husky or harsh, or if you suffer
from stammering or any kind of throat trouble, it
shows that there is a defect in the vocal organ or in
the attached muscles. Besides being unpleasant, this
condition is really dangerous. Unless corrected it is
certain to become worse as you grow older. My meth
od of voice building overcomes these defects. Every
throat specialist who has studied my method is using
it in his practice with great success.
Ninety out of every hundred persons could profit
by the use of my method, even though they may not
wish to become professional singers or speakers. There
are few positions or callings that could not be made
more profitable through the addition of a better speak
ing or singing voice. If you have the ambition to raise
yourself above the position you now occupy socially,
professionally or commercially, you should learn the
secret contained in my great discovery.
14 LESSON I

THE VOICE BUILDER

A New Profession Open to Many
Voice building is a new profession and one that
opens up new opportunities for those who are ambitious
to do helpful work and follow a pleasant vocation. It
is a profession that should appeal especially to vocal
' and instrumental teachers. By adding this new branch
of instruction they can greatly increase their incomes
and enlarge their success. They will appreciate my
method because they will see that for the first time in
the history of voice training there has been found a
method that is tangible, a method that will build and
strengthen a voice with mathematical exactness, some
thing that can be fully demonstrated to the eye, ear
and touch, something that is as practical and visible
as the pianist's touch. My method leaves nothing to
the imagination; it is a material fact. I will prepare
you to teach this profession.
You should learn my method, use it and prepare
yourself to be heard in the world. Only those who
enter public life and do things worth while, things that
help humanity, are remembered and honored. What
nobler work could you do than to help humanity
acquire a perfect singing and speaking voice. To those
who use my method and prove its merits for them
selves and then desire to teach it, I furnish certificates
of proficiency. Think of the large salaries that are
paid to men and women having only reasonably good
voices. Consider the possibilities contained in a per
fect voice to sway the public's feelings and win personal
fame. Consider the enviable position of the singer,
the actor, the orator, the statesman, etc., and then
remember that you carry within your throat an instru
ment that, if rightly exercised, can be used to earn
you an independent living and possibly a fortune. And
 LESSON I 15

furthermore, you will possess the advantage of having

your stock in trade (your voice) always with you and
at your immediate command. Certainly this is your
opportunity to develop a talent that you can always be
proud of. Nothing is so much admired or wins for
its owner such favor as does a "Perfect Voice."

POINTS FOR THE STUDENT TO REMEMBER

This course has been written by an expert with a
wide experience in vocal work, combined with many
years of teaching in both Europe and America. This
has enabled me to present the subject in a clear and
thorough manner.
Vocal work can be made a profession of the deep
est interest and may be thoroughly mastered by any
one willing to devote the necessary amount of time
and study to it. It is not difficult to master, but
requires patience and perseverance. Learn to prac
tice your exercises daily, if only for a few moments,
for that is the way to accomplish wonders. A half
hour each day is far better than ten hours a week
spent at one time.
Don't expect to learn it all in one lesson. This
course includes all phases of the work, and if you have
enough perseverance your progress will astonish you.
If you don't get all you wish to know about a certain
subject in one lesson you may be sure you will find
it in the following lessons.
I give you each a file number and request that
you place this number, together with your name and
address, on every paper or letter that you send me.
This will avoid any delay at my end of the line, due
to my not being able to identify the correspondent.
Always place your name, street number, box number
or R. F. D. number, town, state, "third" edition
16 LESSON I

and file number on your charts or examination papers,

in the place reserved for that purpose.
Each student is furnished with two lessons when he
enrolls. The average student can successfully master
three lessons per month. However, if the results of
your examinations indicate that you are able to
advance more quickly, I will allow you to do so. Send
me the answers to the questions at the end of Lesson I
just as soon as possible. This is necessary, so that
I may see exactly what your qualifications and de
ficiencies are, in order to give you special help or
additional exercises should you need them. You will
find an examination at the end of each lesson and it
will be necessary for you to answer the examination
questions and send it to me for correction if you wish
to obtain my Certificate of Competency.
With this lesson we are sending you only part of
the complete practical scientific outfit. The remainder
will be sent you from time to time as you need it. No
doubt you already know the purpose of some of the
instruments. Others will probably be strange to you.
The use of each will be carefully explained to you
as you progress with your course. Some of the
instruments are very expensive. I wish to caution you
to use the utmost care in handling them. Do not
use any instrument until its use has been fully explained
to you in the lessons. With the proper care these
instruments will last a lifetime and will prove to be
the greatest possible aid to you in the practice of the
exercises for cultivating a strong, pleasing voice.
I wish to call especial attention to the fountain pen
light or electric torch. Due to its small size, the
battery will soon become exhausted if the lamp is
caused to burn continuously for any great length of
time. This torch costs just twice as much as one of a
 /

LESSON I 17

different shape, which would last much longer, but

which, because of its size, would not permit a good view
of the tongue and pharynx. Be sparing in the use of
the torch.
Form the habit of studying and exercising carefully.
Avoid skimming over your exercises rapidly, for you
cannot gain any permanent benefit in this manner.
Remember, you are entering on a great work. Give
it your undivided attention. Concentrate your efforts
and determine to win.
If you are engaged in singing or speaking before
the public, be careful to apply what you learn in each
lesson. The results will astonish you. If you are not
engaged in such work at present, be very careful of
your speech. Learn to enunciate carefully and practice
my exercises at home regularly, especially practice all
exercises pertaining to the tongue.
If you are unable to answer an examination question
refer to the reading matter of your lesson and study the
subject again. If, after working on the question for
some time you are still unable to answer it, rest for a
few hours and try again. If you find it impossible to
solve, write to me for help. I am always ready and will
ing at all times to give additional assistance. Your
letter will receive my prompt, personal attention.
Use the large envelopes, which I furnish free, to
send your examinations and charts to the school for
correction. I will send you a new envelope with each
lesson. Use the small envelopes, which I furnish, for
sending payments to the school. Payments should
be made by Postal Money Order, Express Money
Order or Bank Draft. Make all payments to Perfect
Voice Institute and not to any individual. If personal
checks are used, kindly add ten cents, as the Chicago
Banks charge this amount for exchange.
18 LESSON I

The student will find it a good method to first read

a lesson straight through and then go over it carefully
and slowly the second time. It should then be studied
carefully until the student feels that he has it mastered
thoroughly.
The corrected answers to all examinations will be
returned to the student. The passing grade on any
examination is 85. A student receiving a grade below
85 on any lesson will be required to take his complete
examination over again for that lesson. The purpose
of the first examination is to give me definite and reli
able information from time to time by which I can
gauge your progress accurately. This is very impor
tant. Do not expect the return of your answers on
Lesson I. I need them for future reference.
All lessons are sent to you by mail and I take
special pains to put sufficient postage on all supplies
sent you. Should you receive mail from me on which
there is postage due, just send me the envelope or
wrappers, showing the postage due stamps, and I will
promptly refund the amount. On the other hand,
please make sure that there is the proper amount of
stamps on the mail you send me.
Typewriter, pen or pencil may be used in answering
examination questions or filling out charts, but make
your writing as plain as possible. Write on one side
of the paper only. A frequent reading and thorough
understanding of the foregoing explanations will greatly
expedite matters for you.
Please use the paper furnished you for sending me
the answers to the examinations. Additional paper
will be sent on request. Be sure always to state the
number of the lesson in answering the examination.
Try to answer each question in a short, concise
manner.
 LESSON I 19

Do not write the question, merely state the number

of each question, followed by the answer as best you
can.
The purpose of these questions is to induce you to
study the theoretical part of each lesson carefully.
Through a careful study of the theory, you will gain
understanding and confidence.
This understanding is especially needed by those
with defective voices of all kinds. A defect must first
be known before its cause can, be removed.
 LESSON I 21

EXERCISES TO LESSON I
Those of my students who have studied an instru
ment, such as the piano, violin or any wind instrument,
will remember that the most important thing is to
obtain a clear, full, rich tone from the instrument, and
that this tone depends upon the touch, bowing or
embouchure of the player. No matter how good the
instrument upon which you play, the best tone can only
be attained when all the conditions of stroke, bowing
or embouchure are exactly and instantly filled. A
good artist can make even a poor instrument sound
fairly good, but a bungler will get only a poor tone
from even the best instrument obtainable.
Even more strikingly is this true of the voice; for
the human voice is by far the finest and noblest of all
instruments. But just for this reason, it is more easily
misused and abused than any other. The beginning of
a vocal sound is called the "vocal attack." All
previous methods have failed entirely in this respect.
None of them have come anywhere near locating the
exact point of vocal attack. Some have taught that
the attack was a certain contraction of the diaphragm ;
some claim that the abdomen must be pushed outward
while attacking a tone; others claim the abdomen must
be drawn inward. Again, it has been taught that the
attack is in the chest; or that it is in the larynx; that
the vocal chords close the air passage before the tone;
that the attack must be made through the palate, or
by means of pressing the tongue tip against the teeth.
A regular witches' Sabbath reigns among the different
schools as to the point of the "vocal attack." The
reason why there is so much confusion on this subject
is that the exact facts in regard to the voice were
hitherto unknown. Teachers, singers and orators
looked for symptoms within their bodies. Each one
22 LESSON I

could notice different symptoms and each believed

himself to be right. Thus we had only "opinions"
and guesswork to start from, and one man's guess is
as good as another's. Hence, all the misunderstand
ings, and the illogical, incorrect voice culture methods.
The reason why so many persons with naturally good
voices do not develop them further, or, worst of all,
ruin them, is mainly this, that, not knowing the exact
attack, they abuse their voices, just as a pianist playing
with stiff fingers, hands and arms could never make
any great progress and would finally even lose what
technic he had by nature. A supple, flexible condition
of the voice organ is absolutely necessary for the free
emission of a tone, and this supple, flexible condition
can only be obtained when the right attack has been
attained.

"THE VOCAL ATTACK"

When an experienced and trained pianist strikes
the keys on the piano, it is called the "piano touch"
and the real artist is known by his "touch." In the
violin, the "bowing" is the deciding factor of the tone.
In the wind instruments this is called the "embou
chure."
By knowing the exact way to obtain the best possible
tone with the least effort or loss of motion, the instru
ment player reveals himself either as an artist or
inferior amateur.
Likewise, the speaker and, still more, the singer is
known as an artist or otherwise through the quality
of his tone. In the voice this is called the "vocal
attack."
When the entire vocal organism or, in other words,
the vocal instrument operates together instantaneously,
without friction, without waste or hesitancy, so that
 LESSON I 23

the tone pours out of the mouth in delicious waves of

tone, then the vocal attack is perfect.
But when there is any hesitation, any hardness,
any huskiness or admixture of breath with the voice,
then the vocal attack is inferior or poor in direct
proportion to the obstructions which caused the poor
attack.
The wonderful architecture and sculpture of the
ancient Greeks, the painters of the old Italian and
Dutch schools, the marvelous perfections of modern
machinery of all kinds, even the success of our captains
of industry and finance, are traceable to the knowl
edge of doing everything without friction, with accuracy
and assurance.
The vocal attack is made entirely through the action
of the tongue, or, more exactly, through the instan
taneous and automatic contraction of the "Hyo-
Glossus Muscle," which connects the tongue with the
larynx below and the palate above it. Much will be
said about this muscle in the course of these lessons.
For the present it is sufficient to know that it is this
muscle especially which is the keystone to the vocal
organ, hence our study must in the very beginning
start with this muscle. It is in very truth the key
which will open the door for your vocal success.
The vocal student's entire success depends first
upon learning to control this muscle, secondly upon
training and strengthening the same.
The student must be told in the very beginning that
it is difficult, sometimes very difficult, to gain control
and final mastery over this muscle. I should much
prefer to start this course with some easy exercise, and
it would be quite simple to open the course with an
exercise that could be learned quickly and without
much effort or thought, and the results of which would
24 LESSON I

astonish and please the average student. Such quickly

earned "laurel," however, would at best be but tem
porary and be merely on a par with a conjurer's trick.
Lasting and permanent results in voice culture, as in
anything else, can be had only at the cost of thought,
concentration and persistent effort.
While the call upon the student's patience and
determination is very urgent at the beginning of the
course, I can assure him that when he has overcome
these initial difficulties, his future progress is assured
and made easy.
The first, second and the sixth lessons are in reality
the only difficult lessons in the entire course; once
these are completely mastered, the other lessons will
seem easy.

TONGUE CONTROL
Preliminary Exercise
When you practice in the daytime, stand or sit
with the back to a window, using the mirror which is
sent with this lesson ; at night use both the mirror and
the electric light, reflecting it against the tongue.
1. Examine and observe your face, to notice that
your mouth is in repose and natural.
2. Open your mouth by merely relaxing the lower
jaw. Just let it hang down.
3. Observe your tongue very closely after you have
opened the mouth.
4. Your tongue should be filling the entire space
between the lower teeth. It should not recede from the
teeth, neither should the tongue overlap the teeth.
The top or upper surface of the tongue should be
smooth without any wrinkles in it. See particularly
that the upper surface of the tongue is not raised or
hunched up in the back. The rear portion of the
 LESSON I 25

tongue should slope gently downward to the throat.

With the index finger lightly and gently scrape and
touch the tongue from front near the teeth, to the
back near the throat, to feel whether the tongue is
loose and fairly soft, or if there is any hard ridge or
hump, especially at the extreme back or rear part of
the tongue.
The following Figure 6 is the correct position of the
tongue at rest.

Fig. 6
Correct position of the tongue at rest—mouth open.

5. If you find the tongue rigid, hard or humped up

in the center, or in the back, then close your mouth.
Very gently breathe through the nose, as in a quiet
sleep and repose. Again open your mouth, but not
wide; just naturally relax the jaw; let it drop of its
own weight. The mouth will then be opened as for
saying the "ah" in father. If your tongue is still
rigid, then again very gently, but this time leaving
the mouth open, breathe through the mouth; close your
eyes; relax every feature. Learn to breathe gently
enough and gradually your tongue will also relax,
losing its rigidity. Keep on trying several times each
day until you finally succeed in holding the tongue
26 LESSON I

loose as you open your mouth and as long as you hold

it open.
We have the Bible's testimony to the fact that the
tongue is an unruly member; "no one can tame it."
In a physical sense, at least, the tongue can be tamed;
for the vocal aspirant it must be tamed. Be patient
and you will succeed.

FAULTY POSITIONS OF THE TONGUE

The Hump or Arch
Only when the tongue is and remains at the relaxed
flexible condition, as shown in Fig. 6, can you be sure
to have succeeded in the absolutely correct position.
A very common fault, found among speakers and
singers, and especially in defective voices after they
have passed their first youth, is a persistent humping
or arching upward of the rear part of the tongue.

Fig. 7
The "furrow" and "hump"—wrong!

Fig. 7 shows a frontal view of the same tongue,

showing a deep depression at the tip and a decided
arching or humping upward of the tongue. These
positions are wrong.
 LESSON I 27

Fig. 8 is a side view of the same tongue, showing a

deep depression at the tip and a decided arching or
humping upward of the tongue. These positions are
wrong.

Fig. 8
The " hump" or "arch"—wrong!

Let me state right here, leaving the explanation to

later lessons, that most "lost voices," stammering, sore
throat and, more especially, a limited range of voice is
directly owing to this fault. A decided improvement
will be noticed as soon as the speaker or singer can
overcome this habit of holding the rear part of the
tongue stiff and arched.
For the encouragement of those whose tongues are
usually in this position, I must tell you, that I call this
a "good fault." This fault shows that the tongue is
strong, which is a most desirable condition. The voice
with such a tongue is nearly always strong and rich
up to a certain point. In the singer this point is
reached at about "F" on the fifth line. From then on
the voice gradually loses its fullness; it becomes either
thin or, if strong, then the voice becomes hard and
harsh or shrill. Later lessons will teach why.
The speaker whose tongue is accustomed to this
fault will usually start his oration with a full, rich,
freely flowing voice. As he works up to his theme
he becomes more interested and somewhat nervous,
the tongue refuses to operate with its initial exactness,
28 LESSON I

the throat muscles interfere, his throat becomes tired,

parched, and all sorts of difficulties arise. He thinks
he must make greater effort and this aggravates the
difficulty still more. But since the speaker does not
need the great compass of the singer, his condition
is comparatively easier to overcome.
Both speaker and singer must learn to relax the
tongue as a first preliminary condition toward further
exercises.

The Tongue Tip Held Hard and Stiff

Another common fault, found especially among
amateurs, is to hold the tip of the tongue near the
teeth depressed. Sometimes the back part of the
tongue is also slightly lowered, as in Fig. 9; more often
the middle part of the tongue tip only is depressed,
forming a hollow or ditch, and the back part is some
what raised, as in Fig. 10. Both of these conditions
are wrong.

Fig. 9
Front part of tongue, held tight—wrong!

The depression in the tip or front part of the tongue,

as shown in Fig. 9, is very common; it is even advised
by some teachers. Instinctively many singers feel
 LESSON I 29

that the tongue must do something—they know not

what. They also have fairly strong tongues and
consequently quite good voices within a certain limit.
The fact that the back part of the tongue is also
depressed somewhat is a further proof of a fairly strong
tongue action, though used in the wrong direction.

Fig. 10
Hollow or ditch in the tip of the tongue and arched back—wrong!

When the tip of the tongue is depressed and the

back raised, as in Fig. 10, the conditions are considerably
the worse both for the speaker and the singer, because
it shows a weakened tongue action, and a strong jaw
action.
Depression Across the Tongue and Arched Back
Quite frequently a deep depression straight across
the tongue is found, especially about 1 or 1 '/2 inches
from the teeth. This fault is mostly accompanied by
an arched tongue, holding the front part of the tongue
tight and the rear part drawn upward toward the roof
of the mouth. Fig. 11 shows this kind of a tongue as
a frontal view and Fig. 12 as a side view.
This condition also shows a fairly strong tongue,
which of course is always a good indication. But the
tongue is held very tight in front, showing a strong
interfering action of the chin and jaw muscles. The
fact that the back of the tongue is drawn or arched
30 LESSON I

upward makes it still worse, as with this double fault,

the muscles which should be mostly active, the already
mentioned hyo-glossus muscle cannot operate at all,
or only with great difficulty.

Fig. 12
Depression across the tongue and arched back. Both are wrong.

The tongue must first be free in all directions before

anything else can be done.
Make sure that you can relax your tongue, and can
hold it in the smooth, natural state shown in Fig. 6
before you go on further. After you have succeeded
with this, then go to the following:
 LESSON I 31

When you are sure of the right position of the

tongue, then say several times, very easily, but as if you
were speaking to a friend across the room: "Ah," as in
father. Make sure— absolutely sure — that your jaw
does not move in the least, as you repeatedly call out
the "ah," and observe carefully how your tongue acts.
If, when saying "ah," there is a little groove in the
tongue, you are doing very well indeed. If, however,
your tongue arches upward in the back, or if it becomes
hard, then it is a sure sign that your entire vocal attack
is wrong and that you will need considerable practice
on this part of the work. Try this several times. Re
member, that the jaw should not move while you call
out "ah."
When you are fairly successful with the "ah," try
also the other vowels—a, ee, oh, ooh, etc. It is not
necessary to move the jaw for any vowel sound, not
even for the oh or ooh. You can easily prove this by
inserting a finger joint between the teeth; the lips will
form the vowels without any assistance of the jaw.
You must center your mind right at the start upon the
tongue as the main-spring or keystone of all vocal
efforts whatsoever. Do not expect a groove on any
other vowel except on "ah," also the position of the
tongue will change for the other vowels. Merely see
that you can speak or sing all vowels without moving
the jaw.

The Groove
Having tried these exercises, proceed to the follow
ing exercise, which introduces you at once to the correct
vocal attack.
First make sure that your tongue is loose, as shown
in Fig. 6, then, holding the mirror in one hand, with
the other reflect the light against the tongue and watch
32 LESSON I

the tongue a second or two. Then simply drop the

top of the tongue, that is, the upper surface of the
tongue. See Fig. 13.

Fig. 13
Mirror reflecting light against tongue.

Impress upon your mind that it was by your will

power that the upper surface of the tongue remained at
first in a smooth and somewhat semi-circular position.
Now suddenly move it down. Drop it as it were.
If you succeed, there will be a groove throughout the
middle of the tongue, while, at the same time, the rest
of the tongue will remain undisturbed. Continue this
exercise until you can make the groove at will, so that,
when you mentally count "one," the surface of the
 LESSON I 33

tongue falls down and makes a groove. At the count

oi "two," the tongue's surface rises and so on for at
least twenty-five counts, then stop for the time being.
By the "groove" of the tongue, I mean a depression
in the upper surface of the tongue. Starting at the
extreme rear part of the tongue, almost down from the
throat (not from the front part of the tongue near
the teeth) the tongue should bend inward, become
concave, or form a ditch or furrow.
This depression is called the "Groove" in all lessons.
The correct appearance of the groove, which must
be acquired ultimately, is shown in Fig. 14 viewed from
the front of the mouth and in Fig. 15 shown as a side
view.

Fig. 14
Front'view of groove—correct.

Observe Fig. 14 first very carefully. Notice that

the groove is deepest at the rear of the tongue, where
it descends down to the throat. The groove continues
forward, but not so deep, to within about Vz an inch
of the tip of the tongue. Compare this also with Fig. 6
to notice that there is very little change in the appear
ance of the tongue with correct groove and the tongue
at rest; that is without the groove.
34 LESSON I

Because the groove contracts the tongue slightly

throughout almost its entire surface, it becomes a little
smaller, leaving a small open space between it and
the teeth surrounding the tongue. For the same reason
the sides of the tongue, or rims, are slightly raised,
but do not try to raise the sides or rims of the tongue.
Do not try to raise the sides of the tongue, neither
try to make a space between the tongue and the teeth ;
simply try the best way you can to make the "groove."

Fig. 15
Side view of groove—correct.

Fig. 15 shows the groove still more plainly, but

without the teeth. Notice again that the groove
starts not in the front of the tongue, but near the throat.
Keep this in mind! The muscle which we are trying
to control—the hyo-glossus muscle—starts from the
back part of the tongue, therefore the groove is made
from that point, just as a finger moves from the joint
of the hand and not from the finger's tip. Everything
depends upon the utmost exactness; if you think right
you will act right, otherwise wrong. The lingual nerve
enters the tongue in the back part, near the throat,
not in the front part.
Very few students will succeed in making the groove
correctly from the start or perhaps for some time.
That does not matter now; simply try the best you can
 LESSON I 35

to make a groove as near the two Figs. 14 and 15 as it

is easily possible.
Concentrate upon the tongue, but do not work hard
physically. Do not now care for anything except to
make the groove. Do not pay any attention to a
possible movement of the palate above the tongue or
the uvula behind the tongue. If the larynx should
move while you make the groove, pay no attention to
that either. Everything will be told you. No one
lesson is ever complete; there are always other lessons
needed to complete any one subject entirely.
Your voice may be better or worse for the first
few lessons; pay no attention to that either. The
lessons may help you at once—that means that you
are naturally inclined to correct vocal habits. If your
vocal habits have in the past been wrong, it will take
some time to form the new and right habit, and you
cannot expect much improvement until you have
established correct habits.
Make sure that you understand these exercises and
the entire lesson before proceeding with the work in
Lesson II. These simple exercises are extremely
important, and if you practice them diligently and
patiently you will be greatly rewarded as you go on
in your work. These exercises really form the A, B,
C's of voice culture. I find difficulty in impressing
upon the minds of my students the necessity of thor
oughly mastering this elementary work. Take advice
from one who has successfully taught this work abroad,
as well as in America, and learn the preliminary work
properly. Spend hours on it if necessary, but get it
right. Plan to spend at least one-half hour each day
on your exercises. This need not be spent all at one
time.
36 LESSON I

Use great care in answering the questions at the

end of this lesson and send your answers to me on the
paper furnished for that purpose. Send me these
answers promptly, so that I may better understand
your needs. Frequently I am able to prescribe special
work to overcome peculiar conditions of voice, which
are made manifest to me through your answers to the
following questions.
Remember your interests are my interests NOW.
If any point in any lesson is not perfectly clear, or if
you have any question on voice, write me at once.
Together we can accomplish wonders.

Questions on Lesson I to Be Answered

and Sent to Mr. Feuchtinger Promptly
1 Is your voice high or low?
2 Is your voice heavy or light?
3 Are you a public singer or speaker?
4 When you speak or sing, do you fill an ordinary
hall with ease?
5 Is your voice weak or husky?
6 Do you tire easily?
7 Is your breath long or short?
8 Have you any speech defects, such as stammering,
stuttering, lisping, etc.?
9 State what kind of defect.
10 Do you feel any tightness about the stomach when
speaking or singing?
11 Any tightness about the throat while speaking or
singing?
12 Are you very tired after prolonged singing or
speaking?
13 Have you studied voice culture and how long?
14 State in a few words just what you have been
taught about training your voice.
 LESSON I 37

15 Have you attended any school or taken any course

for stammering or other voice defects?
16 With a mirror examine your tongue, sing or speak
and observe whether the tongue draws back from
the teeth, whether it becomes thick or rises in
the back.
17 Place a finger under one side of the tongue, then
speak or sing. Do you then feel anything like a
pressure of the tongue upon the finger?
18 Place a hand on the abdomen and inhale. Does
the abdomen move forward, backward or stand
still?
19 Is your voice nasal?
20 Is your voice throaty?
21 Are you subject to catarrh?
22 Are your tonsils normally healthy?
23 Have you had your tonsils removed?
24 Have you difficulty in pronouncing any special
consonants, and which?
25 Can you trill or roll the "r?"
Please answer the above questions, which concern
your case particularly. Send these answers to me.
This examination is^kept at'the office here, for future
reference. All other examinations are graded (and re
turned.
 LESSON II
PHILOSOPHY OF VOICE AND SOUND

The correct appreciation of an art is parallel with

the understanding and culture of the individual. To
thoroughly appreciate an art it becomes necessary to
consider its origin, development, and aim; hence the
following discussion.
Some modern writers insist that the enjoyment of
an art is found in proportion as we agree with and feel
our own selves in the object contemplated. Only in so
far as we harmonize with the object under contem
plation do we find it beautiful. If we do not find
ourselves in the object, it does not appeal to us. Now,
as our taste is more or less a matter of habit, anything
which is new or outside of our habits displeases us,
and we turn away from it.
Anything which is new, therefore, meets this
obstacle of our aversion to the unknown—the thing
that is against our habits. The new is often considered
useless, or senseless, simply because our inertia revolts
against the effort to change our habits. This inertia,
this grip of habit, has dominated the vast majority of
peoples in all ages and countries. Only comparatively
few arouse themselves sufficiently to accept what is
new and these few, because of their superior energy,
dominate the world; the rest are as slaves to them.
The physiologists who dissected the human body
and left their observations in the libraries of the world,
were specialists in the particular branch in which they
were specially interested. Hence we have specialists
of anatomy of the brain, eyes, ears, throat, etc. They
investigated diseases in their special line and anatomical
39
40 LESSON II

knowledge enabled them to reach the particular

disease by means of surgery and the operating table.
The throat specialist, for instance, can remove an
obstruction from any part of the throat. The physi
ologist was not especially interested in the voice,
whether speaking or singing; he merely saw certain
muscles, bones, tissues, etc., which he knew were for
the purpose of making sounds and words, just as the
lenses and muscles of the eyes had for their object the
sense of seeing.
The vocalist and voice teacher, on the other hand,
knew nothing, or very little, about the anatomy of the
throat; he therefore accepted the statement of the
physiologist as final, and supposed that all which was
necessary to develop a voice was to speak or sing, just
as in the case of the eyes, which you simply use as best
you can. The fact that since modern methods of
research have been established, physiologists by no
means agree with one another, is for the most part
unknown to the vocalist. This is not surprising
because these facts are hidden away in the libraries of
the world. As we shall see, the vocalist lived in an
inertia of habit; he accepted the usage of those who
went before him. The results have been discouraging
to the world at large. Not only the public speakers
and singers, but the millions who must use their
voices in their daily vocations, have suffered; in fact
the whole human race has deteriorated from a vocal
point of view. How much we have lost through the
habit of poor speech cannot be estimated. It seems
logical that great thoughts cannot arise, where the
voice which should give them life is harsh and offensive.
Thought and voice should harmonize. To the average
person the voice is even more important than the
thought. A good clear voice will win friends, even
 LESSON II 41

© Underwood & Underwood

Fig. 16
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
The " Silver-Tongued Orator."
42 LESSON II

though the words and thoughts are of no great value.

A hearty "How do you do," spoken by a pleasant voice,
is more effective than a fine Chesterfieldian phrase, in
a harsh or simpering voice. The character of a person
is often known more by his voice than by his form of
speech. No man or woman with a really good voice
will be found without friends; usually they are among
the successful people.
It is one of the triumphs of modern times that we
have begun to study the possibilities within ourselves
as we have studied the objects around us. Just as
we disciplined ourselves to a science, which can classify
the smallest atom, and the tiniest microbe, so we are
now approaching the time when man will be revealed
to himself.
Words and speech are the results of a physiological
and psychological process, which will presumably be
forever a mystery to us. By what means a thought is
formed in the brains of a poet or an orator, or an
inventor, born apparently out of nothing, is unknown
to us. It is, however, reasonable to suppose that the
thought has its seat in the emotions of the heart.
A musical sound, tone or voice consists of four
elements: Pitch, Strength, Time and Quality.
(1) PITCH (Low or high). By this is meant a
sound, which accordingly as the vibrations of the air
are either fast or slow, takes its place in a systematic
order which we call the musical scale.
The higher pitch impresses us as being thin and
short, while the lower pitch gives the impression of
broadness and length. The higher pitch arouses the
impression of intensity and excitement, while the lower
pitch gives the impression of repose and solidity. The
change from low to high pitch, backward and forward,
assures our interest, compels us to keep on listening,
 LESSON II 43

in the expectation of something new. Therein is found

the psychological success not only of music, but of
oratory, and in the business world of salesmanship as
well. The human ear is able to detect sound when the
pitch is above 16 vibrations per second.
(2) STRENGTH (Dynamic). Strength and sound
are indispensable to one another. Strength is the
medium of emphasis or stress upon certain words or
sounds. The speaker and singer must contrast sen
tences and emphasize certain parts of a speech or song.
By means of using different degrees of strength, the
effect, both of speech and music, is much increased. A
good orator or singer must have command over differ
ent degrees of strength, so that he can shade at will
and create a deeper impression.
(3) TIME (Tempo). The medium tempo, or time,
is 60 to 70 beats a minute, which is equivalent to the
number of heart beats in a minute. This is another
means of expression. Sounds or words emitted slowly
and emphatically give the impression of solemnity,
dignity or repose; as the tempo becomes faster, the
attention becomes more intense and excitement follows
a quick tempo. To alternate slow and fast tempos is
a valuable means of holding the listener's attention.
(4) QUALITY (Tone color). Metal, wood, animal
fibres or muscles all produce a different sound, char
acteristic of the material. Each of these materials has
its own particular sound waves and overtones or acces
sory sounds. The human instrument or vocal organ is
supposed to be the most perfect of all musical instru
ments. It has the finer qualities of all instruments,
because, when it is perfect, its overtones are more numer
ous than those of instruments of human manufacture.
Also, as no two persons ever have exactly the same
quality of voice, there is a constant variety, which is
44 LESSON II

one of the reasons why the human voice is preferred

to any instrument.
The ear is the medium through which sound,
whether pleasing or displeasing, is transmitted to us.
One might say that music is not made with the
instrument, but with the ear. Vibrations or sound
waves strike the ear drum, an elastic, thin membrane,
which is stretched upon a horn in the ear. Behind this
drum are three little bones or hammers, which act as
dampers, so that vibrations are instantly stopped, to
admit the passage of new vibrations, just as the
dampers on the piano stop the vibration of the piano
tones. Then there are muscles, which make the ear
drum more or less tense, for high or low tones.
The ear and the brain are connected with one
another by means of many nerves. The sense of hearing
is so sensitive that in tones of only 32 vibrations per
second, or as many as 2,048 vibrations a second, the
difference of % to Vk of a vibration can be noticed.
Because of the sensitiveness of the human ear, the
quality of a tone, its character and intensity act with
very great power upon the listener. In music, special
keys, scales, chords, the difference in tone color and
dynamics, are used to arouse certain sentiments, which
are known in advance by the composer. Courage, joy
and sadness are aroused by these means. Do what you
may, you cannot escape the voice or the tone. Whether
you know it or not, you are constantly under the
influence of some sound.
Space and time are the prime elements of the
cosmos. The genesis of nature may be attributed to
time acting in space. Space is rest, time is motion.
Space is lifeless, time is life. Space is rest, but it knows
no death. Time is motion, always changing, that is
dying. Both exist forever. In space, this "forever" is
 LESSON II 45

Fig. 17
Scene from The Flying Dutchman.

called "infinity;" in time, it is called "eternity." Each

particle of space is infinitely small, but it remains the
same, unchanged through all ages. Each particle of
time is infinitely short, yet it extends through the whole
universe. Space is the limitation of matter. All things
material must occupy some space. Time, however, is
the limitation of the spirit; our very thoughts are
bounded by it. Space, therefore, is the limitation of all
material things; time is the limitation of all things
whatsoever. Inert matter exists only in space. Ideas
do not exist in space; they are life. They exist in time.
Time and space constantly act upon each other. Sound,
that is, musical sound, is the beautifier of time. It
is to beautify the ever moving space of existence that
music or sound was created. In the space of rest,
visible nature itself has undertaken the task of beauti
46 LESSON II

fying. Beauty reigns on the mountain and in the

valley. It is present in the gentle grove as well as in
the mighty forest. It is in the little brook and in the
magnificent ocean. It is in man and woman, in the
animal world, and in the life of the plants. Anywhere
and everywhere it meets our eyes if we will but see.
All this has nature done for space; and to do something
similar for time is the privilege of ourselves by means
of sound and music.
The materials of which music consists, exist only in
time, and this gives us the explanation of many charac
teristics of music. Time is motion, and motion is life,
yet it is always changing, dying. As a motion, its
influence is emotional, agitating, exciting; because it is
constantly changing, it awakens the feelings of sadness.
Aristotle has said that emotions are only motions,
and as sound is motion, its effect must necessarily be
great.
We perceive things in visible nature by means of
light, things in audible nature by means of sound. To
one not acquainted with physics, light and sound are
entirely distinct phenomena, having no connection
whatever with each other ; and yet they are really very
closely related to each other, being but different mani
festations of the same cause. Vibrations of a certain
rapidity are perceived by the ear as sound; vibrations
of still greater rapidity than sound are preceived as
light. Not only are they produced by the same cause,
but they are also propagated by the same means—
undulations. Some bodies are transparent, others trans
lucent, still others are opaque to light. In like manner,
some bodies let sound pass without in the least
enfeebling it; others, like thick walls, transmit the sound
much weakened, while some substances, like rubber,
do not transmit it to any appreciable degree whatever.
 LESSON II 47

Some of the principal properties of light are:

absorption, reflection, refraction and diffraction. These
are also the properties of sound.
It is, however, not only in the physical manifesta
tions of sound and light that we discover great analo
gies. The construction of the instruments for their
perception—the eye and the ear—is essentially based
on analogous plans. Like the ear, the eye is a mem
branous structure. The ear is composed of three parts,
the auditory canal, the tympanum and the labyrinth.
The corresponding parts of the eye are the sclerotic
coat, the choroid coat and the iris. The difference
between light and sound is not in kind, but in degree.
Extremely rapid vibrations produce light; slower ones
produce sound. The rapid vibrations of light have,
however, a proportionately small amplitude (size or
extent of vibrations). Slower vibrations of sound have
a proportionately large amplitude. (Sound waves are
proportionately large). Hence the difference in the
anatomy of the eye and ear. The eye is prepared to
receive and respond to vibrations of enormous rapidity
and small amplitude; the ear, to receive and respond
to vibrations of comparative slowness, but relatively
large amplitude.
Tones and colors are essentially the same things.
Colors are tones of tremendous height of pitch. Tones
are colors of great depth of pitch. The ear perceives
tones from 8 to 38,016 vibrations in a second. The eye
perceives as light from 458,000,000,000,000 (extreme
red) to 727,000,000,000,000 (extreme violet) vibrations
per second. From the highest tone the ear can perceive
to the extreme red color, there is, therefore, an interval
of about thirty-four octaves.
To give an illustration of the vast dimensions of
such an interval, let us take the length of the string of
48 LESSON II

the highest "C" of a piano, which is about 1% inch,

and it will be easy to calculate that a string of the
same material and thickness, in order to produce the
extreme red light, would have to be cut down to about

10 000 000 000 °^ an mc^ ' raPidity of the vibra

tions defines the length of the undulations. The

length of a sonorous wave produced by 8 vibrations per
second is 140 feet. The length of a luminous undu

lation in the extreme violet ray is —1Q 00(^000— °^ an

inch; otherwise expressed, while of the former there
would be only 375/7 in a mile, in the latter there are
59,150 vibrations in an inch.
Rapidity of the vibrations is, however, the means
of distinguishing tones from tones and colors from
colors, as well as tones from colors ; therefore, difference
in rapidity of vibration only, cannot be considered an
intrinsic difference.
The principal phenomena connected with colors,
analysis and interference also apply to tones.
For colors the triangular prism acts as an analyzer;
for tones we use the resonator, which resolves a tone
into its fundamental and overtones. You will be
supplied with a resonator in your outfit, in the latter
part of the course.
The elements of the beautiful in space are: color
and form. We have seen that the counterpart to color
is tone; then remains the question: "Is there also a
counterpart of form to be found in Sound? This
question must be answered in the affirmative. The
words which we speak and the tunes which we sing, are
sounds arranged in rhythmical order and sequence.
Rhythm is the shape, form or proportion of things in
time; shape, form or proportion is the rhythm of things
 LESSON II 49

Fig. 18
Scene from Lohengrin
Nordica as "Elsa."

in space. Time is only the space of motion, and rhythm ,

defines that space in the same manner that the space of
rest is defined by forms. The straight line and curve
are the fundamental types of all forms. In like manner
the fundamental types of rhythm are formed in the
dual and triple metre. The reason is evident. Rhythm,
like form, is based on proportion. We have no per
ception of rhythm on hearing a single beat. There
must be a second beat to become a metre, or a measure
of time. The analogy between the dual metre and the
straight line, and triple metre and the curved line, has
been intuitively felt by musical composers and poets in
all times. Tones spread over rhythms as colors do over
forms. It is a remarkable fact, however, that while in
nature colors play the subordinate and forms the prin-
50 LESSON II

cipal part, the order is reversed in audible nature, where

rhythm is subordinate to tones.
This is necessitated by the characteristics of space
and time; that is, rest and motion. In space, things
may remain at rest. Our eyes can take in a great
variety of forms simultaneously. They have time to
extend comparisons over a wide field. Time, however,
is motion. In it proportions and forms are perceptible
by their very motion, and only by motion; one tone or
sound vanishing as the next comes on. Here there is
no room for such an extreme variety of forms; hence
rhythms must be much more simple than the forms of
visible nature.
On the other hand, sounds which constitute the
material of speech, and especially the material of
melody, embrace more than seven octaves, while the
colors do not extend over more than one octave. Even
this octave is not entirely visible under ordinary
circumstances, its eighth degree being that which is
called the lavender light of Herschel and is only pro
duced by concentration. Practically we know of only
seven colors. These are conclusive reasons why the
beauties of visible nature lie in the forms, while the
beauties of audible nature are found in sound.
There is, however, another factor besides melody
and rhythm, to be considered, and that is, "harmony."
As this is not a treatise on music especially, I am using
the term harmony not in the sense used in music,
but in its larger spiritual meaning. In this higher
sense it pervades the whole universe, existing both in
space and time. "The soul of the cosmos," says
Plato, "is musical harmony."
Whether one deals with colors, forms, rhythms,
tones or harmony, the underlying laws of these subjects
are found to be very similar, but it would lead too far
 LESSON II 51

afield to enter into detail in these matters; enough

has been said to give you an idea of the beauty and
vastness of the subject. One thing only remains to

©Underwood & Underwood

Fig. 19
HON. CHAMP CLARK
Noted Orator and Statesman.

be said, that is, in drawing comparisons between the

beautiful in space and in time, we should not forget
that, in the case of space, the task of beautifying has
been undertaken by nature itself, with the unbounded
resources at its command, while in the case of time,
the task was left to the limited powers of man. Were
52 LESSON II

nature to beautify time as it does space—could we

hear, for instance, such a thing as the harmony of the
spheres—the sublimity of such music would transcend
all human conception.
By the study of physical science we find, in the first
place, that the universe is governed by laws; by further
investigation we find that these laws are subservient to
great principles. One of these principles is "Beauty."
Beauty is manifested in three great forms, namely:
the moral, the intellectual and the physical. These
three classes of the beautiful are by no means distinct
and separate things. They are, on the contrary,
closely interlinked with each other and exert a strong
influence on each other. They are, in fact, only
different manifestations of identical causes. The phy
sically beautiful is manifested either in things in space,
or in things in time. The beautiful in things in space
is opened to us by the organ of vision; the beautiful
in things in time chiefly by the organ of hearing.
Things in space, therefore, come under the head of
visible nature; things in time under that of audible
nature.
In visible nature, beauty is an emanation of nature
itself, which has developed from the original chaos of
voidness without admitting any intervention. Here
man can do nothing but imitate.
In the beautifying of audible nature, however(
nature has reserved but an inferior part to herself. It
has supplied the laws under which development was to
take place, but the development itself was left to the
absolute control of man. Nature has given you the
means of developing a beautiful voice, but you must do
the developing yourself. Having given you the means,
nature's work is ended ; yours is to carry it on to com
pletion. In the infinite fields of time man enters the
 LESSON II 53

I
Fig. 20
Venus Scene — Tannhauser.

beautiful. Now science and art do, in time, for nature,

that which nature does for itself in space. We are
intended to be co-workers with the Creator.
f
 LESSON II 55

EXERCISES FOR LESSON II

As taught in the first lesson, make the groove or
furrow in the tongue, being sure that you do not force
in the least; proof of which is, that the tongue remains
loose and smooth, except that it shows a groove through
the center. Also the mouth, jaws and lips must re
main quiet.
Many, especially those who have sung much, will
find that the groove is not made at the extreme back
of the tongue. The reason is, that most singers and
speakers have acquired the habit of using their jaw
and other muscles to produce tone. As you go on with
these lessons, you will* be told why such individuals,
unconsciously to themselves, do so, and it will be proven
to you that it is wrong and also why it is wrong. For
that matter you may have proof even now that it is
wrong. Your higher tones are now somewhat hard or
shrill. Put the tip of your forefinger on the back of
the tongue, and while touching the tongue repeatedly,
say or sing, "ah." In most cases the tongue will feel
hard and unyielding in the back, thus proving that the
tongue muscles are inactive or are overpowered by the
jaw muscles. Don't expect to remedy this fault at
once, though this lesson is the beginning of the remedy.
Hold the mirror so that it shows your tongue, but
do not use the torch. Now stand with your back to a
window and let light fall on the mirror. Do not at
first make any groove, but simply examine the extreme
rear part of the tongue. Is this rear part higher in
the back than in front? If so you are wrong.
Now, with the forefinger, tickle the extreme rear
part of the tongue, touch it lightly, or gently stroke it.
You may nauseate (feel sick at your stomach) a little;
that is because you touch the palate. Learn to touch
the tongue only. Don't be afraid if you are nauseated
56 LESSON II

for a second or two; there is no harm in that. Notice

that this gentle tickling of the tongue causes the tongue
to sink in the rear, making a distinct groove.
The object to be attained at any cost of patience
and time, is to induce the rear part of the tongue
muscles to contract. Many find this very difficult, but
all means must be resorted to, to induce this con
traction. Long experience has taught me that trying
to "gag" yourself is the surest means to this end.
Do not be afraid to put your finger pretty far down
the throat if necessary. Try this only a few times at
any one time, not more than three or four times, but
repeat several times through the day. Do not hurry;
take it slowly and, above all, do not worry or become
nervous if you cannot make the groove in a day or two.
Some time you will succeed ; you will find that the rear
part of the tongue contracts strongly, even to nauseat
ing or gagging you. A few repetitions will impress
your mind that the tongue "can contract." Gradually
you will be able to make the groove without tickling
yourself.
Some may have an aversion to using the finger;
these should use the " ticklers" (pieces of specially
prepared wood which are sent with the first lessons).
Also when the mirror or the electric light is used,
it will be found easier to use the "tickler" instead of
the finger.
At first use the tickler three times, making sure that
the groove is formed, then try to make the groove
twice without using the tickler or finger, merely by a
voluntary effort. Irritating the tongue with finger or
tickler, causes it to contract; your eyes can see the
contraction in the form of a groove, your mind is
taught that a groove "can" be made. Gradually
teach your mind to control the tongue voluntarily.
 LESSON II 57

The mind must be the master over the tongue and not
vice versa—this is the all important point now!
Learn to concentrate as you have never concen
trated before. Think into the tongue to the exclusion
of everything else. Practice in the solitude of your
own room!
Alternate in this way of practice until you are sure
of being able to make the groove in the extreme back of
the tongue, voluntarily, without the use of either finger
or tickler. Do not practice more than 5 or 10 minutes
at a time, but do it several times a day, if possible.
Notice that, when you succeed in making the groove at
the back of the tongue, the groove in the middle and
front will be much more distinct than before, although
you have given that part no attention.
Understand, in making this depression or groove,
you are not to use any undue physical or muscular
strength; it is to be done without exertion. If you
experience a little difficulty at first in doing this
exercise, do not become discouraged, for many good
singers and speakers at first found considerable difficulty
in doing it. Remember this, the more difficult you
find it, the more your tongue is in need of this particular
exercise and the greater will be your improvement.
Experience has taught me that even in great singers
and orators, the rear fibres of the tongue muscles are
generally too weak. This causes those disturbances
which are so frequently noticed in the high register.
For speakers this weakness is not so dangerous as for
singers, but even they .cannot have too much strength
in the tongue, or too much control over it.
Now, using the mirror and torch, make the groove
twice voluntarily. The third time, speak or call out
in the most natural way "ah," as in father, three
times. Observe whether the tongue grooves all the
58 LESSON II

way back as you call out the "ah." Singers may sing
the "ah" on about B-flat, third line. Repeat several
times, first forming groove without tone, next making
tone with groove. Notice when the groove is made
with tone that the tone is free and strong. When
the groove is not made, the tone is usually somewhat
harsh or thin.
If you still find it difficult to make the groove, try
the following experiment: Take a sip of water in your
mouth and swallow it, next take another sip, hold
it in your mouth by bending the head a little backward,
insert your forefinger and place it far back upon the
tongue, close mouth and swallow the water. Repeat
a few times to see that when you swallow the water,
the groove is distinctly noticeable, as the finger will feel
the depression in the tongue.
Still another experiment may help in some cases—
it is this: Place forefinger upon the tongue, close the
mouth tightly around the finger and suck the finger;
suck it as if you were going to swallow the finger.
Try these experiments two or three times, then try to
make the groove voluntarily, using always the mirror
and, at night, the electric light to make sure that the
groove is formed.
Do not try to learn the groove without mirror;
do not try these exercises except at your home or where
you are not interrupted or disturbed. You cannot
help yourself on street cars or among a crowd of people.
For the present you are taught to obtain control
only of the tongue and not exercises for the tongue.

Different Formations of the Groove which

Are Wrong!
Only one formation of the groove in the tongue is
correct and that is the formation of the groove as
 LESSON II 59

shown in Figs. 14 and 15 of the first lesson. All other

formations are more or less incorrect.
In the following Fig. 21 the groove is only partially
made—it is not deep enough in the back, showing
weakness at that point. The groove extends too far

Fig. 21
Partial groove only—tongue pressed against teeth.
forward, going right into the tip of the tongue, which
must always be loose. Furthermore, the tongue is
held tightly against the front teeth. There is a strong
contraction in the front of the tongue and a weak
action in the back. The reverse should be the case.
In the next Fig. 22 the tongue shows wrinkles rather
than grooves; sometimes the wrinkles extend also

Fig. 22
Several partial grooves or wrinkles—tongue held tightly against teeth.
60 LESSON II
across the tongue. The front of the tongue is usually
held very tightly -against the teeth, generally the jaw
is stiff and the muscles under the chin are rigid—these
conditions are of course wrong and must be overcome.
When you can form the groove as shown in Figs. 14 and
15, the jaw and chin muscles do not interfere.
The groove as shown in Fig. 23 is really very good,
but it was made by physical force rather than by a
mental impulse. Notice that the rims or sides of the
tongue are drawn far up toward the roof of the mouth
and the entire tongue has become hard and rigid, there
fore it could not assume the manifold instantaneous
changes which are needed for correct and rapid articu-
ation. In this case, also, the jaw and chin muscles are
interfering, holding the entire tongue tight.

Fig. 23
Groove made forceful—
Tongue held tight.

Two more faults which can be and often are made

in connection with the groove are shown in the next
two illustrations.
 LESSON II 61

. In Fig. 24 the groove appears fairly correct, but

the tip of the tongue overlaps the front teeth and
curls up.

Fig. 24
Chin muscles are overpowering the correct muscles.

The tongue is held very tightly in front and even

drawn forward through the interfering action of the
chin muscles. The correct tongue muscles are too
weak to counteract the chin muscles, hence they are
being overpowered.

Chin Muscles Are Overpowering the

Correct Muscles
This same fault becomes still more plain in study
ing Fig. 25. The tongue is drawn sharply forward;
the sides of the tongue are pulled upward; the entire
tongue is made hard and unyielding, although the
groove itself is good.
From all of this we can see that the groove must be
made with the utmost ease, merely by a mental effort;
otherwise, if the groove is made by physical force, the
muscles of the jaw and the chin will interfere and
prevent a free, natural action of the all-important rear
fibres of the hyo-glossus muscles. These last-named
muscles alone, and none other, must be taught to
62 LESSON II

contract with the utmost ease and finally with the

utmost speed.

Fig. 25
Forward drawing muscles are preventing the exact action of downward
pulling muscles.
Once you can do all this, further exercises become
easy and your progress is assured!
The essential points to be remembered when you
teach your tongue to make a groove are:
1 . That the groove starts in the back of the tongue.
2. That the tip of the tongue remains loose when the
groove is made.
3. That the tongue does not draw back from the
teeth more than about Vs of an inch.
4. That the tongue is not pulled forward—that the
tip does not overlap the front teeth.
In order to make sure that the groove is being made
exactly right, practice the following test, as illustrated
by Fig. 26.
Take a handkerchief between forefinger and thumb
of either hand. First protrude the tongue, and with
the handkerchief and fingers take firm hold of the tip
of the tongue, then draw it back to its natural position
in the mouth. Of course, the hand, still holding the
tongue tip, must follow. Now, using tickler or finger
of the other hand, induce the groove way back. Notice
very carefully, first, if the tongue pulls backward as
you tickle it; second, does the tip of the tongue swell
 LESSON II 63

and become hard between the fingers, or does the

tip remain loose?
As the groove is made, the tongue should not move
backward the least bit, nor should the tip change in
the slightest degree; it must remain loose. If the
tongue tip becomes hard, or if the tongue is drawn
back, it shows that the groove was not made at the
exact spot; that is, in the back nearest the throat;
therefore you must learn to localize the groove at the
exact spot.

Fig.

When you have tested the above a few times, then

place the tip of the little finger against the string
(frenum) of the tongue, just under the middle part of
the tip, opposite the front teeth. Gently press the tip
of the finger against this under middle part of the
tongue, and, as before, using the tickler, and later, with
out tickler, make the groove and notice carefully
whether the tongue moves forward and presses against
64 LESSON II

the finger as you make the groove. If so, you are

wrong. If, however, the tongue remains quiet at the
place touched, you are right. Learn gradually to make
the groove without either backward drawing or forward
pushing and with loose tongue tip. These things are
necessary to make the tongue's groove absolutely exact.
Having in a measure succeeded with the above
exercises, again call out or sing "ah" in a medium
range, and take care that the tongue is neither drawn
back nor pushed forward, and also that the tip remains
loose.
" Rome was not built in a day," so don't expect to
succeed in all these exercises all at once. The lessons
which follow will help you not only to do new things,
but also to perfect the old exercises. Practice the 1st and
2d lessons for about ten days or two weeks, then go to
Lesson III.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON LESSON II

1 What are the essentials of a good voice?
2 What is meant by vocal attack?
3 Can you make the groove?
4 When you make the groove, does the tongue
remain stationary?
5 Do you notice a groove when you sound "ah?"
6 Does your tongue arch upward when you sound
"ah?"
7 Does your tongue become thick or does it remain
thin when sounding "ah?"
8 What is your general attitude to the Philosophy
of Voice Sound; do you like it or not?
9 What is Pitch?
10 What is meant by Vocal Strength (Dynamic)?
11 What is Time?
12 What is Quality or Tone Color?
 LESSON III
VOICE IS THE MANIFESTATION OF
STRENGTH AND ENERGY

A simple air played on the violoncello calls for a

total expenditure of energy equal to two and three-
quarter pounds for each note, or more than four tons
of energy for a single selection. This statement is
vouched for by the Professor of Physics of Columbia
University, New York City, who made some experi
ments in his laboratory with the aid of a famous cellist.

Fig. 27
Scene from Lohengrin—Wagner.

A special apparatus was necessary to conduct the

test. Against the surface of a revolving carbon cyl
65
66 LESSON III

inder was suspended a chalk point which was attached

by a slender wire to the cello player's fingers. At
each pressure of the finger, the tension vibrated along
the communicating connection, recording the energy
expended.
At this test, the player at times raised the point to
a distance equaling three pounds in weight. The pres
sure alone required to produce the tones of a simple
Bach aria averaged two and three-quarter pounds per
note. The total energy expended amounted to 9,414
pounds, or more than four tons.
The same amount of energy would be sufficient to
carry a laborer through his entire day's work, yet it
took but five minutes for the artist to exert the same
amount of force.
On a grand piano, the force required to strike any
one key is from three to five ounces for each stroke.
When I play, for instance, Joseffy's "At the Spring," I
must play one measure with an average of 12 notes in
one and a half seconds, as there are 155 measures to the
piece; that means 1,860 notes must be played within
four minutes and a resistance of at least 465 pounds
must be overcome, besides two motions for each single
note—one down and one up; all this with the right
hand only, not counting what the left hand accom
plishes in the same time. If an exact test were made
while playing this piece, the amount of muscular
energy expended, counting the speed, resistance and the
rapidity of muscular contraction, the force expended
would surpass even the above experiment.
A musical instrument, such as the cello and the
piano, is an almost perfect mechanism, ready at any
minute to be played upon. Such instruments will of
course show to greatest advantage in the hands of an
 LESSON III 67

artist, but even an amateur can produce good results

and give pleasure with an instrument that comes ready-
made from the factory. The instrument makers and
the workmen have provided for the player what the
vocalist must do for himself. In addition, the vocal
ist must play on the instrument at the same time that
he is creating it.
The mechanical instrument is made of wood and
metal, while the vocal instrument is formed of parts
of the body of the singer or speaker. He himself is
the instrument. He uses his own material body to
produce sound. From the sole of the foot to the
crown of the head, each bone and muscle contributes
in some measure to the sound you make, and the
quality and intensity of the sound you make correspond
exactly to the operation of your body. It requires 256
vibrations per second to produce the sound of the
middle C on the piano. This is merely pitch measure.
The sound may be poor in quality and hardly audible.
It means merely that the vocal chords vibrate 256
times per second to produce the middle C. To make
the sound not only distinct, but so strong that it can
be heard by hundreds or, if need be, by thousands of
people, and, in addition, to make it sound beautiful
and charming, many things must take place at the
instant the sound is made. More than that, the
speaker varies his pitch from one to eight degrees and
the singer not less than twenty-four degrees, besides
shading the sound in many ways.
The vibrations are increased from about 100 vibra
tions per second to 1,200 and more vibrations. Also,
the conditions producing strength and tone color
require constant readjustments. The vocalist not only
makes the instrument while he plays upon it, but he
68 LESSON III

likewise tunes it at the same time. In addition to all

this, he must furnish the motive power—breath.
The utmost accuracy, inconceivable speed and
absolute ease are necessary. Otherwise, both pitch
and quality would be impossible. The finest musical
instrument ever manufactured is only a clumsy article
in comparison with the truly perfect vocal organ.
We truly appreciate only that which we thoroughly
understand, and only when we truly understand any
thing can we hope to become masters and true artists.
Hence, you will easily see why, in the following chap
ters, so much space is given to the "Vocal Organ."
Nature has given a -perfect vocal organ to only a very
few; perhaps not more than a dozen people in all the
world possess from birth a vocal organ perfect in all
its parts. Abnormally gifted people must forever
remain the exception. But as nature has given us
brains to develop, so that even a mediocre student can
become a great thinker, so nature gave each of us the
material with which we can develop a voice comparable
to the greatest voices.
Nor is this development as hard as might be
assumed ; on the contrary it is even easy, and possible
to all who have the grit to stick to. it.
The question may arise in your mind, if it is possible
to develop a voice to a very high degree, why do we
have so few truly great singers and orators? This is
a legitimate question, but easily . answered. Why
were not the telephone, the electric light, the auto
mobile, the aeroplane and the submarine invented by
former generations? Simply because the principles
upon which these things are constructed were hidden
until the present time. Violinists claim that the art
of building the perfect violins of the old Italian masters
 Fig. 28
"BILLY" SUNDAY—Famous Religious Speaker.
70 LESSON III

is lost; but, shortly before the war, I had the pleasure

of meeting an American gentleman (from Missouri),
who had been living in London (England) for the last
eighteen years, and who told me that he was now
making violins which the best expert could not tell
from the most perfect old Italian make. I said to him,
"I can easily believe you if you have found the natural
law, which is at the root of a perfect violin; the old
masters did not know this law, but accidentally they
'hit' upon it now and then."
When we also consider that vocal art is compara
tively young, and especially when we remember that
anatomy and physiology are really new sciences, not
much over a generation old, we need not wonder that
the principle which underlies voice development has
only now been discovered.
Some of you may say, "But there have been great
singers, especially those Italian singers of the eighteenth
century, who, so we are told, have not been surpassed,
or even equaled since, and they were trained without
any knowledge of physiology." Much could be said
in answer to this. In the first place, there were only
a few—perhaps not more than ten in over a century;
surely an insignificant number. I and many other
musicians doubt very much that these singers were
superior to the best we now have. At that time music
was written in a very florid style, many difficult runs
and rapid passages, which had for their object merely
to astonish the listener. The singers then were, for
the most part, musical acrobats. They could execute
their trills and passages and thereby astonish and thrill
an audience little educated in music.
When modern dramatic and sincere music was
introduced, one of these formerly so greatly admired
 LESSON III 71

singers shot himself because he despaired of ever being

able to sing the better and newer music. Nowadays,
a singer has to be heard above a large orchestra, when
formerly a very simple accompaniment was used even
for grand opera. You will learn more of this when
you come to the lessons which treat the history of
voice. Enough has been said now to answer the
objections which now and then are heard from singers
and teachers who disguise their ignorance and preju
dice behind a supercilious sneer at science and exact
investigation. Do not listen to them, or, if you do, find
out what they know and make them prove what they
say. Never accept an assertion and a bold face as
knowledge. It is usually the bluff of an ignoramus.
In this and some following lessons I will give you
positive and incontrovertible proof that my method is
correct in all its parts; and if you follow my teachings,
you will yourselves find the method infallible—it
cannot fail. And while I assert this with entire
conviction, I assert just as emphatically that all other
methods, past and present, are utterly useless; for the
most part they are directly misleading and dangerous,
in so far as a real development of the vocal organs is
concerned.
I want you now to follow me very closely; read each
part of the explanation in vocal physiology, not once or
twice, but ten or twenty times, if necessary. Especially
do I request of you to examine and study carefully and
attentively the many illustrations which prove my
points. Do not merely look at the illustrations, as if
they were pictures meant to amuse you, but study every
detail. Look at the bony structure, observe how they
are constructed and in what relation they stand to
each other. Observe closely how they are made to fit
72 LESSON III

into each other like the parts of a highly sensitive and

exact machine, where even a hair's breadth makes all
the difference. Then look and examine closely what
and how many muscles are attached to these bones.
Observe where they start from and where they are
inserted into different bones. Muscles are made up
of very many fine fibres of flesh. See how these fibres
run; in a straight, oblique or curved line, to the right
or left, up or down. The direction of the fibres and
muscles will tell you exactly which way they pull and
move the parts to which they are attached. A muscle
should always contract in the natural direction; then
it will do all that is required of it with the utmost ease,
but, if you urge a muscle to contract in arty other than
its natural direction, it will raise a tremendous "kick"
and cause all sorts of disagreeable disturbances.

These illustrations are for the most part rare and

valuable. They cost a very great deal of money, time,
research and experience. They are absolutely new and
original. The illustration, Fig. 30, which goes with
this lesson is my own invention. For its creation I
needed the practical experience and study of over
twenty years. This is the first and only illustration of
a complete vocal organ in existence, so far as I know.
The illustrations contained in books on anatomy, physi
ology and medicine do not contain anything of prac
tical value to the seeker after voice culture. At best
they are only fragmentary and detached. The illustra
tions given in those books only show different parts
of the vocal organ. No attempt has apparently ever
been made to show the entire vocal organ as it exists
in the human body. My research has extended over
 LESSON III 73

Fig. 29
The Anatomy Lesson—Rembrandt.

the libraries of America, England, France, Germany,

Italy and Sweden. Nowhere can be found the complete
material relating to the voice as you are getting it in
these lessons.

The fact of the matter is, if you study these lessons

very carefully, you will know more about the anatomy
of the throat than even specialists. If you ever intend
to study medicine or specialize on the throat, these
lessons will make you a stronger throat specialist than
any existing. For your own hygienic betterment, for
a prolongation of health and life, these lessons will be
74 LESSON III

worth many times the price you pay. The throat is the
door to the body. If the door is well guarded, thieves
cannot enter. Your throat will become strong and will
resist disease through practicing the exercises contained
in these lessons. Therefore, do not neglect the study
for a single day. Get the habit of practicing a while
each day, if it is only for ten minutes. That is the
sure way to success.

I have made a discovery regarding the human voice

that is of universal importance. This discovery lifts
vocal study from a state of guesswork into an exact
science. These explanations are written for the purpose
of explaining and proving the discovery. To do this,
it has been necessary to state technical facts, to
separate and show the specific action and purpose of
the different muscles, cartilages and bones that make
up the vocal organism. In doing this I have, as far as
possible, avoided technical expressions, so that the
student might the easier understand at a first reading
what experts and physiologists spent a lifetime in
acquiring.

To state that such and such things are so, even if

true, is not sufficient, for it does not prove the case.
In these lessons I have proven my claims beyond con
tradiction. I have shown the true cause of strong and
weak, of perfect and imperfect voices. I have definitely
located the interference that limits the power and
beauty of the human voice. I have subjected my
discovery to every law of physics, anatomy and
mechanics, and have proven it mathematically correct.
Furthermore, I have proven it to be infallible in
practice in hundreds of cases.
 LESSON III 75

Fig. 30
THE COMPLETE VOCAL MECHANISM
Fig. 1-A-B. Vocal Chords. Fig. 10-A. Hyo-Glossus Muscle.
Fig. 2-A-B. Thyroid Cartilage. Fig. 10-B. Chondro-Glossus
Fig. 3. Arytaenoid Cartilage. Muscle.
Fig. 4. Cricoid Cartilage. Fig. 11. Genio-Glossus Muscle.
Fig. 5. Hyoid Bone. Fig. 12. The Tongue.
Fig. 6. Breast Bone. Fig. 13. Styloid Bone.
Fig. 7. Collar Bone. Fig. 14. Palato-Glossus Muscle.
Fig. 8. Vertebrae. Fig. 15. Hard Palate.
Fig. 9. Soft Palate and Uvula. Fig. 16. Temporal Bone.

Before a defect can be remedied, we must first find

it. In the case of the human voice, both the defect and
the remedy have been found, and now every voice may
be developed to the utmost. These lessons reveal the
76 LESSON III

defect in such a way that all who read with care will
recognize it. While every student should read this
and become acquainted with his own vocal organism
and its defects, I do not claim that from merely reading
it the voice can be corrected, but the reading is a
necessary part, for it leads to understanding, and this
again leads to the conviction that NOW you have the
key to great vocal success and this will stimulate you
in your daily efforts.
The subjects treated, illustrated and explained in
the lessons on vocal physiology are as follows:
"The Perfect Voice." Testimony of American,
German, French and English specialists on the voice.
"The Laws of Physiology and Anatomy."
"The Vocal Organ—The Vocal Chords."
"The Larynx."
"The Cricoid Cartilage."
"The Thyroid Cartilage."
"The Thyro-aritaenoideus Muscles."
"The Hyoid Bone."
"The Epiglottis."
Special description of the vocal chords and how they
operate.
Muscles which connect the different cartilages of
the larynx.
Involuntary internal muscles of the larynx.
Voluntary muscles, external, of the larynx.
The tongue.
The tongue as the organ of taste.
The tongue as the organ of speech.
The tongue as the organ of sound.
The tongue as the keystone or mainspring of the
voice.
 LESSON III 77

The tongue, its attachments to the chin, palate,

skull and larynx.
The tongue in the Bible, in history, in daily life.
The muscles of the larynx.
External, voluntary downward-pulling muscles.
Dr. Foster, of London, England, on the inner work
ings of muscles.
Dr. Cunningham, of Edinburgh, Scotland, on vocal
muscles.
Dr. Burton Haseltine, of Chicago, on American
speech. •
External, voluntary upward-pulling muscles.
The palate.
The pharynx or throat.
The law of mechanics, showing why voice students
have failed.
The new discovery.
The remedy.
The contrary proof, explaining that if the vocal
organ does not operate as taught in these lessons, then
the muscles which should not operate during voice,
especially the jaw muscles, interfere with the true vocal
muscles, and huskiness, shrill and hard voices result.
Stammering, stuttering, etc., caused by these defects.
How does the vocalist realize his faults?
Muscles which interfere with or prevent the true
vocal effort.
Right and wrong muscles.
The great power of the wrong muscles.
Why the wrong muscles overpower the right (vocal)
muscles.
The great temptation to use the wrong muscles.
"Symptoms" that are misleading.
The false advice of voice teachers; we need facts,
not guesswork.
78 LESSON III

Why tones are felt in the chest, face and head.

The upward or downward-moving larynx is wrong.
A stiff tongue and a stiff jaw are also wrong.
Both tongue and jaw must be flexible; the tongue
must be strong.
The voluntary, intrinsic muscles must be mastered
and controlled so that they operate automatically.

PERFECT BREATHING
(With Illustrations)
Instructions for developing an absolutely correct
method of breathing for singers, speakers, athletes and
everybody else:
General introductory remarks.
Review of the latest discoveries regarding breathing.
The importance of the breath-movement.
The physical and anatomical reason of lungs
(breath).
Inspiratory muscles.
The diaphragm.
The abdominal muscles.
The chest muscles.
The shoulder muscles.
Muscles dependent upon one another.
Correct breathing efforts do not imply strong
sensations. ,
Relaxed position of the chest.
Muscle control in general.
Expansion of thorax and chest.
Nervousness caused by poor breathing.
Breath resistance.
Breath with sound.
The nose inhaling.
 LESSON III 79

Expiration.
The need of powerful compression.
Complete relaxation of the expanding muscles.
The abdominal muscles.
Isolating the abdominal muscles is a most beneficial
exercise for weak people in all walks of life.
Tone with isolated abdominal muscle.
Chest and abdomen combined.
Loss of breath.
Strength.
Conclusion and summary.
Stammering and breathing.

THE LAWS OF PHYSICS AND SOUND

(With Illustrations)

Character of sonorous motion.

Intensity of sound.
Velocity of sound waves.
Velocity and intensity.
Musical sounds.
Definition of pitch.
Vibrations of strings.
Laws of vibrating strings.
Overtones.
Tone quality.
A hunchback with a marvelous voice.
A stammerer who became an auctioneer.
A Wisconsin physician on "How Stammerers are
beingvbuncoed."
Personal experiments on the larynx of a goose, a
groundhog and a robin.
What makes Caruso's voice superior to that of any
other tenor?
80 LESSON III

Such is the scientific part of our course; don't be

afraid that it will be tedious or dry. Of course, these
subjects are of necessity somewhat technical, but no
more so than the description of any serviceable and
valuable machine. All these parts you should know to
be able to practice with intelligence. I hope all of you
will some day own an automobile, but I trust you will
prefer to drive it yourself, as only then can you realize
the full pleasure of automobile ownership. To drive
an auto and to be able to look after it, you must know
all its parts; you must know how to take it apart and
put it together again. Well, you will find an auto
mobile much more complicated than your vocal organ
or your breathing apparatus.

In studying these technical instructions, just say to

yourself: "I am going to buy a 'Vocal Organ,' and I
want the best that can be had ; and I am not going to
be buncoed. I am going to learn all about it and
prove the facts to myself. After that I want a pair of
the most perfect lungs on the market, and all that
goes with them. I need those twotthings, the 'Voice'
and the 'Lungs,' all my life, every day and all day long.
My success in life, in business and society depends on
these things. My health, my pleasure and my happi
ness are based fundamentally on them." Think that
way and you will find pleasure and instruction in the
scientific aspect of your lessons.

My aim is not only to give you a fine voice, but to

prove to you all along why every exercise must be just
as I have described it, and why this is the only way to
develop your voice to the fullest extent. I want you
to know every step and to realize its importance. This
 LESSON III

Fig. 31
CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW.
82 LESSON III

is a most serious matter to me. I want you to have

full information, and only by focusing the sharp light of
truth upon it from every direction can I do my full
duty by you. Perhaps some of you will want to teach
my method. I shall be glad to have any of my stu
dents prepare for the field of teaching. I know of no
larger field nor one with greater possibilities and
opportunities. My method is new as yet, but it will
spread very quickly, and then there will be an enormous
demand for men and women who can teach it. All the
old methods will be swept away, because they are use
less. Think of the thousands of singing teachers that
are needed everywhere. Think of training the public
speakers, preachers, orators and lawyers. Think of
the millions of school children; for the method will be
introduced into the public schools. Think of those
who suffer from defective speech, the stammerers,
stutterers and lispers, of whom there are 200,000 in
New York City alone. As I write this, the principals
of two of the largest deaf mute schools are studying
my method, with a view of teaching it even to deaf
mutes in the school. Do you know of a larger and
better field for honest, well-prepared teachers? Do
you know that specialists earn more than any other
class of people?
All these reasons guided me in writing this com
prehensive course.

EXERCISES FOR LESSON III

Keep up the exercises in Lesson II, especially
the groove way back in the tongue. You can now
omit the exercises in Lesson I. While practicing the
groove daily, add to your practice these exercises in
breathing:
 LESSON III 83

THE BREATH
Many singers and speakers experience at times a
nervous, uneasy feeling of weakness. The chest falls
and sinks together; there is a lack of breath and they
feel a great weakness, particularly in the region of the
stomach. From these symptoms they conclude that a
weakness of breath is the cause of the weakness of
voice. In fact, this idea is quite generally taught, but
it is incorrect. Bad breathing is due to bad speaking
or bad singing. If the muscles which stretch the vocal
chords are too much relaxed or too weak they cannot
close the air passage tightly enough and the breath
meets with no resistance. When the vocal chords are
firmly drawn together, only a very little breath can
squeeze through; but whenever the chords are relaxed
and separated, the breath bursts through in quantities
with each sound and is therefore quickly exhausted,
and if one continues speaking without very frequent
inhalations, he does so only at the expense of muscular
strain. Hence the weariness felt in the chest and the
diaphragm.
The almost universal mistaken view, that loss of
breath or weakness of the breathing organs are the
cause of poor voice needs to be fully exposed. I want
you to understand distinctly that the reverse is true.
In order to prove this to yourself, try the following
experiment :
1. Gently lay the fore and middle finger of the
right hand beside each other so that they touch. Hold
the inside of the hand against the light and notice
(unless your fingers are very fleshy) that light shines
through small spaces between the fingers.
2. Press these fingers against the lips and blow
breath, which, as you will notice, is quickly exhausted.
84 LESSON III

3. With thumb and forefinger of the left hand, press

the two fingers of the right close together while you
blow breath. Notice the more tightly the fingers
against which you blow breath are squeezed together
the more difficult will you find it to blow breath,
because there is now no space between the fingers
to let the breath through.
4. Experiment to find that by blowing very strongly
you can make the skin of these fingers to sound, high
or low in proportion to the pressure of the fingers of
the left hand, as this pressure closes the space between
the fingers of the right hand more or less.
Similar action takes place in the vocal chords.
These are also brought together more or less tightly
and, in addition, they are also being "stretched. Now
when the vocal chords are closed, the breath finds it
difficult to pass through, in fact it has to fight its way
through and this combat between vocal chords and
breath causes a friction which we hear as a tone. But
when the vocal chords are too far apart, the breath
can rush through without much resistance to be over
come, there is consequently little friction, hence a
small, thin tone. A great quantity of breath was
used up to little purpose. The results are not in
proportion to the exertion.

BREATH RESISTANCE
An example: Seat yourself comfortably, take a
breath, then close the mouth and with a handkerchief
grasp your nose and close it tightly. Then try to force
air through your nose, at first lightly and then more
sharply. For these exercises, keep your nose closed by
means of the handkerchief and grasping fingers, thus
you actually prevent breath from escaping, hence
the breath recoils against the abdominal muscles.
 LESSON III 85

Next lay your other hand flat upon your stomach

at the waistline and blow through your nose three
times, pausing a second or so between each blow
ing. Pause for a few seconds and repeat as before,
lightly at first, then with more strength. You will
observe that, when blowing, the stomach jerks or lifts a
little, but that it does not move either outwardly or
inwardly. You will feel the contraction in the stomach
much as though you were endeavoring to squeeze a
hard rubber ball. I want you to understand that it
is this slight contraction which you feel that drives the
breath to the nose. Make this exercise only until you
have learned how little motion is required to expel the
breath.

BREATH WITH SOUND

After you understand the above exercise, make the
motion intentionally, that is, intentionally draw in the
abdomen, and at the same time call "ah" three times
in a natural tone, and then call "ha" three times.
By laying one hand over the stomach and the other
upon the chest, you will observe, as you call "ah" or
" ha," that the chest also moves or jerks a little. These
jerks indicate that the vocal chords are closed, but
were forced to open slightly by the breath action. If
they had not been closed, the breath action would have
forced all the air out and the stomach and chest would
have sunk deeply. For the present this exercise should
be made only a few times a day. Its purpose is to
teach you the mechanical action of the breathing
apparatus. Later lessons will be more explicit.
After you have practiced it for a few days, you may
attempt to speak short sentences, such as, " How gleams
the moon so cold and far, but brighter shines my
beauty's star." At first speak the sentences in a hasty,
86 LESSON III

careless way; then, with the second or third repetition,

try to whisper them in a rather high pitch, and if
neither the chest nor the stomach move noticeably it
indicates that very little breath is being used. If, on
the contrary, there is considerable motion, you must
endeavor to whisper still higher, much as though you
were trying to speak in the head. The purpose of
this is to draw the vocal chords closer together and
thus prevent the wasting of breath. By "whisper" is
meant a soft, sibilant sound.
Remember that only the slightest motion of the
stomach and very little breath are necessary to bring
out a big, full tone. Therefore, speak the sentences as
though you were speaking to a friend across the street ;
that is, in a raised tone, but without the least strain
of the abdominal or chest muscles. Do this at first
quickly and without expression, and then in a rhetor
ical style.
Instructions for inhaling or drawing in the breath
will be given later. My present wish is only to demon
strate that, with this slight motion of the stomach or
diaphragm, one can speak short sentences loudly and
without strain. It is yet too early to give any special
directions for singing, as the principle of these exercises
must be thoroughly understood first. Each exercise
will be supplied in its correct order.
A perfect voice can be built up through these in
structions without the student making a thorough
study of the different parts of the vocal organ, but
those who desire to study the subject in greater detail,
particularly those who may desire to teach this method,
I refer to what I have said, and ask them to give the
descriptive parts of the lessons, which will follow, their
intelligent attention. When the breathing apparatus
 LESSON III 87

is being explained, turn back to this lesson. You will

find that you already have made decided progress.
The treatise on breathing which you will get has been
especially rewritten for you. You will find there the
last word in all that concerns the management of the
breath, and you will be furnished proof throughout
of its correctness. Special illustrations have also
been made for these lessons.

BREATH WITH GROOVE

First review the exercise on the groove, using the
mirror and torch.
Now, at one and the same time, make the groove
and inhale the breath. Do not try to inhale much
breath, just an average ordinary breath, but inhale
silently; no rushing, loud sound must be made. At
the same instant that you inhale, make the groove,
way back in the tongue. Let go of both groove and
breath and try again ; repeat six times.
When you have succeeded in making the groove
and inhalation together at the same time, without any
apparent effort, then hold the groove and breathe while
you silently, mentally, count six. Make the groove
and inhale together at count "one," hold groove and
the breath while you silently count "two, three, four,
five," let go at count "six," rest a little and repeat
six times. Do not count out loud—just- mentally.
By letting go, I mean, of course, let go of the breath
and the tongue at the same time. Don't expel the
breath. Don't force it out. Simply let go. Do the
same with the tongue, which will rise to its normal
position.
Later in the day, repeat the above once or twice;
then try to inhale and groove the tongue at "one," hold
88 LESSON III

"two," let go at "three." Still later, take position

(inhale and make groove) at "one," let go at "two,1' etc.

SOUND WITH GROOVE

Having mastered the above, speak out frankly, as
if you wanted to be heard across the street, "ha,"
"ha," "ha," "ha." Be sure you do not shout and be
sure to speak suddenly, but with utmost ease. Observe
with mirror and torch whether the groove is made
while you speak "ha." The groove should appear
with each sound and disappear when at rest. Notice,
that when the groove is made the sound is very clear,
strong and yet utterly easy. Your throat should feel
loose, open and pleasant.
The contrary is the case when the groove does not
appear with sound and, worst of all, when the tongue
bunches upward in the back.
If the groove is not made while speaking "ha,"
which, by the way, must be made as if counting 1, then
rest, 2, then rest, 3, then rest; thus 1-2-3, then touch
the back of the tongue with the forefinger. That part
of the tongue where the groove is missing will in most
cases be found hard and stiff. That is the price you
pay for old habits; for not knowing the facts. How
ever, do not be discouraged. My experience has taught
me that those with a stiff and unruly tongue possess
naturally more strength in all the essential, chord-
stretching muscles than those with more pliable, but
weaker tongues. If you cannot make the groove with
sound, do not worry, later lessons will help more.

NOSE BREATH FOR STIFF TONGUE

If your tongue is very stiff, try the following: Close
your mouth and inhale through the nose; then exhale
 LESSON III 89

very, very gently through the nose, making not the

slightest sound. Then place forefinger upon the back of
the tongue, close the mouth and, as before, breathe
through the nose. Observe that if you do this gently
enough, the tongue will become loose, and gradually
the groove will be made. As you inhale or exhale, you
should be able to make the groove each time.
Remember that there must be no arching upward;
no hunch or hump of the tongue. That must be gotten
rid of altogether. No real progress is possible other
wise.
Do not use any other syllables while practicing the
exercises on this lesson. We can use only the "a" as
in father; the other syllables are, as Mr. Potash says,
"something else again."
Once in a while use finger and handkerchief on the
tongue as taught in the second lesson.
Constantly ^review the lessons on the groove and
learn gradually to make this groove easier and easier.
The groove must gradually become automatic and as
easy as dropping an eyelid.
Gradually also think when talking or singing, that
the sound is made through the action of the tongue—
that the tongue is the medium through which sound
is made, just as the eye is the medium through which
we are made conscious of color and form. Public
speakers and singers, and, especially also, stammerers
will find that by the mere fact of localizing the voice
into the tongue, they are relieved of much strain.
For some time the lessons must naturally remain
of a preparatory nature, that is through certain pre
liminary exercises you are being prepared for the
ultimate object.
90 LESSON III

You must first learn to control your instrument,

then to build it, after that you will have the full use
of the instrument. A perfect voice can be expected
only after the instrument is builded. This applies
especially to those who stammer. Before regular speak
ing or singing can be taken up in these lessons, they
must be able to control the tongue, and that takes
time and many other lessons. .

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON LESSON III

1 Wherein lies the difference between a mechanical
musical instrument and the human voice instru
ment?
2 Do you begin to see that great strength is needed
for a superior voice?
3 How does the chart of the vocal organ impress you?
4 As best you can, inhale and describe the action of
the chest and abdomen.
5 As best you can, exhale and describe the action of
the chest and abdomen.
6 What has been your success in speaking sentences
as taught in "Breath with Sound?"
7 What has been your success as taught in "Breath
with Groove?"
8 How do you succeed in "Sound with Groove?"
9 Can you loosen the back part of the tongue?
10 What is your general feeling about the lessons you
have so far received?
 LESSON IV
PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOCAL ORGAN
The illustration in Fig. 30, which you received in the
previous lesson, is a composite picture of the entire
vocal organ. I want you to look at it most carefully;
first from a superficially anatomical point of view, and
secondly, from a purely mechanical point of view.
Remove. Fig. 30 from your book and place it before you
while studying this lesson. The figure and letters will
show you how to find the separate parts. Let us start
from the bottom; that is from the breastbone (6) and
collar bone (7), which are the foundation of the vocal
organ. Every part of the body serves at least two
purposes, so the breast bone and collar bone are not
only the foundation of the vocal organ, but also the
roof of the chest, which contains the secondary part of
the vocal organ ; that is, the breathing organ (lungs, etc.)
This secondary part, however, will be treated later
on. Out of the breast bone (6) and collar bone (7)
grow three pairs of muscles, on both sides of the throat.
Where does the upper end of the muscles lead to?
The upper end of these muscles is attached to
two cartilages, Fig. 2A and Fig. 2B, which is called
the "thyroid cartilage," the third muscle is attached
to Fig. 5, the very important "hyoid bone." But
one of the muscles is not only attached to the
thyroid cartilage, it goes also up to the hyoid bone.
Thus, while there are only three distinct muscles, two
of these are attached to the hyoid bone. Remember
that these muscles grow upward out of the breast and
collar bones, below the larynx.
Now when these muscles contract, what effect will
the contraction have on these two cartilages and the
91
92 LESSON IV

hyoid bone? You can easily see that the tendency

would be to pull them downward, because the cartilages
are nowhere firmly attached. They are suspended in the
throat between the chest and the head and consequently
are free to move either up or down. Another point is,
that these three parts are connected with each other
by muscles which reach from one part to another.
These muscles cannot be seen in the chart, because they
are underneath the muscles above described. The
three parts together form what is commonly called the
"larynx" or vocal tube.
Now look at the top of the chart. You can easily
recognize the chin though it is not marked with a
figure number. Back of the nose is the hard palate
(15) and still further back and higher up, is the skull
bone (16). Out of the chin, the hard palate and the
skull (1) muscles grow downward into the tongue and
larynx. These muscles are also in pairs; one on the
right and one on the left side. Since they grow down
ward out of firmly fixed points of attachment into the
freely moving larynx, what will be the action when
these muscles contract? They will pull the larynx up
ward. Here we have a wonderful illustration of the
principle of a suspension bridge. But the object is not
merely to hold the larynx suspended, but also to stretch
the vocal chords, which are inside of the larynx. This
stretching brings the vocal chords into a state of great
tension, which is necessary for singing and in a less
measure for public speaking as well. Just as is the
case with the girders of a bridge, so it is with the muscles
of the larynx. Both are designed to withstand or sus
tain a great tension. The muscles which pull the larynx
down and those which pull the larynx up must be equally
strong; that is, those muscles which pull upward, must
 LESSON IV 93

be as strong[as]those which pull against them downward.

If for instance one girder of a bridge were defective, it could
not sustain the same tension as the other girders. Be
cause they were designed to sustain an equal amount of
pressure, it follows that if one girder is weak, the others
cannot sustain the additional pressure caused by the
weak or defective girder's breaking. In consequence,
the entire bridge is liable to collapse. The same thing
happens when one of the larynx muscles is too weak
to do its share of the work.
And now let us examine the vocal chords, the part
of our anatomy by means of which sound is made.
Look carefully at the cricoid cartilage (4). It is
shaped somewhat like a shoe, with the toe part in front
of the throat. On the higher part of it, lying close to
the back of the throat, are two little cartilages,
one on either side of the cricoid cartilage, or as it is
sometimes called, the ring cartilage. These two little
bones are the arytaenoid cartilages (3). They are
fastened to the cricoid by means of muscles, which
rotate them in such a way that they almost touch each
other when rotated. Out of these arytaenoid carti
lages grow the vocal chords (1A and B).
The vocal chords form a bridge over the air tube.
The front ends are attached to the front angle of the
thyroid cartilage, commonly called the "Adams apple"
(2A and B). The thyroid cartilage is merely a hollow
shell or cover, similar to the cover of a book, spread
apart. The two sides of this thyroid cartilage rest
upon the outer side of the cricoid, being held in that
position by special muscles. In this position, the thy
roid cartilage (2A and B) can be tilted forward and
downward ; and while it is being tilted it will pull upon
the vocal chords, because these grow into its front
94 LESSON IV

angle. In the illustration, I have left an opening in the

thyroid cartilage through which the vocal chords, and
the little cartilages, out of which they originate, can be
seen.
Remember now that the rear ends of the vocal
chords (those ends which are attached to the arytaenoid
cartilages), are held in their places of attachment by
means, of muscles which grow out of the cricoid
cartilage. Therefore considerable force must be
employed by the muscles which pull the front parts of
the vocal chords downward, in order to stretch these
chords tightly.
The detailed action of each single cartilage and
muscle will be given and the illustrations furnished as
we proceed with these lessons. For the present, however, I
want you to get a good general idea of the mechanism
of the vocal organ. Suffice it, then, to say at this time,
that the above-described downward and upward pulling
muscles operate by tilting the thyroid cartilage down
ward, and with it the vocal chords, against the backward
pulling resistance of the arytaenoids, thereby stretching
the vocal chords. It must be apparent to anyone that
the pressure or stretching force which the muscles exert
upon the vocal chords, must be equal in all separate
parts or, in other words, that if one muscle is weak, all
other muscles will thereby be weakened, just as is the
case with the bridge, where, if one stringer be weaker
than the others, all the rest are thereby weakened. Bear
ing this fact in mind, examine the illustration (Fig.30)
again and observe that there are three pairs of muscles
which pull the larynx down, but only two which pull it
up. (These are the direct, chord-stretching muscles.)
The palato-glossus muscle (14) is a continuation
of the soft palate (9) , which grows out of the hard pal
 LESSON IV 95

ate (15). This muscle can be seen easily by reflecting

the light to the back of the mouth. The arches at the
extreme rear of the mouth are the palato-glossus
muscles, they reach deep down into the throat and fasten
to the upper horns of the thyroid cartilage at 2B. On
contracting they pull strongly upward. This upward
pull causes the thyroid cartilage to be lifted away from
the cricoid lying underneath and of course makes chord
stretching impossible. The choking, coughing sensa
tion which many singers and speakers experience, is
caused by this action. In order that the thyroid carti
lage may remain in its proper position, nature has pro
vided a lid which not only holds the thyroid cartilage
in place, but also greatly increases the chord-stretching
capacity and indirectly gives the palate muscles a
resistance against which they can contract with power.
This lid or top is called the hyoid bone (5).
The most important discovery in my method has
' to do with this bone and the muscles which connect
with it. The hyoid bone occupies a pivotal point
between the breast bone below and the hard palate
above. It is shaped like a horseshoe; it is the balance
wheel of the vocal organ, and the muscle which connects
this horseshoe with the tongue is the mainspring or key
stone of the voice. When this muscle acts just as it
should, your voice will be splendidly beautiful, because
out of this sound which is made in the right way arise
many overtones, which are the direct cause of tonal
beauty. This will be explained in the lessons on the
laws of physics.
Now look at the muscles which arise out of the
hyoid bone (10A and B). They grow upward into
the tongue (12), of which they constitute a large share.
These muscles are called the hyo-glossus and chon
96 LESSON IV

dro-glossus muscles. They are really one muscle sepa

rated into anterior and posterior portions. These
muscles play the most important part in pulling the
larynx upward. When they contract they raise the
hyoid bone at an angle, so that its rear horns are con
siderable higher than its front portion. When the
hyoid bone is in this slanting position, its front part will
press down upon the front part of the Adam's apple,
preventing the latter from rising, but will leave a large
space in the rear between itself and the Adam's apple;
so that the palato-glossus muscles will not tear the
Adam's apple from its position, but will all the more
powerfully pull upwards upon its rear part or horns;
this helps to tilt it strongly downward in front, thereby
stretching the vocal chords.
The voice student can neglect almost anything else,
but he must know, understand and master the action
of the hyoid bone and hyo-glossi muscles. His salva
tion depends upon this. All exercises which you '
receive are important and should be practiced care
fully, but the exercises of the tongue are absolutely
IMPERATIVE.
The permanent improvement of your voice will be
proportionate to the amount of your practice of the
tongue exercises.
Unfortunately, this hyo-glossus muscle is weak in
most people and this is the direct cause of poor speak
ing, poor singing, most of the stammering and other
vocal defects. It is reasonable to suppose also, that
most throat and many lung diseases are caused by
this general weakness.
Look at it this way: Suppose your tongue muscles
are very weak, what are the consequences? When the
tongue muscles are weak, then the palate muscles can
 LESSON IV 97

not operate strongly either; all the downward pulling

muscles likewise cannot contract fully, because they
are not being resisted; consequently the vocal chords
are not being stretched, the entire muscular system
sags, it becomes watery, weak and gradually deteri
orates more and more. To be sure, you can still speak,
but only by forcing and that in the end always spells
disaster.
On the other hand, suppose the tongue muscles are
very vigorous and strong. In this case all the muscles
can act completely, and because of that they become
stronger with use. Thus the entire muscular system
will grow stronger day by day. Through correct use
your entire vocal and hygienic system will be bettered ;
your voice will be strong, your whole physical being will
be in a healthful state and your happiness assured.
You will be taught many things that are of vital
importance to the voice and which will be of great and
immediate help in whatever you do, but of all things,
the training, developing and strengthening of the all-
important tongue muscles is the most important. For
instance, breathing, the correction of speech defect,
diction, etc., will be taught to you in a scientifically
correct and practical way, yet after all, the thing which
is entirely new, and of which I claim the authorship, is
the training of the tongue muscles, for it is I alone who
have made the discovery that upon these muscles
depends the ultimate success of the public speaker,
singer and those with defective voices.
This is the one thing which was needed and which
many have sought for over 300 years. With this secret
in your possession, there is nothing to hinder you from
becoming a very superior singer or public speaker in
every sense of the word.
98 LESSON IV

While, as was said, the discovery that the hyo-

glossi muscles are the keystone or mainspring of all
voice development, is entirely my own, yet of late
several of the most prominent physicians of the world
have worked along these lines and support my claims
through their own independent investigations. Such
men as Dr. Cunningham of Edinburgh, Scotland; Dr.
Kraus, of the Royal Charity Hospital of Berlin; Dr.
Haenlein, of the Royal Institute for the Deaf of Ber
lin; Dr. Wethlo, of the same city; Dr. Ad. Pansh, of
the University of Kiehl, Germany, and Dr. Panoncelli-
Calzia, Director of the Phonetic Laboratory in Ham
burg, and last, but by no means least, Dr. Forster of
England, whose phenomenal researches into the nature
of muscular activity have helped me more than I can
say.
My aim is to give you a method of voice instruction
by means of which you can develop your voice in a
way never possible before. But it goes even farther
than that. I want to educate you thoroughly along
this line. There are many among our students who
are professional singers and orators, and they need a
complete understanding of the subject; there are many
voice teachers also. These especially will drop their
old, inefficient ways and adopt my new "infallible"
method. There is going to be a new profession, that of
the "Voice Expert." All these individuals need a
thorough, comprehensive education in everything that
pertains to the voice.
But even those who are in other businesses cannot
but be benefited by the study of what, to them, may
seem to be merely theory. These must remember
thatj in order to be thoroughly grounded in the prac
tical side of a subject, they must understand the theory
as well. : :
 LESSON IV 99

Fig. 32
Tristan and Isolde—Wagner.
If you live in California and want to go to the City
of New York, all you have to do is to buy a ticket
and board your car. But would you at once go to
sleep and say to yourself, "I'll wake up in New York
and not bother about what lies between California and
my destination?" If you did, you would miss one of
the greatest pleasures and experiences in life. Such an
attitude would make you narrow, small and, in the
end, useless to yourself and the world. It will pay you
well to read and digest everything that these lessons
contain. Of course, the exercises proper are the most
vital part of the course, and great pains have been
taken to make them practical, short and to the point,
but what may be considered the theoretical part is
important also. It puts you in the right attitude for
study; it forms a very essential part of the entire
100 LESSON IV

course; it is the same thing in Voice Study as what the

painters call background or atmosphere, which sets off
and makes more real and natural the main subject of
the picture.
Do not therefore skip over these parts of the lessons.
Read them at your leisure, just as you would a news
paper or book; answer the questions which are asked
and which relate to the theoretical side, as well as those
questions which are only practical.

EXERdSES FOR LESSON IV

Make the groove of the tongue several times. Be
sure that it is made way back in the throat and not
only in front. If the groove is made far back, then
you need not bother what happens to the middle of
the tongue, that will take care of itself. Of course use
the mirror and torch and watch the tongue most care
fully as you make the groove. Observe that as the
groove is being made, there is not only a drawing
downward of the middle of the tongue, but a slight
twitching, a little shock as it were, to the rims of the
tongue, something like the twitching of the lips we see
in some persons under the strain of emotion.
Now count out frankly, "one," "two," "three," etc.,
and notice a very remarkable thing: As you frankly,
easily, but somewhat strongly call the counts, there will
be a slight motion or contraction within the tongue.
Some will observe this contraction in front of the
tongue, many more will notice the contraction or
twitching at the sides of the tongue—both are correct.
As you count from one to ten, for instance, you will
find this contraction more on some counts than on
others; the counts three, six, eight, nine usually respond
quicker than the other numbers.
 LESSON IV 101

If you will hold the jaw still, immovable, you can

easily watch the tongue. You can easily count without
moving the jaw. You can readily test this by inserting
the little finger between the teeth and the corner of the
mouth and thus count. Of course the lips will move;
they must move to form the different vowels and con
sonants. The lips will move much better when the
jaw is held still and the speech will be more distinct.
The point now of the utmost importance is to com
pel the tongue to contract as strongly as possible with
out the interference of the jaw or throat muscles.
Speech is sound or voice, divided by the action of
the lips, tongue and palate into segments, which we
hear as vowels and consonants. Without voice, public
speech would be impossible, a whispering conversation
is all that can be had when the voice is not present,
hence voice is the most necessary part to the speaker as
well as to the singer.
Voice can be made in three distinctly different ways,
only one of which is legitimate.
1. The voice which is made entirely with the
action of the tongue and palate is the purest and best
voice possible to anyone—it is the only legitimate
manner of producing voice.
2. The voice which comes mainly through the
action of the chin and jaw muscles is loud, strident and
harsh, hence this action is faulty.
3. The voice which is made from the throat is
guttural and mushy, hence it is also faulty.
It is therefore of the utmost importance that you
should realize gradually that you can speak and later
on sing at your best, when the tongue is active.
When you notice this rather slight motion or con
traction within the tongue, you have made a distinct
102 LESSON IV
t
progress toward the right vocal attack. Now count
up to twenty or thirty and observe that you will feel,
see and gradually even hear this slight motion within
the tongue; now on one count, now on another. Some
will notice the motion on most counts, but all should
get a response on some counts by now. Then also try
the syllables of the alphabet. See at what point you
get the motion. This slight motion is caused by the
action of the hyo-glossi muscles, which act upon the
vocal chords, and this action must become very dis
tinct and you will find later on, unusually strong.
1. You will feel perhaps at first only a very slight
movement of the tongue.
2. With the mirror held against the mouth, you
will see a slight contraction in front or at the sides of
the tongue when you count, whereas when you are
silent, there is no motion.
3. You will hear the contraction of the tongue,
which means that gradually you will realize that when
the sound or voice is made mainly through the action of
the tongue, the voice will be much better and stronger
than before.
When the hyo-glossi muscles are active, that is when
the action of the tongue produces the voice, then you
will notice a ring and resonance in the voice which is
not present when the tongue is inactive. This "ring" or
bell-like resonance is the quality which must be sought
for at any cost of labor and patience. It is the quality
which distinguishes your voice from that of the ordinary
voice. It is this quality which makes for success in
the speaker and of course altogether in the singer.
Without the ring, without this resonance, the noblest
swan will be taken for a goose!
Notice if you can hear a difference as you call out
in your frankest, fullest voice three, six, eight, nine;
repeat many times. On some count or other you will
 LESSON IV 103

hear a change in the quality of the voice—it will "ring,"

it will be. stronger than the others, at the same time it
will be easier; this is the true voice. As you practice
a little counting every day, try to find this quality in
every count. Later in the course this will become
automatic—special exercises to help this will come after
more preliminary work has been had.
The exercises which you will get in the sixth lesson
will give you the independent control over the hyo-
glossi muscles and those which follow in the eleventh
lesson will fix the tongue habit and the control over
your natural quality and strength of voice. We can
proceed only step by step. Voice study must proceed
by degrees; great objects can be attained only through
patient endeavor. By natural quality and strength I
mean that quality and strength which you. have from
birth, but which many have never realized.
When you now count again, observe also that the
tip of the tongue remains loose while you count; that
is, it does not stiffen, though in some cases it may draw
back a little. Merely notice that in the main the tip
of the tongue remains loose.
1. Now place the tip of the little finger under and
in the front middle portion of the tongue just opposite
the so-called string of the tongue. Place your finger so
that it will firmly touch the tongue under the tip, but
do not press the tongue backward. The tongue must
be left in its natural position and shape. Now count
again, "one," "two," "three," etc. Be particular to
notice now whether that part of the tongue against
which your finger rests, swells forward and presses
against the finger. Is the pressure strong or weak?
2. Now insert your little finger, either hand, under
one side of the tongue, hold the finger a little upward
so that the rim of the tongue, that is, one side of it, lies
quietly upon the finger. Now count again without
moving the jaw and notice if the tongue, which is resting
104 LESSON IV

upon the finger, moves as you count. Especially, do

you notice a little pressure against the finger each time
that you count? If so, you are correct.
When the tongue moves forward, it usually means
that you speak with the jaw; that is, you use the jaw
muscles instead of the vocal muscles. That is very bad
and leads to all sorts of difficulties. In such a case you
could never hope to develop a good voice without my
method. You will see why as you go on with the les
sons. You must learn the right way of using the voice;
thus the wrong way will be stopped, and not otherwise.
If your tongue moves backward when you count,
it is a SURE indication of weakness of the all essential
hyo-glossi muscles. They are too weak to do their
share of the work. Most voices with weak tongue
muscles are husky, breathy and indistinct. Such per
sons are easily exhausted owing to loss of breath; they
feel weak and often dizzy, especially if they have to
speak much; like teachers, salesmen, etc.
Sore throat, asthma, constant clearing of the throat,
colds in the throat, hoarseness and many forms of lung
trouble have their source in weak tongue muscles.
You also will see in future lessons why this is so. You
need not believe me now; the positive proofs will be
furnished later and you can see for yourself. This is a
positive matter. I want you to take no man's word,
not even mine. Think and reason for yourself. We
will furnish you the material with the help of which
you can judge for yourself.
Now some of you may notice a distinct backward
drawing of the tongue and yet you may claim that the
voice is strong. If that is the case, it is 10 to 1 that
you speak out of the throat and that is even worse.
Is your voice explosive, hard or mushy? If so, you
may be sure that you talk out of the throat and even
that you violently stiffen the jaw muscles in addition;
perhaps even clinch or bite your teeth as you talk.
 LESSON IV 105

In speaking or singing correctly there is a slight

motion within the tongue, the tongue retains its natural
position, the under part of the tongue swells (not
moves) somewhat and the tip remains loose.
That is the law of nature; any deviation from that
law spells failure. I am teaching you the law. I did
not make it. I only discovered it. You will be fur
nished the means to practice that law to the letter and
then your voice will be all you desire it to be.
For the present you cannot help yourself in any
better way than by practicing faithfully the exercises so
far given and those to come. As you practice, the right
conditions will be automatically established.
While you count or speak, do not try to make the
groove in the tongue; merely notice once in a while
whether the groove is automatically made or not.
If your tongue does not respond in the way des
cribed at present, or if your tongue moves backward
when you hold the little finger against it, or if it moves
decidedly forward, do not now try to change it,
merely attempt to speak as best you can. Observe the
tongue, especially listen to the quality of your voice;
try to differentiate between the best sound. Later
lessons will give you the directions to control the
tongue, so that it will act in the right way. For the
present nothing else can be done.
That was the great mistake in the old methods; they
required the student to do something while speaking or
singing and whatever one actually tries to do while
speaking or singing is absolutely wrong.
We must establish the right conditions and then
the vocal organ will automatically operate correctly
with ease and without any voluntary effort on your
part.
All that has been said about the Speaker and Singer,
of course applies as well to the stammerer or to any
defective voice. They need exactly the same study
and treatment.
106 LESSON IV

QUESTIONS ON LESSON IV
1 What is the combined effect of the upward and
downward pulling muscles?
2 What happens when one of these muscles is
weak?
3 Which one is usually weak?
4 How are the vocal chords being stretched?
5 Do you notice the groove when counting or
speaking?
6 Does your tongue move forward or backward
when you speak?
7 Does your jaw move when you speak?
8 Do you now talk from the throat?
9 Is your voice strong' when the groove is made?
10 Touch the tip of the tongue; count 1, 2, 3.
Does the tip become hard or remain loose?
11 Do you notice a swelling of the sides of the
tongue against underlying finger when you count?
12 Do you notice the ring or resonance on any
count?
 LESSON V
PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOCAL ORGAN
(Continued)
The body of vertebrates, of which man is the high
est form, has as its basic structure the form of a double
tube. These two tubes are closely connected with each
other for their entire length. They are parallel to one
another and stand in an upright position (vertical).

Fig. 33
The front tube (A), Fig. 33, surrounds the so-called
vegetative organs (lungs, viscera, heart, etc.) ; the sec
ond tube (B), behind the other, Fig. 33, forms the head
and spinal column, containing the brain and marrow
and nervous system. This second tube distinguishes
animal from vegetable life; hence, it is called the animal
tube, while the first is called the vegetable tube, showing
107
108 LESSON V

that the human body belongs both to the vegetable

and animal kingdoms.
The upper parts of the tubes are considerably
extended and widened. The animal tube lies above
the vegetable tube. The enlargement of the animal
tube forms the brain part of the head. It is called the
cranium (Cr.). The enlargement of the vegetable tube
forms the face (F). Both together constitute the head.
Below the head there is a considerable narrowing of the
tubes to form the throat (C). These two tubes are
called the trunk of the body (tr.). In man, as well as
in most animals, there are continuations of the trunk
for the purpose of motion. These are called the
extremities (legs, feet, etc.).
When we examine more closely the two tubes
which form the body, we shall see that they serve
different objects. Fig. 34 is a horizontal section of

Fig. 34

the body. The trunk is surrounded by bones (O)

which are connected by means of muscles. Bones and
muscles are the organs which give the body the means
of motion. They also support the vegetable tube (V).
The chest—thorax—Fig. 35, consists of the spinal
column, the breastbone and eleven ribs.
The head (cranium), the shell which forms the
upper extremity of the trunk, consists of two main
sections. The upper section contains the brain, eyes,
nose and ears; the lower constitutes the jaw (Fig. 36).
Between the jaw and the head parts proper are the
 LESSON V 109

Car■//Vages of 5pin&

Breastbone
110 LESSON V

palate and tongue. At the base of the tongue, and

inside the jaw, is located the hyoid bone (Fig. 37). It
has the shape of a horseshoe. Its main parts are the
body (C), the large horns (Cmj) and the small horns
(Cm).

Fig. 37—Hyoid Bone.

All the bones of the body are surrounded by muscles
which in the main are what we call the flesh. Muscles
consist chiefly of substance which can be contracted.
Contraction is caused by an irritation originating in the
nerves. In the course of contraction muscles become
shorter and thicker; on relaxation they resume their
natural shape. As muscles are attached at both ends
to bones they move these bones toward each other
when they contract. The muscles of the trunk belong
to what are called "striped muscles." All striped
muscles are voluntary muscles; in other words, we can
contract any one or all of the striped muscles volun
tarily through the power of the will. ^ Because of this
fact, any one of the striped muscles can be isolated and
developed by itself, a fact which is best illustrated by
the pianist's fingers. Most muscles are supplied with
distinct nerves. The great variety and power of
muscles can be seen by an examination of Fig. 38.
Most of these muscles support and move the head.
The diaphragm is shown in the shaded portion of
Fig. 35. It is a broad sheet of muscles which divides
the trunk or body into two parts—the upper, or chest,
and the lower, or abdomen. It has the shape of a
 LESSON V 111

Fig. 38

dome, of which the apex reaches far upward into the

chest. It starts from the spine and in circular form
follows and is attached to the ribs, thus forming a
complete partition between the chest and the abdomen.
Above the diaphragm and within the chest are the
lungs on the right and left side; also the heart, liver,
oesophagus, spleen and one part of the viscera.
The chest is completely surrounded by muscles.
The ribs are connected with the spine by means of very
strong, but flexible, tendons, not unlike the manner in
which a door is fastened to a post by means of hinges.
The ribs are fastened in front in the same way to the
breastbone. These flexible connections of the ribs
112 LESSON V

with the spine and breastbone make it possible to

raise and lower the ribs somewhat as a bird raises and
lowers its wings. The raising of the ribs enlarges the
cavity of the chest and allows the lungs to expand.
The muscles of the chest are employed in raising and
lowering the ribs or, as it is called, in "expansion" and
"contraction." These muscles arise out of the chest,
the breastbone and shoulder blades. See Figures 39
and 40.

Fig. 40

The Latin name for ribs is "costales." Hence, the

muscles which connect the ribs with each other are
called the intercostal muscles. The chest muscles are
on the outside of the ribs, and the intercostal muscles
are between the ribs, somewhat like the web feet of
a duck; that is, the space between the ribs is lined, and
this lining consists of muscles which separate and con
tract the ribs. Rheumatism of the chest is usually an
inflammation of these intercostal muscles.
 LESSON V 113

It was said that the two tubes which form the basis
of the body curve inward and become narrow at the
upper end. This narrowing process forms the throat.
The spine here bends strongly inward at the middle
line, and just opposite to this bend of the spine is the
hyoid bone, with the body or thick part in front, just
under the skin of the neck, and the long horns stretch
ing towards the spine. Between the hyoid bone and
the spine is the air tube, and behind it the food pipe.
The air tube arises out of the lungs. It is called the
trachea or windpipe, and its purpose is to supply the
lungs with air and to set the vocal chords in vibration
for the purpose of producing sound.

Fig. 41
The tube behind this one is the oesophagus or food
pipe. It extends into the stomach. So food passes
114 LESSON V

from the mouth into the food pipe and from there into
the stomach.
When you are advised to take candy or anything
else for sore throat, for hoarseness, etc., you may know
now that such things do not pass through the air tube,
but through the food pipe, and consequently cannot
help your hoarseness. At the upper end of the air
tube and below the hyoid bone is the main part of the
vocal organ, or larynx. See Fig. 41. For the present,
it will be sufficient to say the larynx consists of the
two principal cartilages: the lower one is called the
"ring" or cricoid cartilage; the upper one, the "Adam's
apple" or thyroid cartilage. See Nos. 4 and 5. The
latter consists of two plates which are joined in front
and which form the part so prominent in some men.
From the sides of the larynx arise muscles which form
the sack-like opening of the throat into the mouth.
This region is called the pharynx. See Fig. 42.

Fig. 42—The Pharynx.

 LESSON V 115

Back of the pharynx is the oesophagus or food pipe.

Food enters into the mouth, is ground between the
teeth, then enters the pharynx which contracts power
fully over it and forces the food into the food pipe,
which contracts and forces the food into the stomach.
During this action, the air tube is tightly closed by
means of a special cover called the epiglottis. The
air tube and food pipe have, in common, the upper
space of the pharynx, the mouth and the nose. See
Fig. 43.

Fig. 43

The head and throat are connected with the upper

part of the chest by means of very strong muscles, as
shown in Fig. 38. Underneath these muscles are the
muscles of the larnyx and hyoid bone. They arise out
of the breastbone, except one, which starts from the
collar bone. Remember, there are always two muscles,
116 LESSON V

one on each side. Of course, only one can be shown

in the same illustration.
However, in Fig. 38, both sides are given. Now
look at the muscle marked "sth." This is the sterno
hyoid muscle because it arises from the breastbone
(sternum) and ends in the hyoid bone. Notice that this
pair of muscles leaves a free space between which you
can see the larynx (L). The hyoid bone is marked
"H."
The muscle marked "oh" is called the omo-hyoid;
it arises out of the collar bone, bends sharply forward,
and is fastened to the hyoid bone above. A large part
of this muscle is hidden by the one overlapping it.
This part of the omo-hyoid lies against the lower part
of the larynx, which is a very important point to
observe because, as this muscle reaches considerably
backward to the collar bone, it will pull the lower
part of the larynx strongly against the spine and hold
it there very firmly. This gives all the other muscles
a fulcrum and greater leverage; greater resonance also
is obtainable owing to this fact.
Again, under -the first named muscle, there is
another marked "stth" (Fig. 38), only a part of which
can be seen. This is the sterno-thyroid muscle, and
extends from the breastbone to the thyroid cartilage,
or Adam's apple. All these muscles lie in front of the
larynx and hyoid bone. When they contract they
naturally pull the upper parts downward. As muscles
contract they become smaller. They shrink, but, as
these muscles are fastened below to firm bones, and
above to freely movable Bones, they naturally pull the
movable bones downward. Because these muscles pull
downward, they are classed as muscles "under" the
 LESSON V 117

hyoid bone, while those muscles which pull upward are

classed as "over" the hyoid bone.
I am trying hard to confine myself only to those
muscles which directly operate the larynx and produce
sound, but there are many other muscles which, to
some degree, affect the voice, notably the jaw muscles,
and these are the strongest of all muscles. Their influ
ence, however, is almost entirely destructive to good
voice. We must know something of these muscles
also. Therefore, in a later lesson, when we learn of
false vocal efforts, I shall return to these muscles.
You see in the illustrations many muscles of which
I make no mention. Most of them have nothing what-'
ever to do with voice, therefore I ignore them now.
They are merely muscles which hold and move the
head. There are schools which massage these muscles ,
and tell you to move the head in many directions to
strengthen them. You can see for yourself now what
a silly idea that is. That sort of a thing can never do
any good, but it can harm the voice, because the stu
dent's attention is directed in a wrong direction, and
away from the natural process of voice development.
Merely to know the right from the wrong way has
helped many of my students, even before they did any
serious practice. You can already understand that
teachers who tell you to pull the larynx down are very
greatly in the wrong, because pulling the larynx down
does not stretch the vocal chords, and makes high
and strong tones impossible. The same must be said
when you are told to raise the larynx or, what amounts
to the same, the palate, hence, merely raising the
larynx does not stretch the vocal chords either, and
makes strong tones impossible.
In ordinary conversation, where the words are
spoken lightly or at least with no special power, the
118 LESSON V

vocal chords do not need to be stretched or tensed to

a strong degree. But for public speaking and still
more for singing, when the tone is many times more
powerful, they must be very strongly stretched, not
only for the high tones, but for the middle and low
tones as well, in order to give the vocal chords the great
size required for heavier power. This dependence of
the power and also quality, as well as pitch, upon the
tension or stretching of the vocal chords will soon be
explained. For the present you must take it for
granted.
If the larynx is allowed to rise, the up-pulling mus
cles are, of course, much shortened, and all the down-
pulling ones much lengthened. If the larynx sinks, all
down-pulling muscles are shortened and the up-pulling
ones lengthened. Either of these positions implies a
weakening of either the up-pulling or down-pulling
muscles, for it is a well-established law that a muscle
loses strength when shortened or lengthened beyond
its natural extent.
It is true that a muscle, when contracted, shortens
a little, but this is more of a tensing effort where the
muscle merely takes up its slack and becomes firm and
tense. On the other hand, a muscle should never be
lengthened beyond its natural size. Just as a string,
when it is being pulled beyond its length, may break,
so a muscle may be strained and lose its power and
efficiency. These points should be remembered by the
student, for they are valuable, not only for the training
of the vocal organ proper, but also for breathing, when
we come to that part of the instructions.
Having learned the position and office of the vocal
muscles under the hyoid bone or, in other words, know
ing all the muscles which pull the larynx downward.
 LESSON .V 119

we must now learn about the muscles which pull the

larynx upward, so that the vocal chords inside of the
larynx can be stretched. Keep in mind, also, that an
upward pull is necessary, if the down-pulling muscles
are to have a hold or brace against which they can use
their full power.
The muscles above the hyoid bone extend from the
hyoid bone to the chin, the tongue, the palate and the
skull, as is shown in Fig. 44. (See No. V, Hyoid Bone.)

Fig. 44
In No. I are shown the biventer mandibulae
muscles. Some physiologists call them the digastric
muscles. They consist really of two muscles, joined
together near the hyoid bone by a tendon. They
start in the skull or cranium and extend downward
and forward to fasten upon the inner side of the chin.
They connect with the hyoid bone by a broad band
120 LESSON V

or tendon. This is one of the most mischievous of

the interfering muscles, because it can cause trouble
in so many ways. It can pull the hyoid bone strongly
upward, or it can pull the bone and the entire larynx
strongly forward. This muscle causes the choked, loud
sound sometimes noticed by singers.
The mylo-hyoid muscle is shown by No. II. If
you touch the lower jaw inside and under the tongue
as far as the teeth extend, you will follow the muscle's
line of attachment to the lower jaw. The fibre of this
muscle, which starts near the back teeth, reaches
downward to the front part of the hyoid bone, and can
do considerable harm by drawing the bone either
upward or forward. This muscle really forms the floor
of the mouth. It is sometimes called the diaphragm
of the mouth.
The stylo-hyoid muscle is shown by No. III. This
is a slender muscle, fastened above to the penlike
projection of the ear bone (stylo-pen) and below to the
hyoid bone, where it can assist the first named biventer
muscle in its interfering work.
The genio-hyoid muscle is shown by No. IV. This
muscle is attached to the inner side of the chin, just
above the mylo muscle and below the tongue. It
reaches backward and is fastened to the hyoid bone.
Therefore, it also can draw this bone forward, with
tone destroying effect.
All of these four pairs of muscles are really detri
mental to the voice. You may ask, why are they
there, and why do I dwell upon them? Very legiti
mate questions. In the first place, these muscles really
belong to the masticating chain of muscles. Nature
never intended them for vocal muscles at all. You
must remember, however, that the larynx is primarily
 LESSON V 121

the organ whereby air is taken into the body. The

voice is a secondary activity. All these muscles are
closely connected with and assist the tongue in swallow
ing, and the jaw in masticating food. In these efforts
the four . muscles mentioned play a necessary part.
But many singers and speakers, unfortunately, use the
masticatory muscles in singing and speaking. Then
these muscles are compelled to do something for which
nature never designed them. The result, of course, is
serious damage to the voice.
You can easily see now how important it becomes
that you should know the right vocal muscles from the
wrong ones. Knowing this, you can work intelligently,
like a human being, and not like a stupid animal, which
does a thing merely because it must.
One often hears that vocalists need not know the
anatomy of their vocal organ. This is the excuse of the
charlatan and fakir, because he does not know what he
is talking about. It is much better to know at least
the main factors in your organs of voice. You can then
appreciate and master your subject much better and
easier.
Since we now know and understand what muscles
are legitimate or voice producing, and what muscles
are illegitimate or voice destroying, and why, our study
becomes absolutely scientifically exact, and just as
true and to the point as a mathematical problem.
In a general way, we may say that all muscles
which belong to the jaw are destructive to the highest
vocal qualities. But all muscles which belong to the
tongue proper and to the palate are constructive.
The tongue and palate muscles will be considered in
the next lesson.
122 LESSON V

EXERCISES FOR LESSON V

Avoid All Strain
In these instructions strength is frequently men
tioned, but it must not be understood from this that
there is to be any great physical effort used in per
forming the exercises. On the contrary, all apparent
effort must be avoided. This may astonish you, for
when you lift a weight, for example, you experience an
appreciable effort. But that is because the muscles of
the arm are firmly attached at each end to a bone;
they contract strongly to move the bones either toward
or away from each other, and therefore you feel the
tension in the arm and shoulder. With the muscles
of the larynx the case is quite different. These muscles
are attached to a solid bone at one end only. The
other end grows into one of the three parts of the
larynx, and as these parts move freely, they rise and
fall with the contraction of the muscles and therefore
furnish no resistance against which the muscles can be
felt to contract and stretch. The majority of singers
and speakers use too much effort in speaking and sing
ing, and thereby unconsciously use and strain the mas
ticatory and throat muscles. As a result, the tones,
though strong, are hard and sharp and lack attractive
ness and convincing beauty. If the use of the wrong
muscle is continued, the voice grows ever harder and
worse, and finally it is lost.
Too many singers resort to the use of these false
muscles to get increased power. They pay a terrible
price for the temporary assistance, for every time they
use these muscles they interfere with a part of their
real vocal organism. Then comes a day when the
voice fails entirely and does not recover, except through
a special course of correct training. Even among
 LESSON V 123

speakers there are many who depend upon the help

of the masticatory muscles, thereby producing a short,
clipped tone. The use of these muscles is also to blame
for the throaty or pinched tone. Such conditions need
not exist, for if the hyoid muscle is trained and
strengthened there will be no temptation to use the
masticatory muscles. When the natural muscular
balance is established, one instinctively chooses the
easier and better way of phonation, and then throaty
speaking disappears.

The Tongue Muscles

The groove-forming exercise, as given in previous
lessons, must still be continued, and should be made
each time with greater ease until the will alone suffices
to form the groove. The groove must appear as though
the upper surface of the middle of the tongue fell by
its own weight, much as the eyelids droop when one is
sleepy. The pair of muscles attached to the center of
the tongue, which form the groove, are the all-impor
tant muscles. They control the tension of the voCal
chords. Therefore, every effort must be directed
toward training and strengthening these muscles.
The more they are strengthened, the more the vocal
chords contract, and the greater the contraction, the
larger and more agreeable the voice becomes, and the
easier and clearer is the enunciation.

Raising the Tongue

By means of the electric torch and hand mirror,
first observe the position of your tongue when it is
quiet. Then loudly pronounce "a" (as in hay) three
times, then "ee" (as in need) three times. In speaking
the "a," the tongue will rise considerably, and in speak
ing the "ee" it will rise still higher. In speaking these
124 LpSSON V

vowels, the tongue is raised by the stylo-glossi muscles

assisted by the palate muscles. The strength these
muscles possess and exert of their own accord can be
seen in the following experiment:
Lay your forefinger on top of either edge or upper
side of the tongue far back and press down. At the
same time first whisper "ee" and then speak it. You
will notice that the tongue rises more at the soft
whisper than it did at the loud enunciation, also that
it rises in spite of the comparatively strong pressure of
the finger. You will see from this example how natu
rally strong these muscles are. Now lay the forefinger
on the center of the tongue and whisper "u" and then
speak it loudly. Do this several times consecutively
and note the amount of movement made by the
tongue. I want you to become familiar with this
movement.

Indications of Tongue Weakness

FIRST: If, while pronouncing "ah," as in father,
the tongue remains in a normal condition, that is, if
it is not raised at the back and therefore does form
a groove, you may rest assured that it is normally
and favorably constituted.
SECOND: If, during the spoken "ah" the tongue
groove is formed or if the tongue is firm, or if both
conditions occur together, your tongue already pos
sesses some natural strength, but not sufficient. The
strength of the hyoid muscles is being overbalanced by
the other muscles. The final exercise for strengthening
the hyoid muscle will, if persisted in, readjust, equalize
and harmonize the balance of power.
The final exercise for strengthening the all-impor
tant hyoid muscle will come in Lessons XX and XXI.
 LESSON V 125

You have to understand many things before that can

be taken up.
THIRD: If, while whispering or speaking the
"ah," the tongue feels very soft or lax, or if it is pulled
back from the front of the teeth into the throat, you
can be certain that your whole organ of speech is in
a weakened pathological state, and that good and
strong voice is, for the time being, impossible. My
exercises will permanently cure this condition, and in
this way give you the foundation for a Perfect Voice.
Tongues with this defect are usually small and shriv
elled and do not fill the floor of the mouth as a healthy
organ of speech does. My own tongue was originally
in this imperfect condition. My speech was hoarse
and dull and my throat almost always inflamed.
Therefore, I have personally proven that this method
will not only produce a strong, agreeable voice, but *
that common throat complaints are also cured by it,
never to return.
Breath
Undoubtedly the breath exercise given in a former
lesson has shown you that in speaking and even in loud
calling, no very great movement of the chest or abdo
men is necessary. In speaking or singing, every move
ment except for a slight compression is injurious; even
in inhaling, much movement is unnatural. Additional
proof that motion does not occur to any great extent
in the natural function of speech or song is given in
the following very useful exercise:
Seat yourself comfortably, form your mouth to
whisper "ha," lay one hand on the stomach a little
below the waistline and the other hand on the middle
of the chest. Then try the compression as described
in Lesson II. You must be particularly careful that the
 126 LESSON V

tongue remains in its natural position, for otherwise

it closes the throat. Now simply think (make no
muscular effort) that you feel a sudden but very gentle
compression, and you will see that by this mental com
mand compression takes place, and the breath is sud
denly driven out. Automatically the chest sinks a
little, the abdomen contracts slightly, and the air is
powerfully forced out. The breathing muscles are so
constructed that the slightest movement when per
formed automatically, or at the dictation of the brain,
liberates great force. If you will practice this exer
cise, it will assist you to gain mental control over your
breathing.
Breath Resistance
Very lightly press your tongue against the upper
m palate, that is, raise the tongue and rest it against the
roof of the mouth. With the tongue in this position,
say loud "ee" as in "feel." Say this "ee" several
times, notice the flow of breath from your chest, also
notice that the throat is free and that the sound seems
to spread over the roof of the mouth.
Once more say the "ee," but after two or three
seconds stop the voice, but continue the flow of breath
and notice that now you are making the sound of
"sh" or it may seem to you like "hzz." Of course the
tongue must remain against the roof of the mouth, as
it was for "ee." After this combine the "ee" and "sh"
making it into "eesh."
Whisper three times "eesh," then say it loud, notice
the flow of breath and freedom of the throat. Now
speak the "ee" loudly and without stopping let the
silent "sh" follow.
When you speak or whisper. the "sh" without mus
cular effort, you will feel a vibration on the upper
 LESSON V 127

palate as though the stream of air were flowing past

both edges of the tongue or penetrating between the
palate and the tongue. If, instead, the resistance is
felt in the throat, then the exercise is not being cor
rectly performed, and you must try and try again until
it is possible to produce the "sh" quite softly in the
palate. After you can do this correctly, then men
tally cause the compression as previously instructed,
and at the same time whisper the "sh" and observe
now that at first there is no movement in the chest
and abdomen in spite of the fact that you can clearly
feel the breath on the roof of the mouth and the
tongue. Gradually, however, the chest and abdomen
will fall back into their natural relaxed position as the
breath becomes used up. A little practice will soon
convince you that in this simple way a strong pressure
is produced, and that, although the breath is exhaled
very slowly, the throat remains equally unconstrained,
even when speaking and singing for an extended time.
It is only then that the spirit can develop freely, and
speaking and singing become an artistic pleasure.
Learn from this that whatever speaking or singing you
must now do, to keep the throat free—talk and sing
from the tongue, fix your mind on the tongue.
Speaking with Breath Resistance
Every means and device must be employed to get
the voice away from the throat; for while sound actu
ally begins at the vocal chords, which are down in the
throat, yet the voice must never come from the throat ;
it must sound and feel as if the voice both in singing
and speaking were made above the throat; never in
the throat and never below the throat. Why this rule
must be laid down will be explained and made clear
to you in the chapters on vocal physiology.
128 LESSON V

It is still a little early in the course to do much

speaking, but as all things require a certain amount of
time before they are learned, and still more time is
needed to form correct habits, I have decided to give you
a little practical work now. I am trusting that you have
mastered, to some degree at least, all the previous
exercises, and, if so, this lesson will give you some
positive proofs of what you have so far accomplished.
Very gently start to whisper "eeh." You are right
if it sourids very clear, and especially if you feel it in
the palate above the tongue. If there is not the
slightest strain in the throat and while you whisper
you do not feel the throat at all, then you have obtained
the highest and best results so far possible.
Now, just as you have whispered the "eeh," so
whisper and count distinctly and slowly, so that every
syllable is clear—"One," "Two," "Three," making a
slight pause between each count. Place your hand
beside the stomach, where the ribs separate, and whis
per the three counts again. If your whisper is right,
that is, if it feels above the tongue and free from the
throat, you will notice only a very gradual gentle
sinking of the ribs.
Now place your hand higher up on the chest, a
little higher than the pocket where men keep their
pencils, the upper vest pocket. Count again as before,
and notice that for a while there is no sinking what
ever of this upper part of the chest. The chest will
sink only when the breath is gradually being used up.
Of course the chest sinks much sooner in the lower parts,
because the breath going upward will still hold up the
upper chest. While whispering, and later on while
speaking out loud, do not worry about the breath, or
the movement of the chest. Merely make sure that
 LESSON V 131

Select some other poem or anything in the daily

papers, and proceed to read it first by whispering as
taught in this lesson, then recite it aloud. Baseball
news or market reports will do as well as anything for
present practice.
Those of my students who are taking this course
for singing purposes, must not get disappointed because
I have given them no singing so far. Their study up
to a certain point is exactly the same as that of the
speakers. All of this lesson should be practiced most
carefully by those of you who are singers, for not only
does your progress depend in a larger measure on dis
tinct articulation, but the head tones, as you will see
later on, depend upon your success in the whispering
as taught here. Be most careful and persistent with
this very important lesson.
To be able to speak with a clear ringing voice and
distinct enunciation is a first requisite for the singer;
you must study the speaking voice as a preliminary to
the study of songs.
The following lines may seem very sarcastic, but
they contain in an amusing way what a great many
people experience when they listen to orators:

A Hunk of Truth
Sir: I have few aversions, but if there is one thing
more than another that ruffles the even baritone of
my way, it is the public speaker who has every requisite
for his calling or avocation save an effective voice.
As I have heard all the spellbinders from Ros. Conkling
of the Hyperion forelock to Colossal Bill of the bleed
ing ventricles, my opinion perhaps is entitled to some
consideration. It is safe to say that neither Leopold
Godowsky nor Harold Bauer would try to play Sousa's
17th symphony on a piano from the keyboard of which
132 LESSON V

every third ivory had been removed. And yet, and

yet, citizens of impressive architecture, Falstaffian of
torso and bulbous of bean, will rise in great public
meetings and talk until they are purple above their
chin spinach, while martyrs in outlying trenches are
asking one another what the pantomime is about. I'd
rather hear Dwight Elmendorf, or Senator Johnson, or
Raymond Robins, or Bishop Anderson read a choice
selection from the Revised Seed Catalogue than try to
follow a famous welkin-ripper whose mouthings always
remind me of a parrot with a bad case of croup. If I
were urged to electrify a multitude of townspeople in
a hall nine sizes too large for my vocal equipment, I
would plead indisposition and intrust the transmis
sion of my imperishable imaginings to a good journey
man auctioneer. . C. W. A.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON LESSON V

1. What is the basic structure of man?
2. What muscles are voluntary muscles?
3. What is the object of the diaphragm?
4. What is the air tube?
5. What is the oesophagus?
6. Should the larynx move while speaking or
singing?
7. Which muscles are constructive?
8. Which muscles are destructive?
9. Why do people lose their voices?
10. Can you whisper and keep the throat free?
 LESSON VI
PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOCAL ORGAN
(Continued)
I am not prepared to claim that chewing gum,
which has, I am sorry to say, become so popular in

Fig. 45
Madame Schumann-Heink, Noted Singer.

133
134 LESSON VI

America, is directly injurious to the voice. Certainly

the wildest imagination cannot claim that it is in any
way helpful to the voice. If not directly injurious to
the voice, chewing gum interferes with clear and clean
articulation, and, as will presently be shown, because
the chewing muscles are overstrained and emphasized
too strongly, the direct vocal muscles, which are
smaller and finer in texture, are neglected.
Whether you crack a nut with your teeth, or
indulge in the tender habit of osculation, in both cases
you contract very powerful muscles, and these same
muscles can assist and help you in your correct vocal
effort, if rightly understood. But if you do not under
stand them, and the millions of poor speakers and
thousands of inferior singers are proof that few people
do understand them, then these muscles will turn
against you and destroy what natural beauty of voice
you already possess. Don't you think the subject
serious enough to give it some attention?
The muscles of the head and face are well illus
trated in Fig. 46. The muscles extending from back
of the ear downward are very powerful neck muscles,
which, hold and move the head. Of course they have
nothing to do directly with the voice, but indirectly,
like many other muscles, can assist the voice when
they are allowed to perform their natural office. On
the other hand, when they are misused, they will very
greatly interfere with the voice. Just for a little
experiment, try the following:
Drop the head, in complete exhaustion, or relaxa
tion, so that it lies loosely upon the chest; then speak
or sing. You will find it extremely difficult to make
any good sounds whateverl Then drop your head
backward, and you will find the same disastrous
 LESSON VI 135

results when you sing or speak. Drop your head

sidewise right and left, and again the voice will sound
bad. Why is that?
The explanation is simply this: Every muscle
serves a certain purpose of its own. It connects with
the other muscles or parts of the body, and in this
manner it becomes a link in a chain. When this link
is disturbed or dislodged from its natural position, it
disturbs the entire chain of muscles or parts of the body
of which it is a link.
When the head is allowed to drop below its natural
level, or when, as in throwing the head too far back
ward or sidewise, the muscles are out of their natural
position, then the muscles which hold and control the
larynx lose their natural position and support. Con
sequently, the voice is also made to suffer.
The same thing happens, in a measure, if you
change the natural position of the lips, as you can
easily demonstrate by first drawing the corners of the
mouth too far back and then trying to sing or speak.
Or try to draw your upper lip upward, exposing the
teeth, or let the lower lip drop downward. The sound
will become flat and disagreeable. When these facial
muscles are disturbed, the palatal muscles inside the
mouth are dislodged from their natural positions, and
in consequence all vocal muscles are interfered with.
Did you ever have a "crick" in the back? If you
did, you know how painful it was to walk or turn your
head. Yet only one of the many muscles of the back
and neck was affected. But this one is a link in the
chain of muscles of the back and neck, and because
this one link, maybe the smallest of all the muscles,
was out of order, all the other muscles were interfered
with.
136 LESSON VI

Do you begin to see the importance of this anatomi

cal study, especially as it relates to your voice? You
can now see why some so-called systems of voice cul
ture, which massage the head and neck muscles by
turning and by moving the head, are absolutely useless,
if not directly injurious, to the voice.

Fig. 46

The muscles of the head are divided into muscles

of the cranium or bony parts of the head and muscles
of the face. In Fig. 46 "ma" shows a very powerful
muscle from the skull to the jaw. It is one of the
principal chewing muscles, hence it is called masseter.
 LESSON VI 137

It is assisted by several other muscles which need not

be mentioned here.
Muscles of the mouth are shown in the same figure.
The basis of the muscles of the mouth is the sphincter
oris (o), which forms the circle or band around the
lips. Out of this broad, strong muscle radiate the
many others which go upward to the bones of the
face and downward to the chin, like the spokes of a
wheel, of which the sphincter oris forms the center.
On the right and left sides of the mouth are the
buccinator muscles (b). This pair of muscles extends
far inside of the mouth beyond the back teeth, consti
tuting the principal part of the cheeks. The cheek
muscles are directly connected with the muscles of the
pharynx, and by that means can assist in vocal pro
duction, or, if not used in the natural way, can destroy
vocal sound. In a rough way, we may compare the
muscles of the mouth to a wheel. The bones of the
face are the rim of the wheel; the muscles radiating
downward from above and upward from the chin
would be the spokes, and the buccinator muscles are
the hub. Here again you have a complete chain or
rather circle of links which fit into each other. What
would happen if one of those spokes or muscles were
severed?
You can readily see that the entire face would be
to some extent disfigured. Witness hare lips. Also
sound and articulation would suffer, and the reson
ance of the voice would be in a measure destroyed.
If, for instance, the mouth is opened too far, or if the
upper lip is raised too much, or the lower lip is unduly
depressed, then these important muscles are out of
their natural line and unable to work. No muscle
can operate to any advantage if its natural position
138 LESSON VI

is to any perceptible degree disturbed. A muscle

merely contracts, becomes a little shorter, and pulls
upon its places of attachment, then it is relaxed and
so on. But when a muscle is disturbed from its natural
position, it cannot contract, hence it becomes useless.
These are all very important matters which you
should know, for then you will understand the under
lying principles of my method and you will also see
the simplicity of it all. Knowing is believing, and
when you once believe with all your heart, I am sure
you will be willing to work and to go on to the finish,
which I can assure you will be very gratifying to both
of us.

The Palate
The palate (Fig. 47) is the roof of the mouth and
at the same time the floor of the nose. The front part
is hard and bony; therefore it is called the hard palate.
Out of it grow the upper teeth. The rear part, or soft
palate, is a continuation of the hard palate, but it is
soft, being merely a broad sheet of muscles. The hard
palate of course is immovable. The soft palate can
be moved up or down, and it can also be elongated or
contracted. In this manner it can influence the voice
in many ways. It is directly connected with the
muscles of the pharynx and with the Adam's apple, or
thyroid cartilage, which is an important part of the
larynx. The soft palate ends in the middle line with
a tail, called the "Uvula" (U). The free sides of the
soft palate descend into the rear part of the mouth
and form the arches. The front or first arch reaches
into the tongue, and the second arch, which is behind
the former, reaches into the throat or pharynx.
Between these two arches, on the sides of the rear part
of the tongue, are located the tonsils (T). The two
 LESSON VI 139

arches are often called the pillars of the fauces. The

mouth really ends with the first one of the arches, or
fauces, and the throat begins with the second arch.

Fig. 47

"Apg" shows the direction of the muscles which

extend from the first arch into the tongue. They are
the palato-glossus muscles. In swallowing, they close
completely upon each other, and together with the
back part of the tongue prevent food from getting
back into the mouth. The food passes from there
to the second arch "Apph," the palato-pharyngeus
muscles, which reach far down into the throat and are
there fastened to the rear horns of the thyroid cartilage,
or Adam's apple. These arches also close upon the
food and force it into the sack-like food pipe (see
Fig. 42), which again forces the contents into the
stomach (see Fig. 43).
But these arches and muscles grow out of the easily
yielding soft palate. Therefore the soft palate must
be supported by other muscles. If this were not so,
the arches could find no hold against which they could
contract with their full energy. This support is given
to the soft palate by muscles which grow out of the
skull and fasten into the soft palate.
140 LESSON VI

The mass of muscular flesh which constitutes the

soft palate extends backward f^rom its firm attachment
to the hard palate, and may be felt by the finger to
turn downward into the throat. On both sides of it
the four pairs of muscles which really constitute its
whole substance start out. Two pairs stretch down
ward and two pairs upward. The two downward ones
have been mentioned already. The two upward
inclined pairs are the ones which enable the soft
palate to resist the down-pulling muscles already men
tioned. If this support fails, the whole chain of
muscles from palate to breastbone will be enfeebled.
Inside the skull, and just above the ears, a pen
like projection of hard, solid bone reaches downward.
From this bone the two muscles extend downward and
forward to the sides of the soft palate, there they
spread out somewhat like a fan, to the middle of the
palate. Other fibres pass and fasten upon the rear
edge of the hard palate. These muscles intersect with
those muscles—the palato-pharyngei—that run down
ward to the throat.
You can easily appreciate the intimate connection
between the muscles which pull the palate down and
those which pull it upward, and also their intimate
connection with the larynx.
The front arch, of which the palato-glossi muscles
are a large part, reaches, as already said, from the soft
palate to the tongue. Now if the palate were not sup
ported from above, these tongue-to-palate muscles
would pull the soft palate down. Therefore, they
would be unable to raise the tongue, or to hold the
tongue firmly against muscles soqn to be described,
which reach from the tongue to the larynx. The soft
palate must be held up or supported by the muscles
 LESSON VI 141

uniting it with the skull. These muscles are the

"levatores palati" (1) in Fig. 48. They are assisted
by another pair of muscles, which are fastened to
the eustachian tube (ear tube) and neighboring parts
of the ears. They also descend from the skull
until they reach a hook-like projection (the hamular
process) which grows out of the extreme rear end
of the upper jaw, behind and a little above the last
back teeth. These muscles, the tensores-palati (2) in
Fig. 48, turn and twist around this hook or ham
mer, getting thereby a very firm support. They then
pass horizontally inward and fasten into the soft
palate. These muscles, as their name indicates, are
tensing muscles. They assist the other muscles in
142 LESSON VI

making the palate firm and in resisting the downward

pulling muscles, namely those which reach from the
soft palate to the tongue and to the thyroid cartilage,
or the Adam's apple.
The muscles which support the soft palate have to
perform two distinct services:
1. To afford a firm support for the muscles which
directly or indirectly stretch the vocal chords.
2. To close the passage from the rear part of the
mouth to the nasal passages, thereby preventing nasal
tones.
The raising of the soft palate, erroneously taught
by many instructors, is an extreme mistake, and has
disastrous results upon both the quality and the vol
ume of the tone. When the palate is raised beyond
its natural position, then those muscles also which
reach from the palate to the tongue and down to the
larynx lose their natural position. It is a long-estab
lished fact and proven beyond any measure of doubt,
that when a muscle moves from its natural position it
has lost its capacity to contract and to fulfill its natural
appointed task. You can easily prove that yourself.
Step forward with your right foot; now take another
step with the same foot; you can't take this second
step without first drawing your left foot to the level
of the right foot, thereby restoring the natural posi
tion of the right foot before you take the second step.
In a like manner, when the palate is raised all the
muscles connected in any way with the soft palate are
moved with it, just as the leg was moved along with
your foot. Having once been moved, they cannot in
this position move or contract again in the manner
necessary for the highest type of speaking and singing.
It is true that many persons sing with a raised
palate, but none of them are first or even second class
 LESSON VI 143

singers. All those who sing in this way will find breaks
in their voices. Their tones become thin and weak.
They lack volume. Such singers cannot reach out and
move an audience because their voices are devoid of
grandeur and of pathos. A great deal more will be

Fig. 49
Antonio Scotti, Well-Known Grand Opera Star.
 144 LESSON VI

said in explanation of this subject later on, when you

know more of the complete workings of the entire vocal
organ.
The two pairs of muscles just described unite their
energy to close the nasal passages against the entrance
of air from the throat through the rear part of the
mouth.
If you will push your thumb, fleshy part upward,
into the extreme rear corner of the mouth and then
blow breath through the nose, you will feel the soft
palate pulled down to let the breath pass between it
and the spine behind. Breathe repeatedly outward,
and imagine that the breath is seen to pass upward
from the throat and then to turn at right angles in
order to pass forward into and through the nose.
Right here I want to warn you not to think that
sounds move in the same way as breath. That is,
that sound can turn around a corner. It does not!
The two pairs of muscles which support the soft
palate from above, and at least the rear arch and its
muscles, which go down into the throat, can, and in
correct action do, pull the soft palate back against
the spine, thereby closing the nasal passage.
You have learned now of a perfect chain of muscles
surrounding and controlling the larynx; also another
chain of the mouth and face, and still another in the
muscles of the palate.
Now while each of these chains is complete within
itself, they are yet dependent upon one another. The
circle of chains is not yet finished; one other must be
added to it, and that circle is of the utmost im
portance, because it will lead us to the solution of the
entire vocal question.
 Fig. 50
Johanna Gadski, Grand Opera Star.
146 LESSON VI

The new circle of links is a chain which concerns

itself with the tongue, the climax of our lessons. In
that chain we shall see revealed the secret which many
good men of all ages, from Aristotle, the Greek philoso
pher, to our contemporaries, have striven to penetrate.
Many seekers have come very close to it, especially in
modern times, since exact scientific investigation has
been made possible.
Through the knowledge of this secret, you can, by
practice, develop a voice which is first of all your very
own, not an imitation of some other person; be his
or her voice ever so good, your voice can be better.
When you know and understand the true and exact
working of the vocal organ, you will no longer be
deceived by those who talk merely in glittering gener
alities, hiding their ignorance behind a flow of words.
You will stand on the unassailable foundation of fact,
and as Mark Twain has said, "He who has a fact has
a kingdom in his hands." He stands on solid ground,
sure, supreme, with the fact as a basis. He can work
and develop it to the uttermost. A fact is like the
ocean: it cannot be ignored.
 LESSON VI 147

EXERCISES ON LESSON VI
You should first briefly review the lessons on the
"Groove of the Tongue." There is always something
new to be said, which may help you to understand the
exercises more fully.

Natural Position of the Tongue

Using the mirror, turn your back to the light or,
at night, use the electric torch, open your mouth and
observe your tongue. In a naturally relaxed condi
tion the tongue has a smooth, somewhat convex form.
With many persons, however, the tongue is drawn
somewhat into the throat, and there is a general relax
ing of almost all the tongue muscles. This shows a
decided weakness. With other persons the tongue is
restless, and the back part particularly feels hard,
tight or tense when touched by the finger. This kind
of a tongue has considerable natural strength, and
could act well up to a certain point if it were not for
the fact that the tongue is too stiff to do its work.
If your tongue is relaxed and drawn down into the
throat, you can, by whispering the word "Ah" very
softly several times, bring it into a natural position.
It must, however, be such a very low "Ah" that it is
audible only to yourself. After you have learned the
natural position of the tongue, you should endeavor
to keep it in that position without having to whisper
"Ah." If your tongue is stiff or hard, you can bring
* it into a natural flexible condition by aspirating "Haw"
very lightly. In either case, after some practice, the
tongue will fill the entire space between the teeth and
the front tip will lie motionless and soft against the
lower teeth.
148 LESSON VI

The Tongue Groove

When you can hold the tongue in the above men
tioned natural position, you must next endeavor, by
the use of the mind or the will, to cause a channel or
groove to form through its center. Or, in other words,
cause the tongue to sink in the center and along its
entire length until it appears as though it were divided
into two parts. The depression should begin a little
back of the tip, about half an inch or more, and extend
toward the throat, where it should be deeper than in
front. Understand, in making this depression or
groove, you are to use no physical or muscular strength ;
it is to be done without exertion. If you experience
a little difficulty at first in doing this exercise, do. not
become discouraged, for many good singers and speak
ers at first found considerable difficulty in forming the
groove. Constantly review the first two lessons.
Remember this, the more difficult you find it, the
more your tongue is in need of this particular exercise.
Experience has taught me that, even in great singers,
the backmost fibres of the tongue muscles are gen
erally too weak. This causes those disturbances which
are so frequently observable in the high register. For
speakers this weakness is not as dangerous as for
singers, but even they cannot have too much strength
in the tongue or too much control over it.
If you cannot, by your will, form the groove in the
tongue, try the following plan : Touch, tickle or stroke
the surface of the tongue along the center from back
to front very lightly with one of the tongue depressors
which were sent you with the mirror and torch. Or
lay the index finger firmly on the tongue, shut the
mouth tightly and suck as if you were trying to swallow
the finger. Either one of these exercises will form the
 LESSON VI 149

Fig. 51
Mme. Lina Cavalieri, on Her Way to America.
150 LESSON VI

groove, and give you a mental picture of the depres

sion. Practice this "groove-forming exercise" first
with and then without physical assistance, until you
can, with the greatest ease and without physical exer
tion, form the groove well back into the throat. It
must seem as though the middle of the tongue caves
in or collapses of its own weight.
The following new exercises are of the utmost
value, for they introduce you to the great secret of
developing your voice unaided by anyone else.
You are now taught how to isolate the all-important
hyo-glossi muscles, those muscles which are the prin
cipal factors in the production of a superior voice. It
cannot be over-emphasized that these muscles are the
driving wheel or factor which regulates the entire vocal
organ, hence the great importance of this exercise.
The hyo-glossi muscles are present in every indi
vidual, but with very many persons they are weak and
must first be made strong before much voice can be
expected.
But in other persons, notably singers and speakers,
who naturally have now or have had in the past con
siderable voice, the control over these muscles is not
exact or it has been lost. This class of persons will
find that their natural voice will return soon after they
have gained the control over these muscles. Naturally
this class also must strengthen these muscles, other
wise they will not realize the full beauty and power of
their voices.
Those students whose hyo-glossi muscles are weak
must not expect very much improvement until after
long and persistent practice of the strengthening
exercises which will be given later on in the course.
 LESSON VI 151

Isolating the Hyo-Glossus Muscle

All previous methods of voice training failed to
produce a voice capable of fulfilling the demands of
art, because they provided no means for strengthening
the weak parts of the vocal organ. For public speak
ing and singing, all parts of the vocal instrument must
work in harmony and each must do its share. It is
evident that to speak or sing we must use the vocal
organ we possess, be its condition perfect or imperfect.
Also that the results we obtain can be no better than
the organ which produces them. If the organ is in
any way defective, the voice must also be defective.
Singing and speaking exercises have no real physiologi
cal value, and therefore can never make a good voice
where the organ itself is naturally imperfect. It is
only when the weak member of the vocal organ is
isolated and individually exercised, that it can be
strengthened and a correct adjustment of all the
forces made. My method lays emphasis on the import
ance of isolating the hyo-glossus muscle because on this
muscle depends not only the strength to be attained,
but also the quality of the voice. Therefore, your
principal efforts must be directed toward the strength
ening of this muscle. But before you are taught how
to strengthen this muscle, you must learn to control
it absolutely.

Elimination of the Palate

Form the groove in the tongue, and be sure that
it is formed through its entire length, not only in the
* front or in the middle, but all the way back to the
throat. At the same time examine your mouth by
means of the hand mirror and electric torch. Observe
carefully whether the palate rises or remains quiet
152 LESSON VI

when the groove is formed. Also observe the tonsils

and the muscles in front of and behind them. When
the groove is formed, the palate and all the soft muscles
of the jaw must remain quiet. They must not move.
This is an absolute rule. A few days' patient practice
will, in the majority of cases, be sufficient to assure
success, but, in any case, this exercise must be per
severed in until you can accomplish the desired
result without effort. The less effort you use in form
ing the groove, the quieter the muscles will remain.
It is advisable to always begin this exercise by touch
ing the top of the tongue with the tongue depressor, as
this produces a slight stimulation or ticklish feeling,
and you thus receive a more localized definite impres
sion. If this stimulation should cause nausea, it is
because the depressor has been placed too near the
palate muscle or to the tonsils. This can and should
be avoided. If the palate does not remain quiet, the
hyo-glossus muscle cannot be isolated and correctly
exercised; the activity of the "musculi styloglossi" and
the palate muscle would prevent this.
Remember that from now on when you practice
the groove you must not allow the palate above the
tongue to move upward. The little pendant hanging
down from the palate into the throat (the uvula) should
not move in the least when you make a groove nor
when you release the groove; that is, when the tongue
resumes its natural shape.
If your palate will not stay still, it is a sign that
you have not yet mastered the groove entirely. You •
use too much force or you are nervous and fidgety
while you make the groove. Learn to make this
groove so easily that the palate will not move.
 LESSON VI 153

You can be proud of yourself when you succeed

in this, for it is very difficult. Practice only a few
minutes at any one time, but several times each day.
Do not expect that the palate will stay still when
you sing or speak, but only when you practice silently
on the groove. When sound is made, the palate will
and must contract, but that will be explained later. It
is only when you practice the groove silently, either
now or at any time through the entire course, that the
palate and larynx must remain absolutely quiet;
remember this.

Elimination of the Throat Muscle

The elimination of the throat muscles is even more
important than the elimination of the palate muscles.
Public singers and speakers make much use of these
muscles, and usually to the permanent injury of their
voices. The speaker naturally desires a strong, far-
carrying voice, and if his tongue is not strong enough
to control the voice, he unconsciously looks for assist
ance, and falls into the fatal habit of using the throat
muscles. These he strains, thinking that he has in
them a sure support, and in truth the tone does
become stronger through their assistance, but it lacks
the ring of the true tone. The sound is forced and
heavy, while a true voice is always easy and flowing.
Through such an unnatural method of speaking and
singing the vocal chords are being strained; they rub
against each other and consequently become inflamed.
As a result of this misuse of the voice, all beauty dis
appears and the entire throat suffers. The correct
speaking and singing tone rings as free and clear as
a bell, and can be heard easily in all parts of a large
hall. In using the true tone, the person is spared all
154 LESSON VI

effort, the pleasure to those who hear him is increased,

and his art makes an impression much to be desired.
It is therefore of very great importance that you
should be able to eliminate the use of the throat
muscles. This, as in the elimination of the palate, can
be done at first only through the silent practice. When
you can form the groove in the tongue without moving
the larynx in the throat, you have succeeded in elimi
nating the throat muscles, hence the following practice.

Elimination of the Larynx

Place your forefinger in the hollow of your neck,
above the collar bone. Press slightly against the wind
pipe, and then move the finger upward until it meets
the first bony projection below the larynx. This is
the cricoid cartilage (in Fig. 30 of Lesson III). Now
place the nail side of the forefinger against this promi
nence and try to yawn silently. You will notice that
the cricoid cartilage and the larynx are forced down,
and often quite violently. Repeat this several times,
for it is necessary that you clearly understand how
easily the larynx is forced down. It is just this forcing
movement that is to be avoided in practicing the
tongue exercises. Your thought and attention must
become so engrossed in the tongue groove that no
movement is conveyed to the larynx. You must keep
your thoughts away from the throat, palate and larynx.
Of course, it is not possible to do this with entire
success at first, but the control can usually soon be
acquired. See also Fig. 52.
The lowest cartilage marked in Fig. 52 with the
finger under it is the cricoid cartilage. Find it in your
throat and rest a forefinger directly under it, with the
nail of the finger against the cartilage, so that you can
easily feel the movement if there is any.
 LESSON VI 155

Again lay the finger under the cricoid cartilage,

now form the tongue groove, and observe whether or
not the larynx sinks. You must practice the tongue
exercises several times every day until the larynx will
remain quiet while you drop the center of the tongue
down and then let it spring back into place again.
Most people gain this control in a short time, and
thereby make important progress. The elimination
of the palate, throat and larynx is of the utmost
importance. Eventually you will have to concen

Fig. 52
trate on the true point of vocal attack. This you
cannot do until you have eliminated all unnecessary
movement of the other muscles.
 156 LESSON VI

Soft Tip of the Tongue

The tip of the tongue has an independent task to
perform. For this, and for other reasons, it must
remain lax and soft while performing the various silent
exercises. With a handkerchief between the thumb
and forefinger, hold the tip of the tongue and then
form the tongue groove, being careful that the tongue
does not change its natural position and that the tip
remains soft even when the groove is formed. Prac
tice this until you can do it perfectly; that is, until the
upper surface of the tongue falls from front to back
and no movement of the palate or larynx is
noticeable. When you have accomplished this, you
will have entirely isolated the hyo-glossus muscle. This
muscle alone will then be active and all the others
eliminated. You must concentrate entirely upon the
tongue, and work patiently until the desired condition
is produced.
The importance of isolating the hyo-glossus muscles
from all other efforts cannot be overestimated. All
. other muscles of the throat, palate and tongue must
be eliminated entirely, so that only the one and all-
important hyo-glossus muscle is being moved and con
tracted. Frequently this is hard for some students to
accomplish, but you must be patient. Try only a few
times at any one practice. Don't worry if you can
not get it today or tomorrow. Concentrate on the
tongue. Say to yourself, "I will let the rear part of
the tongue collapse—fall down—without in the least
disturbing any other parts." If you can just drop the
tongue loosely and easily enough, you will have suc
ceeded at once. This exercise introduces the final vocal
attack, which must always be of the utmost ease; as
easy as winking your eyelid or flipping a finger.
 LESSON VI 157

When you succeed in isolating the hyo-glossus

muscles, you have learned much more than this. You
have then conquered yourself. You have learned to
concentrate your mind, as perhaps no other study in
existence would teach you to do. This is something
of great value to any human being, something to be
proud of.
Remember, the final thing aimed at in this lesson
is to learn to make the groove in the tongue, first with
out moving the palate, secondly without moving the
cricoid or lowest cartilage of the larynx.

Caution!
1. If, while practicing the groove, you notice that
the part immediately under the jaw, near the throat,
throbs or moves and swells slightly downward, you
are right, but do not try to make this motion;
it is entirely a consequence of the tongue groove.
2. If, while practicing the groove, you notice that
either or both the Adam's apple or hyoid bone move
slightly, but that the cricoid cartilage remains quiet,
you need not be disturbed, but do not try to move
either the Adam's apple or the hyoid bone.

Reading
In order to familiarize yourself gradually with the
exact vocal attack, it is advisable to do a little reading
now and then. First, however, make sure that you
have succeeded fairly well at least to eliminate both
the palate and the larynx while you silently make the
groove.
Now when you count, speak or read aloud, think
that the voice comes from the tongue. The palate
will become tense when you speak, therefore it will
contract somewhat; the uvula will rise a little, the soft
158 LESSON VI

palate will not rise, but it will stretch backward, thus

preventing nasal tone. You cannot help yourself, as
far as the palate is concerned, during speaking or sing
ing, but if you can concentrate into the tongue, without
moving the cricoid cartilage, your palate will act auto
matically correct.
You can both speak and sing without displacing
the larynx either downward or upward.
Place a finger as taught, under the cricoid bone,
speak loud, concentrate into the tongue, especially
expect the ring or resonance already observed in other
lessons. See to it that the cartilage above your finger
does not move upward and very little if any downward.
A little tremor or vibration does not matter, but if
there is any decided motion of this cartilage, then you
are still far from the exact vocal attack.
In this case it will be best for you to practice silently
for a few days and then try again.
No progress whatsoever can be expected until you
have succeeded in forming the groove silently without
motion of either palate or larynx. You must first
learn to "isolate the hyo-glossi muscles." This is
imperative!
After you can silently isolate the above mentioned
muscle, then count at first only up to ten, later to
twenty, thirty, and so on. Once in a while (not
always) touch the cricoid bone and see whether it
moves. If it still moves, go back to the silent practice ;
keep this up for months if necessary, meanwhile going
through the new lessons as they are sent to you.
When you have succeeded in counting loud, pro
ceed to reading or reciting. The following two verses
from "Alice in Wonderland" will serve as a sample:
 LESSON VI 159

"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too
weak
"For anything tougher than suet;
"Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the
beak;
"Pray, how did you manage to do it?"
"In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law,
"And argued each case with my wife;
"And the muscular strength which it gave to my jaw
"Has lasted the rest of my life."

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS TO LESSON VI

1. Why should the larynx and all its muscles
retain the natural position?
2. Is it right to change position of either the head
or mouth?
3. How many muscles pull upon the larynx
upward?
4. How many muscles pull upon the larynx
downward?
5. What happens when one link in a chain is
weaker than the other links?
6. Why should the tongue be soft when at rest?
7. Why is the hyo-glossus muscle so very impor
tant to the voice?
8. Why should the jaw remain loose?
9. Why is it necessary to eliminate the palate?
10. Why is it necessary to eliminate the larynx?
11. Have you succeeded to eliminate the palate
and larynx while making the groove?
12. How is your voice when you use the tongue?
\
 LESSON VII
PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOCAL ORGAN
(Continued)
THE TONGUE
In the year 1777, the Italian voice teacher, Giambat-
tista Mancini, singing master to the court of Vienna,

Fig. 53
Amelita Galli-Curci as Gilda in Rigoletto.
162 LESSON VII

wrote a book on the art of singing. Mancini is con

sidered the father of Italian singing. All singing
methods, more or less, claim to be based upon his
method. Now Mancini was without doubt a great
teacher and artist, a man of nobility of character and
for his time, broad minded and of high, artistic culture.
His book is before me as I write this. I shall quote
some passages from his work.
"What is commonly called 'throaty singing,' or a
voice which sounds raw and suffocated, is caused
because the singer does not draw or sustain the voice
by the natural strength of the chest, but thinks he will
obtain a good result by tightening the 'fauces.' He is
mistaken and must keep it as a truth, that this practice
not only is insufficient to correct the voice, but is
harmful, for the reason that the 'fauces' are a part of
the organs of voice. The voice cannot come out
natural and spontaneous, if it finds the 'fauces' in a
forced position, which impedes natural action. There
fore, the student must take the trouble to accustom
his chest to give the voice with naturalness, and to use
the 'fauces' lightly. If the harmony of these two parts,
the mouth and the 'fauces,' is perfect, then the voice
will be clear and harmonious. But if these organs act
discordantly, the voice will be defective, and conse
quently the singing spoiled."
At the time Mancini wrote this, physiology and
anatomy were practically unknown, yet his observation
and experience taught him that the "fauces," which are
the two arches described in the previous lesson, are a
part of the vocal organ and a very important part at
that. But see at what a misleading conclusion he
arrived. He says: "The student must accustom his
chest to give the voice with naturalness and to use the
fauces lightly." He evidently thought that the chest
 LESSON VII 163

or rather, the breath, were the direct cause of tightening

the fauces. That the strength of the chest was the
source of all good voice. Practically all good singers in
the 17th and 18th century were Italian singers or
Italian taught, consequently the methods of teaching
were Italian methods.
Their teaching was, of course, based only upon
observation, suggestion and imitation. Mancini himself
condemns the imitative teaching. From the time of
Mancini, who was really the first teacher who wrote
extensively on voice teaching, the chief factor of teach
ing was breath control.
It was then assumed that in breathing was to be
found the evolution of voice. However, as you see,
even Mancini suspected other than breath influence.
He was instinctively correct in assuming that the
fauces are a part of the vocal organ, but he was led
astray by the predominating thought or belief in
breathing, when he implies that the fauces are tight
ened because the singer does not rely on the strength
of the chest. The physiological fact is that the fauces
are tightened because the all-important hyo-glossi
muscles are too weak, or not under the control of the
speaker or singer, and, therefore, the arches or fauces
are strained.
The strength of the chest has nothing to do with
the case; in fact the chest, even in consumptives, is
always stronger than it needs to be for singing or
speaking purposes. This superstition concerning
strength of the chest has done a very great deal of
harm. It has given the opportunity to the voice fakir,
who talks, glibly on breathing. As you will see later
on, when I shall demonstrate the "breathing organ,"
the chest is always strong enough for any singer or
speaker.
164 LESSON VII

The great trouble is that the student uses too much

strength, especially when the hyo-glossi are weak; he
thinks that by using more breath, the tone will be
stronger and clearer. The very opposite is the case.
Very little breath pressure is needed when all the parts
of the vocal organ act equally together. If they do
not operate harmoniously, then breath pressure will
interfere and make the trouble greater than ever,
because then all these parts will tighten greatly to
resist the stronger breath pressure.
The tongue is the medium given by Nature to set
in motion the entire vocal apparatus, just as the main
spring sets in motion the wheels of the watch. If the
mainspring is too weak, the watch cannot operate as
it should. . If the mainspring is broken, the watch
becomes useless. The tongue is the central organ of
the voice. It lies between the roof of the mouth and
the foundation, which is the breast bone. The tongue
is flexible, and its under part in the rear, "the hyo-
glossi" muscles, is entirely free. It is not connected
with any firm bone or attachment, hence it can be
controlled by the will.
The tongue consists principally of muscles. It
grows out of the floor of the mouth and in a natural
position it fills the space between the teeth, reaching
far back into the throat. When the mouth is open
the tongue can be protruded and it can also assume
various positions for the purpose of eating, drinking,
chewing, speaking and singing. The tongue is the
main organ of speech, but also an organ of digestion and
taste. The section of the tongue which you see when
opening the mouth and looking into a mirror, is only
a part of the tongue. A larger portion of the tongue
is not visible, because it grows down into the throat
and connects there with the larynx and the epiglottis.
 LESSON VII 165

The tongue consists principally of muscles which

connect it with the head, above and below, and the
chin in front. The tongue should be thought of as
two parts, one on the right side of the mouth, and one
on the left side. Through the middle of the tongue
runs a muscle, which is fastened in front just below
the teeth and which we call the string or "frenum."
On both sides of this middle line run the muscles from
the chin upward into the tongue; from the skull above
downward; from the soft palate downward, and from
the hyoid bone in the throat upward, to the tongue.
All these muscles, except the hyo-glossi muscle, rise out
of firm, strong bones, which afford a basis or strong
hold for the front end of their attachment; the other
end of each muscle reaches into the flexible tongue.
But the hyo-glossus muscle grows out of the tongue
downward and is fastened to the loose, freely movable
hyoid bone in the throat.

Fig. 54
Total View of Head and Tongue.
166 LESSON VII

' Fig. 54 gives you a full view of the tongue and

its relation to the larynx, palate and head. The
separate muscles of the tongue, larynx and palate are
not shown in this otherwise very exact illustration.
This is the illustration which is used almost universally
by teachers of voice, by authors of books on voice, by
physicians writing upon the subject of voice and those
writing on the diseases of the throat. It is also the
main standby of so-called "schools of stammering."
If you had the time and the opportunity and the
necessary preliminary training to go to the big libraries
of the world, such as Chicago, New York, London,
Paris, Rome, Berlin, etc., you would find this illustra
tion the chief basis of all treatises upon voice and
diseases of the vocal organ. Yet, as I have already
said, the attachments of the tongue to the palate, to
the larynx and to the head are not shown, nor can the
operation of the palate be understood by means of this
"world-famous" illustration.
Go to a medical school or to a supply house for
medical and anatomical instruments and casts; you
will see casts made from this identical illustration. It
has been the greatest surprise of my life to find that
so many good writers, men who can and do think
accurately and exactly in some one line, apparently go
far astray when they touch the subject of voice. I can
explain this only when I realize that the physican and
anatomist is not a musician; he does not, or apparently
cannot, think of the vocal organ as a musical instru
ment. He thinks of the throat in the first place, and
principally, as a part of the digestive organ, and
secondarily, incidentally as it were, also as an organ of
speech. But the physicians have accepted the old
tradition handed down from former centuries, when
anatomy was not known, that in order to speak or
 LESSON VII 167

sing, it was necessary merely to breathe correctly,

when the vocal chords would furnish the sound, and
this sound would be reinforced in some unexplained,
magical way, by the cavities of the pharynx and nose.
These same men have correctly estimated just how
much contractile power the muscles must possess to
raise and move the body. They know almost to an
ounce how much muscular power is needed for walking,
running, for lifting weights, etc. They know the
process of blood supply, the nervous system, a few
know the intricate details of sight and hearing, yet all
of them, without a single exception, have gone far
astray in the matter of voice. The specialists know
that the human body can be trained, that the fingers,
the arms, the legs, the chest, etc., can be developed
and brought to great perfection, as witnessed by the
pianist, violinist and, through lip development, by
the band instrument players. The acrobat, the dancer,
the soldier, the prize-fighter and many others are
merely specialists in some one, unusual muscular
development and dexterity.
Why, then, should it not also be possible to develop
the voice to the uttermost perfection?
As I went through the libraries of the world to find
what the great physiologists had to say about "voice,"
I found not once or twice, but many times, that the
best men were on the right track. They were following
a straight line up to a certain point ; then they would
be misled by a statement of some old predecessor or
some former anatomist who had become an authority
on some subject; they trusted him, even in this matter
of voice, more than their own judgment. They were
morally afraid of themselves. The straight line would
lead them to a road which no one had ever trodden
before and they had not the courage to travel on that
168 LESSON VII

road, so they went back to the beaten path and

acknowledged defeat. Naturally, they looked at the
vocal organ more from the standpoint of operating,
of dissecting, of disease, than of constructive voice
building.
If the throat specialists had followed a straight line
of reasoning, not only would we have had a legitimate,
rational and absolutely exact method of voice training,
but humanity at large would have been benefited to
an incalculable extent. Throat diseases, lung and
voice troubles would have been greatly diminished.
As it is, all these specialists can do is to operate, use
chemical washes and sprays, which give only temporary
relief, but do not remove the cause.
Only internal, self development can be of perma
nent benefit. Sprays and washes are good only to
remove the germs, but the germs would have little
hold, if the conditions of weakness and disease were
removed. I think you will agree with me in what I
have said. I am glad to bear testimony to the intelli
gence and honesty of the physicians at large and of
the throat specialist, especially as it has been my great
pleasure and privilege to have been closely associated
with this body of men both in America and Europe.
They were eager to accept a new truth, after they had
examined the claim. I found the strongest supporters
of my method right among the throat specialists.
If then, the anatomists of the world were being led
astray, how much more easily would the musicians,
the voice teachers and the teachers of oratory be mis
led by theories that were utterly mistaken?
The teachers and singers are by nature more
temperamental and imaginative, less logical. They
think in artistic terms. The mechanically exact does
not appeal to them, besides very few of them have
 LESSON VII

Fig. 55
Separate View of Tongue Muscles.

A. Open space between Cricoid 5. Glossus (Tongue).

and Thyroid Cartilages. 6. Genio-Glossus Muscle.
1. Thyro-Hyoid Muscle. 7. Genio-Hyoid Muscle.
2. Hyo-Glossus Muscle.
3. Chondro-Glossus Muscle. 8. Genio (Jaw).
4. Stylo-Glossus Muscle. 9. Hyoid Bone.
 170 LESSON VII

ever had the physiological training indispensable to a

serious study of anatomy. Many teachers even profess
to ignore the lessons which physiology can teach,
preferring rather to skate on the thin ice of guesswork
and mere talk, than to tread the solid ground of science.
For their excuse it can, however, be said, that until
now, as has been shown, physiology had not been
exact enough, that the real truth about the voice had
not been known. Now, with my discovery, the real,
indispensable facts relating to voice are made known
and revealed to all. It is to be hoped that voice teachers
will quickly adopt this, in truth, royal road to success.
They will now be able to turn out many great singers
and fill the world with the joy which it sadly needs.
There will never be any lack of opportunities for the
good singer; they are now as scarce as "hen's teeth."
Every community, however small it may be, is anxious
for and will generously support a truly good singer.
Now carefully examine Fig. 55 for the purpose
of studying the tongue and the muscles which consti
tute a large share of the body of the tongue.
Number 6 shows how the genio-glossus muscle
joins the tongue to the front of the chin. It is a very
powerful muscle, as you can find out for yourself
through the exercise I will show you at the end of this
lesson. The muscle grows in a fan-shape backward,
into the tongue; its natural action is to draw the tongue
. out of the mouth. But its main purpose as an aid to
the vocalist is of the very greatest interest to us. As
its very great strength testifies (60 pounds resistance
in my own case, according to the testimony of some of
the foremost physicians) Nature designed this chin-
to-tongue muscle to give a firm hold to the muscles
which draw the tongue backward and downward.
This muscle itself has a powerful, hard bone, the
 LESSON VII 171

chin, to give it body and power. It can, therefore,

resist a very great pull with the utmost ease. This
firm hold is necessary so that the muscles which are
attached to it, but which pull away from it, may be
able to contract with all their power. This power is
•indirectly exerted upon the vocal chords to hold them
in tension for speaking and singing. This chin-to-
tongue muscle, then, holds the tongue forward in its
natural position and prevents the tongue from being
drawn too far backward into the throat. This is one
of the muscles serious injury to which would make
loud speaking or singing impossible and eating or
drinking most difficult.
The stylo-glossus muscles are shown by Number 4.
I have already mentioned, in another lesson, the pen
like projection from the skull, from which grow the
tensing and stretching palate muscles. Now, out of
this same pen-like (stylus) projection, a strong muscle
grows downward into either side of the tongue (glossus).
Always remember that there are two muscles, one on
the right side, the other on the left. This muscle
runs downward and is fastened all along the sides of
the tongue, nearly to the tip. You can readily picture
its action. As it contracts, it straightens the curve
just at the extreme rear of the tongue and raises that
part upward, and, because a muscle is made shorter
when it contracts, draws the tongue backward. This
is the action found in very many speakers and singers,
and practically in all stammerers. Their tongues are
drawn back, and the rear portion is pulled up and
becomes hard. You can easily test this, by placing a
finger on the top of the tongue, at one side, and far
back, where it descends to the throat. Sing or call out
a strong "ah" and feel if that part of the tongue is
hard. If it remains loose, and especially if it remains
172 LESSON VII

in its natural position, you are right, otherwise you

are wrong. This muscle in one way prevents the tongue
from being drawn out of the mouth during tone. The
most valuable office performed by this muscle, however,
is to give a firm hold to the muscle below it, the all-
important and often mentioned "hyo-glossus muscle."
Just about where the stylo-glossus muscle turns, or
curves upward, perhaps a little in front of that, are
situated the palato-glossj muscles, the front arch of
the palate, as shown in Fig. 33. As has already
been explained, these muscles extend from the palate
to the tongue, and there meet the stylo-glossus muscle.
These muscles, or this front arch, assist in raising the
tongue, and, of course, also in supporting it against
the hyo-glossus muscles. The two pairs of muscles
which pull the tongue upward, act as a sort of bar or
brace to the hyo-glossus muscles.
Numbers 2 and 3, of Fig. 55, are the hyo-glossus
and chondro-glossus muscles. These muscles are really
one and the same, but since they divide into posterior
and anterior parts, some anatomists have given the
front part of this muscle the name hyo-glossus, and the
rear part, chondro-glossus. I have adopted this
phraseology because in later lessons it will be found
that many speakers and singers are only weak in the
rear part of this muscle, which is the chondro, while
others .may be weak in both parts of the muscle. The
lessons can be made more plain by this division.
As this very good illustration plainly shows, this
muscle is fastened above to the styloid muscle, in
front to the chin-to-tongue muscles, and underneath
to the hyoid bone. Its rear part is free. The action of
the hyo-glossus muscles can be plainly felt if you place
a forefinger far back upon the tongue, close the lips
tightly and suck as strongly as you can. You will feel
LESSON VII 173
174 LESSON VII

the sides of the tongue gripping your finger strongly,

or less strongly, according to the natural strength of
these muscles. They are very weak in some persons
and need a great deal of practice to make them strong.
Others again have very powerful hyo-glossi muscles.
Such persons, naturally, need much less practice.
Their trouble arises from not associating this muscle
with singing or speaking. They do not realize their
great and most valuable gift. Quite often their train
ing has led them completely away from the use of
this all-important, and in very sober truth, absolutely
infallible hyo-glossi muscle.
Absolute control over this muscle and great strength
or power of this muscle is needed to gain the wonder
ful voice of the great singer. These singers, unknown
to themselves, possess this great strength. Therein
lies the whole secret of their voice. Even among the
greatest singers there are differences, not of personal
characteristics, which, of course, are natural to all men
and always will be, but differences in clearness, in
fullness, in ease, and especially in range.
Some tenors and sopranos, for instance, sing with
full, round tones up to a certain point, when they have
reached that point their voices break. To sing higher
than that point, they must use artificial means. Tenors
sing the higher tones in falsetto; sopranos use so-called
head tones, the female equivalent for falsetto. Up to
the point where the strength of the hyo-glossi muscle
was sufficient to stretch the vocal chords, the tone was
easy to reach, full and clear. But the muscle was not
strong enough to carry the singer beyond that point in
a natural way, hence the singer had to resort to all
sorts of artificial means to get higher tones. These
higher tones were thin and not to be compared with
his real, natural voice, but as he did not know what
 LESSON VII 175

was the matter with him, he could not remedy the

trouble.
There are perhaps not more than ten singers, if so
many, in all the world now known, who possess all the
strength of which the hyo-glossi muscle is capable and
which you can now develop by persistent practice of
the final simple exercise, which will be taught you in
the course of these instructions.
You often hear of apparently great singers losing
their voices. Orators, preachers especially, suffer
greatly by being in constant danger of losing their
voices. The career of many a great man has been
ruined by the loss of his voice. But the average indi
vidual, the millions who must use their voices every
hour of the working day, suffer greatly, not perhaps
from loss of voice, but because their voices lose power
and ease. They become husky, hoarse and harsh, or
thin, breathy and asthmatic. Consider the many who
stammer, lisp or suffer from some form of defective
voice. Their case is indeed pitiable. They never know
when they can depend on their voice. Any moment
at a most critical point, it may fail them.
Then consider how many persons suffer from con
stant, if slight, irritation of the throat. They must
clear the throat before every sentence, blow the nose or
expectorate even in front of an audience. All these and
all this because the one muscle—"the hyo-glossus" —
is weak. At least too weak to give them full power
and control of the voice. Every man, woman and child
is born with the capacity of a truly splendid voice,
but he must develop it by his own efforts, just as
Nature has endowed him with brains, which he must
develop by himself. How to develop this latent power
is now discovered and open to you.
176 LESSON VII

EXERCISES FOR LESSON VII

As I told you just now, the hyo-glossi muscle, the
one that directly controls the larynx and thereby the
entire vocal apparatus, must be made strong and be
brought under the absolute control of speaker and
singer. You are now gradually being taught how to
gain this control, later on in the course and after having
gained the control, you will be taught how to make this
muscle strong.
The exact and isolated control of the hyo-glossi
muscles is the most essential part of the course so far.
No great improvement in your voice can be expected
until you can make the groove in the rearmost part
of the tongue. You must learn to make the groove
so easy, so free, that neither the muscles of the palate
or the muscles of the throat will be tempted to con
tract and to move either or both the palate and the
cricoid bone. This is absolute and essential to all
future progress. Review the lessons on the tongue
every now and then. Do not neglect any one of the
lessons on the tongue.
This hyo-glossus muscle must be taught and trained
to contract by the mere power of will. A mere desire
to contract should prompt the actual movement of
this muscle instantly, without hesitation. This easy
contraction of the hyo-glossi muscle may be best com
pared to the attraction of a magnet for a piece of iron
placed a short distance to the magnet. The iron will
be drawn suddenly and without visible effort. Persist
in the isolation of this muscle until it becomes a
matter of easy habit. It will pay you!
Now to get this absolute mastery takes time—you
can study other lessons in the meantime. They will
help you now and prepare you for the next difficult
lesson of the tongue.
 LESSON VII 177

Those of you who have naturally a strong tongue

action may find it more difficult, because of former
habits, to gain the isolated control over the hyo-glossi
muscles, than those who have a weak tongue action,
but you will progress faster because of your strength,
after you have attained the complete isolation.
I realize that meanwhile you have to go on speaking
and singing, though the latter is not so necessary in
most cases, outside of professional singers.
To the voice student I would say, sing as little as
possible for the present, learn the best use of your
voice now rather by speaking, by knowing how the
voice is formed for speaking, for really the same voice
is used in singing, and by exercising a little patience
now you will gain greatly in the future. Until the full
use of these important tongue muscles can be gained,
it is permissible, at any rate it is necessary, to make
use of artificial means of using the voice. These lessons,
therefore, will reyeal to you every trick and device
that may enable you to utilize all of what voice you
now have. These lessons should help you for the
present, until the real and final development can be
attained. The permanent cure of a weak and defective
voice takes time. The devices, which you get now, can
be applied at once and they will help you during the
period of the practice for the permanent development.
Teachers, preachers, choir singers and all who use
the voice in their daily vocation, can make use of these
devices and profit from them at once. Even defective
voices, especially the lighter cases, will find them help
ful, but I do not want the defective voices or any of
those whose natural voice is very weak, to build too
great hopes on these temporary exercises. I am not
sure that they will derive all the benefit which they
desire from them. They will be helped, but only the
178 LESSON VII

control and strengthening of the hyo-glossi muscle can

permanently and forever cure them.
Remember, therefore, these present exercises are
only for temporary use. The final, absolutely sure
remedy for all defects, and the means of acquiring a
truly grand voice, is to be found only in the final
education and strengthening of the hyo-glossi muscle.

THE VOCAL ATTACK

There are three possible ways of attacking a tone.
Only the attack from the tongue is the permanently
correct attack, but until that is attained, the layman
can use either or both of two other attacks, which,
while they are not entirely correct, yet are much better
than abuse of the voice by shrieking or yelling, or by
forcing in some other unnatural way.
The Glottis Attack. The empty space between
the vocal chords is called "glottis," and when one
speaks directly with the vocal chords, it is called the
glottis attack. We speak with the vocal chords, when
the glottis is closed; that is, when the two vocal
chords have closed the space between them and touch
each other, before the tone is emitted.
Example: Cough several times; at first rather
loudly, then gradually less and less loudly, until the
cough becomes only a very slight clearing of the
throat. This clearing of the throat should be clear,
not noisy; not loud, but distinct. Gradually observe
and realize that you feel a very slight movement of
something down in the throat in the Adam's apple.
Repeat the slight clearing and realize its position down
in the throat. You may feel as if two soft pads of
flesh are gently touching each other. Press the soft
part of two fingers, I mean the soft pads of two finger
tips, several times, very gently against each other,
 LESSON VII 179

and imagine that just such pads are touching each

other down in your throat. Each time that you gently
clear the throat, these pads—really the vocal chords—
touch each other and then fall apart. Now learn to con
trol this movement voluntarily; it will not take long;
a little practice for two or three days ought to suffice.
Every time that you cough to clear the throat,
be the coughing ever so light, you close the glottis;
that is, you bring the vocal chords together. After you
have been successful in feeling this glottis closing in
your throat through the slight effort of coughing, then
do the following:
Close your mouth and gently, easily, as if grunting,
pronounce "ghm" several times. Repeat a few times
during the day. Gradually make this "ghm" easier
and easier, till you do not hear any sound, but notice
that easy movement in the throat. It feels as if you
were clearing the throat of phlegm, but without sound.
The proof that you have mastered this exercise is
this: Place a finger lightly against the sharp corner or
point of the Adam's apple, the thyroid cartilage, and
clear the throat gently; if the cartilage remains quiet,
or nearly so, while you very gently clear the throat, or
when you voluntarily approximate the vocal chords,
then you are performing this exercise correctly.
Now use your imagination and your will power, to
speak, or, if you are a singer, later on to sing from just
this point of the throat. Your voice will not be throaty,
but very clear and distinct, and if you speak merely
with the slight effort that you made while clearing the
throat gently, and thereby approximating the vocal
chords, you can speak and sing for hours without
being tired. Be very sure that you do not make any
violent efforts; the gentlest, faintest kind of effort,
really a mere desire, is all that is needed.
180 LESSON VII

First, count gently one, two, three and so on.

Later select some sentence. Think that you are speak
ing to an audience, that the. last man in the back of
the room must hear you distinctly, but that you will
not exert yourself for him any more than for the man
right before you. Yet the former must be able to hear
you with ease and comfort to himself. Do not try, at
present, to speak at length. Just do a little each day.
Read the baseball news, or market reports, or fashion
plates, out loud to your friends or to yourself.
The glottis attack is of great value for temporary
use, both to the speaker and the singer. The singer
will be furnished some valuable material later on,
based on this attack.
Only this much can be given now. Otherwise you
might be confused. The next lesson will teach still
another manner of attack.
The glottis attack, unlike the tongue attack, when
once mastered, cannot be further developed, therefore
you need not practice it after having the mastery.
The tongue—like the poor—is always with you, that
requires constant attention, because its development is
gradual, but the glottis attack, once known, never
changes.
The glottis attack is best adapted to low voices.
High voices, especially in women, are not in need of
this attack, therefore, if you are a woman and do not
find this attack to come readily and easily, let it go.
It is not necessary for you. The next attack will be
better adapted as you will find in the sixteenth lesson
following the permanent or normal attack.
 LESSON VII 181

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON LESSON VII

(1) What was the main theory of voice training in

the 18th century?
(2) What part is the real medium which sets the
vocal apparatus into action?
(3) Have the Physiologists given us a scientifically
correct method of voice training?
(4) Why have the voice teachers failed in an exact
method?
(5) Is the operation of the hyo-glossi muscle plain
to you?
(6) Why is great strength of this muscle needed?
(7) Has this muscle any influence on the general
health?
(8) Do you succeed with the Glottis Attack?
(9) Is the groove becoming easier?
(10) What is your general attitude to this lesson?
c
 LESSON VIII
PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOCAL ORGAN
(Continued)
THE TONGUE
(Continued)
From the description of the various muscles which
constitute the tongue, you realize, without doubt, its-
great importance. As has been said, when the mouth

Fig. 57
Geraldine Farrar and Wallace Reid in Joan of Arc.

is closed, the tongue fills the entire space within, reach

ing from in front of the teeth backward into the food
pipe. When the mouth is opened, the tongue may be
protruded, and many movements may be made, and
changes of form and position be assumed by this
versatile member of the body. These changes occur
during eating, chewing and swallowing, but more
especially during speaking and singing. The tongue
183
184 LESSON VIII

is not only a most important part of the digestive

apparatus and the main organ for tasting, approving
or rejecting of food, but it is also a very important
part of the vocal organ. We must remember that what
we see of the tongue when the moUth is open, that is,
the tongue tip and the surface, is only a very small
part of it.
You have already learned that muscles are arranged
in systems, circles or chains. Each one of a set of
muscles forms a link in a chain. One link is as impor
tant as another. All of them are needed to support
the chain. If one of them should break or be weakened,
all of the others are thereby weakened.
I am glad that I am now addressing mainly Ameri
can students, for your national genius for mechanics
will make it comparatively easy for you to understand
the apparently complicated system of the transmission
of energy for certain purposes in the human body. In
reality, the natural system of the human body is not
complicated at all, but simple. It is complicated only
to those who have never studied and analyzed it; but
when it is once understood, it is simple and beautiful.
Witness an apple tree, for instance. Within the
seed of an apple is the germ, a tiny speck of matter.
This little speck divides. One division grows upward,
out of the earth, to form ultimately the stem of the
tree. The other division grows downward, to become
the roots of the tree, the part which is to furnish food
for the upper portion. The two divisions, after a
certain period of growth, give shape and substance to
four divisions, these to eight, and so on, until the full
tree is developed.
In a similar way, the human body reaches its full
development, but with this difference: that it can be
still further developed by the conscious will to an
 LESSON VIII 185

extent the limit of which is unknown to us. It cer

tainly has never been reached. If we keep alive the
spirit of God within us, that spirit will help us to a
self-development in any line that is righteous and help
ful to humanity.
Abraham Lincoln is said to be the inventor of a
system of developing the eyesight, by voluntarily con
tracting certain muscles, and by the massaging of the
outer parts of the eyes. He thus preserved his own
sight.
Every sense can be developed and every single part
of the body as well, with this difference: that the
senses are developed by a purely mental process, the
body and its separate parts by a voluntary physical
process. When that process is known you can reach
the utmost perfection by a steady continued applica
tion of the process.
Now look at Fig. 55 in the seventh lesson. In it
you see illustrated the muscles which can raise the
tongue; pull it backward, forward and downward.
Imagine the muscles 4 and 6 as having contracted.
What will the muscles 2 and 3 do? What will they
accomplish that is of interest to us?
The only thing these muscles (the hyo-glossi and
chondro-glossi muscles) can do and must do, is to pull
the hyoid bone 9 upward toward the tongue. Remem
ber that the muscles 2 and 3 contract. They therefore
pull upon every one of their attachments above, for
ward and below. They cannot, however, pull the
tongue either downward or backward, because of the
muscles which hold the tongue upward and forward.
Therefore, they must pull upward the part which is
attached to its lower end, because that part (the hyoid
bone and especially its rear horns) is free to move
either upward or downward. I am very anxious that
186 LESSON VIII

you should understand this action clearly, because

much depends upon this understanding.
The muscles which pull the hyoid bone upward are
free, that is, they are nowhere bound to a bone, as
are the muscles from the chin and skull, which also
are attached to the tongue.
When a muscle is tied to a bone, you have no con
trol over it, save the contraction which is natural to
all the muscles. But these hyo-glossi and chondro-
glossi muscles are free. Another remarkable fact about
them is that the principal nerve of the tongue centers
in these muscles. We also find here branches of the
auricular nerve, which guides the sense of hearing.
This is another sure sign that Nature had provided
these muscles, and these alone, to control the vocal
organ, and to determine both the volume and quality
of the voice. If these hyo-glossi and chondro-glossi
muscles were not free, that is, if they were bound to a
firmly fixed bone, we could never gain voluntary con
trol of the voice. But because of the discovery that
these muscles are free agents, and because of the
fact that the most important vocal nerves center in
these muscles, it is now possible to gain direct control
over them, to train them and to make them strong.
Of course, you cannot yet see what all this leads
to, for we have not touched upon either the larynx or
the vocal chords as yet. I am following the modern
division of anatomical writers in my description of the
muscles and other parts of the vocal system before I
give you the detailed account of the larynx and vocal
chords.
I am anxious to make you see the external wheels
and hands, which move and operate the internal
machinery. After all is said and done, you must
voluntarily master and control only one part of the
 LESSON VIII 187

external apparatus. We cannot have much control

over the internal machinery of the vocal organ, and
as the internal parts are fixed, both as to position and
volume, no training can be given that part. Further
more, it is neither necessary nor desirable. The internal
parts are like the bones of your body; you cannot add
to them or change them. They are like minerals, while
the muscles are like vegetable life, which can be nursed
and cultivated to almost any extent.
The important part just now is for you to realize
the great importance of these muscles which directly
operate the vocal organ. When you once get this
point, I know that you will continue your practice.
You will then feel sure of ultimately being in posses
sion, not only of a good speaking voice, superior in all
respects to the average good voice, but that you can
equal and even surpass the very best orators and
singers.
Think what a wonderful opportunity this opens to
you. The power of a fine speaking or singing voice
cannot be overestimated. You know, for instance,
that Mr. Bryan owes all of his wide popularity and
success to the fact that his wonderful voice electrified
a great convention. Talmage is another example
of the power of the voice, and just now Mr. Ditrich-
stein, the actor in the "Great Lover," is proving its
value.
The possibilities in the case of the singer are even
greater, because, say what you will about excellent
musicianship, personality, etc., it is always, and at all
times, the greater beauty of the voice that makes for
success. I know, personally, many of the great singers,
have taught them, observed them, and lived among
them. They are excellent people, but no better than
thousands of others. They are, most of them, not much
188 LESSON VIII

above average mentality. Their success is due almost

entirely to the better quality of their voices.
Now you have the opportunity to develop as fine a
voice as they. You can be master of your own destiny.
You can mould and shape such a career as heretofore
has been possible to perhaps only one in millions.
When you fully realize the importance of my dis
covery, you, who have studied voice, perhaps for
years, will understand why even the best teachers .
have not been able to advance you much beyond the
point at which you started. And you whose voices
have become worse instead of better, and you who have
lost your voices entirely, can now see why that hap
pened.
Neither you nor your teachers were conscious of
this voice-controlling force. You had no control over
this all-important force; besides, these muscles were
weak, at least too weak to offset conflicting muscles.
You used what was possible, and trying to go beyond
the natural and possible, you arrived at the impossible
and lost. But, now that you realize your former limi
tations, you must also realize the almost unlimited
possibilities before you.
You, I am sure, already see why I am taking such
pains to give you such a minutely detailed description
of the vocal organ, more detailed than you could find
in many volumes of anatomy. You will, at the end of
these lessons, know more of the vocal apparatus than
most throat specialists of today. With all due respect
to them, I cannot but say that they have missed the
most vital points of the vocal organ..
In one of our large daily papers there was a two-
column article on "Hidden Vocal Talents," under the
caption of "Voices May Some Day Be Developed to
Heights Now Undreamed Of." The writer says:
 Fig. 58
Lucien Muratore, as Prinzvalle, in Monna Vanna.
190 LESSON VIII

"Perhaps there is no direction in which human

physical improvement could go farther than in the
development of as yet unattained heights and depths
of vocal melody. The voice still lingers far behind the
ear. What I mean by that is that while the ear can
follow the waves of sound over a range of about eleven
octaves, the utmost reach of the voice, as shown by
combining the limits attained by the greatest singers,
some in the upper and others in the lower gamut,
covers less than six octaves.
"What undreamed of possibilities of vocal splendor
and delight may lie, undeveloped, in those five octaves
not yet touched by the human voice. Gaspard Forster,
a wonderful basso, reached within ten rungs of the
bottom of the ladder of perceptible sound when he sang
the note 'fa,' of the first octave, which has forty-two
vibrations to the second ; but the highest rung, reached
by Lucrezia Ajugario, 'do,' of the sixth octave, with
a vibratory rate of 2,048 to the second, is more than
30,000 steps below the top of the ladder, which termi
nates in the tenth octave, with 32,768 vibrations per
second.
"It is said that the singing of Jenny Lind once
spurred a bird, perched in a tree, to sing in attempted
rivalry; perhaps a cantatrice who could sing in the
tenth octave would bring forth a concert of voices from
the crickets and katydids, while lifting her human
hearers into a new heaven of harmony."
Unlike the writer of the above, I am not dreaming
of a possible compass of the singing voice of five
octaves, though I do not deny its possibility. I want
to reach the utmost bounds of beauty, of sympathetic,
soul-stirring quality, rather than phenomenal compass.
Two or two and one-half octaves are sufficient for all
artistic purposes, even in opera. The greatest song
 LESSON VIII 191

writers never wrote anything that requires more than

two octaves of compass, and very little demanding as
much as that. Most songs do not exceed the compass
of one and one-half octaves. What they demand is
beauty and quality of tone, and that is where most
singers fail, and where the great success must be found.
Freak-singing may be useful in a dime museum,
but even then it soon plays out. Freaks are only freaks
and not artists. Of course, if you would like to be a
"freak," you can do that even now, though I advise
against this.

PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOCAL ORGAN

The hyo-glossi muscle and its twin brother, the
chondro-glossi muscle, are attached to the rear horns
of the hyoid bone, therefore mainly tend to pull these
horns upward. The body of the hyoid bone (the front
part) is not connected with the upward pulling muscles,
but it is the part into which the downward pulling
muscles are fastened, as you have already learned in
the lesson which describes the muscles which pull the
larynx downward. Remember the muscles (the sterno
hyoid) which rise out of the breast bone and go upward
to the front part of the hyoid bone. These muscles
hold the front body of the hyoid bone firmly, so that
the hyo-glossi and the chondro-glossi muscles cannot
draw the entire hyoid bone upward, but merely its
rear horns.
See illustration 37 in Lesson V. Examine again
the hyoid bone. C represents the body, Cm represents
the small horns and Cmj the long horns. Compare this
with an ordinary horseshoe. Hold the front middle
part of a horseshoe firmly with one hand, and with
the fingers of the other hand pull upward on the two
side extensions. You now have a fair picture of the
192 LESSON VIII

operation of the hyoid bone. In its natural position,

that is, in the state of rest, it lies horizontally in an
almost level plane, but when the muscles pull the rear
horns upward, it stands obliquely. The two positions
referred to above are illustrated in Fig. 59.
In singing, the hyoid bone must always assume this
oblique position. Also in public speaking this position
is necessary, though, perhaps not at so sharp an angle.
The front part of the hyoid bone must be held at its
natural level to resist the upward drawing of the front

Fig. 59
The Hyoid Bone.

of the thyroid cartilage or Adam's apple. The horns

must rise obliquely to make room for the rear part of
the thyroid cartilage, which has to be strongly pulled
upward from behind. Its front part must be held
downward firmly, and this is done by the muscles
which arise out of the breast bone upward and
attach themselves to the front of the hyoid bone.
This tilting of the thyroid cartilage upward
behind, downward in front, stretches the vocal
chords.
I am, as you see, anticipating somewhat the
 LESSON VIII 193

explanations to be given in future lessons, in order to

show you now why all this study is necessary. The
point is this: the hyo-glossi muscle is the only muscle
in several chains of muscles which directly sets into
action all the sections which together make up the
entire vocal organ. It is the main spring or keystone
on which all else depends. I want to bring this home
to you. In the course of these lessons you will be
taught that in the last analysis all good sounds, tones,
or articulation are preceded by the contraction of the
hyo-glossi muscle. When you have learned to contract
it voluntarily you will have positive proof of the
superiority of this action over any other. Finally, the
voluntary training which you give to this muscle will
result in involuntary and automatic action and then
your voice is established, needing only continued
exercise to strengthen this muscle still more. When
you can control the hyo-glossi your voice will be smooth
and strong, and it will flow as easily as running water.
In our next lesson the larynx will be described,
leading to the consideration of the vocal chords within
the larynx. You will then have the complete picture of
the vocal organ before you and can fully comprehend
the operation of the all-important and infallible hyo-
glossi muscle.

EXERCISES FOR LESSON VIII

As I have already stated, the attack of the tone
should come from and by means of the tongue alone.
This is the best manner of attacking a tone because
it gives the noblest quality, the greatest volume and
the utmost ease. Because a few people possess this
attack by Nature, unknown to themselves, they have
risen to phenomenal success as orators and singers.
You will be taught this most valuable attack, which,
194 LESSON VIII

when you develop it to the utmost, will place you where

the uttermost success is not only possible, but assured.
You will be in a better position than those artists who
have the "trick" by Nature, yet, because they do not
know the real source of their voice, are in constant fear
of losing it. But you will know! You will stand on
the solid ground of fact. Hence, you will have no fear
of losing the voice, but, on the contrary, will be sure
that your voice will daily become better and that you
will retain this voice to the end of your days!
Of course this development takes time; compara
tively little time for some, more for others. In the
meantime you must speak and sing. To help you over
the period of developing the highest form of attack, I
am giving you two easily learned forms of attack,
which will immediately give you command over all
the voice which you now have. I believe that when
you learn these two forms of vocal attack, you will
feel that you have received already more than your
money's worth, and that the main thing, the most
valuable thing of all, which is yet to come, is a free gift.
The art of attacking the tone with the two forms
that I am teaching you, has been the stock in trade of
the foremost voice teachers only and even they could
not define and describe them as clearly and precisely
as you will know and be able to teach them to yourself
after having studied these lessons. Even the foremost
teachers could not be clear enough on the subject of
these attacks, because they had not studied anatomy
with the minute care imperatively demanded by such
a branch of knowledge.
A very important matter, and one, I am sure, that
will be much appreciated by singers, will be to show
them the use of the registers and give them absolute
command over this much disputed and still more
 Fig. 60
Frances Alda, as Desdemona, in Otello.
 196 LESSON VIII

misunderstood difficulty. They will get such an insight

into the matter of registers, special effects, etc., that their
minds will be henceforth at rest. With this lesson, also,
the singers can start the regular course of singing.
They should confine themselves, however, to a few
tones each day, and for a while should not exceed the
compass of the notes between E, first line, and F, on
fifth line, for soprano or tenor; or A, below, to E flat,
in fourth space, for alto or baritone. The basso may go
as low as is easy for him. He should gradually work
up to E flat. More precise instructions will follow.
Never start on your lowest note, but also never on the
highest. Do not try to reach the extremes either way;
that is merely silly. Always start in the middle of your
range, which is B flat, third line, for all high voices,
and F first space for all low voices. From these notes
you can work up to the point where it becomes difficult.
Stop there and descend to the point where the tones
are harder to get. Be satisfied with this for a while.
Strive to make each tone easier, larger and clearer.
The speaker must not neglect this lesson. It is just
as important to him as to the singer. There is not a
passage in all these lessons which ought not to be
familiar to any speaker, whether he be professional
orator, salesman, or otherwise employed. Special
lessons will be given for speakers, as well as for singers,
but both should study the essential parts, because both
speakers and singers use identically the same vocal
attack, and many other actions are the same for both
of them. These lessons are also especially beneficial
for all who suffer from voice defects. They will grad
ually arrive at the state of mind when they understand
why their voices are defective, and then they are ready
for the work which will deal directly with the defects,
and which will make their voices as good as the best.
 LESSON VIII 197

THE GLOTTIS ATTACK

A good notion of the shape and action of the vocal
chords may be obtained in the following manner:
Extend or open the fore and middle fingers of the left
hand, the other fingers of the left hand being closed
inward. Rest the tips of the extended fingers upon the
knuckles of the fore and middle finger of the right
hand, the fingers of the right hand being closed. The
figure thus formed is lozenge-shaped. The two long
fingers represent the two vocal chords; the angle
formed by the fingers, where they branch out from
the left hand, represents the Adam's apple in front of
the throat. The two knuckles of the right hand, upon
which the finger tips rest, represent the arytaenoid
cartilages, which move the vocal chords; that is, bring
them together or separate them.
When the chords are opened, there is a perfectly
free passage for breath and no tone is possible. When
the edges of the chords are brought near each other, but
do not meet, there is a fluttering of these edges, and
the tone made by the vocal chords in this position is
mixed with breath ; such voice or tone is husky, hoarses
and unsuited for speaking or singing.
When the edges of the chords absolutely touch >
they form a complete barrier to the breath, but as
they are not held tight and rigid the breath can still
pass between them. In this position the vocal chord,
are just right for speaking or singing. The breath
pressing against them causes them to swing to and fro,
as the strings of a violin, or as the tongues in an organ
reed or clarionette vibrate. No "breathy" sound is
then perceptible. The breath has been converted into
"tone." As steam in an engine is converted into
mechanical energy, so breath in the vocal organ is con
verted into tone. Breath supplies the energy which
198 LESSON VIII

causes the vocal chords to vibrate at a certain rate of

speed. When breath is thus converted into tone, the
voice is pure and clear.
The natural formation of the chords and their per
fect elasticity are the main ingredients of a good voice.
Breath. This should be the noiseless emission of
air from the lungs through the open glottis (space
between the opened vocal chords) and unobstructed
mouth or nose or both.
Inhale in your ordinary way, through the mouth,
not caring whether you inhale little or much. Hold
this breath while you mentally count "one," "two,"
"three," "four." At count four let go of the breath,
not caring how you let go, but observe carefully
whether you can hear the breath, that is, whether
there is any noise as the breath is going out.
Use the "Tryhedron," the triangular piece of the
scientific apparatus, and experiment to find out how
much you can open the mouth with the utmost ease.
By that I mean, there must not be the slightest strain
felt in the jaws as you open the mouth. Most singers
open the mouth too far and most speakers do not
open the mouth enough. Place the sharpest point
between the teeth and find out at what notch your
mouth is comfortably opened without feeling the least
strain. Retain the tryhedron between the teeth.
Inhale as before. Mentally count to four. Let go of
the breath anyway you please, but there must not be
the slightest sound, no rushing or wheezing. The
breath must leave your mouth without making any
noise. Experiment till you can do that. When you
have succeeded, notice that there is not the slightest
feeling of any contraction in the throat. In fact the
throat feels, and in reality is, wide open, so that the
breath encounters no obstruction.
 LESSON VIII 199

Remove the tryhedron, but remember and retain

the right opening between the teeth. Know that that'
opening is the correct space for you ! Inhale and exhale
as before, without the slightest sound.
Lips rounded; say "oh" as well as you can, with
the mouth opened. Retain the lips in that position.
Inhale and exhale as before, without sound.
Realize that the lips can be moved in any position
you please without affecting the throat; that is, with
out changing the relaxed position of the vocal chords
in the slightest manner. Become familiar with the idea
that the vocal chords and lips or mouth are entirely
independent of each other. They can be used separately
or together. As a further proof, do this!
Whistle. Whistle rather high if you can. Many
will feel a compression in the throat while whistling.
This is useless and wrong. The throat should be
entirely relaxed while whistling. Experiment until you
can whistle without the least feeling jof strain in the
throat. Having succeeded with this, touch your lips
while still continuing to whistle, rather high. Notice
that the lips especially inside feel rather tense. The
higher you whistle, the more tense will be the lips.
Retain the position of whistling. Touch the inner
cheek far back with a forefinger and notice that if you
have retained the correct position for whistling even
the cheeks feel tense! Do you understand what all this
means? The explanation is this:
You are making the sounds actually with the
muscles of your lips and cheek. The breath is not
making the sound. It only sets the lips to vibrating.
Nothing more. In whistling, your lips act as, or rather
they are, the vocal chords.
Be sure that your throat feels free, and realize that
the vocal chords down in your Adam's apple had
 200 LESSON VIII

nothing whatever to do with the whistling sound or

with the breath.
Now experiment with the whistle which is a part
of the scientific apparatus sent you. Inhale carelessly.
Place the whistle between the lips. Be sure to close
the lips tightly around the mouth of the whistle. Now
let go of the breath, making sure to keep the throat
free.
Now experiment, giving first short, sharp blasts
from the whistle, thus: "one," "two," "three." Is
* the throat free? Then make each blast last for the
entire length of breath, whatever that may be. This
is not an exercise in breathing, but an exercise to
realize the freedom of your throat; the difference
between open vocal chords; freedom of breath when
vocal chords are open; and the individual contraction
of the lips or mouth, independent of the vocal chords
and also independent of the breath. Each is a law
unto itself and should be understood, before putting all
three of them together into one unanimous action.
This is a very important lesson, and should be care-
* fully studied out. It need not take much time, but
make sure you realize the difference between breath,
open throat and lips or mouth sounds. How important
all this is will be made plain to you in the next lesson.
This lesson, when once understood, need not be
practiced further, but it should be reviewed now and
then.
 LESSON VIII 201

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON LESSON VIII

(1) Is the importance of the hyo-glossi muscles

now plain to you?
(2) Which part of the vocal organ can be trained,
the internal or external?
(3) Why are the hyo-glossi muscles the key to
voice?
(4) Where does the attack of tone take place?
(5) What is the Glottis Attack?
(6) Can tone be made when the vocal chords are
apart?
(7) What is the exact action of the breath upon
the vocal chords?
(8) Can you inhale and exhale noiselessly?
(9) Does your jaw feel loose while using the
trihedron?
(10) Is your throat free while whistling?
<-

<

■
 LESSON IX

PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOCAL ORGANS

(Continued)

THE LARYNX
I shall describe only those cartilages, bones and
muscles which directly or, indirectly form a part of
the vocal organ. Usually the three cartilages which
form the principal part of the larynx, together with the
vocal chords which they enclose, is referred to as the
vocal organ. This is a common, but mistaken concep
tion. One might as well refer to four walls as a house,
leaving out of consideration the foundation on which
the house was built, and the roof which covers it.
The larynx, it is true, is the most important part
of the vocal organ. But if there were no muscles to
set it in motion or bones to give these muscles a basis
from which to contract, the singer's chance would be
very poor, indeed. Not much beyond a coughing sound
could be emitted and certainly no musical sound could
be produced.
The muscles which surround the larynx bear to it
the same relation as the tongue and wheels bear to the
wagon. Neither is complete without the other. Fur
thermore, the singer and speaker can learn to control
the muscles (at least the tongue muscles, and they are
the principal ones concerned in the voluntary produc
tion of artistic sound), but if he should even attempt
to control the larynx, good tones would be impossible.
Of course, the primary part from which sound is
emitted are the vocal chords. These are enclosed with
in the larynx, and the4arynx is the uppermost part of
the trachea, or air tube, through which we breathe.
203
204 LESSON IX

Look up Fig. 41, in Lesson V; it is a very exact

illustration of the Jungs, the air tube and the larynx. All
these parts together are known as the respiratory appa
ratus. The air tube or trachea is, as its name implies,
a hollow tube, consisting of from sixteen to twenty
cartilages, each shaped like a ring, with the rear part flat.
Between the flat part of the rings and the spine is placed
the oesophagus, or food pipe, which leads to the stomach.
The air tube divides at its lower end into two principal
parts and from these there are many small branches,
all of them imbedded in the lungs, as the roots of a
tree are imbedded in the earth. When the lungs ex
pand, a partial vacuum is created, which is at once

Arytaenoid
Cartilage

Hyoid
Bone

Fig. 61

filled by the air rushing through the mouth and nose

into the air tubes.
 LESSON IX 205

The upper end of the air tube is formed of three

larger cartilages, which constitute the larynx or vocal
tube. See Fig. 61. The basis of the larynx is the
cricoid or ring cartilage. Upon this rests the thyroid
or shield cartilage. The thyroid cartilage is formed
of two plates which unite in front. Their rear ends
stand apart, from which two horns extend, each into the
hyoid bone above, and downward over the sides of
the cricoid cartilage. Only the rear under part of the
thyroid cartilage nearest the spine rests upon the
cricoid, leaving an open space between them in front.
The bone above the thyroid cartilage is of very great
importance to the singer and speaker, because all tone-
power and the ability to stretch the vocal chords
depends upon the proper action of this tongue or hyoid
bone. The hyoid bone is shaped somewhat like a
horseshoe. It has a thick body in front. Out of this
frontal body grow two long horns which extend back
ward and somewhat upward toward the spine and
tongue. There are also two smaller horns in front. The
two described cartilages and the hyoid bone are con
nected with each other by striped voluntary muscular
bands and fibers, which draw them toward each other,
combining the three parts into one solid tube, about
as the three parts of a flute can be joined together to
form one tube.
When, through this joining of the cartilages and
hyoid bone, the fibers and muscles on the inner sides of
this tube are brought toward each other and stretched,
then these stretched-and-touching-each-other muscles
are set into vibration by the breath coming from the
lungs through the air tube. Thus tones are produced,
changing the upper part of the air tube into the vocal
tube.
A more detailed description of these important
parts of the larynx is necessary to a practical under
206 LESSON IX

standing of the mechanism of the voice and to the

appreciation of the fact that it is not possible to change
or add to the bones which form the basis of the larynx,
but that it is possible to develop to the utmost the
muscles which connect with these bones, thereby
making artistic singing and speaking not only possible,
but an assured fact to all who are willing to study and
practice.
The following description of the larynx is trans
lated from the recent work on anatomy of Ad. Pansch,
Professor at the University of Kiel:
"The larynx lies in the center of the throat. It is a
short tube of movable cartilages, within which lie the
vocal chords. The changing of positions and the

Fig. 62
cr. Cricoid Cartilage,
th. Thyroid Cartilage,
hth. Hyo-Thyroid Muscle.
 LESSON IX 207

stretching of these chords are accomplished by special

larynx muscles."

THE CRICOID CARTILAGE

The basis of the larynx is the cricoid or ring car
tilage. It is a solid ring on the upper end of the air
tube. It has the form of a ring somewhat narrow in
front and rises towards the rear into and between the
plates of the thyroid cartilage. On both sides of the
ring are two depressions, into which are fitted the
arytaenoides (tooth cartilage). In Fig. 30, page 75,
both the cricoid and the arytaenoides cartilage and their
relation to one another may be plainly seen.

THE THYROID CARTILAGE

This cartilage consists of two four-cornered plates
which join in the form of a large triangle, like an
opened book. The upper part of this triangle varies
its projection in different people and is known as
"Adam's apple" (Fig. 62). The rear sides of the two
plates continue upward and downward in the form of
horns. The upper and longest horns serve to con
nect directly with the hyoid bone (tongue bone)
above them. The shorter, lower horns, embrace the
cricoid cartilage below. From this position the thyroid
cartilage moves forward and downward, or backward,
as if on pivots, and thus assists in stretching the vocal
chords; hence it is sometimes called the stretching
cartilage.
THE ARYTAENOIDES
The arytaenoides (Fig. 63, No. 2) are in gen
eral three-sided, irregular pyramids which stand on
both sides of the back and uppermost parts of the
cricoid cartilage. As these little cartilages are envel
oped in muscles, they fill put the rear or open space of
208 LESSON IX

Fig. 63
CRICOID, THYROID, ARYTAENOIDES CARTILAGES AND
VOCAL CHORDS

1. Cricoid Cartilage. 4, 5. Crico-Arytaenoides Muscles.

2. Arytaenoides Cartilages. 6. Vocal Chords (their sharp edge).
3-a. Thyroid Cartilage (Horn). 7, 8, 9. Interior Wall Muscles which
3-b. Thyroid Cartilage (Adam's reenforce and enlarge the
Apple). Vocal Chords.

the thyroid cartilage. The under inner side is hol

lowed out to fit upon the steep, sloping sides of the
cricoid cartilage. From these points the cartilages are
moved toward and away from each other by muscles
which connect them with the cricoid and thyroid
cartilages. Out of these arytaenoides grow the vocal
chords (Fig. 63, No. 6), extending forward to the
inner corner of the front of the thyroid cartilage.
These vocal chords are muscles and fibres filling the
space between the inner walls of the thyroid plates.
 LESSON IX 209

Now whatever affects the movements of the little

arytaenoid cartilages, at the same time also affects
the vocal chords. (See, also, Fig. 64, rear view of the
larynx.)

THE HYOID BONE

This bone has the shape of a horseshoe. It lies
directly above the thyroid cartilage and is attached to
the rear part of the tongue between the third and
fourth vertebrae of the spine. It is easily found by
pressing against the corner made by the lower jaw and
the throat. The middle and forward-stretching part

Thryoid Cartilage

Fig. 64

a. Arytaenoid Cartilage,
ci. Cricoid Cartilage.

of the hyoid bone is the hyoid body, rather thick and

strong. Out of it extend two long horns which reach
far back into the throat; also two shorter horns in front.
210 LESSON IX

From these horns, and from the body itself, extend

muscles which, like ropes from a masthead, attach
themselves to many different points of the head, jaw,
neck and chest. (See illustrations 61 and 62.)

THE EPIGLOTTIS
This is a cartilaginous, fibrous body, growing out
of the larynx, somewhat tongue-shaped and very elas
tic. Its purpose is to cover the vocal tube during the
act of swallowing, and so prevent food from passing
into the air tube. It has no vocal office whatever,
though formerly it was thought to have some vocal
effect. But this has been entirely disproved. (See
Figs. 61 and 64—Epiglottis.)
On top of the arytaenoid cartilages are the so-
called cartilages of Santorini. Beside these are the
cartilages of Wrisberg. However, no detailed account
need be given of them, as their influence is automatic.

MUSCULAR TENDONS OF THE LARYNX

The two principal cartilages of the larynx, the thy
roid and cricoid, are connected with one another by
strong muscular bands or tendons. The two down
ward extending short horns of the thyroid cartilage
are fastened to the rear part of the cricoid cartilage;
the front and sides of both these cartilages are likewise
connected and joined by muscular fibres.
The object of the tendons is to hold the thyroid
cartilage (its horn parts) firmly down upon the part
where it joins the cricoid cartilage. The object of
these connecting muscles is to allow movements be
tween the thyroid and cricoid cartilages. ■ The thyroid
cartilage may thus be moved downward to the cricoid
cartilage, stretching and tensing the vocal chords,
 LESSON IX 211

and again relaxing them as it resumes its normal

position.
The two arytaenoid cartilages, situated inside the
thyroid or Adam's apple, and upon the rear sides of
the cricoid cartilage, are fastened by tendons which
hold them firmly to their points of attachment to the
cricoid cartilage, as may be easily seen by a reference
to Fig. 65.
This illustration also gives a very clear picture of
the vocal chords which rise from the front corner of
the Adam's apple or thyroid cartilage. Stretching
horizontally backward, each is fastened to one of the
two arytaenoid cartilages. It is interesting to find
that some modern anatomists call the vocal chords
merely ligaments connecting the thyroid cartilage with

;ilage

Thyroid Cartilage

Mucsles which
move the
Arytaenoid
Cartilages

Fig. 65
Larynx, Arytaenoid and Vocal Chords
seen from behind.
212 LESSON IX

the two arytaenoid cartilages, which, incidentally, also

produce voice and are hence called vocal chords.
In the illustration you see the vocal chords apart;
the space between them is called the glottis ; as long as
they remain thus apart, no sound can be made. But
when the two cartilages to which they are fastened are
wheeled, turned, or rotated toward each other, which
is done by special muscles, then the glottis is closed
and sound is made possible. But to make musical
sound the vocal chords must also be stretched and held
tense. To stretch them, it is necessary that the
thyroid cartilage be tilted downward in front, thus
dragging or drawing the front points of the vocal chords
downward also.
As the ligaments which hold the arytaenoides in
place upon the cricoid cartilage, not only hold them
firmly, but even pull backward, there is thus established
a forward and downward pull in front and a backward
pull in the rear, effectually stretching and tensing the
vocal chords.
The larynx is connected below with the air tube by
a strong muscular band running from the cricoid
cartilage to the upper ring of the air tube. Above, it
is connected with the hyoid bone by several bands
which encircle the upper end of the thyroid cartilage
and the hyoid bone above it.

MUSCLES OF THE LARYNX

You have already learned that there are muscles
which move the entire larynx, either downward or
upward ; there are also muscles which move the separate
parts of the larynx toward each other, and these latter
must now be considered. These real muscles of the
larynx move the thyroid and cricoid toward each other,
 LESSON IX 213

and again they move the arytaenoides upon the cricoid,

thus bringing together and stretching the vocal chords.
The muscles which fill the space between the cricoid,
thyroid and the arytaenoid cartilages are in practical
reality the vocal chords. Nearly all these muscles are
or can be made to vibrate and to produce musical sound.

The main reason, perhaps the only reason, why

we have in the past had so little success in training the
voice, was because in former centuries anatomy was
unknown. But even in more recent time, when vocal
anatomy was being studied more minutely, mistakes
were made and transferred from one investigator to
another.
If we examine the vocal chords from above, by
means of a little mirror (laryngoscope) held against
the roof of the mouth, while sound is being made, the
vocal chords may be seen plainly, as two little bands
of whitish muscles, which approach and separate
according as sound is made or not. These two whitish
bands were formerly assumed to be all of the vocal
chords. This is the firs.t great mistake made by the
physiologists. Out of this mistake grew the second
great mistake, namely: that the vocal chords were
stretched only by the internal laryngeal muscles, those
from cricoid, thyroid and the arytaenoid cartilages.
The external muscles were entirely disregarded.
If you were to take a bird's-eye view of a house
with sloping roofs, you would see only the upper two
lines of the roof and you could assume that this roof
was the whole house. But looking upwards from the
ground, you see a house to have cellar, walls and several
stories, the roof being merely its uppermost covering.
What we and the physiologists see when we look at
the vocal chords from above, is merely the roof, the
214 LESSON IX

upper end of the vocal chords, but not the main parts,
for they cannot be seen from that point. These main
parts of the vocal chords, or vocal muscles, lie like
shelves against a wall. The longest part of these
three-cornered shelves is the part that rests against
the side wall of the thyroid cartilage, reaching down
even to the sides of the cricoid cartilage below.
We have, in fact, a long vertical line of muscles which
increase in number and size from below upward,
bulging strongly outward at the upper end, and there
forming an oblique line. Now the horizontal line
forming the upper ends of these vertical and oblique
lines is what we can see from above, and no more.
The top of a shelf is really the smallest part of it; the
parts below constitute by far the largest share of its
size.
The part of the vocal chords which may be seen
from above is only the horizontal line of the shelf of
muscles under it. Of course, if that horizontal line
were all of the vocal chords, they would be comparatively
easy to stretch, because that part is small, but when
you continue the line downward, you find that there is
much more material to the things which we call vocal
chords. If we can succeed in using all or most of these
muscles, the tone will be stronger, clearer and sweeter.
Anticipating future lessons, I will briefly state that
the strength or loudness of a tone depends upon the
size of the vibrating material. Just as a thick wire
will give a louder tone than a thin wire, or a large bell
a stronger sound than a small one, so the thicker the
vocal chords, the stronger the tone. Going still
further, the law of physics teaches us that the quality
of a tone is directly dependent upon the loudness or
strength of the tone, because a loud tone contains
many overtones, while a weak tone contains but few.
 LESSON IX 215

The quality of a tone, its charm and sweetness, is

the result of the overtones within the tone. There
fore, the secret of a superior voice is really this: We
should be able to use the entire volume of vocal mus
cles, in which case we have both strength and quality.
As long as our voices are weak, it is a sign that we are
not using all of our vocal chords, but only a part of
them. Not only that, but because we are using only
a portion of our voice material, that particular portion
is being strained; hence it is subject to hoarseness,
irritations, coughs, etc.
You can now easily see that' when phyisologists
made the mistake of assuming that the vocal chords
consist of two small muscles only, they would naturally
make a second mistake, that of assuming that little
strength was needed to stretch these small muscles
and that this minor stretching was accomplished by
the internal muscles of the larynx.
These two mistakes have resulted in false teaching
for nearly a hundred years. The voice teachers, of
course, believed what the physiologists claimed. Added
to which is the fact that musicians do not always think
logically, but, as they deal in emotions, are guided
more by their emotions than by hard facts.
If physiologists had realized the importance to the
vocalist of utilizing all of the vocal chords with which
Nature has provided him, in order to obtain a strong
and beautiful voice, they would certainly have gone
deeper and more carefully into the subject, and must
have found that not one pair of muscles, but five,
constitute the sounding part of the human throat.
Surely they would then have realized that the
stretching power of the internal muscles of the larynx
is far too meagre to stretch and hold tense these five
216 LESSON IX

pairs of vocal muscles; then they would have found

that Nature has provided a simple, indirect means of
stretching the vocal muscles, viz: the powerful and
easily controlled external muscles of the larynx.
How many good voices would have been preserved !
How much happiness and sweetness would have been
added to the world! On the other hand, how much
misery would have been prevented! Think of the
thousands upon thousands of voice students, year by
year, who never accomplish their high ambition. Think
of those who started with fine voices, and by wrong
teaching methods, lost their voices in a few years.
Also consider the millions of people who suffer from
throat troubles caused entirely by weak voices; think
of those with defective voices, stammerers, etc. All
this trouble arises out of the fact that we have not
known Nature's laws and provision for a healthy,
sound voice and throat.

THE VOCAL CHORDS

The vocal chords extend from the roots of the
arytaenoides along the inner side of the two plates of the
thyroid cartilage to the angle where these plates meet
and form the sharp corner in front of the throat which
we call the Adam's apple. Since these edges of the vocal
chords meet at the angle of the thyroid cartilage, they
touch each other at that point, but are farther and
farther apart, as they stretch across to the arytaenoides
on the right and left sides of the cricoid upon which
these rest.
The vocal chords are not thin muscles, as is some
times supposed, resembling strings or wires; far from
it. They are more like muscular bands, being in fact
rather broad, as they extend from about the middle of
 LESSON IX 217

the thyroid cartilage. Bearing this broad band shape

of the vocal chords in mind, it can easily be seen that
these bands do not touch each other throughout their
entire width during phonation; if they did, no breath
could get through to set them into vibration, and, of
course, no tone would be possible. The vocal chords
must approach each other in the form of a sharp edge.
This is brought about mainly through other muscles
which lie behind the real vocal chords and which help,
by rotating the arytaenoides upon their pivots, to
bring the edges of the vocal chords toward each other.
As these muscles contract, they force the outer
parts of the vocal bands toward each other, bulging
them in such a way that sharp edges appear which can
easily be set in motion by the breath. But in perform
ing this office they also perform another, in that they
enlarge the vocal chords, making them much thicker.
In later lessons, on the laws of physics and of
sound, we shall learn that a tone is either weak or strong
in proportion to the amount of vibrating, tone-produc
ing material. A thin chord will give much weaker tones
than a chord four or eight times thicker. Now, if only
the vocal chords vibrate, the sound can be only of a
certain strength, no matter how much breath pressure
may be brought to bear. The breath cannot change
the vibrating material in the least, but since the mus
cles which lie between the vocal chords and the wall
of the thyroid cartilage contract very sharply and force
the vocal chords toward each other, and also into a
sharp edge, they add their own size, density and
strength to the vocal chords, and consequently they
also vibrate with them, being, in fact, like one compact
bunch of muscles, instead of several separate pairs.
We may compare this with the bass strings of a
piano, where the wires are reinforced with additional
218 LESSON IX

wires which are tightly wound around them, thus

making the original wires perhaps four to eight times
heavier, and, of course, the tone much stronger and
larger.
Anticipating later chapters, I may here say that,
like the heavily covered piano wires, the reinforced
vocal chords, being heavier, vibrate much slower, con
sequently a high tone is only possible when great
stretching power exists, enabling the singer to stretch
these reinforced vocal muscles sufficiently to obtain
the number of vibrations needed for the higher tones.
Any singer who develops this necessary stretching power
is thereby raised from the ranks of mediocrity to a
high artistic level. Those who have not this power
can develop it until it is equal or even superior to that of
the greatest singers the world now has or ever has had.
This is no hypothesis, but a mathematical certainty.
In Fig. 63 the action of the vocal chords and the
muscles behind them is plainly visible. The muscle in
front (the thin white line) is the real vocal chord;
those behind contract sharply, of course becoming
shorter and thicker, and cause the chords on either
side to bulge toward each other in a sharp edge; at
the same time the arytaenoides are revolved so that
the chords nearly or quite touch each other.
Fig. 66 shows still more plainly that the vocal
chords can be reinforced and enlarged to an almost
unlimited extent by the surrounding muscles (3, 4, 5),
thereby adding more and more volume to the tone,
and, of course, more audible overtones, thereby giving
greater volume and greater beauty to the tone quality.
In Fig. 66 the vocal chords (2) are plainly visible
as the first layer of muscles growing out of the points
of the two arytaenoides (6) and meeting in the center
 LESSON IX 219

Fig. 66

HORIZONTAL CUT THROUGH THE VOCAL CHORDS AND

SURROUNDING MUSCLES AND CARTILAGES
1. Thyroid Cartilage. 7. Muscles connecting Arytae
2. Vocal Chords. noides with Cricoid Cartilage.
3. 4, 5. Muscles which reenforce 8. Glottis (open space between
and enlarge the Vocal Chords. the Vocal Chords, when at rest).
6. Arytaenoides Cartilages.
220 LESSON IX

of the thyroid cartilage (1). Picture them as bands

extending downward nearly to the cricoid cartilage.
The empty space between them is called the glottis (8).
Behind the vocal chords are other layers of muscles
(3, 4, 5), which also run from the arytaenoides to the
front of the thyroid cartilage.
Remembering that the arytaenoides rotate upon
the top of the cricoid cartilage, it is evident that such
a rotating action will bring the vocal chords, and with
them, of course, all the muscles behind them, toward,
each other. This is exactly what happens in singing,
and also, but to a less extent, in speaking. The nerves
which supply these muscles stimulate them to contract
and hold them during the musical phrase or spoken
sentence, after which, as there must be a slight pause
between sentences, or phrases, the muscles relax and
resume their original shape, to be brought to instant
contraction on the beginning of a new sentence.
It is of the utmost importance to keep in mind that
the front attachment of the vocal layers of muscles
grows out of the thyroid cartilage and is permanently
fixed at that point. The opposite ends are movable,
because they are attached to the freely moving, rotating
pair of arytaenoid cartilages. As the chords contract,
these arytaenoides wheel around. But if there were no
other muscles, the arytaenoides would be drawn for
ward, away from the back of the cricoid toward the
front of the thyroid. To prevent this, muscles have
been provided which hold these arytaenoides in place;
in fact, they pull strongly backward, just as strongly
as the vocal chords pull forward, and thereby help
in stretching the chords.
These backward-pulling muscles (7) arise out of
the back of the cricoid and are fastened to the rpar of
 LESSON IX 221

the arytaenoides, where they are assisted by still other

muscles in this backward pulling. The student is earn
estly requested to examine these points closely, as they
are of importance to him and to his understanding of
the following lessons.
The day has passed when merely the thoughtless
singing of exercises suffices to make an artist. Clear
thinking and scientific reasoning alone are the keys
which will open the door to vocal success. We are
dealing with a substantial science, one that is as much
a matter of fact as the playing of a piano or a violin.
But the singer must be his own creator, so to speak;
he cannot buy a perfect voice, he must know what to
do and then do it.
In another lesson it was said that Nature provided
two means of stretching the vocal muscles; one, the
internal, has just been described, the other, or external,
which has also been given. Where, in opera, stage,
concert or church, a full, rich, scintillating tone is
required, a thin, small voice has no chance against a
modern orchestra or even an organ. The demands
made by modern composers require a tone that from
the slightest piano can be increased to a voluminous
fortissimo. The pleadings of the softest whisper of
longing must, if need be, increase to the utmost cry
of intense passionate love or hate.
Nature has made full and overflowing provision for
all this. The vocal muscles, as they lie within the con
fines of the larynx, can stretch but little. The space
from the thyroid to the arytaenoides is too small. It
is only when the thyroid cartilage is tilted downward
that the stretching can be increased. This action
must take place before the chords can be completely
stretched. And this stretching is accomplished by the
222 LESSON IX

external muscles already described. The external

stretching of the vocal chords is voluntary and under
the student's control. The method can be learned by
anyone who will give the subject a little intelligent
consideration and sufficient practice.

EXERCISES FOR LESSON IX

THE GLOTTIS ATTACK
(Continued)
Having, in the last lesson, demonstrated the open
glottis, the relaxed throat, and the independence of
breath, throat and mouth, it becomes necessary now
to show how they can be made to operate together.
As in Lesson VII, clear the throat very gently and
softly. Notice that now there is a slight, soft obstruc
tion down in the throat. It seems like two soft pads
of flesh touching each other.
Now cough, roughly, sometimes even quite hard as
in an actual cough. Notice that in this actual cough,
your throat is closed very tightly and that considerable
force is employed to force air through this obstruction.
This rough, violent closing of the vocal chords
should NEVER be employed for speaking or singing.
Even for the loudest tones, violence is unnecessary.
An explosive tone- is always caused by the tightening
of the vocal chords.
Place a finger against the Adam's aople. Very
easily and softly, close the vocal chords and notice that
the Adam's apple moves very little, if at all. Now
try to speak from that point, that is, with the vocal
chords gently closed.
First count as if you were adding a column of
figures in your account book. Later, count out as if
you were dictating these figures to another person
 LESSON IX 223

across the room—that is, now call the figures in a sharp,

clear voice.
Read the following little verse, as if you were recit
ing it to your friends in your easiest and most natural
speech.
A Watery Duet
A charming young singer called Hannah, .
Got into a flood in Montana.
As she floated away
Her sister, they say,
Accompanied her on the piano.
Later on recite this verse or some other, as if you
were "dramatically" addressing an audience in a
large hall. In both cases you should merely feel the
vibration of the soft pads of flesh inside of the Adam's
apple, and no more. The throat must remain free,
whether you count to yourself, recite to your friends,
or dramatize to a large audience.
Proceed in the same way for singing, but before
you sing, be sure that you have command over this
attack through speaking.
For the present, start about F, first space, if your
voice is low, or about B flat, third line, if your voice
is high. Do not sing above your easiest range. At
first proceed to sing each tone three times, counting
one beat for the tone and one beat for the pause.
Take each tone firmly, but easily. Go up the scale,
then in the same way come down the scale.
Both speakers and singers should become clearly
conscious of the slight closing of the vocal chords as
you speak or sing, and also of the fact that the instant
you cease speaking or singing, the vocal chords are
again open. Thus, when you say "ah," the vocal
chords close, and they remain closed as long as you
hold the "ah," but the instant you stop, the vocal
chords must separate.
224 LESSON IX

It is very important that you learn this: The vocal

chords must resume their position of rest the instant
you cease making the sound. You must be able
gradually to close and open the vocal chords at will.
For very low tones and for the purpose of increas
ing the volume of all medium tones (but not above
"F" on fifth line), practice and learn gradually the
following:
Start a very slight clearing of the throat, and grad
ually go into a "purring" action, and later imitate the
"buzzing" of a sawmill or the "spinning" of a cat or
the gentle growling of a puppy dog. Keep your
mouth closed for these tests. Learn the purring or
spinning. It is very easy; it is a continued vibration
of the enlarged vocal chords. That is, the vocal
chords are now thicker than with the throat clearing.
After getting to know the feeling and realizing the
sensation of purring or spinning, imitate the buzzing
of a sawmill. Find out how to swell a tone to its
utmost power and recede to the softest sound, just
as a buzzsaw in a sawmill falls and swells, or as a
bumble bee will sound louder or softer. Or observe
an aeroplane as it comes nearer, the whining sound
increases in volume and recedes as the plane dis
appears from sight. All the time, whether the sound
is infinitely soft or tremendously strong, you must
feel no serious compression of the throat. Of course
you are using up energy and you feel that you are
working hard. You may become very tired, but
surely and always, at all times, you should not feel
any straining, tightening or stiffening anywhere in
your body. This is an absolute rule for all exercises
now and in all the lessons and exercises which are to
follow. I may forget now and then to caution you
against straining, but don't you forget it.
 LESSON IX 225

By the means of this purring, spinning, buzzing or

growling, you can gain wonderful effects both in speak
ing and singing. Your own good taste must, for the
present, tell you when and where to employ such
efforts. But start some sentence, in a light, easy
manner, gradually increase to a greater and greater
volume until you have reached your full power, and
then diminish gradually to the softest tones of which
you are capable.
The practice of this exercise is especially designed
for very low tones. With the attack as in buzzing,
you can go much lower than ever before. It will not
interfere with your legitimate high tones in any way.
Singers please notice that the foundation, the alpha
and omega of all good singing, is, first of all, good low
and middle tones. They are used twenty times to
one of the high tones. You must have a foundation,
and that means you must be able to sing well on all
the tones up to "F" on the fifth line. Don't worry
about high tones for the present. We must first get
a foundation; lessons on the high tones will follow.
Now repeat the glottis attack, first by a slight clear
ing of the throat, then silently bring the vocal chords
together, hold them and let them fall apart. Repeat,
close glottis and hold, it closed while you mentally
count "one," "two," "three;" at "four" open glottis.
Repeat this to different counts.
Now close glottis and at the instant of closing,
but not later, say "ah," "ah," "ah," then "A," "A,"
"A," and so on with each vowel. Later add syllables
to the vowel, as "lah," "lah," "lah," "tah," "tay,"
"tee," "kay," "key," "koh," "kooh," "awl," "ell,"
"if," "or," "oor," etc. Make up your own words,
or select words from a book. Practice them with this
attack.
226 LESSON IX

Select short sentences. Start with the light glottis

attack and gradually increase the sound by aiming to
enlarge the vocal chords as in imitating the buzzsaw.
Give this your careful attention. Meanwhile, always
continue the tongue exercises; the groove must be
made daily, taking great care to begin it far back
in the tongue, without moving the lowest part of the
larynx, which is the cricoid cartilage. Also look at
the Uvula, to see that it also does not move while you
silently make the groove. If you make the groove
easily enough, no other part will move.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON LESSON IX

(1) What is the open space between the vocal
chords called?
(2) Can you realize the closed vocal chords?
(3) Does the Adam's apple move when you close
the glottis?
(4) Does your breath escape when you close the
vocal chords?
(5) Is it easy or hard to speak or sing from the
glottis?
(6) Is the voice so made clear and distinct?
(7) Can you realize the open glottis?
(8) Can you make a very low sound distinctly and
with ease?
(9) Can you make the groove in the rear part of
the tongue?
(10) When making the groove, do you feel free
and loose?
 LESSON X

PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOCAL ORGANS

(Continued)
The two principal cartilages, the cricoid and the
thyroid, are connected with one another, as is seen in
Fig. 67, by the ligament (1), crico-thyroideus, which con
nects the front sides of the two cartilages. A muscle
can be either elongated or shortened. The shorten
ing, or contraction, of a muscle serves to bring the two
parts to which it is attached toward each other, while
an elongation would separate them. The elongation is
brought about by a forcible outward pull, which
stretches it beyond its natural length, thereby weaken
ing the muscle. Only a natural contraction of a muscle
is of any service to the body. Anything beyond that,
or less than that, is useless or harmful.
The vocal chords, in contracting, pull the cricoid
upward and the thyroid downward, but the cricoid
cartilage is part of the trachea, thus forming with the
other rings one solid air tube. The cricoid cartilage
cannot be drawn upward; hence only the downward
pulling force of the ligament is possible. This force is
sufficient, however, to prevent the muscles which pull
the thyroid cartilage upward (as will be later described)
from pulling it out of place.
As this muscle connects only -the frontal parts of
the cartilage, and since the thyroid cartilage simply
rests upon the back of the cricoid, other muscles are
needed to prevent the rear part from leaving its posi
tion. These muscles are found to the left and the right
sides of the ligament (2, 3, 4) in Fig. 67. They are
the crico-thyroid muscles.
Now, when all these muscles contract, the thyroid
cartilage tilts downward in front and closes the hollow
227
228 LESSON X

1. Crico-Thyroid Ligament. 6. Thyro-Hyoid Muscles.

2, 3, 4. Crico-Thyroid Muscles. 7, 8. Laryngo-Pharynx Muscles.
5. Thyro-Hyoid Ligament. 9. The Hyoid Bone.
 LESSON X 229

space or niche between it and the cricoid. Also,

since the vocal chords are attached to the front of the
thyroid cartilage, they are drawn somewhat down in
front, and are thus stretched to some extent.
At the expense of seeming tedious, it must be stated
that all these important actions could not take place
if the cricoid cartilage were not firmly fixed as a part
of the air tube. For, if the cricoid were movable, then
the muscles which connect it with the thyroid could
contract but very little. At least one of the two parts
to which muscles are attached must be solid to afford
the necessary resistance against which muscles can
contract.
Take a friend's hand and pull it toward you. If he
does not resist, then you cannot exert yourself, but the
more he resists, the stronger you can pull. Now, it is
true that the entire air tube can be raised somewhat,
and that is what is done when the larynx is raised for
high tones, as is often wrongly advised. But in so
doing, it is made impossible for the muscles just de
scribed to contract sufficiently to stretch the vocal
chords, because, if the air tube is raised, it loses its
natural hold in the chest, and as a consequence, all the
other forces are weakened. Similarly, if you lower the
larynx for low tones, you also lower the air tube and
alter its natural position, weakening its action and
that of all other parts with it. If you pull a finger
out of joint, it cannot move up or down, because it is
dislocated. It is so throughout the human body; each
member can do its best work only in its naturally
appointed position and in no other.
MUSCLES CONNECTING THE CARTILAGES
OF THE LARYNX|
You are now requested to examine the position of
the hyoid bond (9) in Fig. 67. Picture to yourself
230 LESSON X

that the long horns reach far back on both sides of the
throat and directly underneath the tongue, with which
the hyoid bone is very closely connected. Just as the
cricoid and thyroid cartilages are connected, so the
thyroid and the hyoid bone are connected, first in
front by a ligament (5), and then on both sides by
muscles (6).
Now, some close reasoning will be required of the
reader to understand and digest the seemingly in
volved (but in reality, very simple) actions of all these
muscles. The two cartilages, the cricoid and thyroid,
and the hyoid bone, must be brought closely together
to make a hollow tube. It was said that the cricoid,
being a part of the air tube, affords a firm basis for the
contraction of the muscles running to the thyroid, but
if the latter cartilage were not itself provided with
muscles to hold it, then it could not resist the cricoid
muscles.
The two cartilages would merely lie one upon the
other in a loose, flabby state, utterly useless for vocal
purposes. Consequently, the thyro-hyoid muscles must
be able to resist the muscles below them, but the hyoid
bone, as illustrated, affords no hold to the muscles
below it or to the thyroid. How, then, could all the
described muscles contract? How could these three
cartilages be brought into a firm, hollow tube? We
must find some means whereby directly or indirectly a
firm hold is provided for the hyoid bone. Otherwise
the chain of resistance would be broken and musical
tones would be impossible. The search for this support
to the hyoid bone leads us again to the external volun
tary muscles, and to the solution of the question of
how voice can be developed.
The circle is again completed. It does not matter •
from what point of the vocal organ one starts, one
 LESSON X 231

always arrives at the muscles from the hyoid bone to

the tongue, as the keystone or main spring upon which
all other parts of the vocal organ depend.
I might have started with the vocal chords inside
the cartilages of the larynx. I could have described
how they can be enlarged by the internal laryngeal
muscles, thus adding to the volume and quality of the
tone, provided there is enough strength to hold them
at the necessary tension for all tones. The internal
provision of stretching the vocal chords would at once
appear to be inadequate for that. We would quickly
notice that since the front part of the vocal chords is
attached to the front part of the thyroid cartilage, or
Adam's apple, that this cartilage would have to be
firmly held in its natural position in order to afford the
necessary resistance to a very powerful drawing or
pulling backward by the muscles connecting the crico-
arytaenoid cartilages, to which the rear parts of the
vocal chords are fastened.
If you hold a rubber band between your hands,
you must pull equally strongly in opposite directions to
stretch it. If the rubber band is doubled or quadrupled
in size, considerable strength is required to stretch it.
Now, with the vocal chords there is this additional
difficulty, that they cannot be, stretched lengthwise,
like the rubber band, which you elongate in tensing and
stretching. The main part of stretching the vocal
chords is accomplished by "bending" them down
ward. This bending downward can only be accom
plished by muscles which act upon the thyroid cartilage
in such a way that it is tilted forward and downward;
this is done by the muscles which are attached to the
larynx in front and in the rear. The front muscles
rise out of the breast and collar bones and pull the
thyroid downward.
232 LESSON X

sides
with
Jus'

© u. & u.
Fig. 68
Mr. Harry La Montague, riding his famous
thoroughbred '"Northman"
 LESSON X 233

The rear muscles spring from the soft palate above,

and are attached to the rear horns of the thyroid car
tilage. The thyroid cartilage, remember, is astraddle
upon the cricoid cartilage below it, as a man rides a
horse. The legs of the man correspond to the shorter
horns of the thyroid, the rider's arms correspond to the
long horns of the thyroid cartilage. The rider can bend
forward or backward and that is exactly what the
thyroid does also. Every bend, of course, carries the
vocal chords with it. (See Fig. 68.) A horse and
its rider. The horse holds the bit firmly in its mouth,
thus supporting the reins in front. The rider supports
the rear ends of the reins (which are the vocal chords).
Now, if the horse moves its head forward and the
rider leans at the same time backward, the reins (the
vocal chords) are taut or stretched very much indeed.
But, if the horse moves its head backward, or the
rider bends forward, the reins are relaxed.
By bending forward, the vocal chords are stretched;
by bending backward they are relaxed.
Now, if you can think mechanically, that is, if you
can follow a mechanism in its logical construction, you
would naturally ask yourself this question: What is
it that holds the larynx so firm and steady that the
muscles can contract powerfully and bend the vocal
chords inside the larynx?
Here we arrive at the wonderful provision in nature
which has escaped the observation of many physiolo
gists and practically all teachers of voice.
Directly, or indirectly, all muscles of the vocal organ
(and as we shall see in the lessons on breathing), even
those which have to do with breathing, are dependent
upon the tongue, as the central organ. The muscles
starting from the breast and collar bone, and those
starting from the chin, the hard palate and the skull,
234 LESSON X

have at their one end a firm, solid structure or bone; at

their other end, they are fastened, some directly (others
indirectly by other muscles), into the tongue.
Now the tongue in its natural state is a most flexi
ble organ, of very little strength. In that natural
relaxed state it could give no hold, no firm support to
the muscles which center into it. Think of the won
derful thing that Nature has done for the tongue:
The tongue has a shoe; it is given a firm, bony
structure, just as a horse's foot is shod to give it a
support against the hard ground or paved streets.
All you have to do is to keep this shoe firmly con
nected with the tongue. From a purely vocal point
of view, this is the chief necessity and the greatest
work to be accomplished. The hyo-glossus muscle, as
has been fully described, connects the hyoid bone or
horseshoe to the under part of the tongue, its rear
part. In this manner that part of the tongue becomes
solid and firm, giving the muscles which depend upon it
a strong foundation and resistance against which all
muscles attached to the tongue can contract with
their full power.
This leaves the front of the tongue free. The rear
part can adjust itself to the different changes of posi
tions needed for articulation, for extremes in range,
power, and for all the variations of tone color, from
the softest whisper to the strongest and loudest tone.
The hyo-glossus muscle needs to be very strong
indeed to afford the other muscles attached to it the
resistance and hold which they must have, in order to
bend and stretch the vocal chords. Every means must
be employed to strengthen the hyo-glossus muscle and
the st.ident must never relax in the effort to accomplish
this purpose.
 LESSON X 235

When the hyo-glossus muscle is weak, the hyoid

bone will not be held firmly enough to the tongue to
give the necessary support. In this case all other
muscles relax their effort correspondingly. Of course
the vocal chords also relax and the tone becomes
inferior. This fault, of a too weak hyo-glossus muscle,
is almost universal. Out of it arise not only inferior
voices generally, but imperfect voices, stammering,
stuttering, huskiness, loss of breath, constant coughing
and similar troubles. The tongue's shoe not only has
to fit, but it must be held firmly fixed to the under part
of tongue, and as it were, automatically, without any
effort. This is only possible when the hyo-glossus
muscle is very strong.

THE LARYNGEAL TUBE

The tube or space of the hollow throat, within
which the larynx is situated, can be compared some
what to an hour-glass. The lower and upper parts
are wide, but the middle part, through which sand
runs in an hour-glass, is narrow.
Fig. 69. The upper division of the laryngeal tube
consists of the epiglottis, which is the flexible gristle
that we touch when a finger is passed down the throat.
The epiglottis forms a cover to the air tube, so that the
food cannot enter the air tube when swallowed. The
epiglottis is the front wall of the upper section. The
rear wall is formed by the upper parts of the cricoid
and arytaenoid cartilages.
The middle part consists of the vocal muscles, which
again are divided into false and true vocal chords.
The false or spurious vocal chords are above the true
vocal chords. They are much farther apart than the
true vocal chords; hence they cannot be brought close
236 LESSON X

ehcugh together to make a sound. The true vocal

chords form a sharp corner, which is set into vibration
by the breath. As the sharp corners are only the out
ward edge of all the vocal muscles, it follows that not
only the edges are made to vibrate and produce sound,
but the entire mass of muscles back of them.
Between the false and the true vocal chords is the
ventricle or space which permits a free vibration of the
vocal chords.
The lower section of the laryngeal tube is merely
the continuation of the trachea or air tube, only much
wider. It narrows gradually toward the root of the
vocal mechanism. -
 LESSON X 237

POSITION OF THE LARYNX

The larynx is situated in front of the spinal column
and opposite the "4-6" vertebrae. Between the larynx
and the spinal column is the food pipe or oesophagus,
so that food passes between the larynx and the spine.
The larynx is of a larger size in a man than in a woman.
Fig. 70. The larynx, when viewed from above,
discloses the vocal chords, epiglottis, ventricle, etc.
These are seen much better when breathing silently
and when light is reflected down the throat. The false
vocal chords are the dark mass of muscles above and
the light lines of the true vocal chords are seen below.
Notice that the false vocal chords are much further
apart than the true vocal chords.

Chords

Fig. 70
Vocal Chords as seen from above.

Because the larynx lies so near the spine two spe

cial advantages are gained. One of these is that since
the omohyoid muscle, running from the hyoid bone
to the rear part of the collar bone, runs in an oblique
direction, it must and does, when contracted, press the
lower part of the larynx, the cricoid or ring cartilage,
firmly against the spine. The spine therefore acts as
a fulcrum for the cricoid, so that all the muscles of the
larynx can exert their full power when contracting and
238 LESSON X

stretching the vocal chords. The second advantage of

this firmly fixed position of the larynx against the spine,
is the gain in additional resonance of tone. As the
vocal chords, and with them the larynx, vibrate, the
spine will also vibrate, enlarging and beautifying the
tone.
When you strike a tuning fork and merely hold it
in your hand, the tone will be comparatively small,
but when you rest the fork against the broad surface
of a table, the tone will be greatly augmented. In a
similar way, the spine augments the vocal tone.
The eminent American teacher and physiologist,
John Howard, was, perhaps,- the first to realize the
great importance of the spine, as one of the agents
which assist the external laryngeal muscles in their
effort to stretch the vocal chords. He also discovered
and demonstrated that the spine actually does add to
the volume and quality of the voice; that, in short, the
spine is a true resonator. To Mr. Howard must be
given first credit for some of the facts which I have so
far described.
In the next lesson it will be necessary to consider,
and to briefly describe, the blood vessels and nerve
supply of the vocal organ. Then, again, we shall
obtain additional proof of the importance of the tongue
and especially the hyo-glossi muscles, as the central
organ or keystone of the entire vocal organ.
The reason that prompted me to describe and
illustrate the parts of the vocal chords and the entire
vocal organ in such detail, was my wish to prove to you
just why the exercises given you are such as they have
so far been and will be as we advance. I want to
convince you that these exercises are right and that no
other exercises could, by any possibility, do for you
 LESSON X 239

that which these exercises are sure to do. When you

see for yourself that the things I teach are exact and
logical, you will make them your own, and I know
that then you will be content to work, knowing and
feeling that the results will justify your efforts and
expectations.

EXERCISES FOR LESSON X

Some vocal teachers instruct their pupils to keep

the throat and the muscles of the larynx open and
relaxed. In fact, several systems of voice training have
been founded upon this rule, but none of them have
ever been successful as far as the improvement of the
pupil's voice was concerned. It must be evident to
everyone having the slightest knowledge of physiology,
that no work can be done by relaxed muscles, and that
no one can speak or sing while the vocal muscles
remain lax. To be relaxed is to be inactive, to lack force.
For example, the reason an intoxicated person is
unable to control his motions and his speech is because
he has lost the control over his muscles. They have
become relaxed and therefore cannot function naturally.

Because a set of relaxed muscles can perform little

or no work, it does not necessarily follow that muscles
must be stiff, or hard, in order to do their work. That
would be going to the other extreme and would be
equally incorrect. Nearly all singers are inclined to
make the singing muscles rigid, especially in the higher
registers. Recognizing this, and seeing the destructive
effect of it, teachers came to the conclusion that the
muscles should be kept lax. It was the best they could
advise for a middle way; a method of strengthening
the muscles so that they could work freely, flexibly
and apparently loosely, did not exist until I made my
240 LESSON X

discovery. Now we avoid both extremes and follow

a normal course.
All muscles directly or indirectly concerned in
speech are connected with nerves which connect with
the brain. The desire or command of the will is com
municated from the brain through the nerves to the
muscles and thus stimulates them into action.
Without that splendid work of the physician and
physiologist, Doctor Forster, of London, England,
entitled "The Inner Construction and Function of the
Muscles," I would never have succeeded in isolating
and controlling the hyoid muscle. This excellent work
is concerned only with the inner composition, vital
power, and, one might say, intelligence of the muscles.
For instance, it describes the process by which a muscle
contracts as follows:
"One must think of the muscle as having many
cells, composed of a highly explosive substance and
lying one above the other in rows, like grains of powder.
A nerve fibre radiating from the central battery
(the brain) leads to each of these grains. Through
an electrical impulse of the will, one or more of these
grains is exploded with the result that the muscle con
tracts instantaneously and remains contracted until a
grain or cell is exploded by the negative battery. Then
the muscle is released and instantly springs back into
its natural position. As the impulse or explosive cells
are being used up, fatigue appears and increases in
ratio to their destruction. During the time of recuper
ation, the tiny baccilli of the blood become active and
remove the burned-out ashes and build up a stronger
set of cells to take the place of those destroyed."
It is by this process that a muscle is made stronger.
If one tries to force a muscle beyond its actual strength,
 LESSON X 241

it fails to respond. Why? Because the limit of power

is reached when the last impulse cell is exploded. To
get more power, more cells must be built. My method
builds more cells and thereby gives strength to the
muscle.
The attentive student cannot fail to learn from the
above explanation that a muscle can only be strength
ened by contracting it (exploding the cells) very
quickly, keeping it contracted for a second or so and
then letting it relax, and repeating this process until
fatigue appears. It is also to be seen that the strength
ening of a muscle takes place only gradually, as cell is
added to cell, much like the growth of a plant. This is
no miracle, therefore, a surprisingly swift growth of
vocal strength can be obtained only where Nature has
already built a secure foundation. However, even the
weakest vocal organ can be strengthened and built up
by this method. Application and perseverance is all
that is needed. No one need despair of success if he
is willing to work faithfully.

THROAT AND LUNG DISEASES

Most throat troubles and some lung- diseases can

be traced back to lax, weak vocal muscles. When
these muscles are slack, one can speak only by forced
effort and straining, thereby causing irritation, result
ing in inflammation of the throat and vocal chords.
When the vocal muscles are lax, the chords cannot
close the air passage, and the lungs cannot hold the
air, hence they function only with difficulty and great
effort. In time this incorrect, unnatural condition
exercises a bad effect and if the throat and lungs are
inherently predisposed toward disease, there is no
resistance against infection.
242 LESSON X

Among my pupils it has always proven true that,

with the increase in the strength of the vocal muscles,
a considerable improvement in general health took
place. That change of air is sometimes of great bene
fit is unquestionable, but that change of air alone is
not sufficient to cure throat troubles is equally certain.
Many throat diseases result because the patient's lungs
cannot retain air of any kind, because of the weakened
condition of the vocal organ above the lungs.
When the muscles belonging to the organ of speech
are strengthened, they immediately become disease-
resisting and then the air of your own locality cannot
injure them. So, also, the best of food could not help
the poor unfortunate whose digestive organs are incapa
ble of assimilating it. The digestive muscles must
first be put in good condition before the stomach can
do its work. It is just so in many throat troubles.
The muscles of the larynx must be strengthened before
they can perform their functions.

ISOLATING THE ABDOMINAL MUSCLES

The difficulty in learning how to breathe correctly
lies, not in knowing how much breath to take or how
to inhale or exhale, but in knowing how to obtain a sure
control over the important abdominal muscles without
the interference of the diaphragm, rib or chest muscles.
It is true that the diaphragm plays the most impor
tant part in exhaling, but it can only be controlled
indirectly through the abdominal muscles. For all
singing tones, for the strongest and highest, as well as
for the softest, only a nominal contraction of the
abdominal muscles should take place, assisted by a
slight sinking of the lower part of the back.
FIRST EXERCISE: Lay both hands on the sides
of the chest, then inhale and observe that the lower
 LESSOM X 243

part of the chest opens and expands outward against

the hands. Hold the chest in this expanded position
and very gently draw the abdomen back a little. Hold
it there for a moment, then slacken it so that it falls
back into its natural position. In doing this exercise,
you will observe that the abdomen narrows a little from
side to side and flattens in front. Familiarize your
self with this movement and be careful that in the
drawing in and slackening of the abdomen, the chest,
that is, the sides by which the chest is hemmed in, does
not move at all.
This is the important feature of the exercise.
When you can draw in and relax the abdomen as
instructed, without moving the chest, you have com
pletely isolated the important abdominal muscles and
have made important progress.
SECOND EXERCISE: Whisper "sh" several
times. Observe the position of the mouth and tongue
and retain that position unconstrained. Next, place
the hands on the sides of the chest as instructed above
and quite gently, but quickly, draw back the abdomen
and involuntarily a faint "sh" will be produced. Dur
ing this exercise the chest and sides must not move at
all. The greatest movement of the abdominal muscles
will be noticed at the lower end.
THIRD EXERCISE: Sit comfortably, with your
back resting against a chair. Take a deep breath.
Hold it for a moment, and then whisper "sh" softly,
and observe that very little breath is used. Follow the
"sh" with "oo," and note that the chest sinks at once
and that the breath is quickly used. This exercise
should be repeated many times without paying any
attention to the abdominal muscles. You are to
observe two points in this exercise. First, that in the
244 LESSON X

"sh" a resistance is formed principally by the tongue,

which allows very little air to pass out. Second, that
in the transition from the "sh" to the "oo" this resist
ance is removed, thereby allowing the breath to escape
quickly and causing the chest to sink. Incidentally,
this exercise shows that the breath is easily lost when
it meets with no resistance.

TONE WITH ISOLATED ABDOMINAL

MUSCLES
FOURTH EXERCISE: When you are certain
that you clearly understand and have mastered the
first exercise, then place your hands on the sides of
the lower chest and inhale so that the chest expands.
Hold this position quietly for a moment, then whisper
"awh," "ah;" "eeh," "oh," and "ooh."
With each vowel sound draw in the abdomen
quickly, but gently, as instructed in the first exercise.
Next, speak the "awh" in the usual way. Observe
the position of the tongue, mouth and teeth, then hold
the position exactly and draw the abdomen back. In
doing this you will reproduce the sound involuntarily.
Do the same with the"ah," "eeh," "oh" "and "ooh."
During this exercise the chest must neither sink
nor expand. The vowel sounds must be quickly forced
out and by only the slightest possible movement of the
abdomen. Pause a moment before the next sound and
allow the abdomen to relax. During the process of
relaxation a little breath will be lost, noticeably as an
aspirate. This is because of the final "h" which is
added to the vowels.
After systematically and quietly practicing the
above exercise, repeat the same prodecure, but now
 LESSON X 245

speak, or rather call out the vowel sounds loudly, but

do not scream them. Almost everyone will attain a
better and easier tone through this exercise.
Train yourself to think of the breath and of the
vocal strength as resulting from a slight contraction of
the abdominal muscles. While these breathing exer
cises are important assistants, yet it is on the tongue
that we must depend for a faultless, beautiful, rich
voice. Therefore, you should constantly practice the
different tongue exercises given in the previous lessons.
The isolation of the abdominal muscles may be a
little difficult at first, but if you will practice it a little
every day, you will soon master it. By isolating the
abdominal muscles you will get the tone away from the
throat and will also learn much about the breathing
muscles that will be of value to you later on. Even
after you have gained control of this muscle, it will be
well to go through the exercises occasionally to make
sure that you are still keeping it under control.
246 LESSON X

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON LESSON X

(1) How are the vocal chords stretched?
(2) Is the larynx held firm and where?
(3) What is needed to allow a muscle to contract?
(4) How many cartilages and bones form the
entire air tube?
(5) What is the central organ of voice?
(6) Why is the tongue provided with a firm sup
port?
(7) Can the vocal chords be enlarged?
(8) Are the false vocal chords used in speaking
or singing?
(9) How can you isolate the abdominal muscles?
(10) How is your tone when using the isolated
abdominal muscles?
 LESSON XI

PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOCAL ORGAN

(Continued)

ARTERIES AND NERVES

It may seem superfluous to the voice student to be

asked to bother about the arteries and nerves of the
vocal organ, especially after he has been made to
digest a rather complicated description of the ana
tomical structure of this organ. But merely mechan
ical things are, after all, useless unless there is a guiding
and driving force behind them. Just as merely will
power, merely intelligence and merely culture are of
themselves helpless, even useless, so is mechanism,
even of the most perfect kind, helpless and useless by
itself. But the mind, intelligence and culture should
work together in absolute harmony and union. They
then become invaluable.
The blood and the nerves supply the driving and
motive power of the human mechanism. Some knowl
edge of blood circulation and nerve supply will help
to explain the complete action of the vocal organ and
the lessons on the breathing organ which are to follow.
The seeker after complete truth will also find in the
description of blood circulation and nerve supply
additional proof of the absolutely unqualified correct
ness of my method. He will therefore work with
greater zest, courage and confidence. He will see that
he stands on the solid, unassailable ground of fact.
The theory must prove that it is also the fact.
A short time before the outbreak of the war I was
present at the launching of one of the mightiest ocean
steamships—perhaps the most monumental under
taking of this description in the history of the entire
247
248 LESSON XI

world. The mighty ship glided smoothly, gracefully

down the slips and soon proceeded under her own
steam. Consider that it took perhaps years to con
struct such a ship and yet there was never any trial
on water. This ship, as all others, was constructed
by theory—first in the brains of her builders, then the
plans were worked out on paper and so on. If the
theory was correct the ship would float, if not, then
there was some fault, some mistake in the theory. It
would be utterly impossible to build a factory, a
locomotive or even a fair-sized dwelling without plans—
that is, without a theory.
I am taking great pains to explain my theory. I
have prepared myself for just this work, have devel
oped the theory and tested it for many years by put
ting it to actual work and obtaining wonderful results.
Of course work is needed and in some cases long
continued work. To encourage you to work I am
proving my theory to you, so that you will make it
your own and, when you do that, I am convinced
that you will be contented to work and, if need be>
to wait for the coming of the great success that is
sure to follow. Try to follow my theory. Try to
understand and master it. You have no idea how
much humanity needs just this method. You can
help not only yourself but many friends. You can
help to make clear what has been misunderstood for
centuries.

THE HEART

The blood circulates through tubes (arteries or

veins) which grow out of the heart and spread through
the body in all directions. Through these tubes the
blood again returns to the heart, to be once more
 LESSON XI 249

pumped or forced back into the veins and arteries. In

this circle of arteries the lungs are included. They
are the organs which purify the blood as it comes in
contact with the inhaled air (oxygen).

Fig. 71
Heart. Front View

Fig. 72
Heart. Rear View

Figs. 71 and 72 show both front and rear views of

the heart in its natural position. The heart is a pear
250 LESSON XI

shaped organ, composed mainly of muscles. It is

divided into two main sections; the right-hand section
is called the heart of the lungs, the left-hand section,
the heart of the body. Each of these is again divided
into a vestibule and chamber.
The heart lies within the chest above the diaphragm
and between the lungs. In front it rests against the
chest; in the rear it is separated from the spine by the
foodpipe and the aorta (the main blood vessel).

THE ARTERIES
As there are two main divisions of the heart, so
are there two main systems of arteries; one is the

Fig. 73
Arteiies of the Throat
L. Lingual Artery
 LESSON XI 251

system of "heart-to-lung" arteries, the other, "heart-

to body." These arteries are again divided into many
smaller arteries branching into every part of the body.
The artery which most concerns the speaker and
singer is the "carotis externus" which supplies the.
head and face with the necessary blood circulation.
This artery again is divided into many branches run
ning to the muscles of the throat—the pharynx, palate
and tongue.
In Fig. 73 the branch artery marked "L" (lingualis)
runs directly into the hyo-glossi muscle, showing
again the emphasis which Nature has placed upon the
importance of this muscle, by giving it a direct and
large arterial supply.
The other arteries of importance to the vocalist
are those which supply the chewing muscles, those
strong, powerful muscles on either side of the jaw
which are clearly shown in Fig. 74. They are marked

Fig. 74
Ear and Jaw Arteries
252 LESSON XI

"mi," maxillaris interna. The tympanic, or hearing

arteries "t,". are also plainly shown.
A general view of the arteries of the chest, or
"thorax," is given in Fig. 75. Although this belongs
really to the lessons devoted to breathing, it is given
here to show the continuity of the circulation of the
blood through the entire body. The principal artery,
marked "A," is called the aorta. The intestines,
heart and lungs lie partly in front of and touching this
principal artery. Therefore many vocalists who force

Fig. 75
Arteries of the Thorax
254 LESSON XI

the voice or breathe in a forced, artificial manner are

sometimes overcome with dizziness and even fainting
spells. When the chest and the abdominal muscles
are violently or unnaturally contracted, they force the
internal parts of the abdomen and chest inward upon
the aorta vein and thus impede or make difficult the
free circulation of the blood. Of course there is at
once a great disturbance which is registered in the brain
and causes dizziness and even fainting.
Fig. 76 will give you a very good idea of the com
plete system of blood circulation over the entire body.
At "AA" the great aorta artery divides; parts ascend
ing to the throat and head, other parts descending into
the abdomen, arms and legs. The arteries marked
"cc," "ci," and "ce" are the "carotis," "external"
and "internal" already mentioned.
The external carotis artery supplies the face and
head, with the exception of the brain and the eyes;
these are supplied by the internal carotis. The carotis
externus supplies the thyroid, tongue and lingual
muscles; also the teeth and the regions of the pharynx.
The internal carotis artery, as was said, supplies
the brain and the eyes with the necessary blood.
I

EXERCISES FOR LESSON XI

With this exercise you are introduced to the most
valuable parts of all the lessons so far sent you, that is,
the infallible correct "attack." By this is meant the
initial starting of a tone, whether for speaking or sing
ing. Many otherwise good vocalists start a tone with
a sort of grating or barking sound; others start the
tone in a breathy, faint und uncertain manner. The
attack, or starting of a tone, is really the most im
portant part of all voice study, for upon the initial
 LESSON XI 255

start depends the clearness, the strength and quality

of the voice.
Perhaps some of you have studied piano, violin or
some other musical instrument. If so, you will
remember that the most important part of your in
structions were to be sure to always get the best tone
possible. Now the best tone can only be obtained
under right physical conditions. If too much force
is used, the tone is' hard and piercing. On the other
hand, if no strength at all is used, then the tone is
faint, uncertain and without character. Force is
prohibited, but natural strength is demanded for a
good attack. When the singer or speaker has to force
the voice it means that the natural strength is deficient.
Because of this deficiency, vocalists are tempted to
use, not the correct and natural means of making a
sound, but the unnatural means. Only when the organs
which produce sound are strong enough to do their
work with ease, then the sound will be the very best
possible. You will find through studying the lessons
on "attack," which tones are produced by your natural
strength and also, if you test the attack on higher tones,
you will quickly realize the limit of range natural to
your present voice. When you realize this limit, you
will, I am sure, be sensible enough not to force your
voice beyond it, but to work patiently to create the
necessary strength which will carry you far beyond
your present limitations.

THE VOCAL ATTACK

If you will lay the palm of your hand against the
back of the upper thigh and take a few steps, you
will notice that the leg muscles swell and push against
the hand. A similar action will occur if you lay your
hand upon the upper arm and then move the forearm
256 LESSON XI

up and down. The explanation of this swelling is

that when any part of the body is about to move, the
muscles of that part contract or draw together. In
other words, they shorten themselves, but what they
lose in length they gain in thickness. They become
thicker, firmer, more compact and consequently harder.
The change from a slack to a tense condition of a
muscle occurs suddenly, therefore we notice the con
traction as a jerk or stroke. This same action takes
place in the vocal organ when it performs its functions
correctly and naturally.
It is this muscular contraction that makes it pos
sible for us to demonstrate to the eye and to the sense
of touch, as well as to the ear, the right and wrong
action of the vocal organ. If you have mastered all
the previously described tongue exercises, you should
now be ready for the test that is to determine the real
condition of your hyoid muscle.

THE TEST
If you will make an examination, you will find that
the under side of the tongue is attached to the bottom of
the mouth. For this test insert the little finger, nail up
ward, under the center of the tongue. Rest the finger
upon the teeth and raise the finger tip slightly, caus
ing the tongue to rest upon the finger. Be careful to
observe the following rules: The tongue must remain
soft. It must not be drawn back. It must not extend
forward over the teeth. Acquire this quiet, easy posi
tion of the tongue upon the little finger before you
attempt to proceed further. See Fig. 77.
Hold the position described above, take the mirror
in your other hand and observe the tongue, and by
the dictation of your will form the tongue groove.
 LESSON XI 257

As the finger will be an obstacle, it may not at first be

easy to make the groove. If this is the case, lay the
mirror aside, and with the index finger of the free

Fig. 77.

hand, stroke and tickle the back of the tongue to

encourage or provoke it to fall. The instant the
groove is formed you will feel a light pressure upon
the finger. Retain this pressure while you mentally
count three, but be careful not to increase the pressure
at all. Then suddenly relax the pressure and the
groove will disappear. Repeat this exercise twenty-
five times. If you can do this, your hyoid muscle is
gaining strength and you are progressing favorably.
258 LESSON XI

If you cannot do this exercise perfectly, continue to

practice until you can. Sufficient practice is all that
is necessary.
The hyoid muscle is peculiar. It cannot be forced;
it has to be educated and mentally controlled. As
already explained, it is nowhere attached to a firm
bone, but lies relaxed in the throat. Because of this
we cannot force it as we can the muscles of the arm.
If you attempt any straining whatever with this
muscle, the masticatory muscles will interfere and you
will feel a strong pressure upon the finger. This is
just what you do not want. Such pressure comes from
a wrong source, a source from which proceeds not help
but injury. This is the one thing you must prevent.
All development of the voice depends upon the develop
ment of strength in the hyoid muscle; therefore my
instructions are designed to bring about this develop
ment, and all the exercises I give here have for their
object the development of this muscle.
A knowledge of breathing, etc., while useful, is
still of secondary consideration. You cannot over
estimate the value of exercising the tongue upon the
little finger. Continue it for three or four weeks, or
even longer, at frequent intervals through the day; you
cannot practice it too much. Many will succeed at
once; others will find it difficult. If it is difficult,
remember you are holding the tongue too stiff. Merely
learn to drop it as you do your arms, when they are
tired, or as you close your eyes when you are sleepy.
A peculiarity which I have observed in many
pupils is that those who have weak hyo-glossus muscles
can grasp the exercises more readily and execute them
with more ease than those in whom the muscles are
naturally strong.
The only explanation I can suggest is that the
muscles of a naturally strong tongue, because they
 LESSON XI 259

have never been directly controlled, are more awkward

and respond more slowly.
When you succeed in making the groove against
the underlying finger, notice casually, that the tongue
rests upon the finger, that is, you feel the weight of the
tongue resting on the little finger. You can use your
right hand or left hand; it does not matter which.
After you have learned this, proceed to the follow
ing:
(1) Place the little finger as before under the
tongue, then whisper or pronounce "kh;" do not say
"kay," but simply make the consonant sound of "kh"
several times. The tip of the tongue, or even the
entire tongue, may tremble or move slightly; pay no
attention to that. As you pronounce "kh" the rear
end of the tongue is raised a little by the contraction
of the palate to tongue and tonsil muscles; the slight
motion of the tongue is caused by that contraction.
Once more pronounce the "kh;" this time hold it,
.that is, keep on saying or whispering "kh" for a few
seconds, then suddenly say "ah." It will feel like
"kh ah." Say the "ah" as in father and say it
loudly, but easily. Repeat this "kh ah" many
times; gradually notice that when you say the "ah"
after the "kh" that the tongue seems to rest, or sit
down as it were, upon your finger and that is what we
want.
(2) Now take your mirror and look at the tongue
while you pronounce "kh ah." If you have suc
ceeded in the exercise, you will see that at "kh" the
tongue rises in the back, to stay there as long as you
say "kh," but the instant you say "ah" the tongue
falls, drops down and forms a groove.
Gradually learn to say "kh ah," counting one
for the "kh" and two for the "ah."
260 LESSON XI

When you have mastered this, but not before, pro

ceed to this:
(3) Again place little finger as before, now whis
per several times "eeh, eeh, eeh." Notice with help of
the mirror, that the tongue rises again in the back.
Pay no attention to what happens with the front end
of the tongue.
Now prolong the whisper "eeh" and suddenly go
to "ah" as in father. Notice that at "ah" the tongue
again drops down, forms a groove and seems to rest
upon the finger. Notice this resting position of the
tongue; it feels as if the tongue were slightly pressing
upon the little finger.
Do as before, but instead of whispering "eeh ah,"
say it out loud.
(4) Again put the little finger under the tongue.
Now whisper "a," as in "pay." Watch the tongue
with the mirror and notice that it rises upward as
in the other sounds. Again say the "ah" after a pro
longed whisper of the "a," thus "a ah." Notice
that at "ah" the tongue falls and grooves. Now speak
the "a ah" loud, gradually count (mentally) one for
"a," two for "ah."
Surely you will now understand how to relax the
tongue.
You are absolutely perfect if at the "ah" sound,
there is merely a dropping of the rear part of the
tongue and practically no motion in front.
(5) Repeat all the above exercises, while you
place the forefinger of the other hand under the cri
coid cartilage. Of course you cannot now use the
mirror. Gradually eliminate all motions of the cricoid
while you whisper or speak the different exercises.
If you merely do the exercises easily enough you
will succeed. You must center all your thoughts on
 LESSON XI 261

the tongue. Forget everything else and concentrate

on the tongue.
(6) Practice also without sounds, that is, at count
one drop the rear part of the tongue, at count two
let the tongue rise up. Do not force the tongue up
at count two, merely let go of the downward effort
and it will jump upward of its own accord. Always
notice that when the tongue falls, you feel a pressure
on the finger and that when it rises there is no longer a
pressure.
Gradually think that you are making this little
pressure or "beat" purposely of your own free will,
and that you can release the pressure also of your own
free will.
I am sure that you can understand this very im
portant lesson; I really do not know how to make
it any plainer. Have patience and it will come to you.
Be sure that you master this very important lesson.
This lesson is of especial importance to defective
voices.
EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON LESSON XI
(1) What is the object of the arteries?
(2) Has the tongue a special blood supply?
(3) Which is the central organ of blood supply?
(4) What is the difference between Theory and
Practice?
(5) What may cause dizziness and fainting spells?
(6) What is your success with groove against
finger?
(7) Do you feel a beat or pressure on the finger
when you make the groove?
(8) Can the hyoid muscle be forced?
(9) What is your success in "kh ah?"
(10) What is your success in "a ah?"
'1

A
4
 LESSON XII

PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOCAL ORGAN

(Concluded)
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM—NEUROLOGY
The nervous system is contained within the animal
tube of the body. Its central organism is the spine
and the brain. The nerves are fibres which run from
the central organism to the different parts of the body.
The controlling organ is the brain. The spine is the seat
of the senses, the will, and all spiritual activities.
The nerves are only the wires connecting the brain
with the different parts of the body, especially through
the muscles. According to the way in which the nerves
affect parts of the muscles they are called motor, sensory
or secretionary nerves.
There is another system of nerves called sympa
thetic nerves, having to do with the intestines, etc.;
but these belong to the vegetable tube and do not
concern us.
The nerves consist of fibres and cells. The fibres
consist of a white substance, the cells of a gray nerve
substance. Just as the arteries branch out of some
main channel, so do the nerves grow in bundles out
of the bony tube of the spine, and divide into many
fibres which, like telegraph wires, reach in all directions.
Each muscle has its individual nerves which control it.
There are twelve pairs of brain-nerves, specifically
motor and sensory nerves. They spread over the
head, throat, chest and partly into the abdomen.
These are the nerves of smell, sight, taste, hearing and
secretion; and also the nerves which control the
movements of the eyes, lips, tongue, palate, larynx,
etc. Only those nerves which have to do directly or
263
264 LESSON XII

Fig. 79
Tympanic and Lingual Nerve.
 e

LESSON XII 265

These nerves spread within the hollow space

between the nose and the palate and pharynx, as
shown by Fig. 78.
At "aut" arises the tympanic nerve, which controls
especially the sense of hearing, as shown in Fig. 79.
All the nerves I shall mention have one common
origin, hence they operate together. The tympanic
nerve has one branch running downward directly into
the lingual nerve, "V." The lingual nerve is the
special nerve of speech. It runs directly into the
hyo-glossus muscles and branches from there into
the genio-glossus, against which the hyo-glossus braces
itself to stretch the vocal chords.
This is a most significant fact. It points again
to the great importance of the hyo-glossus muscles as
the main agents of voice. Since the nerve of hearing
branches into the nerves of the tongue, that is, into
the nerves of speech, you can readily see that the
nerves of hearing and the nerves of speech are almost
identical.
The ear conceives a tone. The tongue, or rather,
the hyo-glossus executes the tone, being assisted by
the muscles of the palate and larynx, which also
have a common center with the other nerves. This
fact becomes still more significant when you examine
Fig. 80, where you can see how the laryngeal nerves
again touch the hyo-glossus muscles and run directly
over the hyoid bone into the larynx. The close relation
between voice and health may also be observed in this
illustration. You notice that the ma n nerve rises
from the heart "AA" and the stomach "Pga." At
the heart the nerve shoots a special branch upward
into the larynx. This in itself explains the emotional
relations of the voice with the heart, which has to
supply nervous force to the voice and stomach muscles
266 , LESSON XII

Fig. 80
Laryngeal Nerves.

as well as to its own. It shows how much they must

depend upon each other. Suppose the vocal organ
or, rather, the muscles which control and move the
vocal organ are too weak to do this work, then they
 LESSON XII 267

cannot contract; that is, they cannot respond to the

demands of the nerves.
The consequence must be that the nerves of these
muscles will lose strength and possibly become atro
phied, which is the case with many stammerers and
others with speech defects. In this case, surely the
nerves of the heart and stomach are to some degree
also affected. On the other hand, when the muscles
into which these nerves enter are in a healthy state,
the nerves will remain healthy also, assuring that the
central organs of the heart, lungs and stomach are in
a normally healthy condition. You can trace the
nerves from the brain, their common center, to the
particular parts which they control.
Fig. 81 gives a complete view of the brain as seen
from below. "H" shows the origin of the hyo-glossus

Fig. 81
The Brain and Its Nerves.
268 LESSON XII

nerve. "Gl" shows the nerves of the tongue and

pharynx. "T" shows the palate nerves. All these
nerves belong to the group of motor nerves; that is,
these nerves move the muscles to which they are
attached.
As a rule, muscles connect the bones of the body
through the medium of a ligament or tendon. A
muscle usually consists of three parts: an origin, body
and head. By the origin is meant a bone that is
firmly fixed. Out of this bone the muscle grows,
while the other end or head is attached to a movable
bone. Muscles are formed into groups; several muscles
help to perform the same office; for instance, when
we take a step, several muscles unite to move the
bones at the same instant. Each group of muscles
is supplied with one or more nerves.
Dr. Foster, of London, England, in his interesting
work, describes the inner workings of a muscle thus:
"One should think of a muscle as containing many
cells which lie beside one another like particles of
powder. To each of these particles leads a thread
from the central battery of the brain. The explosion
of one of these particles contracts the muscle instantly,
and it remains contracted until a part of the negative
battery is exploded, when the muscle at once returns
to its original relaxed position. If we try to force a
muscle it refuses to work, because, as it seems, the
positive and negative batteries neutralize each other,
so that the muscle cannot work at all. After the
particles are exploded, the muscle is tired or broken
down. During rest the blood builds up new particles,
and in this way a muscle is rebuilt and made stronger."
Therefore, all ideas of force must be dismissed.
But the theory of looseness and fabbiness, so often
taught, is just as pernicious. In both cases the muscles
 LESSON XII 269

refuse to work and become useless. If, however, we

strengthen the muscles, there is no need to force them,
for they will then do their work automatically.
Beside the motor nerves, there are nerves of the
senses. They are called the "sensory" nerves. These
nerves are especially the nerves of sight, taste,
smelling, hearing and secretion.

THE SENSE OF HEARING

The organ of hearing is divided into three parts.
The outer part, or ear proper, conveys the tone or
vibrations to the middle ear, or the tympanum, and
thence to the inner ear, or labyrinth.
The external ear (Fig. 82) consists of cartilages,
covered by facial skin. The cartilages are connected
with the head by muscles, which occasionally are
capable of moving the ear. This is supposed to be
a survival from prehistoric times, when, it is claimed,
men moved their ears, as a horse does now. The
external ear conveys the sound waves to the ear canal
(Fig. 83). At the end of this canal is situated the
tympanic membrane. This membrane resembles the
membrane in a telephone, or the head of a drum, and
transmits vibrations to the little ear bones.
The middle ear consists of the tympanic cavity,
into which opens the eustachian tube, connecting
the ear with the pharynx of the throat. It also con
tains the three bones which transmit the sound waves
or any vibrations to the labyrinth and through it to the
auricular nerve. The three bones (Fig. 84), "a,"
hammer, "b," anvil, and "c," stirrup, are controlled
by means of special muscles.
The inner ear consists of the so-called labyrinth,
which is divided into the "Fr" vestibule, "1" canal,
and "c" cochlea (Fig. 85). From the organs of hear-
270 LESSON XII

Fig. 83
Ear Canal.

ing, nerves lead to the brain; vibrations originating

in an instrument are conveyed through the air to the
tympanic membrane, thence to the labyrinth and
through it to the ear nerves. They cause certain
 LESSON XII 271

sensations or produce certain effects in the brain,

which we receive as words and tones, or if the vibrations
are unsteady or irregular, as noises.
Recent researches assure us that there are no less
than 60,000 fibres in the inner ear, each of which will
respond to a different vibration, thus giving the
human ear a scale of 60,000 different sounds, infinitely
more than any musical system is likely ever to utilize.

Fig. 84
The Ear Bones.

Fig. 85
The Labyrinth.

Whether the sound is single, as in the human voice,

or manifold, as in the case of an orchestra, the brain
receives a certain impression. The pitch, the tone
color, the dynamic changes from loud to soft, or vice
versa, will affect us very much, as a blue sky will
make us feel good, while fog and rain will have the
opposite effect. In music, for instance, a piece written
in G major will impress us as joyful, lively, while one
272 LESSON XII

written in B flat minor will affect us as melancholy

and sad. A change of key or a change from major to
minor, even short harmonic changes in the same piece,
will affect our feelings, changing joy and courage to
sadness or despondency, etc. All this occurs because
certain stimulations of the heart, lungs and vocal
chords are being conveyed by the nerves of hearing
to the brain.
When you consider the acuteness of our sense of
hearing, its immediate effect on us all, you will all
the more realize the importance of a good voice.
Your success in life, the happiness of those around
you, largely depends upon the quality of your voice.
The physiology of the vocal organ is now finished.
In other lessons you will be taught the physiology of
the breathing organ, for while the breath is absolutely
necessary to the voice, it is an organ by itself and
must be studied separately.
The primary object of the breathing organ is to
supply the entire body with the necessary oxygen, and
only in a secondary sense does the breathing organ
function as a source of breath supply to the vocal
organ.
Still later in the course, certain parts of the human
body, especially the masticatory apparatus must be
considered, because these particular parts interfere
with the voice. My lessons aim to be, first of all, a
positive process of building up, therefore I give you a
progressive, positive work, explaining, as we go along,
why such work is necessary and proving each point
so that you can see for yourself why the work must
be done in the way I have prescribed.
There are conditions which interfere with the voice,
but if you know what to do, you will not be tempted
to try negative experiments. Yet for a full under
 LESSON XII 273

standing of the matter of voice, even the negative

side must be considered, and this side of the vocal
question also will be made known to you in good time.
In the next few lessons, the philosophy and physi
ology and history of voice will be briefly dwelt upon.
I would advise each student, while we have a breath
ing spell, to go over his lessons on the physiology of
voice repeatedly. Even if you do not want to go be
yond the amateur stage of voice development, your
progress will be surer and shorter if you thoroughly
understand the subject. Try to know all about it;
reason out every single part in your mind; it will help
you, not only in your exercises, but it will train your
mind to think logically and consecutively.

EXERCISES TO LESSON XII

RAISING AND LOWERING THE LARYNX

Lay the nail side of the forefinger against the ring

cartilage (see page 75, Fig. 30), and yawn slowly and
noiselessly. After a few attempts you will notice that
the larynx is strongly drawn downward. With a
deep yawn the finger will even be pushed aside and
the larynx almost disappear into the throat, and this
in spite of the strong pressure of the finger. When
you have acquired some proficiency in forcing the
larynx down, picture to yourself or think of the larynx
as suddenly depressed, and then sing a few notes
or speak a few words, and then a few sentences, or
read something aloud.
You will notice that at first the tone becomes
stronger. If you have a naturally deep voice, the
sounds will be agreeable to the ear, but if you continue
them for any length of time, your voice will tire and
become hollow. In higher voices this tone is throaty
and in a short time becomes husky and tired. The
274 LESSON XII

larynx is drawn downward by the downward pulling

throat muscles. When the larynx is in this position
the vocal chords become temporarily enlarged, hence
the larger tone, but they are not stretched, hence
the strain and the unnatural voice. This kind of
singing and speaking is much taught and is falsely
designated "the chest voice."
Place the forefinger against the lower side of the
ring cartilage. Now attempt to swallow. If neces
sary, use a little water or, still better, some hot liquid,
and you will observe a sudden rising of the entire larynx.
This action will be still more noticeable if you lay the
finger in the front hollow of the thyroid cartilage
No. 2A, and then swallow. You can even press down
with considerable strength upon the thyroid cartilage
and then, when you swallow suddenly, the finger, in
spite of the resistance, will be driven away and the
larynx raised high.
The larynx is lifted by the palate muscles (No. 14).
If no resistance is opposed to this rising of the larynx,
the vocal chords become thin and the tone, in conse
quence, high and light. Endeavor to retain this raised
position of the larynx while speaking and you will
observe that the tone rings higher, but thinner and
lighter. A voice of this character does very well for
a small room, but for public speaking or singing the
tone is too small. This method of singing or speaking
is just as injurious and unnatural as the previous one,
where the larynx is drawn downward. Indeed, the
raised larynx is even more destructive to sound than
the lowered one.
The downward pulling muscles are fastened below
to the breast bone (No. 6) and above to the forward
part of the thyroid cartilage (No. 2A). The upward
pulling muscles are attached to the back of the thyroid
 LESSON XII 275

cartilage (No. 2B) and stretched from there into the

palate (No. 9 and 15). These two forces should
always balance, that is, the upward pull and the down
ward pull should be equal. When this is the case,
the larynx will remain in its natural position and
the vocal chords be correctly stretched. This equal
izing can, however, only take place when the tongue,
the greatest of all the speech muscles (No. 12, 10A
and 10B), reinforces the strength of the others. If the
necessary tongue support is not available, the other
muscles can make but slight efforts and, as a result, the
tone is lifeless. If, however, the tongue is powerful,
it reinforces the other muscles, they become normally
active and perform their work with ease. Under
these favorable conditions, the tone is full of power
and life and no strain is necessary to produce it; it
comes of itself.
The raising and lowering of the larynx is not to
be practiced as an exercise. You are to do it only
until you can make the larynx go up or down by
thinking. I simply want you to know of these pos
sibilities.

DEEP INHALING

For drawing in the breath easily and deeply, prac

tice the following excellent exercise:
Seat yourself comfortably, resting your back
against the chair. Then let your head and shoulders
fall forward carelessly. Remain in this relaxed posi
tion and draw the stomach lightly and loosely inward.
Hold it in this position and inhale, while you whisper
"ooh."
You will feel a noticeable spreading of the lower
part of the back, also that it presses against the back
of the chair and that the lower chest becomes enlarged.
276 LESSON XII

Now utter a strong "ss" and you will find that the
stomach and chest gradually return to their normal
positions and in so doing forcibly press out the breath
and without the least exertion. When this exercise
is thoroughly understood, the intentional drawing in
of the stomach may be omitted, but not before. After
you understand the exercise you should cease thinking
about the stomach and only expect a deep enlarging
of the chest and back. If you do this, an involuntary
motion of the stomach will follow naturally.
During the exhalation, the drooping shoulders and
head will return to their natural upright position.
When you are master of this exercise, you will be
able to take a deep breath in half a second without
whispering "ooh," but by merely thinking it. You
should be able to inhale and exhale in one second. For
the exhaling always use the "ss" sound.
When you can inhale and exhale as instructed, then
read short sentences and follow these by longer ones.
Read loudly and distinctly and as soon as the breath is
used up, draw another in the manner I have described.
At first, the breath should be inhaled after each sen
tence. You will soon find that this is both simple
and easy and that you do not need to "save your
breath" as many advise.
The forming of the mouth for the "ooh" and "ss"
places the opening of the throat in the most favorable
position for the quick passage of the air to and from
the lungs. .
Deep inhaling should be practiced often, but not
long at a time. Reading and speaking, while correctly
inhaling, should be practiced a little daily.
Keep up the practice of grooving the tongue
against underlying little finger.
 LESSON XII 277

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON LESSON XII

A REVIEW EXAMINATION OF THE
FIRST TWELVE LESSONS
(1) Where is the infallible attack?
(2) Are the vocal chords a single pair of muscles
or what?
(3) Do you now understand Fig. 30, page 75?
(4) Where does the breath originate?
(5) What does the breath do?
(6) Can you now make groove with utmost ease?
(7) What is the most important muscle in voice?
(8) What is the pharynx?
(9) What is the glottis?
(10) What is the air tube?
(11) What is the oesophagus?
(12) What is the palate?
(13) Should the larynx move when speaking or
singing?
(14) Can you isolate the hyo-glossus muscle?
(15) What is the object of the hyoid bone?
(16) Has the hyo-glossus muscle a special nerve
supply?
(17) Has the hyo-glossus muscle a special blood
supply?
(18) The exercises and lessons so far have been
mainly preparatory. Can you realize the importance
of such a preparation?
J
 LESSON XIII

THE HISTORY OF VOICE AND VOICE

METHODS (ANCIENT)

The study of voice preceded .every other form of

culture. "Let there be light" were the first words
spoken, and such was the power of this voice that all
things were created thereby.
Before the first sound was possible in the visible
world, untold eternities passed away. Slowly the
elements ordered themselves at the divine command;
epoch was followed by epoch ; immense forests of
ferns and palms arose; through them pounded and
wheezed creatures of inconceivable size; the dino
saur, iguanodon, diplodocus and mammoth lived and
found the world good to their taste.
Millions of years passed away before the telluric
upheavals within the earth had created a new balance
of adjustment. High mountains arose from the depth.
The earth was shocked with mighty convulsions.
From craters and geysers flowed cataracts of chemical
substances in mighty streams; out of the salty perspir
ation of the gigantic combat the oceans were formed.
The old order had disappeared to give place to the
reposeful paleological era.
Exhaustion seemed to brood over the earth. Time
was no more. Life had disappeared. But here and
there, in little mud puddles, were some tiny cells of life;
some infinite power of re-creation had been saved even
in the era of destruction. Slowly new forms of life
developed and produced themselves. In the course
of ages these new forms of life shaped our present
world and what is found therein. All sorts of animal
279
280 LESSON XIII

life appeared, but now in many new forms and of many

and diverse kinds. Not crude and ponderous, slow
and dull, as in former periods, but of finely chiseled
features, body and limbs; fleet, many of them, and
highly intelligent. Nature had become an artist—
with experience had come higher demands and greater
vision.
In this period, with stealthy, silent steps, a form,
upright with projecting jaw, the body covered with
long hair, in his hand a sling containing a sharp stone to
slay the sleeping hare, in the heat of day, appeared
something unknown heretofore — a man, our pre
adamite progenitor.
From the trees birds sang their improvised melo
dies; it was the first sign of audible Nature, made
beautiful.
The young maidens in diluvial time, in the valley
of Couze, in France, listened and gave vent to their
love longing in sounds learned from these birds.
Gradually words, crude and simple, were added to
these sounds. This was the origin of speech and song.
When they became mothers, new thoughts and a new
form of love filled their souls. New demands were
created, new words invented to give it expression. In
this wise, speech was developed, love and cradle songs
invented.
The impulse both to speech and song is born with
man. He had to make his desires known in the circle
of the tribe. He wanted to recount his successes in
the hunt. As his emotion took stronger hold he burst
into song, uncouth, no doubt, but to him an expression
of the life within.
Later, as the tribes marched to war, he burst into
martial strains. He sees his enemy lying dead before
him and exults in shouts of joy. In the evening, around
 LESSON XIII 285

Their daughters, slender and shapely, seem to have just

risen from the graves of the old Egypt, as they, with
swinging step, the water pitcher on their heads, seem
to quench the thirst of thousands of years. Their
songs are in reality mere recitations and repeated calls
of encouragement as they work together. Verdi has
recorded these melodies in his opera " Aida." Through
these rhythmical songs the Egyptian foreman held his

Fig. 87
Hall of Columns at Karnak, Egypt.

laborors together, made them work in harmony Mn a

certain rhythmic swing that not only encouraged the
laborors, but speeded the work. Egypt became a
province of Persia and later of Macedonia.
286 LESSON XIII

Thirty years before Christ the Romans overran the

Promised Land. Later Mohammed was born, a poor,
sickly man, and suffering from hallucinations, as we
say now. A dreamer of dreams, only good enough
to herd sheep and goats. But this man let loose a
revolutionary storm upon the world which conquered
mighty empires. If the empires which his faith con
verted had been organized, they would still be the
strongest factors.
Neither Cyrus nor Napoleon, Alexander the Great
nor Charlemagne, Darius nor Attila, Confucius nor
Buddha achieved as much social and political influence
as Mohammed, the Prophet. Mohammed copied
Jehovah and Christ and to their teachings added the
fanaticism which spread his influence over many
millions of still barbaric tribes. He knew human
nature, knew how to arouse the enthusiasm and blind
fanaticism which will' sacrifice itself for an ideal.
Egypt changed its Roman masters for the religion of
Mohammed. All Asia, Palestine, Persia, the rest of
Africa, India, Spain, the Balkans and most of Hungary
were conquered by the faith of Mohammed. Of all
these nations now become Mohammedan, only Persia
had a distinctly national music, and that became
mixed with the Egyptian to become the Arabian
system of music.
Arab music, whether we hear it in Constantinople,
Cairo, Algiers, or in the desert, consists of short
phrases, in connection with a certain rhythm endlessly
repeated. The listeners sit around silently and very
likely thoughtlessly, smoking the schibuk or narghile,
the most modern of them the cigarette, before them
an empty coffee tasse. The Arab music does not aim
at. stimulating thought and feeling, but at deadening
both of them.
 LESSON XIII 287

Fig. 88
Mosque at Mecca, Arabia.

Their method of voice production is very simple.

They press the tongue against the palate and emit
sounds through the nose.
The present-day advocates of voice methods based
upon the resonance of the cavities of the nose and
pharynx (throat) should study the Arab method. It
is much more simple than theirs and brings quicker
results.
However, with such a method of voice production,
only a few tones, and those of the crudest, were pos
sible. But when thousands repeated certain phrases,
the effect upon a primitive people must have been
hypnotic.
The Jews were much farther advanced in music and
singing, which occupied a high place in their religious
services, as we can easily judge from many passages
in the Bible. Both Saul and David were singers;
even some of the Prophets sang — no doubt to bring
their prophecies nearer home to people. The charac
288 LESSON XIII

teristic of Hebrew singing was the nasal and guttural

voice. Melodies, no doubt of much charm, some very
elaborate, as we see in their "col nidrei," are still in
use at the present day.

Fig. 89
The Temple of Solomon.

The ancient Greeks have left us a complicated

musical system which remained in use up to the
middle ages of the Christian era. This system was
entirely based on melody and song. The instruments
merely gave the keynote to the melody. A high
standard of musical feeling can be traced to them by
the fact that they realized and felt the difference of
tonality and key. Thus, to express sadness, they
sang in what they called the Lydian key. Religion was
expressed in Doric, courage and battle cries in the
Phrygian key ; love and wine in the Aeolian key. The
oldest song of which we have any record was a funeral
dirge in use among the people surrounding the Aegean
Sea.
It was sung to the dying Adonis, symbolizing the
passing away of the spring and summer season. When
 LESSON XIII 289

the Argonauts started on the search for the golden

fleece, Orpheus, through his playing, encouraged the
heroes around him to new efforts when the search
seemed to fail. He changed lions and tigers into lamb
like creatures, made stones and trees to talk and move;
all of which is symbolical of the power of music to
tame the passions and to arouse lofty sentiments.
Amphion surrounded Thebes with a wall of stones,
causing them to move of their own account and to
group themselves into a wall, at the sound of his lyre.
This, of course, means simply that the workmen were
greatly diverted and encouraged during the work of

Fig. 90
Acropolis of Athens.

erecting the walls, while music was being played to

them.
Arion, one of the greatest of the Greek oratorical
singers, while returning from Sicily to Corinth, was
threatened with death by pirates. He asked them as
a favor to allow him to sing once more before they took
290 LESSON XIII

his life. With a voice reaching far out into the sea,
he sang his last hymn to the gods and then jumped
into the sea, but a Dolphin, charmed by his voice,
took him on his back and carried the singer to Corinth.
The difference between our official candidates and
the political aspirants in Greece, long before the
Christian era, are only different in kind, not in their
aim or choice of means to get there.
Where our candidates offer clambakes, barbecues
or oyster suppers, the Greeks engaged singers to arouse
enthusiasm for the party and their special candidate.
Even "Votes for Women" were advocated by
means of songs and music. Sappho, the sublime
poetess, sang not only of love divine, but also of
human love, and gained much political influence. She
was followed by a large school of women poets.
With the ancient Greeks, singing was not a pas
time, but a means of culture. Life needs proportion
and harmony, says Plato, their greatest philosopher.
In accordance with this, children and youths were
taught oratory and music in order to learn rhythm
and order, which developed their souls and gave them
self-control to meet the requirements of life.
The highest point of artistic development was
reached in Athens. There poetry, oratory, mimicry
and music were united. Large choruses and orches
tras were employed with singers and orators. Out of
this grew modern Grand Opera.
The Olympic festivals, where races and contests of
various kinds took place, were enriched and ennobled
by music and oratory. A special hymn was composed
in honor of the chief visitor. His statue was erected
in one of the holy groves. Over 3,000 of such statues
were in existence at the time of the Persian invasion.
The traditions of a noble art inspired the ancient
 LESSON XIII 291

Greeks and raised their civilization to a higher physical

basis than any which humanity has had before or since.
But ancient Greece is no more. Their philosophers
died out, degenerated ; from its pedestal of nobility and
grandeur music descended to become the handmaiden
of the charlatan and juggler. The singer who could
sustain a tone longest or the one who could execute the
most difficult trills and neck-breaking passages became
the favorite. One singer, Moschos by name, while
executing difficult scales and trills, also could turn
his tongue upside down in his mouth, and this trick
pleased the people more than the noble voice and deep

Fig. 91
Bacchic Procession (Greece).
feeling of real artists. (You see the importance of the
tongue everywhere, in India, Judea and now Greece.)
The vocalists became acrobats. Art became mere
glitter and show. Bizarre changes of harmony and
rhythm became popular. Music became a mere
means of display and declined, never to rise again in
its original home. Is not our "jazz" music the fore
runner of moral, intellectual and physical decay also?
Earthquakes finally ruined the Olympia of old and
buried the glory of Greece under mountains of sand.
Two hymns, engraved on stone, were found in 1893 by
292 LESSON XIII

French scientists in Delphi, where Oracles predicted

the failure or success of wars to be undertaken, or
prophesied the future to private inquirers. These
hymns call for an extended compass of voice, showing
that voice culture must at that time have attained a
high degree of development.
The ancients knew only Greek music. The Romans
inherited this music and adopted it without changing
or improving it in any way.
These historic researches may not interest every
one of my students, yet all will profit by reading what
has been related. 1 want to show you that in your
search for a better voice you are occupying a really
exalted stage of human development where mere
physical comfort no longer satisfies. You have reached
a spiritual stage of development which drives you
forward. No better evidence of human growth can
be found than a splendid voice. Longfellow realized
this in his "Hyperion," where he says:
"O, how wonderful is the human voice!
It is, indeed, the organ of the soul!"

EXERCISES ON LESSON XIII

The instructions I give you are identical with those

that have won for my method the praise of the press
and the singing and speaking public of Europe. They
have never failed to produce entirely satisfactory
results, so you may follow them with the utmost
confidence.
My instructions are based upon exact scientific
foundation. They follow Nature and Nature's laws.
In the past the Vocal apparatus was regarded as an
instrument furnished to us by Nature in a fully finished
state and ready for use. This was an incorrect sup
 LESSON XIII 298

position, for there are very few naturally perfect vocal

organs.
Depending on the assumption that the vocal organ
was delivered to us complete and perfect, people believed
that a perfect voice could always be obtained if certain
singing or speaking exercises were persisted in. Experi
ence has taught those who have cared to observe that
to overexercise or to overuse a weak or imperfect vocal
instrument is to ruin it and make the voice useless.
The vocal organ is an instrument and usually a
faulty one. Therefore, the secret of all vocal develop
ment depends upon correcting the fault or faults that
may be found in the instrument. When the vocal
instrument has been made perfect it will function
perfectly, but not before.
The fault in most voices is purely organic, yet
instructors have for ages tried to correct that unknown
fault by means of speaking and singing lessons, having
for their foundation breathing gymnastics, distinct
pronunciation, etc. The reason such methods accom
plish so little is that the vocal organs require some
thing besides vocal exercises to make them efficient.
If a person has a weak or husky voice, it is not because
he speaks, sings and breathes incorrectly, but because
some part of his vocal instrument is imperfect and can
not function properly. All voice training must begin
with the development of the organ itself. Until this is
accomplished, nothing else can be attained, and mere
singing or speaking exercises become harmful.
My instructions will teach you something that
has never been taught by any other method, that is,
how to strengthen and build up the vocal instrument
so that it can easily do the work required of it.
Through using the exercises I shall give, the vocal
organ can be strengthened, trained and perfected, all
294 LESSON XIII

weakness can be overcome and all disturbances result

ing from sickness can be removed. It is to be under
stood that some people will obtain quick results and
that others, because of the greater defects in the organ,
will have to practice longer. However, even the
worst cases have only to follow these instructions
faithfully and persistantly to be certain of obtaining
complete and permanent success. When once the
vocal instrument has been completely developed, the
result is always an agreeable, enduring voice, and vocal
defects disappear.

HOW TO OBTAIN A CLEAR, DISTINCT VOICE

The vocal tone originates in the vocal chords (see
Fig. 30) which vibrate when they are set in motion
by the breath. Some chords are thin and vibrate
easily and therefore give forth light tones, while others
are thick and give forth strong, full tones. Usually
the chords are so undeveloped and so incorrectly ad
justed or so relaxed that the person singing or speaking
vibrates but a part of the outer surface, instead of
vibrating the entire chord. In such cases the voice
is small, thin and frequently husky. Full-sized flexible
chords are necessary for a full, strong voice. Fortu
nately there exist, in connection with the vocal chords,
certain muscles which, when developed, will strengthen
and enlarge the chords and give them a larger vibrat
ing area.
To speak or sing, the vocal chords must be
stretched. Loose or slack chords can emit no more
sound than slack violin strings. All vocal sound
depends upon the size and tension of the chords. Thick
chords, while more desirable than thin chords, are
naturally heavier and therefore difficult to stretch. But
if one want to emit a large or powerful sound, the
 LESSON XIII 295

chords must be stretched. Additional strength is

needed to do this stretching, and that is just what this
method of exercises will supply. It controls the size
of the chords and gives the necessary stretching or
tensioning strength. The all-important muscles are
being developed and made stronger.
Many persons possess vocal chords that are quite
sufficient in size for any purpose, but their chord-
stretching muscle lacks the strength to do its work.
In fact, in very few persons is this muscle of sufficient
strength to stretch the chords to their entire capacity.
This defect is the most prevalent cause of a weak
voice. It is also the cause of many throat diseases
and of stammering. Therefore, the problem of all
would-be singers and speakers is how to develop the
power of stretching the vocal chords. These instruc
tions solve that problem for all purposes.
To find out in what way the vocal chords are
stretched we must review our study of the larynx.
The vocal chords are located in the so-called thyroid
cartilage, or Adam's apple, shown in Fig. 30. This
cartilage rests upon the saddle-like ring cartilage
(No. 4). Above the thyroid, and closely connected
with it, is the hyoid or tongue bone. These three
parts are closely joined during sound so that they
practically resemble a continuous tube, like the three
jointed parts of a flute. From these two cartilages
and the hyoid bone, muscles run down to the breast
and collar bones, up to the hard palate and skull,
forward to the chin, and backward to the cervical
spine. These muscles serve to hold the larynx in its
natural position and at the same time to stretch the
vocal chords. All muscles running from the larynx
to other parts of the body are attached to bones which
give them a firm hold; but the muscle from the hyoid
 296 LESSON XIII

bone to the tongue has no such firm connection because

it grows out of the easily-moved hyoid bone at one
end into the soft tongue at the other.
Doctor Bennati, a French specialist for diseases of
the throat and, in the past century, a very celebrated
personality, not alone because he was the professional
doctor for the Royal Italian Opera in Paris, but also
because he personally treated the most celebrated
singers, left behind him his experiences in a work
entitled, "Recherches sur la mecanisme de la voix
humaine." In this work he complains that all voice
methods have overlooked the importance of the tongue
muscles. He demonstrates that when the muscle of
the hyoid bone is severed, or when it is paralyzed,
only a weak, dull tone can be produced. "This is no
hypothesis," he says, "but a fact which I proved by
many experiments on animals and in the experiences
of my own private practice." He recalls the singers
Mombelli, Sontag, Fodor, Tosi, David, Gentili and
Rubini. "In all of these artists—and they are even
now considered the exemplars of a lost art—the tongue
muscles are throughout strong and active. When one
lays his finger upon the spot where the muscles are
attached he feels them as hard as stone. Further, one
observes a noticeably large and much developed tongue
in those singers whose tones are particularly big and
resonant." The great singers Catalani, Lablache and
Santini are given as examples. It is therefore emphati
cally pointed out that weak voices arise from the
tongue being too dead or too weak to discharge its
functions correctly.
That you may fully understand the importance of
the exercises which I shall prescribe, I will again state
that the purpose of each is to strengthen and build up
the deficient or weak parts of the vocal organ. My
 LESSON XIII 297

method differs from all others in that it first strength

ens the weak parts by silent muscular exercises before
calling on these parts to do the work of speaking or
singing. That is, they are made fully able to do the
work required of them before they are given the work
to do. As a result the work becomes easy to do and
is well done.
As you practice these instructions, symptoms or
signs will appear from time to time which will prove
to you that you are making definite progress. These
proofs will be of such a nature that you can see, feel
and hear them. You need not be told what improve
ment you are making, for you will know it yourself.
This fact is of the greatest significance, since it raises
voice training from the guesswork and uncertainty of
the past into the light of exact knowledge.

THE TONGUE
If you would speak or sing correctly, you must not
move the tongue intentionally, but must think of it
as lying loosely in the bed of the mouth. The various
positions which the tongue must assume in pronouncing
the vowels and consonants should be taken involun
tarily.
The tongue is the most mobile member of the
human body and one of the most difficult to control.
For the purpose of correct speaking and singing we
have, however, only to control one part, and that is
the hyo-glossus muscle. But to do even this often
requires time, much patience and perseverance.

THE BEAT OF THE TONGUE

If you have practiced all the previous exercises, as
instructed, your tongue should be ready for the
following test:
298 LESSON XIII

Place your little finger under the tongue in the

manner previously explained and, with forefinger of
the other hand, touch and stimulate the upper sur
face of the tongue, far back toward the throat. The
hyo-glossus muscle should contract and thus form a deep
groove in the tongue. When this contraction occurs
it will be felt upon the little finger as a beat or sudden
pressure. As soon as the tongue is relaxed it will
spring away from the finger and the pressure will
disappear. Repeat this test, but this time try to
form the groove without the stimulation. The beat
on the finger should again be felt, but it may not be
as strong as before. The principal thing for you at
this time is to become conscious of this beat. All the
previous exercises were given for the purpose of
developing this beat and the aim of all the exercises
which follow will be to emphasize it. If you do not
feel it, you must continue practicing the previous
exercises, especially review Lesson VI, until you do.
Do not attempt to practice any of the advanced
exercises until you have had the desired results from
the former.

THE ATTACK—CAUSE AND EFFECT

Physiologically considered, every spoken tone
results because the vocal chords are brought into a
vocal position and held there by the muscles which
move and control them. When the tongue rests
quietly on the little finger, it is felt as a soft, fleshy
substance, but as soon as the groove is formed, the
under surface is felt as a swelling with more or less
of an elastic firmness. When this firmness is felt, it is
a proof that the tongue has contracted without chang
ing its natural position.
If the beat of the muscle takes place at the moment
of enunciation, you have the positive proof that the
 LESSON XIII 299

vocal chords are stretched. Henceforth, practice the

vowels daily with the little finger under the tongue.
You should always anticipate a loud tone and take care
that with each vowel the tongue beats or presses
slightly against the finger. You will notice that the
pressure remains constant as long as the voice is held,
but that it disappears the instant the voice ceases. It
is advisable frequently to place the finger under the
cricoid cartilage to make sure that you are not forcing
the larynx up or down. Concentrate your attention
more and more upon the tongue, as though every tone
came from it, for it is only when the tongue is educated
that a good tone can be produced. Habit plays in
this, as in all things, an important role. In practicing
these exercises you are forming a vocal habit, a habit
that will later control you and make you use your
voice correctly.
In the lesson following this one, speakers, singers,
and those with defective voices, will be told how to
employ in practical everyday life what we have learned
so far. I am sure all of you will appreciate the great
progress you have made in a short time, when you
have seen the next lesson.
300 LESSON XIII

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON LESSON XIII

(1) Was not emotion the original cause of lan
guage or voice?
(2) Do you see the important relation of the
speaker and singer of old to the newspaper, the Govern
ment and churches of the present day?
(3) Could we have had any civilization at all
without the voice?
(4) Do vocal defects arise from habit or from
organic causes?
(5) Where does the voice originate?
(6) Can loose or slack vocal chords produce a
good voice?
(7) What is the characteristic of the great singers
considered in relation to their tongue?
(8) Should you try to move the tongue in speak
ing or singing?
(9) What is the correct attack?
(10) Does your voice now come "from the
tongue?"
 LESSON XIII 281

the camp fire, the sorcerer of primitive times, later the

medicine man and still later the priest, recite the heroic
deeds of the mighty warriors of the tribe. All repeat
the strains, and the crude form of national life, of
love of the tribe—patriotism—has become an accom
plished fact.
At this time, "accident," the greatest discoverer of
all, caused a boy to blow into a discarded, defective
drinking horn. A new sound was heard. The bugle
and trumpet were discovered. Another boy beat a
stick against a skin, stretched over a hollow log to
dry, and the drum became known. As the arrow sped
from the bent bow, the string gave forth a new kind
of tone. The father of all violins was disclosed.
How terrifying, how fierce was the sight, when the
men, clothed in the skins of bears, wolves and buffaloes,
danced around the camp fire, when drunk with mead
and emotion they circled around the tribal emblem, an
oak tree of a thousand years' growth, an emblem of
life and strength !
Countless generations passed. The pace of devel
opment was exceedingly slow. No marching forward,
rather snail's crawl, with many pauses and, not
infrequently, a falling back. In spite of the manifold
capacity within us, men rose unspeakably slowly from
the stage of animal savagery. For while a tree pro
duces a new ring each year, to mark the progress of
its growth, man needs an entire generation to move
one step forward. The man took a wife, or several of
them, lived and hungered with them, when fortune
was against him. This community he called, in
conscious or unconscious irony, a family (Latin, Fames—
Hunger.)
Now and then, in winter time, when hunting was
impossible and stealing unprofitable, a maimed or crip
ple of the tribe would sing or recite some wild hunting
282 LESSON XIII

adventure, or praise the heroic deeds of some membei

long dead and now become the saint or honor emblem
of the tribe. Or, in summer time, he might travel
from tribe to tribe and carry his rhapsodies to them
in exchange for food and mead. Thus was born the
Bard of the Celt, the Trouvere of the French, the
Minnesinger of Germany, the newspaper of today. He
was the Homer of all times.
From caves and holes in the earth, families moved
to huts made of stone and mud, or else built upon posts
and tree trunks in swamps. Gradually such groups
became villages, surrounded by palisades, and later by
stone walls. The few who, by valor, superior cunning
or by stealth, rose above the numerous common herd,
built for themselves castles of stone. Illios was founded
and nine times destroyed. Tyre and Mycene ruled the
valleys of Argos; Babylon, Nineveh, Palmyra were
built. Cities counting millions of inhabitants erected
palaces to their kings and filled them with ivory, gold
and beautiful women. The few had succeeded in
making slaves of the many. Out of crude beginnings
of mutual communication a highly and richly endowed
language had been evolved. From the crude recitation
of a simple hunting adventure the classic poem took
form.
But mere speech could not satisfy. The rhapsody
sounded cold and monotonous in the wide halls of the
king. With angry face and bored silence the men
reached for their cups, but when the Bard plucked the
strings of the lyre and with far-reaching voice sang
the praises of the king; his courage, which shames the
lion; his strength, which is as that of five hundred
steers; his anger, which is like the lightning and
thunder in a summer's storm ; his wives, so lovely that
the roses bow to them as they walk in the garden,
 LESSON XIII 283

with their rapturous forms and love-lit eyes, the men

listened; they became interested.

Fig. 86
Assyrian Lion Hunt.

This is the mystic time of humanity; a gradual

unfolding, born of the necessities and desires of men.
Practical life demanded and achieved comparatively
quickly the development of speech, which was recorded
by means of lines, curves and figures, that remain,
even to this day, as historic evidence of the gradual
progress of human speech. Of their music we have
no record. No one seems to have thought of fixing
those sounds by means of signs.
The Chinese had achieved a theory of music
thousands of years before the Christian era. Melodies
are still found in very ancient temples. They are
within a scale of five whole tones. The semitone was
not known. As far back as 3460 B. C. musical rules
were established and around 1500 B. C. half tones
were introduced, leading to our present chromatic
scale. But the old order of the scale of five whole
tones still predominates in China, whose instruments
are still based upon the old theories and laws.
284 LESSON XIII

In India, the land of immeasurable wealth and

of hunger, the same system as the Chinese was current.
There singers were much in evidence. They were,
however, mostly mendicants, who sang the praises of
anyone rich enough to pay them well.
In the Rigveda, the old monument of Indian litera
ture, are found 1,017 hymns, mostly religious. But
secular songs, love songs, to the praise of victories,
etc., were by no means rare. To some of these songs
were ascribed supernatural influences. They could
transmute beasts and men. When the God Krishna
lived in India, it is said that of 16,000 shepherd girls
each invented a new scale in which they sang melodies
of their love for the handsome young shepherd god.
The Greek philosopher, Plato,# returning from
Egypt long before the Christian era, said that he had
seen the records of songs which had then been in
existence for over 10,000 years. These songs had
the power to ennoble and improve men. The songs
therefore must be gifts of the gods.
To the ancient Greeks the heavens were still open
and the gods walked on earth. To them the gods
were a reality. They were the "Supermen" of their
day, living, teaching and even sinning with the man
of clay.
Of Egyptian music we have no record, as they
evidently had no signs for musical notation. But
the monuments still standing in Egypt show a great
variety of musical instruments. Men and women
singers are found on these monuments. They had
already achieved a great measure of prominence. Rich
families had their own singers. The singers of Pharaoh
were called "Singers of the master of the world."
The "Fellahs'.' of Egypt to this day use the identical
instruments of their progenitors of 4,000 years ago.
 LESSON XIV

THE HISTORY OF VOICE AND

VOICE METHODS—(Continued)

THE CHRISTIAN ERA

It was Paul, the noble carpet weaver, to whose

talent for organization we owe the spread of Christi
anity. It was he who carried the divine teaching of
his Master' to all the world.
His Master, "JEHOVAH Himself in the garb of a
Son of men," moved from place to place, fasted,
preached, worked miracles, and at the last left only
eleven Apostles and the poorest of the poor as disciples.
He countenanced the paradox that God could be
crucified like a common malefactor. All seemed lost.
Humanity was on the point of returning to paganism
when Saul kindled his torch at the fast waning flame of
the discouraged followers of the Divine Master. He
went out to the heathen and preached with "tongues of
fire," with the spoken and written word, until he could
no longer count all the poor in heart, all the heavy
laden, all those who had nothing to hope for. The
blind and the lame, the deaf and the dumb, all who
were despised and persecuted, became his church.
His followers were fishermen, slaves, and outcasts;
all of them came and believed.
The "sectarians" aroused antagonism. They were
thrown to wild beasts, covered with pitch to make
human torches and in the end, instead of being exter
minated, these idealistic "theorists" succeeded in
establishing a new religion. The destroying dreamers
and unpractical "theorists" changed into martyrs and
believers who transformed an entire world.
301
302 LESSON XIV

These believers gradually organized themselves.

The different communities or churches chose as
presbyters, men of experience and moral worth. In
secluded, secret places they met to pray and to praise
God in song, as witness the following quotations:

Fig. 92

St. Mark and St. Paul—Durer.

 LESSON XIV 303

Paul, writing to the Ephesians, 5: 19: "Speaking

to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord."
Epistle of James, 5: 13: "Is any among you
afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him
sing psalms."
St. Matthew, 26: 30: "And when they had sung a
hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives."
It is plain from this that the music of the early
Christian church was Hebrew, but as the churches at
Corinth, Ephesus, Thessalonica, Galatia, etc., were
Greek, the Greek music and the Hebrew music amal
gamated and were thus accepted in the church at Rome,
which became the central Christian church.
The great and sincere spirituality of the early
Christians, those simple, self-sacrificing and pious
persons who gladly laid down their lives for an ideal,
introduced a new power, the greatest of all powers,
"humility." Their music must have been of great
simplicity, but deep, tender feeling. Nothing is left
to us of their melodies, which must have been mostly
sad. Only when they sang of the "Bride of Christ,"
some joyful and jubilant strains may have brightened
the usually somber hymns.
St. Augustine tells us that in the church of Alex
andria the psalms were sung on an almost uniform
pitch, so that they were spoken rather than sung. It
is also related that Bishop Ignatius had a dream in
which he saw Christ on his throne, surrounded by the
heavenly host, but the angels sang not together, but
separately in groups. This made such an impression on
him that he introduced group singing in the churches.
Out of this grew the antiphonal style of singing still
in use.
304 LESSON XIV

As early as the fourth century, schools were estab

lished to train singers for the churches, and to intro
duce a uniform system of singing in all the churches.
Now, for the first time, appears a system of writing
and preserving the melodies in use. This system,
"Neuma," resembles our modern shorthand system.
Only the pitch could be fixed by this system, without
taking into account the time and duration of the notes.
Pope Gregory (7-8 century), who called himself a
"Servant of Servants," was in reality a master of
masters. He enlarged the musical system and

Probable solution."

g & 5 , g f- aS j jjS - „T~

Cea-H cce-lo - rum lau - -~ , da - te De-ua

Probable solution*

Po-ptt « ■ " » la me - «- «.- - »us

Fig. 93
Musical Notation in the Fourth Century.
 LESSON XIV 305

reformed some abuses which had crept into the com

munity singing. He introduced the choir. His music
was especially designed for the priest and the singers
who formed a "corona" or half circle around the altar.
The melodies moved in slow measure, dignified and
austere. He designated and himself composed melo
dies which must be sung to a certain prescribed text,
thereby introducing ritualistic singing. These melodies
and the text to which alone they must be sung, were
written and bound in a book which was fastened by
a chain to the altar at the church of St. Peter in Rome.
This period might be called the musical reformation.
It has had a far-reaching influence down to our own
day. Gregory enlarged the schools. Special training
was now given to boys, and this training included all
the then known elements of education. The Christian
religion alone was too austere, too serious to succeed
quickly in converting the world. Necessary, at least
in the early periods, was a certain amount of pomp
and grandeur, such as the Romans had used to subdue
the world to their power. Added to this pomp and
show, music became one of the great attractions.
The magnificently decorated churches, the soft and
colorful light, the impressive tones of the organ and
the highly-trained voices of the choirs turned crude
hearts to spiritual things and paved the way for an
astonishingly rapid spread of the religion of Christ.
Men could not at once accept the purely spiritual ideals
of truth. They needed visible, material things to
arouse their inner consciousness, and music is among
the strongest factors in arousing the senses.
The civilizing influence of the church, as we see,
was greatly assisted at that time by music. This
would be just as true today, had not the church
306 LESSON XIV

Fig. 94
Transfiguration—Raphael.

largely lost the leadership it once had; it therefore

remains to the individual himself to utilize the lesson
of art for his own comfort and development.
When the great emperor Charlemagne was in
Rome, he was so deeply impressed with the music
there that he determined to establish music schools
in Germany. The Pope sent him teachers, who
traveled over Charlemagne's dominions, and by their
efforts quickly established the spiritual power of
music in the churches.
 LESSON XIV 307

About the ninth century, a monk, "Huckbald" by

name, improved the system of note writing by using
letters instead of signs as heretofore.. In the tenth
century another monk, Guido, of Arezzo, improved
the note system still more and it became possible

Fig. 95
Charlemagne—Durer.
308 LESSON XIV

to leave definite records of the melodies and hymns

then in use.
I have in my possession some of the old tunes,
dating back to the eighth century. Among the
illustrations you will find a record of the oldest styles
of writing music. Compare it with the modern style
and you will realize the vast advance humanity has
made.
The Germans, the French and the English, to whom
this new art was brought, were not musical. Those
who were sent to teach them despised these crude
barbarians whose voices, they said, were like the rolling
of cartwheels on a stony road. Their drunkenness and
rude manners were an offense to their Roman teachers,
accustomed to a high state of civilization. Our fore
fathers were good fighters and good drinkers, but poor
singers. None the less the glory that was Rome's has
long since departed to make room for the civilization
of the then despised barbarians.
Hitherto, and up to the tenth century, all music,
whether singing or instrumental, was in unison; that
is, even choruses sang only the melody of one single
voice; not even the Greeks seem to have felt the
monotony of such music.
The evolution of humanity proceeds by very slow
degrees. Centuries pass and man is seemingly the
same as he was in the beginning. The Greek tragedies,
as compared with Shakespeare's "Hamlet" or Goethe's
"Faust," are exceedingly simple. So is the music
of the past, as compared to the music of modern times,
childishly simple.
England first perceived the monotony of homo-
phonic or one-voice music. Gradually attempts at
adding other voices and melodies gained ground. The
first change made was simply the addition of an octave
 LESSON XIV 309

to the melody. Later the fifth of the tonic and,

about the thirteenth century, the third tone of the
tonic were added by German writers. The Netherlands
and France dominated the evolution of music up to
the time of the Reformation.
The cultured portions of China and of India,
together with the peoples around the Mediterranean,
did their best to carry civilization forward.

Fig. 90
Germans Crossing the Rhine—Fourth Century.

Meanwhile, the barbarian Celtic and Germanic

peoples, vegetating in their swamps and forests, no
doubt were satisfied with the world as they found it.
Existence was simple. Forests and rivers furnished
food in plenty. The land was free for their cattle.
Neither assessor nor gasman made himself feared.
Suddenly the southern races invaded their countries,
and changed conditions followed this invasion. New
ideas and new ambitions were kindled in the heart of
the northern man and perhaps more so in the heart of
310 LESSON XIV
the northern woman. While repelling the invaders
they were conquered themselves, since their old,
simple, natural style of living gave way to the more
complicated and ambitious practices of the southern
people.
In his endeavors to eject the foreigner, and later
on from a desire for wealth and lust of conquest, he
in time invaded the southern countries.
With elemental powers of destruction these north
ern people overran the classic countries of Greece and
Rome. While they worked immeasurable harm to the

Fig. 97
Roman Forum.

art of that period they finally established a newer,

broader and better civilization. They introduced a
measure of truth and moral sincerity which had been
lacking in the antecedent periods.
The classic period of Greece and Rome, beautiful
and elevated as it was, lacked spiritual qualities and
therefore was not strong enough to withstand the
assault of the barbarian hordes. The elements which
 LESSON XIV 311

the Celtic and Germanic peoples added to those of the

south were needed for a broader and more lasting
evolution of the human race.

EXERCISES TO LESSON XIV

The remarks and exercises which follow are for

the speaker, singer and those with defective voices.
These exercises are of the utmost importance and
should be carefully and frequently studied. You will
get most convincing proof not only of the correctness
of my method, but also of its "infallibility." I am
emphasizing this not from a sense of boastfulness, but
to encourage you—to make you feel that you are on
an absolutely straight road.
Of necessity some of my students must battle for
victory. That is, they must practice hard for final
and complete success. This they can do only when
they are convinced that the method which I give them
will really bring results. I am trying to teach you not
only my method, but the genesis of the method;
and to this end I want to shed light on the subject
from many angles so that you may see as clearly as
I do.
Very few public speakers have what the public
speaker needs first of all, and, in many cases, most of
all—a good speaking voice, a suitable and adequate
voice for public speaking. A few, a very few have
such a voice by nature and, even where Nature confers
the blessing of a voice of adequate strength, she seldom
adds the desirable flexibility or modulation. So,
whether it be a stronger voice or a more manageable
one that the speaker needs, his only method of acquir
ing it is to use his will power and, with the help of my
exercises, to develop the needed flexibility.
312 LESSON XIV

While even those whose voices are naturally strong

need to study how to modulate them and make them
flexible, there are vastly more whose voices are not
nearly strong enough for purposes of public speaking
These, of course, must practice and continue to
practice, often for a very long period.
The main and final exercise for strengthening the
voice has not yet been given to you. It will be given
when you are ready to understand and accept it. That
last and final exercise will develop a strength of voice
such as you have never dreamed of as being possible
in your own case.
Then there is that large unfortunate class of
persons who stammer or lisp, or who have other vocal
impediments. To them, my exercises are a matter of
life or death. I have personally taught some of these
individuals and in every case they responded to the
exercise with surprising speed. That is, so long as
they consciously talked "out of the tongue" as I call
it, which physiologically considered, means by the
activity of the hyo-glossi muscle, they not only did
not stammer, but they could not stammer.
I remember the case of a high-school student who
stammered very badly. After a short period, I asked
him to bring his father and mother along. When they
came, I had him count quickly up to one thousand, and
afterward read several pages. Would you believe that
neither his father nor mother could count or read in as
good a voice as he and not nearly as rapidly, though
their normal speech was good?
Bear in mind the further fact that his voice was
much stronger and better than theirs, just as long as
he observed the one little thing which you have been
taught so far; that is, that each tone must be produced
with the "beat of the tongue."
 LESSON XIV 313

His stammering, and it was very pronounced,

appeared after some illness in childhood. Of course
he had tried methods of cure and schools for stammer
ers. His tongue, like that of most stammerers, was
drawn back from the teeth and up toward the roof of
the mouth, and there held rigid and hard. In this
position the hyo-glossi muscle could not contract. It
was bound and held immovable by the extreme con
traction of the jaw and chin muscles.
The stammerer's case is identical with the harsh
voice of the speaker and singer, only his case is more
aggravated than theirs. In all three cases, the jaw
muscles interfere and make impossible the correct
action of the hyo-glossi muscles.
Now, to many it will seem that the cure would
consist in relaxing the jaw and chin muscles, but this
is not the case. If you were to try this, and provided
you succeeded in relaxing the jaw and chin muscles,
you would at the same time relax the important,
legitimate tongue muscles also, and your later case
would be worse than the first, for instead of having
a loud and harsh voice, you would have, at best,
a weak and husky voice. The reasons for this will be
explained in the lessons on " Interfering Muscles." To
explain this now would merely confuse you.
The person with a weak voice is in some ways worse
off than either of the other three, because a weak voice
indicates weak tongue muscles and it takes much time to
make these muscles strong. But in another sense, the
weak voice does not have to unlearn and overcome
habits of wrong speech, of stiffening, as do harsh voices
and stammerers. The weak voice merely needs to
strengthen the weak muscles and is all right ever after.
What I have said about the speaker applies just as
strongly to the singer. The singer, of course, does
314 LESSON XIV

not stammer, but many singers' voices are hard and

harsh, or shrill, and for the same reason. They also
use their jaw and chin muscles, often to the exclusion
of the only muscles which really produce a sweet voice.
For this reason the training of the speaker and of the
singer is identical. The singer must first apply his
knowledge of voice to speaking. Incidentally this will
help his diction in singing. His enunciation will be
as distinct in singing as it is in speaking. The singer
and speaker part company only when it comes to the
matter of range. The speaker needs but a small
range; the singer must have a compass of at least two
octaves. Both speaker and singer must be able to
modulate from loud to soft, but the singer needs some
special effects, such as the Italian Bel Canto, or
legato singing, the staccato, martellato, portamento,
swelling and decreasing the same tone, echo effects,
trills and rapid runs, etc. All these and other points
will be thoroughly covered in the course of these lessons,
but for the purpose of purely vocal development all
classes of vocalists go together.
If you have acquired false habits of speaking and
singing, do not think that you can at once eliminate
them. Therefore, if your jaws are stiff, or if you feel
any tightness in the chest or abdomen, for the present
pay no attention to that, but concentrate all your
efforts, all your attention, upon acquiring a flexible
tongue.
You are being taught a positive "do" and not a
negative "don't."
When you know the right way, when you have
learned the right direction, you will gradually elimi
nate wrong habits and forget them.
I assume that you have by this time mastered the
tongue; that you can make the groove with utmost
 LESSON XIV 315

ease, without moving either the palate or the larynx.

Have you noticed two special points?
The first is, that when you make the groove cor
rectly, your throat feels "open," free, and loose.
The second point is, that when you place the little
finger under one side of the tongue and make the
groove, you feel a distinct pressing downward of the
tongue upon the finger.
I call this pressure "beat," somewhat like a heart
beat. This "beat" (this pressure on the finger) as the
groove is made, is the physiological "Cause of Every
Tone" whether you speak or sing. Without this beat
no good tone or voice is ever possible. It is like the
tick or tapping of a telegraph instrument, each tap
releases a current, each tongue beat releases a tone.
When the tongue beat is lacking, the tone is inferior
or even bad. The beat is the cause of good tone. The
absence of the beat has as its consequence a poor
tone.
This is absolute and final! Never forget this!
Now take your mirror and torch. Place the little
finger, as taught, under the tongue. Make sure that
your finger lies directly in line with the string of the
tongue; that is, in the center. Make the groove three
times, and notice the "beat." If any of you do
not feel the beat distinctly and rather strongly, you
should continue to stimulate the back of the tongue
with the tickler. When the rear part makes the
groove, the front part of the tongue will press (beat)
upon the finger.
Now, in your most natural voice call out "one,"
"two," "three," etc., up to ten. Many of you will feel
the beat on every count, some only on a few counts,
usually on three, six and eight. A few may get no
beat at all.
316 LESSON XIV

Three causes may contribute to the non-success

with the beat. The first cause is that the groove is
not being made in the extreme rear of the tongue.
The second cause is that in a few persons the
tongue is very, very weak; so weak in fact that the
contraction of the muscles cannot be felt at all.
The third cause, and one nearly always found in
stammerers, is that the tongue and throat are held
extremely rigid and unyielding.
Those who get a beat all the time, or most of the
time, should have a very fine, even splendid, voice in
a year. If they have not, they won't get any sympathy
from me, for they have a most wonderful start.
Those with very weak muscles naturally require
more time to bring out the voice, but they can abso
lutely rely on a fine voice if they keep up the final
practice, which will come later in the course. I can
positively assure them, because I myself was perhaps
the weakest among the weak, and I now equal in
volume and quality almost any orator and many
singers.
I remember the case of a Catholic priest who came
to me from a Sanitarium in Denmark. He could
barely whisper. Today he is strong, healthy and a
prominent speaker.
Along with his numerous duties, he kept up the
practice, just as you are being taught. Another came
from the extreme border of Poland, one from the so-
called "Sourland" of Germany. These three were
extremely bad cases and they are now in splendid voice.
I have had many teachers, railroad men, salesmen,
army officers; all of them succeeded beyond their
dreams.
Right here in Chicago, within a year, there are
many whose voices were not "restored," as they never
 LESSON XIV 317

had much of a voice, but who were given a voice such

as they had never dared to hope for.
Persons affected by the third cause, seemingly the
worst of all, are, as regards strength, often the best of
all! I have found stammerers who were, unknown to
themselves, "diamonds." To be sure "diamonds in
the rough," needing lots of cutting, but still diamonds.
I don't say they were musical, but merely that they
had hidden within themselves a great voice. Such
voices are buried in slack and rubble, sometimes
mountain high, but they are there!
So far as my experience reaches, most of the
stammerers had a very strong hyo-glossi muscle, to
speak technically, but through accident, illness, some
times misdirected teaching, or at least through ignor
ance of the correct voice attack, had lost all proper
use of the true voice-producing parts of their throats.
Mostly, they held their tongues very rigid. The palate
is drawn up and the jaw muscles are stiff. Of course
any kind of speech is almost impossible under such
conditions.
It is related that when the Persians invaded Lydia,
soldiers burst into the palace of King Croesus. The
only son of Croesus was dumb, but when he saw the
invaders, the fear for his father's life produced such
an excitement within him that "he broke the string of
his tongue" and called to the invaders, "Spare the
king."
Now, what must have happened was not that he
broke the string of the tongue, but that he got "hold
of it." For the first time in his life, he controlled the
all-essential voice-producing tongue muscles and from
then on he could speak.
The fact that stammerers often can sing well is a
positive proof that they are normal, even better
318 LESSON XIV

equipped than many persons who do not stammer.

If they could control the tongue while speaking, as
they do in singing, they would never stammer. There
fore the stammerers and all those with speech defects,
must study and work to gain the absolute control of
their tongue muscles, just the same as the speakers
and singers.
The exercises for the present must be the same for
all classes. Special exercises for speakers, singers and
defective voices will be given as we go along, but in
the essential parts, all cases are alike, for everything
depends on the control and strength of the hyo-glossi
muscles. This statement must be repeated over and
over again. All other exercises which you will be
given are secondary to those dealing with the hyo-
glossi.
Again place the little finger under the tongue, as
taught; now repeat first all the vowel sounds, later
the entire alphabet, as distinctly as you can.
Special exercises for vowels and consonants will
follow as we go along with our lessons. For the present
merely general directions can and need be given.
As long as you speak loudly, in an ordinarily loud
tone, as if you were speaking to a friend across the
room, the beat must be distinctly felt; whether you
speak vowels or consonants, it is all the same. But if
you do not speak loudly, the beat will be felt very
faintly or not at all.
When the hyo-glossi muscle contracts strongly,
you always obtain a strong, full tone, which is free
and musical.
When the hyo-glossi muscle contracts but little, or
not at all, your voice is faint, husky or breathy. The
following little nonsense verse is very well adapted for
 LESSON XIV 319

a lesson in vocal attack. If you don't like this verse,

use some other with short, sharp sentences.

IRREDENTA
Shoes that squeak, a banging door,
A man too meek, a perfect score;
A stickless stamp, a derby hat,
A solemn scamp, a lady cat;
A lover bold who tells the truth,
A woman cold to life and youth;
A mission chair, a wrinkled rug,
Denatured hair, a pin scratch hug;
A pretty man, a mannish maid,
A city plan, a bill unpaid ;
A mended sock, a postered wall—
Into the discard with them all!

As before, place little finger under the tongue and

read aloud. Read slowly, and for a few trials, separate
the words. Be especially careful to pronounce each
vowel or consonant clearly and distinctly, and be
twice as careful to end the word just as distinctly as
you began it. For instance, read the first line as if
it were written thus:
Sh'oe's—th'a't—squ-ea'k—a—bang'ingh'—doo-r,
Read the entire verse almost as if you were spelling
each word, the consonants somewhat separated from
the vowels. Observe carefully that the tongue slightly
beats or bears down on the finger below it. In the
consonants the bearing down will be a little less strong
than in the vowels. Notice that the bearing down, or
beat, continues while you speak. There is no separate
beat for each vowel or consonant. The initial beat for
the starting sound carries you to the end of a word
or when you speak normally, to an entire sentence.
As long as you speak, the bearing down must be pres
320 LESSON XIV

ent. During rest, breath or pause, the tongue relaxes;

that is, there is then no beat.
Gradually read this verse, in a normal way, but be
sure to enunciate every syllable very distinctly,
especially the end syllable. Singers will find this
also very valuable. Such a preparation will insure
anyone being understood by the last man in the upper
most gallery of any. large hall.
Now, a very important point to all of you !

CULTIVATE AN EAR FOR YOUR OWN VOICE

You are invariably, not occasionally, but invariably
to use the strongest tone you can make with ease.
Converse in it, joke in it, think in it. This is not an
occasional exercise, but a continual performance. You
must arouse your intellect, your will power to demand a
strong, full voice, always and at all times. Every
faculty, the understanding, the reflective, the percep
tive and every other faculty must co-operate.
This new voice is like a new language. It necessi
tates thought, concentration, and continuity and, like
every new language, can only be learned if you con
verse in it or speak in public with it, talk in it inces
santly.
Every individual talks in some main, permanent
pitch. Gradually find out which pitch is your own.
Observe as you read aloud or converse with your
friends or address an audience or a jury, that your
pitch varies from low to high, but that there is one
pitch on which you can talk easier than on any other.
That is your standard pitch. Accustom yourself to
talk mainly in that pitch. Train your ear for that
pitch. If you have a piano, find out by striking the
key and speaking at the same time—not singing the
words, but speaking them—you will find that big,
heavy voices usually speak around "E flat," first line,
 LESSON XIV 321

lighter voices somewhat near "F," first space. When

you have determined the pitch that is easiest to you,
hold on to it. It is your own individual voice pitch.
In it you will make the most rapid progress. In that
pitch you will be your own self more than in any other.
I have given you a rather long lesson, but not nearly
long enough. You have arrived at one of the most
important stages of our course of study. You will, I
am sure, readily appreciate the great practical value
of this lesson. Digest it. Ponder over it. Make it
your own. This lesson opens the portals to a wide
vision of vocal success. Prepare yourself for the
greater lessons that are yet to come, by mastering
this one entirely.
For several months, practice some daily speaking,
with little finger under the tongue and make sure you
get the beat.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON LESSON XIV

(1) Had the voice any part in the success of
Christianity?
(2) If you stammer, can you now see the cause of
your defect?
(3) If your voice is weak, or harsh, do you see
why?
(4) Is your throat open when you make the
groove?
(5) Is the throat open (that is, free and relaxed)
when you speak with the beat?
(6) Is your tongue beat strong, medium or weak?
(7) On what counts do you feel the beat?
(8) Can you read aloud the verse " Irredenta"and
how do you succeed?
(9) Have you found the pitch of your own voice?
(10) On what consonants or vowels do you
stammer most?
1
 LESSON XV
HISTORY OF VOICE AND VOICE METHODS
(Continued)
From the Reformation to the Present
"Human happiness has no perfect security but free
dom, freedom none but virtue, virtue none but knowl
edge, and neither has any vigor or immortal hope,
except in the principles of the Christian faith;" so wrote
Josiah Quincy, of Boston, on September 17, 1830.
The North American Indian has nearly disappeared
because he had not the capacity to develop himself.
He inherited a magnificent land, but he had nothing
to contribute, either in material wealth or in spiritual
progress. He is gone, not because he was conquered,
but because he was lacking in the elements that make
men strong to resist.
Persia, Greece and Rome all had made material prog
ress that has been the wonder and envy of subsequent
ages, but they were deficient in spirituality, in moral
qualities without which no permanent progress is pos
sible, without which no nation can continue to exist.
Among the things of the spirit are the arts, and of
these it is music which more than any other expresses
the inner worth and thought of man. Music is the last
of all the arts, because it demands a greater human
development than any other. Man needed the material
things first. From the useful he progressed to a higher
idea, the beautiful, and at last he finds the highest ideal
of beauty within himself. The realization of this high
ideal within himself will not only make a man more
happy, but also more useful to himself and to others.
He has gone through a "fire" and has become refined.
From crude ore he has been changed to pure and rich
metal. It took thousands of centuries to bring man
323
324 LESSON XV

kind thus far. Now anyone may advance in a few years

beyond an entire era of former times and one man is
worth more than were hundreds formerly.

Fig. 98
Moses—Michael Angelo.

The past has shown us that man is, mentally at least,

a rather lazy subject. If it were not so, humanity would
have advanced much faster. Electricity and steam have
 LESSON XV 325

existed from the creation of the world, but not until the
American, Benjamin Franklin, harnessed electricity and
the Scotchman, Stevenson, made use of steam power,
were they of service to mankind. Up to the time of the
German, Guttenberg, books used to be reproduced by
the slow process of writing. Now a printing press can
do in one hour what a thousand men could then do in
a year.
It required revolutions and warsjto awaken the
slumbering intelligence of humanity.
But as soon as a nation or a race made a step for
ward, reaction set in, striving to delay the march to
ward a higher ideal. The introduction of Christianity
was the most important advance since the time of
Moses, but that which befel the religion of Moses also
befel Christianity. Elements appeared that set it back.
Indolence, selfishness, pride and greed were at work to
set at naught the divine teaching of Christ; Dante, in
the 13th century; Savonarola, in the 15th century, and
at last Luther, in the 16th century, arose to reform
the abuses which had crept into the Christian religion.
Much of the life preceding the reformation was
dark and inhuman. Church and rulers both dom
inated the people. Ignorance and superstition were in
evidence everywhere. All was darkness. Hope had
disappeared from hearts of the common people.
The dungeons, the chambers of inquisition and the
prison towers were filled with unfortunates. Faith had
vanished. In this hour of greatest need Luther, the
monk, appeared. He had more than piety, more than
intelligence. He had, what seems to have been lacking
at that time—the courage of his convictions. He was
not afraid. Both church and state had become an
established aristocracy. Luther made them democratic.
32G LESSON XV

The Bible was taken from the hands of the priest and
given to whoever was interested in reading it. Here
after faith was to be free. Man was to be master of
his soul once more, as Christ taught.

MARTIN LUTHER.
Fig. 99
The democratic tendency of the reformation intro
duced the singing of chorals and songs in the language
of the particular country in which they were sung.
This had not been the case previously as songs had
been sung in the Latin tongue which was unknown to
the masses. Much that was beautiful and sweet in the
old church disappeared to make room for the more
austere and coldly aloof. Much was gained, but much
also was lost. We realize that fact today.
The new religion became dominant among all the
northern nations. The nations of the south were little
inclined to accept it.
The period of classic music started with the end of
the 17th century. In philosophy we recognize Plato
and Kant; in Poetry, Shakespeare and Goethe, and in
music, Bach and Beethoven, as the highest types.
 LESSON XV 327

The old forms of music were a slow, gradual groping

upward, reaching their highest development in France
and Italy. But the highest form of music then known
was, after all, deficient in sincerity. It was based too
much on form and mere external beauty.
Luther added a new note to the music of the church,
that of deep sincerity; and now Bach appeared to give
music an impetus which is more strongly felt today
than at any time since his death in 1750. He appreci
ated the beauty of the Italian and French schools, and
the sincerity of the reformation; in addition he de
voted the power of his giant intellect to completing
the mighty architectural structure of music.
That Bach was far ahead of his time may be seen
from a letter of censure addressed to him by the church
where he was organist. In it he was reproved for intro
ducing so many innovations and such foreign tones into
his music that the people became confused and unable
to follow it. His life was full of worries. He married
twice, had twenty children and an income of less than
$600. This was cut down considerably, he wrote to a
friend, when, on account of a favorable winter, there
were fewer funerals to play for. It seems almost a
divine law, that heavenly inspiration must be paid for
by terrestrial suffering.
If ever God talked to man in tones, Bach and Beetho
ven were those men. Beethoven's contribution to
music is a depth of feeling and grandeur that surpasses
the finite and becomes infinite.
The classic period of music ends about 1800. It is
followed by the romantic period. The classic period
may be termed the aristocratic period. Law and order,
system and proportion, a logical, intellectual evolution
gave way to a new style, not so grand as the classic,
but very interesting. It may be compared to the liberal
328 LESSON XV

school of politics and literature which had its rise in the

French revolution.

Fig. 100 Fig. 101

Bach. Beethoven.

The romantic period has already passed its zenith.

A new world is now opening before us. It is the period
of science and of exact knowledge. The people who send
telegrams across the oceans, who have conquered the
air, who measure and divide atoms, who by means of
X-Rays see hidden mysteries, who ring up a friend
thousands of miles away and talk to him as if he were
in a chair opposite to them ; those people will presently
discover new forms and new elements to express them
selves in music. We must wait.
So much is sure^—that faith in God, in a future life,
is stronger and more certain today than at any time
in the world's history. It must be forever the highest
office to teach men to find God in their own hearts, to
assist the unfortunate, to raise the fallen and to encour
age the weak. As long as we are bound to the earth,
we have need of faith and of the things which speak
to the heart and lift us beyond material worries and
perplexities. Beauty in all forms is one of the means
which lift us upward, and music will remain one of the
strongest mediums to remind us that the spark within
us is part of an infinite spirit.
 LESSON XV 329

Up to about the 15th century, singing was mainly

confined to religious ceremonies. With the time of
Bach and Luther, sacred music seems to have reached
its climax. The beautiful, solemn choral of Luther or
the mighty music of the Bach school is no longer heard
in the church. Little parlor pieces and sentimental
tunes are the rule. Preachers pride themselves on be
ing "Business Men," and, to attract the crowd, resort
to the tactics of the cheap music halls.
Until the time of the reformation, Christian worship
was conducted in the Latin tongue; so, of course, sing
ing was confined to the Latin Text. The words dealt
mainly with Christ, the Virgin Mary, the Crown of
Thorns, the Saints, Sin, Death, Hell and Damnation,
and lots of the latter.
Now, using Our native languages, the text and the
music treat of love, kisses, wine. The smile of a sweet
heart is more important than forgiveness of sin. Her
blue eyes are more enticing than all the bliss of heaven.
Formerly singers traveled in the then known parts of
the world. The Roman legions sang as they conquered
the nations, to be themselves defeated as the ancient
Germans and Gauls invaded Rome, singing their battle
songs. When the wars ended, many preferred to earn
a precarious, but amusing existence by journeying from
court to court, singing and dancing, or by the display
of all sorts of tricks and arts. These individuals be
came the bards of the Celts, the jongleurs of Gaul, the
"vagrants" of all the world, high-brow progenitors of
our present-day tramp.
A few of them, specially gifted, were permanently
engaged by some prince or city, to supply the festivi
ties with the necessary laughter, to praise the prince
or the town authorities to the highest heaven, to rail
and mock against their enemies, etc.
330 LESSON XV

These were the real predecessors of the later day

court poet or the present day "after dinner" speaker.
Besides being gifted with a crude sort of wit, they
needed a good voice. It is on record that their wit was
often of poor quality, but they made up for that by
superior voices.
Out of this mixture of pagan and Christian motives,
Greek culture, Celtic and Germanic barbarism, a gentle,
new and beautiful flower was born. It is the "Folk-
Song."
With the introduction of the printing press, the text
and music of these songs spread quickly. The first
book or collection of songs was published in 1490.
At a very early time in the Christian era, Easter,
Passion and Mystery plays were enacted by the priests
and monks. In the 12th century, the traveling min
strels adopted these also, and in this wise founded the
modern theater and opera. The Thirty Years War of
the reformation destroyed what former centuries had
contributed in the way of art, poetry and music. A
sad time came over the world. At a period when mur
der, rape and fire became the main business of life, art
and song, which are the children of peace and culture,
were forgotten. The modern ideas of socialism, com
munism, and anarchism, have not contributed any
thing to the development of folk-song. What we still
hear of that is not new, but merely dreams of the past.
In France the folk-songs were gradually divided into
two distinct classes. One class for the city, which meant
Paris, the other for the country, or "voix de ville," the
vaudeville of our day.
England possessed the most developed and distinct
folk-songs. Part singing was known there long before
any other country. How much singing was enjoyed in
 LESSON XV 331

England can be seen from a story that was current at

the time of Henry III (1216-1272):
Two pilgrims came to a monastery. They were taken
for minstrels and treated to the best that cellar and
kitchen afforded. After the pilgrims had eaten, they
disclosed themselves as priests, whereupon the monks
thrashed them and kicked them out for being deceivers.
They had expected jolly minstrels, and found mere
priests. It was said that the monks of the 14th century
were better acquainted with the pranks of Robin Hood
than with the Lord's prayer.

Fig. 102
The Juggler of Notre Dame—Maurice Lena.

To us it seems inconceivable that there was a time,

not so many centuries ago either, when there were no
books, when the virgin mind was a blank; when the
mere details of everyday life, eating, drinking, sleep,
and work in the field or kitchen, were the events of the
day. To the knight in his solitary castle and still more
to his women folk, life presented one monotonous round
of uneventful existence, broken now and then by hunt
332 LESSON XV

ing, fishing and occasionally by a feud with some other

knight, just to pass the time. When in the long winter
days, the landscape covered with an even sheet of snow,
yawning solitude, an eternal nothing stretched before
the castle with the prospect that tomorrow and the
days to follow would be like today, the watchman in
the tower blew the horn and announced a visitor, with
what eagerness this visitor was received! And if he
should happen to be a minstrel, he was made more
than welcome. He came from the outside, he had
traveled far in foreign countries, at courts; he could
tell of wars, of gossip here and there. What wonder
that he was urged to stay days and weeks. His stories,
his songs, even his arrogance and boldness were a re

Fig. 103
A Knight in Full Armor.
 LESSON XV 333

freshing break in the monotonous existence. He was

the newspaper of that age. Not even the merchant
with his wares from Venice, spices from India, linen
from Flanders, carpets and silks from the Orient, stood
in such high regard as the minstrel. For him the best
room, the richest victuals and the greatest reward ; for if
he was liked, he also was.feared. His tongue was always
sharp and his conscience not over-scrupulous. If he
were not treated and rewarded to his liking, he would
make fun of one. He would sing a "bad song" about one.
Yellow journalism was known and feared even then!
Knighthood, once defender of the faith, the hope of
the oppressed, the fear of the wrongdoer, fell from its
high estate. The great and the little lords in turn be
came the oppressors, the assassins and thieves. An
archy reigned. No one was master. In this time of
lawlessness the citizens of the towns banded together
for mutual defense against the predatory knight. The
knights and barons turned bandits. The towns were
surrounded with strong fortifications, and guards kept
watch at the gates. Outside these towns there was
robbery and lawlessness. Within the walls there was
peace and prosperity. The merchant and the me
chanic, the baker and the butcher, the carpenter, the
smith, the weaver, the tailor, and the shoemaker, all
joined together in a harmonious community. And at
their guild meetings, verses and music helped to amuse
and to improve the mind.
In this happy atmosphere were born the German
master-singers, whose poetic flower was Hans Sachs,
a shoemaker of Nuremberg. Only a master craftsman
was admitted to this fellowship. He had to pass a
severe examination in many things, but chiefly in his
literary and musical qualifications, and his ability to
form verses in conformity with strict rules.
334 LESSON XV

Verse and music had to be original, so while the

tailor sewed or the carpenter worked, he thought at
the same time about some story which could be made
into verse and set to music. Prizes were distributed to
the chief master-singers from time to time, and these
rewards proved a great stimulant to search for new
subjects which could be turned into verse. Their
sources of study were ancient and modern history, the
Bible, politics and nature. It was a kind of Chautauqua
course of and for the artisans of the 16th and 17th
centuries. These men had their work to do. They
liked the work. They were satisfied and happy. They
did not try to force their opinions on the rest of the
world. All they wanted was the opportunity to carry
on their own business in peace. When they met of
evenings, it was not to discourse upon politics, the
tariff, votes for women or some Utopian scheme of
converting wolves into lambs; it was to improve their
minds. They refreshed themselves after their daily
labor by taking up some subject that appealed to them
as beautiful and worth while.
Though machinery was practically unknown in those
days, yet the art of the locksmith, the tailor, the gold
smith, the carpenter, etc., was far superior to that of
our present day. Their furniture, dress designs and
workmanship in crafts of all kinds, such as porcelains,
medallions, weaving, linen, are types of perfection
which we merely copy today. Rather poor in externals,
their inner individual soul life was richer than that of
their successors has been.
The masses had a sense of beauty, symmetry and
proportion now found only in a comparatively small
number of highly cultured persons. In comfort and
knowledge they were poorer than people of today, but
the individual was richer and certainly more contented.
 LESSON XV 335

EXERCISES FOR LESSON XV

THE ATTACK (Continued)
Many persons find it extremely difficult to form the
groove in the tongue. Every means must be tried to
induce the contraction of the hyo-glossi muscles which
make the groove. Those of you who now make the
groove with ease, will still find it profitable to try the
following experiment:
First take a little sip of water, then close the mouth
and swallow. Notice most carefully whether you feel
a little contraction in the extreme rear part of the
tongue. Repeat several times.
When you notice or feel the easy but distinct con
traction in the tongue, then notice at the same time
that your throat feels open, loose or hollow. As you
swallow again and again, notice gradually that the
contraction of the tongue and the hollow throat occur
at the same instant; that is, the contraction of the
tongue also caused the hollow, open throat. If cold
water does not induce the contraction of the tongue,
take hot coffee or tea, real hot, but only a sip at any
one time.
As a progressive step, do this: Take a sip, then
place your forefinger inside the mouth as far back as
you can reach. Place the forefinger directly but gently
upon the tongue, as far back as you can. Close your
mouth now and swallow. Repeat this until you can
distinctly feel that the tongue sinks in the middle,
especially far back; that it also feels loose and the
throat hollow. Keep on trying till you get this. When
the tongue grooves with the swallow, then try with
out swallowing.
Now try still another experiment, that of sucking.
Place forefinger way back on the tongue, close your
mouth and think of swallowing or sucking your finger.
336 LESSON XV

Try every means of inducing the tongue to contract,

by tickling with the tongue depressor, or by swallow
ing water, or by sucking the finger, as may suit you
best; then try and make the groove without that
stimulating effort.

GROOVE WITH LITTLE FINGER

Again place the little finger under the tongue. Make
the groove and notice the beat of the tongue on the
finger. Make sure, and this is especially important for
singers, that the lowest part of the larynx, the cricoid
cartilage, does not move while you make the groove.
As a further illustration of the "beat," try the fol
lowing: Stand erect, with your knees or only one knee
pressed stiffly backward. Notice the tension in the
knee. Hold for three counts, then at "four," suddenly
give way at the knee, not much, just enough to notice
a break or sudden relaxing or giving away at the knee.
This break illustrates the beat of the tongue very dis
tinctly and can be easily made by anyone. Then place
finger under the tongue, hold the tongue for three
counts, then at "four," suddenly let go of the tongue;
that is, break the tongue as you did with the knee, and
notice now that the beat is very clear and distinct.
As a specific illustration of the physical cause and
process of an exact vocal attack for everybody, speaker,
singer and stammerer, get a rubber ball or atomizer.
A small rubber ball will do nicely. Close your fingers
around the ball and squeeze it several times. Notice
the slight effort of your hand as you squeeze the ball
and the relaxing of the hand as you let go.
Now, at count "one," suddenly, but in the easiest
possible way, close hard and squeeze!
Hold for count "two" and "three."
 LESSON XV 337

Let go at count "four!" Repeat several times! Ob

serve two distinct actions as you play with the ball.
One is the action of closing the hands; this is the con
traction. The other action is when you release the ball,
as you open your hand ; this is relaxation !
After every contraction there must be a relaxation!
Repeat the ball experiment till you get a clear picture
of two distinct movements. As your hands contract,
notice that the contraction is sudden, but not violent;
quick, but free and easy.
While you hold the ball contracted, you will notice
a certain amount of easy tension in your hands, and as
you let go, or relax your hand, this tension disappears
instantly. Now squeeze the ball in rapid succession;
notice that you can do this so quickly that the con
traction and relaxation almost occur at the same time.
This is exactly what happens with the tongue and
all the muscles of the entire vocal organ, as long as
you speak or sing. Between words, between musical
phrases, or between staccato notes, there is a relaxa
tion of all the vocal muscles. If there were no relax
ing, the tone would take the nature of the muscles. It
would be hard and stiff like them.
Three things must be remembered as needful for a
correct vocal attack. They are:
Suddenness, Strength and Ease.
Suddenness. Because that is the way all muscles
contract; instantly, without the slightest hesitation.
Strength. When the muscles contract suddenly and
with the utmost freedom they are at their maximum
strength, therefore the tone is strong.
Ease. When the muscles contract without forcing,
with the utmost ease, then you feel free, loose aijd
comfortable, in spite or because of the fact that the
muscles are powerfully contracted.
338 LESSON XV

These three things are the essentials of all good

vocal attack. These three principles, strictly observed,
will place you in the position of doing very good work,
even with the voice you now have; and even when you
have finished the work which I prescribe in these les
sons, they must still be observed. These three essen
tials must be observed continually, as long as you live.
So far, no special exercises for the singer have been
required. What has been given is essential for all
voices. The singer needed these exercises as much as
the speaker and the defective voice. The following
directions apply especially to singers. Special exercises
for the speaker alone, and for the defective voice alone,
will follow in later lessons.
Place the little finger under the tongue. Sing B flat
on the third line. If you notice that the beat is made
at the instant of the tone and the tone is strong and
free, you are right. That is your best tone! Remem
ber that you must attack the tone suddenly, strongly,
and with ease. (If you do not know the notes, then
sing any tune that is easy for you.)
Sing the B flat three times, with a pause between
each tone. At the pause, the beat of the tongue will
disappear, to become instantly noticeable at the next
tone. As long as you hold a note, the beat will re
main steady. Now proceed. Sing B natural, then C,
and so on, by half steps; each tone three times, with a
pause between, up to F on the fifth line. Do not, for
the present, go above F, but proceed now by half steps
in the chromatic scale, downward as far as your voice
naturally extends.
The limit of your voice is the "beat." When you
do not get a "beat" of the tongue, you have reached
the limit of your voice for the present.
Some of you may not get a beat as high as F. In
 LESSON XV 339

that case stop at the note where the beat ceases to

appear. Do not become discouraged or cross, merely
continue the groove exercise from day to day. Your
"beat" will become more distinct and in a little while
you will go as high as F. Many of you, who are tenors
or sopranos, will not get a beat much below E flat, on
the first line. This also need not worry you. High
sopranos or tenors rarely go much below this note.
Middle C is a difficult note for high voices and yet nearly
all teachers and books of exercises start on the middle C.
Every voice, high or low, can reach B flat on the
third line. Take that as your central note. Notice
that already your voice is much fresher, stronger and
more supple than it has been, and that you feel free.
Your throat feels open. Your resonance is much
stronger and exactly where you always wanted it, in
front of the face. Observe that you did not try to do
these things, but there they are!
The tone is not a result of resonance, but just the
reverse. The resonance is the result of a good tone.
Freedom and an open throat did not induce a good
tone. Just the opposite is the case. The correct tone,
the good tone, is the cause of freedom, ease and an
open throat.
Gradually, after you are sure of your tones, sing
two whole tones in perfect legato. Start with B flat
always. Sing B flat-C, then B-C sharp, C-D, and so
on. Proceed up to F by half steps, then go down the
scale. Do not go either up or down any more than
your voice at present allows with the utmost ease.
Observe that the beat is felt on the first note and re
mains while you sing the two whole tones. Repeat
the tones slowly two or three times, pause and go to
to the next half a tone higher.
Later, sing three notes in succession, then four and
340 LESSON XV

finally five, proceeding by half steps. The first step

may be any note of the chromatic scale ; the note or
notes following this are the notes of the Diatonic
major scale of the key with which you started.
When you are sure of every tone, then sing the first
five tones of the major scale. Sing slowly up and down,
then with the same breath, very fast up and down, and
then pause. Proceed this way downward, reversing
the order of the scale as far as your beat will let you.
You may now use your knowledge and experience
in simple songs. They should, however, not exceed
your present compass. First sing every note to "ha."
When two or more notes are joined to a syllable, you
must connect them, as in the runs just given. You
notice the beat then only on the first note, but the
pressure remains as long as you sing. On separate
tones, of course, the beat is felt for every new note.
Having made sure of a good tone for every note,
read the words, still with the little finger under the
tongue. If you are careful on each syllable, you will
feel the beat and your diction will be strong and dis
tinct. Now, apply the text to the notes and see that
your tones are very clear, strong and full; at the same
time your text should be plain and easily understood.
You can study many songs this way.
Do not neglect any parts of these lessons. They are
all important, not only to speakers and defective voices,
but also to singers.
Special instruction on songs will follow.
 LESSON XV 341

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON LESSON XV

(1) Human progress has been proportionate to its
power of resistance. Does that apply to the voice?
(2) Can you now make the groove all the way back
in the tongue with ease?
(3) When you make the groove, is the throat open
and loose, or in other words free?
(4) Do you notice the pressure or "beat" of the
tongue against little finger?
(5) Can you relax the tongue after the beat is made?
(6) What are the three things to be remembered in
vocal attack?
(7) Do you notice the beat when you sing a medium
tone?
(8) Do you notice resonance in the tones that are
made with the beat?
(9) Do you notice freedom on such tones?
(10) Can you read aloud and notice the beat?
 LESSON XVI
HISTORY OF VOICE AND VOICE METHODS
(Continued)
THE RENAISSANCE
The Christian religion has proven itself stronger than
all other religions. The gods of Greece and Rome are
fallen, never to rise again. But with the downfall of
Greece and Rome, their high culture, their philosophy,
their noble arts, were also forgotten. While man can
not live by bread alone, it is also true that he cannot
live by the spirit alone. The material things of the
world, while we are in it, must be attended to, else
even the spirit will disappear, for all impressions,
whether for good or evil, must of necessity either
elevate or depress the spirit.
That which formerly had graced humanity, its sense
of beauty for form and color, its capacity for outward
expression, the individual beauty of life, had been
broken to pieces, to lie scattered and forgotten for a
thousand years. Gone were the architectural beauties,
the superb sculpture, the drama, the philosophers, the
orators and the statesmen of the old civilization. With
them, of course, went the debauchery", the rascality and
dissoluteness, to destroy which the better parts had
also to go. The moral issue had become supreme. All
else had to make way for it. The moral worth of the
barbarian was superior to the intellectual worth of the
highest culture of the time.
But moral worth, sincerity and spirituality need not
exclude the highest state of intellectual culture; on the
contrary, both must go hand in hand to make man
worthy of his Creator, to prepare him for his high
estate in eternity.
343
344 LESSON XVI

The man who sneers at intellect and art is not a

true Christian and certainly only an inferior man, be
his moral conduct ever so good. We know what bale
ful influence bigoted but stupid morality exerted in the
Middle Ages, as instanced by the tortures of the in
quisition: how the same spirit tolerated the burning

Fig. 104
St. Cecilia—Raphael.
 LESSON XVI 345

of witches, even in America, and how profoundly it

influences many modern agitators, who wish to make
the world moral by statute law.
If you have read Mark Twain's "A Knight at King
Arthur's Court" you can readily see what effect igno
rance had on the people who lived during the first
thousand years after the fall of the culture that was
Greece.
It was St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) who again
erected a bridge to span the abyss between Christ and
man. He introduced a new Christ, a brother, a sym
pathizer with man. The severity of a cold faith was
changed to a religion of love and grace. A new inspira
tion took root in humanity, and first of all in Italy,
where Dante wrote his Divine comedy. The sense
of beauty and form was reborn; the arts of the past
were again studied. Great men like Michael Angelo,
Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Correggio, Titian, Pe
trarch, Boccacio, Galilei, and others, lived and worked
for new ideals.
The ancient Greek dramas were revived and grad
ually were set to the music of the time, so that in the
year 1600 the first grand opera, "Dafne," by Jacopo
Peri, was performed at the court of the Medicis.
In ancient times drama was not spoken, but sung.
The principal characters used a sort of chant with an
accompaniment of the lyre, and the choruses were also
sung. So, when the new literary enthusiasts considered
the means at hand, they found there was plenty pro
vision for the choruses, but none for the solos of the
principal characters, for all music up to that time had
been chorus or congregational singing. The entire mu
sical system was polyphonic—that is, many voiced.
The question arose, how should the soloists be pro
vided for?
346 LESSON XVI

This problem was solved by Vincenzo Galilei, the

father of the great astronomer, Galilei, or Galileo, as
the name is sometimes written, who wrote a few songs
and sang them himself to his own accompaniment on
the viola. Everybody was charmed. Society took up
the new art. Real musicians endorsed the new depar
ture, and thus monophonic or single-voiced songs were
established in public favor. Opera now became possible,
because the songs would serve to express the emotions
of the principal characters. The solo songs in the opera
were called arias. They represented the highest state of
feeling of the action. But the action, even of the prin
cipal characters, does not always retain this high state
of feeling. Much of the dialogue, of course, would
have to be spoken. To obviate recourse to spoken
words, the recitative was invented. This is so well
adapted to its purpose that it has been retained to the
present day. It is a sort of compromise between song
and speech; a declamation, partaking of the nature of
both.
The music drama was now complete. Grand Opera
made its bow to the world. The new art form was
taken up with rapture in all countries; both prince and
pauper delighted in it. In this wise began the career
of the great singers.
At last and for the first time, the human voice came
into its own in singing. Its wonderful possibilities be
gan to arouse attention : not only singers, but orators,
actors, preachers, statesmen, all those who live by their
efforts of mind and voice were attracted to the study
and development of their own voices. Henceforward a
new art, a new branch of human activity, began to be
cultivated.
For over a century opera remained a purely Italian
product. The text of operas remained Italian up to
 LESSON XVI 347

the 19th century, even in England and Germany.

France alone adopted a national style of text.
The first great name among composers of opera is
Alessandro Scarlatti (1659-1725) and he is also the first
voice teacher of whom we have any record. Of course,
there had been singing teachers before that, but they
taught chorus singing and not solo singing. From his
time until the present, Italian opera has laid prime
stress on its melodies, good singable, pleasing melodies
and graceful forms.
Gradually, the dramatic action was lost sight of
entirely The solo singer became the main element of
the opera. Often the action of the drama was stopped,
even in a critical situation, in order to give a singer an
opportunity for display in a long and elaborate aria,
pleasing in melody, but sensational in character, and
full of technical difficulties. Male sopranos (eunuchs)
competed with female singers in virtuoso perform
ances. Great schools for training of solo singers arose
in Bologna, Rome, Milan, Venice, Naples and Florence.

Fig. 105
William Tell— Rossini.
348 LESSON XVI

Everything was sacrificed to sensuous charm, bril

liant effects and to the vanity of the singer. From this
time dates the glory of the great singers, both male
and female. The principal composers who made pos
sible the great fame and the great wealth of the opera
singers were, first of all, Rossini, whose operas, "Will
iam Tell," "The Barber of Seville" and others, are
among the most brilliant and striking of their kind.
Then came Bellini , with ' 'LaSonnambula' ' and "Norma, ' '
and Donizetti with "Don Pasquale," "Lucrezia Borgia,"
"Lucia de Lammermoor," "Fille de Regiment," etc.
The climax of Italian operatic achievement was
reached by Verdi, who made a great advance both in
orchestra writing and in devising a style adapted to
dramatic truth, especially in his later years. His operas,
"II Trovatore," "Ernani," "Rigoletto" and "Aida" are
household melodies. Boito's "Mefistofele" also is still
in the repertory.
In France meanwhile a new form of opera was cre
ated, that of opera comique or operetta. It was a reac
tion against the stiff and stilted manner of the estab
lished style of French literature and art. Rousseau,
the great human naturalist, began to write his so-called
"Philosophy of Enlightenment." The mental tenden
cies of the French cultivated classes were just as arti
ficial in all departments of art and literature as their
landscape gardening, which required that all trees and
shrubbery should be clipped into fantastic and artificial
forms, no tree being allowed to develop itself naturally
or in its own regular way. Then came the other ex
treme, when French royalty and nobility were be
headed during the Revolution, when the masses reigned
supreme, and were, in turn, as foolish, and mischievous
as had been the nobles before them.
 LESSON XVI 349

Among the French composers of grand opera must

be mentioned Gluck, whose "Orpheus and Eurydice"
proclaims him a genius of highest order. Then came
Meyerbeer, who, like Gluck, was German, but living in
France, who wrote "The Huguenots," "Robert the
Devil," "The Prophet," and "I'Africaine." Since his
time the greatest names in French opera have been
Thomas, with the opera "Mignon," Gounod, whose
"Faust" is just as popular today as ever, and Masse
net. Bizet's opera, "Carmen," is still a great favorite.

Fig. 106
Faust—Gounod.

Opera in the German language was for a long time

not synonymous with German opera. The nearest
approach to it was made in Hamburg, which city was
350 LESSON XVI

for long the musical center of Germany. Haendel wrote

his first opera there, though later he moved to London.
Mozart in Vienna wrote his operas in Italian. The
form of much of German music was in the Italian style.
"Don Giovanni" and "The Magic Flute" are purely
Italian. The great Beethoven aimed at a purely Ger
man opera in his "Fidelio," but this is rather cosmo
politan than German. The son of an actor and theater
manager, K. M." von Weber, was more successful in
establishing a purely German opera, especially in the
"Freischutz," which he wrote for the Dresden opera.
It aroused popular enthusiasm and stimulated the Ger
man composers toward national music. This national
spirit culminated in the greatest of all opera composers,
Richard Wagner, who also was the son of an actor.
Wagner was early attracted to the study of Shake
spearean dramas. He was a man apart from others; he
went his own way, thoughthisown thoughts, and knocked
popular ideals from their pedestals right and left. He
simply saw clearer and further ahead than others. His
operas and music used to be called the music of the
future, but they are now, and have been for a long
time, the music of the present, and Wagner operas are
played more often than all other operas combined.
In England there has been no original school of
opera. English composers have followed more or less
on the lines of the Italian, French and German writers.
The best known opera of an English composer is "The
Bohemian Girl" by Balfe, who is really an Irishman.
"The Mikado" and "Pianfore," by Sir Arthur Sullivan
and W. S. Gilbert, are in reality operettas, and as such
have enjoyed and deserved great popularity.
In America, thus far, there have been only few oper
atic composers. The most successful has been Reg
inald de Koven.
 LESSON XVI 351

Fig. 107
Don Giovanni—Mozart.

In the last fifteen or twenty years a large number of

opera composers of superior talent have made their
way to the front and still hold the attention of the
public. Such men are Leoncavallo and Puccini in
Italy, Massenet and Saint-Saens in France, Richard
Strauss and Humperdink in Germany, while Lehar, the
composer of the "Merry Widow," and others in Austria,
maintain the interest in opera and especially the de
mand for many singers. Illustrations of several of the
newer kinds of opera are given in this and other lessons,
as well as of the older schools of opera.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SONG

As we have seen, songs were among the earliest
manifestations of what could be called music. The im
pulse to express feeling vocally is universal, so is the
desire to express rhythm. The monotonous chant of
the savages naturally falls into measured cadences, so
their war songs are accompanied by the rhythmic beat
352 LESSON XVI

ing of a drum or gong. Out of this feeling for melody

and rhythm grew lyric poetry and the music to which
it was sung. Early songs were commonly a ballad
stanza, of four lines exactly fitting our eight-measure
musical period. An excellent example of such an early
ballad form is the ancient French tune "Malbrook,"
known in America as "We Won't Go Home Till Morn
ing." These simple forms were more or less extended
in the hands of the great masters.
But even the more elaborate ballads of the great
composers were apt to make a single air or melody do
duty for a good many stanzas, whereas literary and
poetic development brought with them a desire to ex
press poetry more fully than by a constant repetition
of the same melody.
The man who grasped this principle more clearly
than any other composer was Franz Schubert (1797-
1828). His work is so important, both in quantity and
quality, that he must be regarded as the creator of all
art song. Up to his time the poet was poorly thought
of; the actor was despised. In England, Shakespeare
was considered to rank not much above the tramp;
even later, when Haendel produced some of his operas,
the English papers in the Provinces announced that
Haendel, with his "lousy" troup of fiddlers, was in town.
Civilization, such as it was, was confined to the nobles
and the court. Even the teachers at the universities
were indifferent. Their interest was taken up in Latin
theses of great length and little sense. We owe our
civilization entirely to the independent minds of the
few poets, musicians and thinkers who were so far
above the crowd of the dominant leaders that neither
could understand the other.
With Beethoven's ninth symphony, the classic period
of music reached its apex.
 LESSON XVI 353

The new school of art which advocates more than just

perfection of form and thought, which is subjective, and
interested in the expression of feeling and imagination
only, is called the romantic school. Classic repose and
nobility of form had come to be regarded as an academic
repression of individual life. Politically, the nations
were again under the sceptre of reactionary govern
ment, who threatened now the intellectual as well as
the physical life of the individual. Poetry and litera
ture, disgusted with political life, withdrew into them
selves. They began to dream. Artists had grown in
intellect. They had become sensitive, perhaps not see
ing as clearly as the fathers of the classic period, but
feeling more deeply. They demanded a more colorful,
richer life, more adventurous, and more interesting
than life as they found it. In this period fell the birth
of Franz Schubert, the son of a public school teacher
near Vienna.
At the age of eleven years he joined the boys' choir
at the court chapel in Vienna. His passion for compos
ing could only be satisfied when a friend brought him
the necessary writing paper, for Schubert's father was
too poor to give him the needed supplies. When his
voice broke and made singing impossible, he accepted a
position as primary teacher, receiving therefor the salary
of about thirty dollars for an entire year's teaching.
In spite of this poverty and uncongenial work, his
compositions increased in number, quality and beauty.
At the age of eighteen, he had laid the cornerstone of
his future popularity with "The Erl King." In 1816,
a friend offered him a home and released him from
the irksome teaching. His wonderful talent was not
appreciated at that time. No publisher had the fore
sight or courage to publish his works. Only after an
opera singer and admirer of Schubert's songs had sung
354 LESSON XVI

them in concerts, did people begin to take notice of

him. Finally, when the world's greatest pianist and
most generous of men, Franz Liszt, transcribed many
of the best songs of Schubert for the piano, and played
them everywhere, the world opened its eyes to the new
and great light that had risen.
Heretofore, a poem had been provided with a melo
dy, but in the hands of Schubert a poem became a
song. Words and music belong together. What the
words only say, the music makes you feel. The accom
paniment, too, becomes an essential part of the poem.
In this respect Schubert paved the way for Berlioz .and
Wagner, and the entire modern school of opera. He
caught the sense and sentiment of the poem.
Just as Schubert gave us the modern song, so Carl
Loewe, who was contemporary with him, gave us the
modern ballad.
The ballad was originally a dance song. When the
Italian peasants danced, they sang, because in the early
centuries, instrumental music was almost unknown.
This dance song was improved by the minstrels. It
soon became known in England, and there was taken
up by the bards in their songs with historical, political
and heroic subjects. From that time on, this ballad
form of singing became very popular. It told stories
in verse and music. It describes time, scenery, dialogue
and action. In fact it is a little opera or story told by
one singer.
Loewe took up this form and enlarged it. He
brought the ballad to the highest development. For
instance, in the ballad, "Archibald Douglas," we hear
the canter of the horse, the waterfall, we feel the spirit
of the heather and the woods, we feel even the silence
of the trees. Also, in "Tom, the Rhymer," we are made
 LESSON XVI 355

to see the fairy of the woods, hear the tinkle of the bells
and feel the whole mysterious witchery of the Scottish
Highlands. Loewe's heart lies buried within the organ
of the Church of St. Jacob, in Stettin, where he was
organist for many years.
Not as poor in purse as Schubert, but nearly equal
in genius, was Robert Schumann, who carried on the
form established by Schubert, and enriched it, espe
cially in the accompaniment, which has now become
just as important as the song itself.
There have been many writers of songs since Schu
mann and Schubert died. The good ones are more or
less followers of these two pioneers. Nothing especially
remarkable has been accomplished since. The world
now has entered the period of science, of analytical
knowledge, of exact methods, which will, in time, bring
the great works of the past to the masses. The great
mass of people have not as yet been educated to an
appreciation of the works of the great masters. In the
past we had comparatively few artists who could in
terpret the great works.
The attempts that have in the past been made to
develop the human voice will be related in the next
lesson. It seemed to me necessary that you should
know something of the history of singing and music.
The crude savage, triumphing after a successful kill,
the barbarian singing his war song, old men relating in
measured cadences the deeds of their forefathers, priests
chanting to some god of wood or stone, such were the
forerunners of our poets, orators and singers. The
sound of the voice must have played a prominent part
and, in fact, we know from history and present-day ex
perience that the voice as such, aside from the thought
itself, has played a very important part in human life.
356 LESSON XVI

EXERCISES FOR LESSON XVI

THE PALATE ATTACK
We have a saying in America "A half loaf is better
than none." This applies also to the palate attack. The
highest type of voice can be attained only by the tongue
attack, and all lessons that you have so far received
and all those which are yet to come, tend to develop
primarily the tongue attack. But the tongue attack
depends solely upon the strength of the hyo-glossi
muscle. Now some of my students have by nature very
weak hyo-glossi muscles and need much practice and
time to develop this strength.
In the meantime they must still be able to use their
voices to the best advantage. Everybody has some
voice and even a little natural voice can be utilized to
great advantage when you know how. This lesson is
written especially for those with very weak voices, in
order to help them while they are practicing for better
control and greater strength of the hyo-glossi muscle.
All exercises of the tongue should be continued every
day. They are indispensable. Practice most with the
little finger under the tongue. See that the groove is
made far back in the tongue. Frequently test the
larynx. See that it moves neither up nor down. Also
that the palate remains quiet while you make the
groove. Of course the palate will move a little when
you speak or sing.
While this lesson is written especially for very weak
voices, those with strong voices must also study it as
carefully as though they had weak voices. Where there
is light, there also must be shade. To speak or to sing
always at the same rate of strength, would become
monotonous. Both speech and song would lose much
of their effect. The highest quality of voice demands
 LESSON XVI 357

shading. The most powerful tone, as well as the lightest

whisper, must be under the control of the speaker and
singer.
This lesson is also most valuable to those with de
fective voices, for it will teach them not only the same
voice control as the normal speaker, but it will en
lighten them materially as to their former habits of
speech.
In the "glottis attack" you have been given the
means of getting a strong voice quickly and easily.
Now you are getting the means to produce a light,
but very distinct voice, also, quickly and comparatively
easily.
Singers will need just this attack, for so-called "head
tones" and for special voice effects, when we come to
the lesson dealing with these points. They should study
this attack now and be all the better prepared for the
future lessons.
Turn to Fig. 30, Lesson III, "The Complete Vocal
Mechanism," and observe the muscle that grows out
of the soft palate (9) and descends into the rear horn
of the thyroid cartilage (2B). This is the main vocal
muscle. When this muscle is cut, voice is no longer
possible. The hyo-glossi muscle, of which you have
heard so much, gives this muscle, the palato-pharyngei,
consistency and strength, but only when the hyo-glossi
is very strong; otherwise it must operate alone. It can
operate alone, but only when the vocal chords remain
thin. Therefore, when you speak or sing with this
muscle alone, the voice cannot be as large and full as
it is when the other muscles, especially the hyo-glossi
muscle, are also active.
But while the quantity of voice will be less, the
quality is not interfered with. A voice may not be very
strong and yet the quality may be very good ; nor does
358 LESSON XVI

a weak voice mean that you have to wait for the full
strength of the hyo-glossi muscle to speak or sing in
public. Not at all. This exercise will make your voice
clear and distinct, so that it can be heard even in a fair-
sized hall or church. Any voice that is clear and dis
tinct, not breathy or husky, can be heard at quite a
distance if handled properly.
1. Whisper, or make a sibilent sound, as of the
wind, as softly as you can—"ha," "ha," "ha." Gradually
observe that you feel the warm breath above the tongue
against the palate, but surely not in the nose!
2. Think of a low sound, or first sing a low tone to
impress your ear and then try to whisper "ha." This
low pitch may be hard to get for some of you. Do not
strain to get a low pitch; simply use the lowest pitch
you can get without straining. See to it that it is not
rough and not breathy.
3. Now try to whisper "ha" as high as you can,
as high and thin as a mosquito sounds. When you
succeed, you will observe a thin, slender thread or
stream of breath and tone. It will seem to be right
under the nose, but never, under any condition,
through the nose !
You will feel a certain tightness in the palate as
long as you whisper in a high pitch; this is right. You
should not, however, feel any tightness in the throat.
Tightness in the throat is wrong.
Palate tension is right. Throat tension is wrong.
Take only your ordinary breath. Do not try to
hold the breath, merely think first of a medium pitch,
then a low pitch, and then higher and higher, as high
and as thin as a mosquito's sound. When you suc
ceed, there will be no suggestion even of breathiness.
The whisper will be very clear and you can hold it
for a long while.
 LESSON XVI 359

Experiment until you can get a clear, clean whis

per. Think, also, that you want to tell a secret to
someone in a crowd of people, but you don't want
anybody else to hear it.
The husky, rough, breathy whisper often heard is
more than useless. The catarrhal whisper is directly
dangerous. It is a disease.
Many persons, in fact almost all who have weak
voices, will find, upon examining the tonsil region, that
the arches are more or less inflamed, often angry red.
Bear in mind, as a hopeful sign, that it is not the in
flammation of the palate and tonsils that causes your
weak or husky voice, or your irritation and constant
clearing of the throat. Just the reverse is true.
Your weak voice is the cause of inflammation!
Make your voice strong and the inflammation will
disappear.
4. Repeat the whisper, low, medium, high and very
high. Alternately place a hand on the chest or the
abdomen, to see that when your whisper is clear and
distinct, not breathy, neither chest nor abdomen move
much. To the contrary, there is only a very gradual
sinking noticed in the chest as you continue to whisper.
Do not try to hold your breath. Gradually forget both
chest and abdomen as being materially implicated in
the sound.
5. Prove the above by whispering some sentence like :
"Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard to get her
poor dog a bone." Whisper this at first in a careless,
breathy, even husky manner. Place the hand on chest
or abdomen and notice that both sink very fast. But
if you suddenly whisper in the right way, as taught
under paragraphs 1 to 5, neither the chest nor the abdo
men move, or but very slightly.
360 LESSON XVI

These are not exercises that you practice much. You

"catch on" and then you haye it. Some may catch on
very quickly, others slowly. Just keep on trying until
you do catch on.

PROLONGED SPEAKING
1. Read the following lines (Lincoln's address at
Utica) in your usual way of reading aloud. Do not
try to read either well or badly, but just in your own
natural way. Listen to yourself. Is your voice husky,
scratchy and breathy, or is it clear, distinct, and free?
"Ladies and Gentlemen: I have no speech to make
to you, and no time to speak in. I appear before you
that I may see you, and that you may see me; and I
am willing to admit that, so far as the ladies are con
cerned, I have the best of the bargain, though I wish
it understood that I do not make the same acknowl
edgment concerning the men."
After reading this aloud in your natural way, read
it again aloud in the worst, most careless way you
can, and closely observe your faults.
2. Now whisper the lines, first low, then higher and
lastly very high. Of course you have to read slowly.
Notice that the voice seems to come from above the
tongue, near the palate. You will feel a gentle tension
in the soft palate, but nowhere else. Repeat until you
are sure that there is now no breath escaping with the
words, no huskiness, no scratching; on the contrary,
that every word is clear and distinct. Test it by
whispering the lines to a friend who has not read it.
If you have succeeded, he will understand every word,
even though you are only whispering.
3. Now read it aloud, but without the slightest
exertion. Simply speak from the point where you felt
 LESSON XVI 361

the breath against the palate, or where you felt the

little tension above the tongue. That is the point of
palate attack.
Your voice will be rather light, but very clear and
free. You can often practice speaking for hours in this
way and be heard distinctly in large places. These
are the so-called "head tones," so very important for
amateur singers and for the artist singer, for special
effects.
4. When reading in this manner, notice the natural
pitch of your voice. Every person has some pitch (low
or high) which is most natural and easiest. The pitch
in which you speak most easily is your own natural
pitch, and it is well to remember that pitch, because at
moments of excitement you are liable to forget it.
It may help the speaker to fix the pitch of his voice
in" mind, to buy a tuning fife at some music store. These
fifes are graded, so that you can easily find out to what
pitch your voice corresponds. Those who own a piano,
of course, can find their pitch very easily by comparison
with the key on the piano. The usual pitch for weaker
voices is from E first line to G, or even A above that.
In the next lesson we will review all these attacks
and combine them, so that you will know how to
modulate the voice for dramatic effects and for variety.
Singers will be taught some songs, beginning with the
next lesson, which will gradually embody all that has
been taught so far. Defective voices should be benefited
very greatly by this lesson; it will help them over many
present difficulties.
362 LESSON XVI

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON LESSON XVI

(1) Who is considered the first voice teacher?
(2) When was the time of the great singers?
(3) Who is considered the greatest song composer?
(4) What is the palate attack?
(5) Can you whisper without throatiness?
(6) Is your throat loose when you whisper?
(7) Can you read distinctly with the whisper?
(8) What is your best whisper, high, medium, or low?
(9) What is the pitch of your natural speaking voice?
(10) How many attacks have been taught?
 LESSON XVII
HISTORY OF VOICE AND VOICE METHODS
(Continued)
ORATORY AND SINGING
Henry Ward Beecher said: "Not until human nature
is other than it is, will the function of the living voice,
the greatest force on earth among men, cease."

DEMOSTHENES.
Fig. 108

The ancients regarded eloquence as of celestial origin,

ascribing it to Hermes, the messenger of Olympus.
They claimed that oratory and freedom are twins.
Pericles, Demosthenes and Aristotle were the most con
363
364 LESSON XVII

spicuous and influential men in Athens. Transplanted

to Rome, we find that oratory became of great impor
tance, secondary only to the arts of war. It was the
speech of Brutus, holding aloft the bloody knife with
which Lucretia had been slain, that fired the people to
expel the Tarquin. Cicero was the type of Roman
orators.
With the advent of the Apostle St. Paul, who spoke
with a "Tongue of Fire," a new civilization was intro
duced, that of the "Man of Nazareth." When the

Fig. 109
"The Man of Nazareth"—Van Dyck.
 LESSON XVII 365

Emperor Constantine espoused Christianity, one of bis

first acts was to proclaim freedom of speech. Discus
sion assumed a breadth and depth which literally shook
the pillars of the state and caused the foundations of the
church to tremble. The great orators of the church
arose, such as Ambrose of Milan, St. Augustine and
Leo the Great, and set things to right again.
In the Middle Ages we find the Venerable Bede in
England and Thomas Aquinas in Germany, as bright
lights in the surrounding darkness. Then came Peter,
the Hermit, preaching the crusades, whose voice thrilled
the heart of Europe to march against the infidels in
Palestine. Then, later on, arose the voice of Savonarola,
to rebuke the vices of a dissolute age. Luther, Knox,
and Calvin were the voices which inspired the Refor
mation. In the English parliament we remember such
men as Pitt and Gladstone, whose oratorical arts influ
enced the nation. The voice of Bismarck was needed to
bring about a united Germany.
Vigorous oratory has flourished in the United States
from the beginning. As a people, we have never been
without capable and fearless men to voice noble senti
ments of patriotism and liberty. The Colonial and
Revolutionary periods of our history were crowded with
events as thrilling as ever stirred the multitudes of
Athens and Sparta. A host of great orators arose—
John Quincy Adams, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry,
etc., whose fires of eloquence created a new tradition
and inspiration, unrestrained by any influence from
abroad. Breathing the air of freedom, there was every
incentive to eloquence, and it is no surprise to the stu
dent of history to find the American colonies resound
ing with impassioned oratory. Patrick Henry, "We
must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight!" was the
366 LESSON XVII

electrical thrill of the Revolution. So were Alexander

Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin among those whose
eloquence and statesmanship founded the Constitution.
Clay, Calhoun and Webster have become household
words as oratorical giants. In the pulpit, too, we have
had many splendid orators. Henry Ward Beecher's
silvery voice, rare compass and power stood the test of
popularity for half a century. Abraham Lincoln, the
greatest of all Americans, was also perhaps the fore
most of orators of his time. The single speech of William
J. Bryan, in the Chicago Convention of 1896, electrified
millions; the results following the silvery voice of the
candidate have had no parallel in the history of America.
Scores of public men in Washington and elsewhere, in
the pulpit and in the halls of justice, keep alive the fires
of patriotism, justice and liberty. The voice of Presi
dent Wilson is changing the destinies of the nations of
the entire world.
Oratory is speaking in public, but not all public
speaking is oratory. The true orator, whether as a
statesman, in the pulpit, in court, as a salesman, teacher
or anything else, is he whose words have a visible, prac
tical effect upon those who hear him. He must bring
his words home, "put it over;" the result must tell of
his worth.
The great orators were not great simply because
their ideas were greater than others, but mainly be
cause they had the power to present their subject with
a voice of feeling so deep and sincere that it affected the
hearts of those who heard them.
I am trying very hard to give you a short summary
of all that has been done in the matter of voice training,
from the earliest time of which we have any record to
the present. In this lesson I shall give you what the
 LESSON XVII 367

scientists (old and new) have said about the voice. In

the next lesson I will tell you of the methods of prac
tical voice teachers as far back as we have any records.

JOHN CALVIN.
Fig. 110

As already mentioned, the ancients made a good

deal of the study of voice. There can be no doubt about
that, because with them public speaking was of much
greater importance than with us. Now we have news
papers, books and magazines; they had neither, and
the public speaker supplied the demand for news and
education.
They had no exact physiologically scientific method.
Whatever they did to develop the voice was more in the
nature of experiment and guesswork, and we learn more
from their mistakes than from any definite accomplish
ment.
Hippocrates (430 B. C.) knew only that for a good
voice it was necessary to breathe; the human voice to
him was like a whistle.
Aristotle (350 B. C.) believed that the compass of a
voice depended on the age of the individual; that the
 ■

368 LESSON XVII

size of larynx was the deciding factor. He thought that

a person could enlarge or diminish the size of the vocal
apparatus.
Galen (160 A. D.) made the first anatomical study of
voice. His analyses were based on the larynx of the pig.
The term "glottis" originated with him. Glottis was
the tongue of an instrument much used in his time and
he thought it had a great resemblance to the voice
instrument. He says that in the hollow or tube of the
larynx there is a protuberance unlike any formed in
animals, and that the air pushes against this. The
protuberance is made narrow by two muscles which run
from the thyroid cartilage to the arytaenoid cartilage.
He also claims that nose breath is needed more for
singing than for speaking.
Perault (1680) was the first who discovered that the
muscles which make up the vocal cords are the real
source of voice.
Dodart (1700), in his memories dedicated to the
Academy of Science in Paris, says: "The glottis is the
source of voice. The voice results from strongly agi
tated air. The difference between the chest and falsetto
voice is that, for the chest tone, the space of mouth and
nose vibrate normally, while in falsetto, the space of the
nose vibrates more and the space of the mouth less!
Anton Ferrin, Paris (1741), is considered the author
of experimental voice physiology. He experimented with
the larynx of dogs. "I brought the lips of the glottis
together and blew strongly through the air tube. At
once the organ seemed to come to life, and I heard not
one, but many tones, which to me were more sym
pathetic than any concert."
He found that the voice is stronger when the vocal
chords are near together, and that the voice is weaker
 LESSON XVII 369

when the vocal chords are farther apart. If you stop

the vibrations of the chords, no voice is possible. When
the chords are shortened, the pitch of the voice gets
higher, just as when the strings of an instrument are

Fig. Ill
A. Lincoln.

shortened. During life the vocal chords are never short

ened. The difference in tension is the cause of the
difference of pitch. He even observed correctly the
mechanical means of tensing or stretching the vocal
chords.
370 LESSON XVII

He says: "If you turn the front part of the thyroid

cartilage downward, making the space between it and
the cricoid cartilage below smaller, the pitch rises be
cause the vocal chords are being tensed or stretched."
Wolfgang von Kempelen (1791) was the inventor of
a speaking mechanism. He stretched two membranes
over an elastic ring. If you bent the ring, the mem
branes were stretched, and by blowing breath against
them you obtained tones. As you bent the ring more
and more, the tones rose in pitch. Contrariwise, if the
ring was pressed inward, the membranes relaxed and
no tone was possible.
Cuvin (1803) :"The spaces of the pharynx and mouth
determine the original tone by their length and shape,
and the glottis through tension causes the overtones."
Dutrochet (1806) declared that the muscles "thyro-
arytaenoides" are the origin of voice; the difference of
pitch was caused by stretching these muscles. The
human voice was like a cornet, where the original cause
of tone was the tension of the lips of the player. The
vocal chords were only the covering of this muscle, to
protect it.
Liskovius (1814) said the origin of voice was the air
in the glottis. By increasing the breath pressure, the
pitch could be raised five tones. The vocal chords vibrate.
Savart (1825) compares voice to a whistle. The space
of mouth and pharynx act like organ pipes.
Magendie (1816) says the more the arytaenoid mus
cles are stretched the more are they capable of producing
tone, and the faster they vibrate, the higher is the pitch.
Malgaigne (1831) compares the voice to the tongues
of organ pipes. The thyro-arytaenoid muscles are like
the lips of the cornet player.
 LESSON XVII 371

Colombat d'Isire (1834) says: "The falsetto voice

is caused by a contraction of the root of the tongue and
palate."

ARISTOTLE.
Fig. 112

Bennati (1833) finds that the larynx is only of second

ary importance; the modulation (quality) of voice is
caused by the muscles of the pharynx.
Joh. Mueller (1858) is considered the most promi
nent among those who have made an exhaustive re
search into the physiological mechanism of the voice.
After studying the human larynx, he invented an arti
ficial larynx. With this artificial larynx he experimented
in phonetical mechanism. To one end of a tube he
fastened two rubber bands. The space between the
bands is the glottis and the rims are the vocal chords
372 LESSON XVII

The ring cartilage and Adam's apple are made of metal

and attached to the tube by means of sinews on the
metal parts. The rubber bands can be stretched in
much the same manner as the vocal chords are. By
blowing breath through the other end of the tube and
adjusting the screws, the bands are stretched to dif
ferent degrees of tensity. Some of the results of his
experiments are valuable, for instance:
The tones change with increasing tension.
Vocal chords which give "C" under a tension of 4
ounces, do not give the octave "C" when the tension
is 16 ounces, as is the case with strings, but only "A,"
and when the tension is 64 ounces,' the tone is not "C,"
the double octave as with strings, but only "G" sharp.
When the vocal chords are removed from the larynx
and artificially stretched, the tone is weak and poor.
Such vocal chords gave, by a stretching process of 4
ounces, "D," by one of 16 ounces, only "A" sharp.
By increasing the longitudinal tension the com
pass of the tones can be increased two octaves. If
you go beyond that (with the dead vocal chords) the
tones become shrill and disagreeable.
The principal difference between chest tones and fal
setto tones is that in chest tones the entire vocal chords
vibrate; in falsetto only the outermost rim (facial
lining). In chest tones all of the vocal chords vibrate;
in falsetto tones (or female head voice) only a small part
of the chords vibrates.
The chest tones can be raised five notes in pitch by a
continued strong breath pressure, but the voice becomes
hard and shrill.
The vocal chords are greatly influenced by the thyro-
arytaenoid muscle. As its fibres grow into the vocal
chords, it must enlarge the sounding material, The
 LESSON XVII 373

vocal chords are not only stretched lengthwise, but also

thickened through the influence of this muscle.
The epiglottis, the false vocal chords, the morgan
atic pockets, the palate arches, in short, everything
above the vocal chords, are not necessary for either
chest or falsetto tones.
If the vocal chords are stretched while inhaling, no
musical tone is possible.
The length of the vocal tube has nothing to do /with
the tone.
When the epiglottis is lowered upon the larynx, the
tone becomes dull, muffled, otherwise the epiglottis
seems not to exert any influence on the tone.
The palate arches become narrow in chest tone as
well as in falsetto. (This is very important and abso
lutely true. E. F.)
The sole purpose of the ventricle is to permit a free
vibration of the vocal chords.

THE COMPENSATION OF PHYSICAL EFFORT

IN THE VOICE
By compensation of physical effort we understand
the change of condition in the muscles with respect to
each other without changing the power or quality of a
tone. If a string of a certain length and tension gives a
certain pitch, then a similar string, shorter than the
first one, can also give the same pitch only by increasing
the tension.
When a tone in the human larynx is desired to retain
its pitch in the scale and yet a graduated volume from
soft to loud is demanded, there must be compensations
within the larynx to retain the same pitch for the loud
as well as the soft tones.
Increased breath pressure will raise the pitch. If it
is desired to increase the volume of a tone, but not its
374 LESSON XVII

pitch, then the tension in the vocal chords must be

diminished, as long as the breath pressure is increased.
In this Mueller is entirely mistaken. The compen
sation takes place in that more and more of the many
muscles which in reality compose the vocal chords are
drawn into the breath current, as the volume, but not
the pitch of the voice is increased. We have thus a
larger quantity of vocal material. The large quantity
vibrates slower than the lesser quantity unless the
tension is correspondingly increased. Mueller himself
points to this in the next sentences.
The pitch can be influenced, when the sides of the
vocal chords are made to approach each other.
The tension is alone sufficient to retain the higher
chest notes. The more the vocal chords are tensed, the
easier becomes the break into falsetto (female head
voice) .
Every vocalist can sing the same tones either with
free or forced production. Practice will give him the
means to use only the agreeable voice.
Harless (1853) proved by means of muscles taken
from a frog, which were artificially stimulated to con
traction, that the muscles became thicker and the pitch
lower, in spite of considerable stretching.
He came to the conclusion that the muscle thyro-
arytaenoideus lowered the pitch, because it made the
vocal chords thicker. He therefore supports my con
tention, but forgets that, as the vocal chords become
thicker, the tone becomes louder.
Ewald (1902) and Nagel (1908) made similar experi
ments and arrived at the conclusion that when the medial
parts of the vocal chords are made to contract more
than the lateral parts, a greater variety of tones can be
observed.
 LESSON XVII 375

Dr. Ernst Barth (1911) in "Physiology, Pathology

and Hygiene of the Human Voice," comes to the con
clusion that the muscles which constitute the vocal
chords are the most complicated and wonderful mecha
nism in man. While the same degree of tension will give
the same number of vibrations—provided the breath
pressure remains the same—yet many changes in the
consistency and form of the vocal chords will give many
varieties of tone and effects.
Cagniard-Latour (1837) holds that the chest voice is
only possible when the lower parts of the vocal chords
vibrate along with the upper parts. When the upper
parts alone vibrate, the voice is thin or falsetto.
Malgaigne (1831) compares the false vocal chords
(above the true vocal chords) to the opening in a cor
net. They merely give free space for the vibrations of
the true vocal chords. Just as the cornet player's lips
vibrate in the open space of the mouthpiece, so do the
vocal chords vibrate in the free space of the false vocal
chords.
It has often been assumed that the air tube and air
pockets are resonating chambers. This is not true.
The walls which surround the air spaces are too soft
to be considered resonators, but when the entire larynx
is joined together as in singing, and especially because
the larynx is then held firmly fixed against the spine,
and because all muscles then become as taut as the
strings of a violin ; thus the air spaces are surrounded by
a solid wall which is now capable of being set into vibra
tion, together with other parts connected with the vocal
organ.
THE PHYSIOLOGICALLY CORRECT ATTACK
By vocal attack is meant the movements or adjust
ments which the vocal organ makes when phonation
takes^place.
376 LESSON XVII

When at rest, the vocal chords are separated, so that

breath passes freely and soundlessly between them.
The space between the vocal chords is called the
glottis.

FiK 113
Mr. Leo Dietrichstein.
 LESSON XVII 377

If the glottis is only gradually closed, the voice is

breathy, because breath escapes with voice.
A clear attack takes place only when the glottis is in
stantaneously closed so that there is left only a small
slit between the chords.
A forced attack takes place when the vocal chords
are tightly closed before phonation; the effect is a hard,
explosive and harsh voice.
You will readily perceive that many, in fact, most of
the scientists had some very clear and practical ideas
about the voice. The mistakes made by them and by
the voice teachers up to the present time arose from not
drawing the inferences properly arising out of their
studies. They made certain statements which, if they
had been followed up, would have long ago solved the
question of voice training in a practical, scientific man
ner. But the scientist was not a voice teacher and the
voice teacher knew nothing of science. Each claimed
to be interested in the same subject, but they never
came together. Two lines running parallel to each
other may meet in infinity, but we want them to meet
now! In my method they do meet!

EXERCISES TO LESSON XVII

REVIEW OF THE THREE FORMS OF
ATTACK
I wish that all of my students could have heard the
actor, Leo Dietrichstein, in "The Great Lover." Not
so much on account of his really superb acting, but to
enjoy his glorious speaking voice. For nearly two hours,
he held his audience spellbound, day after day, here in
Chicago. His voice throughout the entire evening was
a marvel of vocal art; every syllable and sound was as
distinct as the diapason pipes of a most perfect organ.
378 LESSON XVII

Every shade of human emotion was given with exquisite

lusciousness and freedom from all restraint.
Some years ago I heard an opera company playing
"William Tell." The acting and singing of that com
pany was beneath contempt with one exception. The
principal tenor of that company had a wonderful voice,
equal to the greatest tenor ever heard. All of the other
singers were poor, and entirely incompetent, but he
saved the day. He was the only excuse and he alone
filled the house every night. Now, that really great
vocalist was a very poor actor. In addition he had
crooked legs, only one eye, and he was otherwise de
formed ! But nobody cared for that ; his voice was perfect !
In both of these cases, the "tongue attack" was at
its utmost perfection, so perfect that, unknown to them,
unconsciously, they always and under every stress of
excitement employed only the tongue attack. As the
action progressed their voices became even better, and
I am sure they could have repeated the entire perform
ance with ease.
This is what the tongue attack can do for you !
Many of you, no doubt, heard Mr. Bryan. Mr. Bryan
would have been a great lyric tenor had he chosen the
musical field. At his best, his voice is silvery, as clear
as crystal. But as he continues, his voice changes to a
less clear and higher pitch. His voice is still good, but
no longer silvery. In the first periods he employs the
tongue attack, then apparently either through excite
ment or some other cause, he loses control of the tongue
attack and employs the palate attack. Mr. Bryan's
tongue attack is not now as perfect as the tongue attack
of the actor and tenor just mentioned, and because of
that he slips up and hence is prompted to use an attack
less favorable.
 LESSON XVII 379

I often go to hear a clergyman near my home. He is

to me a very sympathetic preacher, earnest and sincere.
When he starts the sermon, his voice is almost as good
as Mr. Dietrichstein's, but when he lets his emotion run
away with his head, the voice becomes lower and some
what hard, still clear, but no longer musical. He also
loses the all-important tongue attack, but unlike Mr.
Bryan, he uses the glottis attack.
All of these gentlemen are Americans. At their best
their voices equal the best Italian voices; at their worst
they are no worse than those of any other nationality.
So neither nationality nor climate has anything to do
with it.
Whoever has the tongue attack, also and invariably
has a very fine voice. To make sure that you under
stand and can employ the different vocal attacks, a
general review is now given you.

THE TONGUE ATTACK

Review your exercises on the tongue; that is, make
the groove way back in the tongue.
Test the larynx by placing the finger against the
under side of the cricoid bone, the lowest bone of the
larynx. Now make the groove without moving the
cricoid bone in the least, either up or down. You must
master this silent exercise!
Test the palate and while you make the groove in the
tongue, be sure that the palate and the uvula (the part
which hangs down from the palate) do not move in the
least. Also observe the tip of the tongue while you make
the groove. This tip must remain loose and it should
not move.
When you are certain of these conditions, you are
ready for the tongue attack and even if your attack
380 LESSON XVII

should be weak, yet you will have a good voice within a

limited compass.
Now place the little finger under one side of the
tongue and make the groove, observing carefully all
the above rules. See to it that the larynx does not move;
that the palate does not move and that the tongue tip
remains loose while and as often as you make the groove.
Now count "one." Observe whether you feel a slight
pressure or tap upon the finger under the tongue, when
you count. This "beat," as I call it, should instantly
cease when you pause, to become again perceptible as
you count "two." Count up to thirty, pausing a little
before each count to observe whether you get the beat.
Change your voice, sometimes speak a little higher
than usual, sometimes lower. At whatever point you
get a distinct beat, that is your best, your really natural
pitch of voice for public speaking or singing.
Read the following, from one of Lincoln's speaches;
observe that on every separate syllable, you should feel
the beat. Read at first very slowly and loud, as if you
were addressing an audience.
"When the conduct of men is designed to be in
fluenced, persuasion, kind, unassuming persuasion,
should ever be adopted. It is an old and true maxim
"that a drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of
gall." So with men. If you would win a man to your
cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend.
Therein is a drop of honey that catches his heart,
which, say what he will, is the great highroad to reason,
and which, when once gained, you will find but little
trouble in convincing his judgment of the justice of
your cause, if indeed that cause really be a just one.
On the contrary, assume to dictate to his judgment, or
to command this action, or to mark him as one to be
shunned and despised, and he will retreat within him
 LESSON XVII 381

self, close all the avenues to his head and heart; and
though your cause be naked truth itself, transformed
to the heaviest lance, harder than steel, and sharper
than steel can be made, and though you throw it with
more than herculean force and precision, you shall be
no more able to pierce him than to penetrate the hard
shell of a tortoise with a rye straw."
Do not now, in reading or speaking, look for the
groove, but expect the beat.
Practice daily, speaking with little finger under the
tongue for many months. This especially to those with
defective voices.

PALATE ATTACK
As you were taught in the lessons on palate attack,
whisper "ah," then "a," then "ee;" first low, then
higher and at last very high.
Observe gradually, that the whisper is very distinct
and clear only when there is no breath escaping, when
there is no breathy admixture together with the whis
pered vowel sound.
When you have succeeded, you will notice that the
whisper seems to be above the tongue, under the nose,
but never in the nose!
When the sound is right, your throat feels free. There
is no tension anywhere except a slight feeling in the
palate, back of the upper teeth.
Now do not think of the tongue, but think that you
feel the sound in the front part of the palate, a little
back of the teeth, as you say: "ah," "a," "ee," "o,"
"oo;" also say: "do," "re," "mi," "fa," "sol," "la,"
"ti," "do," as no doubt you have learned at school.
Observe that the voice is not as strong as it was in
the tongue attack, but that it is just as clear. A little
thinner, but just as penetrating.
382 LESSON XVII

Observe also that the pitch of your voice in the

palate attack is (usually) a little higher than it was in
the tongue attack. Remember all this and then read
loud, first very slow, later faster!
"You'd scarce expect one of my age
To speak in public on the stage;
And if I chance to fall below
Demosthenes or Cicero,
Don't view me with a critic's eye,
But pass my imperfections by."
—Everett
Select something else, a newspaper, the market re
ports or sports, anything in fact that interests you.
Try both the tongue and the palate attack. The palate
attack is well suited to most women's voices and to all
men whose voice is naturally light and perhaps weak.
It is a very good attack for smaller audiences, for
churches, schools, for the salesroom and even for the
smaller theatres.
This attack is especially well suited to soprano singers.
To them it is the solution of the so-called head voice,
which is so easy to acquire and yet, which many have
failed to acquire in years of study, because their teachers
did not know the principles of this attack. Nearly all
singers can get the tongue attack for the middle voice, as
far as "F" on the fifth line. Now they can employ the
palate attack for the notes above the fifth line, and with
a little practice, they will acquire almost any desired
or needed height.
That the palate attack is a very practical and useful
art, is shown by the fact that the three English girls,
the "Misses Fuller," have been singing for years in our
largest cities with considerable success. They use the
palate attack, or half voice, entirely, and the effects
they produce with the old English folk songs are quite
 LESSON XVII 383

pleasing. They of course are not "stars," but they have

attracted quite a following.
I will give further instructions for this attack in the
songs which will follow in other lessons.

THE GLOTTIS ATTACK

This attack is best suited to male voices, especially
to rather deep voices. Of itself it has a tendency to
make the voice low. Some teachers compel their stu
dents to depress the larynx, to force it down, and in
this wise they obtain a low voice. Forcing the larynx
is always dangerous. To be sure there are quick results
from forcing, but in the end it spells ruin to the voice.
It is not necessary to force the larynx at any time to get
low tones or to make the voice strong. The glottis
attack will show you how to get a strong voice.
As taught in the lesson on glottis attack, cough very
easily, slightly, as if clearing the throat. Imitate the
buzzing of a bumble bee or a sawmill or the purring of
a cat or the growling of a puppy dog. Observe that way
down in the throat you feel two soft pads of flesh; these
are the vocal chords. Repeat the buzzing and purring
and notice a Very loose, almost agreeable sensation of
the vibration in your throat.
After you have been sure of this sensation, after you
can localize it, again buzz or purr and without stopping
let the purring or buzzing change to the sounds of "ah,"
"a," "ee," "o," "oo," but draw them together. Do not
stop between the syllables, as in the other attack. Make
any continuous sound you please and prolong it as much
as possible.
Repeat the buzzing and keep up the vibration in the
throat while with your lips you articulate "eeny, meeny,
miny, moh," etc., or some other nonsense verse that
you know.
384 LESSON XVII

Learn from this that the sound is made with the

vocal chords, but that the articulating of sound into
words or sentences is done mostly by the lips.
Now, again start the buzzing and slowly repeat these
lines:
"As the moths around a taper,
As the bees around a rose,
As the gnats around a vapour,
So the spirits group and close
Round about a holy childhood,
As if drinking its repose.
—Browning
Merely determine to keep on buzzing, but articulate
one line in a continuous sound, then stop and repeat
the next line and so on. Do this at first very slowly,
then a little faster, up to the natural speed and as you
increase the speed of the words, also let your articu
lation become sharper, more distinct. You will, in this
way, obtain strong, low speech or song, without effort
and without straining.
This is very effective anywhere, especially for serious,
earnest discourse, in church or in court, in concert or
theatre. It is not well adapted for jesting or for light
kinds of delivery. It should be reserved as a rule for
slow, emphatic speech.
Try this out by reading aloud some serious article
in a magazine. It is not advisable to use this form of
attack continuously, because it is liable to become
monotonous. Changes should be made to the tongue
attack or to the palate attack.
Now again test these three forms of attack by using
alternately the tongue, palate and glottis attack for the
following lines:
"Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it
to you, trippingly on the tongue; but if you mouth it.
 LESSON XVII 385

as so many of your players do, I had as lief the town-

crier spoke my lines. No, do not saw the air too much
with your hands, thus; but use all gently; for in the
torrent, tempest (and as I may say), the whirlwind
of passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance
that may give it smoothness." (Hamlet, Shakespeare.)
After you have read this with the three different
attacks, then speak one sentence with the tongue, the
next with the palate, and the third with the glottis
attack.
Learn to use all three attacks and employ them as
needed for public speaking and singing.
Those with speech defects should obtain very valu
able results from this study, though a special lesson for
stammerers will come shortly.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON LESSON XVII

(1) Has the voice of orators had any great influence
in the history of the world?
(2) Can you name some orators who have shaped
the course of the American nation?
(3) When is a voice breathy?
(4) When is the attack clear?
(5) When is the attack forced?
(6) Are you now absolutely certain that you make
the groove without motions of either the larynx or
palate?
(7) Can you now whisper distinctly and without
any breathy sound?
(8) Do you feel the whisper in the palate?
(9) Can you now differentiate between the tongue
attack, the glottis attack and the palate attack?
(10) Which attack is easiest for you?
1

.
f

LESSON XVIII

HISTORY OF VOICE METHODS—(Concluded)

GENERAL SURVEY

The first record which has come down to us from

the ancients in regard to voice training is the record
of the greatest of all Grecian orators, Demosthenes.
His father was a blacksmith and left him an orphan
at the age of seven. Ambition prompted him to the

Fig. 114
Elysium. Orpheus and Eurydice—C. W. v. Gluck.

study of oratory. His voice was harsh and uncouth.

He stammered and enunciated badly. His whole
person was awkward. He hit upon the device of
placing pebbles under his tongue and forcing himself
to speak with this obstacle in his mouth.
Of the orator, Pericles, we know that he always
387
l
388 LESSON XVIII

addressed a prayer to the gods before speaking in

public.
Up to the fifth century B. C, orators were also
musicians. Voice training must have been closely
associated with chanting.
The Roman emperor, Nero, was very vain of his
voice. He took great care to avoid colds and is said
to have placed a plate of lead against his stomach to
help the voice. He also took special diet and baths.
No records of any special voice training have come
down to us from the singing schools of ancient Rome
or from those established by Charlemagne. We know,
however, that they paid much attention to distinct
articulation. They also saw to it that the body was
held erect, the mouth in a natural shape and that the
face was not distorted.
The first written method for the developing of voice
and for the preserving of voice and health is contained
in a book written by a singer and physician, Giovanni
Camillo Maffei of Naples, Italy, in 1562.
It was a method written for those who wished to
develop a voice "without a teacher"—senza maestro
—as the title has it. The subjects taught are these:

I The Theory of Voice and Singing

a. The kind and purpose of the voice
b. Anatomy of the vocal apparatus.
c. How voice originates.
d. The character of the voice and its cause.
II Practical Exercises, Especially of Coloratura
(florid singing).
a. The kind of coloratura singing.
b. Ten rules as to how one should practice
singing.
c. First exercise in coloratura.
 LESSON XVIII 389

d. Cadences in coloratura.
e. The melody embellished with coloratura.
f. Rules and medical prescription to preserve
the voice.
Conrad von Zabern, (Alsace) 1474, wrote exclu
sively for teachers of voice and for the clergymen of
his time. He was himself a priest and musician; later,
Professor of Theology at Heidelberg. He also wrote
for those who could not study with a teacher.
Gio-Andrea Bontempi, 1695, was one of the pupils
of the school at Rome. He says the methods there
used were "imitation," to copy the teacher as closely
as possible.
Domenico Pietro Cerone, 1613, says: "The teacher
should not believe that rules and advice are sufficient
for the development of his students; they want to see
perfect work. Beginners do not observe so much
what is told them, but what they hear and see."
Mersenne, 1637, says: "Many voice teachers have
no voice to execute a song with beauty, nor can they
embellish a song and many do not even articulate
distinctly."
Blasius Rossettus, 1529, wants the teacher to begin
with easy exercises and only gradually increase the
difficulties. Ear training is needed. The teacher
should sing a tone; the students imitate that and
other tones on the syllable "La." The teacher then
tells them wherein they have imitated correctly or
incorrectly.
They are especially strict in demanding much and
attentive practice. Exercises must be repeated very
often. The more one practices the better becomes
the voice. Daily you can hear that the church bells
increase in sweetness and power of tone, though used.
390 LESSON XVIII

Zacconi, 1592, gives the advice to sing often for

friends and ask them if they enjoy the singing. Also
you must train your own ear and judgment. What is
the difference between the barking of a dog and the
singing of one who cannot hear how and what he
sings? A good singer sings more with his ear than
with his mouth.

THE INTELLECTUAL DEMANDS ON THE

SINGER
Bontempi, 1695. The voice students in the 17th
century received more than a general education. The
curriculum at the Roman schools was: One hour
daily in the morning and afternoon in literature. Half
an hour, theory of sound, voice, physiology. Singing,
the study of counterpoint and instrumental music
completed a rather long day's study.
They had to memorize to strengthen the memory.
One should sing without hesitation and fear. Sing
ing should be full of life and feeling.
Many of the singers at that time were of noble
birth; also it must be said their morality was nothing
to brag about.
Maffei, already mentioned, thinks it more impor
tant to learn how to make the voice beautiful than to
know the theory of music. He demands a knowledge
of voice physiology. The singer must be able to sing
loud and soft, high and low, sweetly and flexibly. He
must enunciate the words distinctly. He must be able
to hold his tones and never break into falsetto (head
voice).
ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF VOICE
The old masters did not deny the possibility of
developing the voice; on the contrary, they believed
 LESSON XVIII 391

even in self development. But in the main they expect

nature to furnish the voice and the master to teach
the use of it.

Both the teachers Banchieri and Doni (1640) say:

The beautiful voice is a gift of nature or God. A
singer should have a peculiarly sweet, vibrating voice,

Fig. 115
Scene from "Don Juan"—Mozart.

a sound throat and larynx by the grace of God. Some

advise that a teacher should not accept a student who
is not thus gifted.
However, all of them supported the view that any
voice can be made better, and that all voices can be
improved. They believed that voices can be made
better through singing of exercises. Mersenne, one of
392 LESSON XVIII

the best known teachers, even said that a voice can

be improved in many ways; that nature has produced
very few perfect voices. To develop the voice, the
student must learn to modulate and use his voice in
an elegant style. He must learn not to open the mouth
very far.

They acknowledge, however, that they had never

succeeded in developing a voice to the utmost. At
best their methods could only refine and make useful
whatever voice the student had by nature. Defective
voices, they said, are very hard to cure.

In 1640, Doni claims that the art of voice teaching,

such as the ancients knew, was lost. He advised that
the singer should refrain from eating injurious food.
The ancients, he says, had special hygienic rules for
orators. They hardened the throat with special drinks.
The actors used a mask with a special mouthpiece to
concentrate the sound, like a speaking tube. A bass
singer in France, used a speaking tube when he sang.
Tubes made of copper and terra-cotta and tuned to
the different degrees of the scale were placed under the
seats in concert halls and opera houses. These tubes
reinforced the singers' voices. The singer is reminded
of Roman rhetoric, especially that of Cicero and
Quintilian, who placed much emphasis on phonetics.

The principle of starting a tone softly and by de

grees swelling it to great strength was much used.
Also the voice should never start very low or very high,
but in the middle range. Cicero said that every voice
has some individual middletone; that is the tone to
start with, and by slow degrees the voice must be
developed from that tone.
 LESSON XVIII 393

VOCAL HYGIENE

The old masters said truthfully that in a sick body

there could not be a healthy voice. Loss of sleep, ex
haustion, overwork, etc., weaken the functions of the
body and the breath, and causes weakness of voice.
Self-indulgence in eating, drinking, etc., causes the
voice to break down.

Fig. 116
Scene from "The African"—Meyerbeer.

Anything that helps the body will also help the

voice, hence shower baths and walking are advised.
One should practice physical exercise four or five
hours after eating. One should not eat too much, but
also not too little. Choose easily digested food. Nuts
of all kinds are almost prohibited. Sopranos, falsetto
singers, and contraltos are advised to drink wine only
mixed with water. Tenors and bases should use only
little water with wine. Only in the winter should
394 LESSON XVIII

singers drink wine without water, as it then warms the

stomach and clears the chest, so that the voice may be
strong.

Maffei, the physician-singer, gives the following

prescriptions as a sane means to develop the voice,
especially when the voice is dried out on account of
much throat clearing:

Take four dried figs, remove the skins, add jV

ounce of mint, gum arabic, pulverize them and
form them into pills. Hold a pill in the mouth all
night and another through the day. Or, take incense,
rosin and mint; spread it on hot coals and inhale the
fumes through nose and mouth.

Cerone says that the following will cure hoarse

ness:
Dissolve myrrh under the tongue, or eat raw
garlic, or dissolve benzoic in water and drink it.
Arsenium rubeum mixed with honey will clear the
voice. If you chew cabbage and swallow the juice, the
lost voice will be restored. Vinegar, if drunk before
breakfast, will make a voice robust and clear.

Much attention was paid to the position of the body.

It was realized that one sings better when standing
upright than sitting, also that bending the head or
leaning to one side interferes with the voice. One should
sing with the voice but not with the movements of the
body. Only the "glottis" should move. The body must
be like a column. It is forbidden to move hands or
feet. Some singers look like geese. They stretch their
necks to reach high notes. The eyes, too, should remain
quiet and not roll around as do those of crazy people.
A mirror was used to watch that the face remains
natural and not distorted.
 LESSON XVIII 395

POOR VOICES
As the purpose of the voice and speech is to com
municate thought and to entertain, so the voice must
be free from faults. A voice that offends the ear, that is
coarse or harsh, or that stammers, is not to be toler
ated. Such voices must be changed to sweet, clear and
sympathetic voices. The cause of these faults is found
in the incorrect function of the vocal organ. To speak
through the nose, or through the teeth; to rasp or to
speak gutturally, is a sign of incorrect use of the
vocal organs. The teacher Doni says that such voices
should be employed only in scenes where the spirits
of Hell are made to appear.

GOOD VOICES
The good voices according to the old masters are
those that can sing the "cantus suavis"—those with
suave voices, that delight, elevate and can sing rapid
passages. A voice must be sweet and lovely, even like
a girl's voice. The French teacher, Mersenne, praises
his countrymen for their sweet voices. No other
people, says he, sing so sweetly or execute the passages
so tastefully as the French. The Italians are more
careful in delivery. They interpret more passionately,
while the French are satisfied to please the ear to the
exclusion of energy. The tone of the voice should be
made to correspond with the song, sadness, joy, rage,
peace, repose or energy must be felt in the tone. But
an actor should not change voice and gesture on every
word. When he speaks of Heaven he need not raise his
eyes upward, or when he speaks of death, he should not
tremble or shed tears.
396 LESSON XVIII

THE ATTACK
Many and diverse opinions were current among the
old masters on this all-important subject. Mersenne
speaks of a hollow cavity in the chest, near the heart
and the diaphragm, which causes an echo of the voice.
If there was no palate and the voice came only from
the glottis, the voice would be inferior and weak.
Thus these old masters contradict each other.

Fig. 117
Scene from "Carmen"—G. Bizet.

Rossettus considered the palate and lips to be the

most essential factors. The breath which comes from
the lungs passes the larynx and breaks at the palate.
Tongue and teeth form the speech and the lips control
the breath current.
Maffei says: The voice is resonated from the
palate after the breath is made to vibrate in the glottis.
Fabricius, another voice teacher, mentions the
 ■

LESSON XVIII 397

cavity of the nose: The air in the pharynx is changed

to sound, then it strikes the palate and from there
the cavities of the nose.
The lips and the tongue were recognized as prin
cipal parts of vocal attack but the directions of how
to use them are very vague and uncertain. Cerone
mocks the singers who open the mouth as wide as a
"stovepipe." Ragnoni says those singers who' open
their mouths so wide merely wanted to show their
pretty teeth.
Rossettus says: No one can sing with a wide open
mouth or with a yawning throat. Many a good singer
is spoiled because pupils are taught to open the throat
wide. One should not imitate wild animals which
open their mouths wide when they roar.
Some teachers even say: Open the mouth little
and do not move the lips. Some make faces and roll
their eyes as if they would dissolve in tender feelings.
This is not to be allowed. The attack was considered
of just as much importance to the voice as the attack
of the players on a flute or cornet. To obtain this de
sired attack they knew no method, except everlasting
practice and the desire for a good tone, chiefly by
imitating good singers.
Coclieus attempts a more definite description of the
attack by his advice not to move the tongue; raising
the back of the tongue is entirely wrong, says he.
In the school at Halberstadt in 1602, the students
were taught to "hum" with closed mouth. This fool
ish method is followed by many modern teachers and
claimed by them as a recent invention.
The best advice given them was to go to a good
teacher and imitate him by constant practice. Nothing
398 LESSON XVIII

is so hard to unlearn as acquired bad habits, so it is

wise to select only the best teacher.
Jacconi says: One can develop a voice by singing
very softly. He refers especially to the noblemen who
learn to sing for their entertainments, to sing for friends
and not for the public for pay. It is better to sing softly
correctly than to sing loud and out of tune or with
a harsh voice.

THE BREATH
The old masters paid much attention to breathing,
but they were not at all agreed as to the method.
One should take breath during rests, with ease and
noiselessly.
Bovicelli says: Many singers are more remarkable
for their breath than for their voice. It is not correct
to take breath with each tone, like horses which shy
at every shadow.
Rossettus and Cerone advise taking only moderate
breath, thus opposing our modern athletic breath
artists !
A quiet prolonged breath is advised for a sustain
ing tone. Much practicing of breathing is not advised
bv the old masters.

THE ART OF SINGING

By Giambattista Mancini
This justly celebrated teacher published his method
in Vienna, where he was court teacher in 1774.
Concerning the voice in general, he says: "Nature
in her generosity of giving away her gifts never puts
them, save in rare exceptions, all in one person. The
truth is that we find sometimes voices which are very
strong, others are flexible and sweet, then some voices
 LESSON XVIII 399

have a wide range, others have a small range. The

voice ordinarily is divided into two registers, one
called the chest register and the other head register,
or falsetto. Sometimes a voice has been found to
possess the singular gift of singing all its notes in the
chest register. (This is the voice of the great artists and
the one which my method enables you to attain. E. F.)
The chest register is sonorous and strong and without
effort; but if a man sings up beyond "E" fourth space
when the organs are not suitable, he will sing with
much effort, feeling fatigue in the throat, and conse
quently the tone will be feeble. The great art of the
singer consists in -acquiring the ability to render im
perceptible to the ear, the passing from one register to
the other. (How this is done I have shown you in the
lessons of the attack; tongue for all medium tones up
to "E" or "F," glottis for very low tones and palate
for all tones above "E" or "F.")

It is very important to know how to open the

mouth. Do not open it too wide or the voice will be
throaty, because the "fauces" (palate arches) will then
be strained. On the contrary, if you do not open the
mouth enough, your voice will be dead, or you will
sing through the nose, or you cannot enunciate clearly.
The reasons are: The tongue is not in a natural
position and the voice strikes against the palate and
is thrown back into the throat.

I tell my pupils, "Boy, look—raise your head—

don't lean it on the chest—no—not in the back either
—there, that's right." "Straight and natural." Every
pupil must shape his mouth for singing just as he
shapes it when he smiles. The upper teeth show a
little, and are slightly separated from the low ones.
What is commonly called "throaty singing" occurs
400 LESSON XVIII

because the singer does not draw or sustain the voice

by the natural strength of the chest, but tightens the
fauces. The "fauces" are a part of the voice.
Mancini practically claims that only Italians and
only those who come from Tuscany can learn to sing.
The French language is not so suitable for singing, he
says.
Nicola Antonio Porpora, 1686 to 1767, has been
considered one of the greatest voice teachers. What
he has left us are mainly exercises for flexibility.

Rossini, 1792 to 1868, one of the greatest tenor

singers and a most successful and pleasing composer,
wrote a method for singers, but beyond very general
advice, he has nothing of any special benefit to the
inquiring voice student.
Francesco Lamperti, a modern voice teacher, claims
three registers, chest, mixed and in women's voices
also a head register. Tongue should remain extended
and the throat easy and open. Respiration is made
much of ; it should be from the chest and diaphragm.
Unfortunately he recognized two qualities of voice, the
open and the closed.

Tone should be formed in the bottom of the throat,

the note should be attacked with great clearness and
with full voice. He especially warns against sliding
up to a note and says the tone should be produced with
a shock of the glottis. He has done much mischief by
claiming two qualities of voice, one open, the other
closed. When you have a beautiful voice, would you
"cover" it? The fact that he uses the term "cover"
shows plainly that he tried to hide a poor voice by an
artificial device, which did not correct the defect, but
made it worse. That he advised the shock of the
 LESSON XVIII 401

glottis, shows that he knew nothing of anatomy. He

is responsible for many mistakes of the present day.
Manuel Garcia, the inventor of the laryngoscope,
is the first of the great teachers who advised the study
of anatomy, at least by the voice teacher. He was
the first teacher who could show a student how to
overcome a breathy and husky voice. He divides the
voice into three registers, chest, medium and head.
He also makes the mistake of classifying the quality
into open and closed. For the open quality the soft
palate must be low; for closed quality the palate is
high. Neither of these positions of the palate is cor
rect, nor is there in the real artistic voice either an
open or closed tone.
To show you by what means he claimed to bring
about a change in the quality of voice, I hereby give
you his system. It consists merely of articulation,
going from a normal vowel into a foreign or abnor
mal vowel to make it closed.
From the (open) vowel "A-ah" go to (closed)
vowel 0.
From the (open) vowel "E-a" go to (closed)
vowel eu (in French).
From the (open) vowel "I-ee" go to (closed)
vowel u (in French).
From the (open) vowel "Ooh" go to (closed)
vowel u (in Italian).
None of the old masters ever recognized a change
in quality. On the contrary, they held that if there is
a change in the quality of the tone your voice is defec
tive, and that the right sort of teaching must give you
the ability to sing with an unchanged, even quality of
tone. Besides this, any change in vocalization does
not change the voice, it merely changes the vowels,
402 LESSON XVIII

and who would want to sing an English song with a

French or Italian pronunciation?
Garcia also advised thorax or chest breathing.
In Germany, by Ferd. Sieber and others, the power
of "Will" was considered the most important feature.
Will must induce the muscles of the larynx to tighten

Fig. 118
Scene from "The Mikado"—Sir A. Sullivan.

the chords more for high tones, less for low tones.
The tone should pass over a flat tongue to the hard
palate, where the tone is reflected and escapes the
open mouth with increased force. They recognize two
registers, chest and head. Will power would be all
right to a certain extent if you knew exactly where
to apply it; not knowing that, you will apply it at
the point of least resistance, which is the jaw.
Delle Sedie, in France, and his followers, make the
most of breathing and articulation. They also prac
 LESSON XVlI] 403

tice with closed mouth to sta.jt a tone, which, as we

have seen, is not new, as^frey claim, but was known
200 years ago and copk£mnQd by all the ol(i masters.
What I have wr^fffen for you here has been gathered
in the four corn^ of the oarth and coycrs practically
all that ha^^ver \wvn S;U(| or written about voice
training, fr^m the earijest time to the present.
" define "Method" as a systematic, orderly
rule arrangement of a thing to be done, then it
mu§ft be apparent to you, that until now we never
^a/\ a method, but that some teachers practiced cer-
lin devices which in their "opinion" or experience
ielped some students. Another teacher held just the
'opposite opinion. Their experience taught them, as
they believed, that exercises of an entirely different
nature were more effective. In short, no two teachers
ever exactly agreed as to the rules which must be
taught and observed in order to train a voice.
Columbus started out to find a sea route to India
and by accident discovered America. Thus it was
with the so-called methods. By accident they pro
duced a voice now and then ; mostly the student and
teacher produced nothing. Nowadays we have an
exact mariner's chart and the navigator does not arrive
in port by accident, he knows not only the exact route
to take in order to reach his destination, but he knows
the hour and the day he will land.
All voice is produced by the action of the vocal
organ, therefore the training of the voice must be in
reality a training of the vocal organ, just as playing
the piano is the result of the training of the muscles
and nerves of the fingers, hands and arms, controlled
by the mind !
Therefore, we must train organs, rather than voice.
If the organs act rightly and are under the control
404 LE\sSON XVIII

of the mind, good voic|e must be the result in every

case. If the voice is faulty can only be because the
vocal organ is faulty; correct -s^hat and the voice is
always good.
In future lessons on resonance ^^ou will obtain
further proofs.

EXERCISES TO LESSON XVIlf

CHEST, HEAD AND FALSETTO VOICI

Always remember from first to last, that the ton§^ue

attack, like the poor, we have always with us.
fail to practice the tongue attack daily and wheneve!
you can, to the end of the course and even after that.1
The main practice, the exercise which will strengthen
the tongue, has not yet been given, for the simple rea
son that you are not ready for it. Many other things
must be understood before you can fully understand
the importance—no, the absolute dependence—of all
superior voices upon this singular exercise.
While you are getting a most comprehensive edu
cation in all matters that pertain to the voice, you, of
course, want to use all the voice you now have to the
best advantage, and much can be done with the voice
nature has given you. In this connection I want to
mention a point that came to my notice a few days
ago. A lady of about 32 years of age called and told
me that she had always wanted to sing, but was afraid
she had no voice. An examination showed that she
had everything to make a fine singer in a very short
while. In the course of the conversation she told me
that as a child of about 4 years she was often called
upon to sing for strangers, but that one time she no
ticed that the people made fun of her singing, and from
then on she never sang in public. Such things I have
 LESSON XVIII 405

heard before. It only shows that the wise man was

right when he said one should be very careful in the
choice of one's parents. But one thing she said was
new to me. She is of a normal, pleasant temperament
and yet she said that she had never been able to laugh
heartily, only in a little giggle. Now, the day before,
a young man from a neighboring state called at my
studio. He stammered rather badly.

Would you believe that the two cases, the lady and
the young man, were almost identical? In both cases
there was a naturally good voice. The hyo-glossi
muscle was very strong in the stammerer, markedly
so, but neither of the two could use this muscle to good
effect. Through some cause they lost the use of the
muscle, with the result that, in one case, singing and
laughing was made impossible; in the other case, stam
mering was the result. Both will be absolutely cured.

This lesson is a special lesson for the singer, but

speakers should also study it, because it gives them a
further experience and insight into the matter of dif
ferent voice attacks. Of course, I do not expect the
speaker to sing, or to study the songs which I am going
to mention, but those of the speakers who are public
orators, especially actors, often need a change of voice
for special effects, and this lesson will help toward that
end. I am reminded especially of Talmage, whom I
knew personally. His style was different from any other
speaker. When other speakers gradually work up to
the climax of a sentence, that is, become louder, more
emphatic as they approach the most important part
of a sentence, Talmage did just the opposite. He
started loud and fell to a whisper, so that you had to
strain your ears to catch his words. It was very effective
because it commanded the closest attention and abso
406 LESSON XVIII

lute silence. Just such effects can be learned through

these lessons on attack. Of course, speakers must use

Fig. 119
Mrs. Siddons as the Tragic Muse—Reynolds.

their own judgment when and how to apply it. It is

said that the famous English actress, Mrs. Siddons,
meditated hours daily upon her subject, studying each
nuance and effect before delivery to the public. When
 LESSON XVIII 407

a subject is mastered in that way, success is always

assured.
The stammerer will also derive great benefit from
this lesson ; to him it is of the utmost importance to
know every vocal device, for after all is said and done,
the stammerer as well as the speaker and singer must
cure himself, develop his own voice. No One can do
that for him. The only successful teaching is to show
you how to help yourself. There is no short cut to
vocal development otherwise than by knowing and
practicing an exact method.

CHEST TONES
By chest tone is meant every tone, whether low or
high, that can be made strong without the slightest
effort. The low tones vibrate in the chest and natur
ally the strong tones vibrate more than the weak
tones, hence all strong tones were termed chest tones.
, This "chest tone" you can develop from the highest
tones as well as the lowest by means of the tongue
attack. When the hyo-glossi muscle is made very
powerful, your voice will be chest throughout the scale,
equaling the voices of the international big singers.

The head tone is not made in the head, but the

medium voice of the high voices and the higher notes
of low voices are felt more in the head than anywhere
else, hence the name head tone. But most singers
have the "tongue beat" in this range and it should
always be employed. The range of these medium
tones is in the high voices usually from "E" on the
first line to "F" on the fifth line, and for low voices
from "A" below the line to "C" in the third space,
or even a little higher. All these tones can usually
be sung with the tongue beat. By this time, I am
408 LESSON XVIII

sure all of my students can employ the tongue beat

for these medium tones. Now the high voices who
cannot employ the tongue attack below "E" on the
first line, may use the glottis attack for all tones be
low this note. Again the high voices who do not feel
the tongue beat above "F" on the fifth line, may still
sing considerably higher by using the palate attack; in
fact, they can go very high with this attack and the
effect in small halls or in church is very pleasant and
effective. The palate attack is especially useful for
parlor or in the home singing. It is easy to learn and
can be used almost at once, while the tongue attack
for the higher tones often requires a very great deal
of practice, and a long time is needed to create the
almost abnormal strength required for all tones.

Naturally low voices can usually employ the tongue

attack from "A" below the line to "C" in the first
space. They can, however, go still lower by employ
ing the glottis attack; often that will carry them 3—4
tones lower, enough for all practical purposes. The '
glottis attack is sometimes even stronger than the
tongue attack, but not so musical and not so refined as
is the tone with purely tongue attack. The low voices,
like the high voices, can also employ the palate attack
for the tones above "C" in the third space, but they
should, as a rule, not go beyond "F" on the fifth line.
Both of these attacks, the glottis and the palate attack,
can be quickly learned and employed. I have not told
you this before, because I wanted you to thoroughly
understand all about vocal attack before you do too
much singing; from now on you can sing all you want
to. Be sure to use the tongue attack for the medium
tones, the palate attack for high tones, and the glottis
attack for low tones, until you can employ the tongue
attack for the entire range.
 LESSON XVIII 409

THE FALSETTO VOICE

Male sopranos were formerly in high repute, in
fact, many of the great singers of whom history speaks
so much were male sopranos, that is, the boys' voices
were preserved artificially, by means of an operation,
so that the voice did not change as is usual with boys.
Boys' voices, girls' and women's voices, sound an
octave higher than the normal male voice. That is
to say, when a man, whether a bass, baritone or tenor,
sings the middle "C" on the piano, the "C" under the
first line of the staff and then a boy, girl or woman,
whether alto or soprano, sings the same note, it sounds
an octave higher in the female or boy voice, though
the notes are now written alike for all voices.
But the normal male voices can imitate a female
voice by singing a thin, light tone which will sound
an octave higher than written, just as is the case in
the female voice. In the same way an alto can sing
soprano passages and some sopranos, like Ellen Beach
Yaw, can sing an octave higher than high "C."
This ability to change the voice an entire octave
higher than normal is called "Falsetto." It is as the
term indicates, a false or artificial voice. It should be
employed only for special effects, such as echo effects,
or here and there for an extra high note, or for bell
like effects.
The falsetto voice, like the head voice, is attained
only with the palate attack. In reality this eliminates
the tongue attack and is therefore artificial and not
normal. It should be employed only occasionally, be
cause in the first place it tends to strain the voice if
used too much; secondly, it becomes monotonous.
The following list contains songs of a very limited
range, suitable for all voices, as the lowest note in any
410 LESSON XVIII

song is only "C" below the staff and only one song
goes as high as "G" above the staff.
First try them over on your piano or have some
one play them for you, then play the melody, making
sure to get the correct time and rhythm. Thus im
press your mind before you attempt singing. After
that insert little finger under the tongue and sing each
note of the melody to "ha." Observe carefully on
what notes you feel the tongue beat. Do not try to
make the beat. It must come automatically. Merely
think that all tones come "out of the tongue." Forget
throat, head, even breath, and concentrate upon the
tongue. If you merely leave your tongue free and
loose, you can, by now, I am sure, obtain a "beat" on
nearly every tone—provided, of course, you have prac
ticed the tongue exercises regularly, as I have in
structed you to do.
The very light voices and the high sopranos and
tenors may find that there, is no beat below "E" on
the first line and that the tone is breathy, husky and
poor below that note. To get the lower notes they
should use the glottis attack, as taught. First go
through the glottis exercises and then sing the notes
in the way explained in glottis attack. Do not, how
ever, use the glottis attack above the note on which
you can obtain a tongue attack.
The strong voices, whether male or female, should
now have no difficulty in obtaining a tongue beat for all
notes from middle "C" to its octave.
Most sopranos and tenors will be able to use the
tongue attack to "F" on the fifth line and should use
that. But basses, baritones and altos may find that
the tongue attack cannot be used above "C" in the
third space. The notes above that should then be
studied with the palate attack. The blending of the
 LESSON XVIII 411

registers will come in a later lesson. For the present

do the best you can. After studying the song to "ha"
use the words, still with the little finger, later without.
Read the words loud with little finger under the
tongue before you sing the song.

LIST OF SONGS FOR MEDIUM VOICE

Because I Love You, Dear—Dorothy Foster. Compass
D to F. Price, 60c.
Love, Here Is My Heart (new) —Lao Silesu. Compass
C to E flat. Price, 60c.
A May Morning (old) —L. Denza. Compass D to E
flat. Price, 60c.

Beauty's Eyes (old) —Paolo Tosti. Compass E flat to

E flat. Price, 60c.

That Sweet Story of Old (Sacred)—J. A. West. Com

pass D to E flat. Price, 50c.

Throw Me a Rose (new) —E. Kalman. Compass D

to G. Price, 60c.
Select any songs you choose; if you cannot get
them through your dealer, send the price and we will
order them for you. Please add ten cents for post
age on each order.
The next lesson will contain further instruction re
lating to these songs. Then will follow detailed in
structions for speakers and defective voices.
412 LESSON XVIII

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON LESSON

XVIII
1. Who was considered the greatest orator among
the ancients?

2. How did he develop his voice?

3. Can we learn anything of practical value to
the voice from the old Teachers of Voice?

4. What is meant by chest voice?

5. What is meant by head voice?
6. What is meant by falsetto voice?

7. What must be trained, the voice or the vocal

organ?

8. On what notes (.if you are a singer) do you

feel the tongue beat?
9. What is the difference between boys' and female
voices, and men's voices?
10. Can you employ all three attacks now?
p

ft
 LESSON XIX

CAUSES OF A DEFECTIVE VOICE AND HOW

TO CURE IT.

HOARSENESS AND HUSKINESS.

It has been estimated by reputable physicians that

from two to five percent of all children in the public
schools of the United States, suffer from some kind of
vocal defects. In New York City alone, the number of
defective voices among school children is 200,000. I
will not estimate the number of men and women whose
voices are more or less defective, but they would reach
several millions. These estimates are for distinct and
special defects, such as stammering, lisping, stuttering,
cleft palates, and lost voices.
To these should be added the very large number of
people whose voices are habitually hoarse, husky, shrill,
nasal, breathy or monotonous. Those suffering from
catarrh and—I state it as a matter of personal experi
ence—some forms of heart and lung diseases should
also be included.
Who cannot measure the amount of suffering, the
mental and physical discomfort and the pecuniary loss
to the people of the entire country, due to vocal defects.
The general health of an individual of course has
much to do with the condition of his voice, and again
the nervous temperament will to a great measure be a
part at least of the quality of one's voice. A sweet-
tempered person will be found to have a much more
pleasant voice than an ill tempered person.
The universe and every part within it, man in
cluded, is governed by two forces of energy: the posi
tive and negative. One force is constantly construc
387
388 LESSON XIX

tive—building up; the other is just as constantly de

structive—tearing down. In the light of religion and
modern science, the moral instinct in man must be
called upon to assist the constructive force. The moral
will, the determination to develop, to grow, must be
present in every person and in the measure that this
moral force is called upon to assist the positive force,
just so much will be the growth of the individual
morally, mentally and physically. This does not mean
that he must merely decide to develop all around or in
a certain direction. No. His will power must be so
strong that he will seek the means, search for the best
way to develop and then work with all his might to
ward that end. Many are born weak, but more let
themselves become weak. If they are not actively
assisting the destructive force, they are at least neutral
and weak. Gradual dissolution will overtake them.
The constructive, binding force in energy, mani
fests itself as follows: Gravity, or that attraction be
tween matter which tends to bind it together; Cohe
sion, or that attraction between the molecules com
posing all visible matter; Chemical Affinity, or that
attraction between atoms or chemical elements of
which all molecules are composed.
The destructive force in energy manifests itself as
follows: Force which tends to separate material masses
from each other, that is Repelling Force; Force which
tends to separate material molecules from each other,
as for instance, LIGHT and HEAT. Force which
tends to separate atoms from each other, as Light,
Heat, Electricity, Pressure, Percussion, etc.
All physical activities result from the action and
reaction between these sets of activity of force or en
ergy. The particles of which matter is composed would
 LESSON XIX 389

combine into a solid mass by reason of the pull of the

binding forces, unless this were prevented by the push
and resistance of the separating forces. Or, on the
other hand, these particles would be scattered and dis
sipated into space by the separating forces, unless they
were prevented by the pull and resistance of the bind
ing forces. In the same way the earth would fall into
the sun by reason of the action of the binding forces,
if this were not prevented by the action of the separ
ating forces. On the other hand, the earth would fly
off into space—far away from its sun—by the action
of the separating forces, were it not for the resistance
and pull of the binding forces. The balance between
these two sets of forces keep the corpuscles in place
and yet in motion; the earth in place and yet in motion
in its orbit around the sun. Were this balance lost,
chaos would result, and the cosmos would perish.
With these two powers in conflict, the universe is the
theatre of ceaseless redistribution of its contents,
whether in the sweep of the stars through space, or
the vibrations of the invisible particles of the human
body.
Life and death are in constant conflict. A child is
born, weak and helpless. Statistics prove that the
average weight of a child at birth is 6y2 pounds. At
the end of the first year its weight is 18^ pounds, so
that its body has increased three fold. At the end of
the second year the weight is 23 pounds. In the first
year an increase of 12 pounds takes place, in the second
year only 4^2 pounds. From then on the increase in
weight is very slow, with many variations up to the
12th or 13th year, when there is again a rapid increase
in weight and development up to the 15th or 16th year.
The energy which so far has developed the body,
390 LESSON XIX

gradually becomes less after that period, the weight

increases slowly until about the 30th year, to remain
about the same till 40, after which under normal condi
tions, the weight decreases. We know, that the sub-,
stance of our organs must be constantly renewed, but
the ability to do this, is steadily diminished as we grow
in years. Food is taken into the digestive organs and
converted into blood, which is the fluid through which
all organs of the body receive their substance. We
see therein a constant force of creation; the dead sub
stance of the food is converted into pulsating life. But
this creative energy diminishes as we grow in years.
However, we have learned that the deterioration
of many organs in our body, can be renewed. The
muscles which have become flabby and weak can be
made strong through proper exercise and food. It has
been observed many times that in greatly advanced
years a new set of teeth have grown, also the white
hairs in many instances have fallen out and perfectly
black hair appeared.
As we are concerned only with the organs of voice,
only the muscles which operate in voice need be con
sidered. The two forces, constructive and destructive
operate in the vocal muscles as they do in all other
parts of the body. Many persons are born with weak
voices; that is, with weak vocal muscles, hence they
are more liable to disease, because they have not the
power or resistance like those with strong vocal mus
cles.
Again many people are born with naturally strong
voices, but through ignorance, or accident, lose that
power. In both cases the weak voice tends to become
still weaker and this general deterioration of the vocal
organs often affects the entire body, the mouth, throat.
 LESSON XIX 391

Fig. 107
The healthy Vocal Organ.

lungs, etc. Enlarged tonsils and adenoids may not be

the result of weak vocal organs, but I am sure that
persons with strong vocal organs do not usually suffer
from enlarged tonsils or adenoids. I have never known
a case where the removal of tonsils either helped in
strengthening the voice or made it easier. Weak voices
are not made strong by the removal of the tonsils. On
the contrary, I know where the enlarged tonsils became
normal after the voice had grown stronger, support
ing my own believe and that of many physicians, that
when the vocal organ is made healthy and strong, other
diseases will disappear. In the case of adenoids I am
of the opinion that they should be removed. However,
I would give the voice a chance first, before deciding
on an operation.
Hoarseness, huskiness, sore throat, nasality, can all
be cured through the exercises which will develop the
392 LESSON XIX

voice. These symptoms are often caused (with the ex

ception of a severe cold) by weak tongue muscles.
Strained voices, short breath, monotonous voices
are the result of weak tongue muscles.
Shrill, hard, staccato voices are caused by the over
use of the masticating muscles. These must be elim
inated in favor of the tongue muscles.
Stammering, lisping and stuttering, are caused by
an unwieldly tongue. The tongue is usually strong in
these cases, but not under control. Even those with
cleft palates usually have the same defects. They do
not talk with the tongue, but with the lips and palate
only, eliminating the most powerful factor in all speech,
—the tongue.

Diseased Vocal Organ.

Fig. 108
Large follicle on pharyngeal wall. Dilated blood vessels with enlarged and
adherent tonsils.

Lost Voices. Why is it that not only amateurs,

but great artists often lose the most priceless gift in
their possession? Here, as in other walks of life, the
 LESSON XIX 393

price of success is everlasting vigilance, holds good.

A great gift, like a great business must be guarded and
daily won again. But in the case of the singer or ora
tor, how could he guard his voice, when he did not
know the truth about voice?
Since nearly all voice teaching has been merely
guess work and assumption, he had nothing definite
to guide him and the advice which others gave him
was usually misleading; it merely made his case worse
instead of better. Nor could the physicians help him.
Sprays and douches are only of temporary value. They
do not remove the cause of a defect in the voice. The
great singers, all those that sing with ease in a full
voice throughout the entire compass are such only be
cause their tongue muscles are exceptionally strong.
Unfortunately they do not know this; if they did they
would never lose their voices, but to the contrary their
voices would become even better and endure to the
day of their death.

Diseased Vocal Organ.

Fig. 109
Chronic catarrh, thickened mucus adhering to the vocal chords.
But as they do not know this, they seek for some
thing, they know not what. Usually they blame breath
ing and strive to develop their breath. Even in that
they have no scientific and absolutely correct basis to
394 LESSON XIX

work from. A strong contraction of the abdominal

muscles seems to help at least temporarily, or worst of
all they contract the jaw muscles. That also gives
needed aid for a short time. Sometimes they are taught
to raise the palate, to sing against the face, etc. If
they follow that advice their voices become thin, so
wherever they look and whatever they do, the outcome
is the same, loss of voice.
Then there is that vast majority of amateur singers
who had sweet voices when they were young, but the
voice lasted only a few years and then went to pieces.
What has happened? In the first place they never had
a really good voice. They had sufficient strength in
the tongue muscles to stretch the vocal cords up to F
on the fifth line, but not beyond. Their vocal organ,
owing to their youth, was still pliable. It could do
things, which a settled and hardened vocal organ can
not do. But if they had known the limit of their voice,
they could easily have preserved the voice and by prac
tice their tongue muscles would have become stronger,
and, finally, their voice would have been the equal of
the great artists.
Now, with my method, they cannot only regain the
voice, but make it a better voice than it has ever been in
a short while, and gradually become truly great singers
or speakers.
Of course, what has been said about the singer, ap
plies equally to the speaker. They, like the singer,
lose their voices. The same cause and the same reme
dy will restore their voice.
If you have the patience and perseverance which is
needed to accomplish any great work, there is nothing
that can prevent you from becoming either a great
singer or speaker. Just stick to it.
 LESSON XIX 395

EXERCISES TO LESSON XIX.

All voice defects of whatever kind can be traced to
two causes. One of these causes is a general weak
ness, especially of the tongue muscle. These muscles,,
which are the principle muscles in the agency to stretch
the vocal cords are the hyo-glossi muscles.
When these muscles are weak, a weak voice, both in
speaking and singing, is the result. But the trouble
goes far deeper, for this weakness is the direct cause
of a husky voice, hoarseness, inflammation of the vocal
cords and throat, swelling of the tonsils, frequent colds
and sore throat, coughs, shortness of breath, constant)
clearing of throat, too much saliva and general irrita
tion. Nervousness and despondency often follow.
Even cases of pulmonary affection and consumption
can be traced to a weak vocal organ.

Fig. no
Pathological effect of Throat and Voice Diseases.
396 LESSON XIX

What is the cure?

The only real and permanent cure, can be and is the
strengthening of the hyo-glossi muscles as taught in
these lessons.
Place a finger under the lowest bone of the larynx;
that is, under the cricoid or ring bone. Hold the finger
there while you speak or sing. If this bone is drawn
downward with the throat, it shows that the upward
pulling muscles are weak.
Make the same test and sing or speak again. If
this bone rises upward, then you may be sure that the
upward pulling muscles are very weak indeed, even
weaker than when the larynx is being drawn down
ward.
Why this is so, is being explained in the theoretical
parts of the lessons.
When the upward pulling muscles are weak, much
practice is needed to make them strong, and in some
cases it may take a very long time but regular practice
will do it.
If you have the patience, the reward will be wonder
ful indeed, both in voice and general health.
Now as you want to and must use the voice every
day, exercises have been given that will give you the
best command over the voice you now have, and much
can be done if you follow all the directions. Another
valuable lesson in making your present voice imme
diately available, follows herewith.
The second cause of vocal defects must be traced
not to the weakness of the vocal muscles, but to the very
general ignorance in using the strength of the vocal
muscles to the best advantage. -Strange as it may
seem, many, yes very many people have strong vocal
organs, but they are not making good use of the gift
 LESSON XIX 397

which is theirs. For some cause or other, they have

lost the use of the essential muscles with the result
that the voice is hard, shrill, disagreeable or still worse,
as is the case with many, they stammer, stutter or over
lap. They talk or sing out of the throat or with stiff
jaws, through the teeth or through the nose.
What is the cure?
The only legitimate and permanent cure for all
these troubles is to use the tongue at all times.
1. Place your thumb, the fleshy part against the
chin, with the curved forefinger in front, the thumb un
der it, just as if you were pinching the chin between the
thumb and first finger. Press your thumb somewhat
upward into the fleshy part of the chin. Close your
mouth and observe whether the flesh under the chin
(nearest the bone, not hear the throat) swells or be
comes hard. ,
2. Keep your thumb under the chin as before and
talk first softly, lightly, then in your natural, ordinary
way and then loudly, or sing first soft, then natural,
then loudly.
If the flesh under the chin swells downward very
much and especially if this flesh becomes hard, be sure
you are wrong.
3. Make a fist. Close the mouth and place the fist
under and against the bone of the chin. Press the fist
fairly strong upward against the chin and try to open
the mouth. Notice that you feel a tight sensation in
the jaw, especially near the ears; somewhat as if you
were trying to crack a hard nut with your teeth.
4. Do again as in No. 3 and now while you are
trying to open the mouth in spite of the strong pressure
of the fist against the chin, suddenly let go with the
fist, that is, suddenly withdraw the hand from the chin
398 LESSON XIX

and notice now—a sudden relaxation in the jaw, a

loose, flexible jaw. Dig your thumb into the fleshy part
of the chin and notice that now the chin is loose and
remember that while speaking and singing, the chin
should be almost as loose as it is when you relax.
Do not think that because you are holding your
jaw and chin muscles very stiff, that this is the cause
of your bad voice or of stammering, etc. Just the
reverse is the truth.
Because you use your voice badly, because you
stammer etc., that is the reason why your muscles are
stiff.
The real reason is that you are not using your
tongue and all your troubles arise from this fact. Here
are further proofs.
1. Merely open the mouth and look at your tongue.
Is the tongue drawn away from the front teeth? Is the
tongue narrow? Is it up in the back? Does it make a
hump? Does the tongue twitch or tremble?
All of these faults are an indication of the wrong
use of the tongue. If your tongue is right and if you
had the proper control over it, it would lie quietly and
smoothly in the mouth, filling the space between the
teeth.
2. Touch the tongue near the back, just where it
goes down into the throat. Is it hard?
Speak or sing as best you can, at the same time
touch the tip of the tongue and notice carefully
whether this tip remains loose while you talk or sing.
If the tip becomes hard or stiff, then you are not using
your tongue properly at all.
The stiffer the tongue, the worse you talk and the
harder is your voice in singing. .
 LESSON XIX 399

This stiffening of the tongue is usually the main

physiological cause of stammering and stuttering. The
stammerer will find that on a syllable where his
tongue's tip is loose, he will not only not stammer, but
that his voice is then usually good. On the contrary
every time that he stammers, he will find these things:
First the tip of the tongue is hard; second, the tongue
is drawn back from the front teeth; third, the back of
the tongue is way up ; it forms an arch or hump ; fourth,
the entire tongue is hard and stiff.
Naturally he stammers with a tongue in such a con
dition. It is surprising that he can even emit any
sound at all.
Any stiffening of the tongue will cause the chin and
jaw muscles to stiffen; also when this condition is much
exaggerated, as it is with the stammerer, naturally
good voices are made difficult, if not absolutely impos
sible.
The remedy for all these conditions is found only in
learning to use the tongue, as I am teaching you.
All those with an unwieldly tongue, with a stiff jaw
and chin, must patiently persist in all the tongue exer
cises. The final and most important exercise for the
tongue is still to come. It will be given as soon as you
are ready for it. You can afford to be patient, because
you have a great deal of strength. You are really bet
ter off than those with very weak tongue muscles. As
soon as your tongue is free and under your control, you
are finished. The voice and speech are already yours.

HIGH OR LOW TONES, ENLARGED COMPASS.

The following exercises are similar to some already
given, but they need much repetition, and thev must
become gradually more and more exact and precise.
400 LESSON XIX

The deep voices, Bass, Baritone and Altos, can en

large their compass as well as the high voices. A deep,
low voice is especially effective for speakers in very
serious, solemn discourse. If the tongue beat ceases
at B, A or G below the musical staff, you can obtain
still lower tones if you continue the glottis attack down
the scale.
First clear the throat very lightly, as if removing
phlegm, gradually go into a continued humming, like
a bumble bee, but never through the nose. It must
feel way down in the throat, but so easy and free that
there is not the slightest strain. Place a hand on the
chest and notice that the chest vibrates strongly.
Think that there are two thick pads of flesh down in
the throat.
1. Do this humming and gradually count "one,"
"two," "three," "four," etc., as long as your breath lasts.
2. Repeat the above, but descend in the scale. Go
lower, as low as you can go without any strain. Your
naturally lowest note is the note that you can speak or
sing without strain. Do not go below that.
The high voices. Soprano, Tenor and children's
voices, can enlarge their compass very much, and
quickly, by practicing and utilizing all that has been
said about the palate attack and the falsetto. In fact,
it is rather easy to obtain high notes, but no one should
employ them very much. Always and all the time re
member that the middle voice is the main and principal
part of every voice; the extremely low and high notes
are only for occasional use. There is no special value
or virtue in a very high or very low voice. The middle
range is always best and that is the range wherein you
can obtain the tongue attack comparatively easy and
in not too long a time.
 LESSON XIX 401

First whisper "ha," "ha," "ha," very low; then in

the middle and then gradually higher. Notice the
whisper sounds very high and thin, but clear and not
breathy. Never "breathy," remember that.
You will gradually feel that the breath or tone tries
to rub through the upper part of the palate, like a thin
white line of breath all along the roof of the mouth.
The throat must remain free. Pay no especial atten
tion to the breath.
1. Whisper to the sound of "F"; fifth line. Gradu
ally change this whisper into a tone. Do not try to
make it strong, merely get the pitch. Do the same to,
"F" sharp, "G," "A" flat and "A."
2. Having caught on to this attack, do not at first
whisper, but start the above tones at once, at the same
place where you whispered.
3. First whisper "One," "two," "three," etc., then
as in 1 and 2, go from whisper to tone and later start
tone without whisper.
.4. Proceed in the same way, but now select sen
tences. First whisper them. Start the whisper low,
then higher and higher. In the same way speak or sing
the following lines, by L. H. Bailey, in Countryside
Magazine:
"One day A Sparrow
I went Chirped
To the fields to rest. As it dropped to its nest.
The sun And my soul
Hung low Had found
On the rim of the West. The boon of its quest.
For instance, start the first line low, the second
higher, the third still higher and so on. The singers
should first speak the lines exactly like the speakers
and only after they have learned to speak higher and
402 LESSON XIX

higher, should they sing- and when singing be very

careful, that each syllable is as distinct in singing as it
was in speaking.
All through these lessons, the singer has a double
work. He must learn to apply the lessons first to
speaking and later to singing. A singer should be
both orator and a singer.

SINGING
The six songs (continued)
1. In the song, "Throw me a Rose," the entire
first part should be sung with tongue attack. The sec
ond part, "Come away," may employ the palate attack,
especially all the notes from E fo G. The chorus of
course should be sung with tongue attack.
2. "That sweet story of old," use tongue attack,
excepting the passage "as lambs to His fold," which can
be made very effective in the palate attack, especially
if you retard somewhat. The last passage, tongue. at
tack.
3. "Beauty's Eyes," tongue attack, up to the first
repetition of "I want no stars," either palate or
tongue, and at the words "While I gaze in your dear
eyes" use glottis attack, slowly and most emphatically,
the same for the second verse.
4. "A May morning." All of this should be sung
with the tongue attack, except with the last "Come
out." This might just as Well be sung with the palate
attack ; if you want to sing the high notes, it will sound
very effective, even if the tones are not strong.
5. "Love, here is my heart." Tongue attack for
the entire first page, after which as follows:
"Love, here is my heart" Tongue attack
 LESSON XIX 403

"One rose for your hair, yours if you keep it today,"

Glottis Attack
"Yours, if you throw it away, whether you now tear
it apart" Glottis Attack
"Love, here is my heart" Palate Attack
"One rose for your hair, etc Glottis Attack
"Whether you now tear it apart" Tongue Attack
"Or chose it to wear" Glottis Attack
"Something to" Glottis Attack
"Kiss or to kill, etc." Palate or tongue
The second verse should be sung in a similar way;
for high notes use palate, for medium notes the tongue,
and for low notes the glottis attack.
The conclusion, "Or forget, here is my heart," should
be studied very carefully and practiced first as a very
thin and high whisper, only after you succeed with the
whispered words, should you sing them. The effect will
be very fine if you take the high notes. P>ut if you pre
fer the low notes in this passage, use the glottis, but
sing the words slowly and emphatically.
4. "The Century Girl" is a good test for the tongue
attack throughout. If you have learned to drop the
rear part of the tongue, easily and loosely enough, you
cannot help but succeed with this song. Almost any
body, even if they have never sung before, should be
able to sing this after two or three trials and make a
success of it.
Other songs will follow later in the course. The
ability to swell, to sing loud and soft, will also be
taught and applied to the songs later on.
404 LESSON XIX

EXAMINATION QUESTION TO LESSON XIX.

1. What is the usual cause of continued hoarse

ness and huskiness and weak throat?
2. What is the effect of positive energy?
3. What is the effect of negative energy?

4. Why do many persons stammer?

5. How can you quickly obtain low tones?

6. How can you quickly obtain high tones?

7. Which of the three attacks taught is easiest for

you now?
8. Can you speak or sing low with ease?

' 9. Can you speak or sing high with ease?

10. Which of the songs (if you are a singer) is most

suited to your voice?
 LESSON XX

THE LAW OF MECHANICS

WHY VOICE STUDENTS FAIL
Most students fail because they lack an exact and
scientific method of instruction. It is known that by
lowering the larynx the voice can be made stronger,
and that by raising the larynx higher tones can be
reached. In neither case, however, are the tones really
good. The lower tones become rough and throaty,
the higher tones shrill or thin. The habit of speaking
or singing entirely from the vocal chords (glottis attack)
is also bad, because in this case the vocal chords rub
against each other and become inflamed.
Good breathing is of great value, but the breath
can only set the vocal chords into vibration ; nothing
more. In a correct vocal attack the breath is instantly
converted into tone. The much advised humming of
the tone, or focusing it to the front of face, is of no
permanent value. It merely deceives the singer for a
time. No vocal device, of whatever kind, can possibly
assist the student in his search for a perfect voice.
Nature provided the only means whereby the
needed stretching of the entire vocal material can be
automatically accomplished without causing the singer
any undue exertion. The condition ensuring such a
happy result is that the vocal organ must be equally
strong in all its parts.
When we consider such triumphs of modern me
chanics as the building of the Panama Canal, the St.
Gothard Tunnel, or the luxurious ocean steamers, and
the aeroplanes, the first question which suggests itself
is how were they created? Naturally, first in the brain
of the engineer; secondly, they were reasoned out, de
signed and sketched on paper, and not until then could
431
432 LESSON XX

the practical work be started. If the engineer's meas

urements and judgment were correct, then his theory
must prove correct in practice.
Just so in the vocal apparatus. When all that is
necessary to make a perfect voice is understood, then
clear thinking and sound reasoning will be sufficient
to show the way toward perfection, and practice will
demonstrate that this reasoning was correct.
I have now given all the details of the mechanism
which operates in voice. If all these details work
together in unison, the voice will be the best that is
possible to the individual. If not, then we must find
out wherein one or more of the details failed to operate,
and correct our mistake. No other way has any chance
of success.
Only the muscles from the tongue to the hyoid
bone, Figure 30, need concern us in the search of equal
forces, for the following reasons: First, these two pairs
of muscles are located in the center of the vocal organ.
They are attached indirectly to the palate above and
directly to the larynx below. Therefore, they naturally
pull both ends toward each other. Secondly, these
tongue-to-hyoid-bone muscles are the only ones in the
entire vocal organ which are entirely free; that is, are
nowhere attached to fixed bones like the other muscles.
Also they have a separate nerve supply. Thirdly, be
cause these muscles are free, they can be brought under
the voluntary control of the singer or speaker. If he
uses these muscles, the tone will be large and beautiful.
If he omits them, the tone will be thin and lack the
necessary quality.
Although the above facts have for some time been
known to anatomists and available to singers as well,
yet both have failed to grasp their importance as
 LESSON XX 433

related to the voice. The anatomist naturally thought

of them only in relation to medical service or the oper
ating table ; the singer and musician concerned himself
very little, if at all, about the vocal anatomy. Firstly,
because the musical temperament is usually opposed to
a scientific analysis, dealing preferably with emotion.
Secondly, he had been taught that if he thought of
the vocal instrument he would become self-conscious.
He was told to think in tones, and that then the instru
ment would take care of the rest. The real reason why
the control and development of all these important
muscles did not suggest itself to the singer was because
these, tongue muscles cannot be felt.
It may seem strange that this group of muscles,
whose importance cannot be overrated, should not also
be strongly felt. But because these muscles are nowhere
attached to a firm bone, they leave no sense of exertion
or contraction behind them, especially when, as is the
case in singers with exceptionally fine voices, these
muscles are almost abnormally strong. This is also the
reason why good singers and speakers feel no exertion,
why the action of the vocal organ seems to become
freer the longer they sing or speak. This freedom and
strength of the tongue muscles accounts also for the
free tone and the easy execution of the most difficult
passages, as well as the many shadings and special
effects employed by the great singers.
Now, examining Figure 30 again, we may logically
deduct certain mechanical facts. Suppose that the three
pairs of muscles which grow out of the breastbone (No.
6) and the collar bone (No. 7) into the hyoid bone
(No. 5), and the thyroid cartilage (No. 2 A-B), and
overlapping the cricoid cartilage (No. 4), have alto
gether a contractile power of, say 25 pounds. Then, to
offset their downward pulling force, we must have the
equal of 25 pounds of upward pulling force. Now the
434 LESSON XX

palato-pharyngeus muscle, which pulls the thyroid

cartilage upward, is considerably thinner than either
of the three downward-pulling muscles. Also it is too
long and too far from the object it is to move, and for
these reasons it cannot be as strong as either of the
opposing muscles. Now we have the two up-pulling
tongue muscles (No. 10, A-B), to supply the missing
power. It follows that these tongue muscles must be of
exceptional strength. Two facts, however, operate
against these muscles: one is that they are nowhere
attached to a firm bone; the other that singers are not
even aware of the existence or importance of these
muscles; hence the singer cannot help himself.

THE REMEDY
When these tongue muscles are strong enough to
supply the necessary up-pulling power, they set the
entire vocal organ in motion. The vocal chords are then
automatically stretched and singing becomes a pleasure.
This is the case with the great singers who, through
natural inheritance, or for other reasons, possess excep
tionally strong tongue muscles. But those whose voices
are not all that they desire, may now develop these
muscles until they are just as strong as those of the
great singers and thereby acquire a perfect voice. Since
these muscles are comparatively easy to get at, they
can be trained and developed. Practical tests on
hundreds of students have proven in every case that
this theory is not only correct, but absolutely infallible.
This places voice study on an exact scientific basis and
solves a problem which has troubled voice teachers for
over three hundred years.

THE CONTRARY PROOF

So far it has been my aim to furnish positive proof
that the vocal organ must be perfected before one can
 LESSON XX 435

have a perfect voice. It has also been shown that it is

the tongue muscles which cause all the trouble, and
that when these are strengthened and developed a per
fect voice becomes an assured fact. A still further proof
will now be given.
If the vocal organ is deficient, the voice cannot be
the best or nearly the best that is possible to the indi
vidual. He may sing, but a close observer will notice
one or more of the following defects in his voice:
The tones may be good up to a certain range, usually
about F on the fifth line for high voices, about C or D
below that for low voices. After that the tbnes become
either soft and thin or else loud, piercing and hard, or
the ctompass will extend no further than the tones above
mentioned. Such a compass is entirely too limited for
a successful career.
Soft tones should be employed for special effects
only; they are unsuited for normal, public singing.
Loud, piercing or hard tones are, of course, always of
fensive.

HOW DOES THE SINGER REALIZE HIS

FAULTS?
Naturally, a singer realizes first in a musical sense
that some of his tones are not so good as others, or
that some tones require much greater effort than others.
He may, indeed, get relief by employing special means,
such as greater breath pressure, or focusing the voice
toward the head, or by the singing of other vowels than
the normal "aa;" but at best these means help only
temporarily. In the end he is worse off than before,
because he has added new faults to those he previously
possessed. But there are physical signs which tell him
unmistakably whether his tones are correct or not.
For instance, if on high tones, the tongue is drawn far
436 LESSON XX

back from the teeth and rises in the back, and more
especially if the tongue becomes hard, it is an infallible
sign that his vocal organ is imperfect. Again if the
tip of the tongue braces itself against the front teeth, his
organ, while reasonably correct, is still far from being
perfect. If his tongue sinks down in the throat, if it is
flabby, or very loose, it is a sign that the all-important
muscles are very weak. If the jaw becomes stiff or the
palate rises or spreads apart in the back of the mouth,
the organ is imperfect.
But if his tongue rises a very little all along in a
straight line from tip to back, or if the tongue becomes
somewhat thick, and most especially, if he sings with
utmost ease throughout the scale on every vowel, his
vocal organ is sure to be right. Such a favorable con
dition is rarely to be met with; not many singers ap
proach this ideal condition, but if they knew where
the weakness was to be found, they could correct it,
and then their tones would soon become freer and
better. Often a few months' practice will develop a
voice to undreamed of beauty, power and compass.

MUSCLES WHICH INTERFERE WITH OR

ENTIRELY PREVENT THE CORRECT
CORD-STRETCHING EFFORT
It can be stated with absolute truth that voices
would be much better, and there would be more good
voices, if the singer, at the beginning of his career,
would, physiologically speaking, employ only those
muscles which are essential to a good voice. If one
begins right and continues to use the correct vocal
mechanism, it will gain in strength every day and his
voice will become more beautiful and the compass will
increase. This is the case with those great singers,
 LESSON XX 437

who preserve their voices to old age. On the other

hand, if the correct mechanism is not under the singer's
control, there is a constant temptation to employ other
muscles, to temporarily force the voice, and these, in
the end, will destroy it.
Suppose the voice is naturally attractive, but too
light and soft for public use. The singer's natural
instinct would be to make the voice larger by a greater
exertion. Now the legitimate, correct vocal muscles
cannot, as has been explained, be forced. Therefore, if
he exerts himself, he is not using the correct vocal
muscles at all, but others which lead him astray,
though, temporarily, they help to give his tones greater
power.
There are several muscles to the hyoid bone, other
than those already described, which can obstruct the
cord-stretching:

First, by preventing the upward-downward tilting

of the hyoid bone, which would also prevent the thyroid
cartilage from being tilted downward in front;
Second, by drawing the hyoid bone and the larynx
forward, which again would interfere with the natural
cord-stretching.
The first fault is caused by the digastric muscle
(the muscle employed when chewing). It runs from
the cranium to the hyoid bone and the chin. It prevents
the tilting of the hyoid bone and the thyroid cartilage,
because it pulls them straight upward and backward.
Two other muscles also oppose the correct vocal cord-
stretching in a similar, but less degree; they are the
stylo-hyoid muscles, from the skull to the hyoid bone,
and the mylo-hyoid muscle, from the lower jaw to the
hyoid bone.
438 LESSON XX

The second fault is caused by the powerful geni-

hyoid muscle (Fig. 44, marked IV). It is attached to the
lower part of the chin and runs to the front part of the
hyoid bone. It, therefore, can draw the hyoid bone,
and with it the entire larynx, forward, but with most
injurious effect to the voice.
All these muscles belong to the lower jaw. They are
very strong, because they were designed to open and
close the mouth. These muscles are still further aided
by the muscles which pull the jaw upward. All these
muscles combined possess very great power and by
their contraction they interfere greatly with the true
vocal muscles; that is, with the entire muscular appara
tus which moves the larynx and stretches the vocal
cords.
The temptation to use these chewing muscles is
very great. We associate in all physical efforts a cor
responding muscular exertion. If a heavy weight is to
be lifted, we instinctively determine upon a correspond
ing effort which we expect to feel in our arms and
shoulders. So, also, the singer judges that a louder
tone demands a greater effort, and naturally enough,
thinks that he must feel a greater effort. And just
here is the great danger of using the jaw muscles. They
are strong and ever ready to help; besides, they at
once change the tone and deceive the singer into
believing that he is right.
Since these muscles have such a great power to
excite sensation, many suppose that the jaw muscles
must be kept absolutely relaxed and loose. This is
natural enough, but in relaxing the jaw muscles he also
relaxes the entire throat, and in so doing, he relaxes
the essential cord-stretching muscles also, since he
cannot differentiate between them. Now when the
 LESSON XX 439

essential cord-stretching muscles are relaxed, the vocal

chords must also relax; that is, they surrender their
enlarging, condensing effort; thereby making an artistic
voice impossible. Only feeble or breathy tones are
possible when the vocal muscles are relaxed.
Either of these two conditions is the almost uni
versal rule among singers. The exception is hailed
and worshipped as a star. If voice study were rightly
understood, stars would be the rule, and failures the
exception.
In correct singing, that is, when the tongue muscles'
are trained and made strong, there is a very powerful
contraction of the true vocal muscles. But these con
tractions are not felt as an effort or an exertion. In
fact, there is no strain anywhere.
Every one of the tongue muscles described in the
previous lessons has a functional share in the whole
combination, while every one of the jaw muscles inter
feres with the true artistic voice.
Mechanical calculations alone show that only the
hyo-glossi and chondro-glossi muscles, which extend
upward and forward from the hyoid bone into the
tongue, are legitimate agents, for only these can assist
the sterno-hyoid muscles (from hyoid bone to breast
bone) in tilting the hyoid bone and the thyroid cartilage
downward upon the cricoid joint to stretch the vocal
chords. These first-named muscles pull the rear horns of
the hyoid bone upward at the same time that the sterno
hyoid pull the front of the hyoid bone downward. Of
course, this action also tilts the larynx downward, being
assisted by the sterno-thyroid muscles (from thyroid
cartilage to breastbone), provided the cricoid bone is
held firmly against the spine, which is always the case
in the correct action as here given.
440 LESSON XX

This fortunate division of the right and wrong mus

cles into two classes, tongue muscles and jaw muscles,
make vocal study an infallible, exact science, which
can be demonstrated with mathematical certainty.
One more fact remains to be mentioned; that is,
when all the true vocal muscles act powerfully together,
a feeling of openness or looseness is experienced by
the singer, leading him to believe that all muscles are
relaxed. This feeling is correct, but the inference that
the muscles are relaxed is a mistake. A relaxed muscle
means a dead muscle, without life and energy. Such a
muscle cannot do any work. But a stiff or tense mus
cle is also useless, for it is held too tight to perform any
other office than that of stiffening itself. Neither a
relaxed muscle nor a tense one is of any use in voice.
What is needed is a flexible, strong muscle, that can
contract with great rapidity and, because of its strength,
also with great ease.
One needs only to look at a superior athlete or
acrobat for an illustration of flexibility combined with
muscular strength. Again, if a pianist were to relax
his fingers, there would be no strength, consequently
only a feeble, weak tone; but if his fingers are stiff,
there can be no rapidity of movement. If, however, his
muscles are flexible, and through practice are made
strong, there will be no apparent effort, even for the
biggest tone, and his movements will still be rapid.
So also, if the correct vocal muscles are made strong,
there will be no stiffness, and certainly no relaxation.
There is only one way to develop a muscle's strength,
and that is by the muscle's own effort to contract
against resistance. Many years of study and experi
ment upon myself and hundreds of students, among
whom are many who are now in the front ranks of their
 LESSON XX 441

profession, in the leading opera companies of both

Europe and America, as concert singers, actors and
voice teachers, have proven not only that this method
is correct, but that it is the only possible way by which
the student can develop his voice and bring it to perfec
tion.
BREATHING
It may be assumed that those singers or speakers
who, by nature or by the study and practice of this
method, sing only with the action of the true vocal
muscles, the correct method of breathing will gradually
and instinctively assert itself. Even if this should not
happen, the tones will still be beautiful and large; but
for the purpose of smooth phrasing and easy diction,
and still more for the purpose of tone shading and
expression and other special effects, correct breathing
is essential.
Many attempts have been made to establish differ
ent systems of breathing, but they are all more or less
based upon opinions and experiences of singers and
teachers who believed that their system was the best
possible. Some good has been accomplished by these
means, but such systems could not cover all points and
cases, because in the first place the systems were not
written out in the exact and scientific manner which
alone can explain and direct the correct way of inhaling
and exhaling breath. Furthermore, it requires not only
a general knowledge of physiology to establish the use
of the true breathing muscles, but also a most pains
takingly minute search and long experience, which is
generally acquired only by the specialist.
The confusion which still exists in regard to breath
ing is best illustrated by referring to the differences of
opinion in regard to abdominal, chest or diaphragmatic
breathing. As a matter of physiological fact, neither
442 LESSON XX

one alone is correct or even possible. We do not, for

instance, inhale at all, nor is the breath ever expelled.

To inhale the breath would take up too much time.

It could not take place as instantaneously as is required
for the minute pauses between phrases in singing and
speaking. What we really do is to create a vacuum
. which is at once filled by the air. This vacuum is created
by a set of muscles specially adapted for this purpose.
Then to convert this air or breath into tone, an entirely
different set of muscles is put into action. These two
separate functions govern the chest, diaphragm and
abdomen so that each has a certain share in the work
accomplished. No single one of these predominate in
correct breathing.
Although the breathing organs are a most necessary
and indispensable part of the entire vocal apparatus,
yet that apparatus is by nature divided into the vocal
organ from breast and collar bone upward, and the
breathing organ from these bones downward. So it was
deemed best not to overburden the student with too
much material and perhaps, in the end, confuse him.

The chief end and aim of art should be to give joy,

to arouse noble sentiments, by speaking to the heart
first. In music this is done by beautiful sounds, there
fore the singer's object should be to develop his voice
so that all the beauty and nobility which exists in such
superabundance about us, can be set free. Only after
such beauty of tone is at the command of the singer
will the study of songs become of any value. Then
intelligence will be added to emotion, and the two
united into one perfect work of art. Voice is the result
of physical conditions, very much as in any other musi
cal instruments. It is subject to similar laws, and in the
case of tone quality, to identically the same laws.
 LESSON XX 443

In the lessons on the "Theory of Sound" it will be

shown that tone quality is dependent upon the percep
tion by the ear of the overtones arising out of the funda
mental tone. But the overtones cannot be strong enough
or numerous enough unless the primary or fundamental
tone is strong, hence the fuller the tone the more
numerous are the overtones and because of this the
finer and sweeter is the quality of the tone to the ear.
Now in order to gain a larger volume of tone, we
must utilize all the vocal material which we possess.
That means, that all the muscles which constitute the
vocal chords must unite and condense into practically
a single chain of muscles. In addition to this we must
be able to stretch this chain of muscles. This can be
done only by the external laryngeal muscles, and of
these again only the tongue muscles need to be trained
and developed. This reduces voice study down to a
few simple exercises.
These simple exercises gradually change the weak
muscles into strong muscles, and as soon as the full
strength is acquired, the full beauty and power of the
voice is possible, and to the author's positive knowledge
this voice will be one of glorious beauty.

EXERCISES TO LESSON XX
THE HYOID BONE
The hyoid bone (Fig. 30, No. 5) if of great impor
tance, not only in tensioning the vocal chords, but also in
other ways. This small bone furnishes further proof
of the right and wrong way of speaking and singing.
To this bone are connected not less than nine different
muscles, of which four move it downward and back
ward and the others move it upward. These muscles
lead up from the breastbone (Fig. 30, No. 6) and collar
444 LESSON XX

bone (Fig. 30, No. 7) to the hyoid bone and from it

to the chin (Fig. 30, No. 11), the tongue (Fig. 30, No.
12) and styloid bone (Fig. 30, No. 13). These muscles
should so balance each other as to hold the larynx in
the natural position for every tone, from the lowest
to the highest and from the softest piano to the loudest
forte. Of course this applies to the public speaker as
well as to the singer, for in either case the more power
there is, the less efforts will be required.

HYOID BONE UPWARD: The chin and throat

normally form a right angle and in this angle is located
the hyoid bone. It is shaped like a horse shoe, having
a thick circular body in front, from which two horns
point backward and upward. Place the soft part of
your thumb under the front of the hyoid bone and try
to swallow. You will find that the bone is suddenly
drawn upward and as the larynx and hyoid bone always
move together, the larynx is also forced upward out
of its natural position. By this action the down-draw
ing muscles are elongated, made thinner and weakened,
and because the resistance is removed, a tension of the
vocal cords becomes impossible. It is therefore evident
that a raised larynx is injurious to voice.

HYOID BONE DOWNWARD: Again place your

thumb against the front of the hyoid bone and yawn
silently. You will find that the bone is drawn far down
and with it the whole larynx. In this case the muscles
which draw the hyoid bone upward are eliminated and
those drawing it downward are shortened and weak
ened. Finding no resistance, they can exert no strength,
therefore a tension of the vocal cords is again impos
sible. From this you can see that a lowered larynx is
also injurious.
The following mistake is even more injurious than
 LESSON XX 445

either of the above: Place the thumb under the corner

of the front of the chin so that it presses strongly up
ward, then make the jawbone very stiff, almost as
though you were cracking a hard nut with the back
teeth. An unusually strong pressure on the thumb will
be noticeable and if, during this pressure, you touch the
hyoid bone with the other hand you will find that it is
drawn forward and with it the larynx. In the first and
second examples a tension of the vocal cords was im
possible. In the third, the cords were in a very decided
state of tension, but a tension that was forced and
unnatural. The person who allows this strained condi
tion of the jaw muscles to continue, pays for it by the
loss of his voice. From this you can see that it is very
injurious to push the larynx forward.

These examples furnish incontestable proofs that

neither the tongue, palate nor larynx should move dur
ing voice exercises. If these parts move it is because
the hyoid muscle is weak and it follows therefore, that
the more you strengthen this muscle, the finer and
larger your voice will become.

Those who have taken voice lessons will remember

that they were told by their teachers that they should
place the tone forward or direct it against the hard
palate, so as to utilize the resonance chambers. If you
try to direct your tone in this way you will invariably
raise the larynx and in time damage your voice. It is
true that the good tone must be felt forward and when
you feel the beat of the tongue with each tone you will
find that the tone is felt forward. If your tone is cor
rect it will automatically place itself, but if you try to
make it come forward, your voice will suffer.
While it is possible to improve one's natural voice
somewhat in a short time, as the previous lessons have
446 LESSON XX

shown you, and is proven by the very many letters

which have been received from grateful students, yet
the radical improvement, the voice of the great orators
and singers, can only be established on a permanent
basis through the strengthening of the isolated hyo-
glossi muscle and through no other means whatsoever.
To me this muscle is a most wonderful thing, occu
pying a space between the tongue and the jaw, it lies
buried like a violet among the leaves and grasses, un
observed, neglected and trodden down by the careless
foot of man. Also, like the violet, nourish it, care for it,
and you will find it a thing of transcendent beauty.

Fig. 124
Thumb Against Inner Side of Jaw Angle.
 LESSON XX 447

Press the thumb tip upward into either the right or

the left angle of the jaw, nearest the throat. Hold your
head in a loose, natural position. Push the soft flesh
inside the jawbone upward and hold it upward with
the thumb. Then as you have been taught, lower the
middle of the tongue, that is, make the groove in your
gentlest, easiest way and observe that now this flesh,
this soft part of the throat nearest the jawbone, has
suddenly become very strong. Some will even feel it
almost as hard as steel, while at the same time, you
are not using the slightest force or exertion and your
throat feels absolutely free and loose. It is necessary
that you push the thumb as far upward as possible.
See Figure 124.
Hold the thumb in that position and look into your
mouth, using a mirror. Notice that the tongue is
making the groove, but that the rest of the tongue is
loose; neither has the palate or uvula changed its
natural position in the slightest degree.
What has happened to change the soft flesh nearest
the rearmost part of the jaw bone (you can use either
the right or left hand thumb) into a firm, almost hard,
substance?
This has happened : Your thumb is pressing directly
against the rearmost parts or fibres of the hyo-glossi
muscle and thereby gives this muscle a firm hold or re
sistance against which it can contract most completely.

EXTERNAL RESISTANCE ROUTINE

1. With mirror in one hand, open the mouth to
find your tongue in a loose, relaxed position. Now
several times, make the groove, that is, drop the upper
skin of the tongue way back in the mouth. Make sure
that neither larynx nor palate move at all while you
448 LESSON XX

form the groove. Notice, that as you make the groove

in the tongue, there is practically no feeling associated
with the movement inside of the tongue; no more than
you feel when you move a finger or drop the eyelids.

This illustrates that a muscle can and does contract

without leaving any trace of actual effort or exertion,
provided there is no RESISTANCE!
2. Rest one hand, either the right or left hand,
against one side of the face, so that the thumb lies
against the inner side of the angle of the jaw, near
the throat.
3. Push the thumb strongly upward into the soft
flesh under the jaw. The head must be held loose
and slightly lowered, so that the neck muscles remain
flexible.
4. Now, with the thumb in the position described,
open the mouth and make the groove, using mirror to
make sure that the groove is made. Notice now, that
the thumb is being pressed upon and realize that it is
the groove in the tongue which caused the pressure.
Relax the tongue ; that is, let the tongue resume its
natural effortless position and find that now there is
no pressure upon the thumb.
5. Repeat this exercise many times. At the count
"one," make groove. At the count "two" let go, and
notice the pressure as the groove is made and the cessa
tion of pressure as the tongue relaxes. See Fig. 125.

LOOSE JAW
To the student, the abnormal action of vocal
muscles is nearly as important as the normal. The
usual faults are committed because the normal agents
fail to act or exert a disproportionate force. This is
 LESSON XX 449

Fig. 125
Thumb Against Jaw Angle and Groove of Tongue.

true of speakers, singers and it is the cause of all vocal

defects of whatever kind, especially stammering.
The sinking of the tongue (the groove) is caused
by true vocal muscles, also the backward movement.
450 LESSON XX

These normal vocal muscles do not fail to contract, but

they are too weak to resist the action of the non-vocal
muscles; notably those non-vocal muscles that reach
from the chin and the jaw to the hyoid bone and to
the thyroid cartilage.
But sometimes the true vocal muscles are very
powerful, so strong in fact that the person having such
strong muscles should be in the possession of a truly
great voice. However, in spite of that, he is relatively
a very poor vocalist. In some way, such a person has
either lost the control over his vocal muscles, or has
from birth or childhood never realized his great power.
This is the condition I have invariably found in stam
merers.
But singers also fail to realize their own strength,
perhaps through timidity. They find that at a certain
pitch, the voice seems to give out, to break. This
frightens them and they lose confidence. Not know
ing what is the matter, they grope blindly and gener
ally fall into one of two great faults.
One of these faults is, they relax the entire throat
so that the true vocal muscles cannot operate at all ; the
result is a thin, poor tone.
The other fault is that they seek for a support to
sustain their higher notes and contract the jaw and
chin muscles; those false friends of the vocalist, who
like sirens give them a temporary assistance but fiend
like destroy them completely after a short and tem
porary service.
If I were greedy of immediate success, I could have
given you some exercises in the first few lessons that
would have brought out your voice so much that you
would marvel at the volume, and, within a short com
pass at least, at the beauty of your voice. All that would
 LESSON XX 451

be needed are three or four lessons to show you how to

contract the chin and jaw muscles. Every one of you
would have been highly pleased at the quick results.
But in the end you would pay dearly for such ephemeral
success. I prefer the slower, natural way and the per
manent success of my students.
The following exercises will demonstrate how easily
the right and the wrong actions may be confounded.

THE WRONG WAY

1. Place thumb under the jaw and push strongly
upward into the flesh.
2. Holding thumb in that position now stiffen the
jaw, just as if you were cracking a hard nut with your
back teeth. Notice that when you stiffen the jaw, the
flesh above the thumb swells downward upon the thumb
and becomes hard, unyielding.
3. While you hold the jaw stiffly tight, with a
finger of the other hand, touch the under part of the
chin, which now you will find also to be very hard, so
that even a very strong pressure upward with the finger
will not make any impression.
4. Suddenly relax the jaw, and now find that the
flesh in the jaw and under the chin is again loose.

FALSE SPEAKING AND SINGING

5. Again place thumb under the jaw. Call out
"one," "two," "three," or any short sentence,- or, better
still, sing a medium note, later a high note. At the same
instant stiffen your jaw. Notice the swelling, hard
flesh under the jaw and the chin, but also notice the
very great power on medium notes, the really fine
quality of the voice, while you forcibly contract the
chin and jaw muscles.
452 LESSON XX

Do you want quick results? Here you have it, but

not with my consent and strongly against my advice !
The same result, but not so quick, because not so
direct, may be obtained by a powerful compression of
the breathing muscles, for this reason: When the
breathing muscles are very powerfully contracted, they
compel the jaw, chin and throat muscles to resist, with
a result that they are stiff just as in the above experi
ments, and the tone will also be strong. This is the
trick resorted to by many teachers; it brings quick
results, but ultimate disaster.

THE RIGHT WAY

Lettuce, grasses and some flowers can by artificial
means be made to sprout, grow and even bloom in a
very short time, but such forced plants have no nutri
tive value, no taste or fragrance. Weeds grow and are
ripe long before the corn or wheat with which they
grow. So with a true voice. That which is truly valu
able requires labor and time to ripen and bear fruit.
"By their fruits ye shall know them," is as true of the
voice as of anything else!
The following will illustrate the right way:
1. Again place the thumb under the jaw and push
upward. Hold the mirror in the other hand and see that
the tongue lies loosely, quietly in the mouth.
2. Still holding the thumb in place, suddenly, but
very loosely and easily, drop the upper part of the
tongue, as loosely as you drop the eyelids. Notice that
there is now a groove, crease or furrow in the tongue.
Be sure that the extreme rear part, that part nearest
the throat, is also down. There should be no protuber
ance in the rear part of the tongue.
The loose, natural position of the tongue should be
as in Fig. 127, while the groove should be the shape of
 LESSON XX 453
/

Fig. 126
Tongue, especially in high notes. Groove starting from the extreme rear
of the tongue.
Thick, muscular tongue, also narrow arches, showing a strong contrac
tion of the palate muscles.
Fig. 126. These figures, by the way, were taken from
the greatest singers of the old Italian school and pre
served to us. Every one of the greatest singers, the
ones with the most faultless voice, show the groove
especially in powerful and high tones.

Fig. 127
The tongue and palate at rest. Tongue fills the space between teeth.
Thick, muscular tongue, wide arches, showing palate at rest.
454 LESSON XX

Notice now, when you make the groove, with thumb

under the jaw, that you feel the same pressure, either
more or less, depending upon your natural strength,
as you felt when you stiffened your jaw as, in cracking
a nut. But now notice particularly that in spite of
a strong pressure upon the thumb, your jaw and chin
do not feel any sense of tightness.
In both experiments, in the wrong and in the right
way, your thumb is pushing upward upon the all-im
portant hyo-glossi muscles. These muscles must con
tract for all powerful tones. In the first instance they
were contracted with the help of the jaw and chin
muscles; this forces them and is absolutely wrong.
In the second instance, the hyo-glossi alone con
tracted. You felt the pressure, perhaps more, clearly
than before. Your jaw and chin were not stiff. The
tongue alone acted and that is the correct way. To
acquire the highest type of voice you should use no
other way of attacking and holding the tone than free
tongue-action.
Until the next lesson, practice as much as you can
the tongue groove, against the thumb under the jaw.
Make groove at "one," hold it for "two," let go at
"three." Repeat this way over and over many times.

THE CORRECT WAY

After a few days, and when the groove of the
tongue, against up-pushing thumb under the jaw
(either right or left) is easy for you, try the following:
1. Again push up against the inner jaw with a
thumb, hold it steadily and
2. Make the groove, at the instant of calling out
"ha," "ha," "ha," expecting a full strong voice—then
call out "hi," "hi," "hi." Notice a strong pressure at
each syllable, also a strong, full tone and no sense of •
stiffness or tightness in the jaw, or throat.
 LESSON XX 455

3. Count "one," "two," "three," etc. Between

each count make a rest to notice that when at rest,
there is not the slightest pressure while at each spoken
word or syllable you notice a decided pressure.
4. Read aloud the following poem taken from the
Railroad Man's Magazine, April, 1917.

SEE THAT STRING OF CARS OUT YONDER?

See that string of cars out yonder

Coupled to old Ninety-Four?
Some are from the far-off desert,
Some are from the distant shore;
Some are marked the New York Central,
And some are marked the B. and O.
They are loaded down with treasure,
Always, always on the go.

See that string of cars out yonder?

I sometimes wish that I were one;
Always riding, always going, •
Yet their work is never done.
You see one Big Four leave Chicago,
Billed out through to El Paso;
Soon she leaves via New Orleans
On'her way to Baltimo'.

See that string of cars out yonder?

Some are painted almost new;
Some look like the rip-track wants them,
Some look like their life is through.
Yet the old ones, like the new ones,
Do the same amount of work;
So, you see, those cars out yonder
Never, never try to shirk.
456 LESSON XX

At first reading, make a stop between each word.

Any word with two or more syllables should be sepa
rated thus:
"See - that - string - of - cars - out - yon - der,
Cou - pled - to - old - Nine - ty - Four?"
The second time string all the words of one line
together, as if they were just one word. Of course now
you feel the pressure against the thumb as a continuous
pressure.
The third time, read in a natural manner. Notice
a pressure when you speak and looseness when you
pause between the sentences.
As you speak these exercises or when you sing, notice
that the voice is made directly from the tongue. When
you have succeeded, there will be absolute freedom
everywhere and a strong voice; in fact, you can almost
"raise the roof."
Sing at first medium tones, then as high as F on
fifth line. First vocalize, then count, later' try a song.
The next lesson 'is a continuation of this important
lesson.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS TO
LESSON XX
1. Why do voice students fail?
2. What muscles are destructive to the voice?
3. How many muscles are attached to the hyoid
bone?
4. Can you draw the hyoid bone upward?
5. Can you pull the hyoid bone downward?
6. What is the correct position of the hyoid bone
for singing or speaking?
 LESSON XX 457

7. By what false action can the vocal chords be

stretched?
8. Can you contract the hyo-glossi muscle against
thumb?
9. Should the throat be relaxed, stiff or what?
10. Do you want quick results or are you satisfied
to work for permanent results?
 LESSON XXI
THE LAW OF MECHANICS—(Continued)

It must seem odd to those who have paid little or

no attention to voice culture, that so much stress is
laid in these lessons on the false action of certain vocal
or non-vocal muscles. Those of my students who have
studied voice for a considerable period will easily un
derstand the importance of any information dealing
with the interfering muscles.
We pride ourselves on the advancement made in
modern times and, as far as mechanical invention goes,
we have advanced very much. But a great deal re
mains to be done. In most branches of study we are
still a long way from knowing the exact truth. This
is especially true of the human body.
The first man, created of spirit, soul and the ma
terial essence of the earth, was perfect physically,
mentally and spiritually. Why did he and his descend
ants not remain in this perfect state? Simply because
of his disobedience to either one or all of the laws
which govern the spirit, mind and body. We call that
disobedience, sin.
If I were to eat a decayed egg, I am sure that it
would make me ill. But in China, people bury eggs in
the ground until they are very much spoiled and then
eat them with relish and apparently without danger
to their health, so missionaries have told me. They
have accustomed themselves to the poison contained
in the decomposed egg.
Just so a singer or speaker may accustom himself
to a false use of the vocal organ and he himself may
be satisfied with his voice. But you may be sure that
459
460 LESSON XXI

he is paying the penalty in some way for his disobedi

ence. Tonsilitis is found as a rule only in weak throats.
Consumptives nearly always speak with a very weak
voice not because their breath is short, but because
their vocal organ is weak. Listen to the stammerer;
he breaks every law of the vocal decalog.
The United States law says: "Ignorance of the law
is no excuse!" There is such a thing as a punishment
inflicted by Nature, for every violation of her law
brings its own consequences, which at first may be
very slight, but which become heavier as we persist
in the breaking of the law. In my estimation the
everlasting and often nauseating talk about morality
is a sign of decadence. The moral laws are most
often broken because the physical laws are disobeyed
through ignorance.
I want my students to know the physical laws of
voice, hence this renewed discourse on false and true
vocal action.

THE INTERFERING MUSCLES ARE ALL

ATTACHED TO THE HYOID BONE
All muscles which interfere with the true voice
action, do so only because they are attached to the
hyoid bone. They obstruct the chord-stretching effect
in two ways :
1. By preventing that tilting of the hyoid bone
which in turn tilts the Adam's apple or thyroid carti
lage and thereby stretches the vocal chords.
2. By drawing the hyoid bone, and with it the
entire larynx, forward, away from the spine, thereby
again preventing the stretching of the vocal chords.
 LESSON XXI 461

THE BIVENTER MUSCLE—CRANIUM TO

HYOID BONE
Turn to Figure 44 in the fifth lesson and examine
the two muscles marked biventer. These two muscles
are joined together near the hyoid bone by a tendon.
1. Both parts of this muscle combine to pull the
front part of the hyoid bone strongly upward, thereby
counteracting the essential down-pulling, thyroid-tilting
muscle, the sterno-hyoid and also its assistant, the
omo-hyoid muscle.
2. The part of the biventer muscle that grows out
of the chin can pull the hyoid bone and larynx forward
away from the spine.
3. The main part of the biventer muscle, that part
which grows out of the cranium or head, can draw the
hyoid bone backward, causing a choked though loud
tone. The hiccough is mainly effected through this
muscle.
STYLO-HYOID MUSCLE
In Figure 44, you will also find the stylo-hyoid
muscle. It is fastened above to the styloid process—
a penlike bony projection from the skull, near the ears.
Because this muscle unites with the biventer muscle,
it can also oppose the downward-pulling, chord-stretch
ing muscles which extend from the breast and collar
bone to the Adam's apple.

THE MYLO-HYOID MUSCLE—JAW TO

HYOID BONE
If you draw a finger all around the inner side of
the lower jaw as far as the back teeth, you are touch
ing the mylo-hyoid's line of attachment to the jaw.
See also mylo-hyoid in Figure 44. The fibres of this
462 LESSON XXI

muscle, which start from rear of the back teeth, extend

downward and fasten to the body of the hyoid bone,
and can pull this bone upward and forward.

THE GENIO-HYOID MUSCLE—CHIN TO

HYOID BONE
As may be seen in Figure 44, this muscle lies above
the last mentioned mylo-hyoid muscle and below the
tongue. It extends from the chin to the hyoid bone.
This muscle can draw the hyoid bone and the at
tached larynx forward, and away from the spine.

GREAT POWER OF THESE FORWARD-

PULLING MUSCLES
As has been described, no less than four pairs of
muscles can pull forward and some upward also, upon
the hyoid bone and drag the entire larynx away from
the spine. These muscles all have their front ends
attached to the lower jaw. They are evidently in
tended to open the mouth by pulling the lower jaw
downward; except the mylo-hyoid muscles, which form
the floor of the mouth.
But this group of jaw muscles which may act so
injuriously upon the voice, can produce a powerful
effect only when the lower jaw is held up by other
muscles connecting it with the head. When the up-
pulling muscles hold the jaw firmly, the down-pulling
muscles can pull with more force than when the jaw
is not thus supported.
In Figure 46, Lesson VI, you see how the jaw is
moved upward by exceedingly powerful muscles. Now
when these muscles which pull the jaw upward are
held rigid, the muscles which pull the jaw downward,
and which are also connected with the hyoid bone, also
 LESSON XXI 463

contract with great force, the result is a most per

nicious influence upon the voice. The jaw-stiffening
muscles can harden the entire throat and drag the
larynx into unnatural positions.

THE GREAT TEMPTATION TO CONTRACT

THE JAW
The temptation to contract the jaw is very great
indeed. It almost seems natural to hold the jaw tight.
In almost any physical performance we associate a
great effort with the idea of great muscular exertion
which we expect to feel as a strain upon some part of
the body. If we lift a weight we exert ourselves in
proportion to the weight and we feel the exertion in
the arms and shoulders. If we throw a stone, we in
stinctively flex the arm more strongly the greater the
distance we wish to reach. The same in jumping. For
a high jump we exert ourselves more than for an ordi
nary jump.
In a like manner the speaker, and still more the
singer, often makes an instinctive effort, especially for
loud or high tones. He judges correctly that a louder
or higher tone demands a greater effort and, naturally
enough, thinks that he must feel the effort. His vocal
habits are already formed and most likely are far from
being right. The rapid articulation in common speak
ing leaves the tongue muscles too much relaxed to
allow of rapid movement. The need of constantly
changing the shape of the mouth's rear cavity for
different vowels incessantly varies the position of the
soft palate as well as the tongue.
These rapid changes excite strong sensations, but
neither the speaker nor the singer can localize them
exactly. Here lies the great danger: say the voice
464 LESSON XXI

lacks volume or perhaps musical quality. In the first

case the student thinks he must exert himself to make
the voice stronger, in the second case he tries all sorts
of means and ways to change the voice, to make it
more musical. He seeks for some local efforts, which
he can feel and finds the mischievous jaw muscles only
too ready and eager to satisfy him.

STRONG SENSATIONS WRONG

The previous lesson has shown how easy it is to
contract the jaw muscles. The speaker or singer chooses
them instinctively instead of the tongue muscles, be
cause they at once make the voice stronger and he
feels that he is doing something. The average person
is not trained to differentiate sharply between a good
voice and an inferior voice. If he feels a change in
the voice he is satisfied. The jaw muscles pull upon
solid walls of bone, while the tongue muscles pull only
upon yielding parts. The jaw muscles can be felt very
strongly. The tongue muscles cannot. It is easy to
see why so many instinctively contract the jaw muscles.

RELAXATION ALSO WRONG

Since wrong muscles have so much greater power
to excite strong sensations and the right muscles so
much less, voice teachers generally advise their students
to dismiss all effort. They tell the pupil to hold the
throat perfectly relaxed in order to avoid forcing. This
would be all right, if the student could relax only the
wrong muscles. But in trying to relax, he also relaxes
the right muscles; those which stretch the vocal chords.
The right vocal muscles must contract very power
fully for any tone, even for the soft ones. The differ
ence is, that in the loud, unmusical voice, the muscular
 LESSON XXI 465

effort is wasted, while in the true, strong and musical

voice, no effort is wasted.
When the hyo-glossi muscle is trained to its utmost
strength, then it will naturally assert itself and auto
matically eliminate all the wrong muscles. This of
course is the highest type of voice, and this is the type
I want you to have in mind and to try and reach.
In the last lesson you saw that the hyo-glossi muscle
and the jaw muscles lie very near together. The hyo-
glossi is on the inside of the angle of the jaw and the
jaw muscles on the outside. What is more natural
than to confound the two, especially since no teacher,
no speaker, no vocalist ever realized the importance
of the hyo-glossi muscle? The physicians know the
hyo-glossi muscle merely as a tongue depressing muscle,
but not as a larynx-raising and chord-stretching muscle.
Caruso, in his booklet, "How to Sing," says that he
feels the tone or the breath on the back of the tongue.
He is correct in what he feels, but the terminology is
incorrect. He distinctly feels a slight motion in the
back part of the tongue; not knowing exact vocal
anatomy, he supposes that this motion or feeling is
caused by either the tone or the breath.
Neither relaxation nor tension is correct, but
strength and flexibility should be acquired.
If I were to tell a student to relax the jaw or the
throat, he would at the same time relax also jthe essen
tial vocal muscles and strong, good voice would become
impossible.
I merely call your attention to the right vocal attack
so that you will not be conscious of either jaw or
throat, or of any part of your body, for that matter.
I never say, "Don't do that!" but always, "Do
this." Think only of the right thing, and the wrong
will, in time, be impossible to do.
466 LESSON XXI

By now you will know what I mean by "Do this."

It is the tongue attack that you must feel so plainly
when you speak or sing with the little finger under the
tongue. When you strongly feel the "beat" of the
tongue, which is caused by the action of the hyo-glossi
muscles, you have made a long stride towards the final
goal.
EXERCISES FOR LESSON XXI
With this lesson we have come to the most impor
tant exercise for the tongue, and really to the last
tongue exercise as well. Many other important exer
cises will follow, but all the exercises that have been
given and that are still to come center around the
tongue, or, to be more exact, around that mysterious
pair of muscles, "the hyo-glossi."
I am sure, from the numerous letters I have re
ceived, that many of my students have succeeded in
developing a very good voice even now, through the
study of the exercises given in previous lessons. I am
sure of this because we receive such letters almost
every day. Some are even more enthusiastic than I
want them to be, because the hardest work is still
ahead, but also the greatest promise, the brightest vocal
future.
The past lessons have given you considerable com
mand of the tongue and that has helped you as it was
intended to do. But as has been frequently pointed
out in these lessons, and as will be made still more
plain in future lessons, especially when we come to the
lessons on "Vocal Physics," the laws of "Resonance
and Sound," great strength is demanded and needed
to reach the full glory of the human voice.
So far we have planted the seed. It has sprouted.
It has grown and is now in bloom, but the fruit is still
 LESSON XXI 467

to come. To make the fruit sound and sweet and to

reap a rich harvest, you must help me with all your
might. Upon you alone will depend the future growth
of your voice, because that growth will be determined
by the amount of practice you can or will intelligently
do. You have reached the point now where you should
use all available time, and practice with the utmost per
sistence till the full strength has been reached.
The last lesson must have been a revelation to many
of my students. It was designed to teach two definite
things:
First, that when you employ the hyo-glossi muscle
alone, against the thumb's resistance from the outside
of the jaw, the voice is stronger and clearer.
Secondly, but that when you stiffen or tighten the
jaw at the same point, the voice also becomes stronger.
This illustrates the difficulty of knowing the right
attack from the wrong. It shows why there has been
such a confusion among even the best voice teachers.
As in the moral law, so it seems to be with the
physical law; right and wrong are so closely inter
woven that it is often very difficult to decide which is
right and which is wrong. In fact, the temptation to
do the wrong thing is much stronger than to do the
right. By choosing the wrong way, there is most often
a quick, immediate result and temporary benefit. The
man who is hungry is strongly tempted to steal, be
cause that helps his needs immediately; the way of
seeking work is too slow.
Perhaps the chance of being detected is remote, so
he feels justified, at least to himself. In a similar way
the vocalist is tempted to use his jaw muscles. He is
entirely ignorant of the physical laws and feels that
whatever helps immediately must be good. In both
468 LESSON XXI

the moral law and the physical law, experience is

needed to distinguish the right from the wrong. The
thief goes to jail, the vocalist loses his voice, and both
get the experience which they needed and deserved.
However, both acted through ignorance. You now
have the knowledge which will enable you to avoid
such missteps. There can be no further excuse for you.
To strengthen the all-important hyo-glossi muscle
some way had to be discovered to give it resistance—
some hold—some grip against which it could contract.
If you merely shut your hand, the finger muscles
are not fully contracting because they find no resist
ance, but if you grip a baseball, then, indeed, your
hand can grip with all the power it has.
By pushing the thumb upward against the under
jaw some resistance was given the hyo-glossi muscle,
but this resistance was not direct enough. In order
that the hyo-glossi muscle be given a firm support,
the tongue must be held up during the silent practice
in an artificial way, namely by placing the thumb
inside of the mouth and under the tongue. After that
process has been learned, the student may use the
tongue support which will be sent with a later lesson.
The student must realize that in speaking and in
singing the upper part of the tongue is held up by the
stylo-glossi muscles. (Figure 30 in Lesson III.) The
muscle which extends from the styloid bone, marked
13, into the tongue is the muscle in question. It holds
the tongue upward in speaking and singing, thereby
giving the hyo-glossi muscles directly under it the re
sistance or hold which they need. But by practicing
silently, we eliminate all muscles, except the hyo-glossi,
therefore we must give the tongue an artificial hold
against which the hyo-glossi muscles can pull.
 LESSON XXI 409

CONTRACTING THE HYO-GLOSSUS MUSCLE

AGAINST RESISTANCE
Demosthenes, it is related, at first had a very poor
voice, a halting, stammering voice that he was ashamed
of, and yet he eventually became the greatest orator
of his time. When he stood on the seashore or on the

11
Fig. 128

mountain top and practiced his orations with a pebble

under his tongue, he was using, without possessing a
knowledge of laryngology, the right method of de
veloping a strong, full and agreeable voice. Without
knowing it, he was affording a strong point of resist
ance to the hyoid muscle. Against this resistance the
470 LESSON XXI

muscle was forced to contract and, in doing so, gained

strength and flexibility.

THE TONGUE AND THUMB

First : Place your right thumb under the right side
of your tongue, laying the fleshy side against the teeth.
To do this you must bend the hand inward (not out
ward) at the wrist. Next pass the thumb along under
the tongue until its end touches the last tooth. See
Figure 128. During this exercise the tongue must re
main relaxed and quiets Now extend the fingers and
turn the hand slowly until they pass the nose and the
palm is turned upward. Naturally the thumb under
the tongue turned with the hand, so that now the
tongue rests on the side of the thumb. See Figure 129.
Always be sure that the tongue remains soft and lies
as far as possible in its natural position. Next, press
the thumb against the inner side of the tongue, forcing
it toward the center until it can go no further. About
half of the tongue will now be resting on the thumb,
which is now pressing against the "hyo-glossi" muscle.
This muscle extends from the side of the tongue back
ward and downward to the hyoid bone and is the
muscle we must strengthen.
It is advisable to repeat this exercise until the
thumb can be placed under the tongue without forcing
the tongue out of its natural position. The entire half
of the tongue from back to front must rest upon the
thumb. You may have some difficulty at first in keep
ing the tongue loose and natural, and be tempted to
draw it back or move it forward to make room for
the thumb. But all such movements must be avoided,
as they detract from the desired results.
Second : When the exercise described above is
thoroughly understood and the thumb can with ease
 LESSON XXI 471

be brought into the correct position, extend the exer

cise to include the following:
With the thumb lift the tongue about one-third of
an inch or Jess, being careful that the entire length is
lifted and not only a part. The thumb must remain
horizontal and the whole hand be raised a little. Again
be quite sure that the tongue rests loosely and naturally

Fig. 129

on the thumb without exerting any pressure upon the

thumb. Repeat this exercise as frequently as possible.
These two exercises are only by way of preparation
for what is to follow, but they must be mastered before
it is possible to advance further. If the tongue is even
the least bit stiff, the muscles which stretch the vocal
472 LESSON XXI

chords cannot function, or at best, only with great diffi

culty, for they find too much resistance. For example
if the tip of the tongue is hard and stiff it shows that
the "musculi genio-glossi" are active and are dragging
the hyoid and "stylo-glossi" muscles forward, thus
forcing the tongue out of its natural position. The
purpose of these exercises is to train only those muscles
which stretch the vocal chords, without allowing the
other muscles to interfere. It is only by complete iso
lation that these muscles can be trained and brought
under control.
These exercises may be practiced on either the right
or the left side of the tongue or on both sides alter
nately, as may be convenient. At first use the mirror
to notice that the tongue is not drawn backward, when
the thumb is under it. Later you can do it without
the mirror.

GROOVE AGAINST THUMB RESISTANCE

Third: Place the thumb under your tongue as pre
viously instructed, and raise the tongue by turning
the hand partially around until the thumb rests on its
side. Then picture the tongue as resting softly and
quietly upon the thumb, and try to form the groove
in the easiest way. If the groove will not form, assist
the process by using the forefinger of the other hand;
that is, while you hold thumb under the tongue, also
touch or tickle the upper surface of the tongue, to
induce the groove ; it is advisable to do this anyhow
for some time, until the groove can be easily formed.
When the groove is correctly formed, the under part
of the tongue swells and spreads sideways and down
ward and you will feel the under surface of the tongue
pressing down on the thumb. Remember, the less
exertion you use in forming the groove, the better and
 LESSON XXI 473

more quickly it will be accomplished. In fact, the mind

alone should compel the groove to form. See Figure
130. The groove should be deeper than it was possible
to show in this figure.
The sideways and downward swelling of the under
surface of the tongue is caused by the contraction of
the hyoid muscle. As long as the tongue remains quiet,

Fig. 130

this muscle is lax and hidden, but as the muscle con

tracts it becomes thicker; this explains the swelling
and the slight pressure on the thumb.
Explanation: When the tongue is raised by the
thumb, the hyo-glossus muscle is also raised ; the thumb
gives it a support and supplies the necessary resistance
474 LESSON XXI

against which it can contract. But as the upper end

of the muscle which is attached to the tongue, is pre
vented by the thumb from drawing the tongue down
ward, the lower end of the muscle which is attached
to the horns of the hyoid bone must draw the horns
upward. In this position the front part of the hyoid
bone is tilted downward and the horns raised upward.
You can easily prove this for yourself by placing a
finger under the front of the hyoid bone just under the
jaw, and feeling the swelling against the finger.

DRAWING THE TONGUE BACK

Fourth: Place the thumb under the tongue as be
fore. With a finger of the other hand touch the tongue
very lightly both at the tip and at the back near the
throat, to make sure that the tongue is quite soft and
lax. Then draw the whole tongue back about a quarter
of an inch. This must be done very gently so that the
thumb under it does not feel the slightest pressure.
While drawing the tongue back and also after it is
drawn back, touch it repeatedly to make sure that
the upper surface remains as lax as before. In all these
exercises the tongue must remain soft. That is the
fundamental condition to success. This exercise is
given merely to show you the tendency of the tongue
to shorten, during the formation of the groove, and it
need not be repeated once you understand the action.

ISOLATING THE TONGUE

It must be emphasized again that in all the exer
cises, care must be taken that only the hyoid muscle
is exercised, for any assistance on the part of the other
muscles will delay its growth and deprive it of strength.
When you have become accustomed to the exercise
with the thumb and are sure that the groove is always
 LESSON XXI 475

formed far back, as well as in the center, lay the fore

finger under the cricoid cartilage and the thumb of the
other hand under the tongue, and be sure that the cri
coid cartilage remains in the natural position while
the groove in the tongue is formed and the tongue is
relaxed again.

Fig. 131

It is very important that the pressure of the tongue

be felt especially on the end of the thumb and not only
in the middle, as frequently occurs.

THE HYOID BONE STROKE

Lay the forefinger under the hyoid bone in the
angle made by the chin and throat and then form the
tongue groove, first without the finger, then with the
476 LESSON XXI

little finger and then with the thumb and notice that
the front of the hyoid bone strikes the finger each time
that you make the groove. See Figure 131. Next,
speak the vowel a, e, i, o, u. With each vowel the
hyoid bone will involuntarily strike against the finger.
If the hyoid bone rises toward the throat cavity, that
is proof that the all-important hyoid muscle is too
weak and that it still needs much exercise.
In spite of what I have said against drawing the
whole larynx up or down, a certain downward stroke
of the hyoid bone is not only permissible but abso
lutely necessary in a large tone, and this stroke occurs
automatically as soon as the tongue has gained suffi
cient strength.
To avoid misunderstanding, I wish to state that it
is very easy to lower the hyoid by means of the throat
muscles, but this is injurious. As mentioned above, a
downward stroke of the hyoid bone against the finger
is noticeable, and yet the hyoid bone is not drawn
downward. Just the opposite is the case. The horns
are drawn upward and the bone is tilted, therefore the
front strikes downward without really being lowered.
The action somewhat resembles the balance beam
of a druggist's scale; when one side goes down, the
other goes up, but the center of pivotal point remains
at rest.
This is not an exercise which you need to practice.
It is merely a test to show you that the hyoid bone can
be moved either by the tongue muscles, which is the
right way, or by the throat muscles, which is the
wrong way. If it does not move, you are still tensing
the palate muscles while making the groove. If you
drop the upper part of the tongue loosely enough in
the middle and near the throat, then the palate will
remain still.
 LESSON XXI 477

You must master all these points. Continue prac

ticing until you do master them.
5. Having succeeded in making the groove with
out moving either the cricoid cartilage or the palate,
that is the uvula, place a little finger under the tongue,
near its center, as taught in earlier lessons.
Again make the groove, testing once and awhile
the cricoid cartilage, and observing also that the palate
does not move. Notice that every time you make the
groove while the little finger is under the tongue, that
you feel a "beat" or soft pressure of the under side of
the tongue against the finger. That is the correct and
"infallible" attack.
6. Count or read aloud and notice that every time
you feel this beat, the voice is strong, clear and good.
Singers should sing the scale, starting about B flat
on the third line. Every time they feel the "beat,"
if made with utmost ease (as taught in groove without
voice), the tone is strong, good and easy. Now they
will arrive at a note, usually about F on fifth line, when
the beat is not felt and the tone is less good or the
throat is not free and easy. That is a sure sign that
they have reached the present limit of their strength.
To reach the upper notes, this strength has to be
increased.
In order that this strength may be increased, the
hyo-glossi muscle must contract against a resistance,
and for this purpose the thumb is placed all along the
entire half of the under surface of the tongue, as far
back as the lower wisdom teeth.
It may take some of you several days to become
accustomed to placing the thumb under the tongue and
to holding it there while the tongue lies loosely and
quietly upon it. A few of you may have a very thick
478 LESSON XXI

thumb, too thick to pass under the tongue; these

should use the forefinger of the opposite hand and lay
it far back under the tongue.
7. Having acquired this exercise, simply make the
groove in the manner so often described. Notice that
the back part of the tongue, gently, easily falls or
presses down upon the tip of the thumb or finger. Once
in a while test the cricoid Gartilage to see that it does
not move while you are making the groove.
Many will be tempted to press down with the tip
of the tongue. That must be avoided at all costs.
The front part of the tongue must remain loose.
This is especially important as you gain more and
more strength. Keep the front part of the tongue
loose as long as you practice; this is imperative!
Most of you will be tempted to press down hard
with the tongue. Do just the opposite. Merely let
your tongue drop loosely on the thumb. Let it rest
there a second and then relax, when the tongue will
jump to its natural straight position.
Remember the lesson on the jaw muscles. If you
press down hard with the tongue, you are really con
tracting the jaw and not the tongue.
8. Practice this lesson with the thumb under the
tongue as much as you can. You have reached the
all-important point now. Do not cease practicing.
Keep at it every time you get a chance. The end will
richly repay all your 1 trouble. Do not be afraid of
over-taxing the hyo-glossi muscle now. It cannot be
injured. You may get tired or even a little sore, but
that will disappear. Any muscle that is being exer
cised may get tired or even sore at first.
If you only make the groove easily enough, you
can do yourself no harm. Be sure that the thumb is
 LESSON XXI 479

always clean and that the nail is short, so as not to

scratch the tongue.
I have had students who made the groove against
thumb resistance 7,000 times daily. This may seem
to take very much time, but it can in reality be done
in less than two hours. Do what you can, is all I ask.
If you were standing on ice, hardly thick enough
to hold your weight, and you were to try to hold an
additional weight of ten pounds only, the ice would
break and you would disappear in the water. But if
the ice were thick and strong you could assume con
siderable additional weight without fear of breaking
through.
If your tongue is weak, it cannot resist the pull of
the other muscles and breaks down under the strain.
You must wait until the ice (the hyo-glossi muscles)
is strong and then your voice will be strong, beautiful
and free.
With a later lesson you will receive my patent
tongue support. Wait for some time before using it.
First get accustomed to the groove against thumb.
The thumb support is just as good as the mechanical
support.
The tongue support, or fork, must be inserted under
the tongue so that it lies easily in the mouth. After
you are accustomed to holding this under the tongue,
hold the stem firmly in one hand and hold it so that
the tongue is lifted about one-third of an inch or less.
Hold it in that position while you make the groove as
taught. It is exactly the same exercise as with the
thumb under the tongue, so if you prefer to use the
thumb only, you may do so.
Everybody needs this exercise. It is the only in
fallible way of strengthening the tongue and through
it the throat. Keep it up for many years.
480 LESSON XXI

Gradually this exercise will become automatic and

will assert itself during voice. This is especially im
portant for the stammerer and on this exercise the
next lesson, especially written for defective voices, will
be based.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON LESSON XXI

1. Why should the voice student understand the
false action of certain muscles?
2. Where are the voice-interfering muscles at
tached?
3. Are the false muscles stronger than the true
vocal muscles?
4. What is the greatest muscular fault of vocalists?
5. Is relaxation a correction of false muscular
habits?
6. What is the correct condition of a muscle?
7. How is a muscle made stronger?
8. Can you place thumb under the tongue?
9. Can you make groove against thumb?
10. Do you feel the groove strongly against the tip
of the thumb?
 LESSON XXII

A SPECIAL LESSON ON STAMMERING,

STUTTERING, ETC.
This lesson has been written especially for the stam
merer and for all defective voices, but the singer and
speaker should study this lesson as closely as the stam
merer, especially the . part which treats of the vowels
and consonants.
Much poor speaking and singing is due to indistinct,
slovenly and careless articulation of words and syllables.
Correct articulation will allow a free flow of sound
and, hence, beautify the voice. Slovenly articulation
will hold the muscles either too stiff or too loose.
Careful study of this lesson will demonstrate that
the voice is one thing; articulation another. The two
will assist each other if the muscles are left in a free,
flexible state.
Yesterday I received the following very interesting
letter:
"I am in receipt of your literature and contents
carefully noted. I am impressed, hence "this letter.
"I am a medical student of the University of ,
College of Medicine, and for ten years I have gone
through a "living hell" with stammering, the causa
tive agent. It cost me a small fortune to secure relief.
I attended stammering schools all over this country, was
in Europe, consulted numerous physicians and physi
ologists, but all to no avail. When I say, Mr. Feucht-
inger, I am discouraged, I believe you can understand
why.
"Either the schools were fraudulent, or if the men
were sincere, they could not produce results. Dr.
Scripture of Columbia University is a stammering
481
482 LESSON XXII

expert, but I never heard of him as having produced

a cure. I am not a bad case, as my chief difficulty
is that I get a spasm in my larynx and my throat
becomes 'tied up,' as it were. You are correct when
you state that most cases are due to inability to con
trol the tongue and the larynx muscles, but when you
state you can cure it, I am not only skeptical but
superskeptical. No offense is intended, but I have
met men who gave convincing (?) explanations as to
the etology of the disease (?)—explanations that could
not be attacked and yet who failed to cure.
"Now, Mr. Feuchtinger, I don't know how you will
favor what I now have to state, but it is the only way
through which I will take your treatment, so please
follow me closely. I have consulted with my Profes
sors he»e—to take up your treatment. I will do so
if you will send it to me or through the University,
for a trial. If after some time I find it benefits me, I
will pay you your fee and in addition bring your dis
covery before the American Medical Association and
have it introduced amongst physicians and recognized.
You can easily see what business and fame this would
bring you.
"Under no other circumstances will I accept any
treatment, as in every case I was the loser, and I can
not afford to lose again."
To this letter I sent the following reply:
"I am in receipt of your very interesting letter of
the 8th inst. Since you are a medical student, it gives
me the opportunity to speak to you in professional
terms.
"You say you have attended stammering schools all
Over this country and in Europe, consulted numerous
physicians and physiologists without success to your
 LESSON XXII 483

self. I can easily understand that you are discouraged,

and sympathize with you.
"No, I don't believe that all of the schools were
fraudulent; the reason they could not produce results
was simply because they did not understand the
mechanism of the vocal organ. The same must be
said of many physicians and throat specialists. They
have looked at the throat merely from the point of
view of the operating table, and not in a constructive
sense from the point of view of the vocalist.
"The supposition heretofore has been that the vocal
chords are tensed or stretched as needed for speaking
and singing by the internal laryngal muscles. The
internal laryngal muscles can stretch the vocal chords
only to a very limited extent, certainly not sufficient
for a full speaking or singing voice. To hold the vocal
chords at the tension needed for speaking and singing,
Nature has given us the external laryngal muscles,
and of these the hyo-glossi and chondro-glossi muscles
are the center or keystone.
"If these muscles are weak, or, as is mostly the case
with stammerers, if they are not under control, if they
are displaced or held stiff, the entire vocal organ and
throat is made rigid and unyielding. Of course, speech
is impossible, or at least very difficult under such
circumstances.
"When you say that you get a spasm in the larynx,
and your throat becomes tied up, you are perfectly
right, only the spasm is not caused by the larynx, but
by trie tongue.
"I don't blame you in the least for being super-
skeptical, but if you refuse to accept a new statement,
and reject a new discovery because you have not suc
ceeded with old methods, you remind me of a man who
in a large city, asks several strangers to direct him
484 LESSON XXII

to a certain place. They, not being very sure them

selves, direct him as best they can, with the result that
he did not reach the place to which he wished to go.
"Now, wouldn't it be foolish for this man to tell an
old inhabitant of the city, who offered to direct him,
that he was a liar and, rather than try the new direc
tions, keep on running around the circle, and never
get anywhere?
"I cannot accept your proposition to send you our
lessons on trial, as it were, for the simple reason that
these lessons are issued only gradually. It will take
longer to study the course by mail than it would if I
had you here personally, and to make sure that you
understand every lesson, we issue them through an
entire year. There will be about thirty-two lessons in
all, and these you get by paying only $5.00 each month
for twelve months.
"The lessons will teach you all about the voice and
give you exercises enabling you to acquire control over
the all-important tongue, the larynx, the palate, and
the breath; all of these things take time. Sometimes
improvement is noticed almost immediately, but again,
in other cases, it takes considerable time. In all cases,
however, we guarantee an improvement and a final
cure, provided the student completes the work.
"Sometime when you have an attack of stammering,
place a forefinger far back on the top of the tongue.
You will then notice that your tongue is drawn high
up and that it is very hard. Also look at your tongue
in the mirror, and you will find that when you stammer
the tongue is drawn back from the teeth. Both of
these tests are absolute proof that at the time of stam
mering you have dislocated the entire tongue, and
this is the cause of your stammering.
 LESSON XXII 485

"Another proof that my contention is correct, is that

I presume you to have a very good, full voice when
you speak naturally. Very likely you have even a good
singing voice. All this should be of great encourage
ment to you. It shows that your tongue muscles are
really strong, and that all you need do is to gain
control over them.
"I could guarantee you an absolute cure as soon as
you have control over the tongue muscles, but the
matter of habit enters so largely into cases like yours
that it may, after all, take considerable time before
you could pronounce yourself absolutely cured. But
as soon as you have the control, you have positive
proof, which you can feel, see and hear. After that,
it would be up to you to get into the right habit.
"Since you mention Dr. Scripture, I wish to tell you
that I have read his work with great interest. But I
find that he, like other physicians, has neglected to
observe the mechanism of the vocal organ. Hence, his
deductions on vocal physiology are entirely erroneous.
What he writes about resonance is very interesting
indeed, and most scholarly, but of no practical value for
the vocalist. Resonance is the result of a good tone,
and not, as has been supposed heretofore, the cause.
"The teachers of physics have put the cart before
the horse. When you have a good tone, you also have
resonance. Seeking for resonance never developed a
good tone, but only a disturbance.
"I trust I have explained the matter to your satisfac
tion, and hope that you will give my method a trial."
Now read the following extract from an article by
Dr. W. A. Evans in the Chicago Tribune, 1915:
"Most cases of stammering and lisping can be cured
by the mother. The method is simple. She must con
486 LESSON XXII

tinually pronounce the words which the child mispro

nounces and have the child repeat them after her.
Rewards, including a judicious use of praise, must be
made use of.
"If the mother cares to read some book on speech
defects, such as that by Scripture, and learn just how
certain sounds are made, she will be the gainer by
doing so. She may learn words which her child can
pronounce correctly, which words call for about the
same operations in the speech organs as those which
the child speaks incorrectly. All of this is for the
mother. In training the child the mother speaks cor
rectly some troublesome words and other related words,
and the child repeats them.
"Stuttering is a different matter. Stutterers can
make the necessary sounds. The trouble is in form
ing the sounds into several syllable words and into
sentences. The seat of the trouble is the mind.
"Stammerers and lispers are at their worst between
two and five years of age. The mother can cure the
average stutterer of his defect. Why? The need is
for some way to slow down the excited, nervous child.
To make him think slowly, act slowly, speak slowly;
to teach him not to begin to speak until his thought
is formulated, and then to say his words with delibera
tion, i
"The stuttering child has a disposition to do every
thing half-cocked. If it be granted that the cause of
stuttering is in the mind ; if the needed cure is to train
the child to be deliberate and calm, does it not follow
that the mother is the best teacher? Bluemel is right.
The majority of children who stutter, stammer and
lisp could be cured by their mothers. However, there
are children who stammer because of adenoids, tonsils,
 LESSON XXII 487

or other defects, and children who stutter because of

mental or other trouble. Such need the help of phy
sicians and speech specialists."

This was taken from the New York Sun, 1915:

"More than forty thousand public school children
who stutter, stammer, lisp or have the 'tic' defect in
their speech are to be specially looked after, with a
view to making them normal, under a resolution adopt
ed today by the Board of Education, at the suggestion
of Dr. Dennis J. McDonald.

"The plan is to give every teacher who has speech-

defective pupils, special medical instructions as to how
to control and cure these defects.

"Dr. McDonald said that it is likely that one or two

terms of special instruction, so arranged as not to
interfere with regular school attendance, will be suffi
cient to convert the average boy or girl stammerer, or
lisper, into a child of normal speech, with much brighter
prospects in the world."
Dr. Joseph C. Burk, Chicago, says in the Journal
of Ophthalmology, Otology and Laryngology of Phila
delphia, Pa.:
"The tongue-tie was formerly thought to be a cause
of speech defect, such as lisping, stammering, or stutter
ing, but this is now discredited. Tongue-tie was con
sidered a shortening of the fraenum of the tongue.
Any diseased condition of the tongue itself can affect
the speech and appropriate treatment of such a con
dition will be necessary. The cheeks and lips are
often at fault in speaking or singing in that the
muscles are insufficiently developed or trained. By
proper action and passive exercise, much will be
accomplished."
 488 LESSON XXII

Dr. Smiley Blanton, Madison, University of Wis

consin, in the same Journal says:
"Even the education of physicians toward speech
defects has been so neglected that often they advise
against any treatment. As a result of this lack of
knowledge on the part of the physician, sufferers from
this defect have flocked to the stammering schools and
. the non-medical 'Speech Specialists' who, in most cases,
are quacks of the worst kind, guaranteeing cures
which they cannot always obtain."
Dr. C. S. Bluemel has this to say of these schools:
"Many of them are entirely devoid of merit; they
have been recorded merely because they are the gold
bricks that are daily sold to stammerers by an in
famous fraternity of speech specialists."
Dr. W. A. Evans, of the Chicago Tribune, says:
"The great secret guarded by speech specialists is
the fact that the stammerer is being buncoed.
"I believe that if the child, during the early school
years, were given some training in normal and cor
rective phonetics, and a few simple exercises in voice
training, that is, exercises for the development of a
good tone, change of pitch and inflection, a great
many of the speech defects could be avoided al
together and the average child's speech could be
greatly improved."
The best and most vigorous statement of the case
is given by Dr. Burton Haseltine, Chicago, in the same
Journal :
"No discriminating critic can study the results of
voice training even in our best schools with any feeling
of satisfaction. If we examine the literature of the
subject, we arrive almost at the stage of hopelessness.
Perhaps any attempt to teach a so subtle art by means
of text books is hopeless, but at least a discussion of
1
LESSON XXII 489

the subject should be free from silliness. Much of the

material found in supposedly standard books upon
voice culture is almost unbelievably silly.
"One 'teacher' tells us that there are three lobes of
the lung—one for the lower, one for the middle and
one for the upper register in singing! From, the su
perior register, he says, we have the high-pitched tones
of the voice, because they originate from the small
and short air-column supplied through the superior
branch of the bronchial tubes. This is the extreme of
silliness, but notions only a little less fantastic can be
found in almost any book upon this subject. The
false conception of low tones as 'chest tones' and high
tones as 'head tones' is almost universal, many writers
even placing head tones as far upward as the frontal
sinus! The truth, of course, is practically the opposite
of this, since the highest notes are those in which the
head cavities are used the least, while the frontal
sinus is the one cavity that has no effect whatever upon
vocal resonance.
"One of the world's greatest singers tells us in a
well-known book on 'How to Sing,' that the pupil must
learn enough physiology to know how to draw the soft
palate up against the hard palate. Again this writer
says: 'The palate must remain elastic from the front
teeth to its hindmost part.' It is difficult to understand
how anyone can imagine the palate near the front
teeth as being elastic, while a person who could draw
the soft palate up against the hard palate without a
surgical operation would be remarkable indeed.
"These and many other confused statements seem
to result from the attempt of an artist without physio
logical knowledge to describe the complex act of sing
ing merely from the sensation experienced. Great
mischief results from the notion that exceptional sing
490 LESSON XXII

ers are reliable instructors in voice physiology and

voice training. It is exactly as if the juggler or acrobat
should assume to teach physiology, hygiene and medi
cine because he can make his body perform feats
impossible to scientific men.
"If now, we look at the other side of the picture
we find it not less gloomy. What have the physicians
taught us about the art of voice development and
what aid have the specialists to offer the aspiring artist?
Very little, we must confess. In certain of the grosser
abnormalities effective and safe treatment is now being
given, but so much of bungling has been done that
the vocal artist will long stand in just fear of the
throat' specialist. If we are called upon for instruc
tion or advice regarding the normal development of
voice or its correct or incorrect employment, our re
sources are indeed meagre. It would seem apparent
that the first requisite for instruction in the subject
is a thorough knowledge of the anatomy, physiology
and the acoustic principles involved in voice produc
tion. The individual well grounded in all these matters
is exceptional both among physicians and voice teach
ers. Neither is there any school of music or of medi
cine where adequate instruction of this kind is given.
"When you now turn to see what remedies in the
past were applied to the cure of stammering, you find
very little of real value. The physicians, on one hand,
claimed stammering as a purely nervous disorder. The
schools and teachers generally based any remedies
they proposed, upon corrective phonetics, breathing
or speaking in certain rhythmical sentences. Imitation
and suggestion played an important part. All these
things are of some value, but they do not go to the
real root of all defective voices; hence a cure was
problematical at best."
 LESSON XXII 491

EXERCISES FOR LESSON XXII

For Those Who Suffer From
STAMMERING, STUTTERING, OVERLAPPING
OR LOSS OF VOCAL CONTROL
It is quite generally supposed that stammering and
similar afflictions result from a diseased condition of
the vocal organ. In some cases this may be true, but
it is not generally so. I have had many cases that
were paradoxical; persons whose voices were full and
sweet and flowing while they sang, and who none the
less stammered when speaking.
In all of these cases I found a naturally strong
tongue. This discovery convinced me that these people
were singers without knowing it, and that very little
was necessary to make them even great singers. My
conviction was confirmed when, upon testing the voice,
I found that they had fine, full tones up to a certain
pitch, but after reaching that pitch were unable to
utter another tone, either good or bad. They could
automatically stretch the vocal chords up to a certain
point, beyond which they could not go. They were
really between the upper and nether millstones. In
ordinary speaking, the voice over-topped or over-ran
their needs and thus confused them, and prevented a
free, easy flow of words.
In attempting public speaking they would, at criti
cal moments, lose control and the words would fail to
come because the organ stopped working. In these
cases the foundation or tongue strength Was there
and all that was necessary to perfect the voice was a
little more strength of the hyoid muscle to increase
the range, and a certain mental control to prevent the
flow of excessive power in the ordinary conversation.
If your affliction belongs to this class, your progress
492 LESSON XXII

will come from persistently practicing the thumb and

tongue exercises and by speaking only from the tongue.
The exercises which I shall give here will serve to
give you the required control and hasten your pro
gress. If you follow them, you will soon notice a
marked improvement.
Stammering also results from a weak, slow-acting
hyoid muscle, when this muscle belongs to a person
possessing a quick-acting brain. In cases of this kind
the thoughts flow rapidly and the organ of speech
works slowly, with the result that before one word is
fully uttered, the brain is forming the tongue for
another. This causes confusion and a piling up of the
words, some formed and some half formed, and the
control over speech is lost. After this has occurred a
number of times, fear steps in and makes things worse
by destroying the person's confidence. Then the law
of habit takes a hand and makes this unpleasant con
dition permanent. Unfortunately, it is just as easy to
acquire the habit of doing a thing in the wrong way
as it is to get the habit of doing it in the right- way. In
all cases of defective speech, I have found it necessary
to keep the person persistently doing the right thing
until the old habit is broken up. Once that has been
accomplished, the right way becomes automatic and
there is no need to give it further thought, for it is
then a habit.
If your case belongs to this latter class, follow care
fully all the exercises given here and also those given
in previous lessons. Your progress will not be as
rapid as that of those who belong to the first mentioned
class, but it will be certain and permanent. If you
consider the length of time during which you have
been controlled by the wrong habit of speaking, you
will not expect to have your vocal organ and vocal
 LESSON XXII 493

muscles rebuilt in a few months. If your voice tires

easily or your breath is soon exhausted, or the words
are formed slowly, you can be certain that you belong
to this latter class and you should therefore practice
faithfully the following exercises.
First: Most people who have defective voices are
also troubled with shortness of breath, and because of
this, they are tempted to hold the diaphragm and
other breathing muscles stiff. If you tire easily in the
region of the stomach, you will know that you have
this fault. To correct it, you must study and master
the breathing exercises given in these lessons and learn
to relax the stomach muscles.
Second: As already described in Lesson XI,
place the little finger under the point of the tongue and
speak or read aloud and observe whether you feel the
beat of the tongue and whether it continues all the
time you are speaking. If the beat is not continuous,
you can be sure that your tongue muscle is very weak
and that you need to practice the tongue exercise with
the thumb's resistance, several times a day. Practice
each time until the tongue muscle becomes tired.
You must also do some reading aloud every day,
with the little finger under the tongue and also with
out it. Always think of the tone or voice as coming
out of the tongue. Also think of the tongue as groov
ing slightly at the back while speaking, and, when you
pause between the sentences, notice that the tongue
relaxes, only to contract again the instant you begin
speaking. Try to speak a little higher in pitch than
you do ordinarily and never attempt to start the voice
from the chest, or still worse, from the throat. All
tones should spring from the head, and they will do
so if you speak from the tongue.
494 LESSON XXII

HOW YOU SHOULD NOT SPEAK

People with large vocal chords speak in a lower pitch
than those with smaller chords. The low tones seem
to come from the chest, but in reality they originate
and resonate from exactly the same place as the higher
tones. Those having small vocal chords cannot get the
deep tones by speaking from the chest, no matter how
hard they try. Note the following signs of a falsely
produced voice:
Third : Place your index finger under and against
the ring cartilage and read or speak in your usual
manner and observe whether this cartilage remains
quietly upon your finger during speech, or whether

Fig. 132
 LESSON XXII 495

it pushes' downward. See Figure 132. If there is a

decided downward pressure, then you can be sure
that your manner of speaking is wrong.
Fourth: Lay your finger tip lightly against the
thyroid cartilage (Adam's apple) and read or speak as
before. See Figure 133. If this cartilage is drawn
upward away from your finger, then your manner of
speaking is wrong. In a healthy, normal vocal organ
the entire larynx remains in its normal position during
speaking.
Fifth: Clear your throat several times as though
you were trying to raise a little phlegm, and observe
that this action creates a feeling as though there were

Fig . 133
496 LESSON XXII

two little pads of flesh deep down in the throat that

came together and closed the throat and then sepa
rated again after the clearing. What you feel are the
vocal chords. Now speak or read aloud and watch
closely to ascertain whether you speak from this place.
If you do, your vocal habits are wrong. Although the
voice originates in the vocal chords, you should not be
conscious of their existence. If you feel them, it is
because they are rubbing against each other and creat
ing an interference. When speaking, you should feel
the voice coming from the tongue or head, but should
not be conscious of any other parts of the vocal
organ.
Sixth: Turn your back to a window, open your
mouth, and with the hand mirror observe your throat.
Look carefully at the tonsils, which lie just back of
and on each side of the tongue. Then place a finger
well back on the top of the tongue and hold the tongue
down while you whisper several times "haw." If you
do this very softly, you will find that the two tonsils
approach each other as though they were trying to
close the opening to the throat. Try this several times
to make sure that you understand the movement.
With your finger still on the tongue, speak "aw," "a,"
"ee," several times. By means of a little pressure
from the finger, prevent the tongue from rising, that
you may clearly see in the mirror the action of the
tonsils. Now, if the tonsils try to approach each
other when you speak "aw," "a," "ee," you can feel
certain that your vocal habits are inclined toward
correctness, but if the tonsils move farther apart as
though they were trying to open the throat still more,
then your vocal habits are wrong.
All the above signs of a wrong vocal attack are
proofs that the tongue is either naturally too weak or
 LESSON XXII 497

that wrong habits have wasted its natural power. I

have emphasized throughout my instructions that in
the absence of the stroke under the tongue neither
good speaking nor good singing is possible. This
applies even more strongly to those who stammer or
stutter. If this beat is lacking, you must keep up
the tongue exercises and in your regular conversation
try always to speak from the tongue, that is, speak as
though the words rested upon or came out of the
tongue. It is only by getting this control that a
permanent cure can be effected.

LARYNX AND PALATE MUSCLES

To train the larynx and palate muscles and obtain
control over them, you should practice the following
exercises :
Seventh: By means of a hand mirror observe care
fully the throat around and behind the tongue, and
especially the tonsils. Place a finger upon the tongue
as far back as you can without causing nausea. Hold
the tongue as loose as possible and by a pressure of
the finger prevent it from rising. Then breathe out or
whisper "haw" as silently as possible, and notice if
the tonsils draw toward each other and if the arches
behind the tongue become narrower. Try to whisper
"haw" gradually higher and higher, but very easily,
just as easily as you can bring two fingers together.
If the palate muscles move apart instead of toward
each other, it is a sign that they are almost wholly
inactive. If they were active, they would contract and
shorten, and thereby narrow the arches. Persist in the
exercise for bringing the tonsils* and arches nearer
together and after one week whisper the vowels (a, e, i,
o, u) as well as you can, both with and without the
498 LESSON XXII

finger on the tongue, and later speak them aloud.

Repeat this as often as you can each day, but for
only a few minutes at a time. Always use a mirror
so as to watch the action of the tonsils.

Eighth: Place the soft point of the thumb against

the ring cartilage and yawn silently several times.
See Figure 132. Notice that this forces the cartilage,
and with it the entire larynx, strongly downward
against the thumb. Now try to make this pressure
on the thumb without yawning and without any exer
tion, by mentally ordering the action to take place.
When you can master this, first whisper, and later
speak aloud the vowels and still later, sentences, and
expect that this cartilage will remain quietly upon
the thumb without movement or pressure. It should
remain steadily in its natural position. In speaking
be careful not to speak from the throat. The voice
should sound clear and bright and as if coming from
the head.
VOWELS
Place the little finger under the tongue and while
you sound "awh" expect the tonsils to narrow and
also expect to feel a slight pressure on the little finger.
The pressure on the finger and the narrowing of the
arches are absolutely necessary. Therefore, practice
until both actions are definite.

"A" as in "Pale"
Repeat as above, but sound "a" as in "pale," but
in addition to having the little finger under the tongue,
also place forefinger of the other hand on the top
of the rear part of the tongue and note that the fore
finger is being raised by the tongue.
 LESSON XXII 499

"E" as in "Eel"
Repeat as before, but sound "e" as in "eel?" In
this case the finger will be raised still more and the
tip of the tongue drawn away from the teeth. In
arching upward, the tongue becomes shorter and there
fore will draw a little away from the front teeth. If
you find difficulty in pronouncing the "a" and "e,"
then practice the following exercise for about five
minutes at a time. This exercise will train the tongue-
raising muscle.

Exercise for Raising the Tongue

Open your mouth and take care that the tongue
lies loosely between the teeth.
Next, sound several times "kh," "kh," "kh," and
take care that the back part of the tongue is raised
every time that you sound "kh."
Now place the forefinger of one hand on the top
of the tongue, alternately on either side; press the
forefinger somewhat strongly down upon the tongue
upon its own side. Sound "kh" and you will find
that in spite of quite a heavy pressure of the finger your
tongue will rise upward. Of course, you must not press
so hard as to prevent the tongue from rising while
you sound "kh."
Practice in the same way for "e" as in "eel."

"O" as in "Pole"
Begin by forming the mouth as for "awh." First
whisper and then speak "awh." While sounding the
"awh" endeavor at the same time to bring your lips
into a round position to form "o" as in "pole." If you
find this difficult to do, place two finger ends against
500 LESSON XXII

the corners of the lips and sound the "awh," at the

same time drawing the corners of the mouth in against
the resisting finger ends until "o" is formed. See
Figure 134. Of course, during this lip-shaping exer
cise, you do not place the finger on or under the
tongue. When you can form the lips correctly, with
out the help of the finger ends, then make the sound
with the finger under the tongue, as previously directed.

"U" as in "Rude"
Practice exactly as instructed for "o," but now ex
pect the lips to close still more tightly against the
rather strongly resisting finger ends and sound "u" as
in "rude."

Fig. 134
 LESSON XXII 501

"A" as in "Fat"
Begin as for "awh," but as you go into this "a"
gradually widen the mouth and sound "a" as in "fat."
The tongue will be raised somewhat, but that is as it
should be.

CONSONANTS
I must again emphasize the fact that in normal
speaking the consonants and vowels are enunciated by
the involuntary action of the vocal muscles; the will
to speak causes them to move automatically. When
these muscles do not act automatically, a voluntary
contraction* must be used to gradually encourage the
involuntary action. When this is accomplished normal
speech results.
The consonants which follow should be studied,
one at a time, and especially those which are most
difficult for you to pronounce. For the consonants I
shall not give special instructions on the movement of
the lips and tongue, because the desire of the mind
will, of itself, induce the action of the proper muscles.
However, the correct position will be more readily
attained if you do not end them with a vowel sound,
as is usually done. For instance, do not pronounce
"k" as "kay," or "b" as "bee," nor "1" as "ell," nor
"f" like "eff," but as I shall here explain.
Ninth : Seat yourself comfortably. Take in breath
and at the same time raise your shoulders and let the
body and head droop forward, just as though you
were too tired to sit upright. Remain in this loose,
relaxed position and hold the breath for about three
seconds, then suddenly resume the upright position,
at the same time letting go of the breath. If you do
this loosely enough, the breath will sound like a "hugh,"
and this "hugh" should terminate each consonant, so
502 LESSON XXII

that, for instance, "k" will not sound as we usually

say it, "kay," but "kugh." In this way only the
muscles which form the consonants are employed, and
no others.
The consonants B, C, D, F, G, H, K, P, Q, T, V,
W, X and Z should be practiced, finishing them with
a "hugh" sound like B'ugh, C'ugh, D'ugh, etc. The
consonants L, M, N, R and S must be practiced as
though there were an "h" before them and "hugh"
concluding them. H'lugh, h'mugh, h'nugh, h'ungh.
The "S" is best practiced when it is pronounced like
"h'zzugh."
Practice all the vowels and consonants in the man
ner described, first without and then with the little
finger under the tongue, and always as if you were
talking from a distance, as if you wanted to be heard
in the next room. In speaking sentences, speak as if
you were spelling each word, but so that you connect
the consonants with the vowels. The following sen
tence: . . . "and, behold, a door was opened in heaven,
and the first voice which I heard was, as it were, of
a trumpet talking with me, which said, Come hither
and I will show the things which must be hereafter"
should be read aloud somewhat like this:
"and'ugh, behold'h, a dorr'h was'h opened'h in'h
heaven'h, and'h the'h first'h voice'h which Fh heard'h
was'h as'h it'h were'h of'h a trumpet'h talking'h with'
me'h which said'h, Come'h up'h hither'h and'h I'h
will'h show'h thee'h things'h which must'h be'h here-
after'h." .
All the consonants which finish a word should end
as in "hugh." That means, do not stop the breath
with the consonant, but let it escape. Also try to
start the beginning consonant in a word with an
aspirated "h." Gradually read a little faster and
 LESSON XXII 503

faster until you can read in a smoothly running manner.

If you have practiced carefully, you will notice that
although the words are connected, as in natural read
ing, yet each syllable is distinct and individual. It is
essential that you never stop the breath, but speak on
until all the breath is gone. Of course, this will require
frequent inhalation, but gradually your vocal organ
will gain strength and in time will work rapidly and
easily. Then little or no breath will be lost and your
syllables will remain distinct. Practice alternately
with little finger under the tongue, and without, and
do this for many months.
Do not forget that the tongue exercises must be
repeated often and continued possibly for many months,
for upon the tongue's strength rests the ability to
speak well. When the tongue has attained sufficient
control and strength, all difficulties of speech will have
disappeared. Persevere, for the reward of a beautiful,
full, freely flowing voice is worth many thousand times
more than the effort it will cost to obtain it. What is
worth having is worth working for. Success comes to
all who persevere with these exercises, for this system
of vocal development is founded upon natural laws.
I advise you to read the following frequently.
First, always read aloud and distinctly with the little
finger under the tongue, then without, and so alter
nately. If you can read this passage fluently you are
certainly cured.

By P. R. Galligan
"The rabbit is a timid thing, its wonted trepida
tion, the consequence of pondering abrupt annihilation.
The constant fear of lurking foe creates a perturbation
which in the rabbit's brain we know as lococerebration,
a mental state one may detect in men of furtive habit,
504 LESSON XXII

who, though . suspicious, ne'er suspect their kinship

with a rabbit.
"The rabbit is a stupid thing, its nervous excitation
apparently engendering a hyperobfuscation. The sun
lit aisles of hill and dale escape its observation; it
blindly takes the darkest trail to reach its destination.
Some men there be with greed of gain and eagerness
to grab it who covertly their goal attain much as the
fearful rabbit.
"The rabbit is a foolish thing, its love of depreda
tion quite frequently contributing to its own extirpa
tion. The pillage of a cabbage patch provides a
delectation which nothing else on earth can match in
bunny's estimation. To 'kill' a good thing since it's
free or otherwise to crab it is not a fault exclusively
peculiar to the rabbit.
"The rabbit is a selfish thing of sordid inclination;
it cares not so the seasons bring its share of vegetation.
Save as the common weal affects its personal salvation,
the common weal in all respects is just a botheration.
A concept of the social state wherein men likewise
stab it, unconscious that they intimate the logic of
the rabbit.
"The rabbit is a wicked thing responsive to temp
tation, a wanton creature weltering in bestial dissipa
tion. Though occupied with diligence in fecund
propagation, it treats with but indifference the
second generation. Forsooth, the moral of this tale,
if one presume to blab it, is merely that the human
male has nothing on the rabbit."
All stammerers must remember that for years,
perhaps, they have had the bad habits which produce
stammering. The only way to get rid of a bad habit
is to replace it with a good habit.
 LESSON XXII 505

To acquire a new habit may take time and cer

tainly needs practice and constant watchfulness. Sure
ly you will make the effort!
*
EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON LESSON XXII
1. What is the physiological cause of stammering?
2. Do you believe that the mental disturbance of
the stammerer is caused for the most part by a defect
of the vocal organism?
3. Is your voice, when you speak or sing normally,
strong or weak?
4. Are you absolutely sure of having succeeded in
isolating the hyo-glossi muscle?
5. When you make the groove, do both palate and
larynx remain absolutely immovable?
6. Do you feel a distinct beat against the finger
under the tongue, when the groove is made?
7. Do you feel a distinct beat on every vowel?
8. Do you feel a distinct beat on every consonant?
9. When you speak, does the cricoid cartilage move
perceptibly or is it quiet?
10. Can you now read "The Rabbit" without
stammering?
Remember
No real progress can be expected until you have
isolated the hyo-glossi muscle, as taught so often!
Now and then review Lessons VI and XI.
Do not fail to do some reading aloud every day,
first with little finger under the tongue, then without.
You must gain the habit of speaking from the tongue,
otherwise no cure is possible.
 LESSON XXIII
A RECAPITULATION OF THE POINTS YOU
HAVE STUDIED
In the course of corresponding with my students,
I notice that some of them seem to lose sight of the
object of these lessons. They forget the main facts, the
real reasons for these lessons, hence a restatement of
the object of these lessons is given.
Please read this lesson very carefully, and make fre
quent reference to former lessons when points are men
tioned that are not perfectly clear. I am sure you will
agree with me that this recapitulation is very helpful
when studied closely.

THE PERFECT VOICE

The purpose of these lessons is to demonstrate and
prove that a perfect voice, that is, a voice which will
meet all demands of volume, beauty and compass, can
be attained only when the instrument which produces
it—the Vocal Organ—is perfect in all its parts.
A vocal organ that is imperfect cannot be made
perfect through the mere action of singing or speaking,
because, in speaking or singing, the various parts of
the instrument can only do what they are then capable
of doing. As a rule, an imperfect vocal organ is de
fective only in one part, but because of this one de
ficiency the action of the whole is affected, and all
parts are thereby weakened.
The mere singing of scales or reciting of passages
from memory cannot develop the voice to any great
degree, in fact, it usually has the opposite effect. Why?
For this reason : The singer does not know in what par
ticular part of his vocal organ the weakness lies. He
507
 508 LESSON XXIII

may sing very well up to a certain note, usually to F

on the fifth line, after that the tones become hard,
sharp, or shrill, or faint, breathy and thin. In the first
instance he supposes that he is making too much effort,
which is true. He is told by his teacher to relax, to
loosen, to make no effort whatever. If he succeeds in
doing this the result is a thin tone of no volume, and
one devoid of character. And if he continues using a
tone of this kind, even the tones which were originally
full and strong will soon become thin and weak also.
All excessive effort used in singing, except mental
effort, is destructive, for it interferes with and retards
the free action of the vocal organ. If the singer has
to make any perceptible effort of breath or throat
action to reach a certain note Or a certain effect, he
may be sure that his vocal organ is more or less weak,
for when the vocal organ is proportionately strong in
all its parts, then all tones and shades come with the
utmost ease, requiring only mental effort to produce
them.
The part of the vocal organ which decides the vol
ume, beauty, compass and most of the shading and
articulation, is the tongue. The tongue sets into action
the entire vocal mechanism. It is the only part that
can contract with perfect ease and rapidity. Its mus
cles are attached in front to a firm, inflexible bone, the
chin, and at the other end, the rear, to the freely
moving larynx and to other muscles. The tongue lies
between the hard and soft palates above, and the
larynx below, and works on the principle of leverage,
trying to draw the palate and larynx toward each other.
Now, in just the degree that the tongue possesses
strength, can it awaken the force or the dormant
strength in the other parts of the vocal organ, because
 LESSON XXIII 509

no muscle can exert greater power than is supplied by

the resistance against which it acts and reacts.
To illustrate: lift a book from the table and notice
how little force is exerted, how little your muscles con
tract. Then lift a chair and note how much more
power your muscles exert. Next, let a friend sit on
the chair and then try to lift it. Here you find a re
sistance that calls forth the utmost of which your
muscles are capable. From this simple experiment you
can learn a valuable lesson in the law of resistance.
In lifting the book, you met with very little resistance,
hence you exerted very little muscular power; lifting
the chair called forth much more power. But it was
the third experiment that really proved the power you
possessed, that showed you what you were capable or
incapable of doing.
The lesson is this: the vocal chords can be con
tracted so that they remain thin and attenuated, in
which case the tone is also thin and the compass small,
or they can be made thick and tense, in which case
the tones will be strong and the compass large. How
this is done and what mechanism Nature has provided
for doing it has been shown in previous lessons.
I will again state here, however, that to give forth
sound, the vocal chords must be stretched as are the
strings of other instruments. Nature has made two pro
visions for stretching the vocal chords; one is internal,
within the larynx and entirely automatic, the other is
external, making use of the muscles which connect the
larynx to the collar bone, the tongue and the head.
The external stretching is voluntary and is due almost
entirely to the activity of the tongue. When the vocal
chords are permitted to remain thin, the resistance to
be overcome is very little, and the power within the
510 LESSON XXIII

larynx is usually sufficient to stretch them. But the

tones, in such a case, will be thin. The tones may be
sweet and pretty and sufficient in strength to meet the
demands of the less ambitious, but since they lack
volume they are without pathos and character, and are
utterly unsuited to public performance or even to the
more pretentious private singing and speaking.
But when the vocal chords enlarge in size and con
tract strongly, the resistance which has to be overcome
in stretching them is very great, so that unusual power
in the external, voluntary muscles is required. This
external chord-stretching power is possessed principally
by the great singers and orators. But, as one may
acquire a great piano technic, so one may develop the
mechanism which will produce as good*a voice as the
greatest singers and orators possess. Technic, whether
in playing an instrument, or in using the human voice,
is, in the main, strength and muscular development
under control. All that is needed is to know how to
develop the right muscles and then train them per
sistently.
So far the laws of physiology and anatomy, as they
apply to the vocal organ, have been given. Also much
of the laws of vocal mechanics. The physiology and
anatomy of the breath-supplying organ will be given
very soon.
A most important part, and one entirely new is
presented to you in this lesson. It is an explanation
of the "Laws of Physics and Sound" as related to the
human voice.
This subject is purely theoretical. In itself, alone,
it will not help you to improve your voice. The theo
retical parts of the lessons were written for the purpose
of explaining and proving my discovery. To do this,
it has been necessary to state technical facts, to sepa
 LESSON XXIII 511

rate and show the specific action and purpose of the

different muscles, cartilages and bones that make up
the vocal organism. In doing this, I have, as far as
possible, avoided technical expressions that the student
might easier understand at a reading, that which the
expert and the physiologist spent a lifetime in acquir
ing.
To state that such and such things are so, while
true, is not sufficient, for it does not prove the case.
In this course of study I have proven my claims beyond
contradiction. I have shown the true cause of strong
and weak, of perfect and imperfect voices. I have
definitely located the flaw that limits the power and
beauty of the human voice. I have subjected my dis
covery to every law of physics, anatomy and mechanics,
and have proven it mathematically correct. Further
more, I have proven it to be infallible in practice in
hundreds of student tests.
Before a defect can be remedied, we must find it.
In the case of the human voice, both the defect and
the remedy have been found, and now every voice may
be developed to the utmost of which it is capable.
These lessons reveal the defect in a way that all who
read with care will recognize. While every student
should read these explanations and become acquainted
with his own vocal organ and its defects, I do not
claim that the voice can be corrected merely by read
ing them. The exercises will do that.
Knowledge is power. When the student knows
what must be done and how to do it, he has only to
persevere in the doing to accomplish his greatest de
sires.
So much misunderstanding exists in regard to vocal
resonance, that it becomes necessary to give my stu
dents a clear statement and proofs of the facts in the
512 LESSON XXIII
 LESSON XXIII 513

case. Without resonance there can be no good tone

or voice. This has been understood all along and by
every teacher, singer, speaker, as well as by all manu
facturers of musical instruments everywhere. But
whereas the musical instrument makers have in most
cases succeeded in producing resonance by natural
means, the vocalists have gone far astray. The musical
instrument manufacturers recognize that the resonance
depends upon the quality of the material used and the
superiority of the instrument which they manufacture.
The vocalists, on the contrary, look to some mysterious,
mythical, exterior source for the resonance. What sins
have been committed in the name of resonance! With
the utmost gravity and pompous assurance, the silliest
and inconceivably stupid theories have been promul
gated and accepted by unthinking people.
The following statement is compiled from the (false)
theories most commonly held concerning resonance:
"The resonance chambers perform the same func
tions as the sounding board of a piano, or the cavity
of a violin. If it were not for the vibration of the air
in the mouth cavity, nose cavity, and sinuses of the
bones, the voice could have neither volume nor quality.
The size and form of these cavities determines the
tones and quality to which the air confined in them
will vibrate."
Out of this theory have grown many systems which
have for their aim to produce vocal resonance. These
systems are called "voice placing," meaning thereby,
that each tone has a certain place in the human anat
omy. The low tones are supposed to be placed in
the chest, the medium tones in the face or "mask," the
high tones far up in the head and skull. This voice
placing is also called "focusing" the voice.
514 LESSON XXIII

Strange and weird exercises are employed to obtain

resonance and to place or focus the voice. The most
common among these exercises is "humming" the tone,
or using the consonant "hng," or the vowels "e," "i,"
"oh," or "ooh."
As my method is based entirely upon facts and rea
son, it becomes necessary to go somewhat deeper into
the study of the laws of physics as related to the voice,
in order to clear up this matter of resonance. The
main fact to be proven is, that the volume and quality
and resonance are the result of a perfect voice
and not, as has heretofore been assumed, that the per
fect voice is the result of resonance. Or, in other words,
the perfect voice is the result of a perfect vocal
organ, which because it is complete and without fault
will produce the complete and faultless voice. Good
resonance cavities without a good vocal organ will
never give you a good voice and the quicker you make
up your mind to accept this fact, just that much
quicker will you be on the road to a Perfect Voice.
In the old way you were taught to make a voice
perfect by doing something in addition to vocal utter
ance, adding something to the tone after it was created.
In my new way, you are taught to complete the
instrument so that a perfect voice will be the result
automatically and instantaneously.

THE LAWS OF PHYSICS AND SOUND-

CHARACTER OF SONOROUS MOTION
Extracts from Tyndall's excellent work will explain
the nature of sound.
"The various nerves of the body have their origin
in the brain, which is the seat of sensation. When a
finger is wounded, the nerves convey to the brain in
 LESSON XXIII 515

telligence of the injury, but if these nerves were severed

no pain would be experienced no matter how serious
the injury might be.
"Applying a flame to a small collodion balloon which
contains a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen, the gases
explode and the ear is conscious of a shock, which we
name sound. How was this shock transmitted from
the balloon to our organs of hearing? The process was
this: When the flame touched the mixed gases in the
balloon they combined chemically and their union
caused the development of intense heat. This heated
air expanded suddenly, violently forcing the surround
ing air away on all sides. This motion of the air close
to the balloon was rapidly imparted to the air a little
farther off. The air at a little distance passed its
motion to the air at a greater distance, thus each parti
cle of air took up the motion of the one preceding and
transmitted it to the succeeding particle of air, thus
propagating a pulse of air wave."

Fig. 136 •

The propagation of sound may be explained by a

homely but useful illustration. In Figure 136 are
placed five boys in a row, one behind the other, each
boy's hand resting against the back of the boy in front
of him. E is foremost and A finished the row. Sup
pose somebody suddenly pushes A, then A pushes B,
516 LESSON XXIII

and by the resistance afforded by B, regains his up

right position. B pushes C, and so on. E, having no
one in front of him, is thrown forward. Had E been
standing "on the edge of a precipice, he would have
fallen over. Had he stood in front of a window he
would have broken the glass. Had he been close to a
drumhead he would have struck the drum. Thus
sound is sent through the air and strikes the drum of
the distant ear.

INTENSITY OF SOUND
In the case of the exploding balloon the wave of
sound expands on all sides, the motion produced by
the explosion being thus diffused over a continually
augmenting mass of air. Suppose our balloon to be a
thin shell with a radius of one foot, reckoned from the
center of explosion. A balloon of the same thickness,
but of two feet radius, will contain four times the
quantity of matter; if its radius be three feet, it will
contain nine times the quantity of matter; if four feet,
it will contain sixteen times the quantity of matter,
and so on. Thus the intensity of loudness of sound
increases as the quantity of matter set in motion aug
ments.
VELOCITY OF SOUND WAVES
By sending a sound through a tube with a smooth
interior surface, it may be transmitted to a great dis
tance with very little diminution of intensity. Figure
137 represents a tin tube, fifteen feet long. At the
pointed end of the tube is placed a lighted candle (C).
When the hands are clapped at one end of the tube,
the flame instantly ducks down at the other. It is not
quite extinguished, but it is forcibly depressed. At the
instant two blocks of wood (B B) are clapped together,
the candle is blown out. This shows in a rough way
 LESSON XXIII 517

Fig. 137

the speed with which sound waves are propagated.

The instant the clap is heard the flame is extinguished,
though the sound had to travel fifteen feet. The time
required for the sound to travel through this tube is
too short for our senses to appreciate. (This also dis
poses of the mistaken notion that a tone can be
directed at the will of the singer to the chest, the face
or to the head, for the very simple reason that the tone
has left the singer's throat and is beyond his control
before he hears it.)

VELOCITY AND INTENSITY

In regard to sound and the medium through which
it passes, four distinct things are to be borne in mind :
velocity, elasticity, density and intensity.
The velocity of sound depends upon the elasticity
in relation to its density. The greater the elasticity,
the swifter is the propagation. The greater the density,
the slower is the propagation. Thus a steel rod will
propagate sound four times faster than the same rod
made of lead, because lead is four times as dense as
steel.
The velocity is directly proportional to the square
root of the elasticity. The intensity of sound is pro
portional to the square root of the sounding material.
By velocity of sound is meant the speed or rate of
motion in which sound travels.
518 LESSON XXIII

By elasticity is meant, for instance: When an ex

ternal force produces alterations in the form of a solid
body, and if, when this force ceases to act, the solid
body instantly resumes its previous form. In the pro
portion that such a body resumes its natural form
quickly or slowly, its elasticity is extreme or not. The
propagation of waves of sound through solid bodies
depends upon their elasticity. An elastic body will
transmit sound faster than a non-elastic body.
Density, when of two bodies of equal volume, one
of them contains more matter (is heavier) than the
other, it is said to have greater density. For instance:
A board of a certain shape and size made of pine wood
is of much less density than a board of the same shape
and size but made of oak. For -this reason a sound
coming through a pine board is soft and mellow, while
the sound from oak would be sharp and hard.
The square root of a number is that number
which when used twice as a factor, produces the num
ber; thus two is the square root of four, since two times
two equals four. Also the square root of nine is three,
because three times three are nine, etc.
Intensity means the louder, more energetic or vigor
ous sound as compared with the soft and mellow
sound. The sound of steel is more intense than the
sound which comes from wood, and the sound of a
violin string or of a vocal muscle is more mellow than
that from wood, etc.

EXERCISES TO LESSON XXIII

As a preliminary to this lesson, try the following
experiment:
(1) Get a straight stick of wood and call it the
beam of a balance scale. Balance this beam on your
 LESSON XXIII 519

table, by placing the center of it upon a cork or some

other elevation in such a way that the beam lies exactly
parallel with the table. Or tie a string in the center
of the beam and hold it in your hand. The straight
beam is to represent the larynx, when all the muscles
which are attached to it operate in equal proportion.
In this case there is no shifting, no wavering of the
beam or scale.
(2) Let the left side of the beam represent the point
at which the throat muscles are attached. Now hang
or place a small weight on that side to see that the
scale tips that way. Why? Because there is no balance
weight on the other side. So in voice, when the throat
muscles alone are active, the larynx is pulled down
ward. This downward pull of the larynx leaves the
vocal chords loose and they are less tense, softer and
thicker. Because of this, the tones become strong, but
rough and coarse. Very low tones can be obtained by
this action, even by ordinary high voices, but the voice
is throaty. The advice to "open the throat" so often
given to voice students, has as a consequence, exactly
this action. Try to open the throat, yawn or merely
think of yawning and the throat muscles will at once
lower the larynx. It is true the voice becomes at once
lower and heavier. What it gains in depth is lost in
the higher tones. What it gains in volume is also lost
in quality!
(3) Let the right side of the beam represent the
soft palate; that is, suppose the muscles from the
palate and the head are attached to the right side of
the scale near the end. But now instead of placing a
weight on that side, pull it upward.
The throat muscles pull the layrnx down, the palate
muscles pull the larynx up. The upward pull of the
palate muscles is much lighter than the downward
520 LESSON XXIII

pull of the throat muscles. In consequence of this, the

vocal chords do not become thicker and looser as is the
case when the throat muscles alone are active, but on
the contrary, they shrink and become thinner, only a
portion of them is vocalized, hence the voice becomes
thin, but also high. To get a high voice quickly, all
you need to do is to raise the larynx.
When teachers advise directing the voice to the
palate or to the head, this is what happens. Directing
the voice upward prompts the palate and head muscles
to contraction; the throat muscles relax and are elon
gated; they do not resist the upward pull against the
larynx. This action, as was said, raises the voice, but
it makes it thin and light, too light for public singing.
Most amateur female voices are made this way, and it
must be conceded that the voice is often very sweet
and attractive, but sadly lacks the full, rich volume of
tone so greatly desired.
For a few years such voices often reap considerable
success even in public, in light opera and church, espe
cially so if the singer is very attractive. But the con
stant strain upon such a voice quickly ruins it, and this
accounts for the fact that so many singers disappear
from public view after a few years.
(4) Now place an equal weight upon each end of
the beam of scale. Notice now that there is no down
ward tipping or upward raising of the ends; but as
you can easily feel by testing it, the middle of the beam
is held firmly.
In the voice, the balance is held by the hyo-glossi
muscles, because they add their strength to the up
ward-pulling palate and head muscles. In addition
they tilt the front part of the hyoid bone downward,
thus counteracting the upward pull of the thyroid
 LESSON XXIII 521

cartilage. Lastly they give to the tongue that support

which is needed for all vocal muscles, and finally
through this action, the tongue, the palate and all
other legitimate vocal muscles, become firm and tense,
so that their vibrations can be added to the volume
and quality of the voice.
Fig. 138

Throat Muscles Correct Action. Palate Muscles

pulling La ry n x High and Low pulling Larynx
down. Low voice, Voice, Strong. upward. High
but rough Highest Type of voice, but thin.
Quality.

You are now somewhat familiar, I trust, with the

action of contracting the hyo-glossi muscle against the
resistance of the thumb or the tongue support.
It is so very easy to do the wrong thing, at least
the temptation to do more than is absolutely necessary
is very great indeed. Usually the student thinks that
by a greater exertion he will gain strength more quickly.
He points to an athlete, who adds to his strength by
vigorous practice of lifting or punching.
The voice student must remember that this does
not apply to him at all. When the hyo-glossi muscle
contracts, it raises merely the hyoid bone and nothing
else. What you notice as a great pressure of the
tongue, is merely a contraction upward. Many think
that they can increase this contraction by sheer force.
In this they are greatly mistaken. Nothing whatever
can be done except to let the tongue fall of its own
522 LESSON XXIII

weight upon the underlying thumb or tongue support.

That is all that you should do; all that you possibly
can do, to be absolutely right. Remember this for
all time!
The tests already given of holding the larynx quiet,
while making the groove and the same with the palate,
are absolute proof of a correct action.
Some students, however, and especially those with
a naturally strong action of the hyo-glossi muscles, and
among these must be counted the stammerer and stut
terer, persistently thicken and stiffen the tongue tip,
even in the silent practice.
Against this fault, make the following tests:
(1) Place the thumb far back under the tongue,
then take hold of the tip of the tongue, about one inch
or a little more, with handkerchief between two fingers
of the other hand. See to it that the tip of the tongue
remains loose while you draw the tongue slightly back
ward. Hold the tip of the tongue firmly between the
fingers, but as the tongue is drawn backward, let the
fingers follow; that is, it will seem as if you are drawing
the fingers inside of the mouth. Notice that in this
effort, you feel a pretty strong pressure of the tongue
upon the underlying thumb.
(2) Again place the thumb under the tongue far
back, as far as the last back teeth. Also hold the tip
of the tongue now very firmly between the two fingers
of the other hand, wrapped of course, with a handker
chief. Having gained this position, now try to pull
the tongue outward, forward beyond the teeth. But,
and this is very important, do not let the tongue be
drawn out. By a conscious effort of your will, draw
the rear part of the tongue as strongly backward as
you draw the front part of the tongue forward with
 LESSON XXIII 523

the fingers, thus neutralizing the two efforts. Notice

that now again the tongue is pressing strongly down
upon the underlying thumb, while the front part of the
tongue remains loose.
In this wise you will localize the exact hyo-glossi
effort, which is always in the rear part of the tongue;
never in the front.
(3) Still keeping the thumb under the tongue and
the front of it held between the fingers, but not so
firmly now, speak or sing "ah, a, ee, oh, ooh," and
"kah, kay, kee, koh, kooh," as best you can. The sound
may not be good ; that does not matter, merely localize
the effort. Notice that at every sound you feel a pres
sure upon the thumb, while—and that is important—
the tip of the tongue is loose, at least it should not
become hard. Notice also that when you make a pause
between the sounds, there is no longer a pressure;
that the tongue then is quiet and altogether loose.
Singers may sing up to "F" on the fifth line and
down as far as their natural voice will allow. The
voice will be strong, but perhaps not good, because
the tongue is being held with the fingers and the
thumb underneath also disturbs the free tone.
(4) Every now and then alternate your tests. First
determine whether the tongue tip remains loose while
you speak or sing; then withdraw the fingers from
the tongue tip to determine whether the larynx moves
or not. If the larynx does not move and the tip of the
tongue remains loose while you speak or sing, you
have localized the vocal effort absolutely and cor
rectly.
On the contrary, if the larynx moves (a little
trembling, slight motion does not matter) quite a
great deal, or if the tongue tip becomes hard or stiff,
 i
524 LESSON XXIII

then you have not localized the vocal effort correctly.

You still speak or sing wrongly and you will require
considerable practice on these exercises.
You are most likely making too strong an effort,
thereby holding some parts stiff, so that they cannot
operate.
Review the lessons on isolating the hyo-glossi mus
cle and keep at it until you get it.
If you can but learn to relax the tongue, to merely
let it drop upon the thumb, you have gained very
much. Without this control, no real success can be
hoped for, therefore do all you can to gain this.
(5) Now, in your daily practice of the groove
against the thumb or underlying tongue support, make
sure also that the effort is made way back in the
tongue; that the tip is loose and that the larynx is
quiet.
This exercise should be as easy and free as bending
your fingers inward and outward after you once get
it mastered. See that you realize two actions; one, a
contraction, the other a relaxation. The first is making
a groove, the second is letting the tongue go upward
again. Two motions, one downward and one upward,
is all there is to it.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON
LESSON XXIII
1. Is it possible to have a perfect voice as long as
the vocal organ is imperfect?
2. What part of the vocal organ decides the volume
and beauty of the voice?
3. Are you satisfied to continue the strengthening
of the hyo-glossi muscle until the vocal organ is perfect? "
 LESSON XXIII 525

4. What is meant by resonance?

5. What happens to the voice when the larynx is
pulled downward?
6. What happens to the voice when the larynx is
drawn upward?
7. Do you now fully understand and realize that
the hyo-glossi or tongue muscles cannot be forced?
8. How should you practice the groove?
9. Do you now realize the exact vocal attack, or
rather, the tongue beat, which is the same?
10. Can you now isolate the tongue with ease and
at all times?
 LESSON XXV
LAWS OF PHYSICS AND SOUND— (Concluded)
The use of the tone "A" to tune musical instru
ments can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians
and Greeks, whose priests, with a definite effect in view
in their long recitatives, declamations and chants, se
lected the tone "A" as the most appropriate tone of the
male voice in the worship of Apollo, the God of Music.
This "A" is in the second space of the musical staff—
440 vibrations per second. It is the easiest tone for
the human voice to sing.

Fig. 143

The Lyra was an instrument of four strings with

a compass of two tones and a semi-tone, usually, E, F,
G, A; the A was the leading or Pitch tone of the Lyra
which was tuned to the A of the voice and was used
very sparingly as an accompaniment to the singers.
545
546 LESSON XXV

Both sacred and secular Lyras were restricted by law

to the sacred number of four strings only. Such tunes
as the first strain of "America," "Home, Sweet Home,"
"Yankee Doodle," etc., in a simplified manner can be
played on secular Lyras of four strings. But Lyras
were used mostly to accompany the voice. A pluck of
one or two strings—chords of two tones only—were
used as an accompaniment to the singers.
The octave which we use, and which includes C,
was not in general use until long after the Christian
era. For centuries the Lyra was the only musical in
strument tolerated in worship of the Gods of Greece
and was even then looked upon with suspicion and
derision as being the profane work of man, the tuning
of which was a mechanical affair liable to divert the
minds of the worshipers away from the mysticism of
the temples and not to be tolerated.

The earliest Egyptian Hsrp.

long Ijn, (d) Cboljt, a null Ijre.

Fig. 144
 LESSON XXV 547

All sounds that come to us through the air, whether

the rattling of a railroad train, the humming of an electric
wire, the song of a bird, the laugh of a child, or the tones
of a musical instrument, owe their great diversity in
pitch to an immutable law which fixes the pitch of all
sounds by the number of waves or vibrations they pro
duce in the air.
In conformity with this fundamental law, based on
Nature itself, it has been ascertained that any object
vibrating 440 times a second at a temperature of 68
degrees Fahrenheit, must give forth a certain tone,
and that tone is always the same. We call it in Inter
national Pitch the note "A" of the musical staff.
If it were possible for a person to strike his knee
440 times a second with his hand it would have to pro
duce the International Pitch "A."
Some musical instruments are deficient in partials
or overtones. For example, the clarionet has only two
partials and so has the flute. But when the two instru
ments play together, they complete each other. What
one lacks in partials the other makes up. Each alone
produces but an incomplete tone; together they pro
duce a most beautiful blend of fundamental and partials
or overtones.
Just as pure white light is a compound of all the
tints or colors of the rainbow, so is a pure musical tone
a compound of tones of different rates of vibrations,
which means tones of different pitch.
The flute, for instance, has only two overtones; it is
mainly this fact that renders the flute uninteresting as
a solo instrument. A long solo on the flute becomes
stale and monotonous, while a violin, with its many
overtones, is attractive to the ear. Its tones are more
appealing by reason of their variety of tone-color. A
548 LESSON XXV

really first-class violin, if played by a great artist,

affects us almost as much as the human voice.
The more overtones there are within a tone, the
finer is the tone. Therefore, to reach the type of great
est vocal beauty, we must cultivate all that will de
velop the overtones in the voice.
Now in order that the overtones may be free and
strong, the initial, fundamental tone must be
strong. This is the key to a beautiful voice; never
forget that!
Upon the power or strength of the fundamental
tone depends the quality of the voice.

AN EXPERIMENT
With this lesson you are receiving our "Harmonic
Resonator," especially made for the Perfect Voice Insti
tute, with a guaranteed vibration of 440 per second to
the tone of "A" in the second space of the musical
staff. This instrument is manufactured especially to
illustrate and prove to you a very important point in
vocal physics.
It will prove to you first, that a given quantity and
quality of vibrating material will produce a corre
sponding quantity and quality of sound.
Secondly, that if by any means you add to the sur
face or diameter of this vibrating material you thereby
increase the volume of sound and the quality of the
tone.
Thirdly, it proves that the finer quality of the
sound or tone is due directly to the larger volume or
greater strength of tone, caused by the enlarged vi
brating material added to the original quantity.
The "Harmonic Resonator" consists of a wooden
box divided into resonance chambers, a metal tube
 LESSON XXV 549

and a metal tuning plate tuned to "A," 440 vibrations

per second. 'A mallet goes with the resonator.
Strike the tuning plate several times in quick suc
cession with the mallet and notice the large, beautiful
sound.
Then place the card of directions which goes with
the resonator, upon the box, thus covering the opening
under the tuning plate, again strike the tuning plate
and now notice, that the tone is greatly altered — it
is thin and without volume and real beauty.
Leave the card upon the box, again strike the tun
ing plate several times in quick succession and then
withdraw the card. Notice now that the tone is again
large and beautiful when you withdraw the card. In
sert the card, and withdraw it; notice the change of
tone without the card; and with it.

Fig. 145
Harmonic Resonator.
When the card covers the opening of the box, it
dampens the entire resonance part, that is, all of the
parts except the tuning plate are, through the card, pre
vented from vibrating together with the tuning plate.
The box and the tube projecting out of it very
greatly enlarge the vibrating material; all these parts
vibrate together with the tuning plate, and thus greatly
enlarge the volume of tone. Because the volume of
tone is so much greater now, the overtones or aliquot
tones have become much stronger, and therefore the
sound is much more beautiful than before.
550 LESSON XXV

This law can be compared to a spiral spring: the

first ring would illustrate the tuning plate alone, the
second and all subsequent rings would illustrate the
addition of the second, third, etc., chamber and tube.
The reverse is also true; if you listen very closely
to the sound from the resonator, you will find that it
gradually becomes less in volume and thinner till it is
lost in a faint echo; because the different chambers
gradually cease to vibrate, the volume becomes smaller.
The great lesson to the vocalist is this:
The vocal chords are like the tuning plate. They
originate the sound, but to make the sound strong and
beautiful many other things must take place. All the
muscles which stretch the vocal chords, indeed every
part of the larynx, must be in such a firm, taut condi
tion, that, like wood, metal or bone, they will vibrate
at the same rate as the vocal chords. Now since the
parts surrounding the vocal chords and the muscles
which stretch them, namely, the tongue, the palate,
etc., constitute a very large mass of vibrating material,
the sound will naturally be many, many times larger
than the vocal chords by themselves could produce.
But if these parts were left relaxed, they would be too
loose to vibrate.
It is not the air within your chest or within your
mouth, nor the hollow spaces of the larynx, nose and
head, that originate vibrations, but your own sinews,
the taut muscles and bones surrounding and constitut
ing the vocal organ.
If you could expose the muscles of your arm and
stretch them sufficiently taut, you could play upon
them as a violinist does upon the taut strings of the
violin, which were originally nothing but sinews and
parts of some animal.
 LESSON XXV 551

When a boy goes whistling down the street, he

does so not with the breath, but with the tautly held
lips. The breath is merely the part that sets the lips
to vibrating, just as you made the tuning plate to
sound by striking it. The breath is the impelling force,
but not the sound-producing mechanism. Just so
steam is the impelling force, but not the motion-pro
ducing mechanism that pulls the train.
The theory that the cavities in the throat, nose or
head are resonance chambers is utterly wrong and
absurd. Not the cavities, but the bones and muscles
which form the cavities, vibrate and thus enlarge the
voice.
The idea that the cavities of the head are resonance
chambers is entirely a modern invention or, rather,
superstition. The old masters attributed a bad voice to
some of the following causes: Impure blood surround
ing the vocal organ, imperfections in the vocal organ,
improper functions of the body, forcing of the voice,
stiff jaws, hard vocal chords, singing through the nose
and singing through the teeth.
Perhaps the foremost of all the old Italian masters,
Giov. Camillo Maffei da Solofra, in his letters on voice,
written in 1562, expressly warned against directing the
voice or the breath along the soft palate. He says these
are two very great faults. He found by experience that
any artificial means of directing the voice results fin
ally in the loss of voice, yet these very faults have
been adopted by many modern teachers because of the
misleading idea that resonance is something that can
be added to the voice.
It is true that the singer feels strong sensations in
the face, near the nose and in the head. These sensa
tions are caused by the different muscles which are
attached to the bones and, as is always the case in good
552 LESSON XXV

singers or speakers, they have become firm in their

effort to stretch the vocal chords, therefore these
muscles also vibrate and of course this vibration is felt
at their place of attachment.
Not knowing the true causes, many teachers jumped
to the conclusion that the cavities acted as a sounding
board to the voice.
By thinking over the experiments already made,
you can easily see the mistake of such an assumption.
To increase the sound of the tuning plate, the plate
has to be brought into direct connection with the sound
ing board and metal tube. If you take the plate away
from the tube, the sound cannot be increased in the
least. Now the bones of the head are too far from the
vocal chords to act as a sounding board. But the
muscles which control the larynx are really a part of
the vocal organ; they surround the vocal chords in
every direction and, as they are tied to the bones, both
the muscles and the bones vibrate together with the
vocal chords and thereby magnify the tone many times.
Sound travels at the rate of about 1,100 feet per
second, or about x/s of a mile while you count "one."
The sound has left your mouth before you hear it.
How, then, could anyone direct the sound after it is
made? It certainly cannot be directed before it is
made, no more than you can attract lightning when
there is no storm.
Of course the vocal organ can be influenced. Its
position can be changed before the sound, but as we
have seen from the lessons on vocal physiology, any
change, any variation of the natural position of the
vocal organ, is a change for the worse. Now, if anyone
tries to direct sound or breath in any special direction,
for instance, against the upper palate, he merely dis-
l
 LESSON XXV 553

locates the palate and with it the entire vocal organ, to

the ultimate ruin of the voice.
This is the natural law that must be observed.
We have learned now that a true musical tone con
sists of a fundamental note and a series of overtones.
The ear is quite capable of recognizing many of these
overtones. The most obvious can be 'readily separated
from its fundamental by a simple experiment.
The overtones arrange themselves in a definite order
as follows:
1. The fundamental tone. (1st Key.)
2. An overtone one octave above the fundamental.
3. An overtone a fifth above the octave.
4. An overtone two octaves above the fundamen
tal.
5. An overtone a major third above the second
octave.
6. An overtone a major fifth above the second
octave.
If you have a piano try this experiment:
Without sound hold down the middle "C"; then
with considerable force strike the "C" one octave be
low and immediately release it. You will hear the
middle "C" very distinctly, although you did not strike
it. Now in succession hold down each of the keys
"G," "C," "E,"and "G" above the middle "C," while
you strike and release the fundamental bass "C." If
your piano is in tune you will distinctly hear each sepa
rate key sounding as you hold it down, while striking
the fundamental key, the "C" below the middle "C."
A musical tone is rich in quality when all the over
tones just indicated are present in their fullness. Such
a tone is always rich and strong. A tone that is weak
and thin is so because of the absence or the weakness
of the overtones.
554 LESSON XXV

The vocalist's efforts, whether singer or speaker,

must be directed toward obtaining a full, strong voice,
because only then can it also be a voice rich and
superior in quality.
Another good illustration of overtones is that of
likening a tone to the action of throwing a pebble into
a still pond, which causes ripples to form in all direc
tions in a circular fashion from the spot at which the
pebble disappeared. In the center the ripples are well
pronounced, but as they broaden out they gradually
diminish in intensity until they finally disappear alto
gether. A large stone would cause stronger and broader
ripples to form. So it is with a tone in which the excit
ing force is initially powerful enough to cause the over
tones (ripples) to continue to a great distance. The
power and efficiency of the initial tone determines the
quality and distinctness of the tone.

EXERCISES TO LESSON XXV

It is of the utmost importance that you should thor
oughly understand the part which the hyo-glossus
muscle plays in the stretching of the vocal chords. As
I have stated before, the chord stretching is done by
means of muscles which run up and down from the
larynx, and each of these muscles must possess a relative
strength. It is only the hyo-glossus muscle, however,
that need be trained. This muscle, although broad, is
very thin, while the other muscles are thick and are
also attached to bones which give them a firm hold.
The hyo-glossus muscle controls the larynx and 'the
stronger it is, the easier it can stretch the vocal chords.

Its work might be compared to that of an acrobat

pulling himself upward on a trapeze. The trapeze
affords to the arms a firm hold and if the arm muscles
 LESSON XXV 555

are strong enough, the person can raise himself; but

if they are not, he must acquire the necessary strength
through training. This is true of the vocal muscles. If
the hyoid muscle is weak it cannot stretch the chords,
therefore it must be trained. When this muscle is
trained it does the stretching easily and the result is a
good voice. The genio-glossus muscle stands in the
same relation to the hyoid muscle that the trapeze does
to the acrobat; it is a resistance against which the
stretching can be done.
First: Place the soft point of your forefinger under
the front of the tongue, determine that the tongue
shall not move backward, then push against the tongue
and observe that it becomes tense and hard. Push
gradually harder and harder while you still determine
that the tongue should not move backward. After
trying this a few times you will find that even your
strongest push cannot force the tongue out of place.
You see, Nature has made the chin muscles strong so
that the hyoid muscle could use it as a brace or sup
port. This is another physiological proof of the cor
rectness of the method I am teaching.
By this time you appreciate the necessity of exer
cising the hyoid muscle against strong resistance. The
reason the old methods of teaching singing and speak
ing have not been successful, is because they did not
provide for the strengthening and developing of this
weak muscle. The exercise with the thumb under the
tongue must be practiced as often as you can each day
and always until the tongue becomes tired. As the
hyoid muscle strengthens, you will gradually notice,
on the under side of the tongue, a place where the
tongue seems to part in two. This is where the chin
muscle and the hyoid muscle meet and pull against
each other.
556 LESSON XXV

Those who are not professionally compelled to do

so, should sing as little as possible until the voice
shows indications of coming full, free and strong. Bear
in mind that for every note sung, there should be a
corresponding beat under the tongue. Be guided by
this and sing only so high as the beat is perceptible,
and no higher. When the tongue muscle is strong
enough to tense the vocal chords correctly for a higher
note, the beat will be in evidence and can be felt by
the little finger. This beat develops quickly up to "F"
on the fifth line, but from there on the progress is al
ways slower; in many persons a long-continued prac
tice is needed to develop the great strength.
The speaker will make more rapid progress than
the singer unless his muscles are very weak when he
begins. You must continue the thumb under the
tongue exercise until your voice comes full, free and
strong. If the front of the tongue remains loose and
the rear is contracted, as proven by the beat of the
muscle upon the thumb, you can be sure that you are
practicing the exercises correctly and progressing satis
factorily. Remember very much practice of this exer
cise is needed from now on; practice all you can every
day.
PREVENTING NASAL TONES
When the hyoid muscle is not strong enough to
stretch the vocal chords sufficiently to produce the
higher tones, the singer is frequently tempted to direct
these tones toward the palate and the head ; in fact he
is often taught to do so. This mode of singing is in
correct and soon becomes nasal. The humming which
is sometimes resorted to, is also useless. Even speakers
sometimes acquire the habit of speaking through the
nose. If you have acquired this fault, you should make
the following test:
 LESSON XXV 557

Second: Place the soft part of your thumb against

the place where the soft palate meets the hard palate
in the roof of the mouth and breathe a few times
through the nose. If you find that the soft palate
presses lightly on the thumb, it is a proof that the
palate and thyroid muscles are relaxed, leaving the
passage to the nose open, and this would allow the
tone to follow the wrong course. Still, the palate
should not be raised, but should stretch backward
sufficiently to close the passage to the nose.
Third: Speak the letter "P" a few times with the
lips only, avoiding the vowel "e" sound. Then close
the lips tightly and hold them so while you repeatedly
try to pronounce the "P" in the rear of the mouth.
Note the place in the mouth where you feel the air
pressure. When you are mentally sure of the location,
avoid singing or speaking from this place. This exer
cise is an example used simply to point out a vocal
defect. When the tongue muscle has been made suf
ficiently strong, the nasal sounds will disappear and
the correct sound issue from the natural place. Always
intend to speak or sing out of the tongue. Think the
tongue loose but active.

THE MOUTH
To open the mouth widely during singing or speak
ing is always harmful, because it relaxes the important
reinforcing facial muscles and impairs the tones.
Fourth: Place the points of the forefinger and
thumb together as you do to take a pinch of salt, and
in this position lay them between the teeth, allowing
the teeth to rest against the rear ends of the finger
nails. Observe the size of the opening and remember
that in singing or speaking the mouth should never be
opened wider than this. Now, with the teeth touching
558 LESSON XXV

the nails and the lips touching the flesh of the finger
and thumb, speak out "ah" and "ooh." You will find
that the lips attempt to draw together. Next pronounce
all the vowels and then some words and sentences,
being careful to see that the lips do not draw away
from the fingers, but, instead, press them slightly. .The
lips should never be drawn away from the teeth; they
should always cover them. When you know the right
opening of the mouth, use the tryhedron, and remem
ber just where it fits between the teeth. The try
hedron is the little saw-toothed triangular piece of
wood. If you have the tendency to expose the teeth,
gradually try to overcome that fault.

THE JAW
When the hyoid muscle has been fully developed,
neither the singer nor the speaker will be tempted to
use any other than the legitimate muscles, because the
vocal organ will then be normal. Because very few
people possess a naturally strong hyoid muscle, they
unconsciously try to help their voices by other means.
The singer, for instance, finds that his high tones are,
at a certain pitch, thin and falsetto, while up to that
pitch he can sing with a chest voice.
He does not know the cause of his trouble, but
supposes that he is not exerting himself sufficiently
and in his effort to increase his higher tones to the
volume of the chest tones, he calls the chewing muscles
to his assistance. There is a muscle which runs in a
direct line from the lower chin to the hyoid bone. This
muscle, with the assistance of the chewing muscles,
can stretch the vocal chords, but this kind of stretch
ing is wrong. The results are very deceptive. Through
the use of this muscle the singer can quickly acquire a
large tone, but it means the ultimate ruin of his voice.
 LESSON XXV 559

Remember this, if the chewing muscles are not used in

singing or speaking, this muscle from the chin to the
hyoid bone cannot contract and therefore can do no
damage, therefore the jaw should remain flexible.
Fifth : Close your mouth and press your closed fist
hard against the underpart of the chin. Then try to
open your mouth against this pressure and observe
how stiff and tense the jaw feels. Now withdraw the
fist suddenly and notice how loose and comfortable the
jaw feels now. Observe the contrast between stiff and
loose jaw. This is the way it should feel while singing
and speaking. You will also find that when the fist is
removed the mouth does not open much. This is the
natural position of the jaw and mouth. In this
position the tongue and palate muscles work freely and
it is only then that they can reinforce the tone.

POSITION OF THE BODY

The body should be held neither stiff nor relaxed.
In a relaxed position, the muscles lose their firm hold
and cannot work effectively. In a stiff position, they
are already contracted and of course cannot be further
contracted without being forced. Both of these faults
interfere with the breathing organs and through them
with the vocal organ. You must try to hold your body
flexible and ready to respond at an instant's notice.
Sixth: Stand in an extremely upright position,
with the head thrown back, chin drawn in and the
chest expanded. Then suddenly relax as if exhausted,
allowing the body to drop forward, but remain stand
ing. Repeat many times. Later on, as you relax, let
the arms swing forward, so that the hands touch. Hold
this loose, drooping position and observe that the
shoulder blades stand out prominently like two wings
spread apart. Then think that you will suddenly but
560 LESSON XXV

easily adjust the wings. In the effort to adjust them

by drawing in the shoulder blades, you will find that
the body and the head are drawn up into a perfectly
free and natural position. Always hold this position
by thinking of the shoulder blades as wings resting
deep and loosely down in the back. The correct posi
tion of the body is flexible, neither stiff nor loose.

THE VOCAL ORGAN AND HEALTH

The swallowing muscles, which run directly into
the stomach, are also connected with the vocal organ.
For this reason, anything that affects the general
health is also injurious to the. voice. A weak stomach,
for instance, affects the vocal muscles and vice versa.
Usually, things which are not injurious to the general
health, are not detrimental to the voice, and as the
vocal chords are so well protected, there is no need of
coddling the throat.
If you have carefully observed my instructions and
practiced each exercise in its order and for a sufficient
length of time, your vocal organ will now be strong
enough to permit you to sing or speak regularly. Do
not attempt to do too much at first. Begin by singing
or speaking for half an hour each day and increase the
time daily as you find that you do not become tired.
Every little gain you make will be permanent. If you
find you have not yet as much vocal strength as you
require, continue the thumb and tongue exercise. You
cannot well over-exercise the hyoid muscle, so have
no fear on that point. And remember this, there are
no heights up to perfection that you cannot reach, if
you conscientiously persist in the exercises I have pro
vided for you in these instructions. These exercises,
and the ones that will follow in later lessons, will give you
the strength and tone which constitute the perfect voice.
 LESSON XXV 561

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON
LESSON XXV
1. What note or pitch has been considered normal
tone for declamation and chanting?
2. What constitutes pitch?
3. What are overtones?
4. If a voice is thin or weak, are overtones possible?
5. What is the fundamental key to a beautiful
voice?
6. Does the experiment with the fork and resonator
convince you that my method is in accord with natural
scientific laws?
7. Can you create resonance by directing the voice
either to the chest or to the head?
8. Is it plain to you that it is not the air within
the chest, throat or head that makes resonance possible,
but the muscles, cartilages, bones?
9. Is your voice ever nasal?
10. Do you see the difference between loose, stiff
and flexible conditions, and which of these is right?
I

'V
 LESSON XXVI
A SPECIAL DISCUSSION ON PHYSICAL SCI
ENCE AS RELATED TO THE VOCALIST-
BREATHING, FOOD AND ENERGY

With this lesson begins a very important part of this

course. The question of correct breathing will now be
treated in an exact and scientific manner, based upon
close analysis of all the organs involved. Correct living
and the influence of food upon physical energy should
be considered in connection with the study of voice, and
a consideration of these points will introduce the special
lessons on correct breathing.
Every now and then someone announces a specific
cure of all bodily ills by adopting special diets. In the
domain of the voice there have been many who claimed
to develop the voice merely by the observation Of a spe
cial food diet, special breathing exercises, mental proc
esses and even hypnotic suggestion. I remember, many
years ago, when I was a professor in college, walking one
morning in the corridor, that a student came up to me
and in all earnestness propounded the theory that birds
could warble with such marvelous effectiveness, because
they lived principally on seeds, and didn't I think that
if he lived a vegetarian life, his voice would improve fas
ter than in any other way ! Just then a donkey on a near
by hill brayed. "There," I told him, " is your answer;
that fellow never touches even a worm, he is strictly
vegetarian, but it does not seem to have improved his
voice to any marked degreo."
The law of God and the laws of Nature never change.
If these laws are observed, you will enjoy physical and
mental health and, in modest measure, all the happiness
which is possible in the. present state of society.
563
564 LESSON XXVI

But if you violate any of the laws you will suffer, not
as a punishment, but as the natural and logical conse
quence of your act. You cannot evade these conse
quences by any specific prescription ; the only way is to
conform to the law, and when you are again in harmony
with the laws, health and happiness will again be yours.
The laws of health may be violated without your will,
even without your knowledge, nevertheless you will
suffer until equilibrium is restored. You are not to be
blamed for having toothache, for instance ; the cause of
that is beyond your power of prevention, but modern
science of dentistry has discovered that decayed teeth
expose the nerves and that by filling the cavity of a
tooth, the nerve resumes its normal healthy condition.
If you should be so unfortunate as to break an arm,
a good surgeon will reset it and in time the pain will
cease and your arm will be restored to usefulness. The
way to a resumption of natural conditions was observed
in both cases.
The voice is so much a part of your individuality,
that anything which tends to interfere with it, is a sure
sign of severe disobedience of some natural law.
Now whether a defective vocal organ is the cause of
othei bodily ills, such as consumption, nervousness, men
tal depression, etc., or whether these are the causes of a
defective vocal organ, cannot be stated positively.
The important point is that a practical remedy has
been found to develop the vocal organ to the highest
state of perfection; and the assumption, backed by ex
perience, is that a perfectly developed vocal organ will
invariably produce a normal function of the entire throat
tract and improve the physical condition of all the parts
connected with the throat. Even the stomach must of
necessity depend, to some extent at least, upon a sound
throat, because the aesophagus or food pipe reaches from
 LESSON XXVI 565

" the tongue downward into the stomach. Of course the

opposite is just as true, that whatever affects the
stomach or any part of the digestive tract, will in time
injure the voice.

Fig. 146
AMPHION, KING OF THEBES
It is said that when he played on his lyre the stones moved of their own
accord and took their places in the wall.
"Tis said he had a tuneful tongue,
Such happy intonation,
Wherever he sat down and sung
He left a small plantation, etc."
—Tennyson
No special diet need be observed by those seeking a
superior voice, but certainly they should observe the laws
of hygienic and moral living in addition to the direct
physical practice of developing the vocal organ.
The object of taking breath is not so much that of
filling the lungs with air, as of obtaining the oxygen in
the air we breathe. So in taking food, the object is to
obtain certain chemical properties contained in the food
566 LESSON XXVI

we eat and which are just as necessary for the body as

the oxygen which transforms the food into its original
elements.
More than one-half of the earth crust consists of oxy
gen. The water we drink is eight-ninths oxygen by
weight, the air we breathe and the food we eat are large
ly oxygen.
A treatise upon breathing should, I think, contain
some information on the subject of food and its neces
sity to the well-being of the body. I cannot do better
than repeat a recent article by Dr. W. A. Evans in the
"Chicago Tribune."

FOOD AND ENERGY

"We eat food because we are hungry, because we like
its taste, because of an instinct which guides us to select
what is good for us and to reject what is harmful, and
because of customs and habits. We may never have
heard of calories, but somewhere in us there is a machin
ery which makes us crave heat-making foods in cold
weather and protein foods when we have labored hard.
Under special circumstances we crave salt, and the spe
cial craving at times for water we have set apart from
hunger and call thirst.
The cravings and instincts of animals and uncivilized
men, the civilized man has studied until he not only
knows them practically better than any wild animal or
savage man, but he knows the science which underlies
them.
The savage knows that there are certain foods which
he must eat in cold weather. The scientist first called
these heat-making foods. Then he discovered that these
foods are used by the body as fuels through processes
quite similar to burning. Next it was discovered that
when the fuel foods are burned in the body they make
 LESSON XXVI 567

just the same amount of heat they make when burned

outside the body.
• Next it became necessary to have a standard for
measuring the amounts of heat—something similar to
yardsticks, pint measures, and pound weights. The
standard hit upon is called a calorie. A calorie is the
amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of one
pound of water from zero to 4 degrees Fahrenheit.
The next discovery was that the same quality which
made heat could make energy. That was not a remark
able discovery since there were so many related facts
that were common knowledge. For instance, fuel under
a boiler is burned to make heat, which in turn is used to
make steam, and this is used to produce work or energy.
Since heat values and energy values were the same
and interchangeable, it was concluded that the measure
known as the calorie would answer for both fuel foods
and energy foods. The savage sensed that when he had
worked hard, fought hard or hunted hard he needed
meat; that his growing young needed milk and eggs;
that the meat eaters conquered the vegetable eaters and
the fruit eaters.
The scientist discovered that work wore the tissues
of the body; that for the repair of waste, proteins and
salts were required; that the proteins from meat, milk,
and eggs were better repairers than the proteins from
vegetables.
There is no scientific measure of protein that corres
ponds to the calorie as a measure of heat and energy.
The best that can be said is that a pound of a given food
contains a certain number of ounces or grains of protein,
and also that the human body under certain conditions
requires a certain number of ounces of protein to repair
wear and tear.
568 LESSON XXVI

Next came the explanation of the advantage of

a meat over a vegetable diet as a repairer of wear. Pro
teins are not simple substances. They, in turn, can be
split up into amino acids. The amino acids in protein
from meat are better suited to repair the wear in the
body of the human animal than are those in the protein
from vegetables.
At the head of the list are the proteins of milk and
eggs, then come those from meats. The amino acids in
gelatin are so different from those of meat that we know
they cannot repair waste by themselves. We call them
incomplete proteins. Among the vegetable proteins some
are more nearly what the human body requires than are
others.
It is no whim of taste that men prefer wheat bread.
It is not because wheat came from Palestine. Wheat
protein is nearest perfect of all the vegetable proteins.
The amino acids of corn protein are not exactly right for
the human animal. Wild animals know that certain min
eral foods are necessary. They travel long distances to
reach "licks." On the one hand where there is enough
lime the animals are strong and heavy. On the other
they avoid the bad lands where there is an excess of cer
tain minerals.
The scientists explain all of this by saying that cer
tain amounts of certain salts are necessary for the main
tenance of bodily well-being. Furthermore, they say
that when the amount that is taken in is beyond the
needs of the body, the excess is either passed through the
body without being absorbed or is absorbed and in great
est part immediately thrown off.
And, finally, the knowledge that freshness in certain
foods is necessary at times, is instinctive. The hibernat
ing animal escaping in the spring goes for young green
 LESSON XXVI 569

twigs, the young of all animal kind are fed on milk fresh
from a mother.
The scientist tells us that there are substances called
vitamines; that these are necessary for continued good
health, that they are delicate and that much disturb
ance of a food is liable to get rid of its vitamines; that
this vitamine quality, whatever it is, is a delicate quality.
To boil milk destroys this quality, to polish rice re
moves it. To get it in sufficient quantity possibly we
need to eat some fruit and some fresh vegetables occas
ionally. That food may be digestible; it is desirable
that it be palatable. Its odor and its taste must appeal
to the proper brain centers. Whether the taste be nat
ural or acquired, it must be catered to.
That the process of digestion and absorption may
proceed normally it is necessary that the foods eaten,
should have proper bulk and consistency. Let us illus
trate in this way: The starch in dough can be cooked
in a few minutes; that in oatmeal is so mixed with cellu
lose or fiber, that hours of cooking are required that the
heat may get at the starch granules and cook them.
The digestive juices cannot get at food elements until
the food has been properly broken up, and later absorp
tion cannot take place until the digested food is a proper
solution or suspension.
For proper action of the intestines sufficient bulk and
sufficient moisture are necessary. The great sources of
heat and energy are fats and starches. Sugars are close
ly akin to starches. The great sources of protein are
milk, meats, eggs and grain. The great sources of salts
are fruits, vegetables, and table salt. The great sources
of vitamines are vegetables, fruits and milk. The great
sources of bulky constituents are vegetables, fruits, and
the outer parts of grain.
570 LESSON XXVI

The secretions of the body can change many of the

elements of foods. Starches are changed into sugar.
They can be stored in the body as fat or as sugars or
they can be burned into carbonic acid with the forma
tion of heat or energy or both. Fats can be stored in the
body as fats or as sugars, or they can be burned into
carbonic acid with the formation of heat and energy.
Protein can be built up as a body tissue or it can be
converted into fat or sugar and stored. It can be burned
into urea and allied substances and excreted by the body,
principally by the kidneys, or it can be burned into car
bonic acid and excreted principally by the lungs. While
protein can be converted into fat or sugars, neither fats
nor sugars can be converted into protein, such as muscle
or tissue cells.
So far instinct has blazed the paths which science has
later followed. Some of the paths were made plain by
instinct. They were broad highways easily seen and fol
lowed. Some of them were no more than Indian trails—
a leaf turned here, a track there—from these science
learned but little. From this point on science gets little
help from instinct.
The elementary composition of the body of an aver
age person weighing 150 pounds is about as follows:
Oxygen 97.5 pounds
Carbon 27 pounds
Hydrogen 15 pounds
Nitrogen 4.5 pounds
Calcium 3 pounds
Phosphorus 1.5 pounds
Potassium 52 or over 8 ounces
Sulphur 375 or over 6 ounces
Sodium 225 or 3.6 ounces
Chlorine 225 or 3.6 ounces
Magnesium 075 or about 1 ounce
Iron 006 or about 40 grams
And faint traces of a few other chemicals.
 LESSON XXVI 571

To supply the daily waste from wear and the

energy and heat required, the food must contain varying
quantities of the above ingredients. Most of the oxygen
needed is taken in with the air, but all the other elements
are taken as food. The measure of the amount of food
required is generally expressed in calories in speaking
of the heat and energy requirements, and in grains or
ounces of protein in speaking of the repair requirements.
Generally the amount of minerals required is left to
chance or instinct.

The number of calories required for a man of average

size, with good digestion and assimilation, varies accord
ing to his work as follows :

In bed 24 hours 1,600 to 1,800

At rest, but sitting most of the day 2,000 to 2,300
Work chiefly done sitting 2,200 to 2,800
Work chiefly done standing or walking. .2,700 to 3,000
Work developing muscular strength .... 3,000 to 3,500
Work requiring severe effort 4,000 to 6,000

The number of calories per pound of weight per hour

according to different kinds of activity is as follows:

Sleeping Vz
Sitting quietly 3/s
Standing 3A
Light exercise 1
Moderate exercise 1 Va to 1 Vz
Active exercise 1 % to 2
Severe exercise 3 or more

On the above basis Dr. Rose, in "Feeding the Family,"

gives the following day's menu for a workingman :
572 LESSON XXVI

Breakfast
Food and measure. Weight, Protein, Tot.
ounces cal's. cal's.
Oatmeal mush, V/z cups 12 25 150
Creamed dried beef, 5/6 cup 6 40 250
New England cornbread, large slice 4 32 400
Oleomargarine, 2 tablespoons 9 . . 200
Milk, in cereal and coffee, 5/s cup. . 5.1 19 100
Sugar for cereal and coffee, 2
tablespoons 9 . . 100
Coffee, 1 c.up
1,200
Luncheon
Kidney bean stew, 1 3A cups 18 100 355
Rye bread, '/4 loaf 2.8 28 200
Oleomargarine, 2 tablespoons 9 . . 200
Banana, 1 large 5.5 5 100
Molasses cookies, 2 large 1.5 12 200
Milk for coffee, 3 tablespoons 2 8 40
Sugar for coffee, 1 tablespoon (scant) .5 . . 50
Coffee, 1 cup
1,145
Dinner
Stuffed beef heart, 1 serving 4 84 400
Potatoes, boiled, 2 small 5.4 16 150
Carrots, 2 small 5 5 50
White bread, 3/8 loaf 3.9 42 300
Oleomargarine, 2 tablespoons 9 . . 200
Date pudding sauce, 1 serving .... 3.5 22 310
Brown sugar for clear, 2 tablespoons .8 . . 100
Milk for coffee, 2 tablespoons 2 8 40
Sugar for coffee, 1 tablespoon (scant) .5 . . 50
Coffee, 1 cup
1,600
446 3,945
Enough for a man doing heavy work. Cost about 40
cents. This cost, of course, wascomputed before the pres
ent high scale of necessities.
 LESSON XXVI 573

EXERCISES TO LESSON XXVI

STRONG AND SOFT TONES—FF AND PP—
INCREASING AND DECREASING VOICE
STRONG VOICE
Strictly speaking, the ability to change the voice, to
increase or decrease it at will, from loud to soft or vice
versa, to connect the tones or sing them detached, that
is, to use the legato, staccato or portamento effects, be
longs to the branch of "expression" and not to "voice
development." However, so many of my students be
long to the professional and higher walks of life, that is,
so many of them are public speakers and singers, that it
seems advisable to give you all some practical method,
whereby you can utilize your voices to the best effect
even now.
Both in speaking and singing, a constant change of
voice is needed to gain greater effect or at least to avoid
monotony. This constant change is also demanded in
order to relax the vocal muscles from the necessary great
tension (which however should never be felt) to one of
less tension.
It seems quite natural for both speakers and singers
to expect that when they speak or sing with a loud or
strong voice they must first exert themselves corres
pondingly and second they must feel the exertion
somewhere in the body. Indeed, this is just what is be
ing taught in some schools, studios and conservatories.
It is true that greater exertion must be made, but it
is not true that greater exertion must be felt. This will
seem like a contradiction to many, because their experi
ence has taught them that in lifting a heavy weight,
they must exert themselves correspondingly more than
in lifting a lesser weight. This however, does not apply
to either the action of the vocal organ or the breathing
apparatus.
574 LESSON XXVI

In the many lessons on the vocal organ, it has been

shown that great strength of the main stretching muscles
is required, because these muscles cannot exercise great
er strength than they possess. In other words, if the
stretching muscles are weak, you cannot by any pos
sible chance increase the strength by any sudden outside
effort. Only constant practice of the strength -pro
ducing exercises, often for a very long period, will so
strengthen them that they will respond perfectly to all
the demands made upon them. When they have be
come strong, no exertion except the exertion of will
power is needed to utilize them to produce any desired
note or tone.
The same is true of the breathing muscles, as will be
further shown in the lessons which follow this one.
1. Speaking. Place your left hand against the lower
abdomen and the right hand upon the chest. Take your
usual breath and place the tip of the tongue lightly
against the hard palate just behind the upper teeth.
Now breathe out whole with the sound of "S" till the
breath is exhausted. Notice that the chest sinks gradu
ally to its level of rest as the breath escapes, but that
the abdomen has made very little, if any, motion. Only
at the last when all the breath has been used up, will
you feel that the sides of the abdomen are drawn slightly
inward, toward each other. This proves that the abdom
inal muscles have resumed their natural relaxed position,
the same as the chest.
Now try several times to breathe or rather to whisper
"S" as long as your breath will last, not trying to pro
long the breath, but just let it go of itself. Of course hold
the hands as before. Then suddenly make the "S" as
if you were hissing at somebody. Notice that this his
sing can be felt in the chest and in the abdomen, also
that the chest sinks much quicker than before, because
 LESSON XXVI 575

the breath is being used up much faster. Now make the

hissing sound "S" in a regular succession at "One,"
pause, "Two," pause, "Three", pause, 1,2,3, and notice
that at each "S" the abdomen draws inward suddenly
but very little.
Now try the same experiment in your regular speak
ing voice, by calling out "ha," "ha," "ha." The second
time determine to call stronger then before and the third
time call out "ha," "ha," "ha," then "he," "he," "he,"
or "hi," "hi," "hi," as if you were calling to a friend
across the street. Notice again, that each time the ab
domen involuntarily draws a little together; it jerks a
little at each call. This sudden but easy contraction of
the abdominal muscles is the chief cause of the stronger
breath pressure with louder voice. Now read aloud short
sentences, for instance, a few lines from the following:
"Stone-Age Stuff," by Edmund Vance Cooke, in the
Saturday Evening Post.

STONE-AGE STUFF
"You can do a-ny-thing that you try to do
If only you try to do it.
You must get a little start,
You must have a little heart,
Then a long, strong pull, and go to it!
Oh, it may take years to worry it through,
And you may break a leg or an arm or two !
But in the by and by you will find it true
That you'll do anything that you try to do—
If only you try to do it !
You can be a-ny-thing that you want to be
If you're sure that you want to be it.
You must keep your little mind
Very constantly inclined
To the far-places long before you see it.
576 LESSON XXVI

Life may seem a struggle in an angry sea ;

But beat along to windward and beware the drift to lee,
And some day you'll be sailing on the blue and free;
For you'll be anything that you want to be—
If only you want to be it !
You can make a-ny mark that you want to make
If only you want to make it,
You must lug your little pack,
You must plug along the track,
You must keep the pace and nevermore forsake it,
Oh, your brain may pain and your muscles ache,
Your soul may sicken and your back may break;
But keep your smile in the game of give-and-take
And you'll make any mark that you want to make—
If only you want to make it !
But, whatever the aim of your make-be-do,
Be sure that you want to reach it,
For the thing is up to you,
Quite too trite and quite too true
For me to try to sing it or to screech it.
All of us are talking, altho' few may teach;
Few of us will practice what we daily preach ;
Most of our observance is honored in the breach.
But, in reaching any goal that you want to reach,
Be sure that you want to reach it!"
For instance, read the first few lines in a very care
lessly speaking voice; then read slowly and very dis
tinctly. At the first word "You," intend to make the
easy but rather sudden motion with the abdomen ; only
this first and single motion is necessary. With a little
practice you will be able to read an entire sentence upon
the breath with which you started. Repeat the same
sentence, but speak it as if you were calling it to a friend
across the street, with no especial exertion, but very
distinctly.
 LESSON XXVI 577
For a strong, full voice, start each sentence by think
ing a sudden and easy contraction of the lower abdo
men. At first make longer pauses between each sentence
and be sure to realize a complete relaxation of the abdo
men during the pause or rest. Realize the difference
between thinking a contraction in the abdomen and
making this contraction. If you make the contraction,
you are forcing or overdoing, but if you merely think
the contraction, the abdominal muscles will contract
freely and loosely and yet strongly.
To think is right; to force is wrong.
2. Singing: After the singer has had some experi
ence with the exercises under the head of "Speaking,"
he may proceed to use the same experience in singing.
For instance, "Tis the Last Rose of Summer." At first
sing a sentence carelessly, not trying to make the tones
especially good, and observe the action of the abdominal
muscles. Next sing the same sentence distinctly, begin
ning the first word with an easy but sudden contraction
of the abdominal muscles, as in speaking. After that
sing as if you wanted to be heard across the street or by
the last in a large audience; this time sing slowly, almost
as if you were spelling each word. Remember not to use
physical force, but merely will power.

Take breath whenever a sentence permits it. The

composer usually groups the notes into a musical phrase
in accordance with the sense of the words, so that fre
quent breath will not mar the flow of the melody, pro
vided you take your breath quickly enough.

Most singers use the abdominal attack too often.

Only at the beginning of each sentence or phrase should
it be used. Experience will teach one just where to begin
and to leave off. Start with short phrases, gradually
using longer ones.
578 LESSON XXVI

SOFT VOICE
*
1. Speaking: Review the lesson and exercises on
the ' ' Palate Attack. ' ' Whisper "ha" as taught in Lesson
XVI. Observe carefully that the chest and abdomen re
main almost stationary. Now speak several sentences,
at first quickly, then gradually slower; at last aim to
speak each syllable and word as if you were whispering
a great secret to someone across the room. With the left
hand on the lower abdomen you will notice only a very
slight movement of the abdomen ; so slight indeed is this
motion, that it seems as if the abdomen were at rest.
Notice that the voice seems to come entirely from the
head and that it sounds higher than usual.
2. Singing: Proceed in the same way for singing.
There must be only the slightest motion of the abdomen.
The tones will be very soft and clear. The voice will
seem to come entirely from the upper part of the head
and the throat will remain free and open when this exer
cise is rightly understood. The effect will be flute-like.

CRESCENDO AND DECRESCENDO

To swell the tone, to increase from soft to loud, is
accomplished by starting the tone softly in the head, as
for a clear whisper. No motion should be made or felt
on the abdomen. The abdominal muscles should be
gradually contracted until the voice has reached its
greatest strength.
Example: Rest the tip of the tongue against the
hard palate, just back of the upper teeth, and whisper a
soft "S." Gradually let the abdominal muscles contract
more and more, but without making any great physical
effort. This gradual contraction of the abdominal
muscles increases the "S" sound in proportion to the
contraction.
 LESSON XXVI 579

Start again as before, but after a little, very sud

denly increase the contraction in the abdomen and no
tice a very sharp, sudden hissing sound.
Now start a singing tone very softly ; increase to the
utmost and hold till all the breath is consumed, then
stop for a few counts. Repeat on other notes.
For sudden and very strong accents, start the tone
softly and suddenly let the abdominal muscles contract
sharply. You will then get a very strong tone, without
any apparent effort.
Never let your strongest tone become unmusical.
Always stop at the point where the voice would change
into a shriek or yell.
For decrescendo proceed in a reverse manner. Start
the tone with abdominal attack and gradually relax the
abdomen and expect to feel the tone in the head, where
it gradually diminishes to a soft but clear whisper. In
this wise very beautiful effects can be attained. These
effects are rare nowadays, and would be all the more
appreciated by an audience.
Patient study and good taste are required to acquire
mastery over these beautiful effects.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON
LESSON XXVI
1. Can a superior voice be attained by any special
food diet?
2. Why do people get ill?
3. What is the object of eating food?
4. Should you feel any great physical exertion in
uttering strong tones?
5. Can you control the abdominal muscles?
6. Can you sing or speak with a strong voice?
7. Can you sing or speak with a soft voice?
8. Can you swell and diminish?
9. Is your throat free now?
10. Do you speak or sing from the tongue?
 LESSON XXVII

PERFECT BREATHING

Instructions for Developing a Correct Method of

Breathing for Singers and Speakers

The success which has followed my instructions on

voice building induced me also to make my system of
breathing available to those who have taken the voice
instructions, and to others who desire the correct sys
tem of breathing.
These instructions enable everyone to obtain a per
fect method of breathing, based on an exact scientific
foundation. By following them, the breathing appa
ratus can be trained and perfected. Weakness, such
as short breath, gasping, tenseness of the abdomen,
heart palpitations, fainting spells, nervousness, lung
troubles, and, according to the testimony of prominent
physicians, even some forms of tumors can be avoided.
All previous methods of breathing have been based
more or less on opinions and suppositions. They have
lacked the exact scientific foundation, which alone can
be an assured guide to a successful system of study.
Only a correct analysis of the parts of the body, its
structure, and of the muscles which adjust and move .
the parts, can lead one to a natural, easy, and free sys
tem of breathing. This is accomplished through the
study of these instructions alone.
Most everyone suffers to a greater or less degree
from the abuse and misuse of the breathing organs,
especially the singer and the public speaker. To them
correct breathing is of the utmost value. Those who
have studied the "Perfect Voice" system can now add
581
582 LESSON XXVII

to it a perfect system of breathing, which will give

them greater freedom, greater volume of tone, and most
assuredly, better health and prolonged life.

General Review of the Latest Discoveries Regard

ing Breath. The Importance of Breath-
Movement
Among the lower forms of life (worms, etc.) we find
generally that a diffusive gas exchange through the
skin is sufficient to sustain the process of oxidation
necessary to life. Gradually, with the rise of animal life
from the lowest to the highest, special organs are pro
vided to supply the necessary process of oxidation, and
these organs are supported by the ability to passively or
actively move or contract. In the vertebrates are found
pocket-like tubes which are called lungs, which by
rhythmical expansion and contraction favor the ex
change of oxidation and ventilation.

The Physical and Anatomical Basis of

Lung- Breath
The expansion and contraction of the lungs has
been compared with the action of bellows. It is ac
complished through the rhythmical contraction of
striped, voluntary muscles, but with the support of an
additional weight, similarly as it is done with bellows
used in a smithy and in pipe organs, where extra
weights have been provided to more quickly expel
the air within the bellows. In the human being this
additional support is provided for by the natural elas
ticity of the lungs firstly, and secondly by the bones
and ribs which surround the lungs. This bony struc
ture surrounding the lungs is called the thorax or
chest. See Figure 147.
Because both the lungs and the chest surrounding
them are naturally elastic, an expansion of the lungs
 LESSON XXVII 583

and consequent inrush of air is made possible. This

expansion of the lungs is possible by an active volun
tary effort, followed by a passive involuntary con
traction merely through the elasticity of the chest.
But a passive involuntary inspiration followed by an

Fig. 147

active voluntary expiration is also possible. Nor mall

active inspiration alternates with passive expiration.
In the activities which demand both an enlarged
breath and greater rapidity of breathing, such as is
required for singing and for public speaking, both the
inspiration and expiration must be active and volun
tary, hence consciously trained and acquired.
 584 LESSON XXVII

The anatomical mechanism of the thorax is such

that the elasticity of its parts are called into action by
active expansion and contraction. In the upright po
sition of man, the weight of the thorax opposes the
expansion, but favors the contraction. The twelve
pairs of ribs with the twelve vertebraes to which they
are attached (the first pair, however, is not free), and
which are through the medium of cartilages combined
with the breast bone, are in such a position that they
incline downward and forward, hence the expansion
of these ribs is only possible through the contracting
muscles, and when this contraction ceases, then the
weight of the ribs will cause a passive narrowing or
collapse of the thorax. 4
The raising and lowering of the ribs is similar to
the movement of spokes around the axle. With the
exception of the lowest two ribs, all are connected
with the breast bone directly or indirectly by means
of cartilaginous continuations. These are bent in
such a wise that in raising the ribs they are at the
same time projected forward also. It is owing to the
elasticity of these cartilage 'continuations of the bony
ribs that an active expansion of the thorax by its con
necting muscles is followed by a passive contraction
and consequent narrowing, or that a passive expan
sion can be followed by an active contraction. But the
chest cavity is enclosed at its lower extremity by an
other elastic element, the diaphragm. It forms a mus
cular wall between the chest and the abdomen. On
expanding the thorax, this diaphragm is lowered
and thereby adds largely to the space needed for
inspiration.
Within this enclosed space of the thorax and dia
phragm are placed the two lungs, lying close against
the walls and following passively their movements of
expansion or contraction.
 LESSON XXVII 585

INSPIRATORY MUSCLES
The normally most important factor of active in
spiration is the diaphragm. At every inspiration each
one of the muscular fibres of the diaphragm is con
tracted. Beside the diaphragm there are a number of
other muscles which raise and expand the thorax.

EXPIRATORY MUSCLES
The basis of all active expiration, such as is used
in singing, speaking, coughing, etc., is formed by the
abdominal muscles. These muscles pull upon the ribs
downward and thereby narrow or contract the space
of the thorax, and since they also press inward upon
the abdomen, they push indirectly against the dia
phragm, so that it will strongly incline upward and add
in the narrowing of the thorax and consequent expell
ing of the breath.

INSPIRATION
SINGING AND SPEAKING
For public singing and speaking an additional 100
to 150 cubic inches of breath has to be provided for, in
less time than a second, unless there is a longer rest
between the phrases. The aim must be to obtain the
maximum result with the minimum of exertion. The
process of inspiration should be instantaneous, but the
process of expiration, on the contrary, should be spread
over considerable time, as needed for longer and
shorter phrases. It is therefore of the utmost impor
tance to know how to inhale with the utmost ease and
with the least possible loss of time.
So that the student may understand the anatomical
reasons for the instructions which are to follow, and as
a proof that such instruction exactly covers the physi
ological tendency of the different parts of the organs,
586 LESSON XXVII

a short description of the chest, diaphragm, lungs, ab

domen, and the muscles which govern these parts, will
be given.
The object of inspiration is to create a larger space
for the expansion of the luhgs. The object of expira
tion is to contract this space to the normal size. The
lungs are allowed a greater space to expand in, only
by those muscles which can expand the ribs. This
expansion of the ribs takes place mainly through the
contraction of the muscles of the back.
The many different parts of the skeleton of the
body are connected with each other by tendons and
muscles. The muscles surround the bones and joints
and form what we term the flesh of the body. The
muscles consist of a contractile substance. The con
traction is caused by the will which acts through the
nerves which supply the muscles. When a muscle con
tracts, it becomes shorter and thicker. When the con
traction ceases, the muscle resumes its normal shape.
As a muscle grows out of one bone and is fastened to
another, it will thereby move the bones toward each
other. The muscles of the skeleton belong to what
is termed "striped" muscles. They may act singly or
in groups, moving only one part, or several at the
same instant. The muscles of the skeleton are divided
into three principal groups, those of the body, the
head and the extremities. The muscles of the body
again are divided into four groups, the back, the chest,
the abdomen and the throat.

MUSCLES DEPEND UPON ONE ANOTHER

The illustration shown in Fig. 148 deserves a
careful inspection. Starting from the hip bone (7),
muscles are seen to ascend into the shoulder blades
 LESSON XXVII 587

Fig. 148
The Complete Breathing Apparatus.
Expanding and Contracting Muscles.

1 A and B. Trapezius. 6. Lattissimus dorsi.

2. Rhomboideus. 7. Hip bone.
3. Levator scapula. 8. Obliquus externus.
4. Serratus magnus. 9 and 10. Muscles of hips and legs.
5. Pectoralis, major and minor. 11 A and B. Spine.
588 LESSON XXVII

and the ribs. Others descend from the head into the
shoulders and from there downward to the chest, ribs,
and to the hips. What has already been described so
carefully in the previous lessons, that is, the absolute
dependence of one set of muscles upon another set,
holds good for the breathing apparatus as well. As
in the "Perfect Voice" so also in "Perfect Breath." It
is remarkable that there is so little displacement of the
larger parts, the chest, back, and abdomen. These
parts are balanced between muscles which pull upon
them both ways, up and down, or forward and back
ward, so that they are not strained away from other
parts or crowded against them.

CORRECT BREATHING EFFORTS DO NOT

IMPLY STRONG SENSATIONS
The bodily signs of correct breathing efforts, as
will be shown later on, can be detected by the eye or
felt by the hand; but these efforts do not excite any
noticeable sensations, because in the natural, correct
efforts, the different sets of muscles work in harmony
with each other. Any effort which excites strong
sensation, or causes a strain, is false, because then
some set of muscles are opposed by another set, hence
there is a tug of war, which we feel as a strain. Al
though strong efforts are being made, yet they will
not be felt as such if the muscles act automatically,
that is, if they are not interfered with by other oppos
ing muscles.
In order that the lungs may expand and take in a
larger quantity of air, it is necessary that additional
space must be provided for the lungs' expansion. This
can only be done by the muscles which expand the
ribs. The spine in the back and the breast bone in
 LESSON XXVII 589

front are two fixed points; firm bones to which the

ribs are attached, and between these two the ribs
rotate or pivot on their joints of attachment. The
ribs are attached to the vertebraes of the spine by
these joints and controlled by muscles which grow
from the vertebraes to the ribs, so that when a muscle
contracts, it must necessarily move the rib to which
it is attached, since, as was mentioned, the vertebrae
being a joint of the spine, remains in a fixed, firm
position. The attachment to the breast bone in front
is formed by a cartilage continuation of the rib to the
breast bone. This cartilage forms an angle which
straightens when a rib is being moved by its muscles,
so that the rib moves not only sidewise but also a
little upward.
The main point to be remembered is the fact that
only the ribs can be moved, and not as is sometimes
taught, the whole chest. It is true that by moving the
shoulder blades upward, a feeling of chest lifting is
suggested. However, the chest is not thereby raised.
One might just as well try to lift oneself by the s"hoe
straps as try to raise the true chest. All such en
deavors cause a useless strain, and defeat the object for
which we seek.
If the extreme ends of a bird's wing were firmly
attached to an opposite point of the joint from which
the wings are grown, the bird could flap its wings out
ward and upward. Just such a movement is made by
the ribs, and no other is naturally possible.
The shoulder blades and collar bone are connected
both with the head and the thorax or chest by mus
cles which can interfere with the movement of the
ribs. If the shoulder blades are raised, the expansion
of the ribs will be lessened and made difficult; if they
590 LESSON XXVII

remain raised during singing, the expiration of breath

will be seriously interfered with or almost impossible.
Therefore, the shoulder blades must remain in their
natural position of rest.
The three principal muscles which hold the shoulder
blades in a firm position, are:
1. The Trapezius. It is fastened all along the

Fig. 150 Fig. 149

backbone or spine, from the lowest rib of the back of

the head, thus including the entire neck.
2. The Rhomboideus, major and minor. They ex
tend from the lower vertebra of the neck and the
four or five upper joints of the back to the shoulder
blades.
3. The Levator scapula. To the highest joints
of the neck and to the shoulder blades below.
All of these muscles assist in the act of inspiration,
as well as the following muscles which extend from
the collar bone and shoulder blades to the ribs:
The most powerful of the muscles which extend
from the collar bone and shoulder blades to the Upper
 LESSON XXVII 591

ribs is (4) the serratus magnus. From the lower edge

of the shoulder blades, this muscle stretches forward
and downward into the ribs to about the line of the
vest pockets. On its way from the shoulder blades
to the ribs, it splits into strips or serrations (hence
its name). When the shoulder blades are held fixed
in their natural position, then the serratus magnus
muscle can pull powerfully upon the ribs and cause
them to move strongly outward and upward. See also
Fig. 149.
5. The pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor
also extend from the collar bone and shoulder blades
into some of the ribs, and can thereby aid in the ex
pansion of the thorax. See also Fig. 150.
6. The lattissimus dorsi is a large muscular band,
fastened below to the hip bone and the vertebraes of
the spine. It is attached to the lower ribs and extends
upward to terminate into a tendon which is fastened
to the inner side of the arm. The parts of this muscle
which are attached to the lower ribs draw those ribs
outward and upward which are not reached by the ser
ratus magnus. To favor this action, the shoulder
blades and the collar bone must also remain fixed.
From each rib extend muscles to the one above and
below—these are called the intercostal or " between -
rib" muscles. See Fig. 151. There are two sets, one
placed on the outside, the external intercostal; the
other on the inside, the internal intercostal. Together
they line the whole open space between the ribs and
form a perfectly tight inclosure or wall. These muscles
draw the ribs nearer together. They act both as in
spiratory and, in connection with the abdominal muscles,
as expiratory muscles.
592 LESSON XXVII

Only those muscles which are more directly in

spiratory have been given. The diaphragm, which is
one of the most important breathing muscles, will be
treated in another part of these lessons, since for pub
lic singing or speaking, its real office is, according to
the most recent researches, more expiratory than in
spiratory.
It is true that the descending of the dome of the
diaphragm somewhat enlarges the cavity of the chest

Levatores costarum.

Fig. 151

and permits the lungs to spread downward, thereby

assisting the inspiration. But the enlargement of the
chest's circumference by the outward spreading ribs is
so much larger that the conclusion is arrived at that the
inhaling of breath is principally due to the rib move
ments.
Technical as this first part of the explanations may
seem to be to the student, yet it is necessary to a better
 LESSON XXVII 593

understanding of the exercises which will follow. The

student is requested to study this part again and again.

EXERCISES FOR LESSON XXVII

RELAXED POSITION OF THE CHEST
Preliminary Exercise to Inspiration
If the spine, and with it the chest, are held too
straight, all the muscles are held tightly contracted. In
this position an expansion of the ribs becomes extremely
difficult, as the following will show:
(1) Stand in an exaggerated upright position, with
the head thrown back and the chest expanded. In this
straight, unnatural position, take all the possible breath
by lifting the chest and notice the sensation of stretch
ing induced, and the extent to which the abdomen is
flattened; also notice the degree of physical effort re
quired. This, of course, is a wrong position.
(2) This time let the upper part of the body droop
downward and slightly forward, hunching downward
like a lazy schoolboy (but of course remain standing).
Now, inhale in this loose, relaxed position, all the air
you can comfortably hold. Notice that you are taking
more breath than before and also that the lessened
straining and stretching is very apparent.
(3) Relax the upper chest as before, and now let the
arms swing forward in a very loose manner, so that the
hands touch. Hold this loose, drooping position, and
observe that the shoulder blades stand out prominently
like the two wings of a folding door. Then think that
you will suddenly but easily close this door.
In the effort to close the door by drawing in the
shoulder blades, you will find that the body and the
594 LESSON XXVII

head are drawn up into a perfectly free and natural

position. Always hold this freely upright position by
thinking of the shoulder blades as resting deep and
loosely down in the back. Do not now care especially
about the breath; breathe only as usual, but continue
this third exercise a little every day, until it comes with
the utmost ease. Its value will appear in the inhaling
instructions which follow in the next lesson.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON
LESSON XXVII
1. What element of the air is necessary to sustain
life?
2. What is the object of breath to the singer or
speaker?
3. Which is the organ of breathing?
4. What does expansion of lungs and chest accom
plish ?
5. What does contraction of lungs and chest accom
plish?
6. Are strong efforts needed for breathing?
7. Should the chest be moved for inhaling?
8. Which muscle divides the chest from the abdo
men?
9. Can you relax the chest?
10. Can you inhale freely?
J
 LESSON XXVIII

PERFECT BREATHING

I nspiration— ( Continued)

MUSCLE CONTROL IN GENERAL

Students of voice are often taught to keep all of the
chest and abdominal muscles entirely relaxed and loose.
Whole systems have been founded on this rule, but of
course without success. It must be evident to every
intelligent person that no work can be accomplished by
relaxed muscles. One could not inhale air, for instance,
if the chest expanding muscles remained lax; neither
could one exhale, if the muscles which compress the
chest were lax — that is, inactive. The reason an intoxi
cated person cannot control himself is because he has
lost the power over his muscles. They have become
slack, and therefore are not capable of performing
their functions of supporting the body in an upright
position.
But if a set of relaxed muscles can perform little or
no work, it does not necessarily follow that the muscles
should be stiff or hard in order to do this work. Such a
condition would be just as incorrect as the other, for
stiff muscles cannot perform their work correctly either.
Many singers and speakers, in fact, almost everyone,
keep the breathing muscles too tense. This is especially
a common fault with women, hence they unconsciously
utilize considerably less air than men. So general has
this fault become, that it has been accepted as a natural
condition of female breathing. Latest researches, how
595
596 LESSON XXVIII

ever, have proven that aside from a smaller and more

graceful form in women, the breathing apparatus is ex
actly the same for both sexes and is governed by identi
cal muscles and laws.
Since neither the laxed or the stiff muscles can do
their work, another way must exist. This other way is
to keep the muscles "flexible."
All muscles which are directly or indirectly con
cerned in breathing are connected with nerves. The
will is communicated through the nerves to the muscles
and stimulates them to contraction. Dr. Foster of Lon
don, England, describes the process by which the mus
cles contract in this wise. "One must think of the
muscles as having many cells which lie one above the
other in rows, like grains of powder. A fibre radiating
from the central battery of the brain, leads to each of
these grains. Through an impulse of the will, one of
these grains is exploded. The muscle contracts instant
ly and remains contracted until a grain is exploded from
the negative battery. Then instantly the muscle springs
back into its natural position. When the cells are used
up, fatigue appears. During the required time of recu
peration, the tiny bacilli of the blood remove the ashes
and build up new cells."
It is by this process that the muscles grow stronger.
If one tries to force a muscle, it fails to respond. It
seems that the positive and negative cells neutralize
each other so that no contraction is possible.

THE LESSON THE ABOVE TEACHES

The conclusions which the attentive student cannot
fail to draw from the above explanation are that one can
only gain control over a muscle by contracting it very
quickly, but easily, keeping it so for a second or two and
 LESSON XXVIII 597

then letting it relax, and continuing this process until

fatigue appears. With patience and perserverance the
necessary muscular control can invariably be attained,
after which constant practice will develop the muscle
to great strength.

EXPANSION OF THE THORAX OR CHEST

In the first part of the course, it was explained why

the chest or thorax had to be expanded. There are two
distinct sets of muscles which move the thorax. One of
these sets of muscles opens the thorax and widens it,
because the muscles which grow from the spine into the
ribs pull the ribs outward and upward. As long as one
holds these ribs expanded no breath will escape, because
there is then no pressure inward upon the lungs.
The second set of muscles will bring the ribs back to
their natural position. When they contract they draw
the ribs inward, which causes a pressure upon the lungs,
whereby the breath is forced out. The first of these
movements is "inspiratory," the second, "expiratory."
Any movement which occurs outside of these two
movements in the diaphragm and abdomen should be
involuntary and only when the diaphragm and abdomen
automatically or involuntarily move with the voluntary
expansion and contraction of the ribs, can one be as
sured of a perfectly free and easy breathing.

EXERCISES ON LESSON XXVIII

(1) Sit comfortably and easy, allowing the entire

upper part of the chest to droop loosely, flabbily down
ward. The position would suggest a sagging of the
chest, as if utterly exhausted, or as if you were too lazy
to hold the chest straight. Do this several times to learn
how loosely you can relax the entire chest. Also learn to
598 LESSON XXVIII

relax instantly. At one count go from the upright chest

position into the loosely hanging relaxed position.
(2) Now remember, that the ribs are attached to
the spine, therefore they move from the spine, like a
double door moving on its hinges. Think or will sud
denly, but loosely, easily, that the ribs should move or
open outward from the spine. Hold them so while you
mentally count "one," "two," and "three," at three let
go, when the ribs with the entire chest will resume their
natural position, expelling automatically whatever
breath there is; of course, hold the mouth slightly open.
(3) Place your hands against the waist line, right
and left. Expand or open out from the spine and notice
that you feel a decided outward push against the hands.
Hold while counting two and let go. The hands should
feel the inward closing movements. Remember, all
efforts must be very easy. You must never attempt to
force any large movement; whatever is easiest, that is
right—no more.
(4) Now place your hands so that the finger tips
rest against the small of the back, just where the ribs
are attached to the vertebrae. Do not put the fingers
against the unyielding spine, but just beside it. Sudden
ly but loosely, think that you expand or open outward
in the back, and that you voluntarily and purposely
push with that part of the ribs against the finger tips,
pushing them also backward or outward. Notice, if
right, that you feel a decided swelling against the fingers.
Hold for two counts. At "three" let go. Repeat six
times and rest a few minutes. Then go over the first
three exercises two or three times, then again to the
fourth. After you have made sure that there is a decid
ed, but not forced swelling in the back, put one hand
against the waist line, the other remaining against the
back. On swelling with the back, notice now that there
 LESSON XXVIII 599

is also a very decided outward movement in the front,

as your hand on the waist will prove.
(5) At count "one" let your upper chest droop
loosely downward, at count "two" expand in the back
and ribs, at count "three" draw in the back, shoulder
blades and ribs or rather, let them cave in, . as it were.
Notice casually that when the back and the ribs expand,
a great deal of air is taken in, although you do not
especially try to take in any breath. At count "three,"
when you let go, the breath escapes with a rush. Repeat
this exercise two or three times a day. Keep this up for
a week or two. It is very important and a most useful
exercise. Review this often for several months, until
you form the habit.

INSPIRATION
When you understand fully the last exercise (but
not before), proceed with the following:
(1) Place your lips as if saying "ooh," then sud
denly relax the lips, at the same time dropping the jaw
loosely, very loosely. Imagine yourself saying "ah" at
the same time as you drop your jaw for "ah." Thus you
will be saying "ooh-ah."
(2) Relax upper body and expand the back, at the
same instant whisper the "ooh," notice that you have
taken in very much breath without any effort. Hold
this position while you mentally count "one," "two,"
and at the "three," drop the jaw, relax the back, draw
ing in the shoulder blades, and the same instant breathe
out the "ah," that is:
At count one: Relax upper chest.
At count two: Expand back and sound "ooh" or it
may sound "hooh."
At count three: Relax back, drop jaw, and sound
"ah" (hooh-ah). Notice that at count "two" you IN
600 LESSON XXVIII

HALE breath, at count "three" you EXHALE breath.

During the exhalation the loosely held body returns to
the natural upright position. After some practice you
should be able to take a deep breath'in a half second with
out whispering "ooh." After a few days of this practice,
try to read short sentences, then longer ones, without
at first being particularly concerned about the breath.
Read, however, loudly and distinctly, and as soon as
the breath is used up, inhale again in the manner de
scribed. At first a new breath should be taken after each
short sentence. You will soon find that it is very simple
and easy; that you do not need to "save your breath"
as some advise. This deep inhaling should be practiced
often, but not long at a time. Reading and speaking
while correctly inhaling should be practiced daily, but
it is too soon to try singing; other lessons must first be
mastered by the singer.

NERVOUSNESS CAUSED BY BREATHING

POORLY
Many persons, especially singers and speakers, ex
perience a nervous, uneasy feeling of weakness; their
chest falls or sinks together, they have no breath, and
they feel a stuffy, tight sensation, particularly in the
stomach region. From this they conclude that they
have a weak breath and that this causes their weak
voice. Really, the reverse is true. One breathes badly
because one speaks badly. When the muscles of the
tongue, which control the vocal chords, are too weak,
then the vocal chords cannot close the air tubes enough
to prevent the escape of air. Therefore, all those whose
voices are weak, husky or thin, should by all means
study my method, which will enable them to gain not
only an ordinary good voice, but an unusually fine one,
if they persevere.
 LESSON XXVIII 001

Some people have naturally good voices, and yet

their breathing, and consequently their speech, is poor.
Heart trouble, lung diseases, and even tumors, accord
ing to Dr. Nagel, who has contributed the most minute
researches pertaining to such diseases, may be caused
by poor breathing.

BREATH RESISTANCE
(1) Seat yourself comfortably and with your hand
kerchief take hold of your nose and close it slightly,
then force air through the nose, at first lightly, and then
more sharply. Lay your other hand flat upon your
stomach at the waistline and blow through the nose
three times, pausing a second or so between each blow
ing. Repeat as before, lightly at first, then with more
strength.
Now observe that when blowing (of course using
the handkerchief), the stomach jerks a little, but that
it does not move either outwardly or inwardly. One
feels the contraction in the stomach, just as if one were
squeezing a heavy rubber ball in the hand. When
blowing, always remember that it is this slight contrac
tion which you feel, that drives the breath to the nose.
Continue this exercise until you have learned how
little motion is necessary. Become familiar with this
motion.

BREATH WITH SOUND

(2) After you have mastered the above exercise and
can mentally see the slight, though somewhat sudden
motion of the outer abdominal muscle, make this mo
tion intentionally and call out three times in a natural
tone "ah." Then, also, three times, "ha." By laying
one hand over the stomach and the other upon the chest,
you will observe as you call "ah" or "ha" that the chest
602 LESSON XXVIII

also moves or jerks a little. These jerks indicate that

the vocal chords were closed. If they had not been
closed, the stomach and chest would have sunk deeply.
This exercise should for the present be made only a few
times during the day, the purpose of it being to teach
you the functions of the breathing organs. After a few
days you should attempt to speak short sentences; later,
longer ones. Study the following reading first; later,
select anything you please—your daily paper, etc.
(3) At first speak the sentences in a hasty, careless
way, then with the second or third repetition try to
whisper in a rather high pitch and if neither the chest
or the stomach move noticeably, you will observe that
almost no breath is used. If, on the contrary, there is a
good deal of motion, you must endeavor to whisper still
higher, much as if you were trying to speak in the head.
Finally, remember that only the slightest motion of
the stomach is necessary to bring out a big, full tone.
Therefore, now speak the sentence as if you were
speaking to a friend across the street, that is, in a raised
tone of voice, but without the least strain. Do that at
first quickly and without expression, and later in a rhe
torical style.
This will demonstrate that with this slight motion
of the stomach one can speak short and long sentences
loudly and without strain.
The breathing exercises do not need a regular rou
tine. The main thing to learn is to let the chest and
stomach muscles do their work naturally. A little
attention each day for a few weeks will correct your
breathing. Read :
"I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth
in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and who
soever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."
 LESSON XXVIII 603

"Adams and Jefferson." Edward Everett.

"No, fellow-citizens, we dismiss not Adams and
Jefferson to the chambers of forgetfulness and death.
What we admired, and prized, and venerated in them
can never die; nor dying, be forgotten. I had almost
said they are now beginning to live—to live that life of
unimpaired influence, of unclouded fame, of unmingled
happiness, for which their talents and services were des
tined. They were of the select few, the least portion of
whose life dwells in their physical existence; whose
hearts have watched while their senses slept; whose
souls have grown up into a higher being; whose pleasure
is to be useful ; whose wealth is an unblemished reputa
tion; who respire the breath of honorable fame; who
have deliberately and consciously put what is called life
to hazard, that they may live in the hearts of those who
come after. Such men do not, can not, die.
"To be cold, and motionless, and breathless; to feel
not and speak not: this is not the end of existence to the
men who have breathed their spirits into the institu
tions of their country; who have stamped their charac
ters on the pillars of the age; who have poured their
heart's blood into the channels of the public prosperity.
Tell me, ye who tread the sods of yon sacred height: is
Warren dead? Can you not still see him, not pale and
prostrate, the blood of his gallant heart pouring out of
his ghastly wound, but moving resplendent over the
field of honor, with the rose of heaven upon his cheek,
and the fire of liberty in his eye?
"Tell me, ye who make your pious pilgrimage to the
shades of Vernon : is Washington indeed shut up in that
cold and narrow house? That which made these men,
and men like these, cannot die. The hand that traced
the charter of independence is, indeed, motionless; the
eloquent lips that sustained it are hushed ; but the lofty
spirits that conceived, resolved, matured, maintained it,
604 LESSON XXVIII

and which alone, to such men, "make it life to live,"

these can not expire.
"These shall resist the empire of decay,
When time is o'er, and worlds have passed away.
Cold in the dust the perished heart may lie,
But that which warmed it once can never die."

NOSE—INHALING
In the ordinary, daily vocations of life, it is best to
inhale through the nose. Also during the longer rests in
singing, the nose breath is advisable, though for short
rests the mouth must necessarily remain open, as there
is no time sufficient to close the mouth, inhale, and open
the mouth again.
For public speaking, the nose inhaling will usually
be the most resorted to. Care must be taken not to
make any noise in inhaling, because this would not only
sound badly, but if there is any noise, it proves that the
air passage is not entirely open while inhaling, and has
to be -forced.
If the upper chest is relaxed at the instant of inhal
ing, and especially if you allow the head to bend, to
droop very slightly forward at the same time, and in
this relaxed state suddenly expand the lower back as
taught, no sound can be heard. The drooping of the
head and chest will, after a little practice, be so slight
that it would be merely a graceful movement and so add
to your appearance before an audience. The whole effort
of inhaling should become a graceful, sinuous motion.
Remember always that the muscles do not move more
than the merest fraction of an inch, therefore, any per
ceptible motion is likely to be overdone. Always think
of opening the shoulder blade doors, but in the loosest,
softest manner. Accustom yourself to this thought.
 LESSON XXVIII 605

The shoulder blades open in inhaling: that is, they

move slightly apart, like a double door, and close again
as the chest resumes its natural position, thereby ex
pelling the breath.
These two lessons are, of course, not complete; they
are to teach you to take breath—to inhale. The next
lesson will teach you about exhaling. Only when inhal
ing and exhaling are complete, will you know the entire
system of breathing.
For the present, do only as best you can ; you are far
enough advanced now, even in breathing, to give you
a very good control over the breath, even without the
exhaling lessons.
In the lessons on breathing, as in the many lessons
on voice, only fragments can be given in any one lesson
at one time. The process here, as in the voice, is step
by step, so have patience now until the entire breathing
system is unfolded.
Expiration begins with the next lesson.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON
LESSON XXVIII
1. Should chest and abdomen be entirely relaxed
for breathing?
2. Should chest and abdomen be contracted or stiff
for breathing?
3. What is the correct conditon of the muscles for
breathing?
4. From what exact point is the chest expanded?
5. Does your chest expand in front as well as in the
back?
6. What is inspiration?
7. What is expiration?
8. Can you inhale with ease?
9. Is your throat loose when inhaling?
10. Do you inhale through nose or mouth?
 LESSON XXIX

PERFECT BREATHING— {Continued)

EXPIRATION

It must be clear to all of my students by this time

that it was necessary to go somewhat deeply into all
the subjects related to voice. Each lesson had to be
preceded by a "theoretical discussion" in order to show
you why the old systems of haphazard, unscientific, hit-
or-miss ways of teaching voice culture, have failed.
It was further necessary to explain that a really
valuable system of voice can only be established upon
facts. Of course it was necessary to show you these
facts, hence all the technical discussions in physiology,
physics, vocal mechanics, etc.
All these discussions were necessary; first, to arouse
your interest, and second, to insure your confidence in
my ability, for your confidence I felt was absolutely
necessary to assure success. The exercises which will
develop your voice demand of you great patience and
perseverance, and this I felt could only come through
a firm belief in my method and confidence in my ability
and conscientious sincerity.
It would have been easy merely to give you my
exercises and let it go at that, leaving the responsibil
ity of practice to you. It was comparatively easy
merely to write the exercises. My study and experience
enabled me to state them without undue effort. But it
is quite different to know a thing yourself and to ex
plain that thing to others, so clearly that it will be as
plain to them as it is to yourself. Great care, exhaus
607
608 LESSON XXIX

tive research, and self-restraint must be exercised to

teach any subject successfully. This is even more dif
ficult with the subject of voice, because those who
formerly studied voice without success were naturally
prejudiced against any new method. Those who had
never studied voice believed the subject an easy one,
requiring only certain few exercises, instead of a long
continued and somewhat arduous course of study.
The fact of the matter is, the study of voice is a
part of a general education, because so many subjects
are involved.
If the human body were an inanimate machine, like
a watch or a music box, it would be easy enough to re
place the defective parts so that the machine would
run smoothly; but in the human body this is not possi
ble, nor can you go to a physician or a surgeon and ask
him to do the repairing. Quite the contrary, you must
be your own mechanic, your own physician and sur
geon ; there is no other way.
To make it possible for you to do that for yourself
which no one else can do, it was necessary to educate
and to train you in this particular line.
In the lessons on breathing, so far studied, you must
now see why in former lessons I gave you merely gen
eral directions in regard to breathing. I had to pro
ceed in a systematic way and could not interrupt the
lessons to explain the matter of breathing scientifically
exact as I am doing now. Nor was it necessary to
break into the former lessons, because, important as is
the matter of breathing in itself, yet it is secondary.
It is perfectly possible to have a good speaking and
singing voice in spite of incorrect breathing.
I am well aware of the fact that this is a schismatic
statement, entirely opposed to many teachers who be
 LESSON XXIX GO'J

lieve and teach that breath control is the most, if not

the all-important factor in voice.
I cannot claim originality for this statement. The
old masters also placed breathing in the second po
sition. Most of them ignored the subject entirely, rely
ing on the fact that because their students were living
they also had sufficient breath to support life and hence
voice.
After all is said and done about breathing, the fact
remains that we do not need great volumes of air, but
merely a sufficient quantity of oxygen to support life,
to help the process of combustion; to feed the fires
needed for the purpose of movement, work, and repair,
Even in singing, a great volume of air is rather a hin
drance than a help. The fellow who can blow himself
up like a toad is merely straining his chest muscles use
lessly. Personally, I would undertake to out-distance
any one of the breathing specialists in either talking or
walking, and I would merely use the ordinary breath
ing.
By taking frequent breaths before and during the
contest, I would store up more oxygen than the man
who expands his chest like a balloon every time he
takes a breath. Goliath very likely could have defeated
another "beefy" giant, but he fell before the little Da
vid. Brute force cannot stand against knowledge, and
knowledge is an accumulation of many seemingly little
things. To be sure, we are told in fairy tales that the
giants were grinding their own corn with the help of
windmills, and that when there was no wind they
stopped up one of the openings of the nose and blew
through the other, thereby turning the windmill, but
the author concludes by saying, "If you don't want to
believe it you must pay a dollar."
010 LESSON XXIX

Authors and teachers of the sixteenth and seven

teenth centuries taught that in regard to breathing,
the flute was the best illustration. Only a medium
breath should be used. Only for more intensive ex
pression should breath be forced, just as a player on the
flute will use greater breath pressure to increase the
tone power for certain passages.
Rosettus says: "Lightly and without anxiety
should the breath be taken during pauses. He who
understands to renew the breath skillfully, sings with
ease."
Bovicelli says: "One should inhale without noise,
so as not to affect the ear of ,the listener. There are
many who arouse more curiosity with their breath
than with their voice. They take too much breath,
they sing too long on one -breath, and at the last they
have not sufficient strength to conclude without a
'smacking' sound."
Cerone says: "It is not good when singers take a
breath to each short note, like a nervous horse who
shies at every shadow."
Caccini says: "The breath should always be ready
when needed—it should be used sparingly."
Donati advises to open the mouth only half, as a
means of good breath control.
I have before cited Signore Mancini, who is looked
upon as the foremost authority of the old Italian meth
ods. I shall quote what he says in the "Art of Sing
ing," published in 1777:
"The multitudes believe that one who has an ele
vated chest and a well developed thorax, and can make
lots of noise, has the essentials to become a good singer.
The strength of voice depends, it is true, upon the
quantity of air and the velocity with which it is expelled
from the lungs: thus, the wider the chest the larger the
 LESSON XXIX 611

'aspra arteria' and the larynx. All these qualities

combined create greater strength of voice, which is
produced from the air bursting forth from the cavity
of the thorax.
"In the opinion of physiologists, the lungs are the
instruments which aid in speaking and in singing with
more or less force, according to the degree of expansion
of the lungs and chest, and their ability to expel the
inhaled air. But, then, it is also their opinion that the
lungs are not the real organs which form the voice in
the throat. The voice forms itself in the mouth by the
flux created by the air in passing through the vocal
organs in the act of inspiration and expiration. The
air from the lungs acts upon the larynx in singing, just
as it acts upon the head of a flute that is leaned to the
lips for playing.
"The lungs are not the actual organs of the voice;
they merely furnish the fuel—the air; the real organs
of the voice are: larynx, glottis, uvula, tongue, palate
muscles, arches, hard palate, and lips. These organs are
the means by which the voice is given its diverse mod
ulations, so that the better developed they are the more
perfect, strong, and clear the voice will be. The voice,
so to speak, suspends itself in descending from the
highest to the lowest tones, and runs diverse modula
tions according to the varied manner in which the air
is compressed by the larynx.
"In speaking, these organs are quiet at intervals,
but when used for singing they are in a state of contin
ual action and excitement; the muscles of the larynx
carry the greatest burden, as these are the organs
which direct the voice. These muscles contract strong
ly in the higher tones and relax in the lower ones."
From these quotations it can readily be seen that
the old masters had only a very hazy idea about breath
612 LESSON XXIX

ing. No especial system was established ; each teacher

simply followed his own inclination.
' In the last forty or fifty years, however, many sys
tems of breathing were advocated, some of them being
fairly accurate, but none of them so far as has come to
my notice, have been systematized into a scientifically
correct and practically feasible method.
For a systematic process of study, the division of
inhaling and exhaling had to be resorted to. In the
preceding two lessons the former was taught—now
you will learn the more important step of exhaling.

EXPIRATION
THE DIAPHRAGM

In the introductory remarks in the lessons on Per

fect Breath, it was said that the normally most impor
tant factor of active inspiration is the diaphragm. In
normal breathing, as we go about our business, as well
as for ordinary conversation in a low, quiet pitch, only
a little breath is inhaled and that inhalation is caused
by the diaphragm almost entirely, without any activity
of the rib expanding muscles.
The dome of the diaphragm descends and thus crea-
ates a vacuum which permits the lungs to expand
(mostly downward) and store up the breath which has
filled the vacuum.
But for the public singer, the speaker, and for all
purposes which necessitate more than the normal
breath, for running, dancing, etc., the rib expanding
or chest enlarging muscles are the most important,
while now for this unusual, extra breath, the dia
phragm's principal activity is expiration. When the
diaphragm descends, its action is inspiratory, but when
it ascends, it becomes expiratory, because it then urges
 LESSON XXIX 613

or pushes the air outward. The diaphragm has, there

fore, a double capacity.
The diaphragm forms a partition between the chest
and the abdomen. It is shaped like a cupola or dome
which extends far upward into the thorax or chest.
It is attached to the vertebrae, the ribs and the lower
part of the breast bone. See Fig. 152, also Fig. 147
in Lesson XXVII.
If you will feel the place where the lowest rib joins
the backbone and then draw the hand all around the
lower edge of the ribs, you will be pressing against
the lower borders of the diaphragm. From this bor
der the diaphragm rises on each side inside of the chest.
If the fibres of the diaphragm contract involun
tarily, the central position will necessarily descend; in
this case the free ribs will be drawn inward, unless the
ribs are otherwise held expanded or rigid; in sudden
inspiration as in violent sobbing, this is always the
case. But under no circumstances can the diaphragm
expand the ribs as is sometimes taught; quite the re
verse is true.
The diaphragm may be compared to the head of a
drum, which is the sounding part or skin, and the ribs,
the wooden hoops which stretch the skin.
As long as the skin on the drum is in a loose state
it sags downward, but when the hoops to which the
skin is fastened are being tightened, the skin is being
straightened and stretched and in this way the drum
is tuned in harmony with the orchestra.
Or, a lady's fancywork is stretched more or less
tight as the hoops around which the cloth is fastened
are made tighter.
In a similar way the diaphragm is fastened to the
ribs of the chest, and the more these ribs, are expanded
so much more is the diaphragm straightened and
614 LESSON XXIX

Fig. 152
The diaphragm viewed from in front, showing its jagged border or serrations,
by which it is fastened to the ribs.

tightened. To the contrary, when the ribs are loosened

they resume their natural closed position, then the dia
phragm is also loosened and resumes its dome shape in
the chest.
The diaphragm is pierced by three tubes. First, the
aorta, which conducts the blood from the heart;
second, the vena cava, which leads the blood to the
heart; third, the aesophagus, through which food passes
into the stomach. The vena cava passes through the
diaphragm near the spine and if the diaphragm is
voluntarily contracted, as some try to do, it prevents
the natural, free flow of blood to the heart, which
causes dizziness and sometimes nausea. From all this
it is apparent that the diaphragm should never be con
tracted voluntarily or by direct force.
 LESSON XXIX 615

THE NEED OF A POWERFUL COMPRESSION

The degree of pressure of the air in the lungs and
windpipe against the under side of the vocal chords is
controlled by the ribs and the diaphragm.
According to the measurements of French scien
tists, the breath pressure of ordinary expiration
amounts to approximately a little over one inch, but
when a tone is sung between A in the second space
and E in the fourth space, the pressure suddenly rises
to seven or eight inches; when the tone is sung loudly,
the pressure rises to over three feet, and for high tones,
sung fortissimo, the pressure would be still greater.
It was explained previously that the vocal chords
can be reinforced—that they can be enlarged by the
muscles which lie close to them and that the more the
chords are enlarged the stronger and more beautiful
will the tone be.
Now, a powerful breath pressure will greatly favor
this enlargement of the vocal chords. The augmented
effort brings the entire vocal organ into a firmer state,
which again reinforces the vibrations, and of course
creates additional over-tones, thereby making the qual
ity of the tone still finer, nobler, and sweeter.

EXERCISES TO LESSON XXIX

COMPLETE RELAXATION OF THE EXPAND
ING MUSCLES
In the early part of this course, it was taught why
the thorax had to be expanded, and the principal mus
cles with which this is done were described. Now, as
long as the thorax is thus held expanded, no breath can
escape and no tone can be produced unless it is forced.
In order that the breath can be used for the formation
of tone or speech, the expanding muscles have to be
am LESSON XXIX

relaxed. Only then can the thorax resume its normal

shape.
The relaxation of these expanding muscles must be
sudden, free, and easy. In other words, the en tire
thorax must seem to fall together—to collapse. For
the singer, this complete relaxation of the expanding
muscles is indispensable in gaining the gentle attack to
begin tones and phrases. ,
(1) Sit in a straight backed chair, so far back that
you are in contact with the back of the chair. Do not
take an extra deep breath—just your usual breathing
should be kept up. Mentally picture, think of the low
est rib in front, and determine that this lower rib sud
denly and loosely caves in, gives way, while at the same
time you breathe out a "ha" breath, or rather the
caving in causes this "ha" breath. Notice that the
chest has sunken inward, that you feel hollow and loose
all the way down to the pit of the stomach, and, lastly,
that your lower back leans stronger than before against
the back of the chair. Of course, the upper chest
droops loosely downward.
(2) Inhale your usual breath and hold it while you
mentally count "one" "two." Notice that now you feel
conscious of holding, the chest, not exactly as a strain,
but as a little exertion. At count "three, "suddenly cave
in from the lowest rib and notice a feeling of relief—of
comfortable ease. Of course, let the "ha" breath escape
at the instant of collapse.
(3) Take a book in your hand. Hold the arm with
the book straight before you. Notice that you are ex
erting your own will and thus compel the muscles to
hold the arm. Count "one," "two;" at "three," sud
denly drop the arm and let the book fall out of your
hand in complete lassitude, as if exhausted by the
effort of holding it. Notice the feeling of utter relaxa
 LESSON XXIX 617

tion in the arm after you have done this illustrating

exercise ten or fifteen times. Try to gain this utter re
laxation as you collapse the chest with the "ha" breath.
(4) As was taught in Lesson XXVII, expand the
thorax or chest. Notice that now you have added
greatly to your breath. Hold this expanded position
while you mentally count "one," "two," but at "three,"
collapse completely, loosely. Now notice that the chest
resumes its upright position and that the back leaves
the chair. Prove it by inserting your hand between
back and chair; repeat above exercise. Practice this
for two weeks, several times a day. Make a regular
routine of it. At count "one" expand; at count "two"
hold still; at count "three" collapse. Later on expand
at "one," collapse at "two." Still later, count each day
a little more between expansion and collapse, until you
can count twenty. If you feel a strain at any count,
collapse that instant.
(5) Having accustomed yourself to this collapse,
sing a tune, later on phrases, or speak sentences. At
the instant of collapse, notice that gradually you can
sing longer phrases or speak longer sentences, before
you need to expand or take in new breath; also, that
the singing or speaking tones are full and strong, and
that you feel free of any constraint. An illustration
will make this still more clear:
'"Tis the last—rose of summer,—left blooming—alone ;
All her lovely—companions, —are faded—and gone;"
Let the singer expand for a new breath first at each
dash, later only after each comma. Or, sing five tones
up, expand again and sing five tones down. Later sing
up and down on the one breath. Collapse. Still later
sing an entire scale up and down, but never go as far
as to feel any strain.
618 LESSON XXIX

Similarly the speaker should use short sentences and

gradually longer ones, at first without emphasis or ex
pression, but later speaking with great emphasis and
earnestness. Always stop before a straining or tight
feeling, which is caused by the lack of breath; the
muscles having nothing now to compress, they are be
ing overstrained, overworked, hence the feeling of dis
comfort.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON LESSON

XXIX

1. What is inspiration?
2. What is expiration?
3. What is the diaphragm?
4. Where is the diaphragm attached?
5. Is the diaphragm used both for inhaling and ex
haling?
6. Can you relax the expanding muscles?
7. In what way is the blood circulation affected by
wrong breathing?
8. How long each day do you practice the thumb
under the tongue?
9. Do you feel the "beat" of the tongue against the
little finger distinctly now?
10. Have you succeeded with "Perfect Breathing"
so far?
 LESSON XXX
PERFECT BREATHING— (Concluded)
THE BREATH, THE BEAT, THE SOUND

A great many teachers and most people who have

studied something about breathing, confound breath
taking movements with breath-expelling efforts. Ad
vice for the former is often applied for the latter; it
being implied that the chest or abdomen should be held
firmly in the position given them by inspiratory effort.
Far from this, the rule is an exactly and positively
opposite one you must relax all inspiratory muscles at
the instant that breath is expelled and voice begins.
The notion that there is a contest between the two
sets of muscles is a foolish one. Indeed, the downward
and inward fall, or collapse of the expanded thorax, is
but slight after proper breath-taking; this even assists
in starting the tone. That the collapse can give no un
pleasant shock, even in mild delivery, may be proved by
filling the chest full of breath and singing "ah" at the
instant of collapse. It will be found that a positive and
voluntary expiratory effort must be added to secure
quality and adequate power.
The inspiratory or breath-taking effort must be sep
arated from the expiratory or breath-expelling efforts.
They must be practiced till the one can be followed by
the other in quick succession.

EXPIRATION
THE ABDOMINAL MUSCLES

The expiration of the chest expanding muscles as

taught in the last lesson is an involuntary effort of
619
620 LESSON XXX

expiration. To it must be added a voluntary effort for

the powerful tones demanded in public speaking or
singing. The voluntary effort must be made by the
abdominal muscles alone, and by no others.
The purpose of the abdominal muscle is simple, be
cause its principal object is to narrow the abdominal
cavity. But several of these muscles also assist in the
movement of the body downward or sidewise, and espe
cially in the efforts of strong expiration.
The muscles of the abdomen run in three different
directions: downward, across, and slanting. They sup
port the viscera, or contents of the body, and they can
act upon this in a steady compressing effort. See Figs.
153, 154, and 155. The viscera is enclosed by these
abdominal muscles in front and on the sides, and by the
diaphragm above.
When the abdominal muscles contract, they push
the viscera backward toward the spine and upward
against the diaphragm; in this wise the diaphragm is
being pushed upward against the lungs and assists to
expel breath. But if the diaphragm were held tight,
then the viscera could not push it upward and would
itself become strained, because it would then have too
little room to spread. Such straining, it is claimed, is
the cause of many internal diseases. Weak and relaxed
abdominal muscles are also a great disease contributing
agent, such as a suspended abdomen. If the abdominal
muscles are weak, they cannot hold the viscera in place,
in consequence of which the abdominal contents hang
downward. For these reasons, aside from the beneficial
results in the voluntary breathing effort, the exercises
which follow these explanations will contribute to a
better condition of health, especially for older people.
 LESSON XXX 621

In Fig. 148, the "Complete Breathing Apparatus,"

only one of the principal abdominal muscles could be
given—the obliquus externus—but the student can
easily picture for himself how the other muscles are
situated, especially with the help of the Figs. 153 and 154.
The above-mentioned obliquus externus starts on
each side of the abdomen from out of the last eight ribs
and runs to the hip bone below. See Fig. 153. In con-

Fig. 153

traction it will draw its curve to a straight line, pushing

inward against the diaphragm ; at the same time it will
help to narrow the lower chest and thus assist in com
pressing the lungs to expel breath.
The obliquus interims lies below the obliquus ex
ternus. Its fibres cross that muscle and extend in a
622 LESSON XXX

fan-shape into the last three ribs, pulling these down

ward and somewhat inward. See Fig. 154.

Fig. 154

The transversalis abdominis extends straight across

the abdomen, not slanting as do the two preceding mus
cles. It is the deepest of all the abdominal muscles. It
is attached to the six last ribs in front, to some of the
vertebraes in the back and to the hip bone below. This
muscle will draw the whole front of the abdomen in
ward, thereby pushing upward against the diaphragm,
and inward and downward against the ribs to which it
is attached. See Fig. 155.
There are several minor muscles, which assist in the
abdominal and rib movement, but those given are the
 LESSON XXX (>23

principal agents which need to be known, as the control

of these muscles will necessarily involve the minor
muscles also.

Fig. 155
View of the Transversalis Muscle

GENERAL SUMMARY
Inspiration for ordinary conversation requires only
a slight expansion of the lungs, and the diaphragm
contracts very little and gently.
Inspiration for public speaking or public singing,
concert or opera, requires an extensive expansion of the
lungs and ribs.
Expiration for ordinary purposes is so slight that it
needs no special attention.
Expiration for public use requires an extensive rib,
diaphragm, and abdominal movement, to compress the
lungs sufficiently to set the enlarged and tense vocal
chords into vibration without any seeming effort; that
is, the entire effort must become automatic.
624 LESSON XXX

HIPS, LEGS, ETC.

As a further illustration of the interdependence of
the muscles of the different parts of the body to one
another, the student is requested to examine Fig. 148,
Nos. 9 and 10, of Perfect Breath Apparatus, which are
some of the muscles connecting the hips with the legs.
From the legs there are other chains of muscles to the
knee, from there to the foot, and thence to the toes. All
these muscles connect in some form with one another,
so that if one muscle is injured, that injury communi
cates itself to some extent all through the chain of mus
cles of which the injured muscle is a member.
From the head above to the feet below, in front,
back, and the sides of the body, run continuous chains
of muscles which must work in unison to produce that
harmonious working of the body, which is so graceful,
so strong, and so beautiful, illustrating in our body the
laws of God, viz.: Order—Nature, Harmony—Love,
Expression—the Word (Voice).
In the "Perfect Voice" and now in "Perfect Breath
ing" two systems have been proven and taught, which
will enable one to be in perfect harmony with Nature,
on these subjects at least.

EXERCISES FOR LESSON XXX

THE ABDOMINAL MUSCLES
The great difficulty in learning correct breathing is
not in knowing how much breath to take or how to
inhale or exhale, but to obtain a sure control over the
important abdominal muscles without the interference
of the diaphragm, rib, or chest muscles. It is true that
the diaphragm plays an important part in exhaling, but
it can be controlled only indirectly through the abdomi
nal muscles. For all tones, for the strongest and high
 LESSON XXX 625

est as well as for the softest, only a nominal contraction

of the abdominal muscles should take place, assisted by
a slight sinking of the lower parts of the back.
(1) Cough a few times, then cease suddenly, and
you will observe a large but loose forward movement of
the stomach. Cough again and observe that without
wishing it, or intending to cause it, the lower ribs con
tract somewhat. Now place your hand against the low
est part of the abdomen and draw that part loosely and
easily inward.
You will find that the entire adbomen goes with it.
Next, simply think of drawing in the lowest part of
the abdomen and observe that the chest is also drawn
in slightly, although you did not think of the chest at
all. You see, the chest motion results from the abdomi
nal motion.
In doing this exercise, sit comfortably, leaning light
ly against the back of the chair. Now pause a few
seconds between each exercise and picture to yourself
the abdomen as an empty hollow space against which
the muscles suddenly but quite loosely contract. Then
shape the lips for a soft "s" or "z" and repeat the exer
cise as before and observe that the "s" is involuntarily
heard in a low, soft hiss.
This is proof that your abdominal muscles are act
ing properly. The deeper and more loosely you can
move the abdomen, the softer will be the "hiss" sound
Notice also that the chest feels hollow and relaxed.
You must learn to make these motions a little faster
each day, but always loosely. Devote about five min
utes to the exercise and repeat several times a day.
(2) Diaphragm Isolated: Hold a hand against
the lower abdomen and make the "s" sound suddenly
but softly, this time without the least abdominal mo
tion. In fact, do not even think of the abdomen. If
626 LESSON XXX

you will hold the upper body (the chest) quite relaxed,
you will experience a sinking sensation in the under
portion of the chest, right over the stomach, as though
something had caved in. This is the diaphragm.

Now hold the upper body quite relaxed and make a

prolonged, low, soft, breathy "s," and observe that the
entire upper body sinks, much as it would collapse if
you sank onto a chair in extreme weariness. In this
exercise the, abdominal muscles were excluded as much
as possible and only the diaphragm isolated.

(3) Abdominal Muscles and Diaphragm : Move

the abdomen twice suddenly but loosely backward, as
in the first exercise and observe that when made loosely
enough, only a soft "s" results. Then, as the second
exercise, aspirate the "s" without abdominal motion
and with the upper body quite relaxed. Next unite
the abdomen and diaphragm exercises by suddenly
and loosely drawing in the abdomen and at the same
time expect the feeling of sinking or falling in the lower
chest. Hold the position of the mouth as before, and
notice that now you have a sharp hissing "ss." This is
a proof that all the breathing muscles have contracted
powerfully and without the least strain. Later, when
this exercise can be performed with ease, instead of the
"ss"call out "ha, ha, ha, hi, hi, hi." Later still, read or
speak aloud short sentences and observe that the abdo
men and chest seem loose, that the breath flows easily
and suffices for long sentences.

These exercises must be practiced until they become

automatic. From time to time, go over these lessons
and again review all the exercises given to see if you
have mastered them.
 LESSON XXX f.27

THE ABDOMINAL MUSCLES

(Continued)
(1) Place both hands against the sides of the lower
chest. Inhale and observe that the chest opens and
expands outward against the hands. The expansion of
the chest causes* the inrush of air, therefore the "inhaling
process" is really only a process ot quickly, loosely ex
panding the chest.
Hold the chest in this expanded position during the
following exercise, which will at first seem a little
difficult.
Very gently and loosely draw the lower abdomen
back. Hold it so for a moment, then relax, slacken it so
that is falls back into its natural position. In doing this
exercise you will observe that the abdomen narrows a
little from side to side and flattens in front. Familiarize
yourself with this movement and then observe that in
the drawing in and slacking of the abdomen, the sides
of the chest are not to be moved at all. Place your hands
against the sides of the lower chest, draw in the abdomen
very, very loosely, and determine that the chest should
not move in the least when you draw the abdomen
backward.
This is the important part of this exercise. When
you can thus draw and relax the abdomen without mov
ing the chest you have completely 'ated the impor
tant abdominal muscles and made it advance.

ISOLATED ABD
(2) Whisper "sh" several time Kc the posi-
tion of the mouth and tongue and ^the position
unconstrained. Then place the ha the sides of
the chest, as instructed above, and gently but
quickly draw back the abdomen a™ voluntarily a
faint "sh" will be heard. During this :ise the chest
628 LESSoW XXX

and sides must not move at all. The greatest movement

of the abdominal muscles will be noticed at the lower
end. Do the same with the whistle. Close your lips
around the mouth of the whistle. Keep your throat
free and make a sound merely by the loose abdominal
contraction without moving the ribs.

ISOLATED CHEST

(3) Sit comfortably with the back resting against

the chair. Take a deep breath. Hold it for a moment
and then whisper "sh" softly and observe that very
little breath is used. Then quickly follow the "sh" with
"oo" and note that the chest sinks at once and that
all the breath is used; the sound is like "sh-oe."
This exercise should be gone through many times
without taking notice of the abdominal muscles. The
student is to observe two points in this exercise. First,
that in the "sh" a resistance is formed principally by the
tongue, which lets very little air pass out. Second, that
in the transition from the "sh" to the "oo" this resist
ance disappears; the breath escapes quickly and the
whole chest sinks Incidentally, this exercise shows that
the breath is er ," 'ost where it meets no resistance.
The voice . t must now see that if he loses his
breath easil" cause his vocal chords do not close
the air pass .hey should. He should not aim to
hold the bl 5 it is sometimes but erroneously
taught, bus st see to it that the vocal chord-
stretching are strong enough to close the air
passage anal ch the chords automatically. If you
try to hold\ breath you will invariably force the
voice and ge| o the habit of using the glottis attack.
 LESSON XXX 629

TONE WITH ISOLATED ABDOMINAL

MUSCLES
(4) First, clearly understand and master the first
exercise in this lesson. Then place the hands against the
sides of the lower chest. Expand the chest and inhale.
Hold this expanded position quietly for a moment, then
whisper "awh," "ah," "eeh," "oh," "ooh." With each
vowel draw in the abdomen quickly but gently, as in
the first exercise. Form the vowels in the usual way.
Observe the position of the tongue, mouth, and teeth,
made by each vowel, then hold each position exactly,
one at a time, and draw the abdomen back. In doing
this you will reproduce each of the vowel sounds invol
untarily. During this exercise the chest must neither
expand nor contract.
The vowels must be quickly forced out by the slight
movement of the abdomen ; then pause a moment before
the next vowel, so that the abdomen may relax. During
the relaxation a little breath is lost—noticeably as an
aspirate, therefore, I have added the final "h" to the
vowels.
After systematically and quietly practicing the above
exercise, follow the same procedure, but now speak, or
rather, call out the vowels loudly, but never scream
them. Almost everyone will attain a considerably bet
ter and easier tone through this exercise. Always think
of the breath and the vocal strength as resulting from
a slight contraction of the abdominal muscles. Experi
ment also with whistle.

PLEASE OBSERVE
That the isolation of the abdominal muscles may
cause some difficulty at first, but persist in a little daily
exercise until you have mastered it. If you have mas
tered the previous instructions you can be sure of mas
630 LESSON XXX

tering these. By isolating the abdominal muscles you

will get the tone away from the throat, and you will also
learn much of value about the breathing muscles. Prac
tice this isolating exercise often. Even after you have
gained control of these muscles, it will be well to go
through these exercises again once or twice a year to
make sure you have the muscles under your control.

CHEST AND ABDOMEN COMBINED

(5) Make the "sh" sound by suddenly but very
loosely moving back the abdomen. Do this several
times to get a gentle, soft "sh" sound. Let the abdomen
simply flatten backward without the least effort, then
do the same thing with the chest; that is, first expand,
hold a second, then let the chest contract (sink) simply
because you let go of the expanding muscles. Notice
that you can make the "sh" sound also with the chest
alone. Practice this chest exercise a few times, then :
(6) Combine the two movements by suddenly and
loosely drawing in the abdomen and at the same instant
expect the feeling of sinking or falling in the lower chest.
Hold the position of the mouth as before and notice that
you now have a sharp hissing "hss," instead of the soft
"hs" as before. This is a proof that the breathing mus
cles have contracted powerfully and without the least
strain. Later, when you can perform this exercise with
ease, instead of the "hss" call out "ha, he, ho, hoo, haw."
Later still, read or speak aloud short sentences and ob
serve that the abdomen and chest seem loose, that the
breath flows easily and gradually suffices for long sen
tences and for the most intense dramatic requirements.
This breath must be used for all singing. As you have
studied the "Perfect Voice" observe also the tongue
beat.
 LESSON XXX 631

THE BELT
With this lesson you are furnished with the "Belt"
or tape measure. Its purpose is principally in assisting
you to isolate the abdominal and chest muscles.
As a preliminary exercise fasten the belt around your
waist, between the lowest or first rib and the third. Do
not close the belt tightly, but just enough so that it does
not interfere with your natural, easy and accustomed
breathing. Notice the number or size of the closed belt,
or, in other words, your "measurement." After this
loosen the belt and :
(1) Sitting comfortably in a chair expand the chest.
This expansion must not be forced, but easy and loose.
Gradually it should be made quick or sudden. Let the
upper chest drop or droop loosely downward, when you
expand outward, like a lazy school boy drooping over
his bench. Repeat this several times to see how loosely
and how suddenly you can expand or open out the lower
chest, that is, the ribs, and notice the number or meas
urement on the belt now.
(2) After having learned to expand, hold the lower
chest in this expanded position and close the belt around
it—remember the number.
(3) Now, loosely, but quickly, draw in the lower
abdomen, but without moving the chest in the least;
that is, retain the chest expansion at the number. The
breath will naturally escape, usually both through mouth
and nose. Keep mouth slightly open.
This is sometimes a very difficult exercise, but it will
pay you to master it, both for greater ease and freedom
in breathing and for larger volume in voice.
Besides this, your entire physical being will be large
ly benefited. You will gain freedom and buoyancy from
it. It will relieve strain from any part of the body.
632 LESSON XXX

Your walking will be freer and more graceful; you will

gain confidence in approaching others.
(4) After you have learned to isolate the abdomen
—that is, when you can move the abdomen without
moving the expanded chest—then learn the combina
tion of the chest with abdomen in the following way:
Repeat twice, drawing in the abdomen, while chest
is extended. The third time let go of the chest in the
loosest possible way, at the same instant that you in
tend to draw in the abdomen, notice now that there is
a large, free rush of air; in fact, all the air was expelled
now, whereas when you used the abdomen, only com
paratively little air was expelled.
You see the abdominal contraction, when the chest
is held expanded, only causes the diaphragm to push up
ward; only a little pressure is in this way acting upon
the lungs.
But, when the chest collapses, it adds its own weight
in compressing the lungs, squeezing them from all sides,
from in front, the back, the right and left side, and the
diaphragm from below upward, so the lungs are com
pelled to give up nearly all the air within them.

TESTS
The following three tests will prove and explain this
even better:
(1) Hold the chest expanded and move abdomen, at
the same time make the sound "sh," and notice that this
sound is soft and not strong, provided you have made
the abdominal movement very easy, as it should be, and
without moving chest.
(2) Now pay no attention to the abdomen. First
expand the chest easily, at the same time inhale. Then
collapse the chest in the loosest, easiest way. at the same
time make the sound "sh," and notice that the chest
 LESSON XXX 63b

alone also makes the "sh" sound rather softly, though a

little stronger, than the same sound with abdomen alone.
(3) Now make the "sh" sound at the instant that
you collapse the chest and intend to draw in the abdo
men. If you can combine the two in the easiest possible
way, you will find that now the "sh" sound is very
strong, though you have not exerted yourself in the least.
For all breathing exercises leave the mouth slightly
open.
Observe after you have succeeded with the iso
lation of each (the abdomen and chest) that when you
use the combination, the chest will sink quite deeply,
but the abdomen will hardly move at all, a mere little
shrinking is all that you will notice in the abdomen, and
this is right.
Finally, when these exercises have been mastered
separately, and after you have learned the combination,
the breathing will become automatic.
When you sing or speak, always start the voice by
intending to let the chest collapse; of course, now it will
not sink deeply as in the exercises where you merely do
the breathing, because when you sing or speak, the vo
cal chords are closed and prevent the escape of breath.
But, the intention to collapse the chest will relax the
expanding muscles and thus give the contracting mus
cles of the abdomen and diaphragm especially, the
chance to contract.
If you would not relax the chest, then the contract
ing muscles would have no chance to do their work.
Also, the collapse of the chest very greatly assists in
starting a tone.
There is a contention between the two distinct and
different parts, the vocal organ and the breathing
organ; through the friction caused by these two parts,
the living voice is created.
634 LESSON XXX

CONCLUSION
Always inhale by expanding the chest as taught in
the earlier parts of these lessons. Make sure that you
thoroughly master this.
In ordinary converstion, merely think the chest and
abdomen as absolutely loose and free. For dramatic
efforts, for sudden accented phrases, for strongly accent
ed singing tones, intend to draw in the abdomen at pre
cisely the instant of the accent or at the starting of an
especially emphatic sentence.
For especially strong and high tones the singer may
even add to his breath support by an effort to suddenly
straighten the knees, at the instant of tone. This effort
prompts the powerful leg muscles to contract, and as
these are attached to the hips, the hips will be strongly
held against the powerful upward contraction (upward
upon the hips, downward upon the ribs) of the abdomi
nal muscles.
Both the singer and the speaker should aim to use
only the tongue and the lips. Avoid the use of the jaw.
The mouth should be held no farther apart than the
space of the thumb placed sidewise between the teeth.
If you put the tryhedron (sent with your first lesson)
between your teeth and teach yourself to articulate
strongly, slowly, and distinctly, with your teeth apart,
you will learn the use of the tongue, and especially your
lips, without the tone-destroying jaw movements. The
saw-toothed wooden tryhedron furnished with your out
fit is intended just for this purpose.
Always hold your body at an easy attitude, just as
if you were earnestly, sincerely, speaking with a friend,
whom you respect highly, but at the same time feel free
and easy; of course, never be slouchy.
If you carefully observe these instructions and prac
tice each exercise until you have mastered it, you have
 LESSON XXX 635

become master over a considerable part of your body,

so that this much at least will be your servant. You
should then be a better speaker, singer, and also a
sounder, better human being.

A RESTATEMENT OF THE MOST ESSENTIAL

LESSONS
The Lessons I, II, VI, XI, and XX, are indispen
sable to any student of voice.
In the first two lessons you are taught the groove;
this groove effort compels the hyo-glossi muscles to con
tract. But the groove alone means little—all good sing
ers and speakers have that automatically, mostly un
known to themselves. But even if they were conscious
of the value of the groove, it would not assist them ma
terially to develop their voices further, to increase the
compass, the power and ease of the voice.
The groove can be made with the assistance of either
the jaw or throat muscles, and when so made, the groove
is of no advantage, but rather the opposite.
Lesson VI taught you to make this groove without
using the jaw or throat muscles. This constitutes the
first great step toward the development of voice.
In Lesson XI you received the instruction how
to apply the action of the hyo-glossi muscles in a prac
tical way, by speaking or singing entirely with the. all-
important action of the tongue. You were given a test
which, if you have succeeded in mastering, proved to
you without any possibility of contradiction that when
you can use the tongue without interference of either
the jaw or throat muscles, your natural voice is clear,
strong, free and easy. You have the physical proof
when you feel the "beat" or slight pressure of the
tongue against the underlying finger. Every word
636 LESSON XXX

spoken and every tone sung, with which you feel the
beat, without throat or jaw interference, is good.
However, up to this point your instructions could go
no farther than to introduce you to the necessary work
and to give you the needed control over the voice con
trolling hyo-glossi muscles. You were merely taught
how to get hold of and how to use that which Nature
had given you long before you ever heard of me or my
method.
If you have followed my instructions and practiced
speaking with the little finger under the tongue daily,
those of you having any speech defects should be almost
entirely cured. All that you had to do was to acquire
the habit of speaking with the tongue, and when you
so speak, you cannot stammer, for instance, even if
you wanted to stammer.
The public speaker was, with the eleventh lesson,
taught the exact and infallible attack. This alone
should enable him to speak with ease and comfort, be
cause it gave him the control of all the voice Nature
had given him, but no more.
The same applies to the singer. The isolated control
over the hyo-glossi muscles enables the singer to use his
natural voice to the greatest advantage. His tones are
sweeter, stronger, and freer, when this exact attack is
applied than it could be otherwise. Many, very many
students of this course have written that even with
those few lessons, and these only the preliminary les
sons, they had succeeded in public appearance as sing
ers, whereas, in spite of years of previous study of the
old methods, they had failed.
But to attain the royal voice, the big vocal success,
it is necessary to do much more than is possible with the
average natural voice, and this can be attained only
when these hyo-glossi muscles are made enormously
 LESSON XXX 637

strong. To train and strengthen these muscles to the

uttermost, Lesson XX was given you. Practicing a con
traction of these muscles against the resistance of the
underlying thumb and without interference of jaw or
throat muscles will give you that strength. As it was
pointed out in the lessons, this exercise must be prac
ticed very much, and in most cases for a long period.
If your tongue muscles are naturally very weak,
then, of course, it may take a very long time to develop
all the strength needed. If the muscles are naturally
strong, then you will succeed more quickly. •
The exercise of thumb or tongue support under
the tongue is the final and only exercise which
must be practiced daily until you are absolutely satis
fied with your voice. Practice it all you can.
The lessons and exercises outside of the tongue are
secondary, designed to gradually give you a complete
survey and control over every feature connected with
the voice. Once understood, they need not be practiced
any longer.
For instance, you were taught the glottis attack for
low tones, and the palate attack for high tones and soft
tones. As soon as you are sure of those attacks, you
need no longer practice them, for there is no develop
ment possible or needed. When you once know these
two attacks, you can apply them wherever you want to ;
no further practice is necessary. Only the tongue attack
can be developed and should be developed.
All exercises for breathing given in earlier lessons
should be dropped—they were merely for temporary
use and to gradually familiarize yourself with the
breathing part of your body.
All the lessons of "Perfect Breathing" must be mas
tered completely. It may take several weeks or months
to do that, but it should be done. After you have mas
638 LESSON XXX

tered the lessons and exercises on "Perfect Breathing"

you can go no further. It is advisable to review the
lessons on breathing every now and then, but it does
not necessitate much practice after it is once under
stood and under your control.
So, finally and for the last time, keep up the prac
tice of strengthening the hyo-glossi muscles; do not be
afraid to overwork the tongue, if you eliminate the jawr
and throat muscles. No amount of tongue practice can
harm you.
A little daily practice of reading, counting, or speak
ing aloud, with little finger under the tongue, will be of
great value to the singer as well as to the speaker; and
of course, as often mentioned, this is absolutely, once
and for all, necessary for those with defective voices
of any kind.
This lesson finishes the course in voice training, but
it does not mean that I shall no longer advise you. To
the contrary, I want you to remember that I shall be
glad to hear from you, and especially that I am always
ready and willing to assist and advise you.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON LESSON XXX

1. Which part of the body must act involuntarily
for expiration?
2. Which part of the body must act voluntarily
for expiration?
3. Do you realize the muscular chain which is em
ployed, both for inhaling and exhaling?
4. Which is the principal part used for inhaling?
5. Which is the principal part used for exhaling?
6. Can you isolate the abdomen?
7. Can you isolate the chest?
8. Can you realize the combination of using abdo
men and chest measure? ,
 LESSON XXX 639

9. What is your natural belt measure?

10. What is your measure after you have inhaled?
11. What is your success in speaking with the
tongue and breath?
12. What is your success in singing with the tongue
and breath?
13. Are you willing to develop the tongue strength?
14. Is there any part of the course which you do not
understand? If so, what part?
15. Will you let me know from time to time of your
progress ?
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