, 1884-05-25
PIPING THE VOICE.
The Invention Which Will Revolu-
tionize the Singing World.
a Doctor Undertakes to Regulate At
Will the Character of Any
VoIcc-Concert Singers
to Order.



The English physician who recently pro-
posed 10 give Scotch tenors melodious Italian
voices by causing them to breathe medicated
air, has been entirely eclipsed by II German
loctor who has discovered how to convert
any person, male or female, into a living or
gan with all sorts of stops. The new discov-
cry is briefly described in a news dispatch us
"a slight surgical operation. This is hardly
accurate, either in fact or fiction, for the OPP
Grafton by which a man is provided with a
complete sot OF voices Is a mechanical rather
than "A surgical ono.
The learned German began some years ago
an investigation into the nature Of the human
voice, in the course of which he found that
the throat bears a perfect analogy to an
organ pipe, aud that the differences in pitch
and quality between any two human voices
are due TO the differences in tho size and con-
struction Of the Threats by which they arc
respectively produced. Thus u long, wide
throat gives a deep bass note, a narrow or
shorter throat gives a tenor note, and u still
narrower or shorter throat produces the high
soprano. The quality of ths note is affected
10y the constituencies of the mucous membrane
lining the throat. II this membrane is thin
aud delicate, the note will be clear and reson-
ant; while il it is thick, tho throat will pro-
duce only dull or harsh notes.
Upon the basis OF these facts the doctor
NuueTJOOk 10 TtBuLuLe nt Will tine character
OF any voice. He proceeded to alter the
length of the human throat by means of
rubber tubes. Borrowing u small boy for
tile purpose OF making experiments, he in
serted in his throat n tube four inches long,
thus increasing by an incn and u half the
length of the vibrating column of air.
The result was that the boys voice
instantly became a deep bass, lower, in
fact, than that of the late Carl Formes.
Next he substituted for the four-inch tube a
narrow three-inch tube, and the boy there
upon sang nearly All octave higher than
Patti. Continuing his experiments, the doc
tor found that he could by means of twenty
four different tubes provide the boy with
twenty-four different voices, varying in
pitch and quality. The experiments were
without exception successful, and the doc
tors theory wns completely established.
1t is evident that this discovery is one of
tho utmost Importance. Hereafter opera
managers will have to engage but IA single
star with a complete set of pipes, for such a
singer will be able to appear ono night as II
soprano, and then n tenor, and another as n
cuntralto, n baritone, or n bnsso. The man
ager, instead of paying nm enormous sum
for this star, can manufacture him-or her
out Of 1t cheap chorus singer at the moro cost of
the stars rubber tubes. Concert singing will,
however, be practically ruined by the Ger
man doctors tubes, for every man can pro-
vide himself with his own sot of tubes and do
his own singing. Tho tubes will also be of
use in other fields than chat of music. The
stern mother in law can reprovo and rebuke
with double effect If she uses a bass tube, and
speaks in low c, and the astute lover, by u
judicious use of n fine baritone or tenor stop,
will be able TO make an impression upon u
heart which has refused to respond to the
tones of his natural voice. When every man
becomes his own organ and can play on him
self with perfect skill the world will become
ns musical us n cage of singing birds, and u
harsh voice will DO treated as n willful out
rage on public decency.