Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-06-30
VENTRILOQUISN.
REAL SECRET OF The ART OF
THROWING THE VOICE."

THROWING TIE VOICE."
yentriloquisl sounds Produced by the
Vocal Organs Alone How A.toni,himE
Effects Are Produced Instructions
/ which Amy One Can Follow.
Nentrilo luial SOUNDS are produced 10y
means OF the NoraI organs alone The t,
preston, talking duwu tn" TIN plt. Is some
times used when alluiIng to the SUD eel Of
NentrioiuI~m, well taking III the
stomach Neither "un, ,rys proper idea
of the art. tue iirst benz unIy patty true
and the latter ha lrS 10 claim wAatrN er to
our attention Sometime, It ma, ", found
necessary to cOn!inr the sounds to the
region oG the larnyN IN order to produce
ceIt tam effects. the iItt.r service the stuma h,
or more properly tht abdomen. Is Gale
upon TO perform Is IN arI!uS the lung, 10y
muscular action.
The art is divided into two part,
triloqulsm proper amt Po.ypnoulsm The
former comprises those lnIta-i in which
an illusion to rrmotcness Is Intended
whereas, the latter means imitation, of
voices in different persons close at hand,
criS OF animals etc Most modern ven
triIolulsis belong to that class. The ear Is
easily deceived with regard to the source,
of sound Such noises arr often h. ard
the beating Of drum ringing OF "a bell,
TumthnB Of a carriage, etc, and the list
ener is unce rtain at inst to their true
direction But after while, when the ear
becO"Ies famlllari. ed with particular
sound, the location easily determine 1,
ami t is not again sadily cheated by the
4
So 1t is with ventrio IuIsm The performer
changes the tone of his voice, dIsguIsng It
in many ways. an offering many Oustacl.s
10 Its ii v-rr>> ~ tongue. teeth ana
lips, as lie aIOiv ivsaII sULuIs are OOsiructeI
in their passage by rows Of bultlInss, etc
-ausIng them 10 bound from object to ob
sect until, when they reacn the ear of the
listener, they seem TO come from any dIrec
ton but the true one
TO rRuDU CE A-TONI>HINC EFFECT~.
Much stress has been laid 10y some ven
trIloluists upon the fact that 1t Is possible
to face an Audience during their perform
ances, and without betraN Ing any perCrptl
Bile movement OF the hIs Or muscles OI tue
face. Such performances ( realty detrAct
Il ON the success OF their intended vocal
illusions 10y thus directing the attention OF
the au llence, not to the supposed sources OF
the sound but to the real sOu.ce, the Ven
trIloqulst himself Ii Is Simply u ChaIleu5c
to the @uIIence to detect, II they can
whether the performer really does taiK With
out moving his lips Some ventr loJuIsts
clam to be superior t. Others upon the
ground that they always face ) luarey to
the fl, mt. but while this Is an easy matter,
other and Ear more skilled performers FIRE
quently turn their baCAs to the audience.
and very sci .om present more Inau "a pro
file view Of their faces In order to pro
duce astonishing elects II Is sometimes
found necessary Tor even the most pruh
cIent ventrlOquIsi 10 conceal him eli alto
gether from the view of the audience In
every case where the NeHtrilO Just faC,s
the audience they will discover that his lips
do move, all II ,srrtlOns to the contrary not
withstand 1t should at AL times Uc tn
aim Of the VentrIlo Eulst to divert The atten
tIon of the audience from himself entirely.
OF late years a large number ot VentrIlo-
quIsts have cone to the front each one b.
ing III most RESPECTS an lmItatOr OF has
predecessor, and their exhibitions consist
ing generally OF Il dialogue between two or
more puppets and the performer himself.
Such performances are within the power OF
any person who has talent for mImicry, a
-
face an audience. Practice viii do 1t ali IN
a short time Not so. however. with true
ventrIlo Iui>m, tor no one can become pro.
tCient in this art without deN Ouug 10 II
much study and years of practice. Ii /,
essential that the student should have AZ
ear well attuuvd as to readily distinguish
the different qualities OF sound. he suOuI
also possess Voice OF great nrNiuIlIty
ranging IN compass from the deepest Uas>
10 IalsetJo, and has bump Of imitation
should be largely deN elop.J. vi this does
not imply that there should De any peculiar
construction of the vocal organs and any
who assert that ventrIlo !uIsts necessarily
differ in this respect from other individual.
either do 50 for u purpose or thereby e&
pose their ignorance Of tie SUBJECT
REAL SECRET or The ARR.
Tie real secret of ventrI.oquisln can bt
very briefly explained, VIZ: NeutrIlo IuIsu.
is the imitation of soun Is 50 that tLey seeu
to come from a distance from the PEI SO.
speaking or the imitation Of sounds as the,
are heard on coming from distance. TnI
Is the whole secret of the art, and the &C
complishment depends upon practice am
deXterity. s~~a-
Any person possessing u good voice
sound lungs and moderate amount o.
mimetIc talent may, with perseverance
acquire more or less proficiency in the ven
triloqulal art, according to the time lie. otcu
to its study. The student should aIway.
copy alter nature, either familiar human
voices or cries of animals Always tar
during expiration instead OF inspiration, "A
some endeavor TO do. Stand or sit erect
expand the chest and initiate the lunSs befor,
talking in the ventriloquIal voice Selec
l..
lungs SO as to have sufficient to finish eacl
one before taking anothnr breath. Ia,
ample time between each question and an,
wer tor breathing purposes, and let IL,
questions gwen in the natural Noice lie q
suiici mt length to allow time 10 fully owe.
come the fatigue which necessarily follow.
this manner OF speaking. The student |
adN ISed IN all cases relating to dIstan
sounds to let the ear he his guide as t. tone
pitch, lou mess, ct e, tor he can not be gov |
erened correctly 10y any liked rules in sucL !
matters The practice Of listening to warn. |
GUS sounds in the open air, and noting al |
tenuyeIy their pe, ulIarltIes, will IN a shor, |
time enable tine ear TO determine with con |
siderable accuracy all that is essential IOI |
the study Of ventrilo Iuism \ great variety |
OF sounds may lie produced with but slight |
changes of the tongue AMI lips and theII |
action upon the teeth A little prGCtic, |
will, however, do more in this respect thai.
long explanations OF rules The professiona
ventriloIuist requires great confidence anu
self possession, with u ready How OF smai
talk TO keep up the interest
1t will probably appear strange to tn
uninitiated when they are informed tina.
the voice from above, the voice below am
the voice at "a distance and on a line from
the performer are produced Precisely in til,
same manner. The ventrlIoJuist III either
case simply directs the attention Of hi
hearers TO the supposed source OF the sound
For such voices the vocal chords are con
tracted and a tine clear tone produced, il.
loudness representing the distance Any
further written explanations would be OF II.
practical value IN the study OF ventrilu
qulsm. Experience has demonstrated thu
the art can be successfully taught, thougi
the belief has generally been to the con
Francisco Call
A Recollection of Horace GreeIy.