The Central Nevadan. [volume] (Battle Mountain, Nev.) 1885-1907, 1888-02-16

Sucn AS the clarinet ana the Dassoon.
This comparison of the female upper
registers with the male falsetto does
not necessarily imply similarity in
the mechanism Of their production, as
is assumed by some writer's. The
vocal chord in the female lower and
upper medium vibrate in their entire
length; in the male falsetto. the
chords are artiticially shortened SO
that they are approximated in length
to the length Of the chords in the
female
The reasons why the range of the
different vocal registers is limited are
the following: Within the limits of
each register the tension of the vocal
chords has an exact relation to the
pitch Of the sound produced This
tension is, of course, limited by the
limits of power of the muscles acting
upon the vocal chords for high notes
and by the limit Of possible regular
vibration Of chords of certain length
for low notes. The higher the tension
and the greater the rlgidity Of the
chords the greater is the force Of air
required to throw them into vibration;
and this, of course. also has certain
limits. 1t is never desirable to push
any Of the lower registers in female
voices To their highest limits. All
competent teachers of singing recog
nize this fact. The female chest reg-
lister may be made to meet tie upper
medium, particularly in contraltos:
bat the singer then has practically two
voices, n condition which is musica.ly
lntolerable. In blending the different
registers so as to make perfectly uni
form single voice, the vibrations of the
arytenoid cartilages should be rendered
progressively and evenly less and less
prominent, until they impereeptibly
cease when the lower medium is fully
reached; the arytenoid cartilages
should then be progressively and
evenly Appropriated to each other un-
til they are firmly in contact and the
upper medium is fully reached. The
female vocal apparatus is then per-
feet organ. While single nutes Of the
chest, lower medium aud upper me-
dlum, contrasted with each other,
have different qualities, the voice is
even throughout its entire range, and
the proper shading called for in musi.
cal compositions can be best made in
any part of the scale. Even in singing
identical notes, there are distinctly
recognizable differences i'll quality be-
tween the bass. baritone, and tenor,
and between the contralt0, mezzo, and
soprano. As regards female voices,
these may be compared to the differ
ences in identical notes played on
different strings of the violin. For
male Voices, they may be compared to
the qualities If the different strings of
the violoncello. Falsetto notes may
be compared to harmonics produced
on these Instruments. The ideas with
regard to mechanism of the different
vocal registers have resulted, first,
from study Of these registers from
an aesthetic point of view, then, from
an endeavor to find explanations of
different qualities of sound, appre-
ciated by the ear, in laryngoscopic and
other scientific observations, and not
by reasoning from scientific observa-
tions as to what effects upon the ear
should be produced by certain acts
performed by the vocal organs. 1t is
well to remember. in this connection,
that the works of John Sebastian,
Bach, Beethoven, and other old mas
ters, were composed exactly in accord
ance with purely physical laws, long
before these laws were ascertained aud
defined, as has lately been done, par
ticularly by Helmholtz Austin Flint
| in the Forum of February.