The record-union., 1893-03-01
Rnnal eaki.re a1n,unrr.

peasant 10 hear. In the second. or true
iileshou, the voice Is round, full, vibrating
and delight to the singer and the iist7
ehers. All throaty voices and all other
directive voices come from a wrong man
agement OF the throat. When the breath
strikes the soft palate a clear tone cannot
De gwen; a clouded or yelled voice is
nearer To the proper tone, but the throat
not being sufficiently open in front the
sounds produced are not so resonant hut
III tne course OF study in the method where
the lowest position of the larynx is on
tanned, that veil is removed from the
voice, ana beautiful tone resultsU mn
plls are apt to endeaVor to make the tone
GEAR ny dlrecung the sounds farther
pdch. Strange as 1t may sound to many
singers VINO nave not had the advantage
OF good instruction, the vowel a. Il. all
IN English Is the most difficult vowel tn
sing; this must be sung in the Italian
which sounds like a in water: to sine
an III The English is very easy, REQUIRES
no study, but in the Italian way very
ullncult. we have sounds in English
which cannot be sung without CHANGING
the method OF singing; thus, if we vocal
lie in the Italian method all the yoWelS
must be sung all in the same method. if
we sing the as we pronounce it. it mn
sets the system, the throat assumes a diff
iereht posllIon, moves upward and closes.
most vital Importance to singer, simple
as IL seems. This sound nearly always
ue@enerateS into a-e, both sounds distinct
ly heard. In a singer who sings in Ital-
ian the nationality is easily detected by
the Vocallzatlon OF this vowel; an Italian
VIII sing the a, which is the vowel e in
thelr language, with an open tone, an
EhgIsh singer most frequently with a
closed tone.
sharp ana flat singing is not the result
(aS most people supposed OF an imperfect
ear. ON the contrary, many of the most
celebrated artists sing occasionally out of
tune. ii an artistic has repertory of
NIFTY operas, 1t certainly cannot be the
fault OF his ear; 10 learn one opera re-
qulres more than All ordinary ear The
throat IS the cause, and not the ear The
sharp singing IS caused by the pushing
upward OF the front part of the larynX,
forced upward by the breath, the muscles
not being strong enough to resist the
pressure. In fiat singing the front mus
cles hold the throat in position. but the
muscles OF the rear part of the larynx be-
ing weak, it cannot retain horizontal
position, which is necessary To produce a
perfect tone. Singing is simply gym
nastic ofthe throat. Nature never made
an imperfect instrument. If it is not
used perfectly, the fault is our own, The
speaking voice IS trained on the same
principle as the singing voice. Salyini,
the actor, has speaking voice OF about
an octave and Il half, the finest voice OF
any actor living; the result of training.
High, shrill squeaking voices are the re-
suit OF all imperfect manner of breathing,
and high position of the larynx, and are
to be remedied by proper treatment.
If Rubenstein had TO play on an in
strument that was constantly moving up
and down, is 1t possible that he could pro-
duce such marvellous music? The hui
man instrument resembles an Eolian
harp, which is played on by the wind
striking the strings and causing them to
vlbrate. The registers OF the voice, four
in number. are united into one, and it
sounds as one instrument.
Making great noise is not the object
of training, it is quality of tone, not
quantity. Many singers can make them
selves heard for many blocks distant:
but the voice Itself is not of much value,
except as a probable street vender.
California has very many natural voices
OF great beauty, and climate the most
favored one in the world for the prodnc-
ton OF beautiful voices. But something
else is needed to make good singers
natural talent and good teachers. With
these two, this State should be able to
compete with the world in that line. In
our inhospitable frigid northern chimes
the singer has much more to contend
with than we have here: but it is a fact
that singers who have been trained in a
good school suffer less from colds and af-
fections of the throat than any other class.
a faulty method Of singing is the direct
cause OF sore throat, swelling of the ton
sis, larnygitis, and even permanent in
jury to the lungs, for the reason that the
throat is strained and the muscles weak
ened. In good method the whole svs-
tenn is benefited. L have heard young
singers, with scarcely one good firm tone
in their voice, attempting to sing the most
difficult compositions, and applauded to
the skies (by their friends; and l heard
young and ambitious baritone attempt
the part of Don Carlos, a most ambitious
part, and one that requires an artist of
the first rank. The less we know the
more confidence we have in ourselves.
and Pope's lines come to my memory:
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
j. Il. FITZGERALD.
Sacramento, Cal, February 18th.