The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-04-24

The most curious of all the wind in
struments is the hautboy. Here you
have the pipe with the keys and the
double reed, just as in the larnyX, a
membranous expansion here and a
membranous expansion there. We have
the fundamental note through the
whole length of the pipe. If we were
to drive the air up and let the air come
out at the end and have the reed vi
brating between, we would have exact
ly what we have in the human larnyA
The hautboy player drives the air
air is driven up.
OF all instruments, the hautboy is
nearest to the larnyx, and the resem-
blance is proved in a case where the
larnyx was removed by a surgical o9-
| Grafton, in the fact that when an open
ing was made in the windpipe and the
reed of the hautboy player inserted, the
persons so operated on could read the
service of the Church of England.
Therefore, the larnyX is not an organ,
any more than the hautboy is a wind
! pipe. 1t is no: stringed instrument,
! because it is not long enough to cor
respond with the l. string of the bass
violin, and it is. therefore, reed in
! strument; in other words, it is a vibrat-
| ing membrane associated with the pipe,
| the onyx
The available part of this larnyX only
! extends about one-fifth of an inch in
! the male and one-eiGhth of an inch in
| the female. Why do we have a mem
! Lrane here, which is little more than
| half an inch in length? 1t is not :he
| whole of that membrane which is ac-
! tive How can we get different kinds
! Of sounds out of a pipe associated with
a membrane? In other words. if the
| bass voice is to emit certain notes, and
! the tenor to emit certain higher notes,
! how can that be accomplished by Such
! an instrument as this? In two ways:
! You can either get the different notes
! by lengthening the instrument or by
! tightening It.
In the organ pipe, if you want to get
the octave above, you halve the pine,
and if you want the octave below you
| lengthen the pipe. In the human be-
' ing, the larnyX is, at birth, of a certain
/ size, and, as the individual becomes an
! adult, the larnyX ultimately arrives at
a certain size and cannot get any
| larger.
Fine bass voices generally have fine
| large larnyXes. In the great bassos of
| old they were broad shouldered. six
/ foot men with very large larnyxes.
| Tenor and bass differ in size of larnyx.
| We can get higher note out of a given
| pipe by overtones. but never can get a
| lower note, because the pipe cannot be
| made lower. A voice can sing so low
and no lower: so high and no higher
because the length Of the larnyx will
, not permit any greater range.
A string of a certain length can be
made an octave higher by tightening.
The violinist tightens the string; and
every time the string Is frightened II is
made higher, Lowering the tension
lessons the height of the pitch. There
| fore, though you cannot change the in
| ltial shape of the larnyX-either male
or female-you can change the note by
tightening up that larnyx.
How is that done? If the two men,
branes of the larnyX are in a relaxed
condition the note emitted will be of a
low character-that is, the vibration
few in number-while, If they are tight
ened, the note emitted is higher In
pitch. That is Just what the singer
does when he ascends from the lowest
notes up into the higher ones; he is
continually pulling on certain muscles
that tighten that membrane. Bas.
notes are emitted when the membran,
Is relaxed. When, in passing from 6
lower to higher note, the listener OBJ,
serves something moving in the sing,
er's throat, it is the muscles movinG
and tightening the parts of the larnyx
If a man can have only one nth o.
an inch to act upon, (and he can sing
as we know, two octaves), a person
who has the compass of two oetave
can emit 24O different sounds. II hi
action Is only one-fifth OF an inch
every time he sings one of those sound
he must change the length Of that fiftl