Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1902-02-05
HEARING ONES OWN VOICE.
Maybe Thata an Interested Speaker is Deaf
to His own Speech.

to His own Speech.
81 have often wondered if the aver
! age man or woman could hear their
! own voices while engaged in conversa-
tion," observed thoughtful citizen
yesterday, land the matter seems to
be open to serious question. There is
an old expression used under certain
noisy conditions, which runs thus. L
couldn't hear myself talk and while
this Saying has more particular refer
ence to situation where the sounds
are rlOting, l am inclined to Believe
that in at least fifty per cent. OF the
instances one IS not conscious of the
sound of ones voice. ! mean by this
that one Is not definitely conscious OF
| the sounds. The tones are not we'll
defined in ones mini. OF course the
waves are beating on the ear drums,
but L fancy if one should stop to
analyze and classify the tones it
would be most confusing. The man
who talks idly. and who says things
indifferently, probably hears his own
voice. But where there is feeling,
and animation, and earnestness, and
what one may call soulfulness, in the
conversation, I do not believe there
is any well-defined consciousness OF
the sounds which fall from ones lips.
There are instances, of course, when
ones voice is most pleasing and soul
ful, as when one sings some senti-
mental song, or huns n soothing tune,
or recites verse and little skits from
great orations, and things of that
sort. One is generally alone at such
times. Yet, in instances of this sort
there are certain mental associations
which frequently crowd into ones
mind and much of the sound Is lost
in the pictures which come trooping
back from some earlier time in life.
| am convinced that the public
speaker who handles his subject with
earnestness and animation and who
believes in what he says for the sake
Of principle instead Of building his
way with bombast to high political
preferment-in such case l believe
the speaker is dead to thc sound Of
his voice. His mental faculties are
crowded into the idea. He slips, as
it were, into the shell of his theme.
He forgets his gestures, making them
unconsciously. He does not see his
hearers and wades through the storm
of applause which may greet his say
ing. His mind is turned back on it.
self, as he proceeds to apply his prin.
ciples to certain series of facts.
This does not happen in every in
stance, for there are statesmen who
talk for the sake of hearing their
voices rattle against the walls of the
assembly hall, statesmen who sub,
stitute loudness for logic and who
either straddle or ignore principle for
the sake of position, prestige and pelf.
But l was speaking of the common
run OF men, the ordinary fellows of
the world, and 1 believe we may
safely figure that, in many instances
at least, men and women have no
well-defned consciousness of their
own voice while engaged in conver.
sation."
Theatrical men have devised
curious way of controlling the volume
OF the human voice, and it has worked
wonderfully we'll in outdoor perform.
ances," said a gentleman who is con.
nected with the West End manage
ment. "They use an ordinary copper
wire for the purpose. We have one
here at West End. In length it is suf.
ficient to reach across the front part
OF the stage, it's ends touching a point
directly above the two end footlights.
We have strung this wire across the
stage about twelve or fifteen feet
above the footllghts. There had been
some complaint on the part Of patrons
that they could not hear the perform.
ers well from the seats further back
from the stage, and we concluded
to try the system used by theatri
cal managers. We stretched the
wire the full length of the front
of the stage at the distance lndi
Gated from the footlights. After put
ting it in we began an interesting test.
and we found that the wire really ip'
proved the ability of the auditor 10
hear sounds on the stage. The wire
seems to keep the sounds from scat
tering so much and seems to force the
voice OF the singer out to the audi.
ence in n more compact and stronger
form, If I may use the expression. 1t
acts as sort OF sounding board in
some way which / do not understand
exactly. This small wire has made an
enormous difference in the hearing
area of the pavilion, difference of
probably fifty feet or more. The voice
of the singer has q clearer sound to
the auditor, the articulation is more
distinct, the volume is greater, and
the situation is in every way i'm.
proved so far as the back seats are
concerned. 1t may be that the wire
tends to hold the sounds closer to the
earth by giving the waves Il down
ward drift instead of permitting
them to drift upward, and to grow
wider and weaker as the vibrations
spread out in Il greater air area. This,
however, is mere speculation. We
know the result of the experiment, for
since we put the wire where it is now
,va bovp 1ppniVp1 bIt fnw ro.OnlaiDts