The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-02-03

In the study Of the voice one OF the
principal ideas to be considered is the
fact that 1t is g. musical instrument.
Therefore one should use the same
practical common sense in its develop
ment that one would apply to the me-
chanical building of any other instru-
ment. 1t is difficult to differentiate
the purely physical from the psych1cal
in voice production, and yet the intel
lligent singer must be able to accom-
lplish this.
: The vocalist depends upon two
great guiding principles, namely, SEN
sation and hearing. And in the de-
velopment Of the voice it must become
his religion to do nothing that violates
the sense of beautiful tone or the feel
ing of naturalness in the use Of that
organ.
Roughly. speaking, the voice may be
divided into three compartm ents-a
trio of graces: Breath, the control Of
the throat and the use Of the resonance
cavities. The greatest Of these three
is breath. In fact, majority of the
faults in voice production may be at
|tributed directly to poor breath con-
troll. And here the same practical
principles guide us which we would
use In the. building Of satisfactory
bellows for wind instrument.
First, for a good bellows, we de-
mand the power of taking in q large
amount Of air in the shortest possible
time; then the power to hold that air,
without allowing 1t to escape. and
third, the power to economic as much
as possible in giving it out. These
three principles we call, first, inspira-
ton; second, potse; third, expiration.
AS to the mechanical act of breath
Ing, much has been written and dis
.cussed. Proper breathing means
natural breathing, and Is as much a
means Of health as it is the cardinal
principle Of voice production. A
prominent physician recently said to
me that If he did not pity my musical
ears so much he would send me at
least $50 patients whose physical con-
ldition required proper breathing more
than medicine.
Now, as to the faults commonly en-
countered in the use of breath. First
iof all, we are familiar with those sing
ers who, when taking a breath, ele-
waite their shoulders and chest with
great physical effort and who as re-
suit are always short Of breath. This
use of the upper chest and the shOul-
ders. commonly known as "clavicular
breathing" Is most detrimental to the
voice and is productive of serious
faults otherwise. Then come the
'breathye' tone, where the air seems
to escape over the vocal chords. And,
third, the worst Of all vocal faults, the
Ideally tremolo. The causes for these
detects are many, but the most usual
cause is an overlooking Of the lungs
with breath in the act Of inspiration.
In the case of the tremolo. besides
being the result of bad breath control
and a weak diaphragm, it may some
times be produced by relaxed muscles
in the throat itself. &.-.
But now, as to correct breathing
Nature has constructed the upper
chest out of firm bones and carriages
which are more or less unyield1ng
Below the chest proper the ribs
branch out, the breast bone stops ano
the abdomen, composed Of muscles
which are capable Of tension and re-
taxation, begins. Besides this, the
lower lobes Of the lungs are more
spongelike and capable Of expansion
and contraction. 1t is the singer:
first aim to acquire control of these
muscles in deep breathing. This il
not difficult to do, and the rewards
both vocally and physically, are yer!
great.
In singing, the singer should elevate
his chest and strive to keep it elevated
always. A good practice is to put tn
hands behind the head and take il
slowly full breath without overload
ing the lungs. In contrast to this an
other useful practice is to gasp
breath and hold it awhile. Again, t.
take q long, slow breath thru the nos