The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1909-04-23

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fectly without perceptlble opening
OF the mouth, merely by the power Of
respiration.
II Is necessary to open the sides Of
the mouth, at the same time dropping
the chin well, to obtain a good throat
opening. In taking higher notes. Of
course, one must open the mouth lit
tie wider, but for the most part the po-
sition OF the mouth Is that assumed
when smiling. 1t Is good idea to
practice opening the throat before a
mirror and try to see the palate, as
when you show your throat to a doc
tor.
In pronouncing the sound "ah" one
must always attack 1t in the back part
OF the throat. taking care, however,
before uttering the syllable, to have
the throat well open: otherwise what
Is called the "stroke of the CLOTHS" oc-
ours and the tone formed is hard and
disagreeable. If you ever hear this
stroke of the CLOTHS on the attack, you
may know that the singer did not
attack far enough back in the throat.
The tone once launched, one must
think how 1t may be properly sustain
ed, and this is where the art of breath
Ing Is most concerned. The lungs, I'm
the first place, should be thoroughly
filled. A tone begun with only half
filled lungs loses half its authority and
Is very apt to be false in pitch. To
take full breath properly, the chest
must be raised at the same moment
that the abdomen sinks in. Then with
the gradual expulsion Of the breath
contrary movement takes place. The
diaphragm and elastic tissue surround.
Ing and containing the stomach and
vital organs and tie muscles surround.
Ing by practice acquire great strength
and assist considerably In this process
Of respiration and are vital factors In
the matter OF controlling the supply
which supports the tone The dia-
phragm is really like pair of bellows
and serves exactly the same purpose.
1t is this ability to take in an adequate
supply of breath and to retain 1t until
required that makes or, by contrary,
mars all singing. A singer with a per-
feet sense of pitch and all the good in
tentions possible will often sing Off
the key and bring forth tone with no
vitality to it. distressing to hear, sim
ply for lack Of breath control.
This art Of respiration once acquired,
the student has gone a considerable
step on the road to Parnassas.
To practice deep breathing effective
ly it is an excellent plan to breathe
through the nose, which aids in keep
ing the confined breath from escaping
too soon. The nose also warns and fl
tiers the air, making 1t nue. more
agreeable to the lungs than ii taken
directly through the mouth. In the
practice Of slow breathing make sure
that the lungs are as nearly emptied
as possible on the expulsion of the
breath before beginning new inspira.
ton, as this gives extra impetus to
the fresh supply Of air and strengthens
all the breathing muscles.
If this Is not done, moreover. the eff
feet is like two people trying to get in
and out Of the same narrow door at
the same time.
The voice is naturally divided into
three registers-the chest, medium and
bead. In mans voice of lower quail
ity this last is known as "falsetto," but
In the case of tenor he may use a
tone which In sound Is almost falsetto.
but Is really merely a meZza voce, or
half voice. This latter legitimately be-
longs to mans compass; a falsetto
does not. The most important register
Is the medium. particularly of tenors,
for this includes the greater part of
tenors voice and can be utilized even
to the top of his range If rightly pro-
duced.
In the matter of taking high notes
one should remember that their purity
and ease of production depend very
much on the way the preceding notes
leading up to them are sung. Begin
ming in the lower register and attack
ing the ascending notes well back,
balance must be maintained all the
way up, so that the highest note re-
ceives the, benefit and support of the
original position of the throat, and
there is no danger consequently of the
throat closing and pinching the quail
ty of the top notes.
Singers, especially tenors, are very
apt to throw the head forward in pro-
duc'ug the high notes and consequent
ly get that throaty. strained voice
which is so disagreeable To avoid
this one should try to keep the sup
ply of breath down as far toward the
abdomen as possible, thus maintaining
the upper passages to the head quite |
free for the emission of the voice. Re-
member also to sing within yourself, |
as 1t were-to feel the tones all through |
your being; otherwise your singing |
will possess no sentiment, emotion or |
authority. 1t is the failure to accom- |
plish this which has produced so many |
soulless artists-singers endowed with |
voices, capable of sur.
every technical difficulty, but
devoid of that charm of intonation
which is so vital to success on the
operate stage.