Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-02-03
beer suffering from neuralgia several
weeks, is still confined to the house.
The AMERICAN VOICE.
Reflects Traits Of Character, and Need
Not Be Harsh.

Inc latest critic OF tne AMERICAN
voice is a hopeful one to heed, for he
tells us that it is not beyond our
power to remove harshness and
nasaity from our speech.
The American voice is mot inner
emily Cor catarrhally) nasal or un-
musical, but it is certainly crude and
uncultivated he says. Its disagree
able qualities are due to our generally
sloyenlX utterance and to our neglect
OF the mere technie of speech. Under
cultivation our voices are as beaut-
fui as any. our best actors, a few
public speakers like w. j. Bryan and
President Eliot. and our singers in,
every opera giving country furnish
ample proof OF this assertion. AS
people we are lamentably cacreless in
our speech. our restless hasty lives
drive from our minds the impulse for
self culture that would lead us to
train intelligently the mechanism of
vocal expression
Her voice was ever soft, gentle,
and low-an excellent thing in wo-
man'-because the tones of the voice
betokened the lovely qualities of ten
derness, Imselfshuess and humility.
No organ of the body is more truly
indicative of character and mental
states than is the voice. \ melodious
voice attracts us; a strident voice re-
pels us. A strain of sentiment
creeps into our voice and our hearers
sense at once The feeling behind it. \
shadow III the voice and instinct
straight-aWay guesses the lurking in
sincerity or falsehood friend of
mine maintains that he can read char
aeter correctly at the first hearing of
voice What persuasive power lies
in a noble. meIlifiuous utterance!
+, The study of voice productions,
whether for singing or fer speaking,
may, in a general way, be divided into
two parts. One concerns itself with
the column of air, the base of which
rests upon the diaphragm and which
passes through the larynx and vocal
cords into the resonating cavities of
the head; the other deals with the
processes of articulation and pronun-
citation, which takes place entirely in
the mouth.
The foundation of good voice pro-
duetion is good breathing, and Nature
will attend to this if We give it half
chance. If we stand or sit erect,
without Stiffness but with our back
bone straight from its base to the
neck, the Nlungs will act freely and
correctly. over the vocal cords we
have no direct conscious control. and
the less we try to do with the throat
the better will be the tones we utter.
The throat should always be free from
any tightness whatsoever Any in
frinsement of this law impairs in
faliibly the beauty of the tone. The
driving power of the vocal machinery
comes from the base of the column of
air. and it is in that region only that
muscular effort is permissible.
A mellow, sonorous voice is rare in
any country. Its beauty in the rough
IS usually due to an harmonious ma
ture and good health. but Just as by
conscious effort we are able to har-
inonize our natures and improve our
health. 50 also may we cultivate in
ourselves a spontaneous. simple and
agreeable utterance in well-controlled
land modulated tones Such an
utterance brings out all the potential
beauty of the natural voice and is
within the capacity of everybody. So
long as we remain nation of mere
money seekers. so long shall we speak
IN dry, eager money seeking voices,
and it is only as we begin to realize
Gas, indeed, an ever-increasing num-
Der of Americans are beginning to
realize) that material success is only
a small part of the real success of life,
that we shall place proper estimate
on the substantial value of "a we'll
trained yoice...Scribner's Magazine.