The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1912-09-19

The most telling charm girl can
have is q sweet voice, and yet how
often, alas, is the quality of the voice
utterly ignored by young people. One
hears the terrible twang indigenous
to this country issuing from kissable
coral lips, hears maids in the finest
raiment speaking with the hoarseness
of ravens or with voices as badly
managed as those Of monkeys. Yet
there are elocutionists for training
the voice to honeyed notes, and the
owner of the dulcet voice is a power
in every circle Of society. For al
though the voice is the easiest OF all
the points of woman's beauty to train
into ways. of loneliness it generally
happens that the low, exquisitely-
timbered and beautifully used voice
goes with the superior nature.
The deaf speak discordantly be-
cause they cannot hear the manner
in which they are pitching their
voices. So hearing is needed for
voice training. and it is possible to
cultivate its sensitiveness with very
simple home methods. Listen, to all
the beautifully-pitched voices that
come your way and then go into your
room and practice with the contrast
Of your own naturally speaking
voice. You will see your mistakes in
short order, and by keeping the err
ror in mind, as important to your
charm, you will soon find yourself
initiating the lovely voice, first copy
ing the manner in which single words
are uttered and then essaying some
whole phrase caught up from the
voice melodious. Little by little you
will get the right infections and then
somehow you will grasp at last the
spiritual side of human speech. The
feeling of words will appear and you
will utter them in the right manner,
telling your fairy tale with the right
touch of gayety and your tale of sor-
row with due solemnity.
According to voice specialists, the
commonest defect in young people is
the pitching of the voice too high,
and this is accompanied by nervous
tension which holds the throat taut
and strained. The breath is short
and hurried, which cuts the over
tones and destroys the vibrations. So
the high pitch must first be over
come. and since reserve breath and
a wholesome state of the throat ard
nose are needed these organs and
the lungs must receive their due
share of attention. The simplest
breathing exercises. taken quite twice
a day in a full and rhythmic manner,
will undoubtedly improve a defective
voice through the help the exercise
lends to the vocal cords. Deep
breathing. too, is often advised for
bashfulness and stammering, those
two great banes Of timid youth, which
If not overcome in time will some
times last until life's end.
For the girl whose general health
ID none of the best, and whose voice
SION wears out with class recitations,
a diet OF molasses and coarse bread
is to be recommended. Sweet milk
and buttermilk will also be of much
benefit, while raw egg. beaten up
with little lemon Juice. and taken
ward off hoarseness during the day.
Raw eggs are very healing and feed
ing to the throat and lungs, and
should be given far oftener to under
nourished young people, whose very
delicacy makes them ready victims
to lung and throat diseases.
Anything which interferes with |
the general health will affect the
beauty and strength Of the voice
and since the membrane OF throat |
and nose is so delicate it must al |
ways be given immediate care in time |
Of trouble-or better still, be kept |
in a healthy state with the frequent |
use of antiseptic washes.
But lot of the ugliness in youth |
full voices comes from bad habits |
alone. The young people are not
corrected for their vocal errors in |
time, they are allowed to sing at too |
carly an age. they sleep and sit in
rooms too hot and dry, they have
the example Of other badly-trained
or get the habit from their
tone-deaf elders. But II is never too
late for the girl who has been neg
lected in this way to improve herself |
If she will only realize that q sweet,
well-modulated voice is one of wom-
aims greatest Vaccinations and that
all her success in its attainment lies
In herself