The Washington herald., 1914-06-07
HOW 10 DEVELOP THE
SPEAKING VOICE

women's highest ONCE in life Is to be
an inspiration, q bit old fashioned, this
sentiment, perhaps. but a worthy senti-
ment nevertheless. OF all her graces
there Is, perhaps. none which Possesses
this power Of inspiration as does a musi-
cal-speaking voice. 1t indicates the har-
mony of the feminine nature, and the
more melodious its expression, the more
Irresistible Is its charm.
Two factors are all important in this
sweet-speaking voice-breath and articu-
lation. The breath is the first to be con-
sidered.
In contrast to the diaphragmatic con-
troll Of the breath for the singing voice.
the entire upper part of the body Is
brought into play for the speaking voice.
All the muscles OF the abdomen come
into use. and their development Ia ef-
fected most readily by certain movements
Of the arms In connection with the inha-
lation and exhalation of breath
Exercise Nc. with hand on the hips
thumbs pointing straight back around the
waist line and fingers resting on the
front of the abdomen, breathe in slowly
through the nostrils. the mouth being
tightly closed. When drawing in the
breath. the lower part Of the abdomen
should expand first. the dilation spread
ing gradually to the ribs and finally dis
tending the chest. To exhale, force the
breath out slowly by contracting the
lower muscles of the abdomen. the mus
cles OF the chest being drawn In last.
Continue this ten times. allowing the air
to effect the expansion Of the body each
time, rather than an effort of the mind
which forces q Tightening Of the blood
vessels In the head and subsequent rush
Of blood that causes dizziness.
No. e.-Have the arms stretched At full
length by the sides, with the shoulders
thrown well back. By a steady. quick
movement. raise the arms straight out In
front of the body. sweeping them In a
semi-circle up to the side OF the head
and inhaling from the abdomen as in the
previous exercise. At the finish. the arms
should be standing directly up in line
with the shoulders. the fingers stretched
to their utmost and the body thoroughly
expanded. Now turn the palms of the
hands outward, and, letting the breath
out very slowly. drop the arms delib-
erateIy to their original position at the
sides. allowing them to fall a little back
OF the shoulders. The full value of this
arm movement is obtained by q sudden
inhalation and slow exhalation Of the
breath. the sudden motion Of the arms
assisting to this end. For variety's sake
exercise. doing each ten times.
No. 3-With the arms stretched at full
length. place the hands on the front Of
the legs. palm inward. Bending the body
slightly forward. raise the arms to a
point somewhat above the shoulder line.
drawing the breath In rapidly as for the
preceding exercise. Then sweep them in
a rotary motion backward and let them
fan gradually and Imply TO the sides
- 1 xl, . ~.
nostrils. Repeat ten times.
After obtaining control of the breath.
the next step is TO bring the speaking
tone forward. By this is meant that the
breath. in passing over the vocal chords
and causing them to vibrate. finds a
sounding board in the head rather than
against the walls of the throat or the
chest. This Is most easily accomplished
by the practice of certain vocal gym
nastics given in the study of elocution.
The harsh voice, the shrir voice. and the
faint voice. all can be modulated to a
sweetness and pleasing quality by the
systematic performance Of the follow
ing exercises:
No. latter breathing deeply. exhale
slowly. making the sound EN-" The
tone should resound against the roof Of
the mouth so that the upper lip quivers.
Just at this point-in the lower cavities
OF the nose and the roof of the mouth
back of the teeth-is where the sweet
speaking voice is placed. and all the ex-
ercises are given for the purpose Of hav-
ing consonants and vowels focus in this
one place.
No. 2-On a deep Heath, repeat the
vowels aa, a, e. I. o. 90. as used in the
words balm, pain. eve. pike. pole. boot.
For the sound "a the mouth is widely
open: a closes the mouth slightly, and