Expressive Voice Culture | Page 2

together, toes slightly apart; line of gravity from crown of head, well
lifted, to balls of feet; the ear, point of shoulder, and point of hip should
be in line; muscles of the thigh strong in front; ribs well lifted so that
front line from waist to throat is lengthened to full extent; back kept
erect, and curve at waist not emphasized. Breathe strongly and deeply
several times.
To secure the elevation of the ribs the hands may be placed under the
arms, as high as possible, fingers pointing down; then try to turn or
press the ribs up and forward with strong action of hands, breathing
freely and emphasizing strength in waist muscles. Sustain the ribs in
this elevated position, and thus uplift the chest. Keep shoulders free.
Drop hands to sides again.
(_b_) Take half a step forward; sustain weight on advanced foot; do not
change position of retired foot, but keep the sense of purchase in it. The
chest should be carried forward of the abdomen and the abdominal
muscles given their best leverage by a slight bending forward from the
hips. (Bending forward must not be done by any dropping of the chest,
or shortening of the line at waist through relaxation.) This position
must be light, active, buoyant, and reposeful.
A constant sense of easy balance should be developed through poising
exercises.
The habit of healthful and powerful respiration should be established
by physical exercise for that purpose, and the right manipulation of
breath in tone production should be secured by the nature of the voice
exercises. Any vocal exercise which involves in the very nature of its

production a good control of breath becomes, by virtue of that fact, a
good breathing exercise as well.
[Footnote: See exercises described in a later chapter.]
If the voice be perfectly free, it is then capable of expressing truly all
that the person thinks and feels. The first desirable end sought, then, is
freedom. What is freedom, and how secured? When all cavities of
resonance are accessible to the vibrating column of air the voice may
be said to be free. By cavities of resonance is meant the chest (trachea
and bronchial tubes), the larynx, pharynx, the mouth, and the nares
anterior and posterior, or head chambers of resonance. The free tone is
modified through all its varieties of expression by those subtle changes
in form, intensity, movement, inflection, and also direction, which are
too fine for the judgment to determine, or even observe successfully.
These varieties are made possible by the very organism of the voice,
which is vital, not mechanical, and are determined by the influences
working from the mind through the nerves which control this
wonderful living instrument. This is governed by the law of reflex
action, by which stimulation of any nerve center produces responsive
action in other parts of the body. The voice will obey the mind. Right
objects of thought will influence it much more perfectly and rapidly
than the mere arbitrary dictates of calculation.
Right psychology would be the only thing necessary to the thorough
cultivation of the voice if the conditions were so perfect that there were
no habits of stricture and our instrument were thus in perfect tune. And
in spite of the fact that it is not usually found in perfect tune, the
influence of practice under right mental conditions is the most potent
and indispensable part of voice culture. Let this fact not be lost sight of
while we are discussing those more technical methods of training
which are designed to tune and regulate our instrument.
First, freedom of voice is attained (technically speaking) by right
direction of tone and vital support. A few words of explanation will
make this patent.
If the vibrating column of air when it leaves the vocal cords is so

directed that it passes freely through all the cavities of resonance, it
cannot fail to find the right one. The following exercise, if properly
taken, will induce right direction of tone: produce a light humming
sound such as would be the sound of _m, n,_ or _ng_, if so idealized as
to eliminate that element of sound commonly spoken of as nasality.
That which is called nasality is caused by the failure of the tone to
reach freely the anterior cavities of the nares. The cavity which lies just
back of the nose and frontal bone imparts a musical resonance
resembling the vibrating after-tone when a note has been struck upon a
piano and allowed to die away gradually. The "nasal" effect comes
when the tone is confined in the posterior or back part of the nares, or
head cavity, or is split by the dropping of the uvula so that part of the
tone is directed through the nares and part through