Expressive Voice Culture | Page 5

it is impossible to reach it by voluntary mechanics.
SMOOTHNESS AND HARMONY OF UTTERANCE
Having obtained the results sought in our last division, we should learn
to manipulate the elements of speech fluently without breaking their
relation to (harmony with) the primary focus, or direction of tone.
Practise the same sentence, "_Most men_" etc., striving to make every
tone and the form of every element perfect, without dwelling upon
them separately; practise this (as also the preceding exercises) upon
various degrees of pitch in the musical scale, generally beginning on a
"medium high" pitch, then lower, and afterwards higher. Strive to speak

or sing fluently without breaking the quality of tone used. A break in
quality signifies loss of focus.
The object of this practise is to attain facility in manipulating the
elements while maintaining the smooth quality of the tone. After this
sentence other sentences may be used in reference to the same idea.
The primary exercise given should always be reverted to as a working
center, in order to secure, through repetition, a deepening of the
tendency involved. Variety is admissible only in addition to the original
exercise, but should not be substituted for it.
FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSICAL EXPRESSIVENESS OF
TONES
This opens the way to expression in tone,--dramatic expression,--but
the technical preparation for expressive responsiveness in the voice is
the development of its musical possibilities, for all artistic expression in
tones is musical whether the person be a singer or a speaker. Inflections
are variations in pitch, and are "the tune of the thought."
Exercise. Practise the syllables _mä, zä, skä, ä._ The sound of the
Italian _a,_ as in ah, gives the freest position of the organs for the
production of tone, and perhaps the most difficult form in which to
direct a tone with certainty. It is combined with these consonant
elements in order to invite it forward and bring it to a point
(figuratively speaking). The m relates it to the nares or humming tone
(which is the basis of all resonance in the voice). The z sharpens the
consciousness at the front, and the sk furnishes a good start for a
positive stroke in the voice, while the a alone leaves us to venture upon
the free tone unassisted by these guides to direction. The exercise
should be practised with such musical variations as the student can
learn to execute--the scale, arpeggios, etc., both sustained tone and light
touches, broad tones and shaded tones. Other vowels may also be
practised thus.
The practice of rhythm, or the practice of rhythmical accent, should be
introduced, as the sense of rhythm is an important element in the
development of expressiveness.

The object now is to secure sensibility and responsiveness in the voice.
This opens the possibilities of vocal expression. When we speak of the
nares anteri (or front head resonant cavity) as the dominant center of
physical consciousness nothing mechanical is meant. One is conscious
that the eye is fixed upon an object, but not therefore conscious of the
action of the muscles used in turning it upon the object. One thinks not
of the eye, but through the eye toward the object.
Finally, technique has as its object the training of the instrument to
freedom and responsiveness; but the true art of vocal expression begins
when the instrument is used in obedience to such objects of thought as
should cause its strings to vibrate loudly or softly, all together or in
partial harmony, in obedience to that vital impulse which the
instrument itself was created to obey.

CHAPTER III
The Higher Development of the Voice by the Application of First
Principles.
There are four general forms of emphasis which serve as indications of
the characteristics of expression. They are Force, Pitch, Volume, and
Time. Force corresponds to life, or vitality, in the voice. Pitch
corresponds to the range of the voice, and expresses affection or
attraction. Volume measures the activity of the will through the voice,
and Time, the expression of which depends principally upon movement,
or rhythm, corresponds to the intellectual activities.
It will be understood that these forms of expression, or emphasis, are
developed, according to the practice in the "Evolution of Expression,"
by means of purely mental discipline. It is nevertheless possible to
reinforce these powers of the voice by technical practice with special
reference to this development. In taking up this branch of the work the
student is supposed to have fulfilled the requirements of the elementary
voice practice, which, it will be remembered, includes the
establishment of freedom by means of right direction of tone, the

perfecting of the elements in polished articulation, the facile handling
of the voice in combining various elements, and a certain degree of
responsiveness in the practice of various musical qualities.
FORCE
For the