The American Union Speaker | Page 6

Murdock, the well-known actor and elocutionist, tells us that, by
appropriate vocal training, he gained, within the space of some months,
to such an extent, in power and depth of voice, as to add to its previous
range a full octave; and this improvement was made at a period after he
supposed himself nearly broken down in health and voice, by
over-exertion on the stage.
A command of the low notes is essential to the fullest effect of
impressive eloquence. The strongest and deepest emotions can be
expressed only by a full, deep-toned utterance. Speaking on one key,
with only slight variations, either above or below it, is perhaps the most

common, and, at the same time, the most injurious fault both of
declaimers and of public speakers.
As a means of acquiring compass of voice, the student should
pronounce with great force the vowel sounds on both the highest and
lowest notes he can reach. This elementary drill should be followed by
practice in reading and declaiming selections requiring the extreme
notes of the compass. For practice on the low notes, passages should be
selected expressing deep solemnity, awe, horror, melancholy, or deep
grief. The following fine simile affords an excellent example for
practice on the low notes:--
"So when an angel, by divine command, With rising tempests shakes a
guilty land, Such as of late o'er pale Brittania passed, Calm and serene
he drives the furious blast; And, pleased th' Almighty's orders to
perform, Rides in the whirlwind and directs the storm."
The development of the top of the voice requires practice upon
passages expressing brisk, gay, and joyous emotions, and the extremes
of pain, fear, and grief. The following examples may serve as
illustrations:
Last came Joy's ecstatic trial: He, with viny crown advancing, First to
the lively pipe his hand addressed: But soon he saw the brisk,
awakening viol, Whose sweet entrancing voice he loved the best. They
would have thought, who heard the strain, They saw, in Tempé's vale,
her native maids, Amidst the festal-sounding shades, To some
unlearned minstrel dancing; While, as his flying fingers kissed the
strings, Love framed with Mirth a gay fantastic round. Strike--till the
last armed foe expires; Strike--for your altars and your fires; Strike--for
the green graves of your sires,-- God.--and your native land!
QUALITY. A voice may possess the properties we have considered,
strength and compass, and yet be very far from perfection. It may be
neither loud, nor round, nor clear, nor full, nor sweet. While on the
other hand, it may be hollow, or aspirated, or guttural, or nasal, or
possibly it may be afflicted with a combination of these faults. As one
of the most important conditions of success in the cultivation of the
voice, it is necessary that the student should acquire a distinct
conception of the qualities and characteristics of a good voice, as a
standard, a beau-ideal, which he may strive to reach. This must be
derived mainly from the illustrations of the teacher, or from listening to

the speaking of an accomplished orator. No mere description is
adequate to convey it to the learner without the aid of the living voice.
And yet, such a quaint and charming description of both the negative
and positive qualities of a good voice, as the following, from a colloquy
between Professor Wilson and the Ettrick Shepherd, is worth
studying:--
NORTH. (Professor Wilson)
"James, I love to hear your voice. An Esquimaux would feel himself
getting civilized under it for there's sense in the very sound. A man's
character speaks in his voice, even more than in his words. These he
may utter by rote, but his 'voice is the man for a' that,' and betrays or
divulges his peculiar nature. Do you like my voice, James? I hope you
do."
Shepherd. (James Hogg.)
"I wad ha'e kent it, Mr. North, on the tower o' Babel, on the day o' the
great hubbub. I think Socrates maun ha'e had just sic a voice--ye canna
weel ca 't sweet, for it is ower intellectual for that--ye canna ca 't saft,
for even in its aigh notes there's a sort o' birr, a sort o' dirl that betokens
power--ye canna ca 't hairsh, for angry as ye may be at times, it's aye in
tune frae the fineness o' your ear for music--ye canna ca 't sherp, for it's
aye sae nat'ral--and flett it cud never be, gin you were even gi'en ower
by the doctors. It's maist the only voice I ever heard, that I can say is at
ance persuawsive and commanding--you micht fear 't, but you maun
love 't; and there's no a voice in all his Majesty's dominions, better
framed by nature to hold communion with friend or foe."
The quality of voice to which