The Child-Voice in Singing | Page 2

and so the less said about harsh tone to
a teacher accustomed to hear it daily, and to like it, the better; but prove
to this teacher that the harsh tone is physically hurtful to the child, and
that for physiological reasons the voice should be used softly and
gently, and you have won a convert, one, too, who will quickly
recognize the aesthetic phase of the change in voice use. The author
knows from observation and experience that children in the public
schools can, under existing conditions, be taught good habits of voice
use. There are wonderful possibilities of musical development, in the
study of music in schools, and the active interest of every musician and
music lover should be exercised to the end that its standard may be kept
high.

PREFACE.
It will be generally admitted by those who are able to judge, that the
singing of children is more often disagreeable than pleasant, and yet the
charm of childhood and the effect of custom are so potent that many
who are keenly alive to any deficiency in the adult singer, listen with
tolerance, and it would seem with a degree of pleasure even, to the

harsh tones of children.
This tolerance of rough, strident singing by children is as strange as the
singing. It cannot be right for children to sing with the coarse, harsh
tone that is so common, and it is not right, although there is a prevalent
idea that such singing is natural, that is, unavoidable.
This idea is false. The child singing-voice is not rough and harsh unless
it is misused. The truth of this statement can be easily demonstrated. If
it were not true it would be difficult to justify the teaching of vocal
music in schools, or the employment of boy sopranos in church choirs.
It seems to the author that the chief difficulty experienced by teachers
and instructors of singing, in dealing with children, lies in the
assumption, expressed or implied, that their voices are to be treated as
we treat the voices of adults-- adult women; but the vocal organs of the
child differ widely from those of the adult in structure, strength and
general character. As a consequence, there is a marked difference in
voice.
Vocal music has been very generally introduced into the schools of our
country during the past few years, and there is evidently a very general
and earnest desire that children be taught to sing. It is also the wish of
those who are teachers to do their work well.
While there are many books to aid educators upon every other subject
taught in public schools, the literature on the voice, particularly the
singing-voice, is meagre, and it is believed that some direct, practical
hints on this topic may be welcome.
The following pages are the result of several years' experience in
teaching, and of careful study of children's voices. The author has
attempted to describe the physiological characteristics of the
child-voice and to give some practical hints regarding its management.
It is sincerely hoped that what is herein written may be useful and
helpful to those engaged in teaching children to sing.
FRANCIS E. HOWARD, Bridgeport, Conn. December, 1895

CONTENTS. PAGE
Preface to the Second Edition, 3
Preface, 7
CHAPTER I.
Physiology of the Voice, 13
CHAPTER II.
Registers of the Voice, 25
CHAPTER III.
How To Secure Good Tone, 44
CHAPTER IV.
Compass of the Child-Voice, 72
CHAPTER V.
Position, Breathing, Attack, Tone-Formation, 81
CHAPTER VI.
Vowels, Consonants, Articulation, 95
CHAPTER VII.
Mutation of the Voice, 112
CHAPTER VIII.

The Alto Voice in Male Choirs, 125
CHAPTER IX.
General Remarks, 132
CHAPTER I.
PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOICE.
In former times the culture of the singing-voice was conducted upon
purely empirical grounds. Teachers followed a few good rules which
had been logically evolved from the experience of many schools of
singing.
We are indebted to modern science, aided by the laryngoscope, for
many facts concerning the action of the larynx, and more especially the
vocal cords in tone-production. While the early discoveries regarding
the mechanism of the voice were hopefully believed to have solved all
problems concerning its cultivation, experience has shown the futility
of attempting to formulate a set of rules for voice-culture based alone
upon the incomplete data furnished by the laryngoscope. This
instrument is a small, round mirror which is introduced into the throat
at such an angle, that if horizontal rays of light are thrown upon it, the
larynx, which lies directly beneath, is illuminated and reflected in the
mirror at the back of the mouth-- the laryngoscope. Very many singers
and teachers, of whom Manuel Garcia was the first, have made use of
this instrument to observe the action of their vocal bands in the act of
singing, and the