Voice Production in Singing and Speaking | Page 2

to write an exhaustive work on vocal physiology, with
references at every step to the views of various authors; rather has he
tried always to keep in mind the real needs of the practical voice-user,
and to give him a sure foundation for the principles that must underlie
sound practice. A perusal of the first chapter of the work will give the
reader a clearer idea of the author's purpose as briefly expressed above.

The writer bespeaks an unprejudiced hearing, being convinced that in
art as in all else there is but one ultimate court of appeal: to the
scientific, the demonstrable--to what lies at the very foundations of
human nature.
In conclusion, the author desires to thank those publishers and authors
who have kindly permitted the use of their illustrations.
THE AUTHOR.
MCGILL UNIVERSITY, Montreal, October, 1906.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
THE CLAIMS AND IMPORTANCE OF VOCAL PHYSIOLOGY.
Science and art--The engineer, architect, physician, nurse, and others,
compared with the vocal teacher and learner--Unfavorable
tendencies--The old masters--The great elocutionists--Causes of
failure--The lack of an adequate technique--Correct methods are
physiological--Summary of the advantages of teaching and learning
based on scientific principles--Illustrations of the application of
physiological principles to actual cases--The evils from which speakers
and singers suffer owing to wrong methods--Speaking and singing
based on the same principles--Relation of hygiene to physiology 17
CHAPTER II.
GENERAL PHYSIOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES.
Relations of animals to each other--Common properties of living
matter--Explanation of these--The mammal and man--The stimulus and
its results--The one-celled animal--Various
"systems"necessary--Complexity of structure and function--Harmony

through the nervous system--The rule of nervous centres--Means by
which they are influenced, and by which they influence--Reflex
action--Muscular mechanisms and neuro-muscular mechanisms--Work
of the singer and speaker largely reflex in character--Summary 34
CHAPTER III.
BREATHING CONSIDERED THEORETICALLY AND
PRACTICALLY.
Breathing the great essential--Misconceptions--Purpose of breathing as
a vital process--The respiratory organs--Their nature--Relations of the
lungs to the chest-wall--Expansion of the chest--Its diameters--The
muscles of respiration--Personal observation--The diaphragm--Varying
quantities of air breathed--Breathing when properly carried out by the
singer or speaker is healthful 44
CHAPTER IV.
BREATHING FURTHER CONSIDERED THEORETICALLY AND
PRACTICALLY.
Relations of the nervous system to breathing--The respiratory
centre--Reflex action in breathing--Methods of preventing
nervousness--Tones produced by the outgoing breath--Waste of
breath--The happy combination for good singing or speaking 57
CHAPTER V.
BREATHING WITH SPECIAL REGARD TO PRACTICAL
CONSIDERATIONS.
The well-developed chest--The voice-user a kind of athlete--The
tremolo--Exercises recommended for the development of the
chest--Forms of dress that hamper breathing--Weighing and measuring,
re-measurement, etc.--Specific directions for methods to develop the
chest--Warnings--Additional exercises--Breathing through the nose and

through the mouth--Exercises for the development of the diaphragm
and abdominal muscles--Relation of the diaphragm to the staccato
effect--Forms of general exercise for the voice-user--Summary 62
CHAPTER VI.
THE SPECIAL VOICE-PRODUCING MECHANISM, THE
LARYNX.
Not the only voice-producing apparatus--Specific structures of the
larynx in use when the subject phonates--Muscles and their
attachments--The cartilages of the larynx--The lining mucous
membrane--Changes in it when one has a "cold"--The vocal
bands--Functions of the epiglottis--The "middle line" and relative
position of parts--Adam's apple--Ventricle of the larynx--The
importance of the arytenoid cartilages--Muscles of the larynx in
detail--Sphincter action--Straining--Position of the larynx--Practical
considerations--Dissection of a "pluck" and especially of the
larynx--Hygiene--How disorder of one part may affect
another--Summary 74
CHAPTER VII.
SOUND--THE LARYNGOSCOPE--THE LARYNX
RECONSIDERED.
Some study of physics desirable--Sound and vibrations--The sounding
body--Experiments to illustrate the principles of sound--Qualities of
sound--Animals and perception of sound--The range of hearing in
man--The larynx as a musical instrument--Experiments of Johannes
Müller--Discovery of the laryngoscope by Garcia--Description of the
instrument--Method of using the laryngoscope--The
difficulties--Auto-laryngoscopy--The importance of both laryngoscopy
and auto-laryngoscopy--Change in size of the larynx due to
use--Delicate changes in the laryngeal mechanism--Changes in the
larynx during adolescence--Warnings--The "breaking" of the
voice--Analogies with fatigue, etc.--When should singing be

begun?--Singing with others--Choral singing 97
CHAPTER VIII.
FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF BREATHING, LARYNGEAL
ADJUSTMENT, ETC.
Various kinds of breathing, as "abdominal," "clavicular," etc.,
discussed--Control of the whole of the breathing mechanism
urged--Correct breathing as a habit--Breathing in the most vigorous
speaking and singing--Different views expressed by a
diagram--Economy of energy in art--Reserve energy in
breathing--"Pumping"--Coup de
glotte--"Attack"--Breath-adjustment--Quality of sound the prime
consideration in tone-production--Tremolo and other faults--Tests of
good breathing--Mouth-breathing--Exercises--Singing of a single
tone--Its relation to scale-singing--Summary and review 118
CHAPTER IX.
THE RESONANCE-CHAMBERS.
Vocal bands and resonance-chambers compared--Improvised
mechanism to illustrate resonance--Musical instruments as
resonance-bodies--A vowel in relation to the
resonance-chambers--Description of the resonance-chambers--How the
quality of tones may be made to vary--New views as to the
sounding-chambers--Summary 140
CHAPTER X.
THE REGISTERS OF THE SINGING VOICE.
A controverted subject--Definitions of a register--Qualifications for
dealing with this subject--Madame Seiler--Tabular statement of her
views--Garcia's and Behnke's divisions of registers--Sir Morell
Mackenzie's views in detail--The author's earlier

investigations--Madame Marchesi's views and practice 151
CHAPTER XI.
FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF THE REGISTERS OF THE
SINGING VOICE.
Auto-laryngoscopy and photography of the larynx--Dogmatism and
science--Confusion and